The October Amaryllis: Everything Has a Cost

Chapter 3 - May 18th, 2220 3:38 A.M.

After the unprecedented experience that left me feeling like my body was turned inside out, I felt surprisingly well. To the left of me emanated the faint smell of vanilla in the air. Not knowing any directions around the place, I followed the scent and nearly fainted when I came face to face with a large android walking toward me who stopped about two feet away from my face. Height-wise, I’d estimate it to have been around eighty inches tall or approximately 6’8. He towered over me like a giant, as I was only 5’7 at the time. Thankfully, I grew up to be 6’1, so miracles happen, I guess…

“May I please do a scan on your body?” the android asked with a surprisingly human voice. It didn’t sound at all robotic like I expected it would have; it had a deep baritone voice like Johnny Cash. However, it looked incredibly uncanny in a way that I cannot explain.

“For?” I asked anxiously.

“To test for the presence of diseases and/or toxins in the body, all of our citizens have pristine health as a result of the M.A.R.,” it said creepily, smiling.

Do me a favor and never smile again.

“What is a M.A.R?” I asked, completely confused.

“The acronym stands for Medical Assistant Robot, but I specifically am known by my ID of XCHSOWK298 given to me by my creators at Caesar-Alberto. Have you ever toured the place? It’s mind-blowing the things they’re creating,” it said before pausing in place right after.

Are you broken or something?

“What’s wrong?” I asked, waving my hand in front of its face, hoping to register some sort of reaction out of it.

“I have detected methylmercury in your bloodstream,” it said before a strange cream-colored pill popped out of its chest with a clicking sound.

Mercury?! Where would I get mercury from?

“This can’t be right; how could I have mercury in my system?” I asked, shaking like a wounded deer.

“Have you eaten fish recently?” it asked, giving me the pill and a small bottle of water that slid out after I took the drug.

“Yes, I had some last night,” I replied cautiously; I didn’t want to tell him about how I was from the past and create a paradox.

“How strange, our fish haven’t had mercury in twenty-five years…” it said, pausing in place again.

“Guess I was just an outlier then. Hey, listen, is there a cure for cancer by any chance?” I asked nervously before taking my pill. If the robot found out that I was an interloper, well… I’d probably be killed, and then I’d really screw up the timeline.

“Yes, but the pharmacy is closed until 8 A.M.

“Can’t you open it and go get it? Also, what was in that pill?” I practically pleaded with him. You have no idea how desperate I was at that moment; I would have killed someone to have gotten to that pharmacy.

“Your pill consists of calcium disodium EDTA also known as C10H14CaN2O8; it is a chelating agent that works by binding to heavy metals in your blood, which is then removed through the urine. I, unfortunately, may not acquire the cure for you as I would violate my orders, specifically order 67, which states that androids may not interfere with a business’s hours of operation. They would force my owner to shut me down and melt my materials to make other robots. Androids don’t get a court trial; we just get sentenced to death,” he said, almost looking sad. A part of me wondered if he could feel anything or at least feign emotions.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea it was that bad. Do you have a hotel nearby here? See, the thing is that I don’t have any money,” I said desperately. Would they even accept money from 2020 if I brought them some? They’d probably throw it back in my face and laugh at me. I doubt they’d even know who Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and Ulysses S. Grant were.

That was when the robot gave me the strangest look; it was as if it was a mix of confusion, surprise, and suspicion. I didn’t like how he studied me as if he was thinking about what he would do to me next.

“You’re not from Arcadia, are you?” it finally asked, tilting its head to the side as if out of curiosity. He didn’t question it in a sinister tone, but I still felt a wave of anxiety rush over me as he asked me that.

Should I tell him? Screw it. The more I lie, the dumber I will look, anyway. Please forgive me, father…

“No, my name is Clive Andrews, and I am a time traveler from the year 2020. I have traveled here to get a cure for cancer so that I could save my father, who died of stomach cancer in 2019.”