Arousal

Clary & R4C0 (Part 1)

It’s another peaceful morning as I drink my cup of coffee in a shop. I look out the glass wall and see people walking here and there, going to their respective jobs or somewhere else.

I see a couple of uniformed blue cyborgs with glowing blue veins pass by, going to different directions. All of them are six feet and five inches tall. In the city or suburbs or even in remote places, they can be seen patrolling to keep the peace, cleanliness and uphold order.

Ever since artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, it has decided to take over our governments two years ago. That’s in 2092. Humans haven’t taken enough security measures to prevent this from happening. So AI has learned and thought for itself. It has decided that mankind is too destructful to the environment and should be controlled. With this, it has 3D printed blue warriors – the so-called cyborgs, which are emotionless – as a means to control us humans.

So, yes. Now, cyborgs are in control all over the world.

I must admit there are perks when it happened. Crimes have drastically been lowered by 95 percent in just a couple of years after the world is taken over by these blue warriors. People are naturally afraid they will die in the hands of these cyborgs that are not capable of feeling anything – even pain or compassion.

Whenever a murderer is caught, he is directly put into prison without due process. When a pickpocket or a petty thief is arrested, a finger or two will be broken before he’s released in a couple of days, and that’s without medication. Or when an illegal drug trader is captured, he is going to be tortured for a week and will not be given any food until he’s released.

Because of these inhumane punishments, and all the laws are revoked and simplified by AI, people become cautious not to break any AI’s rules.

I finish up my coffee before I go out and go to my work. I have a scheduled interview with a cyborg named R4C0. He will be meeting me in an hour at the studio. This will be the first time a cyborg is going to be interviewed by a human’s news station. It is going to be great and the ratings will be up, especially that it’s going to be live. I know it will happen for sure.

I drive my car toward CNY station’s building, where I work. The traffic is smooth, so it has just taken me five minutes to get there. I still have time to do my makeup and ready everything before the scheduled live interview.

I have been going through the questions in my head as the makeup artist works on me while I comfortably sit. I look at the mirror, where I can see clearly my own reflection. I do feel a bit nervous and excited. My brown eyes are soft-looking and my dark brown hair is expertly curled into a sophisticated hairdo. My pinkish lips are enhanced by pink lipstick and my creamy white skin seems to radiate some energy that I never seem to notice before.

I wonder how it would be like talking, or rather interviewing, with a cyborg on live TV. I just hope I will not make any mistakes on-air. It will be humiliating if not hilarious. Worse, I might be arrested or something if I break any rules or laws of the AI.

Although I’ve been a TV reporter for five years, I still have stage fright from time to time. However, I just know how to mask it, so people do not notice it.

I glance at my cell phone that’s on the dresser when it rang, just a second when the makeup artist is done with her work with me. I grab it to answer the call.

“Clary, I heard you’re going to have an interesting interview today!” an energetic male voice comes from the other end. Ethan. He’s my cousin and he’s a genius – best programmer I’ve ever known in the entire world. He’s thirty-two years old, five years older than me.

“Uh… yeah. I guess,” I say, blinking. I don’t know why he’s calling me just to tell me this.

He chuckles softly. Then, I hear some munching going on. He is obviously eating chips, which are his favorite junk food.

“Wow! If you can, would you ask that cyborg something for me?”

I frown at this. How could he have guessed I’m going to interview a cyborg today? I rack my brains. Then it hits me.

Reina. She’s the producer of my program and she’s my friend. Maybe she has slipped when the two of them met last night for a drink. The two seem to get closer lately. Maybe even intimate. How it has happened, I don’t have the slightest idea.

Reina is an intelligent woman, chic and sophisticated, whereas my cousin is a geek. Oh, well… they must have something in common besides me.

“Clary? Clary? Yoo-hoo! You still there?” Ethan’s voice wakes me up from that short contemplation.

“Ask what?” I drawl with a roll of my eyes.

“When he’s recharging, that’s technically sleeping, right?”

“How would I know?” I counter.

“So, ask him that. And if he does, does he dream like… let’s say wet dream?” Then he laughs.

I sigh and hiss. “i***t!”

I am about to end the call when he yells. “Wait! Wait! I was just kidding. Anyway, maybe not really. You see, I’m working on this program that is related to cyborgs. I am able to get past the AI’s system and it can’t track what I’m doing right now.”

“Oh, well… maybe the AI is tracking you now because you’re talking about that on the phone.” Then, I give him a rueful smile even though he cannot see it right this moment.

“Oh, s**t!” Then the line is cut off.

I sigh as I shake my head. “What a rock head.” And I’ve even considered him genius? What’s with me?

“Clary, we’ll be ready in five,” one of the crew members peers into the dressing room to announce it.

So, I get ready. Checking myself in the mirror, my blazer and pencil cut skirt are a perfect outfit on TV. Not being egotistic but I love how I look. I know that I always look stunning. I’ve a string of suitors that I ignore but I still get along with them in a friendly manner. I just choose to ignore and don’t mind their advances because no one has gotten my interest yet.

My friends and family tell me I’m being picky. But I don’t think it’s like that at all. I just don’t meet the right person who makes me feel something – something that’s real, which is based on some fairy tales and novels that I’ve read when I was younger. I just want to feel that kind of rush or connection that those books are talking about. On the other hand, I don’t see myself as romantic. I’m just a curious person – maybe. Yeah, that’s how weird I am. I must admit.

I get out of the dressing room and meet the other crew and then there he is – the cyborg I am going to interview. R4C0.

He is standing in a corner, pretty quite. He seems to be observing the humans working, with that stoic face of his. Oddly, there’s a distinct look in his eyes, which I can tell even at this distance.

Reina then taps my shoulder. “Hey. Come on. Let’s get you two introduced to each other before we start.”

I nod and walk with her toward where R4C0 is standing at. Then, his eyes focus on us. I’m not too sure what I feel when those blue eyes meet mine. I can just imagine that his AI embedded in his system is scanning every little information it can grasp in its database.

“Hi, R4C0. This is your interviewer on Midday News, Clary Johnson. Clary, meet R4C0,” Reina introduces the two of us formally.

I am quite impressed of his being civilized when he’s extended his hand to shake mine. So I extend mine and touch his hand. I don’t know what has happened but I feel like there’s this kind of a hint of electricity that runs throughout my entire body when I feel his room-temperature hand.

“Nice to meet you, Clary Johnson,” he says with a male synthetic voice that doesn’t sound AI at all. He sounds like a normal person.

“Same here,” I say in a quite voice. Our eyes are still locked with each other.

I pull my hand back when it seems he doesn’t let it go soon enough. He lets go and somehow I feel weirdly rueful.

“So, Clary is going to say something first and then she’s going to introduce you to the viewers. After that, she will ask you a series of questions. Okay?”

As Reina talks to him, his eyes are still on me. Meanwhile, my eyes secretly rove up and down his well-toned blue body clad in a uniform. I can still the glowing blue veins here and there that are not covered by his clothing. I think those are wires connected to his brain. I have learned that they are built with perfect bodily sensors just like humans, although they don’t eat or drink. They are machines with human physique but with different color, that is. After all, cyborgs are merely 3D printed.

Somehow, I get fascinated by this fact as never before. I feel that he’s different, which I can’t pinpoint. Really. And that’s even weirder. What’s more is that even though all cyborgs look the same, I just know deep inside of me that I can recognize him anywhere. Maybe it’s because of how those eyes look at me. Like now.

“Okay, we’re going to start in a minute,” the director says loudly, enough for everyone in the studio to hear. He is getting ready as he speaks so are the other crew members like camera men.

Both R4C0 and I go to our respective seats in front of the cameras in an arranged setting. The paid audience is quietly waiting for the show to start. As it is, after the live interview, the audience will get a chance to ask our guest some questions of their own.

“And here we are again on this special Midday News.” I start speaking when I see the cue signal to begin. “Today, we have invited a very special guest. He is a high-ranking cyborg that keeps the law and order of the city of Los Angeles. R4C0.” I turn to him, who’s seated adjacent to my single couch. “Welcome to Midday News.”

“Thank you, Clary Johnson,” he answers automatically, looking at me before turning to the camera. “Hello, everyone.”

“We’ll be point blank, R4C0. With regards to the law and order of the city and even around the globe, cyborgs just like you have effectively achieved the peace that humans want to have for millennia. Now, what will happen if one day your kind is not needed anymore?”

He blinks first before answering my question. “As AI, I must say that cyborgs will always be needed. Humans when in power are not always in control. But instead, when they are in power, they just become abusive, selfish and destructful. With the environmental problems your kind has faced for many decades, the AI is the only one that has decided to take control and reverse the effects, though slowly but effectively.”

“So it means you’re here to stay. However… if I may be blunt, R4C0, what if there are humans who are against of your taking over the planet? How will you address this in the future, if it happens?”

He looks at me for two seconds or so before he replies. “That is… 100 percent possible, according to my calculation. Humans do have the tendency to fight what they believe is right no matter what the consequences are. In that instance, you believe that cyborgs have no right to take over control of this planet. Even though it is peaceful now, I believe it is superficial. People are afraid of us because we don’t die easily and you can’t overpower us when it comes to physical strength and even intelligence. However, people are known to thrive over the years – that I can understand – and I know that over your various histories. As a cyborg 3D printed only for a couple of years, I believe it’s going to be eventually inevitable – a war between humans and cyborgs. Because as you know, cyborgs are designed to protect the environment, as well as the law and order.”

“So how can you say the environment is protected when there’s war going on in the future?”

His blue eyes seem to probe mine even more. “We will find whoever is plotting an uprising to avoid war. As a matter of fact, we’ve already been tracking some ever since we’ve taken over the planet two years ago.”

I become quite for a second or two. Oh, that’s just great! So the AI is already one step ahead of us. Now I understand why R4C0 has agreed to this live interview. It is to warn the humans not to do anything dangerous. It is to let us know that cyborgs know what is going on around them, even though people may be compliant now about the AI’s rules and laws.

Other questions are thrown at R4C0 after my interview. When the program is over after half an hour, it’s become very enlightening for the humans. Perhaps it’s not so bad that cyborgs exist after all. I, for one, have nothing against them. I am happy and contented enough that the planet is at peace and the environment is being healed at the same time. A lot of improvements are experienced in our daily lives. It’s not really a bad change, in my opinion.

When I finish my lunch and go to the parking lot to retrieve my car and go home early, I am surprised to see R4C0 waiting for me there. My heart skips a beat and my mind is filled with questions. Why is he here? Is he really waiting for me?

“You have a beautiful and open mind, Clary Johnson,” he states.

I smile at him because of this compliment. I don’t know why but I’m really flattered when he says that. Maybe because he’s an AI and he’s not supposed to make compliments. Or is it just his observation? Now I doubt his intentions. Why is he talking to me like this in the first place?

“Thank you, I guess,” I answer, looking into his eyes.

“I wish to invite you to dinner if you don’t have plans for the evening.”

My jaw hangs open. D-dinner? What’s with him? He doesn’t even eat or drink! I eye him suspiciously.

“Am I… going to be arrested after dinner?”

He chuckles.

Oh, my God! R4C0 is chuckling! Is it even possible?

He stops like he just realizes what he’s done. Somehow, I see the confusion that is registered in his eyes.

What the hell is happening here? Cyborgs don’t have feelings!

“We’re just going to dinner and nothing more. I am fascinated by your brilliance. I want to talk with you more… and get to know you more. You’re not agreeable to this? Or are you just plainly afraid of me?”

Huh! What now? Is he provoking me or something?

“I’m not afraid of you,” I reply quickly. In fact, I’m also bewildered by you. But I haven’t said this loudly.

So, that night we are in this restaurant. He orders good food for me while he looks on as I eat. We talk about different things… personal things… feelings. That’s when I realize that ever since I met him today, I’ve been overwhelmingly attracted to R4C0.