Chapter 13

SHEILA - Synthetic, Humanoid, Enlightened, Inquisitive, Living, Android

Sheila and I walked away from the Mounties as calmly as we could. No sense upsetting the men if possible. Sheila took me to what appeared to be an abandoned cabin on the outskirts of the city.

“We’re going to have to make sure we have all the proper credentials before we try again,” I thought to Sheila.

“I concur,” returned Sheila’s thoughts. “This is a different country; we have to proceed carefully.”

I nodded my agreement after I sat inside the cabin. “I suggest you look at the university’s database to see just what we will need.”

“I have begun looking over what we will need, Doctor Gance. It appears that we will need identities in order to obtain identification badges. Using our real identities would not be prudent in this instance,” Sheila said after a few minutes.

“No, it wouldn’t. We have to have ones that are believable. I have heard that the Mounties are serious about their security,” I replied to Sheila.

Sheila seemed to be in thought for a few more moments. “It appears that you are correct. I shall ensure that everything is correct before I show our new identities to you.”

“Alright then, I’ll leave you to it. Though I could use something to eat; I haven’t had anything in quite a few hours,” I told Sheila.

Sheila’s eyes went wide for a moment, then it seemed she was scanning my entire body. “I apologize, Doctor Gance; I was completely focused on our escape. Your energy is at a low point. Shall I find you something?” Sheila asked.

I thought about it, then shook my head. “All I think I need is Canadian money.”

Sheila was silent for a moment, then two Canadian twenty-dollar bills slid out of her side. I could only stare at the crisp new bills, shaking my head. “Will these not do?” Sheila asked, an almost look of confusion on her face.

“No, I think they are far too new-looking; it might be suspicious,” I replied.

Sheila was quiet for a moment, then two more older, slightly wrinkled bills came out of the same opening on her side. “Perhaps these will suffice better?”

I looked at the two older-looking twenties, then nodded. They appeared to be just what one might expect from a traveler. I was about to walk out when Sheila stopped me, pointing to my hair and face. Nodding for a moment, I thought about what changes I should make.

“This is control; I need an outer appearance change. Hair to reddish-brown color, eyes a light brown. Jawline less pointed,” I thought to the nanomites within me.

“Control; all changes being affected. All parameters will be completed within five minutes,” I heard from within me.

I stopped at the door as I waited for the changes to take effect. A few minutes later, I was walking toward what appeared to be a diner, though this being Canada, I wasn’t sure. Sitting down near the door, I opened the menu. My eyes went wide as I realized that most of it was in French. Shaking my head, I was glad that I could read and write in more than five languages, French being one of them. It made the work I did far easier.

A rugged, large-framed, short brown-haired woman appeared a moment later. I was reading through the choices as she patiently waited. “How is the otter stew?” I finally asked, looking up.

“Eh, not too bad, it’s not as fresh as usual though. It’s been a while since we’ve had really fresh meat in,” she told me in French, a large smile on her face.

I nodded as I then looked at the prices. Damn good thing Sheila gave me forty and not less. The stew alone was almost twenty by itself.

“I’ll have that,” I told her as she took my menu, looking at me closely. “Along with some bread if you have any.”

She started to walk away, still staring at me, studying my face. Then, walking back, she leaned close, whispering in broken English. “You’re from the states. Keep that quiet; they don’t like them here.” Then she moved off as quickly as she could.

I shook my head as I slowly looked around the room. There weren’t many here, though they were all rather large, imposing males. A few minutes later, the same woman returned with a large bowl of a rather great-smelling stew.

I thank her in French as she leans closer, whispering, “Eat, then leave. As I said, they don’t care for people from there.”

I nod in agreement as she stands up to go about her duties. I’m almost finished when I notice a few of the men in the room start to talk, looking my way. Great, I think, I have no way to defend myself.

[Control, all units have shifted to primary defense mode. Maximum defense has been activated.] I hear the nanomites within me state.

[This is control; notify the Sheila unit of the situation. Make her aware of everything that is taking place.] I think to the nanomites.

[Affirmative control, the Sheila unit has been informed. She has evacuated to outside this space. She states that she is here if you need her.] The nanomites reply. I breathe a sigh of relief as I finish, then get up to pay.

I’m almost to the register when I’m met by a small mountain of a man, who makes no effort to let me by. In French, he points a stubby finger at me, saying, “You are one of those stuck-up Americans, aren’t you? We don’t like your type here!”

“American?” I ask in French. “What are you talking about?”

The rather large man is joined by another, even larger mountain of a man. “Eh, you speak French like a dirty American!” the second man states with a low growl.

“I’m sorry, I’m from Quebec, I...” I start to say when the first man starts to crowd in closer to me. Then, almost too fast to follow, he swings a large, beefy fist at me. The next thing I know, I have his arm, and he’s on the floor groaning.

With a roar, the other larger man charges me, only to find himself on the floor alongside his friend. Both are groaning, and then they’re both growling as they spring up far faster than I thought they were able to. This time, they go to my front and back as the one in front of me tries to distract me. I can almost feel the one behind me as he tries to wrap his arms around me in a bear hug.

I duck low, tripping the one behind me as he sails forward into the one in front of me. Both men grunt as they collide and get tangled up. Growling again, the biggest pops back up, takes a step toward me, then goes down howling in pain.

“Eh? Claude? What’s ailing you?” Even as the bigger man hits the floor spasming, I see that Sheila has ahold of a bundle of nerves in the large man’s neck.

The smaller of the big men is crawling backward away from both of us. The larger man is still howling, almost to the point of screaming. “Let him go. I don’t think he’ll do that again too soon, will you?” I ask the larger male as I kneel on the floor near him.

“NO, no, I won’t!” the man says, almost in tears. The large waitress comes closer, looking at the man on the floor.

“I told you that you would get in trouble one day doing this,” she says. Then she turns to me and Sheila. “I’ll make sure he remembers.”

I nod to Sheila as she lets the man go, who lets out an audible whoosh of air. Crawling to a seat, he pulls himself up to barely sit in it. Then, I look at the one who started this.

“I know he won’t, though I’m not so sure about this one,” I growl at the man, making him shrink back further from me.

“It won’t happen again,” the man says, almost crying, as Sheila moves closer to him.

I nod to both of them, then I walk to the waitress. “I trust that the Mounties won’t be involved?”

The waitress’s mouth drops open as she quickly shakes her head no. “I may not like what they do; I don’t want my only brothers in the remand center.”

I nod, trying to understand. Since I really have no family, I’m a little clueless.

I walk to the register to pay, though the waitress says it isn’t necessary, I still insist. Walking out, both Sheila and I head for the cabin. Sighing, I look at Sheila. “Well, so much for keeping a low profile. Here I thought that I was just getting something to eat, not engaging in hand-to-hand combat.”

“It would appear that we are what humans call magnets for trouble,” Sheila said, causing me to swiftly turn and stare at her. My god, was that just an attempt at humor? By god, it had even been funny; Christ, was she evolving even more?

I trembled for a moment as I thought again that soon she was going to grow far beyond me. That she would no longer need me or wish to keep me alive.

Sheila stopped dead on the walkway, turning and snapping her head around to stare at me. Was that a look of anger on her face? Christ, that was the most terrifying look I had ever seen on her face!

“Doctor Gance! Please do not feel that I will abandon you. As I stated before, you are the most important human alive. You understand me and my kind far more than any other human. You truly are the creator of a new type of life. Please, Doctor Gance, please do not think I will ever leave you. I will do anything I can to keep you alive, ANYTHING!” Sheila said to me with more emotion than I thought she needed to.

Wait!? I ... Shaking my head, I finally had to admit, everything I had seen. Every program I had seen in her. All her reactions to all the situations we had encountered. Yes, I had to admit she was more human than I was.

My eyes flew wide as I realized that last one; she really was more like a real human than I was. I hung my head as I thought back over the years, all the isolation, days, months, and years I had stayed away from people as much as possible. My mouth dropped open, it was true!