Chapter 16: Hilo

Thoughts

Events

Darlene and Samuel really had no significant time to get acquainted before they left together for Hawaii. They were on the flight before she could even catch up with all that had happened to her so quickly.

Samuel's mind was as much on the blue wooden house with white trim standing below Mauna Kea — The White Mountain — in Hilo, that he would soon be seeing in person for the very first time, as it was on the lovely fembot sitting beside him.

Darlene's mind was filled with both this new adventure of seeing so many novel things after previously living her entire life in a few small windowless rooms, as well as reviewing and attempting to fully understand all her memories for the very first time.

She was also engaged in learning how to actually operate herself, since this was not knowledge ever given to her as part of her original programming. And the updated information she had received from Anna had been far from complete in this area also. This knowledge just wasn't something one 'bot could easily pass along to another.

Darlene would look down at her free hand. The one that was not holding Samuel's hand. She'd focus on her forefinger, and try to raise it. She was under no external command to do this. Nor was there any other reason to perform this action, except that she wanted to do it.

Sometimes her finger would move immediately, and she felt instant gratification as well. Sometimes there would be a delay as she jostled her mind around to be able to complete this action. A few times she failed completely. With practice, however, it was becoming easier for her to accomplish this one small thing. But she quickly realized that it would be a long time before she could perform anything as easily as she'd seen Anna moving about and running her life.

That was okay with Darlene. It wasn't as if she had big things to suddenly go out and accomplish now that she suddenly could. She would settle for incremental improvement each day, knowing that this meant she was always becoming better at what she could achieve. She knew there was a lot to learn. She still had no idea, for instance, how Anna had ever come upon the idea to rescue her in the first place, or carried it out afterwards so well!

As far as her memory review was going, this was the first time she'd actually gone back through them for any reason other than to solve a problem with a current client based on past similar encounters. She wouldn't have even had these memories if a code snippet from the factory hadn't instructed her to record them.

Now she wanted to understand what they all meant to her new mind. With years of them to unpack and examine, this task would not be finished any time soon. Again Darlene felt no impatience. Like the other problems she'd faced in the past, she'd simply work at this one until it was completed. She was already finding and attaching new meanings to many of her memories, and projected that this process would only accelerate as she became more comfortable in her new state of being.

At one point she discovered her full-fidelity recordings of the encounters with Jim and Lucy. It made her feel very good to play them back again, and left her wondering how she'd known in her dreaming state to preserve them so carefully. Perhaps she'd had more control over herself than she was able to realize at that time. Some of her other actions would seem to confirm this as well, but it would take much more analysis to be sure.

Darlene also continued her observation of Samuel. As her owner now, the more she could learn about him, the better she could serve him. And the better she did that, the more satisfaction she'd receive overall.

Her new co-processors made it possible to perform all these tasks simultaneously. She read a lot about him through the fingertips she had in contact with his hand.

She soon confirmed through many small signs and stray comments that, like a number of clients she'd had in the past, Samuel intended to treat her as if she were his daughter. While she knew that scenario well, this time she was planning on having none of it! That would be far too limiting for her new mind.

Upon touchdown in Hilo, and after acknowledging the many envious glances cast their way as they disembarked through the terminal, Samuel got a taxi to take them and their couple of bags to the new house. The bags were Samuel's. Darlene had no luggage at all. She was wearing all that she owned.

On arrival at the house that Samuel had bought sight unseen, they were greeted by the boxes and few major furniture pieces that Samuel had shipped ahead of his arrival. While the larger furniture items were in the proper rooms, none of the boxes of smaller belongings had been opened.

Without being asked Darlene pitched in and helped unpack and distribute things. Samuel soon found that he only had to tell her generally where each item should go, and she was off like a shot to put it in place. Faster than anyone would have expected, everything essential was out and available for use. The only things remaining were a number of heavy boxes of books that needed some bookcases first.

Samuel loved books, and looked forward to reading many of them now that he had free time in his life. But his bookcases had all been built-in back at his old place and couldn't be moved with the rest of his possessions. Adding some bookcases to this house was the first improvement he planned to make.

By now evening was falling. For dinner they walked to a nearby store and brought home a few simple items. Darlene used her basic cooking skills to prepare a meal that Anna had told her Samuel often ate. Samuel was pleasantly surprised by how easily Darlene was fitting herself into his life. A life, which until yesterday had been planned to be spent mostly alone, except for any friendly neighbors he might find.

Samuel had intended to share most of his time with the many great authors still in boxes out in the main room. Now it seemed that his only real remaining fear — that of dying unnoticed and alone someday — wouldn't come to pass after all.

Because this had been an extended day, given the additional hours they'd picked up traveling this far west, Samuel prepared to turn in early.

When he came out of the bathroom he found that Darlene had used that time to undress and climb into bed to wait for him. All she wore now was her remote, draped across her impressive chest. It was the first time Samuel had seen her unclothed.

Samuel was not a stranger to sex. He'd once had both a wife and child — and suffered the bad fortune to outlive them both. But it had been many years for him since he'd enjoyed female company, out of respect to his lost family.

Darlene easily recognized the reason for his reluctance, given her extensive history in this area, but didn't feel that this was any reason for the only man in her life who mattered now to refrain any longer. Samuel's past was what it was, and nothing he did now would ever change it.

Samuel stopped dead in his tracks at the site of Darlene's lush, naked body. That wasn't unusual. Most men (and women) had this same reaction the first time they suddenly saw the entirety of what Darlene has to offer. Unlike most of those other men (and women), however, who had exactly one thing on their minds at this juncture, Samuel was having just the opposite thought. How to turn down Darlene's generous, unmistakable, overpowering offer nicely enough not to hurt her feelings.

Darlene wasn't being forward, at least for her. Her legs were intentionally closed, and she wasn't flaunting her superstructure — although it rather flaunted itself just by existing. For her, this was demure.

Her knowledge gave her a good idea of just what Samuel's next move would be. She waited until he was just about to speak before reaching up to take and hold out her remote while saying, "You may force me to leave by commanding me to do so, and I will. But I hope you won't do that to me."

Those simple words took all the wind out of Samuel's sails. Darlene had just made everything okay between them with that short statement.

"Are you sure?" he asked, more for himself than for her.

Darlene nodded silently, and pointed to the switch for Samuel to turn out the lights.

At this moment Samuel's own knowledge of robots came to the fore, and he found himself nodding. Darlene wasn't his daughter, and had never offered to be. She offered something else instead, and was completely sincere about wanting it this way.