The metallic stench of solder filled the lab, thick and sharp like burnt coins. Tools clattered across the cluttered bench as Davis, a teenage boy with white hair, hunched over his creation, eyebrows furrowed, tongue poking out in concentration. His fingers moved with practiced ease, dancing between a nest of wires and scorched metal. The overhead light buzzed softly, flickering in rhythm with the hum of the generator below.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonbjOHzBTZ
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvCSAF3eLH
He leaned back, breath caught in his throat as he admired the thing on the table. A lump of metal to most, a half-formed mess of jagged plates and exposed wiring—but to Davis, it was possibility. Purpose. Something of his own.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9J3wHbnbM
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSxjqPX7lG
That last one made him laugh under his breath.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡol4fabB7gy
Impossible, he thought.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwSgECUulg
No one’s ever pulled it off—true emotion in artificial intelligence. Machines were tools. Nothing more. At least, that's what his father always said.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkEFN2Fzzi
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVDzSbUVQD
“I don’t know what you’ll be,” he murmured, brushing his hand gently over its crude faceplate, “but I know you’ll be useful.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcbacYE60c
“Stop talking to that mess,” a voice barked from behind, sharp enough to snap his focus in half. “Come give me a hand with my creations.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jkXJkVm0K
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24EJeJ8nY7
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QNHHHXdRi
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZGnDCoBR0
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4g1T9Mo4Rk
Davis stood slowly, wiping his hands on his oil-streaked pants. His eyes met his father’s across the room. Dr. Fredrick Berithman stood tall.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIVEa3NTLc
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6najfETTRO
“I said no,” Davis replied.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvQ4VMbn5t
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnDYdWBrtX
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CE834oLIW
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8pBuWOnaa
Davis’s stomach turned, but he held his ground. “You don’t see anything beyond code and steel. You used to care what things meant, remember?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmWtY80cMl
Dr. Berithman’s expression darkened. “Don't speak to me about care. I gave everything for this world. And what did I get? Rejection. Hatred. They burned my name from the walls of institutions I built.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0OVehKtsU
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTxNdLqG1l
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9i0NHxvgT
The air tightened.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9Ef23zMwf
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH94yaF57Fl
“She took Darius,” Davis continued, almost spitting the name, “but left me here. And what did you do? Throw me into your lab like another screw in your machine. I was just another project to you.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hPAKvp39b
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA66yZrIdux
“Thank you?” Davis laughed bitterly. “You made me your assistant before I could even read properly. I don’t know how to be a kid. I only know how to build.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0CInTCVig
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChbTpxP3iP
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYr58sgckn
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYm7q6GVSN
“Oh, I have some idea,” Davis snapped. “Abusive stepdad. Neglected mom. Yeah, tragic. Doesn’t change the fact that you treat him like a prince and treat me like a wrench.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobpMDdZZYo
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92RhChhFUh
“And I didn’t?” Davis’s voice cracked. “I stayed here. I followed your footsteps. I built everything you asked. But he walks in from nowhere, and he’s the one that earned your respect?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWHLjEyDvA
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqPR3TCsSv
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbFredCjyz
“HEY!”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2gmfpJZ6E
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54gxZUl8yk
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCUfYnKhkj
His hands curled into fists.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nntBiwzMe
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfA3IM1da8
“Fine.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThSQP6GNcy
“I’m going out.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUebrkJ7nIz
“Where?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpXgm7LxDh
“Friend’s house.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbypS5cYnEq
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pNFgTtGFA
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThLX6FbmwG
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmpPwt5P3a
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9MxSylMIn
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZtLblmarv
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy1R5MVQqBM
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O7pjBvCXb
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
429Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApRcorgf05
