Gentleman ( The Boyfriend Shop )
viii. Experimenting

That was it. Laying on a cold uncomfortable white table, Dennis knew exactly what was coming up. He’d soon be unplugged, he’d disappear without a trace, as if he’d never ever been a part of the biosphere. If he’d ever been alive he’d be able to say it’d soon come the moment of his death, but he was nothing but a robot, he’d never been alive even if he considered himself so. During those last moments many thoughts crossed his mind, mostly nostalgic thoughts of the things he wanted to do but didn’t have the time to. He wished he could have made something important, he wanted to be remembered, but he was sure not even Mr. White, his very own creator, would remember him. He’d forget about him in a matter of days, if not even hours. What hurt even more than that was the fact Arin would forget him too, if she hadn’t already. He couldn’t even dare to pray to be remembered by her after hurting her the way he’d had.

Just as he was about to form an actual tear in his eye from over thinking, as weird and impossible as it was for a robot both to cry and to over thinking, the traits only visible by people, Mr. White entered the room and just continued straight to the computer in the middle of the room without a word spoken, which was weird for the usually happy and talkative old man.

Dennis followed him with his eyes, but didn’t dare to say a word. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to, he didn’t want to talk and just wanted it all to end. There was no way out ; he was stuck being what he was so it was better to just get it over with once and for all when there was no hope he’d ever live a life worth living.

“ Before unplugging you, we’re going to make a few tests. Just a heads up so you know why it’s taking so long, “ Mr. White explained casually while Martin took a long cable and carried it towards Dennis.

“ Is there a problem ? “

“ No, none at all, we just need some info that will later help us improve other androids, “ the young helper explained and Dennis nodded.

“ Glad I’ll be at least of a little use, “ Dennis let out a sigh, hoping it’d muffle his whisper of despair.

The young scientist seemed to have noticed it and put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy, but Dennis deemed it fake. For why would he want to comfort him, he wasn’t his friend and they had no connections.

Soon he plugged the cable into Dennis, forcing a loud scream of pain out of the robot. With wide eyes, Martin looked at his boss, panic evident on him, but the older man didn’t seem to be phased, he just continued clicking random buttons on the computer, all that while Dennis ’s screams of agony filled the room and their ears.

“ Boss ! Please stop, it’s hurting him ! “ the young man exclaimed after a while, he couldn’t take hearing his painful screams and his tossing and turning anymore as if he was possessed.

“ He’s a robot, he can’t feel pain ! “ Mr. White pushed, still unbothered by the inhumane noises Dennis was producing. His fists were slamming the table he was laying on, small cracks formed by every hit and his display of strength only seemed to be proving Mr. White’s point.

But, Martin couldn’t take it anymore. He unplugged Dennis and in an instant he calmed down like a baby, he stopped moving and quieted down.

“ Why did you do that Martin ? Those weren’t my orders, do you want to lose your job ? We need to find out what was that glitch from last night, “ Mr. White explained, his agitation visible to the eye.

“ I understand that Sir, but there must be another way. This only proves our fears and if they turn out to be correct we could be sued, “ he said in a quiet voice and nervously glanced at Dennis to make sure he didn’t hear their conversation. But then he realized Dennis was in a coma - like state and didn’t have to hold back, “ For human experimenting. Or even worse, creating artificial people. “

Mr. White sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Martin was right. “ Very well, but we have to get rid of him in the most quiet and painless way once we come to the bottom of this. “

After a few hours, when Dennis opened his eyes again, he couldn’t believe he was still alive. He glanced around and found himself in a white room, different one from the one before. Or so he thought. He couldn’t actually remember what had happened before he’d fallen asleep.

Asleep ? He didn’t usually sleep. What people called sleep was his recharging and he was used to it happening during the night when everyone slept to appear more natural.

As his memory started to return, the first thing he remembered was the immense pain he’d experienced just before that state of sleep.

Weird. It was all so weird !

But he had no intentions of investigating it. He couldn’t care less about what was happening with him, nothing mattered anymore now that he wasn’t with Arin. He wondered what was she doing at that moment. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he figured she was eating - for it was always snack time in that house ! He smiled a little at the thought as a small vision of her munching on the food appeared in front of his eyes. He’d always tell her she looked like a chipmunk when her cheeks were stuffed with food.

His thoughts were interrupted by Martin who’d entered the room carrying some food on a plaid. He greeted silently and Dennis greeted back, his voice not showcasing any life whatsoever.

“ You must be hungry ~ “ Martin announced, nudging him to eat, but the robot didn’t even look twice at the food.

“ What happened ? Why am I still alive ? “

Martin sucked in a breath, taking a moment to think about what was the best thing to say. “ We’ve experienced some difficulties. But don’t worry, you’ll die soon. “

If Dennis had been paying any attention to the tone of Martin ’s voice, he’d be able to make out just how uneasy the young boy was feeling. Not only was Dennis his very first project but also those glitches started appearing, it could really make an already self conscious man feel worse.

“ Dennis … “ he sighed, “ Why are you acting so ? That’s not you, “ he noticed. He’d created him to be confident and optimistic, just the way Mr. White told him would fit Arin. Dennis only shrugged. Martin already had a hunch of what might have happened, but before sharing it with anyone he needed to check.

“ Can we talk ? “ he started again, a fake optimistic aura around him to make the robot talk too. He didn’t seem to care judging by the indifferent shrug. The male still continued, he’d try to push him into talking since it was so important to him. He wasted no time and went straight to the topic, “ Is Arin your weak spot now or do you want to talk about her ? What happened last night ? “

“ We made love, “ he said simply. Martin didn’t seem to understand what was so wrong with that to make him want to be unplugged because of it - technically, he was allowed to do that.

“ Yes, and ? “

“ You don’t understand ! We made love. It wasn’t what you think it was, it was actual love. I love her ! “ he explained, actual passion present in his voice as he sat up to appear more serious, which he was. “ I know it’s impossible and just for that, I think it’s better for me to die. I’ve changed, I’m not sure when or how, but I have and I’m not what she needs anymore so I’m better off dead. She’ll be happier this way. “

Martin sighed. From Dennis ’s words he could easily understand what had happened and what the glitch was. It was impossible, even his extraordinary genius brain couldn’t fully accept and understand just yet. But there was one thing he knew - he wasn’t talking to a robot anymore. Dennis was a robot with emotions now.

“ What if I told you it wasn’t impossible, “ the human retorted. Even though it meant he’d put himself in danger, his job, his scientist reputation and could possibly be sued in the end, he just couldn’t disobey his inner Cupid. And more importantly, he couldn’t let him make the same mistake he’d made with the love of his life. Because of his low self confidence he chased away the woman of his life thinking it would be the best for her, but none of them ended up happy. “ You can go and love her. Please go and love her, don’t ever let go of her. “

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