Chasing the Stars (38 page)

His green eyes spitting fury. Nathan opened his mouth, only to snap it shut without saying a word.

We glared at each other. It took Nathan several audible deep breaths before he managed to gain control of himself. Pfft! He was just pissed that I could finally see through him

‘I’ve seen plenty of robots before. None of them ever looked or behaved as realistically as your brother,’ said Nathan at last. ‘They’re deliberately built not to look too much like us humans.’

A change of subject? Fine with me. ‘Well, I wanted to make Aidan as real as possible. I wanted my brother back.’

‘And you did all that by yourself?’

‘Aidan and I are twins. He wasn’t the only one born with functioning brain cells,’ I bristled. ‘And like I said, I had three years to dedicate to getting my brother back.’

‘That’s the reason why you gave the ship’s computer the same name as your android brother and gave it his voice, isn’t it? Because they’re one and the same.’

My silence was his answer.

‘Tell me more about this android who has been running the ship.’ Nathan sounded dubious, not to mention belligerent.

‘Listen, Nathan, please. Aidan is real, as real as you or I. His body is mostly cybernetics but he thinks and has emotions the same as us.’

‘Hang on,’ Nathan interrupted. ‘When Darren hit him, Aidan’s lip was bleeding. I saw it.’

‘He has a rudimentary circulatory system containing some of my blood which is packed full of anti-coagulants and plasma and a small pump at the base of his spine to keep it all moving round his body.’

‘But why? What’s the point of that?’

I sighed. ‘I didn’t want Aidan to face any prejudice for not being fully human. A bit of blood leaking from any superficial wound would make sure no one got suspicious about him. And it worked, didn’t it?’

‘Your brother really is a robot? God, I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one,’ said Nathan. ‘I’d never have guessed.’

‘You’re not listening to me. He’s not just a robot. He’s more than that. Don’t you understand? He’s Aidan the ship, Aidan the computer and Aidan my brother all at the same time. He’s so much more than merely human and I couldn’t love him any more than I already do.’

‘How does he learn? How does he grow and adapt?’

Hadn’t Nathan heard anything I’d just said? He was still trying to wrap his head around the concept of Aidan not being human.

‘He’s the same as us,’ I replied. ‘He’s an AI unit, capable of learning from his mistakes as well as his successes, just like us. In fact, he learns faster and adapts quicker than we do. He’s much stronger, faster and smarter – in most things. I can still beat him at chess though, but only because I initially programmed him not to learn from his chess game mistakes, but even with that handicap he’s adapting and changing and growing. He’s adapting his own programming. He’s now almost as good as me at the game. He’s his own person.’ I was desperate for Nathan to see Aidan as I did, not as a machine but as a real, live person. Maybe not fully human, but a person nonetheless.

‘If he’s so much stronger and faster, why didn’t he sabotage the Mazon ships instead of you?’ Nathan asked.

‘Because he’s stronger than me but not invincible. The contamination from the Mazon engine core would’ve knocked out his neural network immediately. He wouldn’t have stood a chance. Plus his reaction times are faster than mine. I needed him on the outside in case I got into trouble. With his help, everything on this ship has been adapted to work better and be more durable than standard Authority equipment.’

‘Including the environmental protection suits?’ Nathan asked.

I nodded, wondering why he asked about those in particular? Nathan was silent for a while. I could almost hear the wheels going round in his head.

‘All those times Aidan was supposedly off-duty, he was recharging, wasn’t he?’

‘Yes.’

‘So, he’s not entirely infallible, then?’ Nathan said with derison.

‘He needs to recharge the same as us, only we call it sleep,’ I replied.

‘When Darren first hit Aidan, your brother got a strange look on his face and you had to tell him to stand down,’ mused Nathan. ‘He was going to go for Darren, wasn’t he?’

Oh God . . .

‘Your brother isn’t subject to the three robotic laws, is he?’ asked Nathan, his voice low and filled with scathing contempt.

I stared at Nathan. Did I look as guilty as I felt? I’d obviously underestimated just how sharp Nathan was. One of the many things I’d got wrong about him.

‘Did you alter him?’ asked Nathan. ‘Did you remove the robotic safeguards from his neural network?’

I said nothing, which gave Nathan his answer. Appalled, he stared at me.

‘When Mum and Dad and everyone died, I was terrified,’ I rushed to explain. ‘I was heartsick and grief-stricken and terrified out of my skull – all the time. There was only me left. Me and Aidan. I needed my brother to protect me, to look after me. To keep me safe as well as sane. D’you know it took me months after everyone died before I could even travel to any part of the ship on my own?’ I bowed my head, the memory of my own weakness clawing at me. During my first year alone, I had truly thought that I wouldn’t make it. Each day was an immense, intense struggle just to get out of bed each morning.

‘I was so far from home and all I wanted was to see Earth once again. Being back on Earth would mean I could stop living in fear, but I was so far away. So I decided early on that if a threat did find its way on board this ship, I didn’t want Aidan to hesitate in protecting me.’

‘So you reprogrammed him so that the three robotic laws wouldn’t apply?’ Nathan’s voice was gruff with disbelief.

‘I didn’t change them so they wouldn’t apply at all. I just amended them.’

‘Amended them how?’ asked Nathan frostily. ‘The first law states that a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.’

‘I changed that one to—’ My lips clamped together. What I was about to say next would not show me in a good light.

‘Yeah? I’m listening,’ Nathan prompted.

‘A robot may not injure Olivia Sindall, or through inaction, allow Olivia Sindall to come to harm unless she orders otherwise.’

‘Christ on a bike!’ Nathan exclaimed.

‘I was only fifteen when I did it – remember?’ I protested.

‘And the second law?’ asked Nathan. ‘A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.’

‘A robot must obey the orders given to it by Olivia Sindall,’ I admitted.

‘That’s it?’

‘That’s it.’

‘And the third one? A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.’

‘I left that one alone,’ I replied.

‘Jeez! You really are a piece of work, aren’t you?’

It wasn’t a compliment.

I tried to defend myself. ‘I was fifteen, OK. I was alone and terrified and fifteen. Give me a break.’

‘The three laws were put in place for a reason. You bypassed the lot of them.’

Only the first two actually, but now wasn’t the time to quibble.

‘I was going to reinstate them when we got close to Earth again,’ I said.

‘So let me get this straight: Aidan is a robot with super strength and super speed and there is nothing inside him to regulate his behaviour. I can’t believe you’d be stupid enough to change his fundamental programming like that.’

‘He thinks and feels just like any human. He has my brother’s brain patterns and engrams so he knows right from wrong. Up until now that’s been enough to make him consider his actions,’ I replied. ‘And I don’t appreciate being called stupid.’ Even if it did apply.

‘So Aidan experiences emotions the same as us humans?’

I nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘All emotions?’

‘I guess so, yes.’ I frowned. ‘There’s no reason why he couldn’t.’

‘How old was your brother when he died?’

‘Fifteen. Why?’

‘Were you two close?’

‘Very. We still are. We were and are best friends as well as twins. Why?’

Where was Nathan going with all these questions? What was he driving at?

‘Did he have friends on board, apart from you?’ asked Nathan.

My frown deepened. ‘Not many. He was probably the smartest person on board but he was a bit sickly and spent a lot of time in the medi bay or in his quarters with only me for company,’ I said. ‘Why?’

‘Because I think your brother has set us both up,’ said Nathan grimly.

‘What d’you mean?’

‘It was just you and your robot brother for years,’ said Nathan. ‘And then you rescued us from Barros. Your brother has resented our presence ever since we came on board, and he hates my guts.’

What? ‘Of course he doesn’t. That’s ridiculous.’

‘You said it yourself, he’s capable of human emotions.
All
human emotions, even the negative ones,’ said Nathan.

‘Like what?’

‘Like fear and jealousy.’

‘Fear of what?’ I scoffed. ‘Jealous of whom?’

‘Fear of losing you,’ Nathan replied. ‘Jealous of me, because suddenly I had all of your attention, not him.’

‘That’s nonsense. He’s my brother.’

‘You’re a fraud, Vee. You want the world to think of your brother as human when you yourself don’t think of him that way. Not entirely.’

I glared at Nathan. ‘What’re you talking about?’

‘Why is it so hard for you to believe your brother experiences emotions the same as the rest of us. Your brother loves you. He’s devoted to you. So why won’t you believe that he feels jealousy and hatred?’

‘Hatred?’

‘Of me, for taking you away from him. He’s jealous of me and would stop at nothing to drive us apart.’

‘That’s not Aidan,’ I insisted. ‘He doesn’t feel those things. He’s above all that.’

‘Oh my God. Vee, open your damned eyes. Aidan hates my guts,’ Nathan insisted. ‘Emotionally he’s a fifteen-year-old boy who’s always had you to himself. And then I came along. I bet he’s the one who has been filling your head with all kinds of lies about me and Anjuli.’

‘Aidan didn’t need to lie to me,’ I said bitterly. ‘I gave you my dad’s pendant to show you just how much I . . . I loved you, and you gave it to Anjuli.’

‘D’you know? That’s the first time you’ve actually said those words to me, even if it was in the past tense,’ Nathan said quietly. ‘And I did not give your pendant to Anjuli.’

I couldn’t believe he still insisted on denying it.

‘Nathan, I saw her wearing it with my own two eyes. I gave you a gift with love for you to keep. You gave it away like it was nothing, like it was garbage. And then you lied to my face when I asked you where it was.’ I tried to swallow my anger but I was choking on it.

‘You’re saying Anjuli has my pendant?’ Nathan shook his head. ‘That’s impossible. I know I should’ve told you I mislaid the thing somewhere in our quarters, but I sure as hell didn’t give it to Anjuli. And she wouldn’t just take it.’

For heaven’s sake! Why was he still lying about it?

‘Nathan, I saw it round her neck.’

‘It can’t be the same one,’ Nathan denied.

‘Aidan examined it. He confirmed there’s a tiny notch on the back of it which I made by accident years ago. We’d both know it anywhere. It’s my dad’s pendant all right.’

‘If it is, I never gave it to Anjuli,’ Nathan insisted.

Eyes narrowed, I viewed Nathan. Whoops! Was my scepticism showing? I could only hope so. ‘Then how did she get it?’

‘I don’t know.’ Nathan’s tone was more vehement. ‘But I intend to find out.’

I admit it, I was puzzled. Nathan seemed genuinely stunned that Anjuli should have my dad’s pendant. No one’s acting was that good, was it?

‘And if you suspected me of something, why didn’t you just come right out and ask me?’ Nathan continued.

‘Oh no you don’t.’ Was he for real? ‘Don’t try and turn this around onto me.’

‘It’s not all about you, Vee. It’s about
us
. Why didn’t you just ask me straight out?’

‘I did. You lied to me.’

‘I’ve never lied to you and I never will,’ said Nathan coldly.

‘Except when you do,’ I dismissed. ‘Even Anjuli called you a liar and a whoremeister.’

Nathan’s mouth dropped open. He’d been caught in his colossal lie and was still trying to deny it. He thought that little of me.

‘Yeah, checkmate,’ I said with contempt. ‘You know what? If you’re just going to keep lying then I’m done talking to you.’

So much for Nathan being sincere. I can’t believe the guy had tried to make out that I was the one in the wrong. I turned away from him to underline the fact that our conversation, such as it was, was over.

‘Olivia, why did you go through the joining ceremony with me?’ Nathan asked.

‘Why d’you think?’

‘I thought I knew. I thought you felt the same way I did. Now I realize that wasn’t the case.’

My head whipped round at that. ‘I joined with you because I fell in love with you,’ I told him. ‘And what’s more, you knew it. I would’ve flown into a star if you told me to, that’s how much I loved you. You, on the other hand, had a completely different agenda – to seduce this ship out from under me. You’ve all been having a great laugh behind my back, haven’t you? I’ve been the on-board entertainment. How did the conversation with your mum go? “Vee’s been alone for so long and she’s obviously attracted to me, so let me do whatever it takes to get the command code.
Whatever
it takes.” Is that about right? You ripped my heart out, Nathan.’

Nathan stared at me. I glared right back. He actually opened his mouth to argue, but before he could utter a word the ship’s alarm sounded.

I
really
hated that sound. My heart sank. Nathan looked at me, his expression grim. We both knew only too well what that noise meant.

‘Aidan’s awake.’