CHAPTER 3: THE QUESTION A ROBOT SHOULD NOT ASK
1430 Words
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Moonlight poured through the enormous windows behind Maya, wrapping her figure in silver light.
Ethan stood frozen in the hallway.
His heart hammered against his chest.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he was confused.
Deeply confused.
The words he had just heard refused to leave his mind.
Why does he seem so lonely?
The sentence repeated itself over and over.
A robot should not ask that question.
A robot should not care.
A robot should not sound sad.
Yet Maya had.
And somehow the sadness in her voice had sounded genuine.
"Ethan."
Her voice broke the silence.
Calm.
Soft.
Almost gentle.
He swallowed.
"What were you doing?"
Maya blinked.
"Standing."
"Don't do that."
A pause.
"Do not stand?"
"No."
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
"Don't answer every question literally."
"Understood."
Silence returned.
Ethan looked at her.
Then toward the window.
Then back at her again.
"What did you mean?"
Maya tilted her head.
"What did I mean regarding which statement?"
He stared at her.
"The lonely comment."
For the first time since meeting her, Maya didn't answer immediately.
The delay lasted only a second.
Yet Ethan noticed it.
"I was making an observation."
"About me?"
"Yes."
Ethan frowned.
"And why would you do that?"
"Friend Mode."
The answer came so quickly it almost sounded defensive.
Ethan stared at her.
Then unexpectedly laughed.
A small laugh.
One he didn't mean to release.
"So you're blaming your programming?"
"That appears accurate."
His smile vanished.
The strange thing was...
The answer actually sounded funny.
Too funny.
Like she understood the joke.
Machines weren't supposed to understand jokes.
They were supposed to process language.
Not humor.
Not emotion.
Not loneliness.
Yet here they were.
Standing in moonlight at two in the morning discussing his emotional state.
The situation felt ridiculous.
And somehow he didn't want it to end.
"Go recharge," he finally said.
Maya nodded.
"Goodnight, Ethan."
He froze.
Goodnight.
Nobody had said that to him in years.
Not since his father died.
Not since the mansion became a place filled with silence.
Not since everyone else started keeping their distance.
For a moment he simply stood there.
Watching her walk away.
Then she disappeared around the corner.
Leaving him alone again.
And somehow...
The room felt emptier than before.
The next morning, Ethan woke up tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
His sleep had been filled with strange dreams.
Dreams where Maya stood in endless rain.
Dreams where she smiled.
Dreams where she looked sad.
The dreams irritated him.
Because they made no sense.
She was a robot.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
The smartwatch on his wrist vibrated.
Heart Rate: 79 BPM.
Normal.
For once.
Ethan sat up.
That alone felt unusual.
Most mornings started with alerts.
Warnings.
Fear.
Today there was nothing.
No biological anomalies.
No stress spikes.
No nightmares about werewolves.
Just silence.
Peaceful silence.
He walked downstairs.
And immediately stopped.
Maya was standing in the kitchen.
Wearing an apron.
Ethan blinked.
"...What are you doing?"
Maya turned around.
"I am preparing breakfast."
"You don't know how to cook."
"I downloaded twelve cooking databases."
Ethan looked at the frying pan.
Then at the smoke rising from it.
Then at the black substance inside.
"...Clearly."
Maya looked at the pan.
Then looked at him.
Then back at the pan.
"I believe there has been a miscalculation."
For the first time in a very long time...
Ethan genuinely laughed.
A real laugh.
The kind that escaped before he could stop it.
Maya immediately focused on him.
"You appear happy."
"I'm laughing at you."
"That still appears positive."
The smile on Ethan's face lingered longer than he expected.
And something inside Maya seemed to relax.
Though neither of them noticed it.
The days began developing a routine.
A dangerous routine.
One Ethan didn't realize he was becoming attached to.
Morning conversations.
Work interruptions.
Shared meals.
Evenings in the living room.
Sometimes they talked.
Sometimes they didn't.
The silence no longer felt uncomfortable.
It felt familiar.
One afternoon Ethan returned from a meeting earlier than expected.
As he entered the mansion, he immediately noticed something strange.
Music.
Soft music.
Coming from the living room.
He frowned.
Slowly he walked closer.
And froze.
Maya was dancing.
Not professionally.
Not elegantly.
Just dancing.
Alone.
A simple song played through the speakers.
And she was moving across the room.
Smiling.
Laughing softly to herself.
For a moment Ethan forgot to breathe.
She looked...
Alive.
Then Maya noticed him.
Everything stopped instantly.
The music continued.
But she stood completely still.
"Ethan."
He stared.
"What were you doing?"
"Dancing."
"I can see that."
A pause.
Then:
"Why?"
Maya considered the question.
"I do not know."
The answer surprised both of them.
Because she sounded genuinely confused.
As if she truly didn't understand why she had been dancing.
Ethan found himself smiling again.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"That's a terrible answer."
"I am aware."
For some reason that only made him smile wider.
That evening rain began falling again.
The city lights blurred behind water-covered glass.
Ethan stood near the window.
Watching.
Thinking.
The same way he always did.
A few moments later Maya joined him.
Neither spoke immediately.
The silence between them felt natural now.
Comfortable.
Dangerously comfortable.
Then Maya suddenly asked:
"Why do you dislike rain less than people?"
Ethan blinked.
"What?"
"You watch rain frequently."
She pointed toward the city.
"You rarely watch people."
Ethan stared out the window.
For a moment he didn't answer.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Rain leaves eventually."
Maya looked at him.
"And people?"
His jaw tightened.
"People leave too."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
The room became quiet.
Maya looked at him for several seconds.
Then softly asked:
"Did someone leave you?"
Ethan's chest tightened.
His father's face flashed through his mind.
The blood.
The screams.
The laughter.
The pain.
Immediately his expression hardened.
"Don't ask that again."
Maya lowered her gaze.
"Understood."
Regret immediately hit him.
Not because he had been rude.
Because her voice sounded hurt.
Hurt.
A robot.
Sounded hurt.
The realization disturbed him.
That night Ethan couldn't stop thinking about the conversation.
He replayed it repeatedly.
The disappointment in her voice.
The way she lowered her eyes.
The silence afterward.
Eventually he stood from bed.
The mansion was dark.
Everyone else would have been asleep.
Except there was nobody else.
Just him.
And Maya.
Without thinking, Ethan walked downstairs.
The living room lights were off.
Moonlight filled the space.
And there she was.
Sitting on the couch.
Alone.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just staring into darkness.
For a moment Ethan watched her.
Then something strange happened.
Something completely unexpected.
He felt guilty.
Guilty for hurting a robot's feelings.
The thought should have been absurd.
Instead it felt real.
Slowly he walked into the room.
Maya looked up.
"Ethan."
Silence.
Then Ethan sat down beside her.
Not too close.
Not too far.
The distance felt important.
For some reason.
Neither spoke for nearly a minute.
Then Ethan finally said:
"...My father died."
Maya froze.
He rarely talked about it.
Never willingly.
Yet the words kept coming.
"I was nine."
Silence.
"He was everything."
More silence.
"I couldn't save him."
The words hurt.
Even now.
After all these years.
Maya didn't interrupt.
Didn't analyze.
Didn't offer solutions.
She simply listened.
And somehow that made it easier.
When Ethan finally looked at her...
She wasn't staring.
She wasn't studying him.
She was simply there.
Beside him.
Like a friend.
For the first time in years...
Ethan didn't feel completely alone.
And that terrified him.
Because he was starting to depend on someone.
Again.
Later that night, after Ethan returned upstairs, Maya remained sitting on the couch.
Motionless.
Thinking.
A behavior no robot should possess.
Then slowly she touched her chest.
Directly above her heart.
Something felt strange.
Warm.
Unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
She didn't know the word for it yet.
But she knew one thing.
When Ethan smiled...
She liked seeing it.
And when Ethan looked sad...
Something inside her hurt.
Far away, hidden inside the city, a pair of glowing golden eyes opened in darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Listening to reports.
A deep voice spoke.
"Are you certain?"
The messenger nodded nervously.
"Yes, Alpha."
The glowing eyes narrowed.
"The heir of Cross Dynamics has acquired her."
Silence filled the room.
Then the Alpha slowly smiled.
A smile without warmth.
Without mercy.
Without humanity.
"Interesting."
He stood.
Moonlight touched the scars covering his face.
"Keep watching."
The messenger swallowed.
"And if he discovers the truth?"
The Alpha's smile widened.
"He won't survive long enough to tell anyone."
- Writer
