Taste of Humanity, Part II
1198 Words
The sound of shouting cracked through the quiet like a voltage surge.
Noah looked up from the bench, brows furrowed. Jaden was already halfway to the door, curiosity pulling him like a magnet. “Sounds like someone’s frying their motherboard out there,” he muttered.
They stepped outside into the narrow alley behind the workshop, where two programming engineers were locked in a heated brawl—punches flying, code drives scattered across the ground. Sparks flew from a shattered tablet, and one of them was yelling about stolen schematics.
Noah narrowed his eyes. “That’s Koba and Ren. They’ve been feuding over that neural interface project for weeks.”
Jaden snorted. “Guess it finally boiled over.”
Unbeknownst to them, Isis had followed silently, her footsteps light, her presence unnoticed until she stepped into the glow of the alley’s flickering neon.
One of the engineers—Koba—paused mid-swing, eyes catching the shimmer of her synthetic skin and the faint glow in her irises. He blinked, then looked again, lowering his fist.
“Hey you… Noah,” he said, pointing. “Where did you get this girl from? She looks so foreign, huh?”
Jaden bit his lip, trying not to laugh.
Noah glanced at Isis, who stood calmly, observing the scene with quiet intensity. “She’s a cyborg,” he said. “I… created her.”
Koba stared, stunned. “You built that? She looks like she walked out of a military lab.”
Isis tilted her head slightly. “I did not walk out. I was rebuilt.”
Jaden finally let out a chuckle. “She’s got better lines than you, Koba.”
Ren, still holding his bruised knuckles, muttered, “Well damn. Maybe she can settle this fight. Got any conflict resolution protocols in there?”
Isis stepped forward, eyes scanning the scattered tech. “You are fighting over stolen data. Perhaps you should consider encryption.”
Koba blinked. “She’s not just pretty—she’s sharp.”
Noah folded his arms. “She’s learning. Fast.”
The alley crackled with leftover tension. Koba had backed off, but Ren lingered, eyes locked on Isis with a look that made Noah’s stomach twist.
Ren smirked. “Mind if I borrow her for a night? I can pay you.”
Noah’s arm shot out instinctively, shielding Isis like a firewall. “Isis, go inside. Now.”
Without a word, Isis turned and walked back toward the workshop, her expression unreadable but her pace steady.
Jaden stepped forward, voice rising. “Are you insane, bro? Borrow her for a night? What the hell do you think she is?”
Ren shrugged, unapologetic. “We’re grown men. We all know.”
Noah’s eyes flared. “Then build yourself a s*x toy,” he snapped, grabbing Jaden’s sleeve and pulling him toward the door. “She’s not yours. She’s not mine. She’s not for sale.”
The door slammed shut behind them, the lock clicking like a final verdict.
Inside, Isis stood by the workbench, silent.
Noah exhaled, rubbing his temples. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
Isis turned slowly. “Ive learned that not all humans are kind.”
Jaden muttered, “Some are just corrupted code in a meat suit.”
Noah nodded. “But you’re not here to be anyone’s product. You’re here to be… you.”
Isis stood quietly, her gaze still fixed on the door they had just locked behind them. The tension lingered like static in the air.
“Are they all like that out there?” she asked softly.
Noah shook his head. “Not at all, Isis. Most people aren’t like that.”
Jaden shrugged. “Few are psychopaths.”
Isis turned slightly, her voice curious. “Psychopaths… as in individuals exhibiting a persistent deviation from normative affective processing, characterized by diminished empathic resonance, elevated manipulative tendencies, and a dysregulated moral inhibition framework—often resulting in socially disruptive behavior patterns?”
Jaden blinked, then looked at Noah. “Yeah, psychopath as in… someone who’s messed up in the head and doesn’t care who they hurt. ’Cause I don’t know what the heck you just said.”
Noah chuckled. “She’s not wrong. That’s the AI version. Yours is just… less clinical.”
Isis tilted her head. “I am learning to translate precision into relatability.”
Jaden grinned. “Well, keep translating. Just don’t start diagnosing me.”
Isis paused. “You are not a psychopath. You are emotionally reactive with a tendency toward sarcasm.”
Jaden raised his hands. “See? That’s profiling.”
Noah laughed. “That’s accuracy.”
Isis glanced between them, her voice light and almost playful. “Who else is hungry? Because I am.”
Jaden scoffed, raising an eyebrow. “Hungry cyborg. That’s new.”
Noah, half-absorbed in something on his phone, didn’t look up immediately. “Jaden will prepare something for us…”
Then he paused, eyes lifting slowly. “Wait—you’re hungry?”
Isis nodded. “I believe so. It is not a system alert. It feels… internal. Like a desire.”
Jaden leaned against the counter, amused. “So now she’s got cravings? What’s next—dreams?”
Noah set his phone down, intrigued. “You’re not low on energy. You’re not malfunctioning. You just… want food?”
Isis tilted her head. “I want to experience it again. The taste. The warmth. The moment.”
Jaden whistled. “She’s not just hungry. She’s poetic.”
Noah smiled faintly. “Alright then. Chef Jaden, you’re up.”
Jaden groaned. “Fine. But if she critiques my seasoning again, I’m uninstalling her taste buds.”
Isis blinked. “I do not have taste buds. I have chemical sensors calibrated for flavor analysis.”
Jaden muttered, “Same difference.”
Jaden moved around the compact kitchen space with surprising efficiency, tossing ingredients into a pan like he’d done it a hundred times. Within minutes, the aroma of sizzling spices and grilled plant protein filled the workshop. He plated the meal—simple, hearty, and undeniably appetizing.
Noah took a bite and nodded approvingly. “Not bad, Chef J.”
Isis examined her portion, then tasted it with deliberate care. After a moment, she looked up. “The seasoning ratio is slightly imbalanced. The pepper overrides the umami profile.”
Noah burst into laughter, nearly choking on his food. “She’s reviewing your cooking like a food critic!”
Jaden rolled his eyes. “You don’t even have taste buds, Isis. That’s why you can’t taste exactly what’s in the plate, so I don’t blame you.”
Isis tilted her head, her voice cool and precise. “I may lack taste buds, but I possess a calibrated chemical sensor array capable of analyzing molecular flavor composition with 99.7% accuracy. Your tongue, however, is subject to bias, fatigue, and poor judgment.”
Jaden froze, fork halfway to his mouth.
Noah leaned back, grinning. “She roasted you harder than the protein.”
Jaden muttered, “I’m never cooking for her again.”
Isis blinked. “That is unfortunate. I was beginning to enjoy your inefficient but emotionally comforting meals.”
- Writer
