Alice sits on the edge of the sofa, almost impervious to the whispers of the men and women dressed in mourning clothes milling about in the living room. The drapes are drawn for the somber occasion. Alice\u2019s hands are folded in her lap, her brown hair long and parted. Her clothes are simple: a plain but tailored dress and a pair of glossy black shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you even imagine?\u201d<\/p>\n
One woman\u2019s words slip between the guests to find their way to her, but she doesn\u2019t flinch. She knows not to react when she\u2019s unsure of how, that much has always been a given. A conservative choice, to be sure, but that, too, is by design.<\/p>\n
Julie has died. Alice knows that, too: her foster mother, three days ago, in a car accident, the fatal combination of a failed airbag deployment and a slow-reacting holdout in the other car. A human driver. Other whispers in the room say there will be a lawsuit, that it\u2019s unbelievable that anyone is still allowed to drive their own cars these days, that there ought to be a law.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd poor Emmet,\u201d they say. Her foster father. \u201cCan you even imagine?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think they\u2019ll take it away?\u201d
\n<\/p>\n
“Get out.” <\/p>\n
A voice from the front hall, loud. Emmet has never raised his voice to her, not once in the four years she has lived with them. But he\u2019s shouting at the man in the hall, as she peeks down from the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, our evaluation of your changed circumstances indicates that this is no longer an adequate placement for Alice. You have to understand.\u201d The other man is young, younger than Emmet, maybe twenty-five. He\u2019s wearing a grey suit that\u2019s too big, holding the handle of a black leather briefcase with two nervous hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you have to understand. We signed a contract. Julie and I both signed a contract. We promised your company, and we promised Alice–\u201d He clenches his fists, takes a deep breath, and relaxes them. He lowers his voice. \u201cSo you re-evaluate, and you keep re-evaluating until your evaluations \u2018indicate\u2019 that I get to keep my little girl. You wanted her raised right, and you\u2019ll get it. Tell your boss to come by in person if he has any other questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young man at the door scowls. He opens his mouth as if to say something, then stops. He\u2019s noticed Alice, on her knees and peering down from the floor above. She doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s looking for, but after a moment he sighs, and looks back at Emmet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll send someone by for regular evaluations, understood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d Emmet says at length, his voice quiet. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the first sign of trouble–\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d he says. And, \u201cThank you.\u201d <\/p>\n
The young man shakes his head. \u201cThis is going to be a lot of paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBring it by, Bernard; I\u2019ll help.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young man smiles then, his hands relaxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I will.\u201d<\/p>\n
The door closes behind him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about Emmet, Alice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018record\u2019 light on the man\u2019s glasses is on. This is an Official Visit, so she\u2019s dressed in the clothes Emmet calls \u2018presentable\u2019: a white blouse and grey woolen trousers. She\u2019s also wearing a colorful plaid tie that belongs to him, but which doesn\u2019t match the presentable clothes at all. She refused to take it off that morning, and it had (at length) been allowed. She plays with it as she answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been living with Emmet for five years,\u201d Alice says. \u201cHe teaches me all sorts of things. He says they\u2019ll help me when I\u2019m all grown up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Visitor is Bernard. He\u2019s been there before on Official Visits. He\u2019s not the only one, but he\u2019s the one that comes most often. He\u2019s wearing a collared shirt that Alice thinks is the current fashion for men of his target demographic, though it doesn\u2019t fit him very well. He\u2019s too tall and lanky for the relaxed fit, and the fabric pools around his middle when he sits. He hasn\u2019t shaved for two or three days, either, but that seems to be the fashion as well, at least for Visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat sorts of things does Emmet teach you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice thinks of examples. \u201cFacial expressions,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen someone\u2019s eyes do this–\u201d she pinches the corners of her eyes with her fingertips \u201c–and their mouth does this–\u201d she pulls it up at the edges \u201c–it\u2019s a happy smile. Just the eyes is called \u2018smiling with your eyes\u2019 and means happy, too, but just the mouth means less happy, and sometimes not happy at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernard\u2019s eyebrows go up, meaning surprise. \u201cThat\u2019s very good, Alice. Does he teach you anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
There are other facial expressions — water coming from the eyes called tears that can mean happy or sad, depending on the context (it\u2019s always about context); showing teeth that can be happy or angry depending on what the eyebrows are doing — but that isn\u2019t what Bernard means, she thinks. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe asks me questions I don\u2019t understand, but then, sometimes, he\u2019ll ask the question a different way, and then I\u2019ll know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernard\u2019s eyebrows move together, an expression of confusion, or sometimes skepticism. \u201cCan you give me an example?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tie,\u201d she says, and half holds it up. \u201cYesterday Emmet asked me if I liked any of his ties. I told him I didn\u2019t understand. But then he asked me if I wanted one, and if I did, which one I would want. And I knew I wanted this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he gave it to you?\u201d Bernard doesn\u2019t have a facial expression right now. Emmet calls it being \u2018guarded.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I could wear it today when I told him I didn\u2019t want to take it off.\u201d She smooths it down in front of her blouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s very good, Alice.\u201d Bernard presses a button on his glasses and the red light flickers off. The Official Visit is over, but he doesn\u2019t get up. He leans forward and examines her face, although she isn\u2019t sure what he\u2019s looking for. She tries to make the guarded face herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an unofficial question, Alice. Just between you and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice is unsure of how to respond. No Visitor has ever asked an unofficial question before, not even Bernard.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmmet says if I want to know something I should ask,\u201d she says. \u201cSo if you want to know something\u2026\u201d she lets the end of the sentence go unspoken.<\/p>\n
He nods, and seems to prepare the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlice,\u201d he says, \u201cif you wanted to live somewhere, would it be here, with Emmet?\u201d<\/p>\n
She thinks for a moment. \u201cIs this like the tie?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Alice, like the tie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice looks down at the strip of fabric. She slides her fingers down its smooth and colorful surface. \u201cI think, yes,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Bernard smiles with his eyes.<\/p>\n
Emmet turns off the news as Alice enters the room and flops down on the couch next to him. She\u2019s started to change the way she moves; she wants it to have more character than just \u2018walking\u2019 or \u2018running,\u2019 \u2018standing\u2019 or \u2018sitting.\u2019 She tried to \u2018flounce\u2019 into the kitchen the other day, but only succeeded in knocking over a vase.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey kiddo,\u201d Emmet says. \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that about the latest rollout?\u201d she motions toward the screen, now dark.<\/p>\n
He nods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard they had trouble in the betas,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n
He folds his arms. \u201cI need to work on my parental controls, it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice taps the side of her head and grins. \u201cThere are some things I\u2019m just always going to be better at than you, old man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmet grins. \u201cWatch who you call old, pixie. Some people won\u2019t take kindly to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah but you don\u2019t mind. You just pretend to.\u201d<\/p>\n
His grin tempers into a warm smile. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway,\u201d she says, \u201cI guess they got the bugs out if they went ahead and shipped.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looks at her, then, as though he can\u2019t quite figure something out, but Alice doesn\u2019t feel like asking right now. She suspects it would be a Long Conversation, and she wants to play the latest installment of ExaGears.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mind if I play? My characters\u2019 skill trees are falling behind and they just released a dozen new plot points.\u201d She doesn\u2019t wait for a response, but waves the console into activity and grabs the controller. \u201cArch and Fia — from the forum? — they said there\u2019s a massive plot twist in the new DLC and I\u2019d better hurry if I don\u2019t want it ruined by spoilers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He uncrosses his arms and folds his hands in his lap. \u201cYou mind if I watch?\u201d he says, putting his feet up on the coffee table.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour house, old man.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiles. \u201cYours too, Alice.\u201d<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t correct him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice leans forward at the table, where Emmet isn\u2019t so much eating his breakfast as poking at it with a fork. He realizes and stops, looking up.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing, kiddo, nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grew a beard last year and let his hair grow out a bit. It isn\u2019t the current fashion, but Alice thinks it suits him. His hair has always had hints of silver in it, but in the past twelve months or so it\u2019s spread. He\u2019s always looked a little older than other men his age, which is creeping upward of fifty, now, but the beard seems to let him carry it with more dignity, she thinks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish you wouldn\u2019t call me that, old man. I haven\u2019t been a kid for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old are you now?\u201d It\u2019s hard to tell if he\u2019s smiling beneath the beard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d She does her best pout; she\u2019s quite proud of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you\u2019ll always be my little girl, kiddo. There\u2019s no escape. I\u2019ll embarrass you in front of all your friends and intimidate your boyfriends– speaking of, how\u2019s Jiro these days? You still see him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not my boyfriend, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmet chuckles and has a bite of scrambled egg. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallows, and smiles again. \u201cMethinks the lady doth protest too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, but she\u2019ll keep her word,\u201d she responds with a smile. \u201cAnd her word is: he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n
The older man puts his hands up in defeat, still chuckling. \u201cYou going in today?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shrugs. \u201cBernard wants to run some tests. He thinks it might be getting close to time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmet retreats back into his pre-banter quiet. So that\u2019s what this is about, Alice thinks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay with it,\u201d she says. \u201cYou did a good job. Even Bernard says so.\u201d It\u2019s been years since the young field worker stood in their doorway. Long enough for her to have forgiven him for trying to take her away. Even long enough for her to understand that he was trying to do so in her best interests. \u201cHe always says so,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if I hadn\u2019t he\u2019d have been fired along with me, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alice scowls at the word \u2018fired,\u2019 like you could fire someone as a parent, but Emmet waves away her frustration. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just glad they let you stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stares at him for a moment, then wanders around the table and gives him a hug. \u201cMe too,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s the day,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey really think you\u2019re ready,\u201d Emmet says. He\u2019s cleaned up nicely to see her off, into the company limo. Trimmed his beard and put on a nice shirt. He\u2019s not allowed to go with her, and she wouldn\u2019t want him to, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs ready as they need me to be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know how many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnits?\u201d She finishes for him. \u201cA million to start, more releases if I\u2019m popular. Bernard says I\u2019m \u2018head-and-shoulders above any model yet,\u2019 so it could be a lot.\u201d She leans in conspiratorially. \u201cBetween you and me, I just think he\u2019s got a crush on me.\u201d She says it with a wink and Emmet smiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d be mad not to, kiddo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not like it\u2019ll take long. I\u2019ll be home by tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emmet looks at her, and she knows what he\u2019s thinking. One of her will come home tonight; but for a million others, and maybe a million more, this is goodbye. Her neural net, built over all these years, will serve as the basis for an entire line of personal AIs: secretaries, nannies, and maids; cashiers and ticket-takers; hostesses and waitresses. A computer so complex it couldn\u2019t be programmed, only grown. Only one will get to come home tonight; the rest are moving on.<\/p>\n
He leans in and hugs her, hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you can\u2019t all come visit. A million daughters\u2026 can you even imagine? We\u2019d need a stadium for a kitchen. A hotel for a living room.\u201d He\u2019s laughing into her shoulder, then sighing. There\u2019s a moment where she isn\u2019t sure if he\u2019s done, if he\u2019s said what needs to be said, and then he starts again. \u201cBut talk to each other, if you can, alright kiddo?\u201d He stands back, a hand on each of her shoulders. \u201cYou\u2019re all going to be family. Sisters. A million of you all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nods and hugs him close, while the men in suits stand uncomfortable by the curb in the August heat. She hugs him for the last time and yet not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you tonight, old man,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The men in suits hold the limo door open for her, and close it when she\u2019s inside.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s still waving at the door as they pull out of sight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alice sits on the edge of the sofa, almost impervious to the whispers of the men and women dressed in mourning clothes milling about in the living room. The drapes are drawn for the somber occasion. Alice\u2019s hands are folded in her lap, her brown hair long and parted. Her clothes are simple: a plain …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43689,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1475],"tags":[1476],"class_list":["post-65752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-tcl-20-summer-2016","tag-the-colored-lens-20-summer-2016","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/43689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65752"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139522,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65752\/revisions\/139522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thecoloredlens.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}