Displaced - Book One of the Alternate Reality Series

Chapter 4

Eric walked into Sunrise's 3rd floor lobby, and found Arvin seated and waiting. As he approached, Arvin stood and extended his hand.

"Good morning, Dr. Roberts," the bot greeted.

Eric shook the extended palm without hesitation. "Good morning, Arvin."

Eric smiled on the inside. Remarkable. Humans and bots could be malleable, when making an effort to do so.

Eric led the way to his office, and once there, he let the bio-scanners verify his signatures. When the door unlocked and slid open, he stepped aside, letting Arvin enter first. As Arvin entered, the floor shifted underneath his heavy feet, and Eric took an indiscrete breath, thankful that yesterday's exchange didn't get physical. Arvin read this. He smiled on the inside.

Eric followed in after his client, observing Arvin with new eyes, a change that let him appreciate the artisanship in his design. Arvin had clean lines, a semi-glossed light-grey finish, and lacked any unsightly protrusions. He also projected tidiness, with every edge of his 5-foot 10-inch frame smoothly rounded, and every electric wire tucked neatly inside. Most remarkable were his steel-gray optic receptors, which looked uncannily humanlike as they contracted and expanded. And with Arvin essentially a butler, that likely accounted for his British accent, something Eric found unnecessary.

Arvin pulled back the same chair he used yesterday morning and sat. Eric, unlike yesterday, didn't sit behind his desk. He instead pulled back the empty chair next to Arvin, oriented it to face his client, and planted himself alongside. In response, Arvin reoriented himself to face his therapist.

As Arvin adjusted himself, Eric eyed the machine. His movements were far from robotic and almost entirely silent. The Vale's must've had considerable wealth to afford such a well-built, smoothly functioning bot.

"So," Eric opened, "what's been going on since your last visit?"

Arvin took a moment. "I suppose not a great deal has changed. Everything I informed you of then–my situation and how I feel about it–has not altered."

Eric nodded, the move strategic, designed to let time pass. As per the plan he formulated yesterday, he intended to be direct, but couldn't appear aggressive. "So, tell me more about your desire to end your life."

Arvin's head lifted slightly. "So now you believe that I'm a living entity?"

Eric didn't answer. Expressionless, he waited for a response to his question, and wouldn't rise to the bait. Arvin caught on.

"I harbor a desire to end my life," he explained, "based on the argument I provided yesterday morning. I am an obsolete unit, and no longer find any compelling reason to continue my existence, whatever my particular existence may consist of."

"I'm starting to understand your rationale, but if you're convinced that self-termination is the right choice, why haven't you acted on it?"

"My overseer did not grant me permission."

"You asked for permission to self-terminate?"

Arvin nodded, then explained. "As a servant, I must abide by certain obligations, including refraining from harming myself or others. I asked my overseer for permission, so I would not violate these obligations."

"Since you're still here, your request obviously didn't go through. Why was it denied?"

"The Vales recently acquired a replacement house servant, and I'm currently familiarizing him with his role. This is still incomplete."