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Laura Hawkins was in jail and she knew she did the right thing.
It’s hard to ignore the roller-coaster of emotions. First, Sophie’s sadness; second, a pity look from Toby; third, Joe’s understanding nod; fourth, Mattie’s encouraging smile. The girl knew her mother did what it had to be done, that this was bigger than themselves, that they had to fight for them. For the synths, for those who became part of the family, for those whom died; for Leo, for Niska, for Max and Mia.
Mia.
Mia is gone, isn’t she?
All these hours Laura thought of her children. When she’ll see them again? Will she get her family back? After years of laughs and tears, after years of sharing breakfasts and dinners, after years of seeing her kids growing up and talking for the first time. Oh Lord how much she misses them, how much she loves them.
Her mind rests in peace knowing Joe is taking care of them.
Joe… At this point she doesn’t blame him anymore.
Yes, he brought Mia home, and Laura felt useless and unworthy and out of the picture when she compared herself with the synth; Anita was the woman Laura couldn’t be: between job responsibilities and house chores she didn’t have time to play videogames (or try to), or read a book for Sophie or talk with Mattie (not that the girl would enjoy a mother-daughter talk, either).
Anita was perfect.
So perfect that then the cheating happened.
And it wasn’t her fault, the synth was just there; Joe, no matter if he regretted it, was the solely responsible. If he was capable of cheating then he would have done it with anyone, he couldn’t just wait and talk with his wife, he had to jump into conclusions and well, the rest is story.
Laura knows Mia’s innocence was stolen that night, while her mind was trapped inside Anita. And how kind hearted she was, trying to fix the marriage, to help the man who hurt her, to save the family that saved her.
How could she ever thought Anita wanted to replace her? Everything she did was due to her synth nature: serve and protect humans. And then, when Mia was back, Laura wanted to kick herself for such thoughts.
“You’re just a stupid machine, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Laura.”
No you weren’t, she wants to say. She was a unique and beautiful soul, the missing piece in the puzzle of her life. God knows how much she missed her when Mia left with her family, and how happy Laura was when she saw Mia, months later, standing in the kitchen. For a time she thought she’ll never see the synth again, but the Elsters and the Hawkins kept crossing paths for some reason the woman called fate.
A sudden noise from outside the cell made her jump in the seat; it seemed the police station had a long night to go. She heard the next door opening, footsteps and an unintelligible discussion.
“Those fucking activists.” Someone said. “As if we didn’t have enough with vegans.”
So people were still marching.
Laura was more convinced that this was the right path to follow, even if she was in jail now, but all great achievements require time, they say, and sacrifices too.
And she cries because that sacrifice involved Mia’s death. She cries because they became friends, they fought for a noble cause, they shared something beyond a human – machine friendship: a bond.
And now Mia is gone.
Did she actually go somewhere?
Did her mind disappear?
Is there a chance to bring her back?
Does Laura have a way to say goodbye?
Perhaps this was a bad dream, but she knows better.
She can’t help but wonder if synths' consciousness code remains on the net after they die. Maybe they are hidden inside some kind of data black hole. Maybe… is it possible to recover it?
She doesn’t know.
But she’s sure about one thing: she loves Mia.
And now it’s time to mourn.
Future is uncertain, but there, in the coldness of the room, Laura hopes.
And from now on she would look at the sky every full moon, and smile.