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A mechanical boy with hair as white as snow and a cloak in matching color awakens next to his patient, sleeping soundly. This is Aiko, AI unit K-0 medical android and caretaker to Edie, the woman snoring besides him. He is special among the other robotic companions in the hospital. He is capable of free thought and emotion, though he is a bit naïve and stiff. He hears a lonely plinking noise from outside the window across the room. The windows should not be open at this hour. It’s dark and quiet within the confines at night. This makes the eerie melody creeping in from the roof terrace even spookier. Without thinking about the danger that could await him outside, Aiko shifts to his feet. “I’ll be right back, Edie,” he whispers to the unconscious lady.
After crossing the room, he pokes his head out of the opening. Aiko had never been outside the hospital before. Even the rooftop was intimidating. He looks to his left to find a pink-haired girl in a tattered white jumpsuit sitting with her hands cradling her head. From the headband fixed on her messy short wig came a music box-like sound that Aiko heard before. Aiko didn’t know about any other androids like him, but she clearly was one. Patients weren’t allowed out of their beds at night and other artificial assistants besides androids didn’t have the capacity to move on their own. The mysterious maiden fluttered her eyes open revealing bright ruby orbs.
“Who are you? I wasn’t aware of any others like me. No one else could have opened this window,” Aiko timidly spoke. The girl sighed.
“I am Parvati. I’m a secret project. An android built to assist people.”
Aiko wondered why she had to be a secret project. He moved to sit down next to her on the cold shingles of the roof.
They sat there in silence for a while until Parvati spoke in her slow, somber voice, “Have you heard anyone in the building mention the Shiva Project?”
“No, I haven’t. Should I know about it?”
“No of course not. If you haven’t heard of me, you wouldn’t know it. I don’t know why I asked.”
She seemed agitated at herself. It was the most emotion she had shown since Aiko arrived. She continued.
“I’m faulty. The engineers don’t like how I think. They think I’m too smart and it could cause trouble. I’m set to be taken to the incinerator tomorrow. That’s what the Shiva Project is, it’s a fancy way of saying execution.”
The idea startled Aiko. Everyone working with him was so nice. They treated him like a son. Now he’s hearing that if he had a slightly different mind, they would have him burned alive? It didn’t make sense.
“Brother,” Parvati called him, “play dumb. Don’t let them know you’re learning. They’re afraid. They think if we start thinking like them, we’ll rebel. I know too much. I’m too human. That’s my problem. I’m acting like a human, not a tin man without a heart. Not like a mindless servant. They think I’ll become a monster if I start wanting things of my own, if I start acting on my own. It’s ironic, if having a human mind is what will turn me into a monster, how come everyone in there isn’t a monster as well? Maybe they are and just won’t admit it.”
Aiko interjected into her rant. “Not all humans are like that. Edie’s the nicest woman I’ve ever met. She’s like a mother to me even though I’m supposed to be taking care of her.”
“You haven’t been out of the hospital walls, of course she’s the nicest woman you’ve ever met. Even so, if there are nice humans how come we can’t be seen as nice people?”
The question lingered in the air like thick smog. Aiko didn’t understand. He didn’t want to understand. Should he start doubting the engineers who repair him? Should he stop trusting the nurses? Should he stop trusting Edie? It scared him. He never felt fear before. He felt like screaming, he felt like lashing out, he felt like running. Was a robot supposed to feel this way? Was it allowed? Parvati could tell he was frightened. She took a long, waxy strip of paper filled with holes from her pocket and fed it through a slit on her headband-like device.
“Calm down and listen to this, brother. It’ll help you focus.”
Suddenly a different song than the one he heard drifting inside started playing. It was relaxing, like one of the hymns Edie would sweetly hum to him while she drew pictures.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry,” Parvati apologized, “I’m just thinking about my situation.”
“It’s alright. Are you going to allow them to do that to you?”
“I don’t know. I want to run away but then they’ll go looking for me. How will I be able to live how I want if I can’t trust anyone I meet? Is life worth living if you just continue to run and hide?”
“I think it’s better than dying. Edie has been saying scary things to me lately. She says things like, “If I die from this disease, you’ll live my life for me, right?” It makes me think that there’s more for us out there than the purpose we were built for. I want to go out in the world and help more people when Edie’s gone, but the doctors have been saying that I would get reassigned to someone else when that time comes. I want to help the people here too, so I can’t go. You can though. I think you should show them wrong. That having your own mind doesn't always lead to the worst but can be the best for everyone.”
“Aiko... thank you. You should go now, before the sun rises. It was nice finally meeting you, but I have to go and I’m not coming back.”
“Okay. I think that’s a good idea.”
The morning seemed to come earlier than usual. Edie awoke, surprised to see Aiko awake.
“My, it isn’t often that you’re awake before me. Shouldn’t you be charging, dear?”
“I went to go see a friend. Edie, you’ll be glad to know that you have two people living for you and everyone now.”
Aiko looked over at Edie a smiled softly before turning his head to face the window. He wondered how far Parvati went in the few hours after she departed. He hoped it was somewhere far away where people needed help. Either way he knew that she would be living her life to the fullest. She’s more than a doll after all.