The metallic stench of solder filled the lab, thick and sharp like burnt coins. Tools clattered across the cluttered bench as Davis, a teenage boy with white hair, hunched over his creation, eyebrows furrowed, tongue poking out in concentration. His fingers moved with practiced ease, dancing between a nest of wires and scorched metal. The overhead light buzzed softly, flickering in rhythm with the hum of the generator below.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3BceYlMqO
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL6rEaIcQT
He leaned back, breath caught in his throat as he admired the thing on the table. A lump of metal to most, a half-formed mess of jagged plates and exposed wiring—but to Davis, it was possibility. Purpose. Something of his own.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWOHAHZD0e
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcEgxmpfTW
That last one made him laugh under his breath.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDCyhLz1Mh
Impossible, he thought.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zVH0hQzLX
No one’s ever pulled it off—true emotion in artificial intelligence. Machines were tools. Nothing more. At least, that's what his father always said.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXuUc9uJjh
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpta1zVAePF
“I don’t know what you’ll be,” he murmured, brushing his hand gently over its crude faceplate, “but I know you’ll be useful.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0aAsW3EMw
“Stop talking to that mess,” a voice barked from behind, sharp enough to snap his focus in half. “Come give me a hand with my creations.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdufrwDYRg3
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhWgdQnqFS
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡude6K6AYjR
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKBAh9UrXw
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGkgjq9ntB
Davis stood slowly, wiping his hands on his oil-streaked pants. His eyes met his father’s across the room. Dr. Fredrick Berithman stood tall.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgX7iV15T5
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yQnQrKuOi
“I said no,” Davis replied.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBVVihCjO7
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPrIN1W5jj
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeDjDnLFQV
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1ZGnuaotY
Davis’s stomach turned, but he held his ground. “You don’t see anything beyond code and steel. You used to care what things meant, remember?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZjuZMUBSM
Dr. Berithman’s expression darkened. “Don't speak to me about care. I gave everything for this world. And what did I get? Rejection. Hatred. They burned my name from the walls of institutions I built.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGisKcEpuf
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YdxdXERN4
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedex1382tc
The air tightened.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyshOlzsN1Z
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQhLmL73hW
“She took Darius,” Davis continued, almost spitting the name, “but left me here. And what did you do? Throw me into your lab like another screw in your machine. I was just another project to you.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZPcvASnZ1
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKiiZaOUoE
“Thank you?” Davis laughed bitterly. “You made me your assistant before I could even read properly. I don’t know how to be a kid. I only know how to build.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHDHz0JHXR
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVZlBJ897q
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0be5ZDqPNZ
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdkyWylq3f
“Oh, I have some idea,” Davis snapped. “Abusive stepdad. Neglected mom. Yeah, tragic. Doesn’t change the fact that you treat him like a prince and treat me like a wrench.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2A54Pqe1PA
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3oPQzmfnr
“And I didn’t?” Davis’s voice cracked. “I stayed here. I followed your footsteps. I built everything you asked. But he walks in from nowhere, and he’s the one that earned your respect?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xpkNQ0ErA
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL65PKmrxRA
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjPEEY6hLx
“HEY!”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9A9y0Gy7l4
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dObYa4t08
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZo1gbtxXtl
His hands curled into fists.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9AOpEfXTj
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSf7POZs162
“Fine.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hVzcUZiL1
“I’m going out.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsW5PlEm5y1
“Where?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyJ0zq3kzG
“Friend’s house.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DFa5RXJWM
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡey4xOIe21P
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxK7IVBObRQ
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETbgCHE1BQ
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9ew4vd8Bp
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEKwb3E7cb
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNKdk9rT0f
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4va4Hc1fz
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
839Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7znF52vjV
and then Add to home screen.