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.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNrCowIpDE
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXC0OiujzJ
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.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8zcR6SHo5
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOfZgelZ8I
That last one made him laugh under his breath.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpY6nyj8v71
Impossible, he thought.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡik9Uix0KVg
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.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2b1lHTB5C
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4LuULNtNI
“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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwP0PHrQEF
“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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4Ivk0zrtx
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECCg4K9712
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwk1wDcDBlf
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHkpyLYotY
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmx24s5igXK
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.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlLcySuY3p
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡencJFWJFIT
“I said no,” Davis replied.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHVGfUkJNo
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnR8dhylFT3
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DRiRasZbl
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1boRAbRBnw
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?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHmv0MQUcM
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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Q7H3Mha61
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUc6UjQ5jHr
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdSFZ3WAVn
The air tightened.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPGM5xBD9V
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBPLTlUv4e
“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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHHnJRogiu
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KwygRw3Y9
“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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQL4VLO7XXy
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkKhH2SyrO
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHc10ouSKP
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4Pwlx966r
“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.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwbMdCXhHW
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdy3jMXfyMF
“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?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldNuPUTUCv
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYJgNXRk0g
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1K0p6lADMT
“HEY!”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiKzSzNvit
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeb2yuNWBu
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQivRMhhdK
His hands curled into fists.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqR9kuPKKBE
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2OXT1eFuG
“Fine.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPlVCcit5I
“I’m going out.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrPOLn3gjT
“Where?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfPdQcgQoM
“Friend’s house.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSYwreSrI8
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5xWg9airh
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSFRPXtymA
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQi2CJMowa
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ka8GvGHBg
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5FQgiCv7q
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdSpdIGCZu
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkMp9gcIa5
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
445Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDcQYMip34
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