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.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9R5UcJVk6
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZYXX1e9CR
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.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTgCPhUiLr
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCREVcXZ6Xg
That last one made him laugh under his breath.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE6hENG4vi
Impossible, he thought.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpasexHl7bK
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.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM70PBZkw9d
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJ6UVaYdeL
“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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29UwtVBMO5
“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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqTSynSfrE
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzJVJhgALk
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaaHeB99R1
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7ONXikSUK
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVrxg0hUsR
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.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaQ6cKZ2eL
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmiWVqAgX2
“I said no,” Davis replied.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6asZezKIF
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9k3Ubc6PP
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9mTnDNshR
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZdtoaUzTV
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?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvnTEayGpq
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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzvSC53Gfr
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiJtCuyCpy
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHIrpe278u
The air tightened.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh06ZfSlaMl
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1URDRMLbOu
“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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd86ZGuKwO8
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAVybRKfP7
“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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivQfATNno2
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5etHvxKW0
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaMAZmbMCX
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFImtoCaKq
“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.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2dFdXApdw
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSsDxfniYW
“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?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMC3KsuVOVI
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIvZLVrAFn
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4EkCim6Qs
“HEY!”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXPQDCt5wo
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡalv6NawuYI
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4BgVVXtbH
His hands curled into fists.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaljbQ9PDqJ
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSUX6RtenD
“Fine.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bpYLGJQo6
“I’m going out.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqZT7oCNvm
“Where?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfBNGVcbdR
“Friend’s house.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEultFDHAiQ
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelTy29Zkr8
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkLO0GdXG4
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeqWCRz4Ic
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwRcVqnTU3
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fEDFsp6q0
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOO3Fh7rTDM
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa60n622ZSD
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
454Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJMV1utVBh
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