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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEIvDrRL63
“I just have to... there!” he whispered, tightening a screw with a shaky but satisfied twist. “Perfect.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHNmOPWRkA
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjzwEyDTWK
He didn’t know what it would become yet. A drone? A repair assistant? Or even something crazy like a machine that could feel?876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVu9dVb77g
That last one made him laugh under his breath.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlR7l9wU40
Impossible, he thought.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCx8WFvFXj
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn95nnekxy1
But what if they weren’t? He knew it wasn’t possible, but it was nice to think about.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyF5T1ERZlH
“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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQNzyvdK9l
“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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtc2Baag8az
Davis flinched. The smile fell from his face like a snapped gear.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bTnUik354
“Sorry, Doc,” he said without turning, his voice dry. “But your machine already has a hand.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06vKr6TuGJ
He heard the shuffle of boots on concrete.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxW1N83nsAO
“Shut up,” came the curt reply. “I need someone to accompany me. One of the drones needs recalibration.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5lNIJnDNh
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.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6yCMEIlvS
Davis hated how much he still looked up to the man. Not admired—but literally looked up. Towering intellect. Towering disappointment.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPab2MyHQfq
“I said no,” Davis replied.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGEijQxRkr
Dr. Berithman tilted his head slightly. “Excuse me?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQr2ceQirO
“You heard me. I’m not leaving my project just to help you fix your handy-dandy, super-powerful, metal slave.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81rePCnWY4
His father laughed—cold and mechanical. “You think they’re slaves? That’s funny.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cU4XIITRd
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?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ05VkmpTnA
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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6jU1Qzp42
He took a step forward. “I lost everything. My reputation. My family. Your mother—”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAvHmkoNud
“Left us,” Davis interrupted. “Left me, too, in a way.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvP1iZVoo5y
The air tightened.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQIPEIZlKX
His father didn’t respond—just stared at him with hollow eyes.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6IFSZlfF3
“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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aM6NNyOL0
“You were brilliant,” Berithman snapped. “I trained you. You should thank me.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnJaji70o5
“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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡze9qKGwCTl
A silence passed between them, jagged as broken glass.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAET2ehp2sg
Then: “Why don’t you call Darius?” Davis said suddenly, too sharp. “The favorite son. The real son. You brought him back, remember?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoOr7UQ2Zg
Dr. Berithman’s eyes flashed. “Don’t speak of your brother like that. You have no idea what he’s been through.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Kaa1gwchU
“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.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcY7Plv2Jg
“He survived, Davis. He fought his way through hell. He earned my respect.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8s92g9Ycc
“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?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9On6lYdgd
The tension crackled like static. Neither of them moved.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKSQoIynqW
Then Dr. Berithman flicked his wrist—and with a loud clang, Davis’s workbench jolted sideways. His creation skidded across the table, pieces scattering.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjrKEhmLCo
“HEY!”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBy7NtunEk
“SHUT UP!” his father roared. “I finally got my son back and you will not speak of your brother as if he knows nothing!”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kKW8MsRq7
Davis stared at his crumpled invention. One of the limbs had snapped. The faceplate had fallen off.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ49BqgtREN
His hands curled into fists.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRSwObkImB
“Forget it,” he muttered. “I’m not helping you.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0fBsJKgov
“Fine.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuzmMpNyzf
“I’m going out.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUujFgOUfdx
“Where?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ59s1hPgeX
“Friend’s house.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlSN5yPD5R
“Oh?” Dr. Berithman raised a brow. “So you’re walking off now?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJd2pQZMl2
Davis turned toward the door. “Please, Dad, not now. My friends are coming over later.”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaqoL0j6fm
“WHAT? NO!” his father shouted, slamming his hand on the table. “They cannot come here!”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdIMfQG6rk
“I didn’t ask your permission,” Davis snapped. “I was just warning you. What? You got something to hide?”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK826WPbEq7
He reached for the door, but his father’s voice boomed one last time.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3AOgkizeK
“Fine! Just don’t go into the basement!”876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkYiP9D8Vc
Davis paused, hand on the handle. He glanced back, narrowing his eyes.876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTKbaftgPF
“Whatevah you say, Doc,” he mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping out.
876Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLuFgiwv0j
and then Add to home screen.