Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
She walked as swiftly as she could past the open restaurant door, noticing that LJ-91’s sniffer was still waiting patiently outside.
If she had needed any other indication that her emotion damper was losing its effectiveness, the reaction of the sniffer sealed the deal. When the metal canine saw her passing, its eyes turned red and it threw up its nose and began to inhale, glaring at her as it did so.
“Good boy,” Lili muttered and kept walking. “Good boy, just stay where you are. Don’t move, please!”
A low, buzzing growl was her answer but when she dared to look back she was relieved to see that the sniffer was still just sitting there. Good—that was a relief at least. Now she just had to hope she didn’t run into any more of the metal canines!
Lili glanced at her arm again and quickened her pace. She had to hurry—her time was running out and she was still far away from Dark and Light!
31
DARK
Dark looked down at the circuit he was rewiring and noted that he had done an excellent job—not that it gave him any pleasure. Nothing gave him pleasure or pain anymore, which was exactly how he liked it.
Beside him, Light was finishing his own circuit as well. The two of them had been working a swing shift at the mechanoid plant where they were now employed, and though it was only just past noon, their workday was now done.
“Are you finished?” he asked his twin.
“Affirmative.” Light put down his soldering gun and nodded.
“We should go home and eat,” Dark told him.
“Yes, I suppose.” Light nodded. “Dark, what do you think she’s doing?”
Dark didn’t have to ask who “she” was.
“Teaching maybe. Or sleeping. Or eating. Depends on what time it is on Earth right now,” he answered. “Why does it matter? We’ll never see her again.”
Speaking the words caused him no pain. He felt nothing now. The chemical emotion blocker that Yipper had given both of them was extremely effective—much better than the old system which had been controlled with the metal knob at the back of his neck.
Dark sighed and rubbed the place where the knob had been. It still ached sometimes with a phantom pain—the same pain he felt in his chest when he was about to sleep and Lili’s face popped into his mind.
It wasn’t an emotion—not really—but it almost felt like one. Dark both wanted to get rid of it and to savor it at the same time, which made no sense. But here in the light of day he had no such ridiculous ideas. He could remember the female both he and his brother had cared for without even a twinge of feeling.
“Do you ever miss her…miss Lili?” Light asked him.
“Lili,” Dark echoed. Her name tasted sweet on his lips but that was foolishness. Nothing tasted like anything here on Z4. Everything was bland—too many flavors could bring about unwanted emotions.
“Do you miss her?” Light asked again.
“No.” Dark took off his protective gear and hung it by the door. “Why would I? She’s gone—part of the past.”
“I know. I just…” Light sighed and shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s go home.”
“Let’s go home,” Dark agreed.
The two of them left together.
32
LIGHT
Light cast a sidelong glance at his brother as they made their way from their new job to the domicile they shared. Working at the mechanoid plant was a significant step down in status from their previous positions in the Dark Kindred military, but neither he nor Dark had wanted to fight anymore.
Besides, since they had taken the chemical emotion blocker, Dark no longer had access to The Fury which had made him such a fearsome warrior. The Berserker part of him was effectively silenced forever—which meant he wouldn’t be nearly as effective in battle.
Dark didn’t seem to care though—neither of them did. Every day was the same now—get up, eat their morning garn, go to work, eat their midday garn, work some more, go home, eat their nightly serving of garn, then sleep. And then they would wake up and do it all again.
And again and again and again until the day we expire, Light thought.
The thought stirred something in him. The ghost of an emotion that might have been sadness or longing…but it faded too quickly for him to tell. It was just as well—there were more sniffers than ever now on Z4—it wouldn’t do to be caught committing Feel Crime.
He sighed and reached down to rub one of his legs. He and Dark had gotten their enhancements upgraded to a more protective variety made with a stronger alloy when they had gotten their new jobs. Sometimes he missed his old leg sheaths though.
He wondered where they were—probably still lying in a bin at the workshop where they had gotten upgraded. Or possibly they’d been hauled to a junk house and were gathering dust. They had served him well, but they were no good to him now.