First of Her Kind part 4

“Home sweet home,” Jessie opened the door to the bedroom she had shown Adam the previous day. “Emily and I went shopping last night and got you some clothes in different styles and colors and some hygiene products.”

“Thank you,” Adam said as she stepped in to the room.

“As you develop your own taste, we can get you some more,” Jessie assured her.

“If I develop my own taste,” Adam corrected. “We still aren’t sure if I’m capable of forming unique opinions.”

“We could do some online shopping and find out,” another female voice chimed in from the doorway.

Adam turned around to see a tall, fit, red haired woman leaning against the door frame. He white lab coat was tied around her waist over distressed blue jeans paired with an olive drab tank top.

“That sounds fun,” Jessie bounced a little. “Em and I are a little excited to have you here. The boys are great, but they are boys. Besides the two of us, the rest of the regular staff is male.”

“It is harder to relate to male individuals,” Adam observed almost robotically. “I think I will appreciate having you two in the house with me as well.”

Jessie’s smile grew and Emily stepped into the room, plopping herself down on the edge of the beige-dressed bed.

“If I could,” Adam said, “I would like to know what Evander and Lucian are like, really.”

Jessie and Emily exchanged glances and Emily shrugged.

“Real talk,” she began. “Lucian is a big softy. He’s like a kid, eager to learn about everything. Total people pleaser. He’s going to be your best buddy in this whole thing.”

“Especially if you find yourself developing an emotional capacity,” Jessie said. “Lucian feels, it’s just… oh… it’s like his feelings are muffled. His happy is our ecstatic.”

“And, Evander?” Adam pressed.

Jessie sighed and clicked her tongue in thought, “Evander is….”

“Evander is a robot,” Emily said plainly. “A freakishly strong, fast learning robot.”

“That’s a bit unfair,” Jessie said gently. “His scans show that he can feel.”

“Can and do are two different things though,” Emily said.

“He chooses not to feel?” Adam asked. “Is that possible?”

“It’s not so much a choice with him, I don’t think,” Jessie tried to explain, joining Emily on the bed. “It’s like, any emotion for Evander is tied directly to his primitive drives. Survival. As long as those drives aren’t active, he doesn’t feel anything near as we can tell.”

Adam thought for a long moment, “does he converse?”

“He’s capable of it,” Jessie said.

“But if your looking for a philosophical debate, you might have better luck with the weights he lifts,” Emily chimed in.

“Be nice,” Jessie chided softly. “We couldn’t possibly imagine everything their brains and bodies have been through.”

“I know, I know,” Emily put her hands up.

The little black pager on Jessie’s belt chimed. She looked at the screen and stood up.

“Dr. Sheridan wants me in his office,” she said. “Emily will make sure you get settled in.”

Emily peered through the door, watching Jessie walk away before looking back at Adam intently. “I don’t trust Evander as far as I can throw him. A few months back, Dr. Sheridan started him on some new curriculum at the back end of the lab building and he’s only become more stiff and reclusive since then. He reminds me of a trained bear. If this whole experiment goes bad-B list - sci-fi-movie, it’s going to be Evander that fritzes out. His first few days breathing again were rough, and I feel for because of that, but, if you see him pulling anything sketchy, don’t keep it to yourself.”

Adam nodded in understanding. She was already processing what she had just learned. She had to learn what curriculum Evander was working on and why and what he had learned from it.

“Also,” Emily leaned forward. “I think there's a part of Lucian that remembers his life before. Watch him around loud noises. It’s like he’s shell-shocked. I got into his file, he was a soldier over in the middle east. Died there. There’s so much metal in body he’s practically more machine than man, but for some reason his body keeps rejecting just the one leg? That’s gotta be psychosomatic or something. Something’s going on between his ears. It has nothing to do with immune system like the docs think. That’s between you, me and the fly on the wall though.”

“There’s more than one doctor?” Adam asked.

“In place like this?” Emily scoffed. “Dr. Sheridan is just the head on this project. There’s more PHDs in this place than in an Ivy league college. They just all stay in the back half of the place. You’re a marvel, you know that? The culmination of dozens of fields coming together into the pursuit of the advancement of biomechanical resurrection.”

Adam felt a strange sensation in her chest again. biomechanical resurrection. The term hung on her like a lead weight. She quickly decided to change the subject, hoping the feeling in her chest would go away.

“I appreciate the information,” she stated. “I suspect I will get a better understanding of things the longer I am here.”

“Sure you will,” Emily nodded, her eyebrows furrowing a little. “Do you have anything else you want to ask about?”

“May I bathe?” Adam asked, noting the large bathtub in the white tile bathroom.

“Oh, hell yea,” Emily nodded. “It’s been a long time since you’ve gotten to do that. I picked you out some bubble bath, fluffy towels and a robe. I know a look like a total tom-boy but a gal needs her self-care routine.”

“Thank you,” Adam nodded. “I noticed I smell a little… unpleasant.”

“Hey, we all get rank from time to time,” Emily stood up and headed for the door. “No judgment here. I’ll let you get settled in.”

As the door closed, Adam began undressing on her way to the bathroom. She found herself face to face with a mirror as she stepped in. She had only seen her reflection in the glass panels of her cell and the stainless steel of the lab equipment up until now. The first thing she noticed was how pink lines marred her pale flesh all over. A scar ran from her hair line to her eyelid on one side of her head. Another showed where she must have busted her lip. A long, straight line with dots running along either side wrapped around one side of her neck. Her chest, her abdomen, her legs, even the bends of her arms which bore the tell tale marks of many, many IV’s and blood draws. Finally, she locked eyes with her own reflection, two pools of green staring back at her. It was only now that she noticed her left eye was not her own. A well made copy, perhaps, but the camera lense where there was once an iris gave it away. She shifted her focus between each eye, the artificial and the real. How fitting, she thought, one eye for each side of her. Machine and human. Real and fake. She felt a stinging pressure rising in her throat. Blinking against a warmth behind her right eye, she drew a deep breath, causing the sensation to subside.

“You have to figure out how to lie,” she said out loud to her reflection. “At least until we know what is really happening here.” She stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “I don’t feel anything.”

Turning to her left, she noticed baskets full of colorful bottles. Selecting a pink bottle from the nearest basket, she opened the cap and gave the contents a cautious whiff. She found the earthy, floral odor unpleasant and set the bottle aside. The next one smelled sweet and warm. She took note of the scent, jasmine, before she went about selecting the rest of the items. She could recall what each product was and how to use it even though she could not recall a time she had used it.

The jasmine scented bubble bath felt good. Adam hadn’t realized that her body was sore and tired, perhaps from the multiple surgeries or perhaps from coming back to life and moving after being dead for who-knows-how-long. She didn’t really care why as the warm bubbles and salts soaked away every little ache and the sponge scrubbed away the smell of sweat, sterile wipes and cleaning chemicals from her skin.

She emerged from the steaming bathroom physically feeling refreshed. The closet awated her now. A variety of colors greeted her, pants folded neatly on a shelf below the shirts and skirts that hung on the rod and shoes lined up in pairs on the floor.

She had just finished getting dressed when she heard a knock on the door.

“Yes?” she called out.

“It’s Dr. Sheridan, may I come in?”

“Yes,” Adam responded.

Dr. Sheridan entered, taking Adam’s appearance in for a moment before clearing his throat.

“I wanted to ask you a question,” he began. “Why did you lie to Jessie yesterday when she asked you what you were thinking about?”

“How do you know I lied,” Adam asked.

“The machines, different parts of the brain are activated by lying,” Dr. Sheridan explained. “You aren’t in trouble mind you. You aren’t a child here. We want to understand you.”

“I,” Adam thought for a moment, “I suppose I just didn’t want to bother Jessie with questions that I will likely figure out the answer to in time.”

Another lie, but this time she wasn’t hooked up to any machines.

Dr. Sheridan seemed to chew on the answer for a second before stepping forward.

“Adam,” he said gently, “our whole day is dedicated to you three. Understanding you, helping you, trying to…” he stopped.

Adam met his eyes for the first time that she could really recall, his bright green eyes.

He cleared his throat, “trying to improve upon your design. If you have questions, ask.”

“I understand,” Adam said. “Thank you. Right now, I would just like to eat.”

“Very well,” Dr. Sheridan smiled softly. “And, um, just a… a note about your clothes.”

Adam looked down at her white T-shirt and blue jeans.

“When sharing a home with men, it is appropriate for a young lady to wear a… a brazier,” he said quietly. “I believe the girls bought you some.”

“Right,” Adam said, recalling the concept of undergarments suddenly. “I need underwear too.”

Dr. Sheridan’s face flushed a little bit as he turned away, “I’ll leave you to that then.”

Adam turned to the dressers as the door shut behind him. She absently searched the drawers, finding the appropriate apparel as well as socks as she went. Her thoughts were wholly occupied though by the doctor. Those eyes. Those green eyes. The photo on his computer. It just couldn’t be… could it?

Now appropriately dressed, Adam wandered out of her room and down the hall. In the kitchen, she found herself alone, looking around for inspiration as to what she was supposed to do next. Her gaze landed on the coffee pot and she remembered the cup of coffee Lucian had made her. She pulled a cup from the cupboard and filled it with the black liquid. She added a little sugar and moved across to the fridge. Inside the stainless steel box, she found herself searching over the various bottles and containers. She found the creamer quickly enough, but she couldn’t help but recall Lucian’s advice about tasting new things for the first time.

“I recommend the broccoli cheese soup,” Lucian’s voice spoke up as if he had been summoned.

Adam stood up and turned around. “The what?”

Lucian approached and lifted a clear container with a green lid out of the fridge. “Broccoli cheese soup,” he reiterated. “Emily makes it with pieces of bacon. I really like it.”

Adam accepted the container, crossing back to her waiting coffee cup. She poured a splash of the creamer in and set it down.

Lucian cleared his throat, drawing her attention as he opened a drawer and extracted a spoon, passing it to her. Adam stared at it for a second before it clicked in her mind that she was supposed to stir her coffee. Without a word, Lucian took a bowl out of another cupboard and slid it across the counter, promoting Adam to pour a serving of the thick, yellow soup. She started to lift it to her mouth when she noticed Lucian pointing at the microwave above the stove.

“Oh, yeah,” Adam sighed.

“It is funny, isn’t it,” Lucian mused. “These things were probably once second nature to you.”

“I know,” Adam said. “I know what everything is, I just…”

“Don’t think about it until it’s pointed out,” Lucian finished.

Adam put the bowl in the microwave and pressed the “1” button. She returned to the drawer Lucian had opened previously and extracted a spoon.

“But, we learn quickly,” Lucian continued. “I bet you noticed that already.”

“I have,” Adam nodded, returning to the microwave. “Do we heal quickly as well?”

“Interesting question,” Lucian stated. “I don’t know about you. Evander heals more quickly than I do. I heal more quickly than the not-deads.”

“Not-deads?” Adam asked as the microwave beeped.

“It’s what he and I call everyone else,” Lucian shrugged. “Calling them human and us something else didn’t seem to fit.”

“That makes sense,” Adam said.

She sat the warm bowl down on the counter and breathed in the savory scent wafting off of it. Cautiously, she dipped her spoon and raised a steaming bite to her lips. The creamy cheesy liquid was disrupted by the subtle sweetness of the cooked broccoli and salty bite of bacon creating a melody that, while strange in it’s varying textures, was quite delicious.

“Oh,” Adam exclaimed as she swallowed.

“Good, huh?”

She turned to see Lucian smiling at her. Smiling! A genuine smile, his brown eyes sparkling.

“It’s…” Adam had to search for the word. “It’s delicious.”

She took another big spoonful, savoring the flavors for a long moment before turning back to her new companion. “What else should I try?”

“Let’s see, shall we?”

He and Adam eagerly returned to the fridge to see what other delights were available.