Dyllys

Dyllys was sitting on the exam bed with her legs hanging over the end. Faran watched as she swung them back and forth childlike. He wondered if it was a habit from before or if it was something that she had seen and decided was appropriate to do. It was hard to tell with her. He tried to see what her eyes said but she looked distant. Almost as if she didn’t want to be here.

The doctor came back and Dyllys’s legs stopped moving. She looked at him and blinked.

“I have never seen a model like her. How old is she?” the man asked.

“My aunt said that she was over two hundred years old,” Faran supplied.

“Two hundred? She must be one of the first models. No wonder she looks so different. It would account for her memory store being so long,” the man said pointing at the wings on Dyllys’s temples. Faran has to admit that it now made sense that she had wings when other androids did not, their minds were still able to hold all the information they needed, they had no need to expand outside of themselves as Dyllys had.

“So is there anything you can do to help her?”

“Well, to tell you the truth, you should just tell your aunt to get a new model. The degradation of her synthetic parts is not terrible, but her organic material is way past fixing, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. To fix her she would have to go back to the factory. They are the only ones that would know what to do with her. I don’t have her model information and the scans I can do aren’t sophisticated enough to pinpoint the problem. I think it’s time to upgrade, young man. The new AS-24 model that just came on the market would be a perfect replacement for her. They look similar and their programming seems to be about the same. Though, to tell you the truth, I think the sophistication of the technology in your Dyllys here is far superior to any of the models I have ever seen. Seems almost like a prototype. You should think about donating her to the historical museum here when you shut her down. She doesn’t seem like something that should be discarded and forgotten.”

Faran shook his head and stood. Dyllys stood as well. “Thank you Doctor for your advice, I’ll think about it.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I’ll give you the number for Davenport Electronics. I’m sure they would be interested in helping you.” The Doctor handed Faran a number and he thanked him. He gestured for Dyllys to follow him and they wandered through the lobby where Faran could see many patrons all waiting to get help with their androids. It was still strange for Faran to see so many androids here without them being a part of the military. It shouldn’t have bothered him so much. Tossu was a very old colony under the Ordalis Government. They had only occupied Radden for a small handful of years. There was still a lot of resistance on Radden. Faran never could understand why people felt they needed to be free of the Ordalis. What they offered was so much better than what those planets had before.

“So what do you think Dyllys? Should we call Davenport Electronics? Do you think they would have a solution to your problem?” Faran held the card in his hand flipping it back and forth between his fingers. He didn’t think such a big corporation would be willing to help Dyllys, not when she wasn’t even one of their products.

“There is nothing wrong with me. The doctor’s data was incorrect. I have no cell degradation. The only dysfunction I am suffering from is memory loss.”

“Maybe your self repair system is the problem,” Faran said mostly to himself. He was staring off into the distance. Dyllys did not reply.

* * * *

Glory was frantic when Faran and Dyllys returned. She ran out to meet them with a dangerous look in her eyes.

“Where were you?” was all she said.

“Dyllys and I walked to town last night. I’m sorry that I worried you, Aunty.”

“You took her to town. Faran you really shouldn’t have done that. She’s never left this estate before, and for very good reason.”

“Never left the estate? No wonder she doesn’t feel anything, having been stuck here for the past hundred years.”

“You don’t understand. There are people looking for Dyllys. We’ve been trying to keep her safe.”

“Looking for her? For a hundred years? I’m sure whoever was looking for her is long since dead. Did you ever think that new stimulation might be what would break through to her?”

“You’re really going to help her?”

“I am.” He couldn’t say more than that. He couldn’t tell Glory that he was using Dyllys to escape from all of them.

“Well then there are things you have to understand. Dyllys can’t leave this villa. And before you object, there are good reasons for it. When Salazar took Dyllys from Tossu he met up with the beginnings of Davenport Electronics. They were doing similar research to Salazar’s. They wanted him to join their research. Salazar met them around the time that he was starting to feel remorse for what he had done to Dyllys. He refused to join them. The reason Dyllys is far more sophisticated then Davenport Electronics can produce is because she was human before. Salazar didn’t want them to get any ideas so he brought her back here. Salazar had been to so many different worlds in his life that Davenport Electronics has never been able to find her. Mainly because we don’t let her leave this place.”

“That’s ridiculous. Don’t you think if they knew what Dyllys was that they would try to help her? You have been keeping her away from the one place that could possibly help her.”

“I don’t share your faith in people Faran. I’ve seen far too much cruelty come from the Ordalis, and Davenport Electronics is their lap dog. If you think that taking her to Davenport Electronics is the way to save her, I may have acted in haste. She doesn’t need that kind of help.”

Faran had never seen such hatred in anyone’s eyes. He realized that he didn’t understand Glory at all. What hold did Dyllys have over her that she acted so protectively? It wasn’t as if the story she had told him had happened to her. What did she stand to gain from helping Dyllys?

“I wasn’t going to call them anyway. Dyllys didn’t seem to want their help.” Glory looked relieved.

“Where did you take her anyway?”

“He took me to the doctor for a checkup,” Dyllys interposed.

Glory looked at Faran. Faran shrugged his shoulders. “I just wanted to hear what someone else had to say about her. You have to admit, your version of things sounds like some sort of fairy tale.”

Glory shook her head. “Sorry if I romanticized it, just the ideals of a lonely woman. Come inside. You must be famished after your little tryst.”

* * * *

It was the sound that woke her. It was the middle of the night. She could see the moonlight shining in from her window. She got off her bed and gazed outside. Only when she reached the window did she realize that it wasn’t moonlight she was seeing. Hovering in the sky above the house was a ship. It covered the entire sky above the vineyard. She had never seen such a ship before. It seemed menacing, threatening almost, and suddenly she thought of Faran and she felt she had to be near him. She dressed with conflict in mind, choosing a jacket and pants rather than one of Glory’s dresses, and ran from the room. She did not call out for him, instead she listened, and then she heard it, his heartbeat, distinct, just like Glory’s and the Doctor’s. They were all different. But it wasn’t just Faran’s and Glory’s she heard this night, she heard many others, ones she had never heard before.

She realized, as she emerged from the vines, that Faran was arguing with someone. The space in front of the house was ablaze with light. Dyllys felt as if she had emerged into day. She walked up behind Faran silently taking a position parallel to Glory.

“It seems the choice was made for you,” the man in front of Faran said. He pulled out a gun and trained it on Faran.

Dyllys reacted instinctively. She would not let harm befall Faran, she would die first. She ran in front of him, her arms outstretched, and stared into the cold eyes of the man in front of her. “I will allow no harm to come to my Padrone,” her voice was forceful and hard. Glory had never heard her sound like that before.

“Don’t worry Princess, we won’t hurt your Padrone if you only come with us and don’t make any fuss.”

“I am unable to make a fuss. But I cannot leave my Padrone.”

Faran grabbed her hand and pulled her back away from the man with the gun. “Dyllys, just run. Get as far away from here as you can.”

Dyllys turned and looked into Faran’s eyes. “I cannot leave you. I will not.” Faran thought he saw tears swimming in her eyes and then they were gone in a flash back to the cold stone mask that she wore.

The man with the gun gestured to those behind him and then Dyllys was staring at the unconscious form of Faran as he slumped into the arms of the waiting men. Glory was screaming at them to stop. The man she was beating on just brushed her off like she was a tiny bug and carried Faran away. Dyllys stared at Glory who was sprawled on the ground. Glory looked back at Dyllys, her face streaked with tears and blood.

“Looks like your Padrone is coming with us, Princess,” the man spoke at Dyllys ear. Dyllys was still looking at Glory.

“Then I will come.” Glory turned her gaze away from Dyllys and sobbed. Dyllys turned away and left Glory without a second glance. In her mind she had a sudden flash of a similar moment long ago when she had left behind Faran to follow Salazar. Dyllys was determined not to make that same mistake again.