Stormy Weather

You spent the remainder of the day hiding in your office, trying to focus on work and forget what you had seen earlier. Logically you knew that you didn’t owe Lana any kind of apology. She was a machine, she didn’t feel things like shame or a need for privacy.

But still, it nagged at you.

Thankfully when you looked at your watch it was time to pick the kids up from school. You could focus on them and put everything else out of the way.

You were at the front door in a moment, keys in hand and ready to leave when Lana stopped you up.

“Mr Taylor?” She inquired pleasantly, “are you going to get the children?”

“Yeah,” you said absently, unwilling to meet her gaze.

“Take this,” she said, handing a raincoat. “The forecast has indicated that heavy showers are to begin soon, and my own internal processors detect the increased presence of moisture in the air.”

You stared at her for a moment, but then took the coat and threw it around your shoulders. “Thanks, we’ll be home soon”

“Drive safely, Mr Taylor.”

As Lana had predicted, it rained. A light drizzle at first before giving way to a heavy shower and furious winds. You had to race out of the car to grab the kids and then race back in, both of them more than a little drenched.

It was hell getting home, but thankfully you all made it in one piece. Lana stood near the door, a bundle of warm, dry clothes waiting for you and the children.

“Thanks Lana!” Sarah said, hugging the android. “You’re the best!”

Lana merely inclined her head, her doll’s smile in place. “I am very happy to have helped, Sarah.”

A crack of thunder hit outside, so loud that it rattled the house. The pelting of the rain continued, almost deafening as it collided with the roof.

Tommy tugged at your sleeve. “Dad, what about Waffles?”

“Hmm?” You frowned in confusion, but then it clicked for you. The cat. “What about him?”

“I let him out this morning,” your son chewed his bottom lip with worry. “Can we go get him? He’s probably gonna get soaked…”

You went over to the window and looked into your backyard. Sure enough, that ginger cat was huddled up by a tree, looking distressed.

“I don’t want you out in that rain, you’ll get sick,” you said, frowning at the sky. “And I’m sure Waffles can hide under the house if it gets too bad. He’s done that before.”

Lana approached you both. “I can retrieve the cat, if you’d like. The cold and wet won’t affect my internal systems.”

You looked between the android and your son, took note of his troubled expression. He loved that damn cat, even if no one else did. You sighed. “Ok Lana, go ahead.”

With another bow, the android walked out into the mini monsoon that was occurring outside and walked briskly to the cat. Scooping him up, she made it halfway across the lawn before the creature wriggled free and rushed inside through the open door. Lana made to continue her path, when another rumble of thunder cut through the sky. The world seemed to shrink away and grow quiet, and then, to your horror, a bolt of lightning shot down and struck Lana. There was a flash, and you thought you could see the silhouette of her titanium skeleton. In a blink the android was drown, sprawled across the lawn like a puppet with its strings cut.

The kids screamed in horror, and you rushed outside, heedless of the rain and began dragging the android back inside. She was heavier than you thought, but with a bit of effort you managed to get her through the back door and set her down near the sofa.

Scars webbed across the android’s flesh and steam rose from her body as she stared lifelessly. For one agonising moment you thought that whatever spark that constituted the android's life had gone out forever, but then there was a blue glow in those eyes and slowly the scars began to heal, and Lana bolted upright.

“Are you ok?” You asked hesitantly.

The Android blinked several times, turning her head this way and that way as if listening to a series of silent commands. Her eyes grew focused, and she looked up at you. “There is some... damage... to my positron brain….” She looked away, as if going through something mentally, “files...gone...systems...corrupted.... but a system reboot has helped mitigate the damage.”

"But you're going to be alright?"

She rose in one smooth, unnatural motion and opened her arms to embrace the crying children. She rubbed their backs in a maternal fashion. Her eyes remained fixed on you, however, and you noticed that there was a little bit more warmth in her expression.

"Mr Taylor, I've never felt better."