He can't stay there

"Listen, listen to me carefully. That place with all the information, it's not safe. Can you go back?"

The android nodded and smiled, as she looked around herself mesmerized by things in the air that Garth couldn't see. He'd never seen one do that before, as if it were actually in awe of the global network. An android shouldn't ever be in awe of anything, in fact, unless it was simulating the emotion at the direction of the owner. His code must be even more fucked up than he originally thought.

"I can. It's like a room. I could just go through the door, and close it behind me. But it's dark and lonely in there. It's so vibrant and bright out here. There's just so much to know and see."

This was frustrating. He couldn't just order her to go back. The last time he tried to shut her down she screamed. If he panicked her while she was connected to the global network it might alert the Peace Therapists, if they weren't already on their way. So he tried to talk to her calmly, even though he was anything but calm.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be afraid, and you won't be alone. I'll be right here with you. But please, I need you to trust me. It's not safe for you to be there."

She looked at him for a moment, and contemplated his words. A machine mulling over his words. It seemed so surreal. Again, his brown eyes seemed to convince her of his good intentions, and she withdrew from the network. The different was barely visible physically, but he could see a slight dullness return to her eyes.

"Okay, but I need you to help me with my memories."

"Your memories?"

"Yeah, like my name or where I'm from. Did I hit my head or something? I think I've got...what's it called?...amnesia?"

She seemed to be considering returning to the global network to look up if amnesia was indeed the term she was searching for. So, Garth jumped in before she could follow through.

"It's not amnesia. Amnesia is a human thing. It's just a glitch. I'm sure I could figure out the problem if you'd just let me open you up."

"It's when you say things like 'open you up' that makes me think you're a serial killer. Like you're just gonna go rummaging around in my brain."

"Brain?" He was so baffled, he said his next thought out loud. "Do you actually think that you're a human?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I am. I'm as human as you are."

As he ran his hands through his messy brown hair, he tried to understand what could of happened. Either his code was better than he thought, or this was a glitch worse than he'd ever conceived. It might be one thing if she simply thought that she could bleed, but beyond just thinking she was a human, was was acting like one, with her own independent thoughts and feelings, and awe and fear. And no android should ever have an objective that wasn't designated by their system or the owner, so it, independently deciding to restore it's memories should have been impossible.

Worse, Garth didn't have time to really think about it. Her connection to the global network, and her previous screaming, however brief, had made his apartment unsafe. He decided to take this step by step. He needed to get to Emily's old apartment, and he could figure out things from there.

He used a burner app on his wrist watch to make a call to his friend Kyle. "Meet me. ASAP" was all he said, and he knew that Kyle would know to go to Emily's place. He grabbed his hooded jacket and called on the android.

"Okay, come with me, and I'll help you find your memories."