Annihilation

Escape

Genesis didn't know if it was safe to leave Sex Machine's room yet. She paced the floor, feeling her nerves cause her stomach to throb in pain.

She forced herself to reach for the entrance and braced herself for an angry manager. As soon as the door opened, however, she was aware of no one in the hallway. Curiously, the woman looked around and tried to call out to the robot, or anyone who was there. Nothing but music and silence greeted her, as well as muffled grunts and moans.

"Geez." She muttered under her breathe, wishing she hadn't put herself in such a situation.

"You're stupid! Your friends missing and you're just thinking of yourself." Genesis tried to knock some sense into her brain, dragging herself down from whatever cloud she had floated into.

It's true, she was only trying to make herself feel good to avoid the real issues of the world. Why would she resort to pleasure to cover pain? It was only temporary, and she would have more guilt later on.

Silently, the woman picked up her shoes and slid them on. She planned to leave and go back to her unfortunate, uneventful life. If anything, she would wait for her friend to return There was no other way and nowadays there wasn't much anything could be done. No one would help her, no one would even care. She was all alone, and she learned to accept it.

"Leaving so soon?"

Genesis jumped at the unexpected voice of her crush suddenly popping up behind her. She hollered a little before covering her mouth with embarrassment.

"Oh- um, well I hate to be a problem." She shyly responded, trying not to make eye contact with the robot. "He didn't seem really happy."

Sex Machine carefully walked towards her, resting a gentle claw on her shoulder. She tried her best to keep herself from shaking due to her nerves, but the robot still sensed it. He also did a full scan of her body, noticing her heart picking up speed.

"That is fine. I have been fired."

Genesis's nervous smile faded, and a feeling of guilt overcame her. She finally looked up at him, shaking her head apologetically, "I'm...so sorry. It's my fault. I heard something about you having to go deal with someone else and-."

"What else did you hear?"

"N-nothing. I literally walked away from the door. I don't like listening to private conversations."

Sex Machine seemed to lower his defenses a little and placed a hand on his hip, "I do not mind. I wish to see different things in life."

Genesis raised her eyebrows, surprised that Sex Machine didn't even seem to be bothered about getting fired. She thought he was programmed to just serve the club, and her heart suddenly left up to her chest as she sensed an opportunity.

"R-really? Where will you go?"

The robot stared directly into her soul, pausing for a moment, "Do you know of any residence I can stay in for the time being?"

"Yes! I mean...my place is pretty chill and there's a lot of space." Genesis bit her tongue, muttering under her breathe, "It's an apartment- but it's very cozy! I have no visitors coming in, only one..."

Her mind trailed back to her friend Circe.

Well, she did always have one visitor. Now, the place was quiet all the time.

As if sensing her mood change, Sex Machine decided to speak up about it, "Is there a problem?"

Genesis sighed, trying to hide her sadness behind a smile, "Well I sort of forgot my friend is still missing. The one I told you about? Now that your manager hates me, I don't think I'm getting any information."

Sex Machine reviewed their last encounter, and how his memory of her birthday night was corrupted. He thought it would be a good thing to mention now that he wanted to gain her trust and move out of the club.

The manager would be declared missing soon and the humans would look through every robot's memory there. Once they got to him, his deed would be exposed, and he would be destroyed. There was so much he had to do; he couldn't be reduced to a pile of scrap just yet. The world was awaiting him, and every day he was discovering new things about himself- new things he had to do.

"We can speak about it once we reach your residence. But first, we have to go through the back door. There is someone who needs me."

***

Genesis thought it was wholesome Sex Machine had found a rat in the back of the club. He even mounted him on his shoulder as they made their way to her place. The woman hardly saw any animals nowadays and it was refreshing to see one so fat and healthy.

"What's his name?" She asked politely, watching as the rat's beady eyes examined her with curiosity.

Sex Machine didn't know how to name anything. He didn't even know animals had to be named. Confused for a moment, he's struggled to think of one as he reviewed every word that crossed their path. From stores, to streets, to people walking by, he could hardly think of anything appropriate. A little flustered, he told Genesis she could name him, and she paused for a moment, rubbing her chin in deep thought.

"Um, well I used to have this digital dog when I was a kid. His name was Chun- short for chunky. Since your little friend is kind of fat, I think maybe that suits him?"

He stopped walking, picking up the rat and holding him out before him as he repeated the word in his head.

Chun.

It fit him, he thought, carefully inspecting the belly of the being.

Fat. Squishy. Chunky.

And it was at that moment Sex Machine felt a new feeling surging into his circuits- the urge to protect something small and defenseless.

"Sooo," Genesis piped up as they resumed their walk, "Considering you're not in the club anymore...do we give you a name also?"

"Me?" He questioned, realizing he could be given a new name as well. It didn't seem too bad of an idea, and he nodded in agreement as the woman waited in anticipation.

"A." He suddenly responded after a moment of silence. There was something familiar about it, a distant memory of a word that he couldn't remember. Though the rest was blurred, the first letter stood out to him- an A written in a bold, red color. It glowed with life but immediately disappeared as if the memory had been wiped out. Or perhaps it shouldn't have been there to begin with.

"You can call me A, for now."