Era of Madness

Father and Daughter

But, was she truly a little girl anymore? Penny, as an android, was created fifteen years ago, with the mind and the body of a little girl. Therefore, her real mental age was somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five years old.

Either way, she wasn't a kid anymore, assuming she ever was.

Vainly trying to ignore those thoughts, Harry hugged his daughter:

"Haha, thank you for the free hairbrush, my, hip, little peanut, you know I love you" he said.

They remained like this for a moment, and then Penny's voice was once again heard in the room:

"Dad... you know, I remember the first time I saw you" she said. "I just had my memories uploaded, my body was functionnal, I finally became a person. And then, for the first time of my life, I met someone else that the people who made me. It was really strange, you know? Even if I never met you before, I knew just too well who you were. What was our bond. At this moment, it was like you were both a complete stranger and the one I was the closest too. It was really strange"

"My little peanut... why are you, hip, saying that now?" Harry asked, an omnious feeling growing inside of him.

"Dad, I... you know, for years, I didn't really feel like I was truly your daughter"

"Wh-what?"

"You were there, playing with me, tucking me when night came, giving me food to eat, being kind all the time... I was happy, truly, I swear I was, but deep down, I knew that for you, I was only there to replace the original Penny, just a toy for replacement. And deep down, for me too, you were just someone I was made to treat as my dad, but you weren't"

Harry didn't move, he just closed his eyes again, trying to stopthe tears from coming out:

"I understand" he said. "Back then, even if, hip, I wouldn't have confessed it, I... I didn't truly considered you as my child. It... it changed, I swear! Now, you're nothing less than my precious little peanut, my loved child! But... I guess I can understand if you don't accept a selfish drunkard such as me as your dad..."

"No, dad, you don't understand, even if I was thinking so back then, I truly see you as my dad now!" Penny quickly said. "You're my dad, and... and I love you... That's why I dont support to see you like this!"

She slapped him with her little hand, leaving him speechless. But that didn't stop her from speaking further:

"Dad, I'm an android, and my body can't grow, never! But... but that doesn't mean my mind don't change as the time pass" she said. "Because my body remains a child's body, and you keep treating me as if I was one, I grew slower, far slower than the other children of my age... but I still grew, dad!"

"What... what are you trying to say?" Harry asked.

"I'm trying to say that I'm not a blind kid anymore, dad! You think I didn't see it? Didn't see you destroying yourself more and more everyday? Dad, I saw it! I saw it all! I know how much you hate Enry Arsin! I know how much you hate the Paradise Council! I know... I know how much you hate yourself! And you know what? I also hate myself for not being able to help you!"

"Penny, I... I didn't know..."

But Penny didn't let him finish his sentence and kept talking:

"You know, when I saw Erica and the others, at first I didn't know what to think. What were you exactly thinking inviting criminals in here? Were you really trying that much to get executed by Glactia-62's authorities?"

"I- I just wanted to bother them... I..." Harry started, his voice breaking halfway.

"I know. And that's when I realized: no matter how much I tried, just me wasn't enough to stop you from destroying yourself. So when I saw them... the girl, Erica... I came to see her and did a play of the begging child, I said... I begged her to kill Enry Arsin for you, using every ounce of my child's charm"

"Wh-what? Penny, what were you thinking, it's extremely dangerous! What if they got captured aiming for this bastard? What if they got angry against you as you would've been the one to cause their capture? What if they confessed it was us who hid them? Then, we would've been executed! I... I don't want to lose my daughter again!"

Penny started crying too, and looked him in the eyes:

"And what was I supposed to do?" she asked. "I tried, I really tried! I did everything I could to help you, my dad I love more than everything, to get better, but for no result, you keep destroying yourself, again and again! No matter if I play my child role or if I act as an adult... it's all useless..."

Penny curled up into a ball, sobbing:

"There was a time I thought it'd work, but I now realize that there's nothing I can do! None of what I do on my own can save you... my dad will only keep destroying himself until director Arsin dies, maybe even after..." she sobbed. "If there was anything I could do, even if it meant leaving you, then I'd do it... I just want to see you happy, dad"

Harry remained silent too.

Actually, would he really feel better if Enry Arsin died?

Yeah, maybe all this hatred and all this anger accumulated through the years would disappear. But what would be left?

Nothing, only an empty shell would remain.

Because this was all that was left of the former scientist Harry Wiser: an empty shell feeling itself with resentment and alcohol.

Harry thought back to some decades earlier, as he was walking through a park with his wife. They were both tired, so they sat on a bench. He was looking at his wife, wondering how such a beautiful, kind woman had done to fall in love with a man like him, that was neither handsome, charming, rich, influent or funny. But when he asked, she simply laughed, gave him a little tap on the head, and replied with these few sentences:

'Because you're you. You're kind, loving, loyal and hardworking. It might seem stupid, but why would I want anything more? As long as you do your best for us, it's only normal I do the same, right? Even if sometimes we fail, it doesn't matter. I'll always, always love you for the hardworking lover you are'

Hardworking lover... such a weird term, truly the kind that should've remained in his mind, and yet he had forgotten it until this day.

Forcing himself to get his smile back, Harry stood up, to Penny's surprise. He grabbed his coat and extended his hand to Penny:

"Thank you for your help, my adorable, lovely little peanut" he said. "Thank you for trying so hard to help me, you're the best daugther I could've wished for. Now, thank to you, I think I'm ready to turn a new leaf but before that, I have one last thing to do... can I go for it? I won't do it if you don't allow me"

"It depends, can I go with you?" Penny asked back.

Harry hesitated for a second, then replied:

"Of course you can, it'll be our great father-daughter moment" he said.

"Then let's go" Peny replied, taking her father's hand in her own.

They started walking toward their objective, together.

"Yes, let's go" Harry said. "It makes too long already since I last did some hardwork... so let's do some, this time for a good cause"