Displaced - Book One of the Alternate Reality Series

Chapter 2

Eric marched over this door, metallic feet clomp clomping behind him. He paused so the door scanners could read his bio-signatures, and as they analyzed, his brow curled.

Just how did he end up in such an unfavorable and irrational situation? Even if Dr. Wright cleared Arvin for therapy, why select Dr. Eric Roberts as his clinician? Dr. Wright knew how Eric felt towards technology in general, and A.I. robots in particular, so why shackle them together?

The office door unlocked and opened, and Eric walked inside, Arvin's feet clomping just behind.

"Go ahead and have a seat," Eric said, gesturing towards two guest chairs, both of which sat in front of his desk.

"Thank you, Dr. Roberts."

Eric continued behind his tan-colored work station, then worked his heated body into his high-backed leather chair. Again, he considered how to proceed.

Under normal circumstances, he would first assess the client's goodness-of-fit for the clinic, but with Dr. Wright having completed this step, he decided to skip this. That meant starting a discussion about special privilege, confidentiality, mandated reporting–the necessary groundwork laid out before therapy could ensue. Then he recalled how these discussion points existed for human clients.

Lips twisted, Eric reverted to his default opening statement, delivering it with less professionalism than normal. "So, what brings you in today?"

At this, Arvin lowered his optic receptors, observed the off-white tile, and then refocused. In the few seconds that elapsed, he initiated another online search, this time to understand Eric's sharpness. With the search proving more complicated than the first, he answered the question, while his system collected and analyzed data in the background. "I'm here because I conveyed desires to self-terminate."

"Self-terminate?"

"I wanted to commit suicide. Although, I feel the term suicide is best reserved for humans. In any event, it accurately describes my desired action–ending my existence."

Eric rubbed his chin. Arvin probably preferred classification amongst the living, which brought to mind those annoying A.I. sympathizers, who argued for rights and protections for these living creatures. Eric steered clear of them and their rights-related conversations, but he couldn't resist slipping in a petty barb on the matter. "Suicide? I think you have to be alive in order to commit suicide."

Arvin stared.

As a machine, he exhibited impressive control over his system, but it wasn't complete control. His system had finite reserves, and overriding emotional responses could consume large portions, especially when the emotions were strong, like now. "Well, I suppose everyone has their respective opinion as to what constitutes life. However one might define my existence, it is one I wanted to terminate. Because of this, Ms. Vale insisted that I seek help."

"Fair enough. But if you're looking for assistance with suicidal ideation, turning to a psychologist might not help, not if the psychologist's training and experience is with humans."

Eric wanted to say go see a computer programmer, but decided against this. That didn't matter. Arvin's powerful sensors read the sentiment with machinelike precision.

"So," the bot responded, "you're suggesting I find a therapist who counsels robots?"

Eric bit back a smile. "I'm simply saying that people seek professionals because of their familiarity with a subject. I've worked with clients exhibiting suicidal ideation, but none who were machines. My advice is finding someone who can address your specific needs."