Ghost in the Machine

Found

Rusty hinges squealed like frantic pigs as joints long ignored moved, allowing bay doors sealed by time and decay to open. Amber sunlight pooled through the opening, spreading like melted butter along the thick, debris strewn floor, overgrown with persistent weeds and silt. His eyes adjusted to the gloom gradually, the beam of his lantern casting shadows along the long-abandoned walls and floor.

"What'd we get Dad?" The eager voice belonged to a youth of about seventeen years, shining his own light inside the abandoned unit.

"Not sure yet. The auctioneer said this was paid up until six months ago, although the unit is so old there's no account of who owned it, or what they stored here."

"That's a long time."

"They figure pre-war, but since it was paid for no one could legally open it."

"Eww!" The boy covered his nose and mouth as he stepped inside. "What is that smell?"

"Something crawled in here and died, most likely." Greer Rhaner glanced at his son with a taunting grin. "Probably a rat."

"Dad!" It was an established joke between them that rats were disgusting vermin and to be loathed and avoided. Kai hated them. "Not funny!"

"It was a little funny." Chuckling, Greer glanced around the room, glad the door faced west so the fading sun helped chase shadows away. "Hope there's something in this junk box to make our credits worth it."

"Doesn't look like much." The adolescent kicked over a large tin, hearing whatever that had solidified inside rattle. "May be a bust, Pops."

"You know I hate it when..." A very faint sound made the father stop, swinging his lantern around, held high. "Hold on a second...you hear that?"

"What?"

"Humming," Greer's eyes squinted as he started into the darkness, beginning to feel uneasy about this purchase. "Kai, come toward me a bit, away from that corner."

The boy obeyed instantly but he walked backward, his lantern illuminating the shifting dust of the storage unit. The humming was louder now, more distinct and they saw it at the same time.

"Dad!"

"Wait!" Greer clamped a hand over his son's shoulder, squeezing hard. "Hush a minute."

He took a cautious step forward, then another, pushing a stack of boxes out the way, feeling the carboard crumble to dust in his hand. What met his eyes sent a chill of dread through him, a golden plank of sun fully exposing the reason this unit had been locked up for so many years.

Her eyelids moved a little then opened, pupils dilating and readapting as they focused on him. No emotion flickered through red irises, the glow softly illuminating her delicate features.

"Hello," she said softly, as if being introduced at a dinner party. "What is your name?"

"Greer Rhaner. Who are you?"

"I am for you," she answered cryptically, blinking once, long and slow. Crystal blue irises had replaced red as the humming came to a stop. "Who is the youth with you, Greer Rhaner?"

Greer stiffened, unsure about involving his son, not convinced she wasn't dangerous. If she was what he thought...

"My son, Kai."

"Kai Rhaner." Her gaze lingered on him a moment before returning to Greer. "I am glad to know you both."

"Who are you?" The boy blurted, chagrined when he father shot him a dark glare from over his shoulder.

"I am for Greer Rhaner," she told him.

"What are you," Greer demanded cautiously. Clear blue points moved back to him, unwavering, blank.

"Echo Class, series five prototype."

Greer swore aloud as his son yelped in excited surprise. Echo Class were androids, a forbidden form of technology since The War. Now one was his property, and with that knowledge came the certainty that their lives were about to change. Nothing of what he saw coming bode well.

Are you ready for this?
~ Sara