NO REACTION

July 2133

Winter arrived, and with the weather change, I got the flu. I had to quarantine, according to the Aether Network’s guidelines. I asked Takashi to inform the hospital about my condition and remained at home. My colds lasted up to two weeks, and the first few days were the worst. The headache, runny nose, malaise and body pain, besides the fever, vomiting and dehydration, left me completely helpless.
Four days later, at the height of my flu, I received a message from Dr Taylor:
“Akiyama, I heard about your situation. My best. I hope you return to work as soon as possible.”
I rolled my eyes at the obvious hint. Totally unwell, I left Takashi to take care of CogniSynth with my team while I was away, and as for Maia, I remembered to tell her.
“I won’t be collecting your blood for the next two weeks, so no worries.”
“Why?”
I threw my head back, leaning on the pillow, my body feeling heavy. “I’m sick. When it gets better, I’ll let you know.”
“Sick?”
“Yes. I got the flu.”
She didn’t answer anything else, and I was too weak to think.

I woke up in the evening feeling much worse. My body felt like it was tied to an anchor, leaving me without the strength to get up. I breathed through my mouth and my eyes were burning, giving me the sensation of being submerged. The miserable weather there made me feel colder. I set the flat to be warm and wrapped the covers around me.
Despite having no appetite, I needed to eat, so I ordered food delivery through an app, TastyTron. The drones dropped deliveries into an opening in my window.
As I waited, the doorbell rang, and I shuffled to the door. The security holoscreens were noisy and shaking, showing an empty hallway. The engineers must be doing maintenance, I thought, and didn’t think much of it.
When I opened the door, the little strength I had accumulated in my body left me. I almost fell trying to lean on the wall. Maia stood before me, holding a package in her hands. How did she get here?
“W-what are you doing here?”
I continued to lean against the wall pathetically. Maia looked me up and down in silence. My head was spinning and I was about to give in to the floor.
“I-I can I come in?”
I just nodded.
Maia put my arms around her neck and took me in her arms. “Where’s your room?”
I indicated the direction with my head.
She put me on the bed and took out the food I ordered and some medicine from the package. How did she get it? Very aware that asking wouldn’t do any good, I just accepted.
“I didn’t know what could help you, but I bought what the pharmacist told me. You’ll have to tell me what to do.”
“W-what…” I pointed to a painkiller and an antipyretic. I didn’t like taking medicine and always waited for the flu to go away on its own. However, I felt terrible and gave in.
“You…” She brought her face closer to mine and placed her forehead on mine.
My heart beat so hard I feared it would escape my chest. A blush must have coloured my face, but I didn’t want her to notice.
“You have a lot of fever,” Maia said.
Was she taking my fever? Such a way to measure a fever? Why so close? The symptoms worsened with her presence. Maia had that effect on me, and I couldn’t even react.
“Let’s wait for the medicine to work.” She pointed to the food I ordered. “I’m gonna eat this. As for you, I’ll cook something for you. That outfit of yours, you shouldn’t wear something so heavy. By the way, why is it so hot here?” Maia took control of the flat and lowered the temperature. “While I prepare your meal, go change into something lighter,” she said in a bossy tone, then left.
The glass that divided my bedroom and kitchen allowed me to see her. She opened the cabinets, drawers, refrigerator and pantry, looking for items and ingredients to cook. She placed some vegetables on the table and nimbly prepared the meal. I couldn’t see what it was, but I was curious.
Then, Maia raised her head and glared at me. I looked away, a little embarrassed, and grabbed some fresh pyjamas. I went back to bed and looked at the view, trying to distract myself from the discomfort and the fact that Maia was there with me. She always made it clear that she didn’t want to go to Zênite, but here she was.
Almost an hour later, Maia brought me a tray. I instantly recognised what she made: zosui, a Japanese dish commonly served to those with the flu, and shogayu, a drink with hot water and ginger.
I smiled. “Where did you learn this?” I said in a hoarse voice. I tried some of the food and it was delicious.
Maia shrugged, eating the food I had ordered next to me.
Anyway, I gathered some energy. Still cold, I covered myself with a thin blanket.
“Akiko…” Maia clicked her tongue, getting closer to me.
“What?”
She ogled at me, biting her lip. “Why did you do that…”
I restrained myself. “Do what?”
She was very close; her face close to mine. Her breath mixing with mine. Maia lowered her head, chuckled and walked away.
I looked away. My racing heart, my feverish body and my confused feelings didn’t let me think straight. I wasn’t doing well, and she still did this to me. I decided to watch the night through the window. Maia did the same.
After sneezing about three times, I blew my nose. — Aren’t you worried about getting the flu too?
She denied with her head. “I’m tough.”
I lay down. Maia leaned her arms against the headboard, getting right on top of me. No way. She keeps doing it.
“Where can I sleep?”
“A-are you going to sleep here?”
“Naturally. If not, how will I take care of you?”
I must have blushed even more, and I buried my face under the blanket. “Sleep wherever you want.”
“Wherever I want?” she said. “Even with you?”
I wanted to scream, but all that came out of my mouth was a muffled grunt. Why did she keep doing this to me? I heard my heart beat like a drum. I couldn’t stand firm by Maia’s side. Even less in the condition I was in. I uncovered her head, and she was smiling playfully as she looked at me.
“I can sleep in that armchair. Although I prefer to be close to you.”
“Why did you do that? I don’t understand.” The fever threatened to return, making me feel dizzy.
“You really don’t know?”
Too stunned to understand, I just grunted. Maia must have noticed my situation and she picked me up, without even waiting for my reaction. Even if I tried, I wouldn’t have the energy to protest.
“W-what are you doing?”
“When you have a fever…” Our eyes met. “It’s better to cool your body down.”
Maia took me to the bathroom and stood up.
“I won’t…” My cheeks burned. “Turn around.”
She rolled her eyes and turned away, giggling.
“You’ll stay there?” I turned on the water to lukewarm and turned on the whirlpool in the bathtub.
“Can’t I?”
I dived into the waters as soon as the bathtub filled, washing away all the weight I was feeling on my body. “You can turn around.” I was feeling a little saner.
Maia sat on the dressing table chair and crossed her legs, placing her ankle on top of her left knee, and resting her elbow on the arm of the chair. Her prowling eyes captured every movement I made.
“Akiko, Akiko…” she whistled, running her finger across her lips.
I rubbed the sponge against my skin, trying to ignore it, but it was impossible. I closed my eyes, but her provocative aura still reached me. I can’t, it’s too much… In a fit of fury, I got up from the bathtub and threw the sponge into the water. “WHY? WHY DO YOU—”
Maia fell back with the chair. Realising what had happened, I dived into the water, cowering. I looked over my knees and Maia was still lying down, mumbling something inaudible. Then she stood up, her face flushed, and glared at me.
“I’ll wait in your room,” she murmured.
I buried my head and gave a submerged scream. What was that, why? I finished my shower, but I stayed in the bathtub. My face and body burned with embarrassment. Anyway, I gathered some courage and went back to the room.
She was playing with her old phone and didn’t even look at me. How did she recover so easily? I think it should have been just me who felt that way. I lay down and got ready to sleep. She placed the armchair where she was going to sleep next to my bed. Oh, I was thinking too much. It was nothing. She was just being, she was just really nice. Yeah, that was probably it. That was definitely it.

The next morning, I thought Maia would have left, but I was wrong. And on the following days, when I woke up, she would bring me breakfast in bed, as well as all my other meals. Most of the day, we were silent because I was lethargic almost all the time.
Six days later, I got better from the flu and was more energetic.
“Better?” Maia asked when she brought me pancakes with chocolate and strawberry, accompanied by tea and milk.
“Yes.” I bit into the tasty pancake.
Maia sat on the bed. A beautiful sunset painted the sky with pink, lilac, and yellow. She sighed, resting her chin on her knees. She’s so beautiful. I finished drinking the tea, and she turned to me.
“What?”
I realised I was still staring at her. Damn, what was I thinking… I was grateful for the orange flicker for helping me hide my certainly red face.
“N-nothing.”
Maia smiled and took the tray to the kitchen. When she returned, she had control of the flat in her hands. I frowned, and she sat down again.
“Do you control your entire flat with this?”
Maia, looking amused, clicked the buttons several times. She warmed the room, then cooled it down. She turned the lights off and on. She changed the colours and we were under red, blue, orange, pink and many other lights. She turned on the music, turning the volume up and down. It darkened and lightened the windows and countless other things. It felt like I was facing a child with a new toy.
The sunset was in its final stages when Maia arched her eyebrow and smiled strangely at me.
“What’s that?” Then she pressed a button.
“Wha—”
The surrounding air changed.
The windows darkened enough to glimpse sunbeams reflecting off them. A soft orange-red light illuminated us and low music was playing. Our eyes met. She set the device aside. Slowly, she approached me, but not provocatively. She moved according to the melody of the song. A melody that accompanied the beats of our hearts. Not so fast, not so slow, but intense. I fixed my eyes on her, while the male voice sang:
Since you arrived in my life
I was out of breath
Your love found a way
Straight to my heart
Our faces were very close and our breaths were mixing. She let go of her intimidating aura, allowing me to feel her vulnerability. Just like me, she lowered her defences. Maia approached my body, and our heartbeats were in tune. Without moving, all my attention was on her. On her face, the freckles, the golden eyes and the white hair bathed in orange light.
“Akiko.” She rubbed her nose against mine, putting our foreheads together, and we closed our eyes.
Our lips touched. All her coldness became warm. She touched the back of my head and brought me even closer to her. Every part of me vibrated and I lost myself in that moment, under that music. Maia gently laid me down, pressing her body to mine. The heat invaded me more and more. She nibbled on my lips and we were both panting. It was as if time had stopped.
As we slowed down the kiss, Maia gave me a peck on my lip, until our faces separated.
We hugged and looked at each other. Without her coldness, all I felt was an incredibly pleasant joy. She was also smiling and our laughs were confused. I rested my head on her arm.
We remained contemplating the silence until nightfall.
All the doubts I had about Maia disappeared. It didn’t matter how opposite our worlds were. Even though we knew almost nothing about each other, even though all our differences created chasms between us, none of that mattered. Maia didn’t need to tell me for me to know how she felt about me. And I also knew that the feeling between us was just the beginning. The beginning of something intense and eternal that could even transcend…

***

I was deafened by the sound of planes taking off and helicopter blades filling the airport. The wind was whistling fiercely, and the summer rain was falling mercilessly. I could barely see what was a few meters in front of me.
Kiara parked in an abandoned place. “Here we are.”
She opened the boot, revealing the rest of the weapons arsenal. She took the ‘I’ll devour you’ and a machine gun. She also put a bandolier and two grenades on her belt. She checked my trousers holster and installed a soundproofing device on my biochip. The android looked sullen.
We were behind a rusty, crooked wire fence. She pointed to a black jet on the runway in front of us, and we passed through an opening in the fence and walked toward the aircraft. She held a revolver. I followed her, feeling lost among the blinding lights, under an intense wind and sounds of engines that disturbed my ears, even with the noise reduction activated.
Someone started walking towards us. The woman was an officer of the Aether Network. She was saying something, but I couldn’t understand anything. Kiara took quick steps, and I struggled to keep up with her. The officer got closer and closer, pointing a gun at us. My heart accelerated. I tried to talk to Kiara, but I couldn’t hear my own voice. Then, Kiara shot the woman right in the middle of the forehead.
I opened my eyes wide and let out a muffled scream.
We reached the plane, and when we got in, the door immediately closed behind us. The interior was well lit, with large, comfortable seats. I sat in the first chair, taking off my mask.
Kiara entered the cockpit and started the plane. The AI informed about the authorisation of Brasil-Egypt airspace and began the flight.
“…flight time to Cairo, Egypt, is estimated at fifteen hours. Have a safe trip,” said the robotic voice.
The android placed the weapons on the table and sat in front of me, with her legs open and her elbow resting on the arm of the chair.
“W-why?” I swallowed hard under Kiara’s intense gaze. “W-why did you do that?”
She rolled her eyes. “You still have a lot to learn.”
“S-she was from the Aether Network. Why did you do that?”
“She wasn’t a soldier.”
“No?” I was sure she was wearing the Aether Network military uniform. “But she—”
“She was one of Saymon’s androids.”
Android? Wait, I hesitated. Of course, when she was shot, no blood flowed from her head.
“I shot her because I wanted to. If we got close enough, she would have recognised me.” She smiled. “That was more fun.”
I frowned, affected by her ferocity. And did she say androids? It was impossible for a human to connect to more than one android. It was only possible to use more than one android through the Motherboard, but they weren’t connected to humans.
“So you’re telling me that,” I searched for words. — Does Saymon have more than one android connected to him?”
Kiara nodded. “This is Saymon’s special ability.”
A slight dizziness made my vision darken. How did he have more than one android linked to him? The overhead this should have. It should have been impossible, as the android’s nanites connected to human atoms in the process. Scientists have conducted hundreds of tests to overcome this, but the results have always been disastrous. All volunteers died from the overload and explosion of the atoms. How could he handle that amount of nanites? If this was indeed true, it meant an immense advance for science. Not only in relation to androids, but for all areas that use nanotechnology.
Kiara must have noticed my uneasiness and placed a hand on my knee. “You better try to rest. Once we land, there won’t be time for that. Sometimes some questions remain unanswered,” she said, as if she had read my thoughts.
“And Maia? Did she have it?”
Kiara became serious and looked out the window again. Although she ignored me, I didn’t care. I knew that as I explored that world, little by little, the answers would come to me. I tried to relax, listening to the noise of the plane in the air, and slept.

Chapter end