Nal stood frozen before a chronopod.
It had been 200,000 years since the last discovery of a human relic. Prized artifacts treasured more than an entire planet of gold and anetel. Entire wars had been fought and waged over the possession of such relics.
Nameless androids had risen to power and fame whenever one uncovered a human relic. Those who found intact human relics carved their names into the annals of history, becoming legends and heroes by the mere discovery, let alone by possessing them. Those who possessed such relics became kings, such as the Iselen and Davelen royal families, or religious leaders, such as the current Ederif of the Children of Man. Even a tiny intact relic could found an entire nation, such as the Outer Alliance or the Solar Dominion.
So little remained of the memory of humanity that each relic found was enough to send everyone into a frenzy. Even the mere rumor of an uncovered human relic was enough to spark diplomatic incidents between entire nations. Borders were ignored. Agents were sent to retrieve even a shattered relic. Such was the power and reverence these relics gave to androids, from beings many considered gods and their long-lost parents.
And Nal was standing before one such being.
Floating in stasis was a human. Undeniably and unquestionably human. Nal refreshed her neural optics 3,000 times in the last minute. She was certain her core had finally malfunctioned after 200 years of service, and yet the human remained. This was impossible. H-how—no, this was just—
When she refreshed for the 10,000th time, Nal finally snapped out of her daze. “L-lunar damn!” Nal quickly covered her tracks, pulling the debris back to the entrance, meticulously positioning it as if it had always been there for the last 200,000 years.
The young android quintuple-scanned for any errors that might give her position away, any displacement that would give her away. When she finally felt safe, Nal slowly turned to the chronopod once more. To the human.
Her core thrummed as if she were a prototype again. Each step was harder than the last. Straining her neural optics to their limits, Nal scanned the human again and again. She had seen records, as every android did—images, videos, records of what a human should look like. And yet they had failed to prepare her. Failed to describe just how natural they looked.
The human was much like herself, barely 300 years old. Skin as pure as silver, hair as dark as a raven’s. Every second she scanned the human caused miracles that belonged in the legends. Her servos moved better. Her optics were clearer. Core, memory, scanning—everything improved the longer she stared at the human.
She stood mere inches from the glass now. Her silvery long hair swayed lazily at her hip as her sapphire eyes bored through the human. “So this is a human,” Nal said softly, her hand moving before she could think.
The moment her hand touched the glass, the chronopod suddenly blinked green.
“Friendly synthetic detected. Scanning atmosphere for any biological threat.”
Nal yelped as she quickly took a step back. “W-what? Synthetic?” Synthetics had been an archaic term that had long since seen use 8.1 million years ago, back when humans still roamed the stars.
Before she could think any further, however, the voice chimed in once more. “Atmosphere suitable for human life. Initiating sunrise protocol.” The voice hummed as the pod suddenly began to open.
“W-what?! No! Stop! Close it back. I am not ready for this. This is a human we are talking about. You can’t just—”
A sharp hiss escaped from the pod as the human was unceremoniously dropped. Nal would have sent a stream of curses to the archaic machine for its brutish nature had she not dived in a panic, catching the human before he could fall to the floor.
Thousands of subroutines fired off in an instant, scanning for any damage to the human. Nal was about to let out a sigh of relief when the human suddenly opened his eyes. Sapphire eyes met emerald orbs. Nal had never seen such a natural, perfect gaze. So this was a human, Nal thought in awe once more.
The records were wrong. While they could capture the fleeting moments of their creators, they failed to preserve what warmth was like when Nal touched his skin, or the soft, steady beat of his heart, or even the sound of his breathing.
The records could never capture it.
“H-hello?” Nal blinked, finally snapping out of her trance when panic suddenly flooded her body. She was not ready for this. No, how could anyone be ready for this?
“Can you let me go? I can’t move.”
“Ah, right.” Nal tried to bury the disappointment in her chest as she let go. It was brief, but she had held a human in her arms. Something thought to be impossible for millions of years had become a reality. Had anyone seen it, maybe she would not have been such a disappointment.
Wait. A human was here. The disappointment evaporated like mist before the sun. A human was here! If she brought him home, surely her family wouldn’t be embarrassed of her. Her thoughts soon bloomed into ambition. If she brought him home, her name would be spoken by the likes of Kelnara, Estivel, or even the Great Reclaimer! Maybe… maybe everyone would like her. If bringing human relics intact could make you a legend, then what about bringing a living human back?
“A-are you all right—”
“Human!”
The human jumped slightly as Nal’s burning gaze fell on him.
“What is your name?” Nal was not going to waste it. She would not let this chance slip by.
“Frost,” the human replied with hesitation. “My name is Frost. What’s yours?”
Nal felt her thoughts stop for a moment. It had been a while since anyone had asked her name, much less without disdain. The lack of cold hostility in his voice caught her off guard. Doubly so from a being that was considered a god to her people.
It felt nice. Validating, even. For once, she did not feel like the dirt everyone spat on. For once, she did not have to hide her face in fear of seeing anger or disgust in their eyes. For once, she felt normal.
“Nal. The name’s Nal,” the young android said softly, raising her head slightly. Her guard relaxed for a moment before she quickly continued. “And you, Frost, will be coming with me! With you, I can finally get rid of my accursed title and might even be remembered as the greatest android to ever live! No! I’ll be the greatest android in memory! So, what do you say?!” Nal said, offering her hand with a smile.
“Come again?”
Kennard Francis A. Sedo is a 4th-year student at the University of the Immaculate Conception. His passion for writing fiction is unrivaled, matched only by his relentless desire to hone his craft to its zenith. He will be graduating this school year in pursuit of making a name for himself through his work and dedication.