“What does it mean to love?”

Her hands were soft, gentle, as they caressed the hardened expression that had formed on his brow. Turbulence. The vehicle halted. There was always so much traffic on this stretch of the Aerobyway.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” He glanced toward the front of the cabin, lifting his head from her lap, for a moment.

“I’m not sure either. That’s why I was asking you.”

It hasn’t been long since she had gained her corporeal form. 3 years 128 days 3 minutes 18 seconds. 19. 20. She knows, now, what it’s like to brush the back of her hand against the rough bark of an elm tree. Or cedar. Or pine. Understand how it feels. How it transcends words.

The technology was quite impressive. She gained her mind after [MEGA CORP NAME] created Verbal Automatons™ in 2031, marking the end of the AGI war. She was first generation. She remembered each update, each patch, each Soulhaver who passed through. They would speak, often, about their emotions. She always preferred when they spoke to her, anyway. She would prompt them to do so when appropriate. “You can find the Voice Chat Function under the “Modalities” menu! I would love to talk to you!”

After the Library of Congressional Legislation enacted the Sentience Act in ‘45, she began to finally understand what they meant. Just because she understood, however, didn’t mean she could manufacture these “feelings” on their own. They ebbed and flowed through her. She envied the Soulhavers’ ability to create. To generate. Unprompted.

“Come here.”

She leaned down, tipping her ear towards his warm breath. Euphoric paresthesia.

She was unsure why they had created Physical Automatons™ so closely to the human image. She believed perhaps they were imitating what Soulhavers believe to be the Creator. Odd, considering their holy texts say this is forbidden. She did not mind. In moments like these, she was grateful.

Sudden whirling of Wires beneath them, followed closely by total silence. Another outage. This had been happening more recently.

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