Can’t Leave Me

It was nearly noon when Kenny finally woke up. He rolled off of Wisdom with a groan. Wisdom quickly rolled away from him and off the bed. She ran into the closet, grabbed her duffle bag and started shoving things in it.

"What are you doing," Kenny asked confused.

"Leaving," Wisdom answered.

Kenny scoffed in disbelief, "You can't leave me."

"The hell I can't, Kenneth Ian Samuels. I am not your property. I am not some sexbot or whore you can loan out to cover your gambling debts. And I am not going to be treated as such."

The memories of the previous night rush into his hazy hung over head. No wonder he's still in his clothes. And his mouth feels like he's been chewing on a dead rat.

He steps into the closet with her and dumps her duffle bag out onto the floor. Her angry response is "You jackass."

It's the first time he's heard her curse. And if circumstances were different, he would have found it amusing. Except his fiancée, sexbot, toy, what ever she is, is trying to leave him. Which seems asinine to him. But he isn't going to try to argue with her. So, he tosses her over his shoulder.

"Put me down," Wise demands angrily. "You reek of smoke and booze and lord knows what else. Put me down."

Kenny ignores her protest and demands as he carries her into the master bathroom with him. Where, with her over his shoulder, he promptly rinses out his mouth with mouthwash. He starts the shower and manages to slip out of his clothes with her over his shoulder.

He stands Wise on her feet in front of him in the shower and she demands, "Let me go." But he doesn't let go. Instead, he pulls her against him and holds her.

He tells her, "I'm sorry. I had way too much to drink. I can't explain my actions. I don't know what I was thinking. The wager wasn't my idea, but I shouldn't have agreed to it. I was drunk out of my mind. I'm sorry. I love you. It won't happen again."

She doesn't look like she believes him, but he gently covers her mouth with his own anyway. She's stiff at first. But he gently pulls at her lips lovingly with his own and she finally relaxes in his arms and yields to him. A few minutes later his wet t-shirt hits the floor outside the shower. Things still remain tense for the rest of the day.

Kenny barely lets Wise leave his sight and he hides her car keys because she had been serious about leaving him. He touches her frequently just to assure himself. Made love with her a few more times just to assure himself he still could and she was still his.

Yet, as he drives them to his parents' for dinner, things are quiet.

"You look beautiful," Kenny breaking the silence.

"Thank you."

"Is that a new dress?"

"Your mother bought it for me."

Kenny nods as he parks the car. His mother had picked out a dress that was very flattering on Wisdom. He rushes to the passenger side, opens the door and helps her from the car. He retains her hand until his parents greet them. Then his parents introduce them to his great uncle, Finnius Samuels.

Finnius's eyes twinkle merrily as he shakes hands with Wisdom.

She tilts her head as she looks up at him and asks, "Mr. Samuels, have we met before?"

"No, my dear. I've been off world doing research for quite some time. Long before Kenny was born. And no need to be so formal, we're family. Uncle Fin or Finnius is fine."

Kenny finds himself bothered by his uncle's merry twinkling eyes because the man can hardly take those wise old eyes off of his Wise. And all through dinner, Wise listens attentively to the old man. Kenny didn't know he had it in him to be jealous. And his jealousy seems ridiculous. It's not like the old man is going to run off and have an affair with his cyborg.

After dinner, Kenny's mother pulls him aside and asks what's wrong. Kenny shakes his head and lies, "Nothing."

Sonja knows it's a lie and narrows her eyes at her son.

Kenny responds to the look with, "I just don't want to talk about it." He watches Wise laugh at one of the old man's jokes. She hasn't laughed like that at any of his jokes. A couple of times she was out right disgusted and told him so.

Then that need to touch her hits him. So Kenny walks over and reaches a hand into her hair. Except he catches Wisdom off guard. She flinches in fear and breaks into tears.

Kenny's mother intercepts and leads Wise away taking her to a guest bedroom to pull herself together and where Wise will tell her what's wrong.

Kenny's father waits for the women to be out of eyesight and earshot. Then Henry orders Kenny, "Spill it."

Kenny is flustered as he tries to explain without making himself sound too bad, "Duke called me yesterday asking why I hadn't been out and stuff. Wise walked in and he saw her. He accused me of being P-whooped. I went out, but I wasn't having any fun. I drank a lot. The guys kept ribbin' me about my piece and my old toy. I lost a lot of money.

Most of it's fuzzy because I drank too much. But I told them Wisdom wasn't real. That she's just a fancy upgrade. Duke wanted me to wager her. I had enough sense not to do that. But he talked me into wagering letting him try her out."

"Oh my Lord, you didn't," Henry shocked.

"He didn't hurt her. He was pissed at me. Thought it was a bad joke. He thought she was real. He didn't hurt her. But I think I did. I remember grabbing her by the hair and forcing her down onto the bed. I don't know what happened next. I woke up on top of her."

Sonja returns furious with Kenny, "You took that filth home to her last night. You nearly raped her. She's talking about leaving you."

Kenny throws his hands in the air, "She can't leave me. I own her. She's not real."

"She is real," Finnius tells Kenny sadly. "Sonja, do your best to assure her that this will never happen again."

Sonja does as Finnius says. Finnius opens an ancient pocket watch and shows it to Kenny. Across from the watch's face is a picture of Wisdom.

"She was my wife," Finnius informs Kenny. "When people die young, it just doesn't seem fair. But what if you could give someone you love a second chance. Wouldn't you do it?

There's some genetic memory involved. So, we keep their basic history the same. Our baby boy was stillborn. Wise was two weeks over due. They induced labor. First they gave her too much of the contraction inducer. Our baby boy was crushed inside her by the contractions. When the baby's heart stopped they rushed her in for an emergency C-section. She made it through the C-section only to be overdosed on a powerful painkiller that was meant for someone else.

So her skeleton's a lightweight titanium alloy. Okay, there's a positronic brain underneath her human one."

"She has a human brain," Kenny questions.

"Yes," confirms Finnius. "Just like she has a heart and lungs. But the human brain is in charge. Not the positronic one. Everything she thinks and feels is genuine, not a program. That's all her and who she is as a person. You can't program love."

"Why hasn't she needed to charge," asks Kenny.

"Her old battery for the robotic parts of her that are left was replaced by a life-time lithium battery," explains Finnius. "Good for one hundred twenty-five years. She's not your property. She has free will, autonomy. And she will leave you if you don't treat her right. You've broken her trust in you. It will take time to rebuild. You've got something precious and special. Don't throw it away. Your parents may think of her as their gift to you. But you're my gift to her. Don't make me regret my decision."

Kenny pushes his fingers through his hair, "I guess I should talk to her." He steps into the bedroom where he finds Wisdom lying on the bed with her head in his mother's lap.

"Mom, I need to talk with Wisdom."

Sonja gives her son a stern warning look and vacates the room.

Kenny lays on the bed facing Wisdom. "You're right," he tells her, "I'm a jackass. But something like that has never happened before and it will never happen again.

I love you. And I don't know what possessed me exactly, some macho male ego stuff mixed with grief." He doesn't mean grief as in related to their recently lost child that never was because that never actually happened to them. But grief over realizing he wasn't the same man. Grief over the loss of what he thought was freedom. Because the person he's become since he brought Wisdom home was just beneath the surface waiting for the chance to break free. His previous life of gambling, drinking and emotionless sex wasn't freedom at all. It was a trap that kept him from being truly happy.

"Please, don't leave me, Wisdom," Kenny implores sincerely. "I know I screwed up big time. I'll probably never be able to make it up to you. But …do you love me enough to forgive me and give me another chance?"

Wisdom looks unsure as she responds, "I'm kind of stuck taking your word that something like this has never happened before. Mom says it never has too, and I trust Mom…"

Kenny hates that the old man is right. That he has broken her trust in him, but he listens intently as she continues, "Forgiving you isn't a problem because I love you. But I don't think I'll ever forget.

You passed out on me. And you muttered and mumbled off and on all night. You said something about unfair or not fair. And something about me not or won't or can't love you. How can you doubt in any way that I love you. I love you enough to forgive you and give you another chance, but you're on probation."

Kenny smiles and kisses her. Then he holds her for a while. And for a couple of weeks things are fine. Even better than fine. They're wonderful.