Derek watched the machine float across the floor in an intricate dance as it pretended to be real. It was so caught up in its movements that it didn't notice his presence by the doorway, or if it did, it was choosing to ignore him. He peered into the room and his breath caught in his throat at the beautifully eerie sight of the familiar dance.
It was clear from the moment he regained consciousness that the machine had fooled John, just as it had in the future. What surprised him the most was that it had even fooled Sarah, the stoic and brave warrior woman that was supposedly infallible. She trusted it, even if she wouldn't admit it to him directly. She treated it like a colleague and fellow soldier in the fight for humanity. She gave it orders and trusted it to carry them out. She even referred to it as 'she', as though it had gender.
Cameron. That's what it called itself. He almost laughed at the absurdity of a machine having such a human attribute as a name. The name itself was ambiguous, neither male nor female much like the machine itself. It may have taken the form of a human girl, but it wasn't. It was just a cold scrap of metal with a moniker attached to it that meant nothing.
Derek couldn't call it by its name neither could he call it a 'she'. That would give it a sense of value and humanity. Humanity was something it didn't have. Everything he saw it do was an act. It was pretending, playing out an intricate role in history that he had yet to figure out. But he would eventually.
Derek stood transfixed with a look of grim fascination as he watched it move across the floor and was reminded of the first time he saw it dance. Except now it was moving for itself and not an audience and that was what frightened him the most. Of all the machines he had ever encountered, none of them did anything for their own enjoyment. Except for this one and he wondered what made it so different.
It was almost human the way it moved around the bedroom, spinning and leaping in time to the music. It was graceful and cat-like, but unfeeling and mechanical. In a way, it reminded him of the story his mother would tell him of the little wooden puppet that tried so hard to be a real boy. Except, this thing didn't want to be real. It only wanted to give off the illusion of being a person. And it was doing a damn good job of it.
A/N: not mine, never will be and that's my disclaimer.