A Place in This World
an Armitage III fanfiction by Ukyou Kuonji
----------
Armitage the Third and all those in her world are the creations of
Taro Maki. North American rights held by Pioneer.
No infringement is intended
----------
It wasn't that she couldn't sleep; nothing of humanity was alien to
her, after all. But there just didn't seem to be a point to it right
now. She didn't need to sleep, like Ross did, and there was so much
to think about.
She stared at her former partner's prone form, watching as his massive
chest rose and fell with each breath. She listened intently to his
quiet snoring. So peaceful, so unlike the way things had been these
last few days. If they were found, they were fugitives. For now,
though, there was solace in the thought that most of Mars assumed
that they were dead, or would the word be 'destroyed'?
The segment of her mind responsible for word choice also pointed out
to her that Ross was not a 'former' partner; they were no longer part
of the police force, that much was true, but their partnership
remained. It was just a different type of partnership, and Naomi
Armitage struggled to find the right name for it.
Were they married? Hardly. What court of law, what religion would
recognize the union between a human and a Third? Especially now. It
may have been one thing when the Thirds were first created: the first
robots capable of procreation! Mars could be populated by Earthling
men, expatriates on the Red Planet, and these hardy female Thirds.
But with the reunion of the governments of Earth, the Thirds' presence
as breeding stock was an affront to the Earth's feminist mores. As a
symbol of female servitude, they had to be... removed... before Earth
would permit an alliance to be formed between the two planets. Not
only was the relationship she had with Ross beyond the confines of the
law, her very existence had ceased to be legal.
She would have to call him 'lover,' if she were to call him anything
at all.
In fact, she decided it would be best to dispense with labels like
these altogether. Labels were part of the problem, after all. Nobody
objected to Naomi Armitage; indeed, she was one of the finest cops on
the force. She had the citations to prove it, even. But as a Third,
well... even Ross had once said "You can't trust a robot..."
It was before he learned that Armitage was a Third. Once he did, he
had been too impressed to object. She had, in a small way, shown to
him that she, and her fellow Thirds had heart, and soul, and emotion.
The destruction of the Thirds that Rene van Claude was undertaking
was literal murder, not just the removal of inconvenient mechanical
nuisances.
And Ross had cast in his lot with her, to fight for her survival
against the will of two planets. She stared at him in amazement.
He had surrendered his place in this world, his purpose in life, for
her sake. He was no longer the detective he has studied to be, had
spent his whole life being. All he had now... was her. Moisture
began to form in one eye. All this for a robot with no apparant
function in this world. Was this what love was?
She clenched her fist in resolve. All right then... it's my duty to
return that love to him as best I can. She smiled. It may not have
been much of one, but it was a purpose... for the first time in her
existance, she actually had a clear and defined purpose.
And maybe that was enough. She climbed back under the blankets with
him, and clutched his torso. Another smile burst forth as she closed
her eyes. And this isn't even that hard....
*****
::weak wave::
Believe it or not, this story has been bouncing around in my head all
week; after staying up late Sunday evening watching Polymatrix, I woke
up with most of this on Monday morning and scribbled a rough outline
down. But until last nght, I despaired of having the time to actually
write it.
Then came that "Bet" fiasco; I needed to atone before I left. So in
the course of a few wee hours last night, this came out. It's not
quite like most of my stuff... hell, it's Armitage, isn't that enough?
But I don't think it's all that bad...
Anyway, now I can head off to AnimeIowa with a clear conscience. I'll
be bringing my laptop for notetaking, and I hope to get it sent out
before Rich Lawson does so for once ^_~ (no offense, Lawson-san...
I'll see you there!)
Itsu mo,
Ucchan ^_^
an Armitage III fanfiction by Ukyou Kuonji
----------
Armitage the Third and all those in her world are the creations of
Taro Maki. North American rights held by Pioneer.
No infringement is intended
----------
It wasn't that she couldn't sleep; nothing of humanity was alien to
her, after all. But there just didn't seem to be a point to it right
now. She didn't need to sleep, like Ross did, and there was so much
to think about.
She stared at her former partner's prone form, watching as his massive
chest rose and fell with each breath. She listened intently to his
quiet snoring. So peaceful, so unlike the way things had been these
last few days. If they were found, they were fugitives. For now,
though, there was solace in the thought that most of Mars assumed
that they were dead, or would the word be 'destroyed'?
The segment of her mind responsible for word choice also pointed out
to her that Ross was not a 'former' partner; they were no longer part
of the police force, that much was true, but their partnership
remained. It was just a different type of partnership, and Naomi
Armitage struggled to find the right name for it.
Were they married? Hardly. What court of law, what religion would
recognize the union between a human and a Third? Especially now. It
may have been one thing when the Thirds were first created: the first
robots capable of procreation! Mars could be populated by Earthling
men, expatriates on the Red Planet, and these hardy female Thirds.
But with the reunion of the governments of Earth, the Thirds' presence
as breeding stock was an affront to the Earth's feminist mores. As a
symbol of female servitude, they had to be... removed... before Earth
would permit an alliance to be formed between the two planets. Not
only was the relationship she had with Ross beyond the confines of the
law, her very existence had ceased to be legal.
She would have to call him 'lover,' if she were to call him anything
at all.
In fact, she decided it would be best to dispense with labels like
these altogether. Labels were part of the problem, after all. Nobody
objected to Naomi Armitage; indeed, she was one of the finest cops on
the force. She had the citations to prove it, even. But as a Third,
well... even Ross had once said "You can't trust a robot..."
It was before he learned that Armitage was a Third. Once he did, he
had been too impressed to object. She had, in a small way, shown to
him that she, and her fellow Thirds had heart, and soul, and emotion.
The destruction of the Thirds that Rene van Claude was undertaking
was literal murder, not just the removal of inconvenient mechanical
nuisances.
And Ross had cast in his lot with her, to fight for her survival
against the will of two planets. She stared at him in amazement.
He had surrendered his place in this world, his purpose in life, for
her sake. He was no longer the detective he has studied to be, had
spent his whole life being. All he had now... was her. Moisture
began to form in one eye. All this for a robot with no apparant
function in this world. Was this what love was?
She clenched her fist in resolve. All right then... it's my duty to
return that love to him as best I can. She smiled. It may not have
been much of one, but it was a purpose... for the first time in her
existance, she actually had a clear and defined purpose.
And maybe that was enough. She climbed back under the blankets with
him, and clutched his torso. Another smile burst forth as she closed
her eyes. And this isn't even that hard....
*****
::weak wave::
Believe it or not, this story has been bouncing around in my head all
week; after staying up late Sunday evening watching Polymatrix, I woke
up with most of this on Monday morning and scribbled a rough outline
down. But until last nght, I despaired of having the time to actually
write it.
Then came that "Bet" fiasco; I needed to atone before I left. So in
the course of a few wee hours last night, this came out. It's not
quite like most of my stuff... hell, it's Armitage, isn't that enough?
But I don't think it's all that bad...
Anyway, now I can head off to AnimeIowa with a clear conscience. I'll
be bringing my laptop for notetaking, and I hope to get it sent out
before Rich Lawson does so for once ^_~ (no offense, Lawson-san...
I'll see you there!)
Itsu mo,
Ucchan ^_^