He couldn't have feelings for her.

But she was mesmerizing; she moved so fluidly and so gracefully and her face was so kind, so human. It was easy to forget that she wasn't a robot.

James was supposed to be navigating the ship — but Lily was standing right behind him, all beauty and warmth and he couldn't think. His intelligent mind was stumped, something that he'd never experienced before.

He wasn't — couldn't be — allowed to have feelings for her because it was illegal. He would be broken into spare parts if he fell in love with this human.

He was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who had feelings for her; she charmed every robot or any other space being that she met — but he was the only one she spent her time with.

"Hey, James," said Lily, and he immediately sprung to awareness, "I wanted to ask you something. Something of a...sensitive nature. I've tried asking others, but they refuse to speak with me about it."

"I'll answer it," he said instantly, trying not to sound too eager.

"I wanted to ask...I heard about a law that prevents a human and an android from falling in love with each other."

James was sure his joints were rusted because every part of his body stopped functioning.

"Is it true? Can robots and humans not fall in love?"

James swallowed. "No...and yes," he admitted. "You can't stop anyone from falling in love — it just happens. Whether or not you act on it is the dangerous part. If you act on it, the human is executed and the robot is dismantled for spare parts."

"But why?" She came around to stand next to him, the warmth of her skin radiating off in pleasant ways.

James was having a hard time focusing. "Because...because it's risky," he said quietly. "A robot isn't fully in control of themselves, they could be manipulated to harm a human. And most humans are considered fickle and flighty and prone to breaking easily. Years ago, there was a war between both races and...that's why that law was put into place."

"Oh," she said, sounding odd. "Oh, okay. I wasn't sure, because, well…"

In the clear window directly in front of him, he had a good look at her face and...was she blushing?

Wait, did Lily have feelings for someone on this ship?

More importantly…

...who was it?


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Sci-Fi September Day 26 - By law, robots and humans are strictly forbidden from falling in love with each other.