Chapter Six
About half an hour later, Zee is no longer crying, and his snoring returns to a normal rhythm. He even relaxes his arms, allowing Ro a chance to move about and stretch her body. After brushing her hair as quickly as she can, she gently shakes his shoulders again. "Zee, it's time to wake up now."
Zee slowly opens his eyes, relieved to see Ro in front of him again. "Ro..."
"Let's rise and shine now. We need to get going."
Zee stands up, holomorphs into his human form, and then he notices the clock. "8:10! I've never taken this long to recharge before."
"Well, Zee, you did have a rough night. Those must have been some nightmares." Ro suddenly notices the look on Zee's face turn to shame at the mention of his nightmares. Ro holds one of his hands and says, "Zee, I'm here for you, remember? Talk to me! Let me help you."
Zee would rather not worry Ro, but as he looks into her deep blue eyes, he realizes that Ro's already worried about him. How it saddens him to see her like this. So he closes his eyes and says, "It was Bennet. He kept saying that it was my fault everything happened the way it did. It sort of makes sense. If I had just followed orders when I had the chance, Brother's Day wouldn't have destroyed the Nosis, and Dr. Selig would still be alive. Even Dr. Selig was ashamed of me. And then, I'd hear your voice bringing me back, just like before. But then I'd be reminded of all the times your life has been in danger because of me..."
"Zeta! Listen to me!" Zee is startled for a moment. It's not like Ro to call him 'Zeta'. Now that Ro has his attention, she continues, "This is not your fault, and I can prove it. Think about this: Bennet and the NSA believe you were reprogrammed by terrorists, right?"
"Right."
"Well, Selig said he placed that module in you while you were being made. You had been reprogrammed from the very start. The problem was he didn't tell anyone about the module, not even you. If he hadn't kept it such a big secret, he could have been notified about your change in behavior."
"But Ro, I had killed people before meeting Eugene Dolan. If he was innocent, the others could have been as well."
"Zee, the only reason the module didn't activate before Dolan was because you had no proof that any of the others were innocent. Do you remember how you found out Dolan was innocent?"
Zee takes a moment to search his memory banks. "Yes. I heard Sweete say Dolan was 'an innocent pencil-pusher', that he didn't know anything."
"Okay. Now what proof do you have that your other targets were innocent?"
Zee searches his memory banks again, looking for something, anything that could have stopped him from killing them. After a few moments he says, "None."
"So to your knowledge, you destroyed people who were guilty. And once you discovered Dolan was innocent, the module kicked in, making you realize that killing an innocent man was wrong. You've been programmed to understand right from wrong. And you've been doing it ever since. Every time you notice something wrong, you'd do something to make it right. That's how we first met, remember? Zee, I'd be dead if not for you."
Zee remembers. She refused to help rob a bank because she didn't want to hurt anyone any more than he did. He couldn't let that thug shoot her, so he came to her aid and ended up getting shot instead. She, in turn, saved him from being captured by the agents in his damaged state. She's been by my side ever since, teaching me how to think like a human, and even treating me like one, even when I'm in my robot form. She's been wonderful to me. "But, Dr. Selig is gone. Bennet will never believe me. I can't prove anything Selig said to us."
"Yes, you can. Remember how you showed me what went on in that lab when you. lost control of yourself? Those images came from your memory. Our encounter with Selig is in your memories as well. What if you were to download a copy of that onto a disc? We could send a copy to Bennet, and he could see for himself what Selig said about that module."
For the first time since the Nosis exploded Zee smiles. And seeing him smile gives Ro such a relief that she smiles also. For her, it's a sign that Zee may be overcoming his bout with depression, and she no longer has to fear the worst. For him, it's another sign that Ro is the best thing to happen to him, for she made him realize that there was still hope for him in a way that no one else ever thought of.
She also made him realize how much he loves her.
Without warning, he gently grabs Ro and hugs her, saying, "Thank you, Ro. Once again, you've given me hope." As he holds her, in spite of his titanium body, he is filled with a sense of warmth and softness as his hands slowly massages her back. Zee is more convinced than before that he can feel her, which adds even more pleasure to this moment. Ro feels another case of Teddy Bear Syndrome coming on, but she doesn't let it bother her. It's not like he's crushing her. In fact, it feels nice being held like this. So she allows him to have this moment as well.
Meanwhile, in a nearby building, someone watches this scene through binoculars with green lenses. And they are the only things keeping his eyes from popping out of his head.
About half an hour later, Zee is no longer crying, and his snoring returns to a normal rhythm. He even relaxes his arms, allowing Ro a chance to move about and stretch her body. After brushing her hair as quickly as she can, she gently shakes his shoulders again. "Zee, it's time to wake up now."
Zee slowly opens his eyes, relieved to see Ro in front of him again. "Ro..."
"Let's rise and shine now. We need to get going."
Zee stands up, holomorphs into his human form, and then he notices the clock. "8:10! I've never taken this long to recharge before."
"Well, Zee, you did have a rough night. Those must have been some nightmares." Ro suddenly notices the look on Zee's face turn to shame at the mention of his nightmares. Ro holds one of his hands and says, "Zee, I'm here for you, remember? Talk to me! Let me help you."
Zee would rather not worry Ro, but as he looks into her deep blue eyes, he realizes that Ro's already worried about him. How it saddens him to see her like this. So he closes his eyes and says, "It was Bennet. He kept saying that it was my fault everything happened the way it did. It sort of makes sense. If I had just followed orders when I had the chance, Brother's Day wouldn't have destroyed the Nosis, and Dr. Selig would still be alive. Even Dr. Selig was ashamed of me. And then, I'd hear your voice bringing me back, just like before. But then I'd be reminded of all the times your life has been in danger because of me..."
"Zeta! Listen to me!" Zee is startled for a moment. It's not like Ro to call him 'Zeta'. Now that Ro has his attention, she continues, "This is not your fault, and I can prove it. Think about this: Bennet and the NSA believe you were reprogrammed by terrorists, right?"
"Right."
"Well, Selig said he placed that module in you while you were being made. You had been reprogrammed from the very start. The problem was he didn't tell anyone about the module, not even you. If he hadn't kept it such a big secret, he could have been notified about your change in behavior."
"But Ro, I had killed people before meeting Eugene Dolan. If he was innocent, the others could have been as well."
"Zee, the only reason the module didn't activate before Dolan was because you had no proof that any of the others were innocent. Do you remember how you found out Dolan was innocent?"
Zee takes a moment to search his memory banks. "Yes. I heard Sweete say Dolan was 'an innocent pencil-pusher', that he didn't know anything."
"Okay. Now what proof do you have that your other targets were innocent?"
Zee searches his memory banks again, looking for something, anything that could have stopped him from killing them. After a few moments he says, "None."
"So to your knowledge, you destroyed people who were guilty. And once you discovered Dolan was innocent, the module kicked in, making you realize that killing an innocent man was wrong. You've been programmed to understand right from wrong. And you've been doing it ever since. Every time you notice something wrong, you'd do something to make it right. That's how we first met, remember? Zee, I'd be dead if not for you."
Zee remembers. She refused to help rob a bank because she didn't want to hurt anyone any more than he did. He couldn't let that thug shoot her, so he came to her aid and ended up getting shot instead. She, in turn, saved him from being captured by the agents in his damaged state. She's been by my side ever since, teaching me how to think like a human, and even treating me like one, even when I'm in my robot form. She's been wonderful to me. "But, Dr. Selig is gone. Bennet will never believe me. I can't prove anything Selig said to us."
"Yes, you can. Remember how you showed me what went on in that lab when you. lost control of yourself? Those images came from your memory. Our encounter with Selig is in your memories as well. What if you were to download a copy of that onto a disc? We could send a copy to Bennet, and he could see for himself what Selig said about that module."
For the first time since the Nosis exploded Zee smiles. And seeing him smile gives Ro such a relief that she smiles also. For her, it's a sign that Zee may be overcoming his bout with depression, and she no longer has to fear the worst. For him, it's another sign that Ro is the best thing to happen to him, for she made him realize that there was still hope for him in a way that no one else ever thought of.
She also made him realize how much he loves her.
Without warning, he gently grabs Ro and hugs her, saying, "Thank you, Ro. Once again, you've given me hope." As he holds her, in spite of his titanium body, he is filled with a sense of warmth and softness as his hands slowly massages her back. Zee is more convinced than before that he can feel her, which adds even more pleasure to this moment. Ro feels another case of Teddy Bear Syndrome coming on, but she doesn't let it bother her. It's not like he's crushing her. In fact, it feels nice being held like this. So she allows him to have this moment as well.
Meanwhile, in a nearby building, someone watches this scene through binoculars with green lenses. And they are the only things keeping his eyes from popping out of his head.