Teaching a Robot to Love

-Notes-

Have you ever been in a fight? Do you know that feeling when you knock your opponent down and start walking away thinking about what you are going to have for dinner that night, only to find out that your opponent snuck up behind you and clocked you in the head from your left blind spot? Well that's about where I am with school right now. I feel kind of bad; I didn't know that my last chapter would cause people distress. All part of my insidious plan of course muahaha. Just kidding. Without further ado… the next chapter!

Chapter 13: Recalibration

"Where is he?" Sole demanded, storming right up to Father's face.

Father remained calm as he looked down at his furious mother who was now grabbing him by the collar.

"If you are talking about Designation X6-88, I'm afraid he isn't here right now, mother. We seem to have been experiencing… difficulties in calculating his predictability. He had been behaving in very irregular patterns for a courser and so we decided that in his current condition, he was unfit for duty. Not so worry, you will be assigned another courser in the meantime" Father replied, voice as calm and smooth as always.

"Predictability? Bullshit! He did everything you ask and now you are pulling him away for… for what? Recalibration? What does that even mean?" Sole yelled exasperated. She threw her hands up in frustration as Father readjusted his collar.

"Mother, with all due respect, you seem to be making a very minor error in your wording. It is a synth, not a man, and when synths experience technical problems they are sent back for recalibration. This is to assure their optimal capacity in helping the Institute"

"So that's it then?" Sole scoffed. "Even if they are identical to humans in every way, the only difference being they were made from a machine instead of a womb, they can only be treated as property?"

Her face was red. She was pissed. She was sad. But most of all, she was frustrated. She was frustrated that the Institute could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Even if she had a foothold in the hierarchy being Shaun's mother, she had no real power. Sole thought back to when she and X6 had been traveling back from the Glowing Sea. They had struck up a nice conversation. He actually was smirking at her jokes she told him! Then all of a sudden, his watched beeped. A voice demanded that X6-88 return to the Institute immediately for 'recalibration.' She saw X6's brow knit. They didn't even have time to say goodbye as a thieving blue electric ray of light zapped him away before her eyes. No explanation. He was just gone and she was alone.

Back at the Institute, Father squinted his eyes at the embittered face of Sole. He snapped his fingers and immediately a Gen-2 synth triggered the sliding doors to Father's quarters to open. Synthetic Shaun gingerly poked his little head out from the side, eyes wide and timid as if he had done something wrong. Sole's heart clenched at the sight of him. Even if she tried to convince herself he wasn't really her child, it all was superficial persuasion to her emotions.

"Come" Father ordered softly. Shaun stepped forward with his head bowed and his hands behind his back. He looked so guilty and scared, Sole wanted to collapse and hug him, letting him know that everything was going to be alright as she stroked his head. But she refrained, trying her best to keep her face solid.

"Yes Father. Did I do something wrong?" He shyly asked, eyes as large as a doe.

"Nothing my child" breathed Father as he walked over and placed his hand on Shaun's head. "S9-23 Recall Code Cirrus."

Shaun's eyes rolled back into his head as his torso went limp on his waist. He doubled over like a doll. Sole felt a flash of anger pass over her face. He was toying with her. Father turned his now cold eyes back to Sole and started circling her slowly.

"This is what they are. He is not your son. Designation S9-23 is a synth designed to soften the blow for you of my existence. He can be melted down and remade, one with the exact same memories as the one before. It is a file that can be transferred. It is not the same as a human" he explained.

Sole's felt her face heat up. No. Don't break. "So that's all he is then? He was just a pawn you could use to manipulate me into doing whatever you wanted? Will you take him away if I disobey you, just like you took away X6?"

Father turned her around to face him, gripping her arms with both hands. "No mother. You are not a pawn. You are the most important person in the Institutes future. By your hands, you will guide the Institute to the top and lead us to a future we could have never imagined. I just need you to understand us, to understand me."

Keep it in. Father leveled his imploring eyes to meet Sole's. He had Nate's eyes. He saw himself a savior of the world, but all Sole saw was another man swayed from his path by power. This was her son.

"Oh I understand plenty" She said through gritted teeth.

Father released her and returned his hands to behind his back as he turned towards his terminal. "There is one more part for you to play, and I think you might enjoy it. It is time to announce our presence to the Commonwealth. To request that they do not interfere with our plans. You should be the one to do it."

"And if I refuse?" Sole instantly retorted.

Father turned his stony eyes back to her allowing a moment to pass between them. "Then you will never see X6-88 again."

Time slowed within that moment as his words sunk in. 'Melted down.' 'Transferred.' He was threatening her. What was going to happen to X6 if she said no? What were they doing to him? Fear formed a dreaded knot in the pit of her stomach as she slowly nodded to Father. He won.

"Fine. I will do your broadcast. Just… give me a minute to compose myself. I realize the importance of this task and I only need to cool my head. I will approach you when I am ready" Sole replied, the believable lies flowing off her tongue like music.

Father crinkled his eyes happily at her response. "Of course mother, take all the time you need. Once you are ready, you… we, will lead the Institute to its future."

Sole managed a weak smile as she turned on her heel and exited Father's room, making sure her steps were perfectly timed to look natural. Her eyes settled on Shaun as she passed. Poor thing. He was only made to be used. As the quiet, white doors slid shut behind her she let out the breath she had been holding. She had to find X6.

Synth Retention Bureau, Advanced Systems, Facilities, hell even Bioscience didn't have a trace of X6. Ayo flat out ignored her and shut the door in her face as he went back to his paperwork behind the soundproof glass. Ass. Her next stop was Robotics. Sole shifted her eyes to the gen-2 synth guards standing around. She was keenly aware they were watching her every move and she wondered if Father too, was watching her hunt down her partner through video cameras. She didn't care.

The red door to Robotics slid open as she pressed her thumb to the identification pad. The heavy whirring of machinery filled the air as she walked in. There he was… the wiry haired genius in charge of synth maintenance. She stomped right up to him.

"Where is X6?" Sole demanded.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. He isn't here. Go away" Dr. Binet stuttered, fumbling his pen which fell to the desk.

"I swear I've gotten no help from anyone around here. So what do you guys like to do with 'insubordinate' synths hm?" She sarcastically chided.

"That is none of your concern. I assure you that we have the best minds working on the recalibration of synth mechanisms."

"Aha! So he is here" Sole snapped her fingers, folding her arms in triumph. Her eyes flashed to the small door the freshly made synth was entering. Was he in there? The other doctors scurried away from them, giving the two space.

Dr. Binet's face went white as a sheet as he stammered "Yes- well no- it's… You're not authorized to see him. No one can get back there without my passcode."

Sole sneered at him as he held up a clipboard to his chest for protection. "You won't even tell me what recalibration means will you? What the hell, did they threaten to cut your balls off if you talk to me or something?"

Dr. Binet's eyes shifted between her angry ones with a great uncertainty. He glanced at the other scientists who were busy fiddling away with their projects and then back at Sole.

"They ordered us to- It's something we haven't done since Dr. Zimmer. I didn't- None of us wanted to…" He trailed off, voice lowering to a whisper. He dropped his head.

He wasn't lying. This man had genuine discomfort in his eyes as he shifted weight on his feet. Whatever he had done, he didn't agree with it. Sole's face fell, thinking the worst. Oh no… poor X6!

"It's okay… I understand. Thanks for giving me something at least" she sighed.

Binet grabbed her shoulder and she looked up to meet his pleading eyes. "Director- no… Sole, I'm sorry" he said.

Sole gave him a curt nod and turned around to leave. Her eyes lingered on the large machine pulling out a synth in the middle. Amazing. In the Commonwealth, people struggled just to stick some mods on their run down guns with duct tape while the Institute was pulling out whole synths, biologically almost identical to a human, out of a pool one by one with ease. Imagine what they could do if this technology was shared with the world.

Sole strode out of the doors to Robotics. A wave of loneliness washed over her. The Institute seemed so much bigger by herself. The giant cylindrical walls seemed to stretch on for miles above and the floor look unnaturally pristine. It was disconcerting, and uncomfortable. Without knowing what else to do, Sole went back up to her room, climbing every little perfectly spaced stair in the vertical ascent.

The room was eerily quiet as the lights flickered on with movement. X6 had hugged her here. She sighed. Dammit, it had only been a few days and she was already going through withdrawals. She only wished she knew where he was, or how he was doing. That might set her mind at ease. Sole kicked off her boots and collapsed on the bed, groaning into the pillow. Being Sole depressi-poo wasn't going to get anything done. She needed a plan. But how in the world was she going to bypass a security encrypted door? She was good at hacking but not THAT good. The Institute was on a whole other level than the rinky dinky security systems of the surface. Maybe she could bribe someone? But with what? Her body weighed down in the soft white fluff of the mattress and her eyes felt weighted. She would have to continue this line of thought tomorrow.

*bleep*

The bright green light of Sole's pip boy illuminated the dark room in an eerie glow. Sole groaned and grabbed her pip boy on the nightstand. She winced at the brightness. She didn't remember setting an alarm.

"The hell?"

As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she saw the data on the screen flicker and glitch out to black. Then a blinking green line appeared on the screen.

Are you awake?

Sole blinked a few more times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Was she dreaming? She clicked the left button on her pip boy and a touch screen keyboard popped up to reply. What was going on? She decided to roll with it.

'I am now. Who are you?' she replied.

Don't worry about me. Right now u need 2 go find X6-88. I can help u.

Sole sat up in bed instantly, staring hard at the screen. This better not be a dream. Her sleepiness dissipated instantly. She began typing her reply.

'Why would you help me? What should I do?

The mysterious typer replied instantly.

I am a friend. Someone who wants to help u. Get ready because u will only have 1 shot at this.

Sole threw the covers off her bed and ran to grab her armor. She didn't care who this was, if someone was willing to help her find X6 then hell, she was just going to have to trust them. She was ready within 5 minutes and ran back to her hijacked pip boy.

She typed: 'Okay I am ready. What now?'

I'm going 2 disable the security cameras that could C U going 2 Robotics (except the 1 I'm using). Once there, I'll open the doors.

-Patriot

Just as she read the last word, wondering who Patriot was, the door to her room slid open. She had found her hacker apparently. A hacker who was a lazy typer. The hall was dark as she slipped out. Sole had grabbed a stealth boy just in case. She would probably need to use it once she got down to the main floor. Her heart thudded as she remembered all the spy movies she had watched as a kid. At least the good guy always came out unscathed. She was the good guy, right?

Right as she touched the ground floor with her feet, she heard the mechanical foot-steps of a gen-2 synth patroller. Quietly, she stepped back into the foliage, clicking her stealth boy on. She immediately disappeared. She waited until the guard was out of sight before sneaking in the opposite direction towards Robotics. No synths. Good. Right as she got to the door, it quietly slid open without any hindrance. Well whoever this person was, they were good.

The room to Robotics was dark, and the usually loud monstrous machines lay dormant. There apparently was no motion sensor lighting for this room. Good thing Sole's pip boy flashed on just at that moment; a hovering square of green. It was another message from Patriot.

Go 2 Binet's comp. enter the pass code: 'Who are the true slaves?'

Sole thought about that phrase for a while. Binet seemed like a tool but perhaps he was more philosophical than previously thought. She had heard he was one of the most intelligent minds of the Institute, but she also knew he was just another pawn for Father. Moving on, she switched on the terminal and entered in the phrase, granting her access to open the synth door. It swished open on command.

*bleep* another message.

Please don't blame Dr. Binet. It's hard to stand up to injustice. He's a good guy. X6 is in here. Good luck.

Sole stared at that message a bit longer. A synth-sympathizer in the Institute. Interesting. There were people in here that cared about one another just as much as synths. Not everyone was brainwashed by the ideology. How many others were out there that believed in synths? Believed in her?

Her pip boy flickered and then the familiar icons and tabs all came back. She sucked in a breath before entering the small door at the back. It was even darker inside than in the Robotics main room. She fumbled with her pip boy trying to find the flashlight button. When she did, she gasped at what she saw.

It looked like a medical room, but instead of humans, synths lie on the tables. One of them had their legs cut off. One of them had their innards removed and stomach cut open vertically. One of them was nothing but a head in a case with lots of wires connected to it. In addition to the clean carnage, a multitude of violent looking instruments lied about. Did they… torture synths here? Fuck. Where was X6?!

Sole frantically scanned the horrific room. Finally her eyes caught the reflective glint of sunglasses in the far corner of the room. Without hesitation, she rushed over to it. Holy shit…

X6's aviators lie on a medical file cabinet next to a gruesome chair. On top of that chair X6 was mounted, eyes closed and clad in a white synth uniform. His spine was punctured at 23 different points by these metal spikes. The monitor above his chair had two wires extending from it which connected to electrodes placed at both of his temples.

Sole put her hands over her mouth as she neared him. A small glowing red light read 'inactive' on X6's seat.

"What have they done to you?" She whispered to no one in particular.

Her hands reached out and touched his cold face, running down his cheekbones. He was unresponsive. She wanted so badly to wake him up; to shout and let him know that she was here. But she couldn't. That was the most frustrating thing of all. She looked around to see if she could find out anything about what was going on with him. Her eyes settled on a clipboard that lay in a rack on the medical cabinet nearby. Snatching it, she saw it was X6's file.

Dr. Alan Binet had been the primary analyst of X6-88. Her eyes scanned the file, most of it too technical for her to understand. She kept seeing the words 'optimal' and 'good' next to the different kinds of test results. Her eyes settled on the bottom of the page where Dr. Binet had written something, then scribbled it out. Sole held her pip boy light up to get a closer look. The words: 'There is no need for recalibration…' were scribbled out with pencil. Sole put the clipboard back. The only person who could override the chief robotics head was none other than Father. Why was he so hell bent on keeping X6 away from her?

Sole checked her pip-boy once more for the time: 2:41am. Shoot it was time to go. She had already spent too much time in here. At least she knew that X6 was all in one piece and that recalibration didn't mean 'disassembly.' Before leaving, she grabbed his limp hand on one of the arm chairs and kissed his long fingers.

"I promise I'm going to get you out of here X" she swore, staring at his stoic face.

Sole knew, creeping out of there and back to her room what she had to do. It wasn't going to be pretty. She was going to have to pretend like she was someone different in order to work the system. If Father was only going to release him when she obeyed then she was going to have to play Father's little game.