This one's a little short again, but it was getting really long, so I thought I'd just break it down and give you something to hang on to until the rest of the part is finished.
"So, essentially what you're saying is, if one hormonal, moody, think-they-know-everything teenager wasn't enough, I now have two." Sarah sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee. She briefly considered spiking it.
"Well, I wouldn't say hormonal, but essentially, yes."
Catherine had explained everything she knew about Cameron's chip. Where it came from, how it was designed. The fact that she was the only terminator ever created to be automatically set in read-write mode. She was the only terminator programmed to learn, understand, produce, and experience genuine emotions. Along with her chip, she had an advanced "neural" network, completely unique, allowing her to experience tactile sensations in a totally different way than any other terminator. She was truly a one-of-a-kind creation.
She also explained exactly what John Henry did to her chip. He not only erased the "bad" Skynet programming, he tweaked with the limits set on her programming.
The program alteration would forever change Cameron. Not in such large ways that she was no longer herself, but rather, she was even more herself now than ever before. It was like opening a door that was always there, but had been left locked for years. The change was irreversible, and even dangerous. Nobody really knew how her chip would handle it all. When Cameron shut down in the factory, it was only the first of probably several shutdowns she would face before she "learned" how to deal with such an influx of emotional energy. She would have to learn to control herself in a variety of situations if she wanted to be an efficient protector of John.
"Well that's just freaking wonderful." Sarah took another long sip of her coffee.
"What's wonderful?"
Sarah and Catherine both turned to see John Henry entering the kitchen from the basement stairs.
"We were discussing Cameron's chip, and her emotional development."
"Oh it is wonderful, isn't it?" John Henry was addressed Sarah. "I was glad I could help her."
"Did you need something, John Henry?" Catherine asked.
"Yes. I did what you asked me to do."
"And?"
"Mr. Ellison has agreed to come."
"Excellent. Thank you John Henry."
"You're welcome Ms. Weaver." He looked out the window and saw the three in the yard, playing with the kittens. Catherine noticed, and smiled.
"I'm sure Savannah would like to show you the kittens, John Henry. Why don't you go out and join them."
John Henry smiled, and walked outside.
"What about Mr. Ellison?" Sarah asked, not having heard anything from the man since he left Savannah in her care.
"We'll be meeting him tomorrow morning to discuss his continued involvement in our efforts."
Right. Sarah wasn't sure she trusted the man. Of course, she didn't really trust anyone, so that could be why. She watched John Henry sit on the ground next to Savannah. The girl handed him a gray and white kitten, and he held it gently in the palm of his hands.
Sarah looked at John, who was busy brushing cat hair off of Cameron's shirt. Uh huh. Like she couldn't do that herself.
Sarah sighed. Emotions. She wasn't stupid enough to think that emotions were something only humans felt. Hell, even crazy plant people say flowers have emotions. So why couldn't a highly developed terminator?
Sarah had to admit that it really wasn't much of a shock. Rather, it explained an awful lot of her behavior that Sarah had simply ignored, or put off as a "metal" thing.
It didn't mean it wasn't scary, though. If machines could feel, if they could understand right from wrong, if they could love… it didn't make them much different from humans. Sure, they reproduced in factories and they could essentially live forever… but wouldn't that be better? A master race that never died, and never got disease.
What made humans more human than machines anyway? Was it a soul? Could machines have a soul? What about cats, do they have souls? Spirits? What are souls or spirits anyway? Do they even really exist? Or are they just weird energy forms; a sort of consciousness? Cameron was seemingly self-aware. That gave her consciousness, didn't it? She certainly had energy. Did that give her a soul? Did she even want a soul? Humans want to have souls. Even with no scientific evidence supporting their existence, humans still insist that they have them. If Cameron wanted a soul, and everything that went with it, could we rightfully tell her she didn't have one? Would God refuse her, simply because of her origins? In a godless society, could he be so picky?
***********
Sarah bent down to pet the watching mother cat. She was being surprisingly patient, probably more or less glad to have a moment to relax alone. Sarah knew the feeling.
"Have you guys named them yet?"
Savannah shook her head. "Can we?"
"Sure, I don't see why not. There're four of them… why don't you each name one."
Savannah was thrilled, and picked up her favorite kitten. It was a black cat with white paws.
"How do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Sarah smiled, and knelt down next to her. "Well… you have to ask them."
Sarah took the kitten from the girl, and lifted up its tail, sexing the cat quickly. She grew up with cats. Lots of them. Lifting the cat up to her face, she spoke to it. "Ok kitty, are you a boy, or a girl?" She put the kitten beside her ear and pretended to listen. Surprisingly, the cat meowed, which made everyone laugh. Sarah handed it back to Savannah. "She says she's a girl."
Savannah grinned and immediately started thinking of a name. John had absolutely no idea how to sex a kitten. His mom walked over and took the little striped tabby kitten, the only one that resembled the mother, that was ferociously attacking his shoelaces. Lifting up the tail, she handed to John and mouthed "boy."
"How the hell… " he whispered.
Kneeling in front of him so that she was blocking Savannah's view, she picked up the fluffy grey kitten that was curled up on Cameron's lap. She lucked out with another girl.
Talking quietly, she lifted both of their tails. "Boys have more space between…" she pointed to their behinds. "…to make room for things to grow. If you can't tell, you have to feel. They're under there…"
John wasn't about to feel for male kitten parts, so he accepted his mom's judgment and began thinking of male cat names.
"Sarah this one isn't talking!"
Sarah turned to find Savannah holding the gray and white kitten.
"Let me try," Cameron smiled. Taking the kitten, she quickly lifted up its tail, and spoke to it. "Don't be shy. Are you a boy or a girl?" Lifting the kitten to her ear, there was a soft meow sound that definitely didn't come from the kitten. Smiling, she handed it to John Henry. "You have a girl too."
"Oh geez, little buddy," John spoke to his kitten. "You're the only boy."
"I'm going to name mine Skittles!" Savannah shouted.
"That's a good cat name." John Henry told her.
"What are you going to name yours John Henry?"
"I think I'll name her Athena. She was the goddess of wisdom and war."
Cameron didn't know many female names. She scanned her database for an appropriate name, and stopped at one she knew well.
"Dorothy."
"What?" John looked at her.
"I'm going to name her Dorothy."
Sarah snorted. It was pretty damn ironic. Dorothy and the Tin Miss.
"Well, John, what about the man of the pack there?"
John looked at his mom. "I don't know. Why don't you name it?"
Sarah chewed her lip and considered. "Snickerdoodle."
"WHAT?? Mom you can not name my cat Snickerdoodle!"
"Why not? I think it's a cute name."
Savannah laughed. "I like Snickerdoodle. I think it's funny."
John looked at the poor little kitten and sighed. "I'm sorry little dude, you've just been dubbed with the lamest name ever known in male feline history."
***************
Sarah peeked in to the downstairs office. "I need to get out of here guys, or I'm gonna go crazy. What do you say we go for dinner and a movie?"
John and Cameron looked at each other hesitantly. A date with mom was neither cool, nor smart, when your mom was Sarah Connor.
"Uhh, actually I'm kinda busy here mom. I'm researching a couple computer companies that John Henry found."
Unfazed, Sarah turned to Cameron. "Well, you can come with me."
Cameron looked at John, not really knowing what to do. She didn't want to go, but at the same time, she had no reason not to.
"I'm sure John will be just fine by himself. With two other babysitters in the house, I'm sure he won't be able to find any trouble." Sarah gave her son a meaningful look.
"Go ahead Cam. Keep an eye on her." Cameron nodded and went upstairs to grab her things.
"Um… John?"
John looked at his mother. "Be nice to her this time."
"I will, I promise. I really do just want to get out of the house. Who knows? Maybe this will be a good "bonding" opportunity."
"That sounds dangerous coming from you."
"Oh shut up. Anyway, that's not what I wanted to ask. Listen, while you're on the computers… Well, I was thinking about that day, you know? So much happened, and I really just never thought back on it too much, and…"
"Mom, do you have a point?"
"Danny Dyson."
"What?"
"An agent came to me, told me he knew about everything. Skynet, the machines, the future… well, anyway. He asked me if I knew Danny Dyson. He's been missing for three months."
"And you just remember this now?" John was shocked, and angry. This could either mean good things or bad things, but either way, it was a lead.
"Well, like I was trying to say… I saw my son bubble into the future, never thinking I'd see him again. Then, he bubbled back out of nowhere. We've had to relocate, acquire new "family" members, and have awkward moments with your metal mistress. An afterthought conversation while I was in prison wasn't exactly priority. Excuse me for being human."
John took that last remark as the slap it was meant to be. "I'm sorry. It's just a really big deal, and it's been over a week now… "
"And he's been missing for three months. I doubt another week made much of a difference either way."
Cameron reappeared in the doorway with her jacket and combat boots on. "I'm ready."
Sarah nodded and looked at John. "Get the other one on it too. We'll be back in a few." With that, she left John to his task, with Cameron following behind.
******
Sarah turned on the radio as they headed into town.
"Sarah, where are we going? The theater is in the other direction."
"I figured since John chose not to join us, we'd take the opportunity to just have some girl time."
"Girl time?"
"Yeah, you know, do girl things."
"What kind of girl things?"
Sarah smiled as she pulled in to the mall parking lot. "Shopping."
*********
"The blue one looks better."
Sarah rolled her eyes and closed the curtain. What was meant to be a simple evening away from the house for the first time in days, instead turned into an episode of "What Not to Wear", with Cameron dictating what she should and should not try on. Sarah briefly wondered how Skynet programmed her with a fashion sense. Why I'm taking advice from a machine anyway, I don't know. Especially from she-who-wears-combat-boots-with-skirts.
Cameron had insisted, actually. Sarah had lost a lot of weight, and her clothes were starting to look a bit big on her. She also thought Sarah needed a little more color in her wardrobe.
"How about pink?"
Sarah nearly growled. "I will dismember you bolt by bolt."
"That's not a very original threat, and John would be upset."
"He'd be too busy putting you back together to notice."
She opened the curtain again and stood awkwardly.
Cameron made a face. "Yellow is not your color either."
*********
Walking past several "tween" boutiques, Cameron stopped at a Piercing Pagoda kiosk. There was a young girl sitting in a chair holding a teddy bear. She was obviously afraid, as tears were running down her cheeks as a young woman marked her ear with a pen.
"What are they doing to the child?"
Sarah, who was eyeing the nearest shoe store, followed her gaze. "She's getting her ears pierced."
Cameron watched the process curiously. It looked painful. She didn't understand why the mother would want to torture her child like that.
"That's cruel. Why would a mother deliberately cause her child pain?"
"It only hurts for a moment, Cameron. Look, she's already done crying."
Cameron looked doubtful.
"You should try it."
Cameron turned away from staring at the child. "What?"
"Get your ears pierced." Sarah grinned.
"Why? It serves no purpose."
"Oh, sure it does." Sarah smiled mischievously and dragged Cameron over to the counter. "They look pretty, and boys like when girls wear them."
Sarah could clearly see her words being processed carefully, as slight facial expressions flickered across Cameron's face. Am I really trying to help her get on with my son? As if they needed any help. But Sarah had to admit, if only to herself, that she did sort of like Cameron. She always did, in her own way. Whether it was the teenager appearance, or the naivety she'd often show, Sarah had always deep-down felt ever so slightly maternal towards her. They had even bonded a bit over their mutual dislike of Riley. Of course, when Sarah had noticed the jealousy, the long stares, and spying… she hadn't been too sure which girl she was rooting for. But when John really started treating Cameron bad, Sarah found herself almost defending the cyborg, although she wasn't sure if it was truly in defense of Cameron, or if it was simply because she was sick of her son being an asshole to everyone.
"Can I help you ladies?"
"Uh, yes," Sarah responded with a smile. "She'd like to get her ears pierced."
The woman looked at Cameron and smiled. "Well honey if you come right over here, you can pick out your earrings, and if you want, your mom can start filling out your forms for you."
Cameron looked at Sarah, who nodded.
Cameron looked over the jewelry selection, and chose a small, square shaped cubic zirconia set. After signing the forms, she sat in the seat and waited.
The woman marked her ears, and had her check the placement. With a nod from Sarah, the woman prepared the piercing gun. Cameron, of course, never even flinched.
*******
Cameron sat across from Sarah in the food court, sipping a strawberry banana smoothie. Sarah still didn't have a clue where she put it all.
Sarah herself was eating sushi. John hated it, so she didn't get a chance to enjoy it often.
"What do you think we'll find on Danny Dyson?"
Sarah stopped, a California roll halfway to her mouth. Superhuman hearing. How could I forget? "I'm not sure. We may not even find anything. But, the kid is missing, and we need to find him. Whether he just ran away from home, or was kidnapped, we should find out."
Cameron agreed. She even thought there might be a chance that he neither ran, nor was kidnapped, but she'd reserve judgment until they could learn more. The suspicion still lingered, though.
She looked around the food court, watching people mill around. Several people attempted to juggle too many bags with a food tray. There was an infant crying in a stroller, and several children running between tables. A man dressed in a business suit walked through the food court, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone.
Wait. There was something… odd about the man. Cameron put her cup down and scanned him. When her instincts proved correct, she stood up and grabbed their bags.
Sarah immediately knew something was wrong, and didn't need Cameron to tell her "we need to go" for her to get up and follow her quickly to the glass doors of the food court entrance.
Once outside, Cameron pushed Sarah against the wall and peered through the doors. They hadn't been spotted.
"Is it a triple eight?"
Cameron nodded, and pulled out her cell phone while Sarah ran to get the car.