“Why Yann? Why didn’t they tell us?”
The young man had lifted the stool again and sat on it. The three-legged stool clearly wasn’t broken. So the problem was either in his cheekbone, his nose, or some small bone in Jasper’s hand. But Daniel couldn’t forget the sound that had rung out.
The boy’s eye was shut, and blood was flowing from somewhere on his head, already covering half his face. Yann held a cloth to his head, which was slowly soaking with his blood. Jasper shook his hand, seated back in his spot. With his other hand, he propped up his head. Daniel was also seated, waiting for answers. The boy didn’t seem worried. Nor did he show anything beyond pain. He sat with his head bowed, occasionally blinking with his good eye. He’d lift his gaze, glance at one of them, and lower his head again. The eye closest to Jasper’s blow had filled with blood, its white turning red. And the red ring around it was slowly turning blue.
“This is a test, boys,” Yann said calmly, though from time to time he took a deep, sharp breath. Daniel had expected things to worsen after the strike, but now both Jasper and the boy were calm. “A test not just for the robots. A test for everything.”
“You mean they’re testing us too?” Daniel asked.
“I told you, bro,” Jasper cut in. “I was right. They’re testing us.”
“Actually, there’s nothing conspiratorial about it. Yes, you’re right—they could’ve told you,” Yann said, his speech pausing occasionally as he took another breath before continuing. “But even if they didn’t, they’re not doing it to screw you over. Nor are they betraying you to someone. It all stays here.”
“And you know this because?” Daniel pressed.
“I’ve been with the company for years.” Yann lowered the cloth and shook his head. “I don’t know Mr. Barnes personally, but I can assure you everything here was made with a lot of love. And when the first tests began, I applied right away. I was one of the first chosen.”
“What did you do at the company?”
“I worked with the blood. I was part of the team that developed the plasma we put into the robots.”
“Then why are their hands cold? Aren’t you the blood guy?”
“That’s our biggest pain. The one problem we couldn’t solve. But it’s a long explanation, and it seems to me you’ve got plenty more questions.”
“Bro, sorry I hit you,” Jasper said—Daniel rarely heard him apologize to anyone. “But I was pissed off all day. I overheard it by chance from some technicians.”
“So someone slipped up before me?”
“They didn’t know I was there. I heard them talking and lost it. And when I realized I was right just now…”
The boy didn’t respond. He didn’t seem aggressive. In fact, he took it all too calmly. As if he’d expected it.
“Are there more like you?” Daniel asked, genuinely curious for more answers.
“There are, but not many.”
“Who are they?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Bro…” Jasper started.
“I really can’t. I only know about…” Yann stopped. He didn’t want to talk.
“The blonde woman we saw you with?” Daniel guessed.
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“Yes,” Yann said reluctantly. “She’s like me. And like you. Real. Didn’t you recognize her afterward?”
“We’ve seen her again? We talked to Violet about her, but she didn’t seem to know her.”
“Ha, of course. She knows her by name but hasn’t seen her. Or at least hasn’t remembered her.”
“Who is she?”
Yann wiped his head with the cloth again, glanced at them, then looked aside.
“Look, I don’t want to say. There are cameras everywhere here.”
“You’d better spill it. Who is she? One of Violet’s whores?” Jasper pressed.
“Reed’s daughter,” Yann said with little enthusiasm.
“Mia?”
“Yeah. We’ve been dating since the company days. We just thought it’d be cool to meet up here too. That’s why we applied together.”
“Bro, you two screwed up on day one,” Jasper said, almost laughing.
“And yet you found out from other people, not us.”
“Well, you played your part perfectly, I won’t lie.”
“Look, when you’ve got a girlfriend, sex gets boring after a while. You have to spice things up. You probably know how it is…”
“So you decided to do it in robot land. I get it, bro, but…”
“No. We didn’t come here to screw like rabbits. I genuinely love the company, and this experience is perfect for me. I play a stablehand, but my real job—and everyone like me—is to observe the robots and how they interact with you.”
“Then why didn’t they just bring you in as guests?”
“I thought the same at first,” Yann said, holding his head. He was surely in pain but hid it from them. “But then I realized I’d do the same. Think about it. First off, you’re from the top tiers of your professions. No one here is random. Sure, some bring in simpler folks with their second invite, but if they’re friends with them, they’re not random either. No one surrounds themselves with idiots. You’re the perfect people to train the robots.”
“We heard that from Barnes too. And I agree with you,” Daniel said, not wanting to push him too hard but still craving answers. “But why you? Why have people like you hiding like this?”
“Because we’re testing you.”
“Us?”
“Well, yeah. Not you specifically, but your interactions with the robots. For example, if I were a robot right now, we wouldn’t be having this long conversation, and you’d probably treat me arrogantly, from above, with a sense of owning me. That’s normal. But when you realize I’m human, you first talk to me normally, lower yourself to my level, and feel more empathy.”
Daniel remembered his talk with Ava last night. She’d said the same thing. Did she know more, or had she figured it out herself? He wanted to see her again.
“Bro, then why the cameras? We know you’re watching us with cameras. Even Silver’s got one,” Jasper said, pointing at the dog. His question was spot on.
“It’s not the same. It’s always better to be there. And the cameras aren’t obvious. Most of the animals have them. The birds too. But you can always hide from them. You can’t hide from a person. Take how you overheard the technicians last night. Would you have heard that from a robot? Maybe they’ll develop human traits like intrigue, curiosity, gossip… But it’s too early. They’re learning from you.”
“I want to keep talking, Yann, but you probably need a break. Just tell me—how do we tell who’s a robot and who isn’t?”
“My advice? Don’t try. Live the park. I’ve been watching you since you got here. You’re some of the most colorful characters. Exactly the kind of people we hoped for when we discussed launching it. In two days, you became deputy sheriffs. Would it be different if I told you, say, Jake’s real? It’d ruin the whole experience for you.”
“Is he real?”
“I don’t know. I only know Mia. I can’t tell you about others, and even if I knew, I wouldn’t. It’d ruin the idea. The whole point is for you to treat everyone equally without knowing who’s what.”
“Will it be like that when the park opens officially?”
“Probably not. But Barnes is the brains behind it all. And he’s full of surprises. So the real answer is, I don’t know.”
Jasper stood and offered Yann a hand. Yann took it back.
“Bro, I don’t like what you’re doing, but I’ll listen to you. When you’re better, come to the bar—I’ll buy you a drink. I’ll treat you like a robot,” Jasper said with a grin. “Sorry again about the eye. You’ll probably be fine. But Mia might not like you like that.” His playful tone was creeping back.
“Doubt it, guys. This place is full of cameras. They’ll probably pull me out of the park by the end of the day and fire me. This is one of the things that wasn’t supposed to come out.”
“Can we talk to someone?” Daniel asked, feeling guilty. “We didn’t mean for this.”
“Don’t. Like I tried to explain, this place runs on your choices. You chose to expose me. Now we’ll see the consequences and play them out. Whether here or out there. Though sometimes I really don’t know what’s here and what’s out there.”