Impossible Miracles

Chapter 11
Knowledge From the Future

She couldn't stop trembling. She felt her breath quicken uncontrollably, and she couldn't stop hiccupping.

Comprehension beyond her grasp. Her breathing was merely superficial and should have been controlled by her circuits.

Why? How?

She did not know. She did not understand what was going on.

One moment the light was blinking: a message had been received. The next, she saw events that were, events that are, events that would be, and all were events same and different. She was being created. She was being taught. She was watching her Master die before her.

But then death came, and it hadn't come yet here.

Impossibility. Truth?

She shook her head. She couldn't stop the tears. They flowed and flowed, and she didn't know why.

No, she did know why, but she didn't know how. She hurt. She imagined the area was where her Master called "the heart." She had not understood. Emotions were a function of the brain, so how could painful emotions inflict physical damage around the chest area?

But as the sorrow, the joy, the calm, the confusion, the loneliness, the … lostness of everything gripped at her, it was there she felt pain.

He was not dead. He had not died yet. What she saw was an impossibility, because it had yet to happen!

She heard crashes and stomping, and before long, a winded Len appeared around the corner. His hair was matted every which way, and his shirt was haphazardly thrown on. Sweat still dotted his brow, and she saw the small trickle of blood flowing from the hole near his elbow.

See? He was still here. Here, physical, and breathing.

Breathing too much, perhaps. She stood up, looked at him. "What is wrong?"

Eyebrow raised, eyes widened. Surprise. The next expression was harder to read, a glance to the left with a pinched frown. "N-nothing. I … I just thought I'd heard something." His eyes rose again, and this time, he searched her face. "What's wrong? You're crying."

"It was nothing. An involuntary reaction to … the mysterious phenomenon. There was a message and I thought it may be urgent." Yes, that's what she had been doing. In the confusion, she had forgotten.

"What did the message say?"

"There was no message. It appears to be an error."

Master's breathing had slowed. He was calmer now, not panting. It wasn't good that he was exerting himself.

His next action surprised her, and she jumped a little. He jumped a little at her startled response in return, his hand jerking away from her cheek where he had started to wipe away her tears.

There was silence. She did not know how to break it. It was beginning to get uncomfortable when Master spoke again. "I think I'm going to return to bed." The statement was made with a slight crunch of the nose. Reluctance.

Before he could continue, she cut in. "Allow me to help you."

Surprise again, but she forged on. "You are exhausted from your journey down. We must conserve as much energy as possible. It is the same between robots and humans, is it not?"

Silence again, but this time it was broken by a chuckle. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He allowed himself to be supported by her, and his willingness to comply softened the anxieties that were rampant within her.