A Sunset On the Horizon

"So what about that situation downstairs?" Anon asked

Her pupils expanded and contracted again

"Permission to ask a serious question."

"Sunset this isn't the army, you don't need to ask my permission for anything like that."

"Am I just like those bots?"

"Of course not."

"How am I different?"

Anon took another sip from his drink, finishing it off

"You're human."

Once again, her pupils expanded and contracted. It was if it were some sort of behavioral tic to signify she was confused.

"That is false. I'm an android."

"Your parts may be metal, your mind may be code instead of electricity. But you are still innately human."

She didn't respond, instead falling into silence. She stared down at the floor, looking at her toes.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. However, I don't wish to talk about this subject any further."

It had only been a single day since he happened upon this android, but it was so different from any he'd seen. It really felt human. Was she the first android to truly attain humanity and consciousness? Only time would tell.

"Well Sunset, I need to get to bed. Anything you need before I go out?"

"Negative. I'll be able to be self sufficient through the night."

"Good."

Anon climbed under the covers and got comfortable. Sleep came shortly thereafter. But it didn't last. Every so often he'd have a terrible nightmare, replaying memories he'd much rather forget. He awoke with a start, trembling and in a cold sweat.

"Anon, what's matter?" Sunset asked

She was standing mere feet from the bed, her head slightly tilted. It took him a moment to realize that was all a dream.

"Nothing."

"Readings of your pulse and temperature, as well as samples from your sweat indicate you had a nightmare. You are also crying."

He didn't even notice the tears streaming down his cheeks. Sunset grabbed a cloth from the bed side and gently wiped them away, a warm, inviting smile going across her face.

"You're safe now Anon. Please relax."

He didn't know why, but the way she said it put him completely at ease. It was so reassuring, so pleasant.

"Thank you, Sunset."

"Do you wish to talk about your dream? I have programs that make me the equivalent of a registered therapist."

He curled up into a ball, facing away from her

"No, thanks." he said, rather sternly

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently massaged it

"You're still afraid."

"Shut up already. Stupid robot."

She didn't say another word, but kept messaging his back. It was so soothing. Like he was finally not alone anymore. As she got up to put the cloth away, Anon grabbed her wrist.

"Please. Stay with me a little longer."

Sunset gave another warm smile

"Of course. I'll stay by your side as long as you need."

They both sat there in the darkness for a while, just relaxing. Anon sat up, a smile on his face. abruptly, he embraced Sunset. She resisted slightly at first before returning it. She rubbed his back.

"There, there." she said, like a mother to a child

"Thank you, Sunset."

"You're welcome."

He rested his head on her shoulder. The atmosphere was so serene, euphoric almost.

"Tomorrow you want to go explore more of earth with me?" he asked

"Of course I do."

"I'm glad. It'd be lonely by myself."

Anon broke the embrace, laying back down on the bed.

"Can you stay by my side the rest of the night?"

"Yes. I'll be right here the entire time."

"Thank you."

"It's my pleasure."

She watched as he slowly fell back into sleep. There was something so peculiar about sleep to her. What was it like to dream? What was it like to lose consciousness while still seeing images? It's the one thing she could never accurately simulate. She paced her hand lightly on his hair, feeling it in her palms. What must real hair be like, she wondered? Sure, her hair was made to feel exactly like the real thing. But it wasn't. Same with her skin, her eyes, her nails, everything.

Humans always say their bodies are inconvenient. They grow hair too much, they break too easy. But part of Sunset sort of envied that for reasons she couldn't fully understand. By all accounts, her body was far superior. But that was something so charming about flesh and blood human body. Something about all it's flaws were so appealing. Maybe it was because she knew that, as advanced as she was, her days were few and her time limited.

When Anon awoke again, he was greeted to another amazing smell. Sunset had prepared another meal, no doubt as amazing as the last. He rubbed his eyes and found Sunset in the kitchen preparing pancakes and bacon along with some coffee. He stretched and got out of bed. It gave him the perfect idea of what to do that day.

"That smells incredible Sunset."

"I hope you don't mind, but while you slept I did an extremely thorough analysis of your body. I made this meal to taste exactly how your taste buds love."

"A little weird but I doubt after this meal I'll complain much."

He sat at the table

"What did you find out from your analysis?"

Sunset began to set the table, sitting beside him

"You are healthy, though sightly overweight. Your brain function is normal. I've also gotten full data on your vitals. Your heartbeat is slightly abnormal, however it doesn't seem it will cause problems."

"Fair enough. Was expecting worse honestly."

He started on the pancakes and it was as good as he'd imagined they'd be. Never in his life had he tasted something so good. Once again, Sunset had the look on suspense and anticipation again, eager to hear his thoughts.

"If the last meal you gave me was a 10/10, this one is an 11/10."

She got a huge smile on her face

"Yeah! Nailed it!"

He couldn't help but smile along with her. Of all the things to take so seriously and passionately, it was cooking. It was oddly charming. If only he had a hobby he was so passionate about.

"Anywhere you'd like to see on earth?"

"Anywhere is fine. I'd rather let you pick." she shurgged

"I was hoping you'd say that. I was thinking we could go down to Montana in the US. It's one of the few places that nature remains intact."

"That sounds lovely. I've never had a chance to explore any wilderness."

"Maybe we should go camping before we ship out on Friday."

"Ship out?"

"Yeah. We're only docked here for three days. We leave on the morning of the fourth day."

"Camping sounds perfect."

"I say we should rough it just like they did in the olden days. Nothing but a tent and some sleeping bags."

"This is inadvisable. Camping with nothing but a tent and sleeping bags will be unsustainable for more than a few hours as humans require food and-"

"Figure of speech, Sunset."

"You must teach me more about this 'figure of speech' you keep talking about. It seems rather confounding."

"I'll tell you all about it when we start set up camp."

He took a sip from his coffee. Even that was a magical sensation. It didn't need milk or even sweetener and it was by far the best cup of coffee he'd ever tasted. Her analyzation skills were no joke. Anon checked his watch. 8:30. Perfect amount of time to get things going.

"Ready to head out?"

"Shouldn't we put the dishes away first?"

"That's fine. One of the perks of being on a cruise liner is free room service."

"Works for me. So how are we going to get the supplies."

"I'm about to show you another perk of being the son of cruise liner CEO."

Anon reached for the phone by his bedside

"You see, activities like camping are pretty common so we have a huge assortment of supplies for that sort of thing. And since I'm the CEOs son, I get them all free."

Sunset tilted her head

"Isn't that a form of nepotism?"

He gave a wink

"Not if you don't get caught."

"I'm not sure that's how the law works."

"Figure of speech."

"I'm starting to think you say that every time you want to justify bad behavior."

He chuckled and called them number. Within five minutes everything was brought to the room. A tent for two, two sleeping bags, some flint, a cooler and a large rucksack. All that was needed now was food and drinks. Once he packed everything into the ruck he put it on his back. It was far heavier than expected. He could hardly lift it at all.

"Would you care for assistance?"

Anon did his best to look like it was totally good

"Nope. I'm fine."

Sunset nonchalantly walked over and put one hand below the ruck, lifting it with ease. Must be nice to have the body of a slim, beautiful 18 year old butt the strength of a veteran Navy SEAL. With her free arm, she grabbed the cooler and they began to walk toward the teleportation station.

"You're sure you don't want me to carry that?" Sunset asked again

"It's impolite to ask a lady to do such things."

She smirked

"This 'lady' is far stronger than you could ever be."

"I know, I know but still."

They both got into the large silver box and in an instant they were on earth, surrounded by dense brush. It was so beautiful out here. Sure, there were hundreds of planets that were basically untapped wilderness, but this was wear humans started. It was humbling to think that humans went from throwing sticks and rocks at one another to conquering most of the galactic neighborhood and making entire planets habitable within months. And on a universal timescale, it may as well have been in a blink of an eye.

"Are you alright Anon? You're spacing out."

He turned around to see her outfit had completely changed. She had a big blue sunhat, a white tank top and jean shorts, her hair now in a pony tail. The outfit worked so well to highlight her bright blue eyes. He hated to admit it, but he was jealous of how easy she could change her appearance from one moment to the next. No amount of genetic engineering would ever give him that ability.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just admiring nature is all."

She put her hands on her hips

"It is quite something isn't it?"

"It really is. The camp ground is just a little ways from here. Let's get going."