Of Gears and Humanity

| Bonus Chapter #1

DAMIEN, THE BOY FROM THE WEST

Year, 1042 A.H

Thunder roared, trembling the dark skies around Sector 1. The sounds of the brewing storm echoed in the wind. With a sudden flash of lightning brightening the clouds East of the silver buildings, the child's eyes saw more magic than fear.

It was beautiful, not scary at all. The greys and blacks with streaks of white reminded me of the building he called home. Yet, he had always been told to fear the skies and what could fly within them. To fear the light which brightened the space behind the eastern gates.

If science cannot explain it, no one needs to venture towards it.

"Young Damien."

A voice pulled the boy's gaze away from the open window, away from the view of the stormy horizon. He turned, placing his hands in front of him with the manners he'd been taught, and faced a woman seated on a chair beside his single bed. In her slender hands was an open book; her thumb held the first page neatly in its place.

In the light of his lamp, the unnaturalness of her skin reminded the boy of her true self. When she smiled and tilted her head, the black hair that framed her porcelain face was stuck in place as it was made of durable plastic. It was machinery that powered her violet eyes. The humming he heard from her chest wasn't a song, but the motors of her artificial heart.

It never bothered Damien that she wasn't as high quality as the other Attributions built within the sector; her low-grade interior brought him comfort. She was closer to him than any of the other machines he lived with. He was human, after all. The only human. And she was designed to be his mother.

"I'm sorry," he said as he stepped away from the window just as the rain fell from the sky. "It's just that the rain is—"

"Coming, I know." Another smile lifted her cheeks as she straightened against the metal chair. It creaked under the pressure of her body, and when she moved, it did, too. It was meant to hold the weight of a small child, nothing else. But Damien liked her presence close by, so she always complied. "I need you to sit so I may read you this story. It is the one you have requested."

"Is it?" Damien's eyes lit up with excitement. For days, months even, the young boy had pleaded with Arvon, the Attribute Main, to let him have stories. Real stories. He had seen images of them within the videos displayed for his education, but Damien learned quickly that nothing was better than the real thing.

He wanted books. He wanted to feel the paper, hear the words read off of them. To think Arvon had finally given in to his wishes.

"It is," she said as the light of her violet eyes brightened. She watched as Damien hurried over to the side of his bed, making himself comfortable just beside her. His legs dangle off the edge. Her gaze looked at his bare feet, tan skin still dirtied with mud from the morning, and his pants, folded at the end to keep from smudging. Before her focus returned to the book, she moved down and wiped the dirt from his feet.

Damien giggled and wrinkled his round nose. "Mother."

His mother, the Attribution, lifted her head and looked into his dark brown eyes. Again, as she'd done seconds ago, she straightened, smiled, and returned to the book in her hands. "This is a children's book," she said as she observed the page, "written in the age of humans."

Damien nodded, eager to hear what was on the page. He could have read it himself if he truly wanted to, but during his education, he learned that human parents' read to their children, sometimes at night. And that was the argument he'd given to Arvon when he requested books; if humans had access to them and children were read to before bed, why couldn't he have the same?

"I apologize that the book is tattered," mother said as she frowned at the edges of the book. "It is old and took a great deal of work to locate this."

"I know." The book's appearance didn't bother Damien. He knew humans had disappeared from the Earth. But to have the chance, as the last human, to experience such a peaceful moment, Damien couldn't pass it on. "It doesn't bother me at all."

"After I read this to you," mother turned her head towards the corner of his room, at the empty white bookshelf newly built for the boy, "you can have it and start a collection."

As thunder roared again, Damien's attention left the book and focused on the Attribution's face. "You mean I'm getting more books?" he asked.

Without looking at him, she nodded.

Damien's mouth opened as he smiled. "How many books?" He inched closer, scooting against the blankets on his bed. They tugged and folded under him. "Are there lots of books? A few books? Big books, small books—"

"Arvon has found many." She moved a finger over the first line of the page, still not looking at the boy. "And he says you can have them."

"Okay." Damien took in a deep breath to calm his excitement. He craned his neck, attempting to see the first line she was ready to read. Before he could get his eyes on it, she turned quickly. His eyes widened with curiosity. "Yes, mother?"

"Is there a reason you requested this book?" She leaned back against the seat. The violet in her eyes darkened.

Damien shrugged. "No reason," he said. "I just researched popular books written by humans and that one was one of the firsts that came up on the list. Is it a bad book?"

"No." She turned back towards the first page.

Damien shrugged again, this time apologetically. "I sort of read the information about it and it sounded really interesting. All of these different worlds and places, different people."

The Attribution held the book up towards her face but didn't look at the page. She looked at the boy beside her instead. "Are you lonely, Damien?" she asked.

The young boy gulped, bit his lip, and folded his hands on his lap. With a deep breath, he said, "I'm just curious, that's all."

"About humans?" she asked.

He lowered his gaze.

"You can be honest," she added when he was silent.

Thunder roared again. Rain slapped against the window. Damien, even at a young age, knew he couldn't be honest. He had tried once and learned quickly to ask about humans was frowned upon. Humans had started the war, erased themselves from existence. And Damien, a small infant found near the gates, was lucky to have been found by the Attributions.

With that thought in mind, Damien closed his eyes and listened to the storm, the winds, and hoped his thoughts would blow with them.

Next to him, the Attribution noted his change of body temperature, the fluctuations of his mood, and knew to stop. She had been programmed to ensure his happiness; she was failing her mission at that moment.

Returning her focus to the book he'd excitedly requested for days, the Attribution smiled and read the first line in a cheery voice, "It was a dark and stormy night..."

Damien loved her cheery tone and has since he could remember. The moment she started to read, he opened his eyes and smiled. 

*

A/N: This was written based on a prompt for PrettyInPunkBookClub Mini Awards. I chose a prompt to write a scene from my character's past and the an additional prompt "It was a dark and stormy night..." For these prompts, I chose to write for Damien.

Please note -- this was written for fun and also to keep me motivated to write this story come Nano time! <3 This is why it's titled "Bonus Chapter," as it doesn't fall into the plot line at all. But this could be a way to into my character's past.

And because I wrote one for him, I had to write one for Elena, too! *see Bonus Chapter #2*