Artificial Willpower

Half

Art by the spectacular _sleepy.moth_ on Instagram! Thank you for the support!

Early the next morning, Yancy woke up to the scent of waffles, eggs, and bacon. The sun shone between the crack in the curtains, over his eyes. He yawned softly and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He could see the world outside was orange with the sunrise. He closed his eyes, and yawned, wondering what time it was.

A little line of green text appeared at the corner of his vision, causing him to jump a little, before he realized it was the time. 6:16 A.M and 21...22...23 seconds. At least he'd never need a watch, he thought bitterly. All it cost was two limbs and a decent chunk of his face

He sighed. He wasn't used to sleeping in even this much. Prison worked on a tight schedule. Weekends might as well not have existed. 6'oclock every morning. No 'snoozing' allowed.

But the smell of fresh, good food made it so he didn't even want to go back to sleep. He got to his feet, but let out a small grunt like whimper as he put the weight on his foot.

He took a breath and swallowed the pain. He didn't really know why. Who was he putting a tough facade on for? Definitely not Illinois, who had just helped him through a nightmare. A nightmare. No doubt, Illinois knew he was a wimp.

He looked down at his feet. He still wore his prison uniform, but it was covered in dirt now. He had no shoes on. There was nothing to hide the metal foot from his view. No way to pretend it wasn't there. At least with his face, he hadn't looked in a mirror yet. It was something he hadn't been forced to fully face. The other additions though, weren't nearly as ignorable to him.

He shook his head, and walked out with a limp. He tried to walk normally, but there was no more adrenaline. He couldn't deny the pain. His metal foot clunked on the floor, in a painful contrast to his human one. He found his way into the kitchen and dining room area.

Illinois looked up from some bacon sizzling on a skillet. He gave a small smile " Hey Yance. Take a seat. You really shouldn't be walking right now. I was gonna take you your food"

" Sleepin' in feels weird..." he said, as he limped over to a chair and sat down " Do youse ever sleep? I got a sneaking suspicion youse were already awake before you came in last night." He looked at the stack of waffles, and a pan of scrambled eggs. He had obviously been awake for a while, if he had gotten any sleep at all.

Illinois smiled a little, as he turned back to attend to the bacon laying in the popping oil " Oh sure. I sleep sometimes. Once every blue moon."

" Wow. Youse seem so energetic for a guy with an awful sleep schedule" Yancy said, as his human hand ran over the grooves of his metal arm. The texture was mesmerizing. " Must drink a lot of coffee..."

Illinois chuckled " Nah. I'm just a naturally energized guy. Believe it or not, I actually don't like coffee. It tastes weird, and caffeine makes me anxious."

He put the various foods on the table, and put the bacon on a plate. Yancy moved to get up, so he could help Illinois set the table. He was stopped when Illinois tsked softly " You have to try not to walk. Even crutches would be a dangerous game for you, cause of your arm."

Yancy sighed but didn't try to stand up again. Illinois finished setting the table. He took a seat across from Yancy, and grabbed a plate " Dig in"

Yancy stared at the food in front of him. Along with the waffles, eggs, and bacon, the table held a bowl of syrupy fruit, butter, whipped cream, a jug of milk, and a container of apple juice. Yancy hadn't had anything close to this in over ten years. He felt his mouth water as he grabbed a plate with his human hand, then took a waffle with the same hand. He was careful not to use his mechanics. He didn't want to break anything.

" So... Youse have a breakfast like this every mornin..?" Yancy asked as he spooned some of the fruit onto his waffle, careful not to dribble any of the syrupy juice.

" Not really. Only on special occasions" Illinois said, cutting into a waffle. He could clearly sense Yancy was about to argue about there being a special occasion, because the next thing he said was " I mean, your first morning as a free man? That's huge."

Yancy went quiet. It was really big... But why did this stranger want to celebrate it? He was still so confused as to what could have made the man so motivated to help him.

" Ten years in prison is a long time..." Yancy started carefully "And I'm sure I's forgot some things.." he glanced at him " Did I ever know you before..?"

Illinois shook his head, " Nope." He said, before putting a piece of waffle, pinkish with the fruits juices, in his mouth.

Yancy shook his head " That don't make sense... I don't get why youse... would endanger youses life for a total stranger. And help them through a nightmare like that. Youse act like we're old friends..." His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at his own plate, trying to understand.

Illinois smiled a bit " I know life hasn't been too nice to you. But there's good people out there. And I try to be one of them. I know about the suffering in that facility, and just want to help who I can. No need to overthink it. Now shush, and eat."

Yancy looked back and stared at him for a long moment, thinking, when the boxes and text started to appear again, pointing out things he never would have noticed.

A box around his hand, which was picking at a small bump on the table cloth. 'Fidgeting'

Another was around his torso 'Relaxed Posture'

Another around his eyes 'Avoiding Eye Contact'

One last one went around his whole body 'Leaning forward'

The diagram disappeared, and text appeared in the center of his vision again 'Analysis Complete: Mixed Messages. Conclusion, Half Truth'

Yancy tore his gaze away and started to cut his waffle. Half Truth? What part was true? What part was a lie? Why was he lying? Or maybe just leaving things out? But why?

He felt a panic fill his chest. Up till now, he had figured his intentions were pure. And Illinois had told him his intentions were pure. So were they half pure? Yancy didn't know what to do, so he took a bite of the waffle that had looked so appetizing only a minute ago. Now he wasn't hungry.

" You alright buddy?" Illinois asked " You just went pale. Are you sick?"

Yancy shook his head, and put another piece in his mouth. It was rude to talk with your mouth full, he remembered. If he could just regain his hunger, then he'd be fine to avoid conversation for the next half an hour or so.

Illinois' brow furrowed in a concerned manner, but he didn't push.

Yancy didn't find himself able to eat anything more than one waffle, two pieces of bacon, and a tiny bit of eggs. Illinois got up " I'm gonna get you some clothes you can use, till I can get you your own. You wanna take a shower?"

Yancy looked at his mechanical hand, resting on the table " Can I?"

Illinois shrugged " I think they would have taken showers into consideration. Plus, you see how non reflective it is? I'm willing to bet it's mostly for stealth reasons, but that's a modified version of stainless steel. A metal that doesn't rust. Expensive stuff though... This modified version is so new that no one has made an easy way to produce it."

Yancy frowned, but nodded " A shower would be nice..."

Illinois offered him a hand to help him up, and Yancy hesitantly took it, in his own human hand. Where was the safety he had felt earlier? Now he was filled with a feeling that this was a trap. That didn't make sense though. If it was a trap, then wouldn't he just call the officials already? Unless there was a different sort of personal gain?

Maybe Yancy was thinking too in the box. Illinois did just say the metal on his arm was expensive...

Illinois helped him up, with a friendly smile. Yancy wondered how true the smile was... or maybe the man just had a much more sinister reason to smile.

Authors note: First chapter of 2022! Things are getting a little more hectic in my life, but I'm still aiming for every Saturday. Ill post an announcement on my profile if I don't think I can meet Saturday. Have a great day!