Of What Was Left Behind (ONC 2024)

12 - Growth and Development IV

The juveniles matured rapidly. Over the past few days, the distinctive streak on their beaks darkened to a crisp, dark blue. The brown-eyed juvenile lost the metallic sheen in its iris, becoming almost indistinguishable from the common crow. In contrast, the other juvenile's eyes retained a stark silver hue.

Just like Kiki.

There was another thing that the camera noticed. Its program now moved in harmony, barely tripping over memory fragments. There were times where data from the past would overlap with the present, but ever since that emptiness-

The camera considered this other feeling which had recently appeared. It resembled frantic electrical scrambles, as if delicate cables were on the verge of snapping, emitting sparks.

– There was no full memory. There were only snippets and even then, those were few and far between.

However, the camera could observe its surroundings with greater clarity. It noticed the yellowing tips of grass whenever the air was still. Distant sounds came through with greater clarity. It could hear the creaking of presumably ruined houses as more and more of them continued collapsing under their own weight.

This inference from observations was something the machine found to be foreign. There was no confirmation, no visual feedback, no cross-referencing of this conclusion and yet, it knew its conclusion was the most probable.

In a way, its capabilities were growing even if that came at a price.

There was also this strange phenomenon. It was...the way it perceived times of day. Mornings, to the machine, were grey and sleepy. The light that filtered through the clouds casted everything it touched in subtle shades of dull blue. Grasses looked darker, and shadows seemed more diffuse, blending into its surroundings.

The camera remembered the woman always seemed sleepier in the mornings.

That was another unusual phenomenon. It remembered things, facts related to the woman. It did not remember the associated memories, nor was its programming inclined to reach towards it. It knew, much like those facts, that these memories no longer existed despite the obvious traces they left behind.

Despite the fact that it still left facts for the camera to recall, if nothing else.

Whenever the sun reached its highest point, the camera always found itself feeling that emptiness the most. It unsettled the very foundations of the machine, putting its very code off balance. During those times, it knew that the woman usually would not be around, leaving the room empty.

During those times, it would watch the dust fall slowly through the still air. At times, if it was positioned properly, it could watch people go about their daily lives. Usually they would walk, focused on their devices or simply drive by in cars of a multitude of colours.

Now, this time of the day was simply the same as most other times of the day. Animals would move about, going in and out of view. Insects buzzed by, and the occasional butterfly would land on yellow dandelion flowers, their vibrant wings opening and closing.

If there was anything different about noon, it would perhaps be the fact that most creatures were active.

Even the juveniles.

During this time, the machine would find the young birds flying off with their clumsy wingbeats before flying back. They would often play among themselves and sometimes, the camera found itself included in their games. It would whistle and hum, its discordant, mechanical tunes mingling with their natural ones.

Yet, despite its participation in their games, it had found itself feeling that emptiness more keenly. The more it played with the birds, the more of that unsettling sensation came to threaten the integrity of its circuits.

Perhaps that was what pain felt like.

The camera paused its observations as the silver-eyed bird tilt its head.

The machine whistled.

The bird hopped back, its wings loosely held to the side. It shifted on its feat, lowering its body.

The camera hummed once more.

The bird's beak dropped open and slowly, it mimicked the sound.

Flash.

The woman gently stroked Kiki's head with her finger. The bird closed its eyes and let out an almost mechanical trill. The woman paused, surprised and glanced at her phone. Then, she laughed.

The sound was almost perfect, though slightly off-tune. The silver-eyed juvenile tilted its head once more, as if waiting for its strange, plastic-covered partner to play its part in this impromptu duet.

The camera obliged.

At that, the young bird perked up and hopped from one leg to another. It bobbed its head, whistling a tune that the machine often used when playing.

The illogical side of its code nudged at the camera, nudged at a different action and so it mimicked the bird's tune, right down to the pitch.

The juvenile stopped, frozen as if surprised. Then it responded with its own, sharp shrill.

The camera picked a different tune. In this action, it noted that the emptiness receded, its edges shrinking away, if only for a small moment. So it continued playing, entertaining its silver-eyed companion.

...

A kitten crouched in the undergrowth, stalking a grey and bushy tail. It pounced, eliciting a swipe from its siblings. The cat blinked at the action but turned away, her attention on her other child who was presently stalking a different target.

This grey-spotted kitten had its sights set on a lizard, a challenging target that would frequently stop, its forked tongue flicking the air, before swiftly darting away. Each time the kitten neared, the brown lizard would scamper to a new location, always just beyond reach.

Eventually, the lizard vanished behind a moss-covered rock. The kitten laid its cheek against the ground, attempting to spy on its elusive quarry. Growing impatient, it swiped at the rock several times, only for its siblings to seize this moment to pounce on it, igniting a bout of playful wrestling.

The mother cat remained vigilant throughout, her eyes sharp. Despite their playful misadventures, she had noticed a significant improvement in their hunting skills and overall agility in the past few days.

After allowing her offspring a brief interlude of play, she signalled for them to gather. She then shifted her focus to the dense thicket of trees that lay before them. Despite their progress, they still had to move.

The rats were still too close for them to be safe.

******

Word count: 11402