A Companion's Journey

Chapter 2 - Working

The next day followed in the usual manner. Karson was not scheduled to work at the pub and decided to devote some time to writing. He recorded some of his thoughts in the leather bound journal Rachel gave him as a birthday present before switching to the computer. Karson worked on revising the manuscript he finished writing a few weeks ago.

Although he did not prevent Rachel from viewing his work, he did not feel that his current manuscript was ready to share. Karson kept his work in a nondescript folder and filed his revisions and notes under his own numbering system; to anyone else it appeared like a folder system full of half finished ideas. Rachel was always eager to read Karson's work and he valued her opinion, he just hoped he would be able to polish up his current project soon to give her that opportunity.

At noon the Companion waited for Rachel to appear online. When 12:15 came and went, he surmised that she would probably not show up. After a brief twinge of disappointment, he went back to editing his manuscript on the physical and psychological interactions between humans and Companions. No title had been given to the work yet, but he felt confident that something would surface as it neared completion.

Meanwhile, Rachel was wrapping up her own finishing touches on the last analysis of the database assigned to her. She recalculated the last column as a double check for her macros and was satisfied that her numbers checked out. She made a backup archive and sent the finished report to her supervisor. Rachel had been so engrossed in her task that she was surprised to see it was already 12:30.

"Shoot," she muttered under her breath.

She hated to miss a conversation with Karson, which was frequently a bright spot in her day. Hastily, Rachel typed a quick email to the Companion saying she was sorry she missed him.

Rachel stepped out briefly to grab a sandwich from the cafe next door, and decided that if she could not talk to her Companion she could at least read his latest article. While she ate lunch at her desk, she absorbed Karson's insightful and informative article about how the impact from the recently granted Companion rights affected the economy and social interactions. She marveled at how well written "Mr. K. Shepherd" was and made a mental note to compliment him. Just as she finished her last bite, her supervisor walked up.

"Good work on that last report, Rachel. I gave it a quick scan and everything looks great."

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson."

"What are you reading? Companions as Consumers, eh? I didn't know you were interested in Companion stuff."

"Really? I thought you knew that I adopted a Companion last year?"

"Ah, no I'm sorry. If you did tell me, I must have forgotten. Never had one myself, but my daughter got one after graduating college. She tells me they're pretty smart."

Rachel nodded.

"Yes, the Companions I've met are very intelligent. As a matter of fact, a Companion wrote this article."
Mr. Thompson nodded casually as if she had just told him it was sunny outside.

"I see. Well, just about anyone can write articles these days. It's not like a Companion really has any basis to write an article on consumer economics though, they are not the same as people."

Rachel silently counted to ten before answering.

"Companions have just as much capacity to think and feel as humans. Believe it or not, Karson does actually know what he's writing about."

Thompson squinted at Rachel.

"You know the author?"

"Yes, I do. Karson is the smartest person I've ever known."

"If you say so...personally, I don't put a lot of stock in intelligent animals that have only been around for a few decades. It's bad enough people are having relationships with them now."

Rachel fought hard to bite her tongue, but could not resist asking the question.

"What's wrong with that?"

Thompson had glanced away for a moment and did not see Rachel's hardened facial expression.

"I'm not exactly sure, it just doesn't seem appropriate. People loving animals? That's just plain weird. How can they know what a relationship is like?"

Rachel blurted out her next words without thinking.

"Karson has more emotion than any other boyfriend I've ever had."

It only took a fraction of a second for Thompson to come to the logical conclusion that Rachel was in a relationship with a Companion. The shock on her senior supervisor's face was clear, but he quickly replaced it with a neutral mask. He did however look at her in a new light as if he could barely tolerate being in her presence. His reply was curt.

"Well, what we choose to do with our private lives is our own business. I have some other things to attend to. Thanks for the report."

The supervisor strolled out of her cubicle and left Rachel feeling as if she were on a crumbling ledge. She pushed the feeling aside and took a few deep breaths knowing that her private life had no bearing on her performance in the company; she only hoped that Mr. Thompson would be able to see that.

Karson immediately recognized something was troubling Rachel when she arrived at home, but in his usual way he waited until she was ready to discuss it. Instead, she was quiet and reserved for the remainder of the evening. Dinner was eaten mostly in silence, and Rachel declined when Karson offered to give her a massage.

"Thank you for the offer sweetie, I think I'm just going to turn in early. I'm not really feeling very well."

Karson was mildly concerned but decided to give her some space.

"Okay. I think I will do some work at the computer for a bit. Just let me know if you need anything."

She nodded, gave him a kiss and meandered into the bedroom. Karson looked after her and wondered what could have caused Rachel to fall into such a state. He made a mental note to try and cheer her up later.

The Companion spent more time editing his manuscript and took a break to look up the viewer ratings on his recent article. The report looked very promising, showing that his article had gotten 250,000 views in the week it was posted. By comparison the main featured article, covering an interview with the first Companion to hold a government job, only received 400,000 views. He decided to be patient and check the numbers again in another week before setting on a course of action with his manuscript.

By the time Karson shut down the computer, it was already past 11:30. He intended to go to bed early and spend time with Rachel, but as with many things time slipped away once he focused on his work. He crept into the bedroom and stripped in the darkness. For once, Rachel had not left the TV on. There was still enough light filtering through the window for Karson to clearly see her curled up in bed, tightly clutching his plush doppelganger in her arms.

This was not the first time Karson found Rachel snuggled up in bed with Romeo. She had her face nuzzled into the furry cheek of the little German Shepherd plush. Karson was just about to pull the plush carefully from her grasp in an attempt to take his place, but he noticed small spots of matted fur on the toy. It occurred to him that Rachel had cried herself to sleep.

When he slipped Romeo from her grasp, Rachel inhaled and smiled. Without opening her eyes, her hand found his cheek.

"Hey fuzzy, I missed you."

Karson stroked a finger across her chin.

"I know and I am sorry I was late. But I am here now."

Rachel sighed and whispered, "I love you."

Karson pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I love you too. Go back to sleep."

"'Kay," she yawned and nuzzled into his warm fur.

In the space of a few breaths, she was asleep again. Karson lay awake for a time listening to Rachel slumber next to him and contemplated a way to steer a course through the turbulent waters of the future.