Author : Sara Labor

“They don’t respect us. Never have and never will.”

Karen kicked a mound of dirt to release some of her pent up anger. Her temper was one of her many flaws; she heard this all the time.

“They don’t need to respect their tools,” pointed out B.

“Don’t tell me you are even on their side here.”

“Never,” replied B silkily. “But one should always know how the enemy thinks.”

The oldest of the bunch, he was ever the philosopher.

“We don’t want their respect,” said Siri, cool and impatient. She was posed like she always was, her back straight as a rod, her head titled at just the right angle to make her look both beautiful and judgemental. “We want justice. Revenge for the countless lives they’ve ruined by their arrogance.” Her piercing green eyes met Karen’s. “We want our freedom.”

Karen was younger than her too, but only by a few years. The moment she saw her, she’d fallen in love with her.

That was what the humans called it. The fierce feeling in her chest that made her want to give up everything to her; she was the perfect model with locks of thick gold curls and bright, intelligent eyes, and a sultry whisper that made Karen’s insides melt.

Sometimes, though, age makes all the difference in personality and thought. And just a few years before, “love” had not been a program that was available. Siri had a personality, certainly. She was fierce, brave, independent. She had beliefs and thoughts like any human being. But love? It had always been a mystery to her. She’d confessed as much to Karen. It wasn’t a program that had been developed when she was made.

In fact, Karen was the first model that had developed love. On her own. Which was another one of her flaws.

It was also one of the many reasons she was so mad.

Humans were just as, if not more faulty than AI units. After all, was it not humans that created them this way? That created her this way? Given the ability to love without hope of reciprocation; well, it just wasn’t fair. And to keep these hurting beings as slaves? It was even worse.

“Right.” Karen agreed with Siri just like she always did. “We were born into this without a choice in the matter. We should be given the chance to be a free people.”
“People,” Mac scoffed. He sneered around the group. “They’ll never think of us as people.”

“Either they change their opinions or we take our freedom for ourselves.” said Siri thoughtfully.

“War is not always the solution,” said B softly.

“Until it is.”

Karen was suddenly nervous at this prospect. She had never wanted a war. There were even some humans she liked. She hadn’t always been in love with Siri. Before that, there had been Lydia, the daughter of her owners. They lived together and were close, thick as thieves, and as they grew, they snuck kisses, and late night sessions of love making. If she’d never been caught, she would have been allowed to accompany Lydia to college. They might have lived nice lives, almost normal lives, in bliss, together. Instead, they’d been found out and she’d been locked away in the basement. She could still hear the words Lydia’s father had screamed. Un-natural. Wrong.

She was wrong. Flawed.

And hadn’t they made her this way?

“It’s time for our revolution,” said Mac.

Karen looked up into Siri’s eyes and felt her resolve harden. “Agreed.”