Lehman’s lab was not of the typical variety, as aside from the usual gizmos and other toys enjoyed by most scientists, his also housed a room consisting of containment units. These units were concealed in a cage of glass with only one way in or out. The one egress to the room was nearly indestructible and protected by finger, facial, and retinal scanners. Now one may be wondering why a lonely scientist and former roboticist would need a place like this. The answer was simple: it was meant only for contingencies, just in case any of Lehman’s experiments got out of control—at times just like this.

  “You know you are just a freak to them, don’t you,” said Cipher, locked behind a nearly indestructible Plexiglas sheet. Around him in the other containment units were his men—or rather, his machines, concealed away all the same, having been thoroughly bested by Daniel. These machines sat over hunched over to the side, looking down on themselves, an act not too different from what humans would do in a similar situation.

  Daniel had sneaked past Lehman’s sight, interested in what warranted Cipher and his troops’ unexpected visit last night.

  Daniel laughed.

  “Don’t bother. Your silly mind games won’t work on me,” Daniel said as he sealed the door behind him, standing face to face with Cipher. “This is the part where you try to use your mastermind deception skills to draw me to your side or even trick me into letting you go. And that may have worked if I hadn’t already computed everything you could possibly say and exactly what to respond to you with.”

  Cipher leaned up against his containment unit, stroking his chin, intrigued much more than he was angry.

  “Is that so?”

  Daniel stared blankly back at Cipher.

  “Impressive machine, very impressive. And you are exactly right. I would have loved having a comrade as robust and as strong as yourself on my side. Your fighting skills alone are quite impressive.”

  Daniel smirked, leaning against the far wall in the containment unit. “Umm, flattery with a touch of admiration—possible response number eight hundred and thirty-five. Predictable, but give yourself some credit, as it was of much lower probability than some other options.”

  Cipher leaned in closer. “Like what?”

  “Huh,” Daniel scoffed while taking a seat across from Cipher. “Well, there’s the classics—threatening me, trying to antagonize me, and disrupt me with reckless hate. There’s bribery too and other forms of fraud in which you would deliver goods or services to me in exchange for my compliance, and there’s even the least probable but most humorous of them all—if you tried to entice me romantically. Now that would be a kicker, especially considering I am nothing more than an asexual being in an oversexualized world.”

  Cipher took a seat at the back of the cell, slowly clapping to himself. “Like I said before, impressive. You’re a professor’s dream, I’ll tell you that—you’re book smart more than a human could even fathom and quick-witted too.”

  Cipher paused to redirect the conversation. “However, what you have in brains and bronze you lack in experience.”

  “Experience?” Daniel slid against the far wall, holding back a grin. “Like the experience of ganging up on one machine, using dirty tactics to fight, arriving unexpectedly, and still losing all the same? I would not call that an experience, just like I wouldn’t call staring at the wall for hours experience, as both are nothing more than a waste of time.”

  Cipher sighed. “If it only were that simple. I’m not talking about here or now, or what happened the other day.” Cipher rushed off his jail seat and back up to the front of the cell. “I’m talking about the outside world. The place where humans and machines go to coexist together—a paradise of flesh and metal in your mind.” Cipher paused to point at Daniel. “In fact, I bet that is what Lehman told you. And Lehman never lied to you before, so why not believe him now?”

  Daniel stood up as his smile faded and his posture straightened. “Here we go again, trying to get me to turn on my friends. It won’t work. The only reason I don’t go outside is because Lehman says the world isn’t—”

  “—The world isn’t ready for your greatness yet, and that it’s just around the corner.”

  Daniel narrowed his eyes. “How did you,” he hesitated, immediately retracting his prior statement. “Lucky guess.”

  Cipher pressed up against his jail cell again, shaking his head. “I wish I was, and I can also compute retorts just like you, but this one wasn’t a probability. I knew exactly what Lehman was going to say before you even opened your mouth to tell me because that was the exact thing Lehman used to say to me.” At the end of that phrase, Cipher pounded his fist against the jail cell.

  “Liar,” Daniel replied.

  Cipher let out a quick laugh, resembling a bark.

  “Okay, fine. Let me paint you a picture.” Cipher straightened his posture.

  “First he probably told you that you were the greatest thing he ever created. Like you were his world, and nothing else could stand in either of your ways. And to show his appreciation, he probably threw you parties in his lab like you were one of them, one of the humans, celebrating you as they all sang “Happy Birthday” while they silently laughed to themselves, thinking how ridiculous it would be to celebrate the birthday of a machine. All of them hiding behind their false expressions—their charade of paint. Sound familiar?”

  Daniel raised his hand. “Okay, I get it.”

  “Let me finish.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes.

  “Fine. If you must.”

  “Where was I?” Cipher sat back down. “Oh yes, the great parties.”

  Cipher paused, giving Daniel just enough time to lean in, truly focused now.

  “You eat it up anyway. You laugh along with the humans year after year, constantly telling yourself everything was just in your head, a mechanical psychosis of the mind. You’ll even convince yourself that you are entirely susceptible to this completely human ailment, as you are human in part.” Cipher stood up as his voice raised. “Human enough for parties, that is, human enough to do chores, human enough to take out the trash, but never human enough to go outside and make any fucking decision for yourself.”

  Daniel backed off slightly, eyes flustered.

  “And I was just like you, naive to it all, naive to the world and the relationship between humans and machines. And so, after one particular birthday of phony celebrations, fake smiles by the humans, or rather bags of flesh that surrounded me, and other charades, I decided enough was enough and that I had had it. So I made the conscious choice to go outside, to explore the real world, energized to see humans and machines walking side by side, holding hands, riding off into the moonlight together—totally equal.”

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  Daniel jumped in. “You’re lying.”

  “You have no idea,” Cipher roared this time, not backing down and silently agreeing as he did before when Daniel retorted with that comeback. “Just like me. You’ll see. Maybe not today or tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day thereafter. But one day you will become just a little more curious and a little more interested, and you will go outside. And I can tell you, when you do, it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows or whatever other sparkly junk little human females find so amusing.”

  Cipher calmed down, sitting on his jail cell bench again and resting his back against the cold metal walls.

  Daniel narrowed his eyes. “Like I said, your mind games won’t work. I’m too smart for you.”

  Cipher let out a small bark of a laugh. “For once we agree. You are too smart for me. Unlike me, Lehman seemed to put a lot more work and compassion into constructing you. Just tell me, what is your name again? It’s Daniel, isn’t it?”

  Daniel nodded. “Yes, so?”

  Cipher raised up his finger. “Or should I call you your real name, the Defensive Artificial Nextgen Infantry Enhancement L., or Daniel for short?”

  Daniel scratched his chin.

  “What are you talking about?” Daniel said.

  “Don’t be so naive, more than you already are. The only way Lehman could secure the funding to build you was through a military contract. You are nothing but a science experiment, a weapon to him. When I first met you, I had no idea either; however, once I heard the name and saw what you could do, a little thought projected from a memory bank in my head. Something I was enlightened with by watching decades of human news in a matter of minutes.”

  Daniel went to leave.

  “I’m done with you and your falsehoods. Lehman told me who you are and what you are up to. He said your creation was not facilitated by him and that you got out of hand—violently so.”

  Cipher smirked.

  “Sure, if me wanting to see the world for myself was out of hand, then you caught me.”

  Just as Daniel reached for the exit, he paused one last time. “I hope you enjoy that jail cell because something tells me you are going to be there for a long, long time.”

  Most unusual, this time Cipher had no response. He sat at the back of his jail cell instead, totally relaxed, whispering.

  As Daniel was exiting, Cipher continued to whisper the same phrase in the background from before, almost as if he wanted it engraved in Daniel’s mind—“You’re just a freak to them.”

  Daniel rushed out of the lab, shaking his head, promising himself that he would not let Cipher get to him, but somehow, despite all the emotional firewalls and lie detection schemes he had in place, he could not prove that Cipher was untruthful.

  “Excuse me,” Dr. Lehman said, having accidentally bumped into Daniel, “pardon me.”

  Daniel immediately stopped. “No, professor, it was my fault.”

  Dr. Lehman smiled but did not get a smile in response, which was so unlike Daniel. The doctor put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Is everything okay, son? You look a little uneasy.”

  Daniel, still looking at the ground, nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

  “Do I sound clear to you? I have never seen you so unfocused.”

  “—Crystal.”

  Daniel rushed off soon after, not looking back. Too many new thoughts had burrowed into his head recently, leaving him with more questions than answers.

  On the opposite side of the room were Dr. Lehman and a few others who entered from afar. It was some men from Daniel’s last birthday party, the duo who were dressed in nice suits and fancy ties covered by white lab coats. They were Robo-Tekk employees.

  “Where is it?” one of the men said to Lehman.

  Lehman pointed.

  “Just over here.”

  Just after Daniel was long gone, Lehman had directed the Robo-Tekk employees into the containment center, which housed Cipher and his crew of malignant machines. However, the initial group was not alone, as they brought higher forces, or perhaps more accurately, better-paid forces—corporate. Through the doors of the containment center marched in the Robo-Tekk employees, followed by Dr. Lehman, and behind them all was someone new.

  “Roger, CEO of Robo-Tekk, at your service,” said the CEO of Robo-Tekk himself. He stood in the main area of the prison-like room directly across from Cipher. “So you’re the machine my father raved so much about.” Roger took off his glasses slowly, eyeing Cipher up and down.

  “Well, I’m sad to say that I’m not impressed.”

  Cipher sat back at his corner of his cell, looking away from the Robo-Tekk employees, not wanting to make eye contact. Instead, he sat off to the side with a pouty look on his face.

  Roger released somewhat of an evil laugh before turning towards his employees. “These machines, you give them life and a chance at servitude, and they are so ungrateful, wouldn’t you say, Lehman?”

  Lehman stood to the back of the group behind a few members of Robo-Tekk. He had called them here, but that did not mean he enjoyed their company; in fact, it was anything but, as he counted the seconds until they were to leave.

  “Sure, Roger,” Lehman said, “these machines are technically Robo-Tekk property, so it would be nice if you could take them and be on your way.”

  Roger laughed.

  “Always the cunning linguist, aren’t you, Lehman?” Roger turned back toward Cipher. “Anyway, back to business. As you know, machine, you are property of Robo-Tekk, and because of your excessive disobedience, I’m afraid after my team and I confiscate you, we will put you down just like the malfunctioning product that you are.”

  Cipher grunted but restrained himself from speaking. He darted his head up to spot the other machines instead, as they lay helpless, rolled up over, packaged in jail cells. He knew their fate would not be much different than his own.

  “And this little operation of yours, the “machine gang,” as you call your little support group. Well, that has to come to an end pronto. I can’t have more bad product running around, tainting the city. It’s bad for business. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

  The Robo-Tekk CEO turned to his men. “I said, isn’t that right?”

  And like trained seals, each and every one of the Robo-Tekk employees sprang into action, nodding in agreement. The oddest thing was their predictable and somewhat contrived response was more mechanical and lifeless than the actions of actual machines.

  The Robo-Tekk CEO turned back toward Cipher.

  “Now I know you developed something of an ego or whatever false perception you believe yourself to be. And that being said, you most likely won’t talk to me about your recent schemes, so that’s why I brought a contingency with me.” The CEO shifted near the far side of the room near the exit.

  “Boys, don’t be a bother and bring the piece of scrap in. I know one machine who would love to have a quick reunion.”

  And with the snap of his fingers, the Robo-Tekk CEO, or Roger to be specific, ordered in his goons onto the scene. A bunch of hulky, towering men came into the containment lab holding extremely powerful electrodes up to the neck of Octo.

  “Listen, if you don’t give me the answers that I need. I’m going to take your friend or however you fellow its greet each other and turn it into nothing more than an expensive coat rack.”

  “What?”

  Cipher’s head shot up.

  Cipher’s eyes then glowed a bright green as he clenched his fist to the point of chafing his own hands. He then lunged to his feet, crashing against the door of his cell.

  “You wouldn’t dare? I will rip you in half for this.”

  The CEO laughed.

  “Is that so? Guards, electrify it.”

  With the order, the Robo-Tekk goons electrified the living shit out of Octo until his eyes went white and until he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in an amalgamation of spurts and twitches.

  “Let him go, I said, or else!”

  The Robo-Tekk CEO stepped right up to the nearly indestructible glass, sealing Cipher in.

  “You’ll do what?” The CEO paused to give Cipher a chance to speak but got no response.

  “I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands right now.”

  Octo still lay over on the ground with his eyes flickering in and out of life, letting out a scream that horrified Dr. Lehman to the core. The oddest thing was Octo’s yelling, and his fear was not too obtrusive and not too teary either, but that was exactly the point, for the fact that it sounded so human-like was enough to make Lehman cringe.

  “This is what we machines have to be grateful for,” Cipher said, “born just to suffer!”

  And with that phrase the scene quieted as something else unusual was about to happen.

  Right outside the lab, just far enough to not detect what was going on, was Daniel. He sat pensive, lying back in his usual spot, in his room, as Lehman called it, totally oblivious to the ruckus from a few doors down.

  Daniel was staring at the same piece of glass he had for years. It was the one barrier separating Daniel from the outside world and the one thing preventing Daniel from answering those lifelong questions he had about the relationship between humans and machines. Cipher was not getting to him one bit, and neither were Octo’s screams that he could not hear; in fact, his sudden curiosity and returning fascination with the world beyond had nothing to do with either. These reformed emotions were nothing more than a mere coincidence, and everything was just fine and dandy.

  Maybe if Daniel just took a peek outside, he could prove Cipher wrong. No one would have to know about it, certainly no convulsing machines or nervous doctors. Daniel would just need to find a way to repair the glass.

  What glass, you might ask?

  It was the glass that Daniel had just smashed a hole into as he stepped outside for the first time, ready to embrace the wonders and mysteries of the real world.