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now, but what if Declan was right? What if this malfunction
caused Cal to start acting off?
    Jacob settled back into his seat and
wished he could go back home to Cal.

Chapter Five
     
    Cal had watched Jacob preparing for
work that morning, racing about the apartment like a maniac. Jacob
had made every effort to not make eye contact with Cal, as if the
human felt shame. Cal was programmed with the basic understanding
of emotional responses, but seeing his owner so saddened and
despondent had made Cal—feel sad, too. He’d held Jacob for hours,
the human drifting off to sleep for long segments of
time.
    The only thing Cal wanted to do was
make Jacob smile. Something told him that Jacob needed some special
handling tonight, so he was making a meal in the atomizer and had
set a fine table with candles. Romantic mood setting was also in
his programming, but there was more to it than that. Cal wanted to
see Jacob’s face when he walked in and saw the table. He wanted to
know he’d pleased Jacob.
    Cal knew he felt much different than
he had before the strike. He felt. He sensed. His mind and body
felt stronger. He made decisions now.
    He craved.
    He wanted Jacob with a desperation he
didn’t understand. The hours had ticked by too slowly throughout
the day, and Cal felt as if he was going stir crazy. He needed to
touch Jacob, kiss him. Cal wanted to surge into Jacob’s attractive
body and become one with the man. In those moments, when he’d
linked his body to Jacob’s, Cal he felt—alive.
    A knock on the door broke Cal’s
thoughts. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole and
saw Jacob’s friend, Declan. Cal opened the door.
    “ Hi, CAL. I need to run a
diagnostic on you,” Declan said as he pushed past Cal, carrying a
heavy case.
    Cal closed the door, a funny feeling
making his skin tingle.
     
    ****
     
    Jacob was glad to get through the
front door after a long, arduous Monday. He smelled something
delicious that made his empty stomach rumble with need. Jacob had
been unable to eat lunch, too worried about Cal.
    “ Cal?”
    Jacob moved into the kitchen, noting
the timer going off on the oven. He popped the door open and
grabbed some mitts, pulling the hot roast from the atomizer. Once
it was resting on the counter, Jacob moved to the bedroom, looking
for his lover.
    And he found Declan hovering over
Cal’s inert form. Cal stiffly sat in a chair, his gaze blank.
Declan had cords and machines going all around the room.
    “ Declan, I told you I’d
think this over. What the hell are you doing in my home without my
approval?”
    “ I had to see what made it
tick.” Declan looked up sheepishly. “But to be honest, I don’t see
the sentient actions you claimed it to have. It answers brief,
robotic answers and hasn’t made any motion that would make me think
it’s any different than any other CAL unit.”
    Jacob rushed over to Cal and looked
him in the eyes. All he saw was a blank slate. “Cal, what has he
done to you?”
    “ A diagnostic, Master,”
Cal said in his metallic, fake voice.
    Jacob felt nauseous. What had Declan
done to Cal? “Get out of my house, Declan.”
    Declan began rolling up the cords and
equipment. “Did you ever think perhaps you were imagining the
things you claimed it was doing? You’re lonely, Jacob. You need a
real man in your life, one who understands your needs.”
    Jacob ran his hand over Cal’s cheek.
“I had that. Until you destroyed it.”
    Declan sighed. “It’s a machine, Jacob.
I’m starting to worry about you. You need to go out, have a real
life. Maybe you need to get rid of CAL. I thought it would help
you, but I can see I was very wrong.”
    “ No,” Cal said
quietly.
    Jacob looked up and locked his gaze on
Cal’s knowing one, hope blossoming in his chest.
    Cal stood and faced Declan. “You
weren’t wrong. Jacob needs me as much as I need him. When he’s
close to me, I feel—alive. And I think I do that for him,
too.”
    Declan’s mouth dropped