" Fired ?" Roy asked while heading out the factory.

" Yes we are." Replied Karl angered.

"What am I saying to Eva?"

"I don't know." He replied "It's not my problem. You made a mess, you find the solution."

"Alright, but what about the plan?"

"There's no more plan for you." He said extracting the small piece of technology and putting it back in his pocket.

"Sorry, see you around."

"No, wait." He answered, but his partner had already departed.

"Damn." He said to himself heading home.

When he knocked at the door Eva opened it quickly.

"What happened? Why are you here?"

"Calm down Eva, bring me something to drink."

"What? What happened?" She insisted.

"Nothing." He said looking down then lifting his eyes to the bottle. She understood she would have had no answers without giving him the bottle so she went to the kitchen shelves and opened a glass window. She took the rum and grabbed two glasses. She sat before her boyfriend and poured down the drinks. He pushed his hand forwards, but Eva stopped it fast.

"First..."

"Ok. I've been fired."

She took the glass and drank it fully. He did the same. They stared at each other, but no one talked. Then some warm tear rolled down Eva's face.

"What are we going to do?" She said crying.

"I don't know." He answered.

She started shivering and she fell on the floor. The convulsion became violent in few seconds. Roy leaned on her trying to calm her down.

"Did you take your medicines?" He asked.

She shook her head looking backward and losing control.

"Stay with me, Eva, don't go." He screamed.

It was too late. Roy stood up, went to the bathroom and took a syringe and he injected into his girlfriend's arm. She was violently moving and after few seconds she calmed and fell asleep. He sat next to her and took a deep breath. Bad idea the alcohol he thought and he poured down one other glass for himself. He lifted Eva from the floor and put her on the sofa, waiting for her to wake up.

For the Charcoal family it was a normal boring Sunday without any guest, any surprise, anything. The kids were playing and messing around and Rowan was doing the house working. Kate was half sleeping, reading some fashion magazines while Nate was reading the newspaper online in a big projection over the wall. When the kids became tired of playing on their own they asked their mother to read them a story. It was Annie's turn to chose.

"Please, mum. Read us the beauty and the robot beast."

She rolled her eyes feeling sick still from the night before. She gave a gentle kick to his husband, but he was busy reading the news.

"Why don't you ask Rowan?" She said almost singing.

"But mom, we want you..."

"Rowan?" Said Nate without leaving the newspaper.

"Yes sir." He answered.

"Read a story to the kids. Would you?"

"Of course."

Annie gave him the book and sat on the carpet crossing her legs.

"Mum I still want you to read us the story." Insisted the little girl.

"Do you want Jack Frost to come over and freeze your tongue?" Asked Kate severe.

Mark laughed and Rowan tried to understand the way of saying, but even after a quick research on the ultra net inside his head he could not understand. Why fearing someone who is not even real? His circuits processed. He opened the book and read out loud.

"Adam was a prince leaving in a big castle in the middle of a forest. One day an enchantress came by and decided to test the noble's generosity. She knocked at his door and when he saw the shape she had taken to trick him, he yelled at her to go away. She turned herself into the beautiful maiden she was and cursed him. He begged to spare his life so she gave him a challenge. If someone would have loved the robot beast he would have turned into he would have regained his true identity. After she said the words Adam became an horrible beast made of mechanisms and cables, losing fluids and oil from his arms and legs."

"That's horrible." Screamed Annie.

"Don't you want to hear the rest of the story?" Asked Rowan.

"Shh Annie." Said his little brother.

The robot continued the story and Kate and Nate went in the garden outside. In the distance there was the smoke of New Greyfield covering the sky. With a simple touch on the monitor an implant started giving water to the plants and flowers all around. The humans hugged without noticing that beyond the grass and bushes two robots were spying them.

"Nate, is everything ok?"

He turned in her direction looking in her eyes the reflections of his.

"I'm worried about what is going to happen this week, there will be the release of the first new robot."

"Next week already?"

"Yes, around Thursday."

"That's splendid. Isn't it?"

"Yes it could be." He replied showing his ring. "If I weren't in charge of it."

"Oh, I understand the stress you may feel."

"If just one of these products fail we'll get arrested I think. It's five years we work on them."

"Why do you worry then? If it took so long to complete them it's gonna be okay, right?"

"Yes, it could be. They are revolutionary compared to before. We don't know how they will respond to people."

"You tested them right?"

"Partially."

"What does it mean partially?"

"Well as I told you this project took five year and the money to cover all the costs were not much so we were forced speed up the process."

"The robots are not stable?"

"It's not like that."

"We are using the machine learning to program them."

"What?"

"We are giving the first robots to people who can give them the instructions that will be sent to a huge database where all the information would be collected and shared to make them learn faster."

"That seems convenient."

"Yes, but extremely dangerous."

"Why?"

"Well, there have been experiments in the past. The society is against this type of process. Imagine you capture two natives from a different place speaking the same dialect."

"I don't understand." Kate interrupted.

Nate put his left hand between his hair to collect his own thoughts.

"Imagine these people know nothing about our society. They are questioned separately, but when they're put in the same room, what will they ask to each other?"

"I don't know. They'll share information? Like what had been asked them?"

"Yes you're getting my point." He said before the door leading to the garden exploded behind them.

Mark and Annie were running like bullets jumping on the green, too green, grass. Kate took the boy's arm while Nate grabbed the little girl.

"Where are you going?" Asked their mum.

"Playing outside." Replied Mark trying to escape from her mum's grip.

"Can you see that the machine is irrigating? The grass is wet. Get inside." Said Nate.

"Don't be too harsh with them." Said Kate.

"Alright, but I was talking to you."

In that moment Rowan showed his bald grey head.

"I heard you screaming."

"There's nothing to worry, take the kids inside, we are finishing this talk."

"I'm not talking to you right now."

"What?"

"Yes, you became angry and you know I don't like it." She said taking the kids by their hands and bringing them inside.

When Nate and Rowan were all alone and the door closed the man kicked the grass before him lifting some stems and crossing his arms.

"It's all alright? Can I do something for you?"

"No, actually... but you could listen to me." He said surprising himself considering the proposal he had made.

Roger was walking in the tunnels of the subway to get back to his hideout. He knew the consequences of his freedom, he was forever exiled from the surface and he needed another spot to do something about the fact he became a rebel and the society would have seen him as a menace, a treat to kill before he could do any harm. Luckily he was up to something greater than get caught. When he reached a broken wall of the subway he turned left and entered in a room that was all empty except a huge cover over a big machine.

"I'm home." He said.

The machine started beeping and emitted a blue and yellow light.

"Happy to see me?" He said pulling the cover from the huge computer.

Again a blue light, the desktop illuminated the room and a phrase appeared on the monitor.

"Yes, I went to the library." He replied. "Why don't you talk?" He asked sitting in front the camera.

"What?" He asked when he read the answer. "Rats had eaten your cables?"

The machine typed something new.

"My fault? You never told me to buy the poison."

A new writing appeared in a luminescent ink.

"Why do we think we need more robots here?"

Roger waited before the machine wrote its answer.

"We are starting the revolution this week? That's a non sense."

The machine beeped a red light. It was angry for sure and couldn't express his electric thoughts with a voice. It linked a site that opened before Roger's photo receptors. He read it all and he shook his head just like an human would have done.

"I understand now, the release of the new robots is close."

Type the book in a blank page, that was the order of the machine. Then it wrote down, find me a speaker too.

"Alright alright. Now let me do my work." He said typing fast.

Eva woke up slowly and the first thing she saw was Roy's back. He was surfing the ultra net to find a new job. She called him at he turned smiling.

"Hey sweetheart..." He couldn't finish his phrase.

She jumped in his arms crying.

"Thank you. To be here, to be who you are and to be so caring."

"All is good." Said Roy faking a smile. "I'll find a new job and get your medicines."

She held him close pulling her legs closer and becoming very little. He took her in his arms and she fell asleep in no time feeling protected. He cuddled his head with his left hand and using the right to touch the virtual platform, then he switched the mood of the room changing colors of the walls into light blue. One day he thought we'll have real scenarios with forests and oceans. He went back to his research leaving his dreams to Eva.

In the Charcoal villa everybody was yawning for the hunger or for the fact they were tired. Rowan was cooking, the kids were watching some kind of 3D cartoon, while their parents were in bed naked. Kate crawled on Nate's shoulder and gave him a kiss waiting for him to say something romantic or to give her some compliment for her curves or the pleasure received. He was staring the ceiling and thinking about something Kate couldn't guess. She had felt a shift in her body lately, something that not even the pregnancy had given to her. Her bones were spreading and her skin was becoming thicker. She felt like she wasn't twenty anymore and that fact made her feel insecure. That's why she kissed Nate on the cheek waiting for his compliments. Understanding there was no result she increased the dose of sweet movements and sounds trying to get his partner attention, but without success. In the end she turned the other way tired and discontent.

"Kate?" He said suddenly.

"Yes?" She replied filled with hope.

"I was thinking about taking Rowan to work tomorrow."

She rolled over very angry staring at her husband.

"What?"

"Yes, I think it could help us looking at the project from a new prospective."

"Do what you like." She said crossing her arms over her breasts.

"What's wrong now?" He asked confused.

"Nothing."

In the moment the door opened and Rowan showed his head.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, but the dinner is ready."

"We're dressing." Nate replied fast and the robot disappeared.

He turned towards his wife and this time she was looking at the ceiling.

"I don't understand when you behave like this. Why don't you talk to me?"

"All you care is your job, fine then." She said kicking the blanket and getting dressed. She opened the door, got out and never looked back. Nate was surprised. What did I do? He thought.

After dinner Rowan took all the plates and cleaned the table. Mark was pulling Kate's clothes asking for a bed time story. Around them there was a roof and the setting on the room was a tropical forest. Fake rain drops were falling from the roof so that the virtual reality could mix with the real one. Kate smiled towards her kids and she stood up taking the book Annie gave to her.

"Goodnight." She said to Nate.

"Goodnight, see you in bed." He replied.

The kids run toward their father and they hugged him childishly. He kissed them both on the forehead and let them go.

"Behave with your mother." He said.

"Yes dad." They replied taking their mum's hands and walking the stairs. Once disappeared Nate stopped Rowan from what he was doing.

"Come with me." He said.

"But I have to finish..."

"It doesn't matter I have greater plans for you."

Rowan followed the order of his owner and left the sink filled with plates and other stuff.

"How can a man divide what he does between right and wrong?"

"I don't understand the question. I learned everything from you and Mrs Kate." He said walking the stairs up.

"Well, when a man understand how small he is he can understand what he can do or can be done."

"You mean giving him limits."

"Exactly."

"Where are we going Sir?"

"In the attic." He said going up one floor more and opening a door locked by a key.

Once inside everything was dark, dusty and cold but Rowan couldn't feel the temperature. Nate switched on the light and the room took his form while the object inside the place cast their shadows all around. He turned off the lights couple of times to see if they worked well. No damage had been done.

"Please, sit." Nate said to the robot pointing an old sofa.

"I want to show you how small we are and you will tell me what you think about it."

The robot nodded and the man turned and pulled a cover from a telescope making a sound like before a movie.

"Come I'll teach you about planets and stars."

Rowan stood and went closer to the strange object. Nate opened the window of the attic and pointed the lens towards the closest, yet far, stars.

Few hours later he had taught everything to the robot that had silently learned every bit of information. The man explained Rowan that the Earth is made by the four elements that are found in all creation. After that he moved towards the constellations. He explained why mankind had called them horoscope and how they influenced the birth of the beings of that planet. He showed him the sun and how the temperature and the climate changes every twenty days. Furthermore he taught him about the influence of the moon on the land, waters and creatures telling him that the woman were linked more with this satellite granting the continuation of life. He ended up explaining how far the other constellation and planets were so he could understand the distance from the sun and why the miracle of life had happened there. He told Rowan the myth of Jupiter and pointed the telescope at the Orion's belt. He described the influence of the seven sisters, the Pleiades, and the star Sirius. Finally he explained how on the last orbit far from the sun Uranus was the one that governed all other planets and influenced them all.

"What do you think about it?"

Rowan never blinked, even once.

"It's fascinating as one of your kind would say, but that doesn't give me anything. Being immortal I don't care about the things that are happening here or on other planets. I can't sympathize for other life forms, because I don't fear death, so I can't understand the time and the possibilities as you do. You go to work and create a life because Lady Death is inviting you into her arms. I have nowhere to go so I may do nothing as well."

Nate understood his plan had totally failed. The project had to be stopped.

"Thanks Rowan."

"At your service. Everything is alright?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." He said going away from the room.

"Mr Charcoal?"

"Yes ." He said turning again.

"Before I heard Mrs Kate saying something I didn't understand completely."

"What did she say?"

"She talked about Jack Frost and he's not real, but the kids behaved like what she said really would influenced them."

Nate laughed out loud.

"How come you don't care about the planets and the constellation around you and you are interested into something that doesn't really exist?"

"Because this influence in a bigger way your reality that what is real and moving all around us."

"You have a point. Ideas are the greatest weapons for our kind. There are some to destroy and some to give hope and dreams. The problem is that if you talk sincerely to someone he or she'll hardly believe you, but if you give them a story, a doubt, they're going to believe it."

"So humankind have invented many stories for these ideas." The robots replied.

"He created characters with personalities and kind of powers."

"Thank you for your answers."

"One more thing. Tomorrow I won't need you." Nate said disappearing behind the door.

The following day he woke up early and got dressed very quickly. He was late so he had to brush his teeth under the shower. He kissed his wife on the forehead and then he left. The car lifted in the air and then speeded up to the pyramid in the middle of the city. Nate reached the office and left his jacket, then he walked fast to meet Dave Foxtrot. When Nate opened his door he was explaining a secretary what he intended to do with the robot distribution. She nodded and brought away a small device that projected data and streets' names. Dave smiled wide to Nate and invited him to sit with an hand gesture. They both sat and gazed at each other. Around them the scenario was a wide desert spreading until a fake horizon on the walls.

"What a crazy night the other night, right?" Mr Foxtrot said.

Nate took the ring off his finger and left it on the desk.

"What? What do you mean?"

"What we are doing is wrong."

"What?"

" I won't take part in this no long."

"Are you serious?"

"I am."

"But why did you decide this? You were on my side."

"I talked to Rowan."

"Who is Rowan? Your robot? It's just an old model."

"Yes, he's the children of the robots we are putting in everybody's house."

"And then? We agreed on that."

"You give children the impossibility to have big eyes full of wonder before the time they turns into grown ups they will turn against their fathers."

"That's a non sense." Dave replied.

"These robots were are giving life to will never understand the beauty of this world and they'll turn against us, they won't make any difference between a flower, a child or the whole sky." He said standing up.

"That's impossible. We're using brains that receive chemical and electrical stimulation."

"Alright, what about this?" He said taking his phone device and doing a quick search on the ultra net.

He swiped his screen and a large article was projected on the wall. There was an image of a robot wearing a jacket and an hat. Below it there was the news saying a robot killed his partner in the underground for unknown reason.

"They are already killing each other."

"There will be the release this Thursday."

"Stop it, or you are putting innocent lives at risk."

"I suggest you to go home and just relax for today. Tomorrow you may be my partner again."

"I don't know about this." Nate answered.

Dave put an hand on his shoulder as a brother would have done.

"This project took us five years. It's normal to be scared."

Roger finished typing the book inside the machine that was beeping a green light slowly. A written appeared on the monitor and the robot jumped on his chair.

"What? Going inside the pyramid and steal the project?"

Another written.

"I need to go with a human? Who would befriend a criminal robot?"

The machine showed a research page. There was the photo of a red hair young man. Roger read his portfolio. He had been fired that day.

"Why should he help us?"

The machine beeped a red light and then underlined the place where he worked: a robot factory.

Roy woke up very early and lying to Eva he said he had to go in the center to apply to a job. She prepared the coffee and she sat close to Roy holding his hands.

"Please, be reasonable."

"I will."

She put his hand close to her head and felt the warmth closing her eyes.

"Thanks to be here."

"I won't go anywhere else." He replied smiling.

She smiled wide, and even her eyes smiled for a moment. Roy stood up and Eva took his jacket.

"I won't be late." He said closing the door.

When he was out he looked up and see Eva was watching from the window. He turned left, then walked around the building and went the opposite way. The morning in Greyfield smelled like pipes and smoke.

Roy reached Karl's apartment in half an hour walking through the traffic and the people running frenetic somewhere. He knocked on the door after the elevator took him at the eleventh floor.

"Who's there?" Karl asked.

"It's me. Roy."

"Go away."

"Please let me in."

"You just ruined my plan. What do you want still?" Karl said opening the door.

"A second chance." He whispered.

"Come inside." He said.

When he got inside he moved a curtain and entered in Karl's world. The room was filled with plants and exotic animals everywhere. Big spiders were watching the guest from their well cast nets while giant mantis were walking slowly behind a dirty window. Roy stepped into something moving very fast and in a large group. When he looked down he saw small insects moving in circle around him. Karl went to the kitchen where a pot was whistling.

"Watch your steps, the cockroaches had escaped again."

Roy looked under his right shoe and noticed the little beasts glued to the floor.

"Oh no, I may have killed five." He said.

"It doesn't matter. There are five millions in this house."

Roy put his hands in his pockets with a disgusted face.

"How can you live in a place like this?"

"I'm about to tell you. What do you prefer? Tea or coffee?" He replied.

Nate opened his umbrella and reached for his vehicle. A gentle rain was falling down, the same rain that every year brought the cold weather in New Greyfield. It was not about using the umbrella to take shelter from the rain, but it was about avoid the acid pouring down to melt clothes or the skin. There were homeless people in town they had their bodies melted just for few nights spent outside. Nate looked in the window of the car and saw his reflection, tired and defeated. He knew that something big was happening in the city very soon, but he felt he could do anything about it. This was at least what he thought. The door opened and he got inside. When the machine asked what was the destination he simply replied "home" and fell asleep.

Once reached the destination he crawled inside the house and was welcomed by the little children who hopped on his back. Kate was waiting before the stairs, arms crossed.

"How was your day?" She asked.

"Terrific." He said with a fake smile.

"That's why you came home so early?"

"Dave gave me a free day, to spend with you. He said tomorrow will be better."

"Do you believe so?"

"I don't know. I guess." He replied bowing his head down and scratching it.

Mark and Annie were now looking at his father with a question mark in their eyes. They had never seen their father so submissive. It was like a mountain that was crumbling before their eyes.

"Dad?" Asked Mark.

"Mark leave your father to your mother's attentions. Why don't you show him your drawings?"

Annie run and took the remote control on the sofa.

"We made these for you." She said clicking a button.

On the wall appeared some childish drawing. It was a portrait of their family. Nate, Kate, Mark and Annie. Close to them there was a giant grey figure.

"What is it Annie?" His father asked.

"It's the new robots you are building. Mark drew it." She answered.

"And tell me Mark... what do you think they'll do these new robots?"

"They'll be stronger faster and more intelligent." He said pointing his finger toward Rowan that just came in.

Annie laughed and Nate became sad.

"Come on, go and play with Rowan, me and dad need to talk." Kate said to the kids.

"Actually a car just landed outside. I believe it's Foxtrot's vehicle."

"It could be Dave who's came to get you." Kate said.

"How can it be possible?"

"Just go." She said.

"Alright."

He took the umbrella and went out, entering the gull wing car.

Roy and Karl were sit at the same table. The pot was too hot to be handled and some tea was spreading its strong taste inside the water.

"You never told me about this place."

"Actually nobody knows."

"Why all these insects?"

"To feed the snakes."

"What? Aren't they illegal." Roy said looking around afraid a snake could come out.

"Precisely. They are in the attic. Come with me." Karl replied.

They both stood up and went before two big plastic boxes.

"These are cockroaches."

"Again?" Roy answered shivering.

"Yeah. Once there was a family here." Karl said pointing the left box. "I took part of the following generation and altered genetically making them bigger and hungry. When I mixed the two tribes again do you know what happened?"

"They became friends?" Said Roy who didn't know what to answer and the question about cockroaches seemed stupid.

"The new ones ate the previous." Karl said serious.

When Nate stepped into the car he felt something wasn't quite right. There was an alcohol smell and he heard the noise of glasses hitting each other.

"Dave?" He asked.

Female hands grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him inside. The vehicle took flight and disappeared through the clouds. Nate heard the laugh of a woman that recognized.

"Lana. You scared me."

"It's not Lana. It's Mrs Foxtrot for you young man."

"You're drunk. We said we would have stopped seeing each other privately."

Lana kissed him, he didn't resist.

"Where are we going this time?" He asked.

"It's a surprise."

"Five minutes before landing, destination spa pool." Said the vehicle.

"Ups." She said laughing.

"How did you know that I was here?"

"Well Dave called... what are you waiting for? Undress me, we have only five minutes." She said finishing the bottle of champagne.