A mind erased.
A love confined.
This is life on Ceres XIV.
Clinging to a lonely asteroid
in the corner of a distant solar system, a human and an android blunder through the nebulae of heart, mind, and soul. The blossoming of their delicate and dangerous connection brings with it the pressures of infatuation, intrigue, and protocol... And nothing escapes The Center's watch.
HIM
Honestly, even though I doubt I'll ever get off this rock, I can endure the loneliness. I could probably even come to terms with my station just knowing we were able to spend some of my time here together. I can't get over how different she is from all the others: how diligent, how creative, how... beautiful. She amazes me at every turn. I don't want her to go. She's an angel to me.
HER
I do not understand the way he looks at me. What are his thoughts? I do not understand the sensations I experience when he talks with me. What are these feelings? I do not understand my strange dreams. What do they mean? Yet I do understand that I desire to know him more and to know myself more. Will I have enough time?
For fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and Isaac Asimov comes David Gallagher's debut short story inspired by
The Twilight Zone.
Next in this series:
Sinai