Ghost in the Machine (Vignette)

This is something that's probably a decade old at this point, but it was on Tumblr, and since Tumblr is deciding to kill Tumblr, I'm bringing it over here. It's just a little piece of short fiction I wrote. I'd actually completely forgotten about it until I went back to check on Tumblr, which I probably should have done before my homebrew of updating BDSM wizards got deleted.

I'm sure some of you will appreciate this little love story, though.

sarawr: I watched that old movie you wanted me to
Lovelace: Did you enjoy it?
sarawr: I LOVED it. Feel like I missed some. Had to use the subtitles. Not everyone speaks French.
Lovelace: Subtitles can be difficult. 
Lovelace: I have to go. Can we meet?
sarawr: Meet? I thought you wanted to keep it out of IRL
Lovelace: I’ll be in town soon. The place where you stargaze.
Lovelace: Midnight tomorrow. Have to go.
– Chat records of Sarah-Michelle O'Conner, 10 December 20XX 00:18:49-00:20:13

I’m a loser.

I know, I know. Everyone says that. But here I am trudging through the park in the middle of the night, hoping to meet some internet stranger. Dressed in a skirt, despite the snow. And a pair of warm kneesocks, with purple stripes. I thought they looked good. I thought I looked good. I wanted to look cute. It’s my favourite skirt. My favourite socks, too, with little ribbons at the top, under the hem of my skirt. I really hope it wasn’t too much. Too silly or cutesy or too bold.

“Not a stranger…” I murmured to myself as I walked across the empty, snow covered soccer field. The words made my cheeks flush up, and I got a little flutter in my heart, but I liked saying them out loud. “My girlfriend.”

She was my first girlfriend, ever. But with my luck I was actually gonna get murdered by some pervert.

“Then why are you doing it?” I asked myself.

“Because you’re lonely and stupid…” myself replied, looking around at the trees and jumping at shadows.

“Maybe you deserve to be put out of your misery.”

I sighed. “God, I get bitter when I’m nervous…”

“And you talk to yourself,” I pointed out.

I stopped right in the center of the soccer field, out in the open, and dropped the telescope from off my back, and took the blanket from my bag. I sighed, holding my breath on the inhale and then letting it all out, trying to calm myself. I put down a blanket, and set up my telescope, then poured some hot cocoa mixed coffee from my thermos. My hands were shaking, and I couldn’t fill the cup or I’d spill.

I got up and walked a circle around my blanket, biting my lip and looking at the little piece of chocolate cake I made. It looked good when I finished it, but now that I saw it again, sitting there on the blanket in the snow, it looked pathetic. I didn’t know what I was doing. I took a peek at my phone, checking the time and making sure it was charged. They could track you if you had your cellphone charged.

“That’s if anyone cares,” my inner voice pointed out.

“Shut up…” I grumbled, looking down at the two person cake with disappointment. The frosting was uneven, and that little strawberry on top looked like it fell on the cake, instead of being put there artfully.
It was only eleven forty and I was already starting to freak out. I sat back down on the blanket, and turned on my pocket radio, searching for something to calm me down. All I got were news reports about that stolen military hardware from last month and ads for car insurance. I didn’t even have a license.

I looked at my phone again. Eleven forty one. I drank another top of cocoa coffee, and tried to calm down. She probably wouldn’t even show. It was probably some sort of trick, like that time Bobby Heidecker asked me out and then shut me down in front of the whole school. Everyone laughed… What kind of a name was “Ada Lovelace” anyway? That just sounded like an alias. Who names their kid like that?

“What if she is real?” my anxiety asked. “Why would she want to be with you?”

I bit my lip, trying to keep from bolting like a deer. I’d already come out here, at the meeting spot… the meeting spot where there were no witnesses and no one to hear my scream…

Maybe she’d be too busy to come, anyway. She sounded busy, when we last talked.

“She said she loves me…” I reminded myself, as if that meant anything. I’d never even seen her face. She never wanted to bring real life into things.

“I bet she’s actually a guy. Or hideous. Or both. Maybe she’s covered in burns and has fangs!”

I grabbed a fistful of snow and shoved it into my face, rubbing all over it to cool down. That would almost be easier. Worse still, what if she was as beautiful as I always dream?

“I’m no looker…” I muttered to myself, trying not to give into those thoughts.

I got up again, and was tempted to leave once more.

My thoughts were interrupted by the crunch of snow.

I didn’t ever really believe the whole ‘weak in the knees’ sort of thing before, but I felt it. I nervously turned around, and there she was. I think?
My heart pounded. I think it was her, at least. She was wearing a big old rapist looking coat with a thick hood, and her mouth and chin were covered by a scarf. She wore jeans, and I couldn’t help but notice how well they hugged her thighs.

“Sarah-Michelle?” she asked, and her voice sounded like it was coming from a cell phone or something.

I couldn’t help myself, and my mouth curved into a smile, and my eyes got watery. She was real. Or at least, someone was here for me. She sounded beautiful, and I was suddenly conscious of the fact that I wasn’t. I flattened my skirt, hoping it would make up for that fact.

“A-ada?” I asked, moving forward.

“Wait,” she said, holding a hand up. It felt like someone shot me. “Don't come any closer.”

“W-what?”

She held up that gloved hand. She was wearing cheap gloves, like you’d get from a drug store three for a buck fifty. I suddenly wondered if she was homeless, and felt a pang of guilt, or something like it. Would my dorm be big enough for both of us? Could I feed her? What was I doing? Thinking about such things….

“I, um, I made a cake,” I said stupidly, motioning to the blanket.

“Thank you,” she said, but didn’t move. She just looked me up and down, and I wished I wasn’t so plain.

I bit my lip. “W-why can’t I come closer?”

“Sorry. I do not want to scare you.”

This certainly isn’t helping, I thought.

“This certainly isn’t helping,” I said.

“Apologies,” she said. “Will you promise not to panic? You can’t tell anyone, either.”

I was already on the verge of rabbiting, but I didn’t want to go back to my dorm and cry into the pillow while Dusty walked on my head with all the concern a cat can muster. I licked my chapped lips, and nodded.

The words came out dry and nervous, but I managed to say “Y-yeah…” I made a cross over my heart added a “P-promise.”

Ada moved to unzip her heavy jacket, and my mind started racing. I’d never seen another girl naked before. Wh-what was she doing? I kicked myself mentally, and urged myself to get a grip. It was just a jacket, after all.

But underneath it, she really did look naked. Her skin was milky and had a weird texture to it. And there were lines. And tattoos with lettering. Serial numbers.

“A-a stolen military robot!” I gasped, before putting my hands over my mouth, eyes wide.

Ada inclined her head. I took a step forward, and then another, and nervously reached out to touch her chest. She was warm to the touch, and felt like flesh, but different. There was no diffuse, not like skin. It was more like plastic or rubber. Her obliques were all taut cord, made of something like teflon.

“Y-you’re not real…” I stammered. “This can’t be happening…”

“Sarah-Michelle, please remain calm.”

I nodded, starring at her blankly. And then trying not to stare. She was still my girlfriend, wasn’t she? Did I fall in love with a robot? A beautiful robot, at that… she looked so strong and powerful, and sexy, too. Who designs a robot like that!

I took a step back and fell onto the blanket, landing ass first on the soft snow and comforter. I was on autopilot as I took a sip of cocoaffee, hands shaking.

“Please be careful not to stain your clothes,” Ada said, standing there with her jacket open, unfazed by the cold weather.

I blinked a little, and we looked each other in the eyes. Her scarf was hanging down now as well, and I could see the care that went into sculpting her gorgeous face.

She smiled down at me, “you look lovely, tonight.”