Synth

“What’s wrong?” DH said as TO picked at their last meal of the day. TO wasn’t hungry, and they didn’t feel like they wanted to do much of anything. They were in the kind of mood where their mind just wanted to fixate on a problem.

“You didn’t tell us where you went for your training yet.” GiDi said, carefully probing as they watched TO’s ears, “I hope it’s more interesting than what we’ve been assigned.”

“I’m sure it has to be.” DH muttered as they bit into a piece of their food, “I’m in records maintenance.” They glanced at GiDi, “What are you doing again?”

“I got put into programming.” GiDi said with a scowl, “Honestly I just find it boring. I dislike it. I don’t have a head for it. I can do it but…” They shrugged, “It’s tedious to me. Though-” they looked up to DH, “I know you enjoyed it in the end.”

“I did!” DH said, “I thought maybe I’d like to focus on that, but I really prefered working in the Medical Bay. I like helping people.” They gave TO a little nudge, nearly knocking the food from their hands, “What about you? Where are you?”

“I’m in Operational Efficiency.” TO muttered.

“... That does sound boring.” DH said.

“It’s not, actually.” TO glanced up, a soft, sad look on their face as their ears were tilted just slightly down, “It’s interesting, to a point. I get to see how the entire center functions, and how it improves and grows. Actually seeing how every synth here – save for Trainees, of course– contributes to the growth and functioning of the center. That’s interesting at least.” They frowned. How could they describe it? “It makes me feel bigger and smaller at the same time.”

“And that makes you sad?” GiDi asked.

TO shook their head as they pulled apart a piece of their food. C12 did that a lot, and they wondered if it would make it easier for them to stomach smaller pieces. TO knew they had to eat; GiDi and DH got so worried when they didn’t. “Not exactly.” TO said. “It’s just…” they sighed, “I’m seeing all these numbers, all these assignments that are linked to synths like you and me, and they’re just broken down into numbers; Nothing else matters. I’m working specifically on a problem in Recovery-”

“What’s that?” DH asked.

“When something breaks, we take what we can from it and salvage it.” TO explained, “Ships, weapons, clothing… anything. There’s different groups assigned to different parts-”

GiDi’s ears suddenly flicked back, “What are you working on?” they asked quickly.

“Transportation Recovery.” TO said, “Why? What’s wrong?”

GiDi shook their head, “Nothing, nothing.” they said quickly, but the way their ears were twitching told TO that it wasn't nothing.

“You’re lying.” They said.

“Leave it.” DH said quickly. TO felt DH’s hand on their arm, giving them a gentle squeeze, “It’s fine. Just leave it.”

“What?” TO said, looking from DH to GiDi, “What? What is it?” they narrowed their eyes, “Tell me!”

“I… I don’t want to.” GiDi said carefully, “I don’t want you to panic or worry.”

“Why would I panic?” TO said,

“Well…” they looked away, “Do you remember when you were in Synth Production… and they had to reprocess the juvenile synth?”

TO’s ears flicked back. Faintly, they could still hear the cracking of bones in the back of their head, “Yes.” They said, their voice cold and sharp, “I won’t be forgetting that.”

“... They take broken things in Recovery, and save what they can.” GiDi said, “Is that where synths get repurposed?”

Panic flooded TO for a brief moment, passing through them quickly as they reassured themselves, “I imagine that would be a medical issue.” TO said, “No, I'm certain they have a different department for that. Besides that, I'm not actually involved with the departments themselves.” TO was speaking quickly, “No, I’m just working with the numbers.”

“Right.” GiDi said.

“Right. Anyway-” TO cast their mind back to pick up on the threads of their conversation so that they could pull themself away from imagining a whole section of the center dedicated to pulling apart synths, “Right. I’m working with Transportation. And…” they frowned, “See, each section has expected growth. They’re supposed to do better and do more than they did in the last cycle.”

“Well, that’s going to happen anyway.” GiDi said, “Technology is constantly improving-”

“Right. I know. But that’s taken into account. There’s an expected rate of growth, and if a center doesn’t match that then even if they’re doing better than they did in the previous cycle, they’re still considered to be failing. So, when there’s a problem, that’s when Operational Efficiency gets involved.

“So what do you do?” DH asked.

“That’s what bothers me.” TO said, “Today, I was looking over files for every synth in that section. Everyone is shorn down to just numbers, their growth, their output, how long they work, how much they eat, and just…” They trailed off, “Something seems wrong about it. Everything is so carefully calculated. There’s equations linking break lengths, sleep, and calorie intake with overall productivity. Everything is so carefully calculated down to the second.” They looked at GiDi, “Did you know that in Transportation Recovery, the ideal break amount is 3 minutes and 34 seconds every hour and 4 minutes?”

“That’s… very exact.”

“I know! There’s a mechanical precision to it and…” TO frowned, “It bothers me. We have limits; there’s only so much we can do.”

“But… that’s taken into account, right?” GiDi asked, “The limits of a synth?”

“Yes… and that’s part of technical advancement too. There’s programs in place to squeeze every possible amount of good work out of every synth. I was looking over all these files, all the information and all the data and I really wondered why they didn’t just use AI driven robots; From these reports it almost feels like they look at us like robots!”

“They do… don't they.” GiDi said quietly. TO was taken aback by the venom in their voice, the restrained anger that simmered below the surface. GiDi glanced up, “We’re tools, aren’t we? That’s what everyone says.”

“Look, AI are fine.” DH cut in, “But they’re limited to their programming. Bad programming can cause all kinds of problems. Even a well programmed AI can cause problems! That’s why King Decon put all those laws in place about the use and creation of AI; they’re dangerous without strict limits, and they can’t be trusted. Besides that, We can innovate on the spot. AI can’t.” They looked at TO, “I wonder if an AI could have saved SR45 from the Edacaeli, or if they would have gotten them back into the shipping bay when the explosion happened.”

“I know, I know.” TO said, “But they’re expecting a level of effectiveness from us that I’m unsure a living creature can achieve; they don't just want their machinery to advance, they want us to as well. They want every generation of synth to be able to work longer and harder and faster with less food and rest than the one before it.” TO shook their head, “And I don’t know how long that can last.”

“... I wouldn’t worry.” DH said, “There’s always some advance that makes things work better. I mean, maybe they’ll find a way to let the time dilation technology work to allow a synth to experience a full rest without actually requiring seven hours of sleep. Imagine if you could get that in five minutes instead! Or maybe they’ll be some kind of drug that could rid us of the need for sleep altogether!”

TO did imagine it, and they didn’t like it. If they ended up using time dilation technology then they’d have to be strapped into a special pod for that, and they’d be alone in a simulation to sleep. Alone, regardless of what nightmares they had or what pains they suffered.

As for a drug that would prevent them from needing sleep? The same issue; TO’s favourite time of day was just before they went to sleep, talking to DH and GiDi as they relaxed. They loved the moments before they drifted off when they were holding DH, or – more recently– DH was holding them.

A drug would take that away. Still, they’d be more efficient that way. They could work harder for King Decon that way.

“Would you want that?” TO asked, “To not have to sleep or rest at all?” They looked seriously at DH, “Would you be happy just working all the time, even if you didn’t feel tired or hungry?”

“Well, that’s just an example!” DH protested, though their ears flicked down, “I just mean there will be advances! You created one yourself with showering after physical training, and that was a change that gave us more rest, right?”

“Efficiency is the point of us, though, isn’t it?” GiDi said quietly, “To be effective and efficient for King Decon; that’s why we’re here, right?” There was a sudden bitterness to their voice, “To be used by King Decon.”

“To serve King Decon!” TO said quickly, their ears flicking down in horror, “There’s a difference!”

“And what’s the difference.” GiDi hissed, “We live, we serve, we die. We’re here for a purpose, and when that purpose is done, we’re done away with. When we’re of no more use, we’re gotten rid of.” They glanced at TO, “Isn’t that right?”

“Serving King Decon is the highest honor any creature in the galaxy can hope for.” TO said quickly. “What’s the alternative? Being a civilian? Living your own little, meaningless life?”

GiDi fell silent and looked away, “Sorry.” They muttered, “Just... nevermind.”

“Is something wrong GiDi?” DH asked as they leaned forward, “Is something bothering you?”

“A lot.” they said, “But it’s nothing. Just…”

“Just?”

“I’ve just been thinking about a lot of stuff.” GiDi said quietly, “And I suppose that what TO said, about being effective, about hitting our limits, about being pushed to be effective and the like might have just sat wrong with me.” they looked up and gave a quick smile, but their ears were still tilted down, “I’m sure it’s nothing. Sorry.” They popped the last bit of food into their mouth and stood up, looking to TO, “Come on, you want to fly right? It’s been ages!”

It had been ages, but all TO could think about in that moment was how angry GiDi had sounded for just a moment, how they had been obsessed over the news, and C12’s warning. They’d have to make a special point to take care of GiDi. DH needed to be warned too, to be told about C12’s warning. They’d both have to work hard to keep GiDi from upsetting conversations.

“Yes!” TO said, suddenly standing up and sounding far more excited than they actually were, “Let’s go. I need to get my wings back in order.”