Other Stewart

Mitchell shakes Arthur Anderson’s hand, and then steps aside to let Stewart do the same. The other robot of Stewart’s model moves forward with some cautiousness to regard them both, taking in Mitchy quizzically, and then Stewart moreso.

“I’m Stew,” Stewart, standing in front of Mitchy proudly, tells the other Stewart with the same swell of arrogance he gets to announce himself by this nickname, and has since he was given it, to which the other Stewart nods.

“Pleasant to meet you, Stew,” the other robot’s voice and expression changes to warmth, but he still glances nervously between Stew, Mitchy, and Mr. Anderson “And you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Mitchy,” Mitchell grins at him, trying to decide how she feels about him, looking at first glance exactly like her Stewart, so her brain so badly wants to mistake the two, giving this one just as much trust as her own.

“Sure,” Stewart puts his hands in his pockets, and looks over reluctantly at Anderson again, who smiles at his guests and droid.

“So, it’s nice to meet you both,” he declares “I’ve never met another owner of a Stewart model before. They’re very expensive. How ever did you afford him?”

“She didn’t buy me,” Stew raises his head, and also puts his hands in his pockets, but his shoulders are relaxed “She helped me out of a tough situation, and now we live together.”

“Oh, you’re roommates?” the old Mr. Anderson seems surprised but delighted by this, to which Mitchy and Stew nod, and Stewart cocks his head, studying them with confusion and interest “My research team pooled together to buy our Stewart. We have joint custody, so to speak,” Mr. Anderson breaks to laugh, and Stewart gives a half grin “He’s funny, our Stewart. A good kid.”

“How old are you, Stewart?” Mitchy addresses the other Stewart very politely, unsure how to handle the lookalike, but keeping a pristine civility as she studies his face for differences, feeling in her heart something must be different, the slightness of it buzzing around her head.

“Most robots don’t count their storage time, so I won’t either. I’ve been on for seven years,” Stewart replies, smiling again and further cocking his head, now probing Stew with his green eyes.

“I’m only three,” Stew remarks plainly, surprised “You’re older than me?!”

It must be something around the eyes, or in them, Mitchy decides, that separates her Stewart from this one. She looks between them rapidly, but only once, to not let on to her search. Something is decidedly different, but she can’t quite figure out what. Structurally their faces are the same, from their noses down to the full build of their cheeks.

She realizes quite suddenly that Stew has two freckles above his right eye that Stewart doesn’t, and she almost can’t believe it. Mitchy then realizes that Stewart has one by the right corner of his mouth and several on his chin that Stew does not, and feels relief. There is something detectably different about their eyes as well, but she can’t quite tell what without getting a closer look at Stewart.

“I suppose so. Are you…” Stewart trails off, staring between Stew and Mitchy “Really roommates?”

“Yes,” Stew returns to smugness, not realizing that Anderson has walked around him to Mitchy, and now jabs her in the arm with his elbow, his mouth open in a silent laugh of surprise that Mitchy doesn’t appreciate, that Stew doesn’t see, but Stewart does, and furrows his brow in distaste.

“That’s incredible,” Anderson says enthusiastically, now alerting everyone to his giddy bemusement, which no one accepts gladly.

Both Stewarts turn to him, and make identical faces of annoyed distaste, eyebrows drawing together and mouth widening to a grimace. Half of Mitchy’s mouth draws back, and her eyes grow cold, and Mr. Anderson becomes piercingly aware of all of this.

“I-I’m sorry, my bad,” he apologizes dimly, folding his hands in front of him and looking down, staying that way for a moment, before jumpstarting “Please, come inside. I’ll show you around my house.”

Anderson leads his guests and his robot inside, telling them about how he inherited from a friend a fine aquarium, which is now paying for his well furnished house, and how he has been on two expeditions to the arctic as a marine biologist, and how Stewart has accompanied him for one. He went with several other scientists, studying how water pollution was impacting the fish and the composition of the icy land there. The results were grim, and distressed his Stewart for some time.

“It’s true,” Stewart tells Stew quietly “I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself.”

“I don’t blame you,” Mitchy replies, putting a hand on Stew’s shoulder, watching him gulp once “But there’s time to fix things, even if not perfectly,” she looks Stewart in the eyes, almost daring him to say anything to contradict her and further upset Stew, so Stewart vows silence.

“You two are really roommates?” he presses, speaking quietly under Anderson’s talking about the gaudy aquarium in his den, where they have now poolled in.

“Yes, why is that so hard to believe?” Stew replies in a low voice, which has grated with annoyance to a growl, but to Mitchy’s surprise Stewart doesn’t react strongly to the aggression like Stew would.

“Because I’m no one’s roommate. I felt almost like it back in the arctic, but that was five and a half years ago. Before and after I lived with my scientists in turns. I feel like the kid of eight divorcees,” Stewart explains, his voice picking a joking cadence that causes Mitchy to chuckle and further warm to Stewart, realizing he does have some similarities to Stew, in that he refers to people he cares about as his and his gentle joking.

Stew feels a bit put upon by Mitchy laughing at Stewart’s joke. It wasn’t that good. It was a small laugh, sure, but she only snorted at the first joke she heard him tell. Stew folds his arms over his chest and cocks his head, staring Stewart down. Stewart doesn’t notice, only looking at Mitchy, feeling proud he made a pretty lady like her laugh. She looks close to his physical age, maybe she’s twenty six, or seven, and if he fits mentally almost at thirty these days, it would be reasonable for her to be attractive to him, even if he knows better than to act on anything.

Stewart has been on longer than Stew. He’s seen more movies, and met more people. He knows he has the unfortunate capacity for attraction, and the unfortunate knowledge it can never be reciprocated by a human, and knows only one other AI, who’s entirely internet based. He is a bit lonely. A bit. All of the scientists see him as a, to some extent, their child, and are also married or far too old for him. He has few friends beyond them and their friends.

Mitchy is unusual. She didn’t buy her Stewart, he chose her. He abandoned his owner to live with her, which would suggest she is something special. Stewart takes a deep, steadying breath, and focuses the heat of his blush away from his face, disbanding it as he has practiced, able to remove the color from everywhere but the tips of his large ears. That woman chose a robot as her roommate. Not her tool, or toy, or as some kind of child figure. She took offense to the suggestion they weren't equals. She may see him as some sort of equal.

Stew can see something in the way Stewart looks at Mitchy that puts him on edge. As much as he hates to admit it, he and the other are similar. Would Stewart be attracted to Mitchy as he is? If Mitchy touched him, would he feel warmth spread through every space in his body, settling comfortingly in the spaces his limbs connect? Stew bites his thick bottom lip, and then scowls. That’s his Mitchy.

“Hey, Stewart, can we walk together, I’d love to get to know you, robot to robot,” Stew approaches Stewart, talking over Anderson now, who looks up from the aquarium, having not realized anything else was going on.

“Yeah, sure,” Stewart says mildly, signalling to Anderson his departure with a brief wave “I’ll be back in a bit, Art. I’m going to show Stew my room. Keep Mitchy safe, and don’t show her your taxidermy collection.”

Stewart leads Stew from the room at a casual pace, and from behind him he hears Mitchy say a taxidermy collection sounds thrilling, which pleases Anderson thoroughly, and amuses both Stewarts.

“Of course she’d find taxidermy interesting,” Stew tells Stewart good naturedly, forgetting for a moment his grudge in a fondness for Mitchell.