Chapter 2 · Continued
Arrival
Seymour flicked his tail, then licked him again.
Cam paused. “…Model requires further refinement.”
Jane leaned against the counter and wiped her eyes. “Yeah… you’re gonna need a lot of updates.”
Seymour finally decided he’d had enough and jumped out of the basket.
“Come on,” Jane said, catching her breath. “I’ll take you to the washing machine. We can load it together. Don’t worry, Cam—I’ll show you how.”
Cam followed her into the laundry room carrying the basket. He held it steady while Jane pulled out the clothes and dropped them into the washer.
She glanced up at his face.
“So, Cam… do you know there’s a dent in your head?”
Jane reached up and lightly touched the spot above his right eye.
Cam set down the basket and raised one hand to touch the same place. His other hand mirrored the motion on the opposite side of his forehead.
Comparing.
Processing.
“Yes,” he said. “I observe an asymmetry in my cranial structure.”
Jane smiled faintly. “Yeah… that’s one way to put it.”
“I do not have a recorded event explaining the cause,” Cam continued. “It did not occur following initial activation, so I must deduce that it happened prior to my arrival here.”
Jane nodded. “Does it bother you?”
Cam went still.
Another pause followed, longer this time.
“Yes,” he finally said.
Jane blinked. “…Yeah?”
“I have completed a self-diagnostic.”
His posture shifted faintly.
“My right optical sensor is operating outside standard parameters. I am able to see; however, clarity is intermittently reduced.”
Jane’s expression softened.
“Additionally,” Cam continued, “there is a possibility that my behavioral processing may be affected.”
Jane raised an eyebrow. “‘May be’?”
“I am not currently detecting any deviation,” he said.
After a slight pause, he added, “…That I am aware of.”
Jane looked at him for a moment.
Really looked this time.
Then she gave a small shrug. “Well… you seem fine to me.”
Cam processed that.
“…Noted.”
From the hallway, Seymour flicked his tail and disappeared.
Unconcerned.
End of Chapter 2