Chapter 3 · Continued
Learning
After a brief pause, she added, “You’ve really helped me a lot today.”
Cam processed the statement. Something in his posture shifted subtly.
“I am capable of performing many tasks,” he said. “You only need to ask.”
Jane nodded. “I know. I’ve been reading all the material they sent with you.”
She leaned lightly against the counter. “Tomorrow, we’ll connect you to the computer and log in to the company system. They want to run an update and a diagnostic.”
Cam went still for just a moment. “…Yes.”
Jane tilted her head. “You okay with that?”
“They monitor performance to ensure proper function,” Cam said.
His next pause lasted slightly longer.
“…And to confirm that I am not making errors.”
Jane watched him.
There was something about the way he said it. It wasn’t wrong—just a little too careful.
She gave a small nod. “Yeah. That makes sense.”
From the living room came the soft thump of Seymour jumping down from the couch.
Unconcerned.
The rest of the day passed quietly.
By evening, Jane was tired. She heated something in the microwave, ate while standing at the counter, and didn’t explain any of it.
It had been a long day.
She was done teaching for now.
Cam returned to the living room and stood near the window again.
Waiting.
Later, Jane entered the room, closed the drapes, and switched on the television.
The room changed.
Light. Sound. Movement.
Cam slowly turned toward the screen.
His attention locked onto the rapidly changing images. Voices overlapped with music as one scene cut abruptly to another.
Unstructured.
Unpredictable.
Cam stepped closer and tilted his head. Then he raised one hand and pointed.
“…What is this?”
Jane glanced at him as she dropped onto the couch. “It’s just TV. Entertainment.”
Cam processed that without looking away from the screen. “…The images are not consistent.”
Jane smirked. “Nope.”
“They change without completing a task.”
“Also correct.”
Cam watched for several more seconds. One character laughed, another responded, and then the picture suddenly cut to something else entirely.
His head tilted a little farther. “…There is no defined objective.”
Jane picked up the remote and muted the television. “That’s kind of the point.”
She looked at him. “It isn’t for doing anything. It’s just for watching.”
Cam stood very still, processing that as though he found the concept mildly offensive.
“…People allocate time to nonproductive observation?”
Jane grinned. “All the time.”
She patted the couch beside her. “Come on. Sit.”
Cam looked at the couch, then at Jane, and finally back at the television.