Chapter 4 · Continued
CBIE
She gestured lightly toward his forehead. “People have scars, odd little features, and imperfections. They aren’t always things that need to be fixed.”
Cam processed that deeply. The eye beneath the dent flickered once.
“…Imperfection can be retained.”
Jane nodded. “Yeah.”
A small smile touched her face. “Sometimes it should be.”
Cam stood there, still but not empty.
Something was adjusting.
Not a system update.
Something else.
“…Understood.”
Jane took another sip of coffee.
“Besides,” she added casually, “if I told them, they might take you away and try to ‘fix’ you.”
Cam slowly turned his head toward her.
He remained silent.
Jane shrugged again. “It didn’t seem worth the risk.”
Silence settled between them while Cam processed what she had said.
Then he answered quietly.
“…Thank you.”
Jane blinked once and waved it away. “Yeah, don’t make it weird.”
Cam tilted his head. “…Define ‘weird.’”
Jane laughed. “Never mind.”
She set down her coffee and began moving toward the back door.
“It’s a nice day, Cam. Let’s go outside. I want to do some gardening, and you can help me.”
“Yes,” he replied. “I am able to identify more than three hundred species of flora and fauna. I can also analyze soil composition and fertilizer content.”
Jane smirked. “I just need you to move some rocks.”
“Yes. I am also able to do that.”
Cam followed her through the back door.
The yard was simple: a small deck, one step down to the patio, and a patch of earth where Jane had been building a garden bordered with ornamental stones.
Jane stepped down onto the patio and turned toward him.
“Okay, so these rocks—”
Cam stepped forward.
His foot caught the edge of the step.
Only a fraction off.
Not enough time to correct.
He slipped, struck the side of the deck, and went down hard on the grass.
Flat.
Still.
Jane froze, then rushed toward him.
“Oh my God—Cam, are you okay?”
She reached him just as he began sitting up.
CLINK.
Something small rolled across the deck.
Cam rose to his feet, perfectly steady again.
“I am undamaged,” he said.
Jane glanced past him and spotted the object.
It was a small, round piece of metal with two tiny screw holes and a fine mesh center.
Jane’s stomach dropped.
She picked up the small metal piece. “…No. You lost this.”
Cam reached toward the right side of his head and paused.
“This is my auditory cover,” he said. “It must have detached upon impact.”