A Love Most Robotic Read online

  A Love Most Robotic

  Silas Vale

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Silas Vale

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  First E-book edition February 2019

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  Valearith

  Valearith is the world in which all of my novels will take place. Because this is the first novel I have published, as well as the first novel series, this doesn’t make much of a difference. In the future, however, many novel series’ will begin to overlap, and those overlaps will be explained.

  CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To Cure The World

  When Rumors arise

  Turning lead into gold

  Learning the truth

  in loving grace

  Dreadful silence

  A Hopeful end

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Though I am a small, unknown author in this world, I would like to extend my thanks to you, whoever is reading this book at this moment in time. This world has been my dream for years, and all I want in life is for others to be able to enjoy the stories I’ve created. So thank you, reader,

  For giving me that opportunity.

  To Cure The World

  Willow Grace was a prodigy, and among the fifty or so people sitting in her class at that moment, not a single one of them doubted that fact.

  As the daughter of Christopher and Anastasia Grace, she was about as Scottish as one could get. Her hair was a mess of ginger curls, her skin pale like porcelain, with freckles dotting almost every inch of her body. Her eyes were green, pure in color and piercing to look at. She was tall, thin, curvy, and truth be told… She was the kind of woman that every man wanted. She loved taking advantage of that fact. She was strong-willed, and had the confidence of a goddess. She could get whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it.

  And oh, was she smart.

  Straight A's all throughout high school, which infuriated her teachers. Willow wasn't exactly the most… Attentive, well-behaved student. She was, in fact, in a full-on rebellious swing. Going out drinking, smoking pot, spray-painting buildings… She did it all.

  She had mellowed out somewhat once University had rolled around, but she still held onto her rebellious attitude. She was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a white t-shirt, meticulously put together to look nonchalant. Her makeup was well-done, and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun to keep it contained and away from her work. She was sitting in one of the lecture halls of her University, waiting for her professor to arrive.

  She chewed on a piece of gum absentmindedly, scrawling down notes in a large binder. It was beginning to near the end of the semester, and their final projects were coming up. She figured she'd work with her best friend, Blake, but it didn't really matter to her.

  She'd pass with an A. She always did.

  All of a sudden, a wad of paper hit Willow in the cheek. It was, of course, covered in spit, and part of it was disgustingly heavier than the other.

  "Hey. Nimrod." A woman dressed in all black knelt down next to Willow, putting a hand on her back. Blake Medea was a perfect fit to be Willow's best friend. She hooked her up with drugs, even though Willow only did the lighter stuff, and told her where to go where she wouldn't be caught. Blake Medea was a criminal unknown to the law, and had likely stolen every piece of clothing she owned.

  She was, like Willow, absolutely brilliant.

  The two had been academic rivals, but socially inseparable, since grade eleven, when they’d both scored a perfect on their entrance exams. From then on, it was history.

  "I'm going to be working with Shayne for this project. He's totally into me, and I bet you he'd dick me down if I did all of the work for him. God, you need to get laid. I can feel your virgin blood through your shirt."

  For emphasis, she wiped her hand on the desk, smirking.

  That was, of course, when their professor walked through the door.

  "Hello, class." Doctor Erran said, a kind yet tired smile on his face. "You know what today is. Today is when you pick your partners for your final project of the semester. Please remember, it is worth twenty percent of your grade. Make sure you pick someone you can work well with."

  Blake grinned, her black hair falling over her face as she pressed a quick kiss to Willow's head, then walked over to sit next to the wily jock named Shayne.

  Likewise, everyone began pairing off in twos, and considering Blake had been Willow's only plan…

  Most people were taken up rather quickly.

  Willow watched her go, and after a moment, snickered and rolled her eyes. She stayed sitting, resting her head on one hand as she examined the chalkboard with disinterest. This project would be easy, and she just hoped her partner would be competent enough that she didn't have to do the whole thing. She could, she just really didn't feel like it. She planned on finishing it right away and then getting drunk with Blake.

  That was pretty much their routine every few days, truth be told.

  She closed her binder and leaned back in her chair, watching the people mill about the classroom, pairing off with their friends.

  If no one approached her, she'd just take whoever was left.

  "Willow?" She heard her professor’s voice, and turned to see him walking up to her desk. He looked over his shoulder to a student who hadn't moved, and who simply sat with a book in his hands.

  "I see that you and Ms. Medea aren't working together for this project. Would you be willing, therefore, to work with Nych? He's a very quiet fellow, and I know that isn't usually your thing, but… He hasn't got many friends in this class. I'm afraid nobody will go up to him if you don't. He's exceptionally young to be in this program, he hardly even looks twenty, but he's very bright."

  The professor seemed to sigh, looking her up and down.

  "I know how brilliant you are, Willow Grace, and I know you carve your own paths. You don't listen to much of my instruction, but you ace everything anyway. So if you do this for me, I'll give you your A for attendance. You've missed a few days, and attendance is twenty percent in my class. I don't know what that would do to your grade, but I'm assuming you don't want to find out."

  He scratched his beard absentmindedly, looking down at her with his pale blue eyes.

  Willow looked up at him silently for a couple seconds, and then her gaze flickered over to Nych. She stared at him for a moment or two, and gave her shoulders a slight shrug as she stood up and collected her things. "Alright." She smirked ever so slightly as she looked at her professor. "You’ve got a deal. I'll go see if he wants to pair up with me." She didn't give a shit who this guy was, her professor was offering her bonus marks.

  Blake was going to be so jealous. She knew her attendance grade was probably taking a hit too.

  With that, she turned and walked over to Nych's desk. She dropped her heavy binder down onto it, looking down at him with condescension. "Nych?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Professor says you're smart. Want to be my partner?"

  Well, she certainly cut right to the chase.

  The moment Nych looked up, his gaze pierced directly through her. From the back, he looked like any nerdy kid who raised his hand for everything and always knew the answers before the professor even asked the question.


  From the front… He was a bit disarming.

  It was his eyes, for the most part. They were such an intense shade of hazel that they were almost orange, and that color danced around the veins of his irises like sprites on a carousel.

  His mouth twitched a bit, and then he smiled.

  His face was a bit narrow, and his hair was a deep shade of black, if shades of black were possible. His skin was rather pale, though it was free of blemishes or acne. The way he looked at her carried an overbearing sense of self-worth, which was unusual for the quiet kid.

  "You're… Willow, right?"

  Well. At least he paid enough attention to know that much.

  "I'm planning on actually working on the project, not just doing something quick for the A. We have to come up with a logical reasoning behind a cure for a terminal illness, using a background in technology. Well…"

  He pulled out a notebook, and when he opened it… There were almost Davinci level drawings within, beautifully showing whatever cryptic technology he meant to dazzle her with.

  "I'm going to cure cancer. So are you in? Or are you going to ditch me?"

  She stared at him for a couple seconds, and looked down at the notebook as she studied the drawings within. They were impressive, she had to admit, and she figured that the professor wasn't lying to her. This kid certainly seemed as smart as he looked. And even though she wanted to do something quick so she could go and party… She was never one to back down from a challenge, and the chance to show off.

  She was Willow Grace. She was the smartest woman in the room, and she'd prove it.

  "… Alright." She tilted her head to the side, a slight smirk coming to her lips. "I'm in. What do you have so far?"

  Nych Haywiyth wasn't one to react much, but when she actually agreed to help him… That was a surprise. He'd asked tons of people to partner with him on the project, and even though everyone in the room claimed that they would love to see a cure to cancer… Nobody wanted to help him in his research. So he raised a brow, a bit of shock evident on his face. He sputtered for a moment, before turning back to his notebook.

  "Well… Are you at all familiar with nanotechnology?"

  So. This guy was a jack of all trades as well.

  "Do I look stupid?" Willow quirked an eyebrow, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and yanking it over, sitting down as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She tilted her head to the side, blowing a stray strand of curly orange hair away from her face. "I build robots, Nych. I'm also taking robotics and engineering courses, of course I know what nanotechnology is. What about it?"

  She opened her binder, flipping through to some blank paper as she looked up at him. "… Well?"

  It was at that moment that he grinned.

  He liked this girl.

  "Then you know we're having a very serious crisis right now involving transistors within computers. They're becoming so small that electrons can simply pass through via quantum tunneling, therefore halting our computing progress."

  He flipped to a page in his notebook, where it showed exactly that.

  "Well, my proposal is to build a robot that is the size of a current transistor, which should be impossible. It doesn't have to have many capabilities, just a hive mind and a few instructions. And those instructions…"

  He closed his book with a smile. "Guess what they are?"

  "Destroy cancer cells?" She tilted her head to the side, bracing an arm against the table and letting her head rest on her hand. "Alright. I see where you're going with this. Tiny robots to fight tiny cells." She scrawled a couple words down on her paper, crossing her legs. It did sound like a good idea in theory, but there was no telling how it would transfer over to real-world applications. Would it work?

  "This theory had better work, you know." She tapped her fingers on the desk. "If my grade drops because of this, I'll be pissed."

  She didn't seem like the type that was fun to anger.

  He stared at her for a couple moments, and when he realized she was being serious, he chuckled a bit.

  "So. I see you aren't much of one to read directions. Fine by me, I'm kind of the same way. The only requirement for the experiment is to have a logical reasoning planned out, not to put it into application. And this…" He said, dropping the very well-illustrated notebook in front of her, "Counts as logical reasoning."

  "So I'll turn this in, but until that day, you'll help me in the experiments. I've heard you're brilliant, so I figure with two people… We might actually be able to cure this son of a bitch."

  Hmm. He didn't seem like one to curse.

  Her eyes followed the notebook, looking down at it as a somewhat pleased smile crossed her lips. So she didn't even have to do any of the work. Oh yes, she liked this kid very much. This was better than she could've hoped. Blake was going to be so jealous, and it would be hilarious.

  "Alright." Her gaze lifted back up to him. "I feel like going down in history. I'll lend you a hand."

  She seemed cocky and egotistical, but willing to put actual effort into his experiments. Which was nice, because if she was as brilliant as he had heard, she would certainly be able to lend a helping hand.

  His eyes flicked over to Blake, who was currently sitting on Shayne's lap. Considering she was wearing a skirt, and was sitting in a very unflattering position… Nearly half the classroom had a good view of what was underneath.

  "Will Blake be joining us? I heard that you two are nearly inseparable."

  So he knew her decently well, enough to know that her and Blake were close.

  "She seems to definitely have a thing for this one. I'll give it two weeks." Nych said, surprising her with his knowledge of Blake’s… Tendencies.

  Willow looked over at Blake, and after a moment snickered and started laughing. He was totally right, and Willow knew that after Blake hooked up with him, whatever feelings she had would probably fade immediately. She just wanted to get laid, and Willow knew it. "Yeah. Soon as the project's done." She rolled her eyes, looking back over at Nych and examining his face. He was a lot more attentive than she thought he was.

  She liked it.

  "And maybe. If she comes, it'll probably just be to watch because she's bored." She shrugged her shoulders, twirling her pen between her fingers. "So, are we going to do anything today or are you still planning stuff?"

  He raised a brow, looking at her with, again, a bit of a shocked expression.

  "I, uh… Everything's set up, and there's really only one obstacle we'll need to surpass. We'll need to figure out how to program information into a robot so small, after figuring out how to build it. We’ll have to solve the transistor problem. After that, it's the home stretch. I've already got the information we need to store on the bot, and I've compressed it down to only a few bytes. It should be able to fit, once we build the thing."

  He stood, collecting all of his things and shoving them into what looked like a laptop bag.

  "Everything's set up in my private underground lab."

  He had… A private lab?

  She stared, and slowly stood up. "You have a private lab?"

  She had always just done all of her work in the kitchen. Her parents, and Blake, all hated it. She always got in the way, and more often than not, she took apart the kitchen appliances to steal their parts for her own work. It was annoying.

  "I can probably figure out the coding." She shifted from foot to foot, looking down at Nych. "I'm learning how to code AI. And I'm getting pretty damn good at it, if I do say so myself." She turned her head to look over at Blake. "Hey, skank." They were such close friends. "I'm leaving to work on the project. I'll see you later tonight. We still going to go to that old twenty-four-hour diner for dinner?"

  Blake looked up at her, and slightly adjusted her skirt. It didn't do much to hide the fact that Shayne's hand was resting on her inner thigh.

  "Don't worry, honey. You know I always come."

  That was… Either very cleverly worded, or a very ob
vious innuendo. Nych looked to Blake with a strange stare, and Blake returned it with a hint of laughter in her eyes. "Have fun with the nerd, don't let him drag you out of the fun life."

  That was when Blake turned back toward the guy she was actively trying to fuck in class, and was lost to them.

  Nych nodded as they left the room, signing out with the professor.

  "I have a private lab because the city, and the school, deemed my experiments 'too dangerous' to be demonstrated anywhere but underground."

  "Oooh, fun." Willow perked up somewhat at the sound of that. "Are you blowing shit up down there?"

  That sounded right up her alley. She had made miniature bombs before. Her parents owned a couple acres of land outside of the city, and there had been time and time again when her and Blake set off little explosions on their property. It was endless entertainment for them, and an endless annoyance for her parents.

  Willow was a bit of a problem child.

  She blew a bubble with the gum she had in her mouth, looking over at Nych. "Sounds fun to me. Wouldn't be the first time I singed off some hair."

  Nych chuckled, looking to her with a bemused expression.

  "I have blown things up, yes, but I most often work with electricity. I think you'll find my work rather fascinating. Sitting in a metal cage while millions of volts of electricity pass around you… It truly is an exhilarating experience."

  He led her down the stairs, out through the corridor and into the common yard. His lab was on the campus property, but barely. It had been an old bomb shelter, built during the Cold War. Everyone knew that Canada would likely be safe, but many bomb shelters were built anyways. Just to be safe.

  This one… It just so happened to be huge, considering it was meant to house thousands of students.

  "I've gotta be back home at four." She said after a moment, looking over at him. "So I'll have to leave at three thirty since I need to bus back to my apartment. I live off campus with Blake, so." She shrugged her shoulders, carrying her binder under her arm. "My schedule varies. I'll get your number though and you can text me."