Snapped out of her thoughts when Jack speaks up, Veda watches him silently before she finally realizes what it is he’s asked.
“I call him by name,” she explains softly. “He has asked that I do so, and, well… I do enjoy that he thinks highly enough of me to allow it.”
Watching her, and the way she spoke about her maker, Jack began to suspect that their relationship had gone beyond that of creator and creation, at least on Veda’s part. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that – not until he found out more, at least.
“I can imagine,” he said with a smile. “It feels wonderful when you know someone you admire feels the same way about you.” He swallowed nervously, trying to think how to phrase it. “Are you two, um … a couple?” He’d been about to say ‘item’, but realized Veda might take that the wrong way.
Mouth open in surprise, Veda’s answer comes after several false starts as she tries to find the words to explain. “I am… I am not quite certain if I understand the term correctly. If my guess is correct, then… yes, we are.”
Realizing how odd it might sound, she turns away, attention focused on her lap as she waits for his answer.
Jack was silent for a few moments as he took that in. In his mind, the idea of someone making himself a robotic girlfriend was more than a little creepy. But, the artist reflected, it didn’t sound like that was what had happened with Veda. From what she’d said, she’d been created first, and the relationship had come after. And she didn’t sound like she’d been programmed to love her creator. If Jack hadn’t known better, he would have thought she was a normal (if shy and socially awkward) woman in love.
“… Veda,” he asked quietly, “have you ever heard the story of Galatea?"
Jack Maple 