Created

Chapter Sixteen

We stood there for another few seconds of awkward silence before Arta thanked Erik for introducing us and promptly left. Once the door closed behind her, the whole room seemed a bit darker. I turned to Erik, worried about him. When he saw me looking, he forced a big, cheesy smile and double thumbs up my way.
"Good job, Adam," he told me. "Arta was blown away! I've never... Ever seen her act so breathtaken. Congrats!" I didn't smile back at him and ignored his words. I read what was underneath them.
"Are you okay?" I asked, studying his face. For half a second, his mask of happiness fell and I could clearly see the heartbreak in his eyes, but he quickly covered it up with a smile and a carefree laugh.
"Am I okay?! I'm great! You're doing wonderful, Adam! Just dandy!" I swallowed. Melissa could see it too. She could see the pain behind his voice and stepped closer to him, linking her arm with his gently and touching his shoulder comfortingly.
"C'mon," she invited softly. "We'll go out for soup, that one restaurant you like, just get out of the house. How about it, Erik? I think it'll be good for you." Erik looked down at Melissa sadly, then closed his eyes and nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Sure, let's go. Let's get out," he replied in just as hushed tones. "Adam, you... You go up and hang out with Arta. Tell her I'm running errands or whatever, just go to her, 'kay?" Feeling cast aside, I shrunk back a bit. Did he hate me? Oh gal, please say he didn't hate me. He created me to love Arta! He should have expected this!! Please don't hate me, Erik! My thoughts whirred insanely and it must have shown on my face because Erik jumped to comfort me.
"Oh, Adam!" He cried. "I'm not mad, I'm not angry with you!!! I promise! You exceeded my expectations, honestly. I just need some fresh air! Let me get my head together." He looked at me pleadingly. "Believe me?" He asked and I smiled at him.
"Yeah," I said. "I-I believe you." I wasn't completely convinced, but I let Erik tell me what he wanted and glanced back up the stairs. Slowly, and in a fashion that reminded me of a funeral march (Erik's pace), we made our way up to the first floor.
Truthfully, I'd never been to the first floor. I'd stayed in the basement my whole life, but now I was going to travel up to the very top! Excited, I swallowed and looked around the building for really the first time. Unlike Erik's lab had led me to believe, the building (at least the first floor) was beautiful. There weren't too many windows, but lots of polished dark wood laid as flooring and beautifully decorated wallpaper. The room itself was vast and lobby-like, with a majestic feel to it. It appeared slightly too formal and unlived in, with untouched paintings on the walls and small couches in corners. The large room was lit by electric candles on the walls and a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. In the right corner, the doors to an elevator sat.
"Here," Erik said, breaking away from Melissa and leading me to the doors. "Let me show you how to use the elevator, 'kay?" He pressed a button and the doors slid open to reveal an elevator decorated with the same mahogany theme, but from about waist-up, the walls were made of mirror. A small crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and cast a soft glow into the elevator. It was so grand and majestic, matching the rest of the first floor, that I couldn't help but gasp.
"And there are more buttons in here," Erik explained further, unaffected by the grandness that was just hitting me. "Right here on the inside, with numbers for each floor. Just hit the number of the floor you want to go to and it'll take you there, okay? Arta's floor is number five." I nodded along as Erik explained, realizing how simple it was.
"It's your first time riding an elevator," Melissa peeked over Erik's shoulder to talk to me. "Do you want us to go with you?" Suddenly embarressed, I shook my head.
"No, no, no!" I insisted. "I-I can do it, honestly. I-uh, no big deal, really!" Melissa giggled.
"Okay, fine! We're leaving now, then," she said, slipping her arm in Erik's again and starting to walk away. "Have a fun time with Arta!"
"And you two go relax," I replied to their well-wishes. "Eat soup, talk, get fresh air. I'll be fine."
"'Course you will!!" Melissa laughed.
"Think, Lissa-Our Adam! All grown up!" Erik joked and the two disappeared behind the door laughing. I smiled affectionately after them. Melissa and Erik truly were my best friends. But no time for happy thoughts-I had a challenge to face. A bit intimidated, I turned to the elevator, which still stood open and realized something. I'd never looked in a mirror. Except for the foggy image I managed to make up in my mind, I didn't even know what I looked like. I peered closer in the mirrors, but from this distance, I couldn't see well. Anxious to see myself, I ran into the elevator and leaned in close to the mirror, fascinated. I wondered breifly why Erik had never shown me a mirror. I guess he just never thought about it.
"Hmm," I said thoughtfully as I studied this new face. Intrigued, I ran a hand through my thick brown hair, feeling the same texture, but seeing myself do it for the first time. Slowly, I reached out and poked the cold glass, watching mirror-Adam do the same. For some reason, this was funny and I smiled. Ha, I could do this for hours!!! But a sound behind me interupted my fun and in the mirror I watched, horrified, as the elevator doors began to close!
"Gyaah!" I cried and ran to the other side of the elevator just as the doors closed. "Noooo!!! I'm not ready to ride an elevator!!!" Panicking, I turned to the panel of buttons. "What do I do, what do I do?!" I cried and tried to remember Erik's instructions through my frantically flying thoughts. "Okay, so he said the numbers were floors. What floor is Arta again? And what are these other floors for? What do I do?!?!" Clenching my teeth, I did the stupidest thing possible. I closed my eyes and hit a random button.

***

"I must say, Erik, we did a great job," Melissa said once they'd left the building.
"Ah, hmm, what? Did you say something?" Erik looked down at Melissa, trying to act like he would listen, but Melissa could tell that he was still lost in thought. He was still biting his lip.
"Hello!" She cried, playfully waving a hand in front of Erik's face. "Earth to Erik! Wake up, Erik!"
"I-I'm listening," Erik protested, pulling away a bit from her hand and Melissa laughed.
"I was saying that we did a good job on Adam! I mean, look at him!" Erik smiled at Melissa's words, looking satisfied.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess we did, huh?" he said.
"Of course we did! I mean," Melissa continued. "When we were making him, I had my doubts. I was... worried. But it turned out great, better than great! Artificial life has never been as superior or as advanced as our Adam! He's the first!"
"Man, he is, isn't he?" Erik said, sounding awed. "I often go as far as pronouncing him human. He feels, Lissa, he feels real emotions! He, figuratively, has a heart!" Melissa nodded.
"It's amazing," she said softly.
"Very," Erik added and the two walked along the city sidewalk in silence as they thought. After a while, Erik spoke again. "So, uh, do you think we could call him human?"
"... I don't know. What makes someone human?" Melissa asked. Erik ran a hand through his thick red-brown hair anxiously and shook his head.
"I don't know. I guess it depends on what you mean by human. You can mean the species 'human'. With human organs and a human brain. Or you can mean the ability to feel, to decipher good and evil."
"Could he be considered human in the eyes of, say, government? Would he be allowed rights and citizenship if we actually, you know, asked for them? He is human in the emotions sense, so would it be immoral to deny him that?" Melissa asked.
"I don't know. We created him, we made him out of computer parts, so technically, he's just an advanced computer."
"But an advanced computer with feelings and, like you said, the ability to decipher right from wrong. Wouldn't it be a sin to call him 'just a computer'?" Melissa pushed.
"Well, think about it, Lissa," Erik said. "If the government decided to give him rights and citizenship, would they have to do that with all computers? What would be the official line dividing computer from computer-human? Uggh, this is so complicated. And it's questions we'll eventually have to answer."
"But even back on a less official view. Is is immoral to consider him inhuman? He wasn't created by God... Does he have a soul?"
"Not one that I know of. But he's... He's so human! He's so real! How can he not have a soul?" Erik threw his hands up in the air, frustrated. "I feel like I'm asking a question too big and too epic to be comprehended-but I keep asking! Are we even meant to understand this, Melissa?" Melissa shook her head thoughtfully.
"I don't know, Erik," she said softly. "He seems human enough to me."

***

'Veeeeesh-click' I heard the elevator stop and the doors open, but I was still hesitant to open my eyes.
"You have arrived at floor five," a computer voice said and, carefully, I opened one eye to see Arta in the room I'd stopped, frozen and staring at me incredulously.
"Uh... Hi again," I said...