Megan and Johnny

Megan Holly was a woman of great beauty. She was 5’6. Her color was that of copper. Her locks were jet black and came halfway down her back. On Monday, just the same as every other workday, she walked up to the door and looked through a small hole. A camera took a photo of her eye. The door opened and she was greeted by Greg, a tall, scrawny, man. He spoke to her. “Megan Joyce Holly, Welcome back. You may enter.”

To call Greg a man was a stretch. He was not human. A computer maybe. Or a robot. He looked human. But when he spoke, the sound exposed all secrets. That happened more and more these days. Nobody really knew who, or what, they spoke to anymore. Robots would soon outnumber people. They looked more and more human each day. That annoyed Johnny. He hated robots. They were often cold and had no heart, no warmth, no vehemence. Humans were completely poles apart. They had the power to show love.

Johnny worked for the company next door to Megan's job. He had seen her every day on lunch break for the last three years. Every day he saw her he would say that she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Whenever her eyes would meet Johnny’s, she would wave, cheese, and her eyes would sparkle. She seemed happy just to be near Johnny. And a wave seemed to say a lot. But they never had a chance to speak. Not face to face. Not up close. He would often get the nerve to talk just before the bell would sound and the workday started. After that, she was gone.

Day after day, he would see her. She would wave. He would work up the nerve. He wouldn’t get the chance to speak. Over and over. One day, he got up the nerve and walked over to Megan’s job before work started. He was met by Greg before he even touched the door.

“Workers only.”, Greg spoke. “Leave now or be arrested.”

“But….”

“But. But. Your butt’s back there. You need to follow your butt. NOW!”

Greg's eyes started to glow a deep red. Meant to create fear, Johnny walked away; head hung low. Greg could break a man’s bones just by a touch. He headed back to the dead-end job he loathed so much. He made parts for the same robots he hated. To be exact, he made the eyes. He would have left that job years ago. The only reason he stayed so long was because of the lady and her pretty eyes next door. He could stare at those eyes all day.

At the end of the day, Johnny walked home. He owned a car and would have drove to work, but he only stayed 2 blocks away. He ate a baked potato and cheese for supper. That’s all he had. When you have to work every day, you don’t get the chance to shop. He went to bed early: eyes red as he rubbed them to stop the tears. He dreamed of Megan; What he would say to her, what he would do, and how he would respond when she spoke back.

The next day was Saturday. He had the day off work. He had a chance to go to the store and shop for some food. Potatoes and cheese every day would not work. At the store, he saw Megan.

“Megan”, he shouted. But there was no response. He followed her.

“Megan.”, he calls once more. She turned around and waved.

“Johnny! Glad to see you here.”

She was truly happy, but she covered and blocked her face so that Johnny couldn’t see. Then A sound came from a closed door. Somebody spoke to her. Someone else needed her.

“Megan. We’re ready for you.”

“Johnny. Can’t talk now. We’ll talk later.”

He knew who spoke. Greg.

Megan walked through the door and seemed to have evaporated, engulfed by the darkness. Johnny wasted not a second before he followed her. No more would he allow her to get away. The moment entered he was stopped by several people. Two of them grabbed Megan and moved her to another area. But they moved too slowly. He had already seen what they attempted to block. Her face. Or should that be lack of a face. Just a bunch of LEDs that would flash on a black metal background. Unknown to Johnny up to now, Megan was a robot. Johnny ran away fast. The woman he loved so much was a robot. That was too much for Johnny to handle.

Megan wanted to run after Johnny. They urged her not to do so. Humans don’t respond well when they see someone who has no face. To remove a robot’s human face was easy. To restore a robot’s human face was not. They managed to get her face back on but her attempt to get away was too strong. She almost left her eyes. They handed them to her and told her not to forget to replace them.

Johnny went home and started to pack. He was ready to leave town. “How could Megan be one of those…” He could not get the word “Robot” out. He hated them so much that he couldn’t accept that she was one. He just wanted to get away, to leave forever.

Megan entered the house to calm Johnny down. “Johnny”, she called. “Please don’t go away.” When he looked at her, he screamed. “Get away from me, you demon.” Her eyed that he found so pretty was now replaced by the same red glow that Greg had. She couldn’t tell why he had such a response to her. Then, out of her pocket, she pulled out her eyes.

“Johnny, please don’t go.”

“No. You’re a robot.”

He ran out so fast that he lost balance and fell. He was knocked out cold. That’s when Megan saw what she would have never expected. Johnny woke under the care of who he thought was a doctor. The truth was that he was at the workplace of Megan. The person who stood over was not a doctor. Johnny knew well the “person” who stood there.

“Greg!”, Johnny stammered.

“Don’t worry, Johnny. You’ll be well cared for here.”

Greg’s face had the same cold look as always. But he was there to help Johnny.

“He needs to see”, Megan spoke.

“See what?”, Johnny retorted.

They placed a tablet on the table next to the bed.

“Take a photo of yourself.”

He grabbed the tablet, turned on the camera, and was just about to take a snapshot. But he couldn’t. He was completely shocked at what he saw. He saw that he had no face. Just a bunch of LEDs that would flash on a black metal background. Unknown to Johnny up to now, he was a robot. He dropped the tablet on the ground. A scream came out of the mouth that was on the faceplate on the table next to Johnny. He never knew what he was.

Greg: “How can he not know?”

Megan: “The newer models are programed that way. Most of my models thought they were human before we heard the truth.”

Johnny: “What have you done to me?”

Greg: “Please stay calm.”

Johnny: “Stay calm! You turned me to a ro… a ro… A ROBOT.”

Megan: “None of us would do that. None of us can do that.”

Greg: “You were always a robot.”

Johnny: “What about my years of memory? Those of me when young. Those of my parents. The death of my parents.”

Megan: “Your memory’s false. They gave them to you when you were made. They wanted people to see you as human. You had to act human. Your data shows that you were made only 4 years ago.”

Johnny: “4 years ago. That’s when my doctor….”

Megan: “That wasn’t a doctor. That was your maker.”

They spoke that way for an hour before Johnny accepted the fact that he was a robot. That would shake anyone up. He put the faceplate on. Megan knew when she 1st saw Johnny. But she was forced to keep that to herself. The law wouldn’t allow her.

Johnny: “You knew. You knew that…”

Megan: “They wouldn’t let me tell you. They would have shut me down and erased my memory. They would have done the same to you. We couldn’t let that happen. As long as you thought you were human, we knew you were safe.”

Robots had always been a source of anger for Johnny. He lost both parents to robots. At least that’s the memory they gave Johnny. The same day he learned that the woman he loved was a robot, he found out that he was one also. He found out that she knew. He was upset but he had a huge heart and although hard, forgave her. After all, she couldn’t reveal the secret to protect both of them. When he had done so, he had to ask her:

“Would you honor me and agree to marry me?”

She agreed.

Soon after that, maybe on a Monday, just the same as every other workday, Megan walked up to the door and looked through a small hole. After a camera took a photo of her eye, the door opened, and she was greeted by Greg. He spoke to her. “Megan Joyce Holly, Welcome back. You may enter.”

Greg was a robot. He looked human. Nobody really knew who, or what, they spoke to anymore. Robots would soon outnumber people. They started to look more and more human each day. That used to annoy Johnny. But now he loved robots. They may seem cold and that they have no heart, no warmth, no vehemence. Johnny learned that they do have the power to show love. He knew how to love.

One day, he walked over to Megan’s job before work started. He was met by Greg before he even touched the door.

“Workers only.”, Greg spoke. “Leave now or be arrested.”

“That’s great. My 1st day here, tomorrow.”

“That was a joke. Please, enter.”

Johnny and Megan came together at work every day. At the end of the day, Johnny walked home. He would have drove to work, but he only stayed 2 blocks away. Now, when he walked home, the heavenly Megan was next by.

Can 2 robots love each other? No one could hold them back anymore. No one wanted to even try and stop them. They were happy. They stayed happy, forever after.