Dyllys
Chapter Two

Faranhated that he was here on this planet. His mother and father had been tired ofhis lack of diligence and had sent him away. He didn’t understand their needfor him to settle down. He just wanted to explore the world, explore hisoptions. He would figure it out eventually, but right now, while he was stillyoung he wanted to try everything. That wasn’t an option in his family. Wealthmeant following in the footsteps of wealth, of not having choices but doing aseveryone else had to continue having that wealth. Faran wanted to accomplishmore than just following along, but his parents would never understand that.Instead, they had sent him to his Aunt’s house on Tossu in hopes that in doinghard work he would understand that what he was trying to leave behind was thebest and only choice. They were convinced that Glory would talk some sense intohim. He had only agreed to the whole idea because it was a chance to get awayfrom his parents, and he remembered that when Glory had visited them on Raddenshe had always had so much life and spirit. He had a feeling that Glory wouldagree with his point of view rather than his parents'.

Whenhe arrived at the vineyard he was amazed by its beauty. He had never seen somuch green in all his life. Radden’s only green sanctuaries were closed off,small controlled environments that were perfectly tended, almost an extensionof the well maintained metal buildings that covered the surface of his world.Here everything grew wildly. Rolling hills went as far as the eye could see;covered in rows and rows of vines bordered by trees that Faran had never seenbefore. Their leaves were shimmering in the sunlight as the breeze caught themand made them indecently show their backsides which were silver in the light. Theywere captivating as they flicked back and forth from silver to green. The houseitself was just as wild as the rest of the estate. Vines grew uncontrollably onthe building. Faran felt as if this wildness had more control here than thehumans that inhabited Tossu. It made him feel so peaceful to be here.

Glorywas waiting on the steps for him. She was under a latticed roof that was alsocovered in the vine. When she saw Faran she smiled.

“So,they think I can fix a problem for them?” Her smile told Faran how ridiculousshe thought that idea was. He liked the idea of spending a year here with her.

“Youthink I can be fixed, Aunty?” Faran asked as Glory came up and hugged himtight.

“Wedon’t fix things here, Faran, we let them grow.”

Hehad never heard a more perfect statement uttered about a place. “I’m sure myparents are going to be very disappointed.”

“Comeon, let me show to your room,” Glory said and ushered Faran into the house.

Thesun was setting when Faran came down from his room. He couldn’t replace Glory andthe only noise he could hear was that of the AS series androids as they busilywent about their business. Faran had never seen so many in one place before.They were an expensive commodity, built by Davenport Electronics, and werealmost solely used by the government, designed for war. Seeing them here, doingpeaceful work was such a strange contrast to the ones he saw on Radden wherethey enforced Martial Law. They has always been a sign of fear to Faran and hefelt uncomfortable watching the pale white skinned female androids going abouttheir work so calmly. Their expressionless faces always made them as cold anddead as they felt. It didn’t help that they all had the same face, their eyes acold dead grey with their black hair so dark against their powder white skin.It was strange to think that he and Glory were the only things alive on theestate. It made him want to replace her even more. He wandered in and out of allthe rooms of the house looking for her, but couldn’t replace her. When he walkedinto the drawing room he nearly ran into one of the androids. The androidturned and bowed to Faran.

“MasterFaran, is there anything I can do for you?” It asked. Faran was distracted byits beauty. He had never been so close to an AS series android before. Hebacked away, nervous with the proximity. He could nearly feel the coldradiating from her skin.

“Iwas looking for Glory. Do you know where she is?”

Theandroid gained a faraway look for a moment and then blinked and looked back atFaran. “Mistress Glory has gone into town. She will be back shortly. DoesMaster Faran wish to wait in the drawing room?” The android gestured that he godeeper into the room that they were in and Faran merely nodded his head and satdown in the chair farthest from where the android was standing.

“Youcan leave,” Faran said to it. The android left with no resistance, resuming itsprevious duty. Faran just turned to stare out the window, watching the sun setbehind the hills. When the last of the light had disappeared behind the hilland all that was left was the twilight, he turned back to look in the room andwas startled when he realized he wasn’t alone any longer. He nearly jumped outof the chair he was sitting in. He hadn’t heard her enter the room. As helooked at her in the twilight, the room unlit, he thought he was seeing aghost. He realized seconds later that she was an android. He had never seen onelike her before. She had the same pale skin, but her hair was silver and hereyes were glowing a startling blue that Faran had never seen before. He hadnever seen a model with memory modules externalized like hers before. Sheseemed to be examining him. He had never seen an android stare at a human withsuch intensity.

“Ididn’t hear you come in,” Faran murmured. He was afraid if he said too muchthis strange vision would vanish and he would replace himself alone again in adark room. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Shedidn’t move at the sound of his voice. She merely continued to stare. Farancouldn’t move under her gaze. Looking at her, he felt almost as if she shouldbe human. Her eyes looked as if they wanted to smile, but her face remained thesame emotionless canvas that all the other androids wore. It made him sad.

Gloryappeared in the doorway then, flicking on the light and looking at Dyllys.

“Thereyou are Dyllys, did you replace your tree?” she asked, glancing at Dyllys, notnoticing that Faran was also in the room. Dyllys didn’t respond, she justcontinued to stare at Faran. Glory frowned at Dyllys; it was unlike her not torespond to a question regardless of what captivated her attention.

“Doyou need maintenance?” Glory flicked her gaze casually to the chair where Faransat and then smiled. “Oh. I see.”

“Yousee what?” Faran asked. With the light on he was starting to feel uncomfortableunder this android's gaze.

“Dyllysdoes not like when people sit in that chair,” Glory replied.

“Doesn’tlike? I didn’t realize that androids could like things.” Faran went to get upfrom the chair and this made Dyllys blink. She took a step toward the chair andthen stopped. If an android could look confused, Dyllys did.

“Idid not mean to inconvenience Padrone Faran with my gaze,” Dyllys interjected.

Faranlooked at Glory.

“Ithink she wants you to stay in the chair,” Glory said and seated herself on thecouch across from Faran. “You should feel honored. You are the first she hasallowed to sit there. She doesn’t even like me sitting there.” Glory gesturedfor Dyllys to sit beside her, but Dyllys did not comply; she merely stoodstaring at Faran.

“Couldyou tell her not to stare at me like that; it’s making me feel uncomfortable.”He was sitting in the chair again but was starting to feel that had been anunwise choice.

Gloryturned to look at Dyllys and was about to speak, however, Dyllys’s voice rangout first.

“Ihad a dream about you last night,” Dyllys said to Faran.

Glorylooked at Dyllys with open surprise.

“Itdreams as well?” Faran asked.

“Thiswas the man you saw in your dream?” Glory’s eyes were wide as she said this andshe was smiling.

“PadroneFaran is the one I saw in my dream. I found the tree in my dream today but itwas not painted like it was in my dream, I felt the compulsion to lean againstthe tree and close my eyes. I had another dream.”

“Willyou tell me your dream Dyllys?” Glory implored.

Faranlooked at Dyllys and then back at his aunt. “What is going on here?”

“I’lltell you after we hear Dyllys’s dream, Faran.” Dyllys finally sat beside Glory,but she never took her eyes off of Faran.

Faransat back in his seat to listen to this strange conversation. This androidseemed to be as different in mind as she was in body to the rest of her kind.

“Itstarted before the other dream. It started before I was me,” Dyllys began.

“Whatdo you mean before you were you?” Glory encouraged.

“BeforeI was known as Dyllys, before I became. She had been summoned to the grove oftrees. She ran through the leaves that were falling from the trees, this actionmade her smile. She met a man in the forest. It was Padrone Salazar before Ibelonged to Padrona Glory. He had a gift for her. She did not want to take it.She seemed to think that it would mean something important to Padrone Salazarif she were to take it. He insisted. She took it. It was the most beautifulmask she had ever seen. Pale as my skin with intricate designs of glacier bluepainted on it. They shimmered in the light and she could not look away from it.He asked her to try it on so she did. It did not hurt, when she became me, itonly made her stop breathing when she realized she could not take off the mask.She wanted to scream but when she opened her mouth it was filled with me andthen she fell asleep. When she woke she was not her any longer, she was me. Iwas staring at the tree, the one that looked painted and then Padrone Farancalled to me, but he was not my Padrone, Salazar was, so I went to him instead.Padrone Faran’s leg did not sustain him after that and water leaked from hiseyes like when Padrona Glory says she is upset.” Dyllys had been looking atFaran as she told her dream, but looked at Glory as she finished. She blinkedand then moved her hand to wipe a tear that had fallen down Glory’s face.

“Yes,that is what Padrone Faran had done.” She stared at the drop of salty water onher finger.

“Iwas wrong Dyllys,” Glory whispered. “You weren’t dreaming at all. You wereremembering. Do you think you could leave Faran and me for a while? I need totalk to him alone.”

“Icannot comply,” Dyllys replied.

“What?”Glory’s eyes had grown wide again, but kind like she had been expecting thisall along.

“Ibelong to Padrone Faran. Now that he has returned I will follow his commandsalone.”

Faranlooked at Dyllys and bolted up from the chair. “Excuse me. Returned? I havenever been here before. I know Glory says those are memories but I think yourcircuits aren’t wired properly because I’ve never seen you before. I’ve neverbeen here before. I couldn’t possibly own you. I don’t want to own you.”

Gloryput her hand on Faran’s forearm. “Faran just tell Dyllys to go back to theguest house. I told you I would explain when she was done.”

Faranlooked at Glory. She looked so calm compared to him, almost as if she too hadbecome an android. Faran looked at Dyllys; she was staring at him again. “Ithink you should go back to the guest house.”

Dyllysnodded her head. “As my Padrone wishes.” She vanished through the doorway assilently as she had come and Faran turned back expectantly to his aunt.

“Haveyou ever seen a picture of our fourth great-grand uncle?” Glory got up from thecouch and wandered to a bookcase that stood at the other end of the room. Sheremoved a very old photo album from it and sat back down.

“Whywould I have ever have seen a picture of my fourth great-grand uncle?”

“Iknow it sounds like a silly question, but it makes sense to Dyllys. The chairyou are sitting in was his. Look,” Glory said and handed the album to Faran. Hetook it in his hands and looked at the images within. They were old, but theywere still the kind that moved. A small 30 second clip that looped over andover replaying a tiny moment of life no longer frozen on the page but alive. Hewas staring into the past but it was like looking in a mirror. His great-granduncle had his face. The same brown skin, the same brown eyes and curly blackhair, though Faran wore his shorter than his great-grand uncle. He would havethought he was the person in this picture, if had he known the woman that washugging his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder, and gently rocking backand forth, her eyes closed as she smiled warmly. She looked like she was havingthe most wonderful time, just by being with him. The woman did look oddlyfamiliar. She had olive colored skin and long silky black hair. She was morebeautiful than Faran thought possible for a human to be and he felt if she justopened her eyes for a moment that he would be able to figure out who she was.She never did, and the picture just continued its endless loop.

“That’sso strange,” Faran whispered.

“Evenstranger, his name was Faran.”

Faranlooked at Glory. “Are you serious?”

Gloryjust nodded. “He never married.”

Faranlooked at the picture again. He looked at the woman. She wore a ring on herleft hand. “Then who is this woman?”

“Thatwoman was the woman Faran was going to marry. No one remembers her name anylonger. Does she look familiar to you?”

“Shedoes.”

“Wouldyou like to know why?”

Farannodded. “Would you stop asking me questions and just tell me what is going on.How does any of this have to do with Dyllys?”

Glorygave a small laugh and a half hearted smile. She slumped back in her seat andspoke, “That woman you see in the picture is Dyllys. But as you heard, Dyllysdoes not see herself as that woman. She can’t comprehend the memories she hasfrom before. When emotions are alien to you how do you comprehend memories thatare filled with them?”

“Idon’t understand.” Faran couldn’t understand, but he could see the resemblance.The only difference between Dyllys and the woman in this picture was the colorof their skin and hair. “She’s an android. You’re telling me she was human. Howis that possible?”

“Nota question I can really answer. You would have to ask Emanuel Salazar thatquestion. He was the one that created Dyllys.”

“Whywould someone do that?”

“Youcan see how beautiful she is. Dyllys was the most beautiful girl on thisplanet. Every man wanted her as a prize for their collection. She was toospirited to be caught in their gilded cages. Faran was adventurous andquizzical. When he came here he never had the intention of staying on Tossu forvery long. He just wanted to stay long enough to understand the planet and thenhe was going to move on. When he met Dyllys, all of that changed. It was as ifthe heavens had conspired all that time to have them meet. They fell in love.

“EmanuelSalazar arrived on Tossu not long after Faran and he had his eyes on Dyllys aswell. Salazar, however, didn’t care if Dyllys loved him; he just wanted to haveher and no one else. So he made a mask. He was a genius programmer, or so theysay, I think he was insane. He was already starting work on androids when hecame to Tossu. When he saw Dyllys he had other ideas. He wanted her so badlythat he got the idea of a living doll, a way for Dyllys to live forever and forhim to be her sole desire. When he had completed his creation, a prisondisguised as a mask, he lured Dyllys to him and tricked her into putting it on.She became what she is today. When Faran found her, it was already too late.Salazar had constructed his prison with no escape. It was either a living dollor death. Faran couldn’t kill her, not like she was, and so he had to watch thelove of his life walk away without a second glance in his direction, doing thebidding of the one person she had despised.” Glory finished in a whisper. Shewas crying.

Faranwas pacing the room. His heart was beating nearly out of his chest; he hadnever felt so enraged.

“Howcould someone do that to her?” He couldn’t fathom it. He couldn’t believe it tobe true, but how else could he explain the eyes that he saw staring back at himwhen he looked at Dyllys. Eyes that looked trapped in the emotionless mask ofher face.

“Whenone views a person as a possession, I suppose it’s rather easy to do.”

“Soif this Salazar was Dyllys’s master, how did she come to be with you?”

“Farannever gave up hope that he could save Dyllys. But Salazar didn’t stay on Tossuto give him a chance to do that. He took Dyllys far away from here. I don’tknow where he took her or what he did, but he didn’t come back to Tossu foranother thirty years. When he did come back it was because he was dying. Theyears that had gone by had not touched Dyllys, but they had touched him and hefelt remorse for what he had done.

“Hebrought Dyllys to Faran before he died, telling Faran that he knew he couldnever be forgiven for what he had done to Dyllys, but he hoped that one day shewould be herself again. He set Faran as her master and then left never lookingback. He disappeared from history.”

“Whydidn’t he fix Dyllys before he left? Why would he leave her like that if hefelt so terrible about what he had done?”

“Hedidn’t know how to fix his mistake. He tried everything he could to reversewhat he had done, but he couldn’t do it. For all his genius, his creation wasflawed. He spent the last part of his life trying to fix his mistake andcouldn’t. He left the task to Faran, who left the task to his nephew, who leftit to his son, and so on and so on until it has come to me. I thought I wouldbe the last to carry this sad tale on, but it looks like heaven has otherplans. They brought you to me Faran, in Dyllys’s last hour they brought meyou.”

“Whatdo you mean last hour?”

“She’sdying Faran. She’s old, too old. Two hundred years have taken their toll on herbody and now she’s dying. I wanted to let her feel love one last time beforeshe left this world forever, but no matter what I did I failed as miserably aseveryone that came before me. I wonder, do you think you could succeed wherethe rest of us have failed. Now at the end, her Faran has returned to her. Maybeyour return will awaken her from her long imprisonment.”

“Aunty,what are you saying? I’m not her Faran. I wasn’t sent by God. I can’t save her.I can’t even save myself. You can’t ask me to do this. Is this why you agreedto let me be sent here? You are as bad as my parents. You all want to run mylife. You all want me to do your bidding, like I have no will of my own. Youwant to save her by enslaving me. How dare you. How dare you try to trade mylife for hers!” Faran was shaking with rage. He looked at his Aunt, saw herlook away from him, her eyes averted so as not to meet his. He couldn’t standit, so he left. He ran out the door and into the expanding night. He weaved his way through the vines until hereached the hillside. He would just keep walking until they all disappeared,his parents, his aunt, Dyllys, his thoughts. He would walk until they were goneand then maybe he could breathe again. Too many roles he was expected to fill.How did they expect him to do all of that when he couldn’t even replace himself?He walked for hours, the moonlight guiding him. He walked over so many hillsthat he could see the lights of the city in the distance sparkling in theatmosphere as if they were talking with the stars above. There on the top ofthat hill looking at the lights from the city in the distance, he sat. Dyllyssat beside him. She was glowing in the moonlight. Faran wasn’t surprised to seeher.

“Whydid you follow me?” he asked her.

“Imust be with you.”

“Why?”

Dyllyslooked at him with her startling eyes. He read what she could not say. It waspainful for her to be away from him.

“IfI am not with you I am thinking of you. Glory says this is called worry. Iworry about Faran.”

“I’mnot Faran, Dyllys. Not the Faran you remember. That Faran is dead. He has beengone a long time. Me and him, we were probably nothing alike.”

“Doyou mean that while you were gone you became a different person? Like the mebefore? She died when I became.”

Faranshuddered at the thought. “No Dyllys. I mean that the Faran in your memoriesand me, we are two different people. I was never him. He lived a long timeago.”

“Youshare his face, like my sisters share the same face?”

“Yes.”He couldn’t meet her gaze anymore. “Dyllys, do you know what happened to you.Has anyone ever told you?”

“Happenedto me?”

“Theyou before, the one you call she, do you ever wish you could be her again.”

“Ihave no wishes. I only serve. Do you want me to wish for this?”

Faranwas laughing bitterly and tears were streaming down his face. “No Dyllys, I wantyou to want it. I want you to feel. If I told you to feel would you?”

“Gloryhas given me this command many times; it seems to be one I cannot fulfill.”

“Whatdo you want Dyllys? Think about that for a long time. I’ve never known what Iwanted, so it’s okay if you don’t know what it is you want.”

“Ido not need to think about that Padrone, I want to remember.” There was nohesitation.

“Rememberbefore you were Dyllys?”

“Yes.I would like my memory banks to be complete. I would like to understand my dreams.”

Faranlooked into her eyes and then at the city. She couldn’t say it, but Faran couldsee, the woman before was trying to come out, and maybe Faran could be her way.It was a selfish thought, but he couldn’t help but think that maybe throughhelping Dyllys replace herself, he would replace himself along the way as well.