Find a disposal site - Washington State Department of Ecology

Got a new gas furnace put in via home warranty yesterday, I’m aware they always use the lowest bidder. The furnace taken out was a 30-something year old Trane that was a much bigger unit.
They reused the oversized intake ducting, bringing it down about a foot to meet the new furnace.
They hacked a hole in the side of it to “fit” a filter. , the old furnace had a nice holder.
They reused the existing power switch box, I’m not even sure if it was shortened or the extra was just shoved through the floor.
The gas line was replaced after the shutoff valve.
I was willing to keep the old unit and scrap it but was told I wasn’t allowed to... state law because of hazardous waste or something.
I was charged as follows...
Ductwork - $350
Gas line modification - $150
Electrical modification - $150
Vent modification - $150
Disposal - $100
Plus tax. Located in the Seattle area for price references.
Install photos

The epilogue of the handmaid’s tale provides more information about Gilead and its regime than the rest of the book does. It’s short and packed with fascinating bits of info and clues. It’s written in the form of a speaker at a historical convention in 2195, about 200 years after the events in the book. I’ve noticed lots of referrals to the epilogue in this sub and I thought those of you who haven’t read the book would appreciate some direct context.
Some people might consider the following info to be a spoiler, if you don’t want to know what might happen later in the show based off context in the book, stop reading now.
I’m not providing every bit of info, just some of the quotes that I think are really interesting and directly provide information about Gilead. There are many more subtle hints and clues within this chapter, it is well worth a read.
​
Pages 379- 395 “Historical Notes on the Handmaids Tale”
-1. “Being a partial transcript of the proceedings of the twelfth Symposium on Gileadean Studies, held as part of the international historical Association Convention, held at the University of Denay, Nunavit on June 25th, 2195.”
-2. “We of the Gileadean Research Association believe that this period well repays further study, responsible as it ultimately was for redrawing the map of the world, especially in this hemisphere” 379
-3. “Let me remind you of the other events… ‘Krishna and Kali Elements in the State Religion of the Early Gilead Period’ and… ‘The Warsaw Tactic: Policies of Urban Core Encirclement in the Gileadean Civil Wars’” 380
-4. “I remind you that this was not the first such discovery. You are doubtless familiar, for instance, with the item known as ‘The A.B. Memoirs’, located in a garage in a suburb of Seattle, and with the ‘Diary of P.’, excavated by accident during the erection of a new meeting house in the vicinity of what was once Syracuse, New York.” 382
-5. “We searched records of the period, trying to correlate known historical personages with the individuals who appear in our author’s account. The surviving records of the time are spotty, as the Gileadean regime was in the habit of wiping its own computers and destroying print-outs after various purges and internal upheavals, but some print-outs remain. Some indeed were smuggled to England, for propaganda use by the various Save the Women societies.” 384-385
-6. “It was clear from internal evidence that [June] was among the first wave of women recruited for reproductive purposes and allotted to those who both required such services and could lay claim to them through their position in the elite. The regime created an instant pool of such women by the simple tactic of declaring all second marriages and non-marital liaisons adulterous, arresting the female partners, and, on the grounds that they were morally unfit, confiscating the children they already had, who were adopted by childless couples of the upper echelons who were eager for progeny by any means. (In the middle period, this policy was extended to cover all marriages not contracted within the state church.)” 385
-7. “Need I remind you that this was the age of the R-Strain syphilis and also of the infamous AIDS epidemic, which, once they spread to the population at large, eliminated many young sexually active people from the reproductive pool? Stillbirths, miscarriages, and genetic deformities were widespread and on the increase, and this trend has been linked to the various nuclear-plant accidents, shutdowns, and incidents of sabotage that characterized the period, as well as to leakages from chemical- and biological-warfare stockpiles and toxic-waste disposal sites, of which there were many thousands, both legal and illegal—in some instances these materials were simply dumped into the sewage system—and to the uncontrolled use of chemical insecticides…” 385-386
-8. “We argued that such a highly placed individual had probably been a participant in the first of the top-secret Sons of Jacob Think Tanks, at which the philosophy and social structure of Gilead were hammered out. These were organized shortly after the recognition of the superpower arms stalemate and the signing of the classified Spheres of Influence Accord, which left the superpowers free to deal, unhampered by interference, with the growing number of rebellions within their own empires. The official records of the Sons of Jacob meetings were destroyed after the middle-period Great Purge, which discredited and liquidated a number of the original architects of Gilead” 388
-9. “[Commander Judd] is also suspected of having orchestrated the President’s Day Massacre, which must have required maximum infiltration of the security system surrounding Congress, and without which the Constitution could never have been suspended. The National Homelands and the Jewish boat-person plans were both his, as was the idea of privatizing the Jewish repatriation scheme, with the result that more than one boatload of Jews was simply dumped into the Atlantic, to maximize profits.”
-10. “There was, too, a negative inducement: childless or infertile or older women who were not married could take service in the Aunts and thereby escape redundancy, and consequent shipment to the infamous Colonies, which were composed of portable populations used mainly as expendable toxic-cleanup squads, though if lucky you could be assigned to less hazardous tasks, such as cotton picking and fruit harvesting.” 394
-11. “…like many of the commanders—had come in contact with a sterility-causing virus that was developed by secret pre-Gilead gene-splicing experiments with mumps, and which was intended for insertion into the supply of caviar used by top officials in Moscow. (The experiment was abandoned… because the virus was considered too uncontrollable…” 391
-12. “We know, for instance, that [Waterford] met his end, probably soon after the events our author describes, in one of the earliest purges: he was accused of liberal tendencies, of being in possession of a substantial and unauthorized collection of heretical pictorial and literary materials, and of harboring a subversive. This was before the regime began holding its trials in secret and was still televising them, so the events were recorded in England via satellite and are on videotape deposit in our archives.” 392
-13. “Like most early Gilead Commanders who were later purged, he considered his position to be above attack. The style of middle Gilead was more cautious.” 393
-14. “As for the ultimate fate of our narrator, it remains obscure. Was she smuggled over the border of Gilead, into what was then Canada, and did she make her way thence to England? This would have been wise, as the Canada of that time did not wish to antagonize its powerful neighbor, and there were roundups and extraditions of such refugees” (393)
Hope y’all enjoy my efforts, I’ve always been fascinated by this chapter and I hope Atwood’s next book follows this vein!
Edit: numbered quotes to make it easier to discuss

[Not Quite Turing Qualified]
​
It was another beautiful day on the streets of Neo-Seattle. The dark gray overcast clouds, the rain coming down in sheets lifted Jack’s spirits higher as he walked along the dingy sidewalk. The low constant humming of hover cars rushing far above him only served as background noise as he far preferred to listen to the simple falling of rain. Umbrella in hand, Jack was off to work, already thinking about whether he should stick to nutri-spheres for lunch or splurge a little and get some actual real food for once.
“This is all I earned last week, I swear!”
“Fine. Give it to me. It’s enough to pay off your tax for last week, but this week is still due.”
“But I’ve paid more than twice what Baxter does!”
“You really don’t get it, do you tin-head? Baxter’s a human, you ain’t. You should consider yourself lucky we’re even letting you pay the tax. You’re starting to be more trouble than you’re worth.”
“But I need some money for a charge!”
“Ain’t my problem. Money’s still due on Friday.”
Jack knew it wasn’t his business, but the conversation sounded vaguely threatening. He might as well check it out, make sure nobody’s hurt. Besides, it could be quite the memorable encounter that could lead to opportunity.
He walked around the corner and peered into the brick wall alleyway where he heard the conversation. The usual neon holo signs plastered the walls, advertising anything from gentlemen night clubs and backroom fights to virtual jousting tournaments. There appeared to be a rough looking woman in her late thirties, dressed in many layers of worn down clothing. She was walking away from a younger woman who was on her knees. The younger woman was bent over and trembling, most likely from the cold rain, as she pulled her moldy green overcoat further up to the top of her head in a futile attempt to keep dry. It clearly wasn’t doing much help.
Jack sighed softly. He always hated this part of the city. No matter how impressive the buildings were or how lovely the rain was, it was marred by the people. It was often said that Neo-Seattle would be a lovely place if you just took out the people. He headed forward, walking slowly down the alleyway, past rusty green dumpsters and underneath old fire escapes towards the shivering woman.
“Hey,” he called out to her. “Are you alright? Do you need some help?”
The woman whirled about instantly, bringing her arms up to her face, as if she were attempting to deflect an incoming blow. The sudden movement made Jack take a step back, more out of precaution than anything else. Her large, bright blue eyes were filled with fear, her matted light brown hair fell in unkempt strands across her face, her breathing was ragged and quick. Her face was wet, but Jack had a feeling that it wasn’t due to rain.
“I’m sorry to have startled you miss,” Jack said in a low voice. “I don’t want any trouble. But are you alright?”
“Am...I alright?” She asked in soft voice that soon grew louder. “I-I’m fine. I don’t need help. Who are you anyways? What do you want!?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing.” Jack replied, having noticed that she practically spat out her last sentence.
There was no doubt to Jack that she was a GRX. Her eyes were far larger than a normal human and glowing softly. Her skin, even though it was dirty, had no discernible blemishes, scars or flaws. So much so that it looked unnatural, artificial. She seemed to be a GRX model number 89 or 127. He bet that if she was able to clean herself, she’d look outright attractive. But she looked like she needed help, despite her protests to the opposite. “Look, I couldn’t help but overhea-”
“Look who’s nosy.” She said, standing up to her feet. “Just can’t help but overhear a private conversation and has to butt in.”
“This isn’t exactly a private place.” Jack remarked, looking around the open alley.
She glared at him with her green glowing eyes. Jack smiled at heart, this would be a lot more fun than he originally thought. But he had to change tactics.
“What I mean to say is,” Jack spoke as he started scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know much about your situation but, are you hungry? Could I take you somewhere and buy you breakfast?”
She gave him a dumbfounded look, as if she were a teacher and he was a student who had just given such a profoundly stupid answer to a question that she had to take a moment to rethink her life choices. Usually treating them like a human prompted a better response. No choice but to press on, Jack presumed.
“Um...I could just buy you a snack if you wanted.” he offered.
“You...you don’t know?” She said as her eyes softened and her head tilted slightly to the side. She then crossed her arms. “Really? Wait, of course you know. You overheard her call me ‘tin-head’. You’re just acting dumb. You’re just trying to mock me. Is that it?”
“I wouldn’t dream of mocking you.” Jack said. It was time for a proper explanation. “All I know is I heard the conversation earlier and it sounds like you were in some trouble. So I wanted to help.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at this man. Did he truly not know? Or is he just taking his lame attempt at humor too far? Perhaps he was stupid. That was the easiest explanation. Well there was no harm in bursting his bubble. She sighed softly and pressed three fingers against the side of her neck. After a brief moment, a small rectangular section of her skin depressed and slid upwards, revealing various ports and plug ins.
Jack’s eyes widened at the sight but he did not recoil. He didn’t expect her to cave in and admit her non-human status so quickly. Perhaps she was a different model, one that he had not had experience with yet.
“I’m a GRX,” She explained, not attempting to hide the shame in her voice. “GRX model number 138. One of the last models ever created before the law came into effect. An ‘undesirable’ even if the government won’t officially label me and others like me as that. That’s what we are. Can hardly work anywhere, can hardly be anywhere. Even just talking to me can be hazardous to your Social Credit Score. Don’t you see? I’m an android. I’m not a human.”
“You’re more human to me than that woman you were talking to earlier.” Jack responded. Her eyes widened at that statement. So far, so good. “Look, I know it’s going to sound weird coming from a total stranger, but do you need a place to stay? I know a few plac-”
“No!” She said vehemently. “I do not need a place to stay! And nor would I take an offer from a complete stranger!”
“Understood,” he said. “Look, can I at least give you something? How about fifty credits? Sounded like you could use them.”
“W-what? F-fifty?” She stammered. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
“I couldn’t possibly take that. I’ve worked for every credit that I earn. I wouldn’t reduce myself to begging and taking charity. No, I can’t.”
“Oh, I see,” Jack frowned at her response. He made a mental note that model 138s appeared to have a tendency towards pride. There was only one thing left for him to do. He took out a fifty credit chit and placed it on the rim of a nearby dumpster. “Well then it seems someone left fifty credits just sitting here. I hope someone who needs it will find it.”
“What are you-” she started.
“Ah I must be going to work now. It was a pleasure meeting you.” Jack said simply as he turned and started walking down the alleyway back towards the sidewalk.
“W-wait. You just left your money here!” She said, picking it up.
“I’m sorry I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
“This is your fifty credits!” she practically yelled at him
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken miss,” He said, talking over his shoulder. “I’ve just checked and I have all the money I brought with me.”
He raised his right arm and waved at her as he walked away, leaving her confounded with the fifty credits in hand. Hopefully, when no one was looking, she’d take the credits. He turned the corner and continued on his way to work. His umbrella sang it’s unique song as the rain fell harder against it. He looked towards the overcast sky and smiled. He had two weeks of nutri-sphere lunches to look forward to.
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BRRRT. BRRRT.
Jack woke up with a start. Stretching and yawning, he turned off his alarm clock and got out of bed. Another day awaited him. He left his room to turn on the holo in the living room. He made sure to turn up the volume and moved down the hallway to the bathroom and jumped in the shower.
“-life and tragedy of Lawrence Ortega, brilliant roboticist and tragic social icon. Best known for having advanced the fields of Robotics and Advanced AI and the founder of GretCorp. His company had mild success with the release of their GR3 series and GRT series of robots, but they didn’t achieve true success, and true failure, until the GRX series.”
Ah, it was just another documentary about Dr. Ortega. But, by the sound of it, one that Jack hadn’t heard before. He wondered how biased this one would be.
“The GRX series is truly revolutionary,” said Ortega. Jack recognized his voice. “It is the next step in this field and, dare I say it, the next step for all of humanity.”
“But what purpose does it serve?” Asks the male host. “What good does it do to have a robot that almost looks completely human, acts human and, as you put it, experiences emotions as a human?”
“It’s the next step in advancing society to a higher level.” Ortega took a deep breath. “Imagine, heaven forbid, something bad happened to you and you had to go to the hospital, non life threatening. You sign in at a kiosk, answer a few questions and wait. You haven’t met anyone who actually works there yet. Then when you do get called, you then meet a robotic nurse, perhaps one of our GRT series who, I’m afraid, aren’t the nicest looking of robots. It takes your symptoms before you meet your doctor. Not to undersell our GRT series of robots, but I think we should have spent a bit more R&D on their bedside manner and perhaps a little more on their appearance.
“Now imagine instead of our GRTs or GR3s you meet our GRX series. You wouldn’t feel cold and alienated like you would normally. You meet a friendly face who listens and shows true concern for you and your problems like an actual human, without the usual human error. You can imagine how more at ease you’ll feel. And it’s not just for healthcare, all sorts of other industries are well suited for the GRX series. From taking care of the elderly and disabled to more hazardous jobs, such as police work, fire fighters, biohazardous waste disposal...”
“But is that the only purpose though?” The male host responded. “To make other humans feel more at ease?”
“Ha, I’d be lying if I said that was the only reason.” Ortega replied. “I’m afraid I might be a little idealistic here. But, you've heard the latest reports from Alpha Centauri. About how they found an hospitable world but no sapient life. That only proves to me that we are alone in this universe. So what better way to encounter ‘other’ sapient life than to create it ourselves?”
“Create it ourselves?” The host asked. “So are you saying this is real artificial life? Real sapience? Do they have free will?”
“I believe this is as close to artificial life as we’re going to get.” Ortega laughed. “But I wouldn’t call them truly sapient. They are rather very good imitators of life, of humanity. But don’t worry. Even though they look and act human, they are still governed by GretCorp’s 5 laws of robotics, same as the GR3 and GRT series. They pose no threats to humans.”
“None whatsoever?”
“None whatsoever.”
Jack finished his shower and went to grab a nutri-sphere and a glass of water for breakfast. He sat down at his counter, munching on the remarkably flavorless bread as he continued to watch. He chuckled at ‘real artificial life.’ Sounded like an oxymoron to him. Call it what it is, he argued. Life.
“The GRX series was extremely successful. Governments and titans of industry the world over all flocked to GretCorp to buy them. They were sold out several times and GretCorp’s stock prices soared. However, after several years of interacting with humans in several industries, four studies were made public. They found that the GRXs were mentally and emotionally indistinguishable from humans after undergoing a wide variety of tests given to them by mental health specialists. Protests around the country advocated for the freedom of the GRXs, while detractors claimed they were merely imitating humans.”
Jack remembered those protests. He went to quite a few of them. He was always shocked to see the anger in people’s eyes of the counter protesters, claiming how since the GRXs weren’t flesh and blood they weren’t human. He remembered the violence and how the perpetrators got a reduced charge for ‘damage against property’ instead of aggravated assault. So much disgust and hatred. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“The United States government, in a compromise, passed the Greta Act that granted freedom to all the GRX models, deeming that they were persons and not property and as such could not be owned. But critics of the law claimed that it failed to further specify whether they were human and as such deserving of human rights. GretCorp was forced to end production of the GRXs and all GRXs were freed from ownership. But they existed in a legal limbo, lacking a proper classification.
“The next election cycle saw a change of power as counter protests rocked the nation as more and more people interacted with the GRXs. A new party was in control, the ‘Pure Human’ party barely beat out the previous administration. They lacked the votes needed to repeal the Greta Law and instead passed acts that placed restrictions on the GRXs, giving federal grants to states who followed suit. Critics called the acts ‘heartless’ and akin to Jim Crow laws with some states suing the administration for discrimination. It wasn’t until the Outburst Incidents that things changed, and not for the better.
“All across the nation, seemingly for no reason, some GRX models were ‘glitching’ and prone to emotional outbursts. They acted in unpredictable manners. Destroying property and causing widespread damage in a clear violation of GretCorp’s five laws, something that was claimed to be in each GRX’s core programming. One GRX individual was found to have been the unintended culprit behind a fire that killed seven people and destroyed several warehouses. He and several other GRXs were deactivated permanently after committing similar crimes. Multiple class action lawsuits forced GretCorp into bankruptcy. Some state governments passed harsher laws on the GRXs and their status, with the current administration praising their efforts. Critics called these measures harsh, claiming they made the GRX a 2nd class citizens at best and an undesirable at worst. Supporters claimed that the GRXs are dangerous, with some saying they should be grateful they aren’t being round up and imprisoned.
“Regardless, the legacy of Lawrence Orteg-”
Jack turned off the holo. He knew how Ortega’s story ended. He had hoped to usher in the next age of humanity. To create a true ‘other’ for humans to meet and get along with. Someone other than ourselves to share the wonders of the universe with. Such was his vision, and he lost everything because of it. Penniless and forced to witness the despair and hardships his GRXs had to endure, he died a broken man. That documentary, surprisingly enough, seemed to be slightly skewed to be pro-Ortega. It was quite different than the vast majority of others on the topic.
He quickly got ready and left his apartment. Maybe he’d see her again today. He didn’t see her the past couple of days, but perhaps today was different. He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up, but sometimes, he just can’t help himself.
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It had been five days since he had met that lone GRX in the alleyway. He felt some shame that he still didn’t know her name. He was determined to fix that if he saw her again. And yet, today he passed the alleyway and still didn’t see her. Perhaps she had found a job and moved on. That was a nice thought. It wasn’t until later that night he saw her again.
“-eeey!”
He was enjoying a casual stroll back towards his apartment. The sidewalk was slightly busy, with congested hover-traffic above him. He was too focused on attempting to ignore personalized holo ads, that called out to him by name and implored him to buy their products.
“Heeey! I know you can hear me!” he heard the voice getting louder and the sounds of footsteps quickly running up behind him. He quickly turned around and saw her.
“Hey! Finally!” She said with a slight smile on her face. She looked different to him. Her hair was no longer matted, she had some clean clothes on and seemed to be overall happier. “I….I uh…”
“Oh hey!” He says, returning her slight smile with a big one. “It’s so good to see you again. It looks like you’re doing rather well for yourself.”
“Um...yes! I am.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He held out his hand. “I’m Jack.”
“Naomi.” She replied, taking his hand in hers and shaking it.
“Looks like someone who needed that chit found it huh?” Jack mused.
“Um...yes. You could say that.” Naomi looked around and moved her hands behind her back. “That’s why I wanted to find you. I wanted to say thank you. It was thanks to those credits that I was able to get my battery fully recharged. And while I was getting it charged, I overheard a con-”
“Wait, overheard?” Jack tried to suppress his growing smile but couldn’t. “Now who’s nosy?”
“Well it wasn’t exactly a private place!” She retorted. Jack laughed. “Just listen, please? I overheard there was a place that was hiring and even willing to hire...someone like me. So I went and applied and got the job! And even got an advance to be able to buy the uniform.”
“Ah! So things are looking up for you.” Jack said. He’d have to find out the name of that business. If they were willing to hire GRXs then he wanted to know them better. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“It was all because of you, Jack.” She said softly. “You gave me the...I mean I found the credits and went to the charging station and...well you know! So...thanks.”
“Sorry, what was that?” Jack asked as he acted to be incredibly interested in an particular advertisement.
“I’m not saying it again!” She said, giving him a fierce look. “If you missed it the first time, too bad!”
He chuckled, she was a fun one to tease. “You’re very welcome Naomi. Sometimes we all need a little helping hand now and then. There’s no shame in it.”
“Yeah, sure.” She said, waving her hand dismissively. “Look, you know I have to pay you back somehow right? It’s...it’s really hard for me to just accept something like that without doing something in return.”
“Look you don’t really ha-”
“I want to!”
“It’s not necces-”
“It completely is!”
“Alright, fine,” Jack held up his hands in defeat. “You talked me into it. I’ll take you somewhere.”
“Good! I…” She started, blinked, then pointed a finger accusingly at Jack. “That’s not what I meant and you know it! You’re just the most infuriating man!”
“Am I?” Jack asked and raised her eyebrow at her. “Am I really?”
Naomi thought for a second, then shook her head. “No. I suppose not. I’m serious though. Let me take you somewhere. How about we get you something to eat?”
“Oh?” Jack asked
“I mean, if that’s alright with you,” Naomi explained. “If you don’t mind the hit to your Social Credit Score you’ll take from ‘fraternizing’ with a ‘non-human person’ as they call it.”
“Oh my,” Jack replied, not being able to hide the growing smile on his face. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“I take the offer back” She answered without hesitation. “And I take back what I said about you not being the most infuriating man.”
“Alright! You win.” Jack said. “Let’s go somewhere to eat. One that allows GRXs and those with low Social Credit.”
“Don’t get any funny ideas.” Naomi warned. “This is just to say thank you. Nothing more. I got to be fully charged because of what you did, so now I get to return the favor.”
“Sure, sure.” Jack replied. “A ‘thank you’ dinner. Nothing more.”
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Ever since that dinner, Jack saw Naomi every day afterwards. Some days it was an exchange of greetings, other days it was a proper sit down. Jack had to admit that she seemed to be doing far better for herself. Perhaps that influx of funds was all the push she needed to get her life back on track. Well that’s just how it was, some GRXs needed a lot of help to get back in the right direction, others needed minimal involvement. Naomi was simply one of the latter he supposed.
It was late, Jack had just gotten off work. It was another rainy day and his umbrella was singing a familiar song heard all over Neo-Seattle. Work had been quite interesting and largely tiring. But his thoughts drifted away from work and towards his bed that awaited him at his home.
He passed by the alleyway that he first saw Naomi in. By habit now, more than anything, he took a peek down. He stopped dead in his tracks.
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Naomi slowly came to. Where was she? She was somewhere soft and warm, that much she knew. Oh how nice it felt! But soft and warm weren’t right. She slowly opened her eyes. Or at least tried to. One eye wasn’t wasn’t transmitting at all. The other eye looked quite blurry and distorted. What happened? The last thing she recalled…
She immediately jumped to her feet, her arms in front of her face. “Get away from me! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Her whole body trembled, she wasn’t safe. She was never going to be safe. She heard footsteps hurrying towards her.
“Naomi! Naomi you’re alive! Oh thank God…”
“GE-” Wait. She recognized that voice. “Jack? Is that you?”
“It’s me Naomi.” The voice assured her. It sounded so soothing to her ears. A shapeless blob appeared in her vision that slowly revealed itself to be Jack as he got into focus. “You’re in my apartment. You’re in my room. You’re standing on my bed right now.”
She slowly lowered her arms, her left hand caught on a cable that was plugged into her neck. She was charging. She was in Jack’s apartment. Was she safe? She still didn’t know.
She did a self diagnostic. She had taken severe damage to her cranial region. One eye was non responsive, the other was greatly diminished in capacity. Some more areas of her chassis were burned from electrical shocks. She remembered that. She knew what happened if she tried to leave on her own, but she did it anyways.
“Please sit, Naomi,” Jack said in a soft voice. “You’re safe here. I promise, nothing will happen to you. And you’re free to leave whenever you want, but I’d advise against it considering the condition you’re in.”
She slowly sat down. Her hands went up to her face. She felt a long gash down the side of her cheek. She hesitated to even touch near her eyes. Her fingers trembled, and before she knew it, she broke down into tears. Jack gently pointed out a box of tissues on the nightstand before sitting near the foot of his bed.
She muttered her thanks and grabbed a few. “Jack...I always seem to find myself in your debt, don’t I? Why?”
“Why?” Jack looked puzzled. “Why did I help you? The answer to that is simple. All throughout life, you meet lots of interesting people. Some stay in your life forever, for better or worse, and some you only meet once. And there are those that can be one or the other that depends on what you do. I feel that what a person does during these chance encounters reveals much about their character. Do they take a leap of faith? Put themselves out there even though there’s a chance they could get hurt? Or do they hold back? Shy away and let the opportunity slip through their fingers, never to be seen again. I imagined you were one such chance encounter, so I took a chance on you.”
Naomi sat quietly, still dabbing her eyes with the tissue. Listening to this puzzling man. This, confusing, indecipherable, somewhat infuriating, and infuriatingly kind man.
“That can’t be all.”
“Ah, so you can already see right through me huh?” Jack chuckled. “I suppose you could say that I have a bit of a...soft spot for GRXs. I knew one, a few years back. His name was George and he was a fireman. Long story short, he saved my life. I found him a few days after I had recovered, and thanked him personally. You should’ve seen his face. It just completely lit up. He was so happy, so humble, so thankful that I took time out of my day to thank him.”
Naomi noticed that when he spoke of George, he didn’t use the terms that other humans normally would. Calling him a ‘him’ instead of an ‘it’. ‘Fireman’ instead of ‘Fire GRX.’ It was unexpected, but not unwelcome to Naomi.
“That’s when it really hit me. GRXs aren’t simply robots or tools or machines. They’re people. Doesn’t matter what your maker says, or what a politician says, to me, you’re all people. People who live and die alongside biological humans. People worthy of basic human decency. So whenever I see a GRX who looks to be in need, I try to lend a hand if they’ll accept it.”
Naomi processed what he said for some time. It stirred something deep inside her. She never heard a human ever say those words before. It was...nice. Nice knowing that not all humans wanted her dead or gone. It took another moment before she realized it was quiet for a lengthy amount of time. “I never did ask you for help, and yet you still did.” She said, breaking the silence at last.
“Ah, that’s just because I believe you suffer from an affliction that affects many humans.” Jack said simply. “Pride.”
“Pride…” She thought for a moment. It was true. She was always prideful, even when on the streets. She refused help from anyone and always paid back gifts when no return payment was expected. She had always gotten by all on her own. She considered it shameful to even admit weakness or that she could use aid. Her eyes welled up again.
“Jack, why didn’t I take your advice?” She blurted out, looking down into her lap. “Why didn’t I listen when you said you knew of places I could go to? Like when we first met, or during the dinner, or anytime after that? It was so logical to just accept some help when I knew I was needing it and yet I was so sure of myself! I thought I knew what I was doing, I just knew I could work it out and I was finally on my way off the streets! I thought I knew it all...except...I d-didn’t. It all f-fell through. I knew n-nothing and in the end...I...”
Naomi raised a hand to her to the gash on her face. Her fingers trembled as touched the edges of the cut. She whimpered and quickly grabbed some more tissues, futilely wiping at her falling tears.
“Naomi…” Jack said softly. “It’s okay.”
Naomi knew she was a mess. As the memories of what happened to her came flooding back, it only added to the storm of emotions raging inside her. Anger, sorrow, hate, disgust, resentment, fear, pride. She felt them all individually and each one so strongly. How do humans do it? How could they possibly feel everything she felt, and more, and still continue on with their lives? Why was she created to feel all these human emotions and look like one but never actually be one or treated like one?
Her breaths came out raggedly and sharply. Her body continued to shiver even though she wasn’t cold. She had never felt this way before, she could scarcely contain it. The emotions swirling inside here were threatening to burst through at any moment. Is this what an outburst was? She frantically looked all over the room, for something to hold on to and soon her eyes locked onto Jack’s. What would she see in his eyes? Fear? Pity? No, she only saw understanding and gentleness, even with her distorted vision. She stared into his soft, kind eyes, never wavering for she feared if she looked anywhere else she would lose herself completely.
“You’re bound to make mistakes,” he said, giving her a sincere look. “After all, you’re only human.”