"I'll show you. Can you wish for a knife? Something sharp," Karyn said, still wearing that mischievous grin of hers.
I blinked. "A knife?"
"Just trust me," she said, holding out her hand expectantly, waiting for me to give her something I didn’t even have yet.
I hesitated, glancing around to make sure no teachers or nosy classmates were within earshot. Then, gripping the stone tightly, I whispered, "I wish I had a small pocketknife in my left hand."
That familiar tug hit my vision. I looked away—and a second later, there it was. Cool metal. Folding blade. Plain black handle. Just an ordinary pocketknife.
I passed it to her, handle first. "Okay. Now what?"
Karyn took the knife gently and looked at me. "Okay, don’t freak out."
"Why would I—"
Before I could finish the sentence, she rolled up her sleeve and, without hesitation, dragged the blade across her forearm.
I lunged toward her. "Karyn! What the hell are you—"
But no blood came out.
The cut was there, clear as day—but beneath the parted skin, there was… metal.
My breath caught in my throat.
She glanced at me. "Told you," she said with a grin.
"You’re… a robot?"
"Fourth model. Mom gives me a new body every few years to make me look older." She flexed her arm. "Can you wish for compound CR-4XZ? I need to fix this."
"What... How... What?" I stammered.
"Jon? My arm," she reminded me, calm as ever.
"Right. Uh… I wish I had compound..."
"CR-4XZ" she reminded me
"CR-4XZ in my left hand." I completed my wish.
A second later, an unmarked tube appeared in my palm. I handed it to her. She squeezed a bit of the gel onto the cut and rubbed it in. Within moments, the skin sealed itself. Smooth. Perfect. No one would ever guess she wasn’t just another teenage girl.
"So… robot?"
"Mom calls me a synthetic construct. Robots are those automatic vacuum cleaners that stumble into walls" she said with disgust.
"But… how? And why?"
"Mom’s brilliant. Clearly talented. As for the why..." she hesitated. "Motivation, I guess. Her daughter, the original Karyn, died really young. She was devastated. She spent years building me. Then improving me. Then improving the improvements."
I must’ve looked horrified, because she quickly added, "Oh, you never met her. That was a little before your time. I'm the Karyn you've always known."
I took a long moment, trying to make sense of it all.
"Does it bother you?" she asked softly.
"No. No, it's just... a lot to take in. But I'm... I'm glad you told me."
"Anytime, flesh bag."
"Right back at you, tin can."
