I had only ever seen a house like the Fenix’s in old historical files, shows, and movies. Dr. Samson watched with me, and he played video games on occasion. But to see one in person. It looked like a two-story cabin, with wide windows and steep roofs, perfect for snowfall. Even to feel the wood, real wood that the exterior was made of, with my own sensors, was inspiring in its own way. “FINALLY!” Lily moaned as the family entered.

  “Well, Nova, ready to see your new home?” Erika’s question was like… oh, I wish I could think of an accurate analogy. But it felt like the best thing in the world.

  “More than anything.” Crossing the threshold into the Fenix home felt like entering a new world, one from ancient folktales when the universe was young, before the Long Night. Inside, real wooden floors. I had only ever seen wooden floors once on Crucible, and it was in an executive's winter mansion in a climate-controlled dome. A stone fireplace, with what my sensors detected was a real fire!

  My first instinct was to launch myself onto one of the couches, my head right next to Richard’s lap. Richard looked down at me. “First time on a couch?”

  “First time on a couch that was SOFT! This is the best day of my life!” I snuggled into the blankets covering it.

  “I’m so happy you love it, Nova,” Erika said from the kitchen. Even though nothing was cooking or baking, I could only hope for something delicious. There was even a dining table, and the floor around it was covered with scratches. “If you think the ground floor is nice, wait till you see your room.”

  “I’m sorry? A room?”

  “Yes, a room,” Erika said as she was looking through a drawer. “We’d have let you sleep with Lily. But… how to put this delicately?”

  “She’s messy, she farts, she snores-” Jeremiah was hit in the face with a snowball.

  “That was for complaining about Dad’s trains. For the record.” Lily said hastily, followed by Jeremiah chasing her outside.

  “Either way, we figured that you’d like your own space,” Richard said.

  Frankly, I was stunned. Robots on Crucible didn’t get bedrooms; the most I was allowed was to charge with my cable in a corner in Dr. Samson’s lab. I don’t think it’d matter to the CID board of directors. They’d probably just as soon scrap me if they treated me like a person or not. “Y-You mean it?” I asked, as the sounds of the twins' snowball fight raged outside. Personally, I wasn’t sure if it was even necessary. I only have a few possessions, but I wasn’t going to argue.

  “Of course, I can show it to you,” Erika said as she finished organizing coupons. She took me upstairs, past old family photos. I surmised from my database that they were pictures of vacations, family get-togethers, birthdays, and special occasions. Even a smart photo frame, technology thought lost to the Long Night. Dr. Samson had some pictures scattered around his lab, but he never shared details about his family beyond names. And that one of his nephews had asthma, so it’s definitely understandable why I’ve never met him, at least.

  There were at least four rooms upstairs. Jeremiah had posters of starships, tools, and half-finished devices scattered around. Lily’s room was filled with pastel blankets, fairy lights, and shelves with more books and art supplies than I expected. The master bedroom was spacious and had a bathroom.

  Then there was my room. To put it simply, it was Spartan, stark white everything. There was even a balcony that looked over the backyard, the nearby woods, and the Star-Mirror Sea. “Sorry that our old guestroom wasn’t decorated. We weren’t sure what you’d like.” Erika apologized.

  “No. No need to apologize for anything, Erika… this is more than I hoped for.” I ran my hand over the bed. It was soft, perhaps softer than the blankets downstairs. “When Dr. Samson told me I was to be adopted, I didn’t know what to expect. But this… the kindness, the hospitality. I’m not sure I deserve any of this, or-”

  Erika hugged me; it was warm and firm. “You’re family now, that’s all that matters.” Awkwardly, I returned the hug. Overwhelmed by these new feelings of… contentment? Relief? Whatever it was, I was just glad to be as far away from Crucible as possible. “You can do whatever you want before dinner. Not sure what we’ll be having though, we’re all tuckered out from a week at the Hotel ACISP.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Want. What would I want to do most of all? As Erika placed the novelty t-shirts in the closet and left. I emptied the bag Dr. Samson gave me for the trip. First, there was my volcanic rock, a piece of obsidian from an eruption. I still didn’t remember why I took this in the first place. Maybe it was the one thing about Crucible I genuinely liked. Beauty, despite the bleakness.

  Second, there was a copy of the photo Dr. Samson took of us when I was a week old. I was as stiff as a board and twice as humorless. Don’t let the smile fool you, his or mine. On the back, Dr. Samson wrote a message. . Though, strangely enough, it looked like he was writing something other than 'creator'. Something like ‘dadd’, then ‘fath’. Unfortunately, without more data, I can only draw a blank on what he was writing and why he changed it.

  Third was one of my most important possessions. One that no robot should be without, my charging cable. Without it, I’d risk memory loss, among other nasty symptoms. Robot charging cables are common. So I hope the Fenix family can get a new one if mine breaks. (Incidentally, the charge break I took at the hotel was the best one I could manage since leaving Crucible. Passenger ships do not allow time between flights to rest properly, and in my case, literally recharge.)

  Then there was my CID standard diagnostic tool; the screen was a little cracked, but it was a hairline fracture at worst. A microfiber cloth, perfect for cleaning down my joints and face. And of course, my Christmas necklace.

  But there was one thing in there I didn’t expect. A CID communications device, clearly modified by Dr. Samson for interplanetary calls, and linked directly to his lab. I couldn’t have packed this. I have an internal comm system for planetary calls. So I wouldn’t have any practical use for one. Out of curiosity, I selected the number.

  “Nova! Oh, thank the stars, your ship didn’t explode!” It was so good to hear him again. “Are the Fenix’s treating you well? Did you suffer any damage on the trip to their place? Were you chased by anything with a bone to pick over a simple mistake?”

  “The Fenix’s treat me like I’m… like I’m human! No, I’m at 100% integrity, no major damage. And… I stepped on Captain Ahab.”

  Then he laughed that weird maniacal laugh, probably the one thing about him I won’t miss. “Let me tell ya’ something, Nova. If I had exactly one million credits for every day I was worried sick while you were away, I’d have enough to LEAVE this planet, and set up my own business on a planet with a better climate. Like Aust’raa, or Shagar. I hear that despite being desert planets, they're amazing to be on when it rains.”

  “And you deserve to do that more than anyone,” I said sincerely.

  “All jokes aside, how’s my little girl doing. Really?” Dr. Samson dropped the goofy facade. Which I believe he developed from a mix of childhood trauma and years of work on Crucible.

  “I think I’m doing okay. They’re treating me like I’m someone. Not something.”

  “Well, of course they are, you are someone!” Dr. Samson said with a big smile. “You're not a toaster, or one of those tourist robots that dispenses t-shirts. And you're not just the latest model from Project Nova Vita. You’re you, not some science project commissioned by corporate suits more interested in money than in pushing the boundaries of science for the good of all sapient beings.”

  “I just… I just don’t want to disappoint anyone. Not the Fenix’s… or you.”

  Dr. Samson's face then turned serious. “Listen, kid. First, you could never, EVER, disappoint me. Second, you don’t have to prove to anyone, especially those suits on the board, that you deserve to exist! Third, you don’t have to do anything more than just be you; you're literally the only person who can be you! Fourth, failure ain’t the end of things, believe me, kiddo, I failed oh so many times before I made you, your head would spin!”

  “I… thank you, Dr. Samson. You always knew how to cheer me up.”

  “And let me tell ya’ something, it’s just a relief you're not under the board's thumb here.” Dr. Samson said as he fell into his chair. “I mean, between all the sims of an arctic paradise, the modifications to our linked coms devices I commissioned behind the boards back… I’m just glad the easy parts are done.”

  “What’s the hard part?”

  “The supervisor, and convincing those suits that you're not a danger to anyone, and the risk of slipping and breaking something critical-” Dr. Samson's list was surprisingly long. “-and of course Captain Ahab. But as long as you give Angmar a wide berth, you should be fine on that front at least.”

  I sighed in exasperation. “Thank you, Dr. Samson. Though I’m certain integration will be the hardest part.”

  “Well, thanks to these devices that were scrubbed of tracking software and so forth, I’m just a call away if you need a familiar face.” Dr. Samson smiled that same warm smile I saw as I left Crucible. Pretty much one of the few people on Crucible with actual, emotional warmth.

  “I love you, Dr. Samson.”

  “I love you, too, starshine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fumigate my lab for bugs.” Which was code for, ‘clear out the lab of sensitive equipment and important devices, and detonate an EMP for CID listening devices they snuck in with the sanitation crew.’