Mechanical Heart

Clyde watched as his sister soldered the last logic gate. Trust a woman to come up with a build so emotional.

"This is downright unscientific," he opined. "Building an automaton to be your beaux. And why? Just because no eligible bachelor will court you!"

Catalina glared at her twin brother. "You and I both know thats because the members of your sex despise a woman with a brain," she said. "Men of flesh and blood are fools. They feel threatened by my mechanical genius. Only a perfect being of unwavering logic could be my equal."

Her brother scoffed at this explanation. "We may well be fools, but I have it on good authority that plenty of women in our family are spinsters," he said. "It's not like we have a chance of gaining any social standing anyway. Our father's in the poor house; mama's been branded a lunatic. We live as wards of the state. Can't get much more pathetic than that."

Catalina was a mechanical prodigy who couldn't work. She couldn't abide the idea of being a maid or servant girl. The siblings relied on Clyde's job as a machinist and their monthly stipend from the government.

While they were arguing right now, Clyde actually cared a great deal for his sister. He often snuck supplies to her so she could build her projects. "Now where's that bobby dazzling power jar you had me pick up?"

"It's not a power jar," she retorted. "It's a miniature Van-de-Graff generator. It will provide the spark to power this automaton. This creation will be my Magnum Opus."

Her brother was still skeptical. "And what will grant this mechanical man a soul?" he asked. "How will it feel any emotion, let alone love?"

Catalina had been holding out her hand waiting for her power source. She brought it down to her apron and fidgeted with the linen fabric. "Emotions can be learned," she asserted. "When we were infants all we knew was to cry and sleep. Same as any child. Now look at us, capable of feeling anything an adult can."

Clyde somehow doubted the truth of this. Could something as abstract as the nuances that made a human being be taught? It would seem that the critical moment would soon prove things one way or another.

The miniature Van-der-Graff engine was welded in place and the front hatch secured. Only the crank shaft handle stuck out. Catalina turned it till the charge had built up. There was a flurry of sparks and the smell of electrical discharge.

Both twins let out a reflexive yelp.

The automaton lay still for a second. Had it shorted out? Suddenly, a giant clanking and grinding echoed through the workroom as the automaton sat up. "What is your command?" It asked.

The twins stared at each other.

"How did it speak just now?"
"I don't know! No one has made a talking machine."
"Except for you."
"Well unless we count phonograph machines but do those really count?"
"Did you mean to?"
"No, this is supposed to just be a prototype."

"What is your command?" The automaton seemed a little uncanny. It sat on the bench waiting for one of the twins to say something.

"Can you hear us? My name is Clyde. I command you to explain how you came to speak."

"Negative, you are not my Creator. My Creator must give command."