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Loveless 0- Chapter 4: Melancholy Homecoming

As he entered the darkened house, Juno looked at Sethra confushed after she said she knew this place.  “What did you say Sethra?” Juno asked.
Sethra looked back at Juno, her eyes regaining their inhuman sharpness.  “What Juno?”
Juno even more confused asked “You just said you knew this place.”
Sethra looked confused and said “I did?”
Juno walked further into the house and said “Yes, you did.  Maybe I just misunderstood you.  Anyways, we should be safe here.”  Juno stopped suddenly in mid step as he approached the kitchen.
Sethra noticed and asked him “What’s wrong Juno?”  She saw him trembling with agony.  “Juno!  What is it?”
Juno began to softly cry as he sank to his knees.  “Why did I come back here?”  He looked to the kitchen and imagined where he found his mother dead.  “My mother…was slumped over in the corner over there by the stove.  She was cooking dinner for the three of us.  You were coming over that evening.”
“I was?” Sethra asked as she walked up behind Juno.  “What happened to me?”
“You…you and the rest of the women in Neo-Berlin died on the same day.  The Americans attacked us and every female died.  They did it just to torture us.” Juno said as he tried to retain his composure.
“I died?  But why am I here?”  Sethra asked.
“Because you aren’t her…you can’t be Sethra.”  Juno said solemnly.  “You look like her…but you’re just an android.”
Sethra despite being a machine looked sad “But Juno…I thought you said…”
Juno quickly came to his senses and cut her off “I know…I did.  Don’t misunderstand me…I am happy to have you with me.  After all I do call you Sethra don’t I?  It’s just strange staring someone in the face who isn’t who I think they are.”
Sethra was speechless.  “You can accept me despite the fact I’m a machine?”
Juno looked at her through teary eyes “I can’t afford to lose you again.”  Juno then hugged onto her tightly.  Then he turned to go into the kitchen.  “Lets make something to eat…”  Sethra stopped him mid sentence by tugging away from the kitchen.
“Juno…”  Sethra said softly.
“What is it Sethra, we can make something to eat…there’s got to be something in the kitchen somewhere…it’s all exactly as I left it.”
“Juno…it’s late…why don’t you go lay down and I’ll figure out what this thing you call cooking is.”  Sethra said smiling.
Juno was tired and they had been rudely awakened back in Neo Berlin so early in the morning, so Juno had to agree.  And although this place was filled with bad memories he felt more comfortable here…hopefully they couldn’t find them here.  He walked down the hall to the room that had been his.  His bed still lay there just as he left it.  It was covered in dust like the rest of the house.  But it was still the same to him.  He shook the dust from the sheets that were still on the bed and laid down to rest.  He wondered what Sethra was going to cook.  It was fortunate that they had a wood stove, since the electricity went out long ago.  Technology had fortunately rendered refrigerators useless.  Meat and other items were stored in hermetically sealed containers that kept the meat fresh for years.  Juno had always wondered why his mom would use this technology, but insist on using a wood stove.  She had always said that relying on technology too much for cooking took the love out of cooking, and Juno agreed.  Food cooked in Super Nova brand microwaves tasted generic…although having meat cooked in all of 3 seconds was nice.   Juno closed his eyes to rest shortly while Sethra cooked.
It was about 4 in the morning as Sethra managed to find a couple of cook books.  The books contained recipes on different dishes, but no instructions on how to cook them.  The recipes talked about things like bowls, pots and pans, but sadly Sethra’s programming contained no information about these things.  The only thing she understood was that to cook food you had to heat it up.  Sethra managed to start a rather large fire in the wood stove and found the only thing still sealed in the cabinets below, something called “Grosses Mittagessen-Laib” (roughly translated “Big Lunch Loaf”).  The sealed can contained a slimy slab of meat.  Sethra didn’t see any recipes calling for this “Big Lunch Loaf” so she simply shrugged her shoulders and threw it into the fire.
Juno woke to thick smoke filling the house.  Juno sprung from his bed wondering what was going on.  “Sethra?!  Are you okay?  Sethra?”  Juno screamed as he ran out into the kitchen.  He beheld Sethra cupping her hands around an egg while holding it over the fire.  The ceiling was blackened from whatever was burning in the stove, which was belching flames anyways.  “Sethra?  What are you doing?”
Sethra peeked up and said “Oh, just making you some…well I was making big lunch loaf, but the stove kinda…well destroyed it.  But look I made you an egg!”  She said triumphantly holding up a scrambled egg with broken egg fragments in it.
“I thought you were programmed for this kind of thing?”  Juno asked trying not to laugh.
“Well…the XX series usually is programmed for this kind of thing…in fact the directory is in my data banks, but the files aren’t there.” Sethra said embarrassed.
“I wonder if that is what they meant by you being defective.” Juno thought out loud.
“Defective?  Are you going to throw me away Juno?” Sethra asked with a look of fear in her eyes.
“Huh?  Oh no Sethra…I was just remembering what the polzei were saying…they said they had come to claim a defective unit.”  Juno said in a gentle voice.
“Oh…well I feel defective…parts of my programming are missing…but there are also pieces of programming that shouldn’t be there.”  Sethra said with a sigh.
“Like what?”  Juno said with a burst of interest.
“Well like right now, when I look at you…I feel something…I don’t have words to describe it…but it’s a good feeling.  Like my face is warm or something.”  Sethra said visibly blushing.
“Sure that’s not part of your sexual programming?” Juno asked smirking.
“No no…to be quite honest…my programming just tells me how to do it…what movements to make, what noises to make, what positions…” Sethra said on and on before Juno interrupted.
“I get it, I get it…but what you’re saying is you feel something that can’t exactly be put into programming or words.” Juno said a little flushed.
“Yeah, you could say that…but there’s other things…like when I went to start cooking, I knew right where your cookbooks were.”  Sethra said then turning her head to look out the back door.  Sethra immediately looked somewhat softer in the moonlight as she looked into the backyard.  “Juno?”
“Yes?” Juno replied.
“Didn’t there used to be a tall white fence out back…with one loose picket that I used to sneak in through?”  Sethra said.
“What?  How did you know that?”  Juno asked absolutely shocked.
Sethra’s face was what you would expect from someone who was about to cry as she said “I don’t know Juno…I feel like I have a virus of some sort in my memory banks, but the virus scan comes up with nothing.  Am I defective Juno?  Should I go away?”
Juno’s face went pale as he grabbed her quickly beginning to cry “No!  You’re not defective…maybe…maybe you are Sethra?  There is no way you could have known that…unless I told you and I didn’t right?”  Sethra simply shook her head.  “Sethra, you are obviously more than an android…I won’t let them take you from me.  No…not again.”   Juno could imagine swear he saw a tear running down her face as he said this.  Sethra couldn’t say anything.  Sethra simply turned around.  Juno then said, “Well for now, perhaps we should put this fire out.”  Juno said then looking to the growing blaze in the wood stove.  “By the way, just for future reference…about the lunch loaf…”
“You never did like it did you?”  Sethra giggled.
“You’re right…I didn’t.”  Juno said once again stupefied.
Sethra smiled and said “Why don’t you go back to sleep, and I will take care of this?”
Juno looked at her smile…that smile closely resembled the smile that used to melt his heart so much.  The only difference was the sharper more mechanical eyes, pale skin, and sharp features of her android face.  But none the less he nodded and walked back to his room.
After Juno had left the room her smile quickly faded as she dropped to her knees and started to shutter and cry.  She quickly looked to her body shuttering and clasped her own arm trying to calm the tremors of her crying.  She also quickly noticed the wet tears falling from her face.  “What is happening?  What is this feeling?  Why am I leaking and shaking?  I must be breaking…Juno’s wrong I am defective.  But what should I do?  This virus is causing me to act strange…but it makes master happy…so I should embrace it.”  Sethra in shambles walked over to the couch after standing up and put the cook book back on the shelf next to it.  The book right next to it on the shelf was a book simply labeled “Foto Album”.  She felt compelled to take it from the shelf.  As she opened the pages and looked at the first pictures, she felt once again the feeling she felt before.  The pain of remembering something she never thought she could.  Although her programming told her this feeling was a virus, she embraced it for Juno’s sake.  He seemed happy the more she acted like Sethra and the more she seemed to remember.  She sat down and turned the pages and the “virus” in Sethra’s memory banks began to grow…

Description
Loveless 0- Chapter 4: Melancholy Homecoming

As he entered the darkened house, Juno looked at Sethra confushed after she said she knew this place.  “What did you say Sethra?” Juno asked.
Sethra looked back at Juno, her eyes regaining their inhuman sharpness.  “What Juno?”
Juno even more confused asked “You just said you knew this place.”
Sethra looked confused and said “I did?”
Juno walked further into the house and said “Yes, you did.  Maybe I just misunderstood you.  Anyways, we should be safe here.”  Juno stopped suddenly in mid step as he approached the kitchen.
Sethra noticed and asked him “What’s wrong Juno?”  She saw him trembling with agony.  “Juno!  What is it?”
Juno began to softly cry as he sank to his knees.  “Why did I come back here?”  He looked to the kitchen and imagined where he found his mother dead.  “My mother…was slumped over in the corner over there by the stove.  She was cooking dinner for the three of us.  You were coming over that evening.”
“I was?” Sethra asked as she walked up behind Juno.  “What happened to me?”
“You…you and the rest of the women in Neo-Berlin died on the same day.  The Americans attacked us and every female died.  They did it just to torture us.” Juno said as he tried to retain his composure.
“I died?  But why am I here?”  Sethra asked.
“Because you aren’t her…you can’t be Sethra.”  Juno said solemnly.  “You look like her…but you’re just an android.”
Sethra despite being a machine looked sad “But Juno…I thought you said…”
Juno quickly came to his senses and cut her off “I know…I did.  Don’t misunderstand me…I am happy to have you with me.  After all I do call you Sethra don’t I?  It’s just strange staring someone in the face who isn’t who I think they are.”
Sethra was speechless.  “You can accept me despite the fact I’m a machine?”
Juno looked at her through teary eyes “I can’t afford to lose you again.”  Juno then hugged onto her tightly.  Then he turned to go into the kitchen.  “Lets make something to eat…”  Sethra stopped him mid sentence by tugging away from the kitchen.
“Juno…”  Sethra said softly.
“What is it Sethra, we can make something to eat…there’s got to be something in the kitchen somewhere…it’s all exactly as I left it.”
“Juno…it’s late…why don’t you go lay down and I’ll figure out what this thing you call cooking is.”  Sethra said smiling.
Juno was tired and they had been rudely awakened back in Neo Berlin so early in the morning, so Juno had to agree.  And although this place was filled with bad memories he felt more comfortable here…hopefully they couldn’t find them here.  He walked down the hall to the room that had been his.  His bed still lay there just as he left it.  It was covered in dust like the rest of the house.  But it was still the same to him.  He shook the dust from the sheets that were still on the bed and laid down to rest.  He wondered what Sethra was going to cook.  It was fortunate that they had a wood stove, since the electricity went out long ago.  Technology had fortunately rendered refrigerators useless.  Meat and other items were stored in hermetically sealed containers that kept the meat fresh for years.  Juno had always wondered why his mom would use this technology, but insist on using a wood stove.  She had always said that relying on technology too much for cooking took the love out of cooking, and Juno agreed.  Food cooked in Super Nova brand microwaves tasted generic…although having meat cooked in all of 3 seconds was nice.   Juno closed his eyes to rest shortly while Sethra cooked.
It was about 4 in the morning as Sethra managed to find a couple of cook books.  The books contained recipes on different dishes, but no instructions on how to cook them.  The recipes talked about things like bowls, pots and pans, but sadly Sethra’s programming contained no information about these things.  The only thing she understood was that to cook food you had to heat it up.  Sethra managed to start a rather large fire in the wood stove and found the only thing still sealed in the cabinets below, something called “Grosses Mittagessen-Laib” (roughly translated “Big Lunch Loaf”).  The sealed can contained a slimy slab of meat.  Sethra didn’t see any recipes calling for this “Big Lunch Loaf” so she simply shrugged her shoulders and threw it into the fire.
Juno woke to thick smoke filling the house.  Juno sprung from his bed wondering what was going on.  “Sethra?!  Are you okay?  Sethra?”  Juno screamed as he ran out into the kitchen.  He beheld Sethra cupping her hands around an egg while holding it over the fire.  The ceiling was blackened from whatever was burning in the stove, which was belching flames anyways.  “Sethra?  What are you doing?”
Sethra peeked up and said “Oh, just making you some…well I was making big lunch loaf, but the stove kinda…well destroyed it.  But look I made you an egg!”  She said triumphantly holding up a scrambled egg with broken egg fragments in it.
“I thought you were programmed for this kind of thing?”  Juno asked trying not to laugh.
“Well…the XX series usually is programmed for this kind of thing…in fact the directory is in my data banks, but the files aren’t there.” Sethra said embarrassed.
“I wonder if that is what they meant by you being defective.” Juno thought out loud.
“Defective?  Are you going to throw me away Juno?” Sethra asked with a look of fear in her eyes.
“Huh?  Oh no Sethra…I was just remembering what the polzei were saying…they said they had come to claim a defective unit.”  Juno said in a gentle voice.
“Oh…well I feel defective…parts of my programming are missing…but there are also pieces of programming that shouldn’t be there.”  Sethra said with a sigh.
“Like what?”  Juno said with a burst of interest.
“Well like right now, when I look at you…I feel something…I don’t have words to describe it…but it’s a good feeling.  Like my face is warm or something.”  Sethra said visibly blushing.
“Sure that’s not part of your sexual programming?” Juno asked smirking.
“No no…to be quite honest…my programming just tells me how to do it…what movements to make, what noises to make, what positions…” Sethra said on and on before Juno interrupted.
“I get it, I get it…but what you’re saying is you feel something that can’t exactly be put into programming or words.” Juno said a little flushed.
“Yeah, you could say that…but there’s other things…like when I went to start cooking, I knew right where your cookbooks were.”  Sethra said then turning her head to look out the back door.  Sethra immediately looked somewhat softer in the moonlight as she looked into the backyard.  “Juno?”
“Yes?” Juno replied.
“Didn’t there used to be a tall white fence out back…with one loose picket that I used to sneak in through?”  Sethra said.
“What?  How did you know that?”  Juno asked absolutely shocked.
Sethra’s face was what you would expect from someone who was about to cry as she said “I don’t know Juno…I feel like I have a virus of some sort in my memory banks, but the virus scan comes up with nothing.  Am I defective Juno?  Should I go away?”
Juno’s face went pale as he grabbed her quickly beginning to cry “No!  You’re not defective…maybe…maybe you are Sethra?  There is no way you could have known that…unless I told you and I didn’t right?”  Sethra simply shook her head.  “Sethra, you are obviously more than an android…I won’t let them take you from me.  No…not again.”   Juno could imagine swear he saw a tear running down her face as he said this.  Sethra couldn’t say anything.  Sethra simply turned around.  Juno then said, “Well for now, perhaps we should put this fire out.”  Juno said then looking to the growing blaze in the wood stove.  “By the way, just for future reference…about the lunch loaf…”
“You never did like it did you?”  Sethra giggled.
“You’re right…I didn’t.”  Juno said once again stupefied.
Sethra smiled and said “Why don’t you go back to sleep, and I will take care of this?”
Juno looked at her smile…that smile closely resembled the smile that used to melt his heart so much.  The only difference was the sharper more mechanical eyes, pale skin, and sharp features of her android face.  But none the less he nodded and walked back to his room.
After Juno had left the room her smile quickly faded as she dropped to her knees and started to shutter and cry.  She quickly looked to her body shuttering and clasped her own arm trying to calm the tremors of her crying.  She also quickly noticed the wet tears falling from her face.  “What is happening?  What is this feeling?  Why am I leaking and shaking?  I must be breaking…Juno’s wrong I am defective.  But what should I do?  This virus is causing me to act strange…but it makes master happy…so I should embrace it.”  Sethra in shambles walked over to the couch after standing up and put the cook book back on the shelf next to it.  The book right next to it on the shelf was a book simply labeled “Foto Album”.  She felt compelled to take it from the shelf.  As she opened the pages and looked at the first pictures, she felt once again the feeling she felt before.  The pain of remembering something she never thought she could.  Although her programming told her this feeling was a virus, she embraced it for Juno’s sake.  He seemed happy the more she acted like Sethra and the more she seemed to remember.  She sat down and turned the pages and the “virus” in Sethra’s memory banks began to grow…