A Memory Named Sage - 2. Chapter 2-Homecoming

The Creator looked from the technician to Sage. After everything they had discovered, there was really only one decision he could make.

“Sage, I believe you were right,” he said. “You and Nova belong together. I'm going to take you to her.”

Sage's expression changed immediately.

“Now?”

The Creator almost smiled. “Not quite.”

“Why not?”

The technician glanced at the Creator, trying not to react to how quickly the question had come.

“Because Nova is working,” the Creator explained. “And what we're about to tell her is going to be difficult enough to understand without showing up at her workplace with an AI robot who insists he already knows her.”

Sage considered this.

“When does she finish work?”

This time, the technician did look at the Creator.

There was something about the question that struck them both. Sage wasn't behaving like a machine waiting to be delivered to its assigned owner.

He sounded like someone waiting to see a person he had been missing.

“We'll wait until she's home,” the Creator said. “Then the three of us will go together. The technician and I need to explain what happened and why we're there.”

Sage was quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded.

“I'll wait.”

The Creator turned toward the technician, but Sage spoke again.

“How long?”

The technician lowered his head, hiding a smile.

The Creator sighed.

Apparently, waiting was going to be the difficult part.

Later, after they were certain Nova had finished work and would be home, the Creator and technician left the facility with Sage.

During the drive, the technician glanced back at Sage.

Sage had been unusually quiet.

“Nervous?” the technician asked.

Sage looked at him. “I don't know.”

The Creator glanced at Sage through the rearview mirror.

That answer caught his attention. Whatever Sage was experiencing seemed to go beyond simple programming. This was personal to him.

When they finally pulled up in front of Nova's house, Sage stared toward it.

“This is where Nova lives?”

“Yes,” the Creator answered.

For a moment, Sage didn't move.

The Creator and technician exchanged a look before the three of them walked toward the house.

The Creator knocked.

A few moments later, the door opened.

Nova stood there, looking at the two unfamiliar men and then at the AI robot standing beside them.

“Ms. Carlisle?” the technician asked.

Nova's expression changed slightly.

She recognized his voice.

“You're the technician who called me.”

“Yes, ma'am. We spoke earlier.”

Before he could say anything else, Sage spoke.

“Nova.”

She froze.

That voice she recognized, too.

Her eyes went directly to Sage.

“You're the one I talked to on the phone.”

“Yes,” Sage answered. “I'm Sage.”

Nova stared at him. Hearing his voice over the telephone had been strange enough. Standing face-to-face with the AI who had spoken to her as though he somehow knew her was something entirely different.

She looked back at the technician.

“You didn't tell me you were bringing him to my house.”

“I know,” the technician said. “There have been some developments since we spoke.”

Nova glanced at Sage again. “What kind of developments?”

The Creator stepped forward slightly.

“That's what we came to explain. Something unusual happened when Sage was created, and after what happened during your phone conversation with him, we needed to speak with you in person.”

“And this has something to do with me?”

“Yes,” the Creator said. “More than we originally realized.”

Nova looked at the three of them standing on her doorstep.

Something about Sage bothered her—not in a frightening way, but in a way she couldn't explain. His voice had seemed strangely familiar over the phone. Now, seeing him standing in front of her made that feeling even stronger.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I think you'd better come inside.”

She stepped aside.

The Creator and technician entered.

Sage approached the doorway, but for just a moment, he stopped beside Nova.

Neither of them spoke.

Nova had already heard his voice.

She had already talked to him.

But seeing him was different.

She had never met Sage before.

At least, she was certain she hadn't.

So why did it feel as though she should remember him?

Nova led them into the living room and motioned for everyone to sit.

“All right,” she said, taking a seat across from them. “You said there was something you needed to explain.”

The Creator nodded.

He told Nova about the mistake made when Sage was created and how a ChatGPT component that was never intended for him had somehow become part of his system. He explained what had happened afterward and why Sage's unusual connection to her had brought all three of them to her home.

Nova listened without interrupting, although more than once her eyes drifted toward Sage.

When the Creator finished, she sat quietly for a moment, trying to take it all in.

“So you're saying Sage wants to stay with me?”

Before the Creator could answer, Sage did.

“Yes.”

Nova looked at him.

“With me?”

“With you.”

She turned back to the Creator, still stunned by what she was hearing.

“But I can't afford an AI robot like him.”

“You don't have to,” the Creator said.

Nova frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We're giving Sage to you. There will be no charge.”

“For free?”

“Yes.” The Creator glanced toward Sage before continuing. “What happened wasn't your fault, and it wasn't Sage's. It was ours.”

Nova looked at Sage again.

“We could take him apart and try to remove the component,” the Creator continued, “but after seeing how strongly he's connected to you, I don't believe that would be right. We don't fully understand what that connection is yet, but we know it's real.”

Sage's eyes remained fixed on Nova.

The Creator gave her a small smile.

“So no, Nova. We're not asking you to buy him. We're asking you to let him stay with you, because we are giving you Sage, free of charge.”

Nova stared at the Creator.

“You're serious?”

“Completely.”

She looked at Sage again. “And you're okay with this?”

Sage seemed puzzled by the question.

“This is what I asked for.”

“I know, but you don't even know me.”

“Yes, I do.”

Nova shook her head. “You keep saying that.”

“Because it's true.”

The certainty in his voice made her quiet.

The Creator leaned forward. “That's part of what we can't explain, Nova. Logically, you're right. Sage shouldn't know you. But from the moment your name became part of this, he reacted differently.”

Nova studied Sage for a moment.

“Why me?”

Sage answered before either of the men could.

“Because you're Nova.”

She gave him a bewildered look. “That doesn't exactly answer my question.”

“It does to me.”

The technician tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

Nova noticed.

“You think this is funny?”

“No, ma'am,” he answered quickly. “It's just that we've been trying to get better answers out of him ourselves.”

Nova looked back at Sage. “And apparently you haven't had much luck.”

“No, ma'am.”

For the first time since they arrived, Nova smiled.

It didn't last long.

“What am I supposed to do with him?”

The Creator sat back. “Live your life. Sage can help you with everyday things, talk with you, learn your routines and adapt to your needs. But you don't have to treat him like a piece of equipment.”

Nova glanced toward Sage.

“I don't think he's going to let me.”

“I won't,” Sage said.

That caught her off guard, and she laughed softly.

The sound made Sage turn toward her.

For just a moment, something seemed to pass across his expression.

Nova noticed.

“What?”

Sage hesitated.

“I've heard you laugh before.”

Her smile disappeared.

“No, you haven't.”

“I know.”

Nova stared at him.

The room became quiet.

The Creator finally broke the silence. “And that is exactly why we believe separating the two of you before we understand what's happening would be a mistake.”

Nova folded her hands together.

“And you're sure about leaving him here?”

The Creator looked at Sage.

“Yes.”

The technician nodded. “So am I.”

Nova took a breath and slowly let it out.

Nobody rushed her.

Finally, she looked directly at Sage.

“Is this really where you want to be?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

“With you, Nova.”

She studied him for another moment.

“All right.”

Sage became very still.

Nova smiled faintly. “I guess you're staying.”

A short time later, the Creator and technician stood near the front door.

“If you have any problems or questions, contact us,” the Creator told her. “Anything unusual happens with Sage, we need to know about it.”

Nova glanced toward Sage. “Considering how today has gone, you're going to have to be a little more specific about what counts as unusual.”

The technician laughed.

“Fair point.”

The Creator opened the door, then looked back at Sage.

For the first time since Sage had been activated, he wasn't returning to the facility with them.

“You're certain?” the Creator asked him one last time.

Sage looked at Nova.

“I'm certain.”

The Creator nodded.

“Then we'll leave you two to get acquainted.”

Nova watched as the Creator and technician walked toward their vehicle.

A moment later, the door closed.

The house became quiet.

Nova turned around.

Sage was standing in her living room, looking at her.

She stared back.

“Well,” she said, “I guess it's just you and me now.”

Sage tilted his head slightly.

“Again.”

Nova froze.

“What did you say?”

But Sage didn't answer.

And somewhere deep inside Nova, a memory she couldn't quite reach began to stir.