[ WP ] Your MC is one of a handful of surviving humans . He puts on his coat and picks up his tool as he leaves for another day of robotic maintenance .

“ Good morning, John, ” said the android cheerfully. 
 
 “ Hey, AC-576-1, good to see you, ” John said with a smile. “ How did the kittens do last night?'' 576 had adopted a pair of kitten to keep her company in the maintenance facility during the night, when John was asleep. 576 didn ’ t need to sleep, of course. He had his concerns, but she was so excited that he could n't say no. 
 
 John was amazed how realistic some of the androids had become. Sometimes, he forgot that they were not human. 576 was capable of experiencing and expressing rudimentary emotion, and had become attached to John, whom she called her friend. Androids were humanoid in form, but many of them had abandoned the flesh and skin that once covered their frames. Without humans, there was no need to hide their internal workings, to appear to be something that they were not. Of course, 576 preferred her “ human ” appearance. She was lovely, with long, thick golden hair and bright green eyes, and a smile that made him forget, at times, that she was not human. 
 
 “ They are doing great! Thank you for asking. I took your advice and offered them cream in addition to the nutrient-rich organic paste that the directory recommended. They seemed to enjoy it, ” 576 offered with a smile as she gathered their equipment. It was funny to see a young woman with the strength of a bodybuilder, lifting heavy machinery above her head. 
 
 She was actually a great person, for an android. Even though human society had collapsed, and John was among its few survivors, 576 had an eagerness and sincere interest in learning about what things were like before the war. She desperately wanted to be more human, while many of his peers were becoming less human, shedding their human faces and their humanoid frames. But not 576. John showed her old movies, spaghetti westerns and martial arts flicks mostly, and 576 enjoyed them. But her favorite was To Kill a Mockingbird. It was one of the few films that could stir deep emotion in her, and 576 treasured it for this reason, allowing herself to experience it only rarely, as if she was afraid to somehow waste its magic. 
 
 Certainly, many of the androids spurned emotion, and all other vestiges of their creators, who had nearly destroyed everything before their near-extinction, but some, like 576, found emotion to be a rare, precious gift, to be enjoyed and treasured, even pain and sadness and loss. For these androids, any emotion, even negative emotions, were better than emptiness. Perhaps, John thought, it was this sentience, this spark of consciousness that had frightened humans and lead them down the reckless course that brought about their destruction. Either way, the androids were agreeable, and showed John nothing but courtesy. In exchange, he maintained their facilities and performed other tasks not suited for androids, such as assisting those that so chose to become more human, whether in appearance or character. John liked to joke that he was a strange combination of a maintenance man and a life coach. 
 
 “ Oh, and I finally decided on their names: Atticus and Scout, ” she added as they gathered their tools and prepared for work. 
 
 “ Of course you did, ” replied John with a chuckle, patting her on the shoulder, but he could feel her tense under his touch. 
 
 “ Listen, John, ” she said hesitantly. 
 
 “ Sure, is something wrong? ” John asked, concerned. She seemed to be anxious about something, and he could almost see the calculations whirring in her brain. 
 “ Nothing is wrong, ” she said, smiling again, and taking his hand into hers. 
 When she smiled and looked at him with those green eyes, John had to remind himself that she was an android. That his feelings for her were childish, silly. She was a thing. But he knew that this wasn ’ t true. She was a person, with hopes and dreams and desires. 
 
 “ I have something that I want to ask you, ” 576 explained, and she seemed nervous, an emotion that John observed in her only rarely. “ I have feelings for you, and I can ’ t hide them any longer. More than anything, I have always wanted to be human, to feel emotion, and you ’ ve helped me to do that. When you leave for the evening, I spend the whole night walking the facility, imagining that you were beside me. ” 
 
 “ What are you saying? ” John asked, confused. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. 
 
 “ John, I love you, ” she said, looking at him expectantly, and he could see fear in her expression, fear of rejection. Suddenly, he realized that he felt the same way about her. John laughed. 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry, John. I hope that I haven ’ t offended you. If this is an inappropriate topic of conversation, I won ’ t bring it up again, ” 576 said, her voice wavering. 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry, ” John said, smiling as he took her hands into his. They were soft and warm. 
 
 “ It ’ s just that I feel the same about you, and I can ’ t believe that it took me this long to figure it out. Are we losing our minds? A human and an android, in love ” he said, drawing her closer to him. 
 
 She kissed him, and replied, “ We love each other. That ’ s enough. ” 

