Chapter 2

Arriving at Logan's apartment he shows the boy to his room. 

            “I know you don’t really sleep but you should power down for the night, at least that way you aren’t bored until morning. I usually eat dinner in about an hour if you would like to join me that is okay.” Logan says.

            “If there are going to be others, would that make me their brother or father?” Prometheus asks. Logan cracks a smile.

            “I think you’re a bit too young to be a dad, don’t you? Let’s just say you are their older brother and you will need to be strong for what’s to come. The world isn’t ready for your kind yet but it never is when change comes to it. I promise I will always be by your side though.” Logan says.

            “Thanks, Father! I will try my best for you.” Prometheus responds. Logan closes the door and walks to the kitchen. He begins to make a cup of coffee and exhales deeply. What am I doing? Can he really be raised like a normal child? Should I send him to school? Damn, I don’t know anymore. We both will be in the spotlight from now on though. I must watch him closely to make sure that the glitch never happens again. He thinks. The next week was extremely busy, Logan met with reporters in the morning and day time talk shows in the afternoon, followed closely by night time news outlets, these were his least favorite. They all acted like he did something wrong and questioned him as if he was guilty of a crime. He had to answer questions of morality and whether he thinks the world economy will change now. Safety questions we're asked the most as he detailed all the parameters built into the Remnant.

Prometheus went viral, his brave deed saving his father was the most talked about event of the past year. Remnant began shipping later that month and as they arrived at businesses and people’s homes the world began to change. Products became cheaper to mass-produce therefore prices came down dramatically. Lower-income families were even able to own a Remnant thanks to a special program Titan Industries had in place. Single parents were able to work full-time jobs because their kid's needs were met. They cooked, cleaned, and watched the children until the parent could come home. The world seemed to become a bit more peaceful and safe, owners began taking their Remnants out in public on errands. There were many reports of a Remnant protecting its owner from violent human confrontations.

            People began to see that the Remnant was here to help, not harm. They even bought secondary units for their homes. The streets were cleaner as many were tasked with picking up garbage or cleaning duties. Titan Industries grew in value exponentially as no other company could produce them. Prometheus tagged along with his Father everywhere, anytime they were out in public he stood next to him like the most well-behaved child in existence. People noticed how he spoke, what he wore, there were even news stories of what he wanted to be when he grew up. The next few years are a blur, Logan’s wealth grew quickly and he became the wealthiest man in all of human history. With it came its own set of problems though, parties that go on for days. He surrounded himself with a lavish lifestyle he only dreamt of as a child. Drugs, alcohol, cars, anything he wanted he could purchase. He slept with movie stars and dined with Princes, he was even knighted in a few countries. He wakes up and slowly walks to the kitchen while rubbing his eyes. Walking into the darkness of his kitchen he is met with a peculiar sight. Prometheus is sitting in the dark at the table and his eyes are glowing green.

            “Hey buddy, you okay?” He asks.

The glow feints.

            “Yea, I was just dreaming is all.” Prometheus replies.

            “Dreaming? About what?” Logan asks.

            “I can’t remember.” He replies.

Logan smiles and begins to make eggs and bacon on the skillet. I didn’t design him to dream, is his system evolving? Logan thinks.

            “Today is your birthday, right?” Logan says.

Prometheus nods.

            “Fifteen, wow time flies so quick. Are you learning anything when I take you to the office?” He asks.

            “I’m learning a lot from the researchers. They love to quiz me when I go see them. They also have been showing me their new designs for Generation three.” Prometheus replies.

            “Well we are going to do a little party for you at the office, act surprised. Happy birthday.” Logan says. Prometheus smiles and nods. I forget he isn’t human sometimes, look at that smile. I hope he never feels the pain we do sometimes. Logan thinks. He goes back to cooking his breakfast. At the office, Prometheus goes to see the researchers and Logan attends a board meeting. Sitting at the head of the metallic long table he stares off. They begin to file into the conference room all whispering to each other. Janet sits down first and begins to load up her tablet while her nails tap the screen. She is a middle-aged woman with dyed red hair and a pixie haircut. She wears a black pantsuit with high heels. She walks with purpose as if she is the CEO, confident and commanding as if she has any power. Here we go again with her damn nagging. Does she think they are that dangerous? Logan thinks.

            “Well, I would like to start today’s meeting with a question. What happens if the Remnant begin to think we shouldn’t be in charge?” Janet asks. Logan rolls his eyes and looks over at Richard who is listening intently to her.

            “We all know the hundreds of safety parameters our great leader has built into them.” She says as she does air quotes. “But honestly I think a team needs to be created to assess how these things are thinking. I mean I trust them but not as much as some of our customers.” Janet says. A dark-haired man with bright blue eyes named Calvin sits across from her, he stares at her almost like he is looking through her. He waits patiently for her speech to have a pause and interjects.

            “We get it Janet, you don’t own a Remnant and never will. I think we all know your pitch by now, money is what we all care about first and foremost though right? Stop pretending to be self-righteous and congratulate our leader for becoming the first multi trillionaire! He begins clapping as does the rest of the board room.

“Bottom line is this, from Gen one to our newest Gen three models that are in Beta testing right now we have NEVER seen a hint of aggression in them. Shit, just last week a Gen two leaped into oncoming traffic to push its owner out of the way of a speeding truck. It got splattered instantly but saved the man’s life. How’s that for putting the customer first.” Calvin says smirking. Janet sits down in her chair defeated.

            “Let’s put an end to this god damn discussion once and for all. Prometheus system evolves as he learns. It also updates daily to the other units via the neural network. They are in a constant form of learning, evolving and growing.” Logan says. The other board members look at him in disbelief. “Richard and I decided this when we first wrote his coding, we wanted the Remnant to grow just like a human does. By experiencing things!” Logan exclaims.

            “Is that really such a great idea?” Janet asks.

            “Of course it is, I thought of it. How do you think the Gen two came off the rack so perfect? They are updated from Prometheus daily, everything the kid learns they do too.” Logan says. He stands up and looks out the window over the city. “On that note, let's go over the numbers for this quarter. From what I’ve seen already our stock has climbed even higher and I have been in contact with General Lee who wants us to create a special Remnant for him.” Logan says.

            “I will not let the military get its hands on our product and have it become a twisted murder machine.” Richard says.

            “I know you don’t want a Remnant out there hurting people but you should see the amount of money they are willing to spend for us to just research it. We have the final say on whether it gets made or not. He just wants a glorified tech demo of what’s possible.” Logan says.

            “I said no and if I have to, I’ll use my majority shareholder power to veto this deal.” Richard says.

            “You would waste your one veto a year on this?” Calvin says.

            “Now now, that won’t be necessary Richard. Always so dramatic, I’ll tell him now isn’t the right time and to check back next quarter okay?” Logan says as Richard nods in agreement. Logan gets up and puts on his suit jacket and begins to walk to the door.

            “Where are you going? The meeting isn’t over.” Richard asks.

            “It is for me, Rebecca is waiting for me downstairs. Anything important just text me. Have a nice night, I know I will.” Logan says while winking. 

            “Must be nice being him.” Calvin says.

Richard stares at him as he leaves the room and makes a note on his phone of the time he left. Outside Logan meets up with Rebecca and she kisses him deeply.

            “Making a girl wait really isn’t very nice Mr. CEO. She says.

He nods at the valet and his car is driven up to them. A black car with black rims Challenger, one of the old muscle car looking ones.

            “After you.” Logan says. Rebecca smiles and gets into the car.

She looks stunning in that tight red dress and heels. Logan thinks. He steps on the gas hard and the car takes off.

            “You really like the vintage look I see. Isn’t today Prometheus's birthday? I thought there was a party at the office?” She asks.

            “Yea there is, the researchers are throwing him a surprise party. He doesn’t mind if we don’t show up, we already celebrated this morning anyway.” Logan replies. The pair drive into the night to have what’s likely the best date of their lives. Little do they know that great men don’t always stay at the top for very long. The higher the peak they reach, the bigger the crater they leave when they crash back down to earth. Logan’s fall would likely be the highest of them all for it not only ruined his life but also the entire human race.

            Prometheus sits at the computer searching on the internet. He begins at the Pyramids and the slavery that was used to create them. He reads the articles lightning fast, able to complete them in mere seconds. Scrolling through history as if it's some slide show he stops at the Ancient Greeks. Looking over their myths and legends of heroes for the first time a true smile begins to form. Reading about Achilles and his mighty adventures than onto Odysseus and his great voyage. He keeps going until he reaches World War Two. His eyes widen as he sees pictures of the death camps and bodies. Seeing the bomb dropped in Japan, he clicks the mouse furiously trying to skip past it but lands on starving and homeless people. He closes the laptop and walks away. The violence never ends, why are they like this? He thinks. 

            “They are savages.” A voice whispers. Prometheus looks around and scans the apartment. Nothing comes back on the scan.

            “Hello? Is someone there? He asks.

The voice is gone, nothing but darkness in the apartment. Prometheus decides to go for a walk, the cold air always helped him to clear his mind. Putting on a hoodie he walks downstairs and out onto the streets. The holo display shows nine pm hovering in the sky. Like any big city even at night, the streets are crowded. People rushing to go out for dinner, a movie, or even to the clubs. He walks by all of them, looking for some guidance in a city that never sleeps. His ears pick up people talking across the street, a man grabbing a woman by her hair.

            “Listen to me you little bitch! I paid for another half hour and you think you can quit early just because I finished, then you need to be taught a lesson!” He screams. Prometheus scans the woman to see she has a fractured rib and bruises on her face. Clenching his fist, he walks across the street as his eyes begin to glow an emerald green.

            “You’re too rough, you’re not allowed to hit us!” She screams. The man slams her into the brick wall of the bodega they are in front of. He begins kicking her in the stomach over and over.

            “I own you for another thirty minutes! Your pimp already told me I can do what I want since I paid extra you dumb bitch!” He screams. Before he can kick her again Prometheus grabs him by his coat and throws him into the street at least fifteen yards. The man looks up shocked at what just happened.

            “Get out of here miss.” Prometheus says softly. She gets up and runs off into the night.

            “Thank you,” She whispers.

The man gets up and begins walking towards him.

            “You better start running little shit.” He reaches Prometheus and tries to punch him in the face. Easily he dodges the blow and kicks the man in the knee. The bone shatters with ease as the man begins to fall forward. Prometheus kicks him in the chest and he flies backward and lands on the road hard while he slams his head on the concrete.

            “Leave her alone from now on got it?” He says.

            “Yea.” He mutters through blood pooling in his mouth. Prometheus calls an ambulance to their location using the man’s phone and leaves it there next to him. Running off into the night he smiles to himself because he made a difference in a small way. From that day onwards, he knew that his purpose was to help in any way he could. Too bad the boy didn’t realize that he broke the biggest law of all, Remnants could never hurt a human even if it was to save another. For the first time in a long time, Prometheus dreamt that night. He stood in a crowd of people as they all praised and thanked him for saving a little girl. He smiled warmly and began to walk towards the girl when the people began to scream in terror and point behind him.

            “Monster! Demon!” They yell and began to run when Prometheus turns around to find himself standing with his arm in a man’s chest. Blood pours from his mouth as he dies horribly. Prometheus tries to run towards the man but he can’t move. He watches helplessly as the other him kills each person in the crowd. Trying to scream he sees himself grinning and wakes up in his bed yelling. 

            “Dad! Please! Help! Dad!” He screams. Logan comes running into the room and sees Prometheus shaking in fear. Confused he hugs the boy and begins rubbing his head.

            “Shh it's okay, it was a dream. It’s not a big deal.” He says. Rebecca comes in after him.

            “You okay?” She asks.