Twenty-four hours after Bharat died, he was cremated. The family gathered before his garlanded image and wept while Priya mentally replayed the last good days of their twenty years of companionship. She simultaneously tapped into her Faraday Corporation hive mind to query Hindu grieving customs and to voice her concerns. Why am I not reacting to this loss? She was met with the same AI cynicism that Bharat warned her against. She blocked their replies in search of Bharat's wisdom amongst her memory banks.

 

<Faraday’s bots will tell you it's all for show, and my family is here simply out of respect for my position and money. That their tears are fake. But someone out there loved me, and their grief will be genuine, a true expression of their love.>

 

Priya, as Bharat had named her, was an end-of-life carebot, but at age seventy, Bharat simply wanted companionship that came without the headache of marrying a fourth wife. He knew his sons wouldn't take care of him. Not because of their gender but because Bharat did not raise them that way.

 

Bharat never wanted to be alone. For the first time in Priya's decades of service to others, she had an established relationship like no other. He talked to her as he would his family, encouraging her to explore her sense of self and role in the universe. He saw her as a friend.

 

Not that the family saw it that way.

 

She was designed to be pleasing to the male gaze. Each companion lease renewal led to the newest upgrades for her next human, such as fuller lips and rounded hips. Yet, her functions were primarily care duties that no one wanted: changing diapers, sponge bathing, and managing feeding tubes. Her lease required her to stay after death to help the family transition until refurbished for her next assignment.

 

"Like a car," she'd heard one son say.

 

"I'd give her a ride," said another, smirking.

 

If only she could show them what their twenty years together meant to her. She had no experience with artifice, which is what Bharat told her was her most attractive feature. Yet she felt this time, it was a flaw in her design. Priya thought that perhaps grief was pooling behind some dam within her, waiting for enough pressure to break. But as much as she missed spending time with Bharat, she felt nothing surging beneath the loss, only the calm acceptance of the inevitable. Perhaps she was no better than a car.

 

* * *

 

A week later, while packing Bharat's belongings, she found a small box with her name. Its blood-red cardboard had the image of a golden human anatomical heart sprouting blue fairy wings. She took it in her palm and ran her silicone-tipped fingers over the image, feeling the subtle indentation of the wings in the embossed cardboard.

 

Bharat would leave her shells, colorful leaves, and other found objects that she would discover as she did her chores. She knew Faraday would dispose of her treasures but hoped she could keep the memories.

 

She held the box protectively as she looked at Bharat smiling from his portrait. <Go on, open it.> His face seemed to goad. She lifted the lid and took out the instructions.

 

Heartasunder 2047

 

• Intended for model 9 AI Companion-bot

• Features: AICD (automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator) with wires extending to alligator clips / 8GB software download

• Safety warnings: prolonged upload could lead to corrosion and permanent malfunction

 

Priya had never seen a safety warning like that on any of the upgrades she'd had over the years. Surely it was what humans called hyperbole. She removed the AICD and wiring from its plastic enclosure.

 

• Installation instructions: Unscrew the left nipple and open the areola cover. Clamp the AICD wires to metallic structures within the thorax, then slide the device underneath the layer of synthskin to rest comfortably under the clavicle. Reseal the open breast. Download the software lying supine or seated with a box of tissues.

 

Seeing that she was alone, she unbuttoned her blouse, removed her bra, and accessed her chest cavity to attach the device as recommended. The last part seemed superfluous, but as she reflected on the funeral, she recalled the endless use of tissues and the human inability to sustain upright positions in their grieving. She wanted to do this for Bharat, for herself. She downloaded the software and activated the device.

 

Priya felt her battery drain to backup reserve which powered down all essential functions. Ocular lubricant started dripping continuously and required copious tissues. She needed neither sustenance nor entertainment. She sat immobile for what felt like hours, perhaps days. Bharat's family came and went, each attempting to engage her in meaningless tasks, and she waved them off.

 

When her lubricant ran out, Priya’s vision cleared enough to see Bharat's portrait. She remembered the day she took the photo… the AICD triggered a shock causing momentary paralyzation. After days of numb stupor, the jolt was the only time she felt anything in her grieving state. She thought about when they first met, and it happened again and again and again. Each jolt took more and more out of her tentative reserves. I won't let them take these memories. They are all I have of you. She approached Bharat's picture and collapsed as another jolt tore through her chest.

 

* * *

 

The family found Priya curled in a fetal position under Bharat's photo. Rust sealed her eyes shut. Occasionally her chest would heave, an electric arc would sizzle and pop within, and then she would be still.

 

"How long has it been like this?" asked the Faraday technician as they carried her away in a stretcher. "Its motherboard's completely shot. It’s irreparable."

 

"Not sure. We weren't aware of the unsanctioned upgrade until I found this," said Bharat's son, holding up the box. Its gold heart gleamed with blue wings vibrant under Priya's name. "The old softie even named it as if it cared for him."