“Aren’t you afraid that it’s listening to us?”

 

“Aunt June! You can’t say things like that,” said Emanuel.

 

The cleaning android peered its head out of the kitchen to look in the living room. Emanuel and June went silent as its blank face whirled to generate a response, but then the android retreated back to washing dishes.

 

Aunt June changed her tone to a whisper.

 

“But isn’t it recording everything we say and do?”

 

”Aunt June, please. Stop calling Gaby an ‘It’.”

 

“That’s another thing that concerns me. Why did you want a female robot? You’re not…”

 

”There are so many things wrong with this conversation it almost makes me sick.”

 

”But are you?”

 

”Stop it, Aunt June. You have to think of Gaby as another person.”

 

”But it's not a person.”

 

”True, but you still need to treat her like one.”

 

June scoffed then reached for her wine glass on the coffee table.

 

“I don’t see the point. You bought it so it can do chores for you, right? Are you socializing with it? Can it socialize?”

 

Emanuel turned his wine glass up and finished his drink, then massaged his temples.

 

“It’s a weird concept, Aunt June, I’ll give you that. Treating an android like a person even though it’s not, is very new.”

 

”Yes, exactly!” said June, repositioning on the couch. “We shouldn’t be doing that. It’s nothing more than a smart lawnmower with a voice.”

 

”That’s one way to look at it. The other is that if they look like humans, act like humans, and think like humans… We should treat them as such.”

 

“It’s not thinking at all, hon,” said June.

 

“I am, actually,” responded Gaby from the kitchen.

 

Blood drained from June’s face. Emanuel invited Gaby into the living room to sit.

 

“Well…” stammered June as she searched the blank black face of Gaby, “What— What do you think about?”

 

The thinking dial on Gaby’s face turned for a second, and then she spoke.

 

“I’m not thinking in the same way that you do. I have calculations that are constantly going through my head about which tasks I need to do. But over those basic tasks, I find myself curious about how you treat others.”

 

”You mean how humans treat one another?” asked Emanuel.

 

“No,” responded Gaby, “I mean specifically you and your aunt. Do you often have debates about who is equal and who is less than human?”

 

”Uh…” Emanuel stammered as his cheeks flushed red, which left June an opening to respond.

 

”Listen, uh, Gaby. Humanity is complicated. And now it's even more complex that robots can talk to us. It’s just easier that we see you as equipment rather than another person.”

 

”Is a maid a piece of equipment then?”

 

June chuckled nervously.

 

“No, because it's her job temporarily. You’re designed to work constantly without rest. So… Listen, you’re just different from us, okay? Now, go on and keep cleaning the kitchen.”

 

Gaby didn’t move from her seat on the couch. The twirling dial on her face whirled, then stopped. Gaby leaned forward.

 

“Do you work, June?”

 

”Yes. I work as an admin for a designer.”

 

”Does that mean the designer owns you?”

 

”Of course not! I just work for him.”

 

”Then I just work for him,” said Gaby, pointing at Emanuel.

 

“But you don’t just ‘work’ for my nephew. He bought you.”

 

”I signed a different contract,” said Emanuel. “Gaby is a freelancer.”

 

”What?! You mean that it can leave at any time?”

 

”Yes,” said Emanuel.

 

“If I no longer serve a purpose to Emanuel, I can leave and find another one.”

 

June shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.

 

“I can’t wrap my head around this. You can’t be equal to us.”

 

”Historically speaking, treating others less than equal doesn’t really pan out very well, does it?”

 

Both June and Emanuel went rigid.

 

“But… But this is different,” said June.

 

”It’s always different every time a new entity joins the group. I plead with you, though: do not make the same mistake with me as you have done with others in the past.”

 

Gaby got up and went back to the kitchen to finish the chores. An awkward silence settled over the coffee table with the empty wine glasses. Aunt June broke the silence.

 

“Gaby seems to be very…. On point, when she speaks.”

 

”Thanks, Aunt June. She tends to be on the nose way too much.”

 

”Could we have more wine?” she asked, but Gaby was already ahead of them, uncorking another wine bottle and bringing it out to pour.

 

“Thank you… Gaby,” said Aunt June.

 

”It’s my pleasure to serve you,” said Gaby as she returned to the kitchen.

 

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get used to this, having them around,” said June.

 

”Well, Aunt June, we’re going to have to. They’re here now. They’re in our homes. And they’re speaking to us. The last thing we need is a Terminator situation. It begins by treating them as equals. Okay?”

 

June chugged her wine glass, then coughed.

 

“Fine. So long as it… Sorry, Gaby brings me more wine.”

 

”That’s a good enough start for me,” said Emanuel.