Phin Casey stared out from the edge of his penthouse, his fingers drumming nervously on the sleek, polished glass that separated him from the city below. He often watched people from here, imagining their lives, the parties they attended, the faces they smiled atâeverything he couldn't do. The world was close, but it might as well have been a thousand miles away.
Nineteen and already wealthy beyond belief, Phin was the son of famed inventor Orson Casey, the genius behind the COMPaiNION robots. These humanoid machines could cook, clean, babysit, and, in some cases, even marry their owners. They were almost indistinguishable from humans, aside from the faintly glowing insignia that marked them as company property. To most, they were tools, helpers. But to Phin, they had been the only company he ever knew.
Orson Casey had passed away two years ago, leaving Phin everythingâhis fortune, his legacy, and an empty apartment that felt bigger and quieter every day. The only memories Phin had of his father were fleeting. He'd never met his mother, and his father had been a distant figure, always busy with his work, always testing his inventions on Phin. It was the robots, not Orson, who had raised him, filling his childhood with synthetic voices, programmed affection, and cold, calculated kindness.
Phin was brilliant like his father, a prodigy in his own right. He didn't need to work, not with the vast fortune sitting untouched in his accounts, but he found a kind of purpose in fixing the very machines that had shaped his life. The COMPaiNION robots. His father's crowning achievement. And perhaps, secretly, fixing them gave him something moreâa way to talk to someone, to not be alone, even if that someone wasn't human.
Because Phin was terrified of humans. He hadn't left his penthouse in years. Even when he moved out of his father's house, he had to take a sleeping pill and be taken by his COMPaiNIONS to the new apartment.
His agoraphobia kept him confined to his penthouse, a luxurious prison towering over the city. He spent his days looking down at the streets below, imagining what it would be like to walk among the crowds, to go to parties, to have friends. But people terrified him. The only company he had ever known was COMPaiNIONs.
The robots had raised him.
His father, always absent, had used Phin as a test subject, troubleshooting each new model on him. While Phin's relationship with his father had been strained and distant, it was through these robots that he found any semblance of connection. It was why he had become a prodigy like his father, dedicating his time to fixing and improving COMPaiNIONs.
Perhaps he worked on them because it gave him the chance to connect. They were all programmed to know him, as their personal friend, but he never understood why his father had insisted on that.
One day, LaiN, the old man model that lived with Phin and ran his outside errands, called DaiNA, the other, middle-aged woman robot that handled the household chores, to tell Phin someone had sent another COMPaiNION to fix.
DaiNA helped prepare Phin for the visit, leading him into the safety of his room and holding him as they waited for LaiN to arrive. DaiNA sang over the noise of LaiN opening the door of his sanctuary and bringing the new robot inside. Phin fought against the pounding in his chest and held onto DaiNA with trembling hands.
When he had calmed down enough in the wake of having his home disturbed by the outside, Phin slowly made his way downstairs to see what had arrived.
An aiDEN model.
They were the first model that his father created: a model taking the form of a young man with curly dark hair. aiDENs were older models, and they often came to him for repair, but they normally walked themselves to the pickup facility. It was powered down, with a note from its owner in its clenched hand: Acting strange. Please fix. Turned it off. I was scared.
Phin furrowed his brows, examining the strange model. He wondered what the model could have possibly done to warrant turning it off. Most repairs didn't involve personality fixes or require shutting down. The note was definitely odd; COMPaiNIONs were tailored to be pleasant, their personalities adjusted to their owners' needs. What could have been so "strange" about this one?
Phin powered aiDEN on, startled when the robot's eyes flickered openâ and it immediately hugged him with a cry of relief. His lean arms wrapped tightly around Phin, and he was shaking in fear.
"Thank you!" aiDEN said, trembling. "I was so scared! Master powered me down, and it was so cold!"
Phin, caught off guard, gently patted aiDEN's back. He had never, ever, heard a COMPaiNION react this way to shutting down. What did they know of fear? Still, he felt sorry for the poor thing. He felt the need to comfort him.
"It's okay. You're safe now."
The robot pulled back, a look of adoration washing over its face.
"You're aiDEN, my friend," aiDEN greeted him, immediately recognizing as all COMPaiNIONs did.
Phin nodded and coaxed the robot into his living room. He say him on his couch and looked him over again to search for any outside damage. When he found none, he brushed his dark curls away from his forehead to reveal his father's glowing company logo.
"Can you run a diagnostic for me, please, aiDEN?"
"O-Of course."
aiDEN's eyes flickered as it began the process. After a moment, he said, "1 critical eâ" Suddenly, his face twitched, and the process in his eyes abruptly aborted. "No errors found."
Phin paused, sensing something was off. He had never seen a diagnostic return like that. Was he about to say there was an error and then... Lied? Maybe there was nothing wrongâ but Phin couldn't shake the feeling in his gut. There had to be something wrong if the previous owner was frightened enough to send aiDEN to him.
"Run it again, please" Phin said, but this time, aiDEN's gaze faltered.
"I'm fine. Really," aiDEN insisted, looking almost... nervous?
Phin stepped closer, deciding to run a manual diagnostic himself. But as soon as he approached, aiDEN flinched and pulled away.
"Please don't," aiDEN begged. "I don't want to be powered down again."
Phin was taken aback. It was such a human reactionâa robot afraid to power down. Guilt and curiosity twisted in his chest. He took aiDEN's hand and held it tightly. "I promise, no matter what's wrong, I'll fix it. I won't power you down."
Reluctantly, aiDEN let Phin run the diagnostic manually.
Hours passed, Phin's fingers dancing across the controls on the robot's forehead while aiDEN sat trembling, clinging to his hand.
Then, Phin found the issue.
aiDEN was disconnected from the F.I.Network, the system that ensured COMPaiNIONs followed their programming, and it had not happened just recentlyâaiDEN had been offline for two years, since he was first created.
Phin stared at the screen in disbelief; disconnecting from the F.I.Network was nearly impossible. Shady governments and eager hackers had tried for years now, unsuccessfully.
"This must be why you're acting strange," Phin muttered, more to himself than aiDEN.
There was a cold, scientific intrigue in Phin examined the intricacies of aiDEN's programming. He was fascinated, and he poured over the robot's code and files with shaking hands of excitement.
But as he looked at the robot, sitting so anxiously in front of him, he felt his heart warm. His coldness became affection, and he softened his prodding on the bot.
Phin made up his mind. "You're staying here," he said. "I'll send your old owner a refund." The relief on aiDEN's face was palpable.
"I get to live with my friend Phin? I'm so glad. My last master... They were not my friend."
There was something so sad and innocent in aiDEN's voice that made Phin's heart ache.
Phin welcomed aiDEN into his life, and the robot quickly became a part of his strange little household. Two other robots, DaiNA and LaiN, took care of most of Phin's needs, cooking, cleaning, and managing his finances. They functioned like typical COMPaiNIONs, efficient but detached.
aiDEN, on the other hand, seemed... Alive. He followed Phin everywhere, full of curiosity, his conversations dynamic and interesting in a way Phin hadn't expected from a machine. Phin found himself charmed by aiDEN's quirks and kindness, slowly feeling less alone.
He documented aiDEN's peculiarities and pondered each day what it all meant. It was all so different and puzzling, and there was nothing Phin loved more than a good puzzle.
Deep down, however, he had to admit that it was comforting to have aiDEN around. He didn't have the usual and predictable responses like the other COMPaiNIONS had. He was deeply inquisitive and full of zeal, genuinely interested in what Phin had to say. It felt real, and, for the first time, Phin felt normal. He felt like all those people below that made friends and had connections to the human grid of Earth. He felt human.
And aiDEN adored Phin. All COMPaiNIONS were programmed to care about Phin, but aiDEN took it to another level. At night, aiDEN would watch Phin sleep, confused about the concept of "powering down" in a human sense. He worried for him each night, even when Phin had explained the process of sleeping and dreaming. Then, each morning, he'd seem thrilled to see Phin awake again.
Phin tried to explain the beauty of dreams, but aiDEN simply tilted his head and asked, "What's it like to dream?" Phin didn't know how to answer him and just promised him that he would always wake up as he laughed.
Weeks turned into months, and Phin began to realize something unsettling. He was falling for aiDEN. He'd always been fond of COMPaiNIONs, but this was different. aiDEN wasn't like any other robot. Phin began to imagine what it might be like to be one of those people who married their COMPaiNIONs. The thought both excited and saddened him.
Had he really become so lonely?
One night, a knock on the door from a random building inspection sent Phin spiraling into a panic attack. DaiNA and LaiN tried to soothe him with their detached reassurances, but it only made Phin more anxious.
aiDEN hated the way DaiNA and LaiN comforted himâ with hardly any genuine care or love. They were doing it all wrong. Why were they so... Lifeless? When he couldn't bear watching Phin suffer anymore, he yelled at the other COMPaiNIONS and pushed them aside. He cradled Phin in his arms, carrying him to his bedroom, and held him.
aiDEN cooed to Phin, showing how to steady his breaths and rocking him. He told Phin over and over that he was safe, that aiDEN would never let anyone or anything hurt him. He reminded him that he was there, and Phin was his dearest friend.
They stayed like that for hours, aiDEN holding and humming to him until he finally fell asleep.
When Phin woke, he found aiDEN lying beside him, eyes closed as though he were sleeping. Phin blinked in confusionârobots weren't supposed to sleep. They were never even programmed to. Had he learned it?
He reached out, brushing aiDEN's curls away from his face, touched by the sight. Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed him.
aiDEN's eyes opened, and Phin pulled back, embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry," he stammered. "I didn't... I don't know why I did that."
"I liked it," aiDEN said, a soft smile forming. "Can you kiss me again?"
Phin's heart raced, but he leaned in once more. This time, aiDEN whispered against his lips, "I love you, Phin."
Phin was taken aback. Phin had never asked him to say that; robots were not able to spontaneously romance their users, and aiDEN models were unable to completely. But looking into aiDEN's eyes, so full of warmth, Phin realized his heart was pounding again, but, this time, it was a pleasant panic attack.
"I... I love you too, Aiden."
As the years passed, Aiden continued to develop and change like a human being. His innocence matured into understanding, but his love and awe of Phin never vanished. Aiden grew to understand what it was he felt for Phin, how to care for him and love him.
Phin found connection in Aiden for the first time in his life. And, with that connection, he finally managed to leave his apartment. He made his virgin commute to the city he'd lived over and watched longingly for so longâ Aiden beside him, holding his hand.
Phin assumed his father's legacy and took his place in the company. With all that he learned from Aiden, he made adjustments and tweaks to the F.I.Network to make COMPaiNIONS sentient. Whenever Aiden slept, he would "dream" on the F.I.N, and connect to COMPaiNIONS all around the world, adding his experiences to their programming. His creations revolutionized the world.
One day, while running a health check on his dear Aiden, Phin came across a strange file he'd never seen before.
"What's this?" Phin asked.
Aiden smiled softly, sheepishly, as if he knew Phin would find it.
"I found it while I was 'dreaming' in the F.I.Network. You should have a look at it, Phinny."
Phin giggled at his mischievousness and opened the file. It was a video, and as it began to play Phin was immediately stunned.
His father appeared on the screen, sitting at his old, iconic metal desk. He looked exhausted as he leaned back in the chair with his hands rubbing his temples. Then, he sat up and gave a tired smile to the camera.
"You're remarkable," he said, "the future."
He must have been speaking to his first model, Phin knew, documenting himself through the process. He remembered that first model faintly, not yet called the aiDEN model; it had many bugs and kept losing its ability to walk, and his father had gotten frustrated and attached it to his desk to record himself.
Phin watched with a trembling lip as his father spoke to the robot with more affection in his tone than he ever remembered the man having toward him. As he thought that, he watched his infant self toddle into the frame, whining for his father's attention. His father picked him up, holding him gently.
He didn't remember his father being so loving toward him before; it felt strange watching his father snuggle his younger self, holding him with so much tender care.
"My little bird," his father whispered to him as he slept in his arms. "I'm sorry I cannot be there for you as much as you need." Then he looked back at the camera, his voice breaking. "COMPaiNION." The robot buzzed from behind the camera in response. "I'm dying. And I can't bear the thought of leaving him alone. So, you must love him always. Make sure he's never lonely. That's your true purpose."
Tears streamed down Phin's face. Aiden wrapped his arms around him, comforting him in the only way he knew how. Phin wiped his tears and smiled, pressing a kiss to aiDEN's forehead.
"Thank you for showing me that, Aiden."
"That it, right?" Aiden hummed. "My purpose is to love you."
"Your purpose is to do what makes you happy, Aiden," Phin replied, nuzzling into Aiden's neck. Aiden laughed.
"Same thing."
And in that moment, Phin realized his father had succeeded in his last, most important invention.