Human Sister

for me to keep secrets from Grandma, either, but I’ve had to. That’s part of what working for the government entails—keeping classified information secret. The information I would like to discuss with you is dangerous to know, or at least to let anyone discover that you know. I love and trust Elio, too, but everyone has a breaking point if they’re interrogated. All I’m asking is that you not put Elio in danger unless it becomes necessary to do so.”
    I was in a bind. On the one hand, I’d promised never again to keep secrets from Elio. On the other, I wanted to know what was happening, and I wanted to help Grandpa; it was clear that he was in some kind of trouble. And, what would be worse, my keeping classified information secret from Elio, or my putting Elio in grave danger?
    I noticed then that Grandpa was trembling all over, and asked whether he was okay.
    “I’m feeling very weak. Faint. Please check my pulse.”
    With my right hand I began to take his pulse. As I did, I placed my left hand on his chest. He was trembling quite violently now. He had kept himself in good shape. His normal resting pulse was 58. His pulse now was 115.
    “I think I should get some medical attention,” he said. “But we can’t have anyone coming into these rooms.” He slowly rolled off the sofa onto the floor and began crawling on hands and knees toward Gatekeeper. “If I pass out,” he said, “drag me through Gatekeeper and into my bedroom. Then call Dr. Taranik.”

First Brother

    S he stands about 2 meters in front of the inscribed surfaces of the markers. Her shadow lies to the right of the rightmost marker and extends over 9 meters toward the southeast.
    The dog nuzzles her left hand, but she fails to respond. The dog looks back at me as I stand in front of the garage. The dog lies down beside her left leg.
    She stands quietly in front of the markers for 1 minute, 22 seconds. Then both of her hands rise. They disappear in front of her body and appear to stop near her waist. Movement in the muscles of her arms indicates that her hands manipulate something. A review of frontal images of her as she exits the arborway and comes into view reveals no sign of a weapon.

Sara

    G randma and I accompanied Grandpa in the air ambulance that took him to the Stanford Medical Center. After a battery of tests, Dr. Taranik told us that because Grandpa had never before had a panic attack, it wasn’t surprising that he had feared he might have been having heart trouble. The doctor recommended that Grandpa remain in the hospital overnight because his blood pressure was still high and he continued to have bouts of trembling. Elio drove Grandma and me home.
    The next morning when Grandma, Elio, and I went to visit Grandpa, an FBI agent was stationed beside his bed and refused to leave when we asked him to give us some privacy.
    “That’s all right,” Grandpa responded. “Some people are afraid I might be having a nervous breakdown, and they want to be sure I don’t say anything untoward. Magnasea is involved in a few classified projects, you know.”
    We made small talk for about a half-hour, until a nurse came in and said Grandpa needed to rest. We could visit him again the next day.
    Before we left the hospital, we spoke with Dr. Taranik, who told us that though the acute problem of the day before had been a panic attack, the underlying problem appeared to be that Grandpa was suffering from nervous exhaustion. For the time being, a few days of monitoring and rest at the hospital were called for.
    He appeared rested when he returned home four days later, but he didn’t come to Michael’s area until after Elio left for school the next morning. By then, my mind was swirling with questions and speculation: Why would Grandpa help attack the androids? After all, he had spent decades helping to create some of them, and he had wanted me to love First Brother. Perhaps someone was forcing him. But who?
    When Grandpa finally came in to see Michael and me, he told us another attack against the androids was being jointly planned by the United States and China. “I’ve been privy to some, but far from all, of the details,” he said. “My position has always been a hundred percent against the attack, and I have been doing everything I can to discourage it. By participating in their war games, my desire to dissuade the military from attacking the androids interacts with their desire to anticipate and defeat all responses from the