Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 2

basket of food containing an overcooked chicken, lumpy mashed potatoes, and fruit pies obviously prepared from near spoiled fruit, along with several bottles of vinegary wine provided by the facility, thanks to the generous bribes Sam had paid, the men had dressed and now contemplated the next move.
    Oberon circled Bobby, eyeing him assessingly. "He has a rather more filled out physique than me. I'd thought I was clear in the construction design— height, weight, color."
    Sam shrugged. "The constructors had to work with the materials that were available to them. They did what they could." Oberon obviously wasn't taking into consideration his long internment and the impact it had had on his own physique. The specifications he'd given for Bobby's construction had been based on his healthy lifestyle before his capture.
    "Well, there's nothing to do about it now. We'll just have to hope the opiates keep them muddled long enough that they don't peer too closely as we leave."
    "I believe it will not be too difficult to provide them with a sufficient optical illusion to convince the guards," Bobby said.
    "A little magic would not go amiss here," Oberon said.
    "Exactly my thinking, Doctor," Bobby said. "I had a wonderful occasion to engage in a conversation with a master of illusion. He was rather forthcoming." Bobby lifted up his shirt and pressed a button where a flesh-and-blood man's navel would be located. A secret door popped ajar. He glanced up at Oberon. "I have no need for a stomach in the proper sense. There are certain areas of my frame that have been created to contain compartments for travel. Or secreting necessary objects to assist in this endeavor."
    He pulled out a mask, and several other items, including a wig that matched Bobby's hair and style, and a small box containing an assortment of cosmetics. He set the items on the table and then refastened the compartment and straightened his shirt. "Shall we begin, Doctor? We've not much time left before dawn and your departure."
    "You truly think you can get me past the guards without them noticing?"
    Bobby quirked a perfect brow. "They didn't notice I was an automaton when I came in, now did they? Sometimes men see what they expect to see, even if it's flawed. They'll put it down to some odd quirk, or they didn't recall correctly. And with the opiates in their system, a dawn's light less than clear, and never having encountered me more than the once, they will put any oddities down to flawed memory."
    "You have studied human nature, haven't you? Too bad, I would have liked to study you more closely."
    Bobby offered no change in expression; no hint of emotion. "I was made for this purpose, was I not, Doctor? Perhaps you will have a chance to create another automaton some day. And improve upon the design."
    "He could not improve on you, Bobby," Sam couldn't help injecting. "You are practically perfect in every way in my estimation."
    Oberon's attention was focused closely on Bobby. "No, he is right, Sam. There's always room for improvement. Nothing, human nor machine, is ever without some possibility for refinement."
    "Isn't that very flawed nature what makes us human, Oberon?"
    Oberon glanced at Sam then reached out to cup the side of his face. "My darling idealist. For some I guess a flawed nature is very appealing. It brings out the nurturer in some way, don't you think?" He leaned forward and kissed Sam. "Dear Sam, you are indeed my heart and soul. You are the part of me that makes me human."
    "Oberon—"
    Oberon quirked his head. "It's interesting that you see my lack of emotional engagement as some sort of flaw that perhaps makes me human. And you see Bobby's automaton personality in the same way. And it is at least in part because of those flaws, that you love us, isn't it? Ah, darling, your innate protective instincts are showing. You feel you need to protect us from ourselves and the world that misunderstands us and would abuse us because of those flaws. I see it so clearly now."
    Sam had never really considered the nature of his love for Oberon before. Nor his attraction to Bobby. Neither man had the ability to truly love, so why was he drawn to them? He'd never quite understood, but it was also something he couldn't seem to deny. Even when he was doing his duty. His innate honesty jarred so deeply with the love for men who could not give equal measure and it had always consternated him. But perhaps Oberon saw more clearly than he. And perhaps it was