Atom stands with the crowd for the name reading, a solemn, serious expression on his face. He's almost as still as a statue for the entire reading, but his frown deepens whenever he hears someone crying. He didn't know these people, but the toll of war was one he was already familiar with and remembered with perfect clarity. A simple review of a memory file and he was back in the war torn desert where families were recovering the bodies of the dead from collapsed buildings and praying for the recovery of the injured. It was a different war but the same cost.
He doesn't cry while standing there in the crowd. He knows that the sight of what looks like a crying child will only upset others further, and make the Corsairs question his presence in their ranks. When the reading ends and the crowd breaks, he wanders the Flotsam ships to see the fleet for the first time. He takes in the faces and the locations, saved away in his memory, but his thoughts remain with the families of the dead, now and from years ago.
Eventually he finds a quiet place to sit and stare out at the ocean and he allows his tears to flow, silently. If anyone catches him, he has the words on the tip of his tongue. "Yes, robots can cry."
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Date: 2024-10-10 09:01 am (UTC)He doesn't cry while standing there in the crowd. He knows that the sight of what looks like a crying child will only upset others further, and make the Corsairs question his presence in their ranks. When the reading ends and the crowd breaks, he wanders the Flotsam ships to see the fleet for the first time. He takes in the faces and the locations, saved away in his memory, but his thoughts remain with the families of the dead, now and from years ago.
Eventually he finds a quiet place to sit and stare out at the ocean and he allows his tears to flow, silently. If anyone catches him, he has the words on the tip of his tongue. "Yes, robots can cry."