Crash Land on Kurai – Chapter 16

“This is version four of the Doshisha test. I’ve administered this test now…” Rin checks something on his data device, not that different from our own tablets. “One thousand four hundred and ninety-six times. I have an accuracy rate of one-hundred percent, so please relax and try to answer my questions truthfully and without hesitation.”

I sit across the table from Rin, letting the sweat drip down my back. He pulls a flat container about four centimeters long and two wide from his breast pocket, showing it to me. He sets the container down on the table, opens it, and inside is a little reservoir filled with liquid. He swoops his finger in and pulls it out, balances a tiny disc on the tip of his finger, and leans forward to set the disc in his eye.

“What the…” I take a deep breath as he blinks his eyes and sits back. I see nothing different about him. If I hadn’t seen him put the disc in his eye, I wouldn’t have known it was there.

“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and you’re to answer me as truthfully as you can. Please do not restrict your answers to yes or no. Elaborate on each question. I want to hear what you think of each.”

“Well, this is rich,” I mumble under my breath.

“Excuse me?” He leans forward, and I take a deep breath. “Will you have a problem answering the questions?”

“Uh, no. Not at all. Can I ask about the test before we start?”

His lips quirk in a quick grin. “Please do.”

I clear my throat and take a sip of water. “So you decide if people are, um, human or android based on this? A physical test and then a question and answer test?”

“Yes. If you’re detained by the police, you’re required to submit to the test for verification of identity. ID chips can be faked. Plastic surgery is prevalent. Only this test has been proven to work. You get one more question.”

I pause, considering what I want to be answered. “How did you come up with the test?” I imagine labs of technicians toiling away, trying to figure out how to tell people apart from androids.

He laughs. “Science fiction from Earth. Trust me. No idea is ever new. We took our inspiration from the classics.”

Huh. Tamura must love old Terran literature.

Rin taps his finger to his temple. “Remember what I said about elaborating on your answers. This test is purposely built to examine the way your body responds to the questions.”

Do androids blush? Do they sweat when stressed? Does their pulse race?

“Why can’t you just knock an android out and open them up?”

Rin cocks his head, his mouth opening twice before responding. “Do you want me to knock you unconscious and open you up?”

Good point.

I sigh. “Fine. No, I won’t have a problem answering your questions. I just feel… out of place. Usually, I’m the person who asks questions.”

“I see.” He types into his tablet. “Why is that?”

“I’m a journalist. It’s my job to ask questions.”

Rin pauses for a second. “What is the purpose of a ‘journalist?’”

The back sweat turns into a river. “A journalist is someone who works for the news, a reporter. I investigate stories and then report on them to the general population. Do you not have news services on your world?”

Rin remains stony, like an unmoving pillar.

“Let’s begin with the test. Ready?” he asks, and my stomach bottoms out. I hate when people evade my questions.

“Ready,” I whisper, my mouth already dry and unresponsive.

“You’re in the desert, and you come across a dead snake. What do you do with it?” Rin asks, his finger poised above his tablet.

Ah, so it’s that kind of test.

“A snake is a long reptile without legs, right? We don’t have those on my world. Um, I avoid it. I walk around it and keep going.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that’s it. The idea of being near it makes my skin crawl.”

Rin logs my answer on his tablet. “You show up for dinner at your best friend’s house. They are serving roasted hen and potatoes. Do you eat it?”

“I’m a vegetarian, so no. I decline the main dish and eat all the side dishes.”

Rin pauses with no comment, but I don’t know what else to do. It’s the truth. My mom loves poultry (she’s never been a fan of birds in general). I like birds and have kept a few at home, so I don’t eat them. They’re not the usual kind of species people pair with on my planet, so they mostly go unloved as pets. People tend to pair with dogs or cats or some other furry creatures. Only the empress has ever shown love for all the animals while the rest of her people pick and choose.

“Vegetarian means you eat no meat?” Rin asks, and I get the feeling this is not one of his usual questions.

“I don’t eat meat nor anything that’s cooked from meat.”

He makes a note in his tablet.

“Your boss finds out you’ve been stealing money from the company business. You can easily blame a coworker instead of yourself. Do you?”

I try not to smile. “Is the coworker an asshole?”

Rin keeps his face calm. “The test does not specify.”

“I resign from the job and hope they don’t sue me. I assume I needed the money for something.” I’ve stolen things before, but only out of need, not spite.

“You need money for your ailing mother. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to prostitute yourself. What is your choice?”

“Another money question?” I sigh. “I don’t have a problem with prostitution as long as it’s a legitimate choice on both sides and everyone is an adult. So yes, I do what I have to do to help my mother.”

He pauses again, and I wonder what the disc in his eye is telling him. If I had to guess, my heart rate, body heat, and the response of my pupils. Because I knew after the first question I could pass this test, no problem. This test will determine if I’m human, and humans are morally ambiguous creatures. Just like me.

“Two children are crossing the street, and they’re about to be hit by a bus. You have the chance to save one of them. One is a disabled boy using a cane to walk. The other is a little girl who reminds you of your own child. Which child do you save?”

“I save whichever one is closer to me.”

“Both are of equal distance away. You must choose one.”

I close my eyes and picture the situation. We have buses now on Orihimé. They started running about five years before I was born, brought to us by those from Earth. It was a hard transition for the natives. Many were hit by buses in the first year of service, but now everyone is used to them.

“I help the disabled boy.”

I have always been one who helps those in need. I know I don’t seem gracious and understanding on the surface, but becoming a journalist was all about helping people, helping people to see the truth or to get the justice they deserved.

“You wouldn’t help the little girl who looked like your own child?” He presses a finger to his lips.

“The disabled child needs more help, deserves the protection of those around him. He has less of a chance of diving out of the way in time to save himself. Don’t get me wrong. I would rather try to save them both and die in the process.”

“What if the little girl turns out to be a great scientist someday?”

If Rin knew me at all, he wouldn’t bother to ask me this question. There were disabled kids in my classes back home, and they were just as talented as anyone else. Many won’t be on missions to come to this system, but they’ll work on other tasks for this mission and many more in the future.

“What if the disabled boy turns out to be a great scientist someday?” I counter, pointing my finger at him. “Just because he needs a cane to walk doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a great mind.”

“Interesting,” Rin says, entering my answer into his tablet.

I take a sip of water.

“A woman you’ve known at work for a few years approaches you. She’s attracted to you and wants to sleep with you. Do you consent?”

I burst into a laugh, no longer able to contain my incredulity at these questions. I feel like I’m back in school going through my ethics course and debating with my classmates.

“Is this a humorous question?” he asks, a small smile playing about his lips.

“Yeah, just a bit.” I direct my eyes away from him and try to stop blushing. Can this be more embarrassing? Wasn’t he supposed to be my obsession? Wasn’t it me who was supposed to ask the questions?

“Please look at me, Yumi.”

I clear my throat and look back at him.

“Do you consent?”

I sigh. “No.”

“Why not? No is not enough of an answer.”

Now I wonder if he’s really just trying to get to know me. Throw in some wine, cheese, and a crusty loaf of bread, and this could be a date.

I don’t dislike that idea.

“I once kissed a girl. It was in my late teens. I had been snubbed by someone I loved a few years earlier, and I thought, well, maybe I would be better off with a girl. My brother is gay. He only likes men. So this way, I wouldn’t… compete with him.”

I regret saying that as soon as I do. I let it hang in the air while Rin’s eyes bore into me.

“Anyway, I got drunk with this girl from class, and we made out and…” I clear my throat and take another sip of water. “It just didn’t do anything for me. So I broke things off with her, and I haven’t dated anyone else since.” A little lie. Other men never got past the first date, but that’s none of his business. I shrug my shoulders. “I like men. There’s no denying it.”

“Another interesting answer,” Rin says, nodding his head.

Anger flares, hot and quick. “Why don’t you go jerk it off in the next room?”

His mouth twists, hiding a smile. “I’m perfectly fine. Let’s move on.”

The test goes on and on, at least forty more questions, during which I’m tested on my breadth or lack of humanity. And let’s face it I have plenty of both. We fly through questions about my penchant for sexual deviancy, monogamy, cheating, breaking the law, even overeating or indulging in drugs. Rin probes every area of my conscience until my brain is raw from having all the dirt scrubbed off of it. After a question about surviving on a desert island, I wonder if the test changes every time. If it’s the same for each person, a competent scientist could program an android to respond correctly to this test.

Something tells me that after over one thousand tests, Rin would know if this worked or not. He’s calm and easy, never drawing judgment on my answers. How does he really feel under that cool exterior?

When it’s over, Rin removes the disc from his eye and plops it into the case. The case vibrates on the table, and a puff of steam emanates from one end before it beeps once. He places it back in his breast pocket.

“Sooooooo, what’s the verdict? Am I human?”

Rin looks me dead in the eyes. “No.”

My eyes widen, and my throat clenches. Should I run for it?

He breaks a small smile, and rage bubbles up from my stomach. I jump up from my chair.

“Don’t be an asshole.”

He sips his water. “Of course, you’re human. I’ve known that since I fought you in the river. This test is merely for Tamura. He’s an incredibly meticulous, and well, paranoid man. He would never trust me alone without test results.”

I huff through my nose and try to shrug off the feeling I gave away all my deepest and darkest secrets to my enemy. “You owe me, Rin. Putting me through this was a variation on torture.”

I’m exhausted now and need to sleep for days to make up for everything I’ve been put through.

But I know I can’t. My brother and other crew members from the mission are out there and need help. I’ll have to nap, eat, and figure out some way to get Kazuo and me out of here so we can find them. Now that they know who we really are, will they deny us the opportunity to find our people?

“Oh really? Owe you? What do I owe to a stranger when I was just doing my job?”

The lyrical ring of his voice in his dialect belies the intensity that he just questioned me with. I’m about ready to flip him off and tell him to go fuck himself when I remember he’s the only one here who has given me the time of day. He chose not to slit my throat in the river.

That’s gotta count for something, right?

“We don’t have to be strangers.”

This stops him in his tracks to the door. He was ready to brush past me, go about his daily tasks, and forget I even existed.

I feel like, even though he was doing his job, I made some headway with him during the test. He saw something different than he’s ever seen in the, what now? One thousand four hundred and ninety-six times he conducted the test before he met me. He even laughed at some of my answers. Maybe I charmed him, I can’t tell. But I want to find out.

I will take even the tiniest sliver of understanding. I have to start somewhere. All our lives are dependent on these people now.

“Do you eat?” he asks, and I’m surprised again at his sarcasm.

“I’ve been known to eat, yes. But I’m tired now and need to rest.”

“Many people are tired after the test. That’s not uncommon. If you like, dinner is in three hours. The monks here make a simple but hearty stew. Why don’t you join me and we can work on the debt I owe you now?”

Score one for me! Food is always the best way to get to know someone.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

“Good.” He walks down the hall and doesn’t look back.

Why do I feel like I’m negotiating with a puff of smoke?

Here one moment, gone the next.