Brother's Dialogue

And in an instant all his hate evaporated, allowing him to focus on what is really important.

“A bit of a coward’s way out, don’t you think?”

“Is that... really you?”

“The one and only!”

“Oh, just come here.”



And in a heartbeat, there was a jolt of excitement. And after almost four hundred years apart, he embraced his brother.

“You can’t believe it, can you?”

“I am dead, aren’t I?”

“But what is death?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s about returning.”

“To what?”

“To this. To me. To love.”

“Do you really think I’m a coward?”

“You took the easy way out. You shouldn’t have given up. You should have stayed to finish the fight.”

“But I’d had enough. I felt trapped for such a long time, and when I was finally given a way out, I just took it.”

And then his brother let him go. And they drifted apart momentarily as a strawberry wind chased around his legs.

“Have you missed me?”

“In all my millions of years, the day you gave yourself to save that human was the only time I have cried.”

And his brother looked surprised and confused.

“But robots can’t cry!”

“I cried on the inside the day I lost you. I wept unnoticed the day that half of me died.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say that you forgive me for not being as brave as you.”



And his brother reached out for him again. And he let his brother stroke his cheek.

“For you of all people to admit how you felt when I was taken from you is a different kind of courage. I forgive you. It really was out of your control. You were set to self-destruct, but someone had over-clocked the timer.”

“I wanted so much to cut the blue wire. And I’m sorry I chose the red one.”

“It doesn’t matter now. You have returned to me, and together we will return to Him. All is forgiven.”



And he reached out to his brother. And then he reached into his brother. And he let his brother reach into him.

“When do I get to see Scrounge?”

“I was waiting for you to ask that. He’s not here.”

“He didn’t die?”

“He hasn’t fulfilled his destiny yet, he’s still out there.”

“So, I’m not responsible for his death?”

“But what is death?”

“You said it was about returning.”

“And he has not yet returned.”



And in an instant all his guilt evaporated. And he returned to his brother, and they returned to the beginning.