Chapter 1

It had turned cold over the last few days. Josh bowed his head against the gust. His hands, concealed under a thick pair of red gloves, gripped the handle bars tightly. The gloves were a necessary new addition and Josh was quite proud of the acquisition. He’d found them at home in a box of old clothes that was labelled, ‘Heindrich - clothes’. It was the only thing in the box that wasn’t button-up shirts or khaki pants. The gloves, Josh thought to himself, must have been a gift. The colour red was far too ostentatious for Heindrich, his father.

Josh was enjoying the uphill struggle this evening. He raised himself into a standing position and pumped his legs to generate some more speed. He loved to feel the chill of the air colliding with the warmth of his flushed cheeks. Off in the distance, the first snows doused the highest peaks of the hill country.

Progress was slow up that hill. A dry wind rolled down from the mountains mercilessly. It had that special quality of being able to wriggle through any fabric and chill one’s core. But Josh was on fire this evening. His legs were the pistons and the energy supplies seemed endless. He imagined himself glowing as he urged his bike along that winding track; all alone against the natural elements.

He was making the familiar trip home. Every Tuesday and Friday, he’d take his bicycle to school instead of the bus. It didn’t matter what the weather was like, every Tuesday and Friday without fail. He wore a large black rucksack; with a vintage lacrosse stick protruding out the end. The cradle of the stick swayed methodically back and forth above his head. Home was at the top of the hill and aromas brought down from the cold wind indicated a delicious dinner had already been prepared.

Rae looked out of the kitchen window as she rinsed her hands. She noticed the last leaves clutching stubbornly to the trees. This was the first time it had got dark before Josh got home. It was at that moment Winter arrived for Rae that year. She got a familiar yet strange sensation of feeling both comfortable and despondent. She didn’t like the Winter. She didn’t like how short the days got. She enjoyed wrapping up in woolen jumpers and scarves but the cold air made her skin dry. Ultimately she was happiest being outdoors but the cold would extinguish her passion. Still, a beautiful, warm home with crime dramas, online poker and red wine was nothing to complain about. She smiled easily as she saw an odd shadow flood across the driveway. She knew it was Josh mounted upon his bicycle; the lacrosse stick was the giveaway. She turned from the window and began pouring her second glass of wine.


Chapter 2

Heindrich had cooked a predictably delicious chick pea tagine. The three of them ate together on an oak table in the dining room.

“Its real good dad”, Josh remarked without expecting a reply.

“Josh, what are you doing this weekend?” Rae asked.

Josh looked up and examined his mother carefully, “not sure yet. Why?”

“Don’t be like that!”, his mother laughed delicately.

“He’s coming isn’t he?”

“If by he, you mean my brother then yes. He’s coming to visit.”

“Again? Already?” Josh protested.

“Josh, it’s been 3 and a half years! And anyway, there’s nothing wrong with Darren...”

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with him,” blurted Josh

“...And besides, he takes a keen interest in you.”

“That’s the problem. His interest is weird. He asks me so many questions. I feel like he’s sizing me up as a potential kidney donor or something!” Heindrich laughed gently for a moment at this before covering his mouth. Both mother and son shot looks at him. Josh was smirking. He didn’t make his dad laugh often. Rae just looked at him blankly, so he decided to break the silence.

“Come on Josh, don’t be ridiculous.  Darren’s an aggressive academic. He asks questions to everybody, about everything, all the time,” they all laughed, “but seriously, his papers are well respected. You should read them some time. They might help you to understand him better.”

“He wants to watch your lacrosse game on Saturday,” said Rae with light mischief, “and then take you out for dinner after. Don’t be ungrateful.”

“Okay,” he said acceptingly.

“Who knows,” said Heindrich as he nudged elbows with his son, “Darren might be fun now”.

Chapter 3

Conditions were perfect for Lacrosse that Saturday afternoon. Josh noted that the grass had been cut short and the ground had good purchase below his boots. He sidestepped back and forth as he waited for the whistle to start the game.

Darren sat in the crowd wearing a dark brown coat with sheepskin lapelles.

“Marvellous,” he muttered to himself as he watched his nephew in action. His agility and decision making was advanced far beyond any of his teammates or competitors. Even so, only an experienced eye would notice the work he undertook. He was the only ‘unsung’ high school hero that Darren knew actually.

It was remarkable for Darren to see his nephew 3 and a half years on. To see the natural changes unfold without any interruptions or malfunctions.

“Truly remarkable,” he muttered again as the match came to a close. The scoreboard read: “Plumbus 4 - 2 Shleem”

At dinner, Darren hastened to ask about the team names, “What’s a plumbus?”

Josh muffled his laugh and said, “If you don’t know then I can’t tell you. Google it.”

“I did. I still don’t understand.” Darren looked amused as Josh couldn’t control his laughter this time.

“All the local high schools allowed their students to choose their own team names this year.”

“I see, that’s nice, I guess”, Darren hesitated for a moment. He didn’t mind not understanding kids but no one enjoys feeling embarrassed in front of their teenage nephew. However, like always, he was too curious to stop. “But shouldn’t a sports team be named something real so you can have a mascot?”

“We did have a mascot”, said Josh freely, “it was on the sideline, didn’t you see it? The other team had a mascot too. Well, kind of. Their mascot was actually part of our mascot!” Josh looked at his uncle without laughing for as long as possible. It was too much, Darren’s puzzled expression had Josh in fits. The couple on the table nearby joined in with stifled giggles. They didnt know why. They couldn’t help it. It was just an infectious laugh.

“I’m sorry”, said Josh as he composed himself, “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just objectively funny in my opinion.”

“Objectively in your opinion. That concept is as confusing as a plumbus,” they both laughed this time. Josh was liking Uncle Darren more this time.

“I’ve started growing cactii,” said Josh, “I bought a humidifier that keeps them healthy all year round. They’re small at the moment but if I put them in a big pot they can grow a foot a year.”

Conversations remained light in this way throughout dinner.  Darren found Josh utterly remarkable. His nephew grazed on life’s experiences with such a balanced ease. Darren resisted the temptation to pry, he would leave all the burning questions for Rae and Heindrich.

Chapter 4

It was Sunday morning. Heindrich sat at the breakfast bar which lined the back wall of the kitchen. He looked out the window into the back garden The grass needed to be cut in 3 days. The shed was all in order. Heindrich calculated it would take him a maximum of 12 minutes to find anything Rae asked for in there.

Rae spread out in the large bed. She had got up, opened the curtains and quickly returned before any of the warmth escaped from the duvet. From her viewing angle, face turned sideways upon a thick pillow, she could see the tops of the pine trees from the neighbours garden. And, in the distance, she could see the snow covered hills. Soon she would have to rise from the bed and seek warmth in some other way. A dressing gown perhaps, or straight to the shower; she was still undecided.

Darren carefully padded down the stairs in his blue slippers. He knew it was impossible to descend unnoticed by Heindrich but he enjoyed trying all the same.

“Good morning, Darren,” said Heindrich from the breakfast bar, turning around with a smile.

“Good morning,” said Darren abruptly, “I see you’ve made coffee. Great!” His slippers felt as if they were gliding as he shuffled across the smooth kitchen tiles to the coffee pot, “would you like a cup?”

“You know that that is not essential but if you would like me to then I will,” said Heindrich, “you have some questions you want to ask me.”

“I do,” replied Darren as he held the handle of the pot high and revelled at the smell of the steaming coffee as it fell into the cup. He took his mug and slid over to the breakfast bar.

“You want to know when Josh is going to be told,” said Heindrich calmly, “his rationality is now capable of sustaining the knowledge. The exact day that the truth will be revealed depends on a combination of live factors. He will be told when all of these factors align so that his emotional resilience will provide a positive outlook. This will ensure a balanced reaction and continued integration for harmonious living.”

Darren was about to ask another question when he noticed the stairs creak. His sister, Rae, appeared in the kitchen. She wore a thick, pink dressing gown and slippers that looked like polar bear feet.

“Good morning little sister,” said Darren with a bit too much enthusiasm.

“Why are you bothering Heindrich? Ah, coffee, thank you dear.”

“You’re welcome dear,” said Heindrich with a smile. Darren noticed that he smiled differently for each person. He found the smile for Rae rather strange.

“I wasn’t bothering him,” he said as he got up to pour his sister a coffee, “I was asking when Josh was going to be told the truth. He said any day now.”

“Yes, so don’t ruin it. You nearly ruined the whole project last time you were here. It took 3 and a half years to repair Josh’s memories.”

“He really is remarkable though,” said Darren as he stared intently at Heindrich.

Josh woke up and looked at the clock that hung on the far wall. The simple white face, with black handles announced it was 9.30. Josh had slept for longer than usual. He got up and was surprised he didn’t need the toilet. He didn’t remember waking in the night to go but he must have done. He raised himself out of bed and walked over to the curtains in his red boxers. As he yanked the material open, an overcast, grey sky left a dull impression on the street below. He decided that today was a breakfast before shower day.

He pulled on some grey sweatpants and a loose black t-shirt and examined the tip of his nose in the mirror for moment. He could hear voices from the kitchen but couldn’t make out the words. He decided to creep down the stairs and try to catch some information before his entrance would obviously end all communications between the ‘adults’

“...the chances of it happening while you are present is less than 0.3%. You’re emotional volatility is likely to offset progress at a crucial, formative stage,” he heard his father say.

“Me, emotionally volatile? What about Rae?” Laughed Darren. He felt slightly offended but he knew Heindrich wouldn’t say anything unless he needed to hear it.

“Don’t bring me into this conversation, Darren. When are you leaving anyway? Shall I make you breakfast before you go?” Rae was already preparing some pancakes. She was clumsy with the flour and spilt some across the floor. Heindrich quietly got up a began to sweep the mess. It was at this point Josh got bored of listening and came into the kitchen.

“Uh-oh, Rae’s making pancakes,” he joked as he took a seat next to his uncle, “nice slippers”, he added.

“Get ready, Josh, pancakes are coming!”

Chapter 5

Josh jumped down the last flight of stairs in a hurry to grab his bike and head out to school. As he swung round the corridor he noticed the door to Heindrich’s study was open. He slowed to a complete halt in the next two steps. His dad’s office had never been left open. Josh had only ever seen the door closed or in motion. He had never been curious about what was in there. He knew from just seeing the door swing open and shut that it was predictably minimal. Lamp in the corner, wooden desk with a computer, one leather chair on either side of it.

Still, for the door to be left ajar, this was curious. In 16 years, he’d never seen it like that; completely static, neither here nor there. So he went in.

As suspected, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. The office was immaculate. Heindrich had high standards for the rest of the house but this room was positively sterile. The wooden desk was made of dark mahogany. It was so well maintained that its smooth surface reflected light as if it were marble.

Josh tapped the screen of the computer. It flashed up with a completely black background and two users.The first read ‘Heindrich’. Josh tapped on it but, of course, it was secured with fingerprint identification. The second user said ‘NASA Wives’ Club’, again protected. There was nothing strange about that. He knew Heindrich worked for NASA and Rae arranged social occasions with other wives. He had never actually seen his mother use this computer before though.

This was as far as Josh allowed himself to play detective. It seemed that the likelihood of following any leads behind this mystery would be a futile use of time. The answers were certain to be boring, he thought. So he started back up in that former rush and cycled to school through the light snow.

At lunch, Josh sat in the canteen with his friends. He was quiet amongst the group. The others could talk wildly. It was astonishing how many words could be passionately expended in just 40 minutes. Today, Mia was complaining about her parents. It was a common subject but one Josh tried to stay particularly quiet on. He knew that Mia’s parents fought all the time. He knew most of his friends came from dysfunctional families.

Bradley’s father left when he was 4 and only re surfaced 3 years ago. He sent Bradley a Christmas card with a photo of his new family in Switzerland. So Josh knew anything he said might sound smug. His parents never argued and they would always be there for support.  He was grateful for that.

Chapter 6

“When’s the next NASA Wives’ Club, Rae?” asked Josh to his mum. They were sitting on the sofa in the living room watching a crime drama.

“Why are you asking about that,” she said sharply, without looking away from the screen.

“Alright, sorry, no questions, I understand, you’re watching your crime drama. Its on Netflix you know, you can press pause.”

Rae took a deep breath and dug for the remote between the cushions. She pressed pause and turned to face her son, “why are you asking about the NASA wives’ club now?”

“Heindrich’s office was open yesterday morning. I went in. I saw you had a user account on his computer. Just got me thinking about it I guess.”

“He left his door open?”

“Yeah, weird isn’t it?”

“And when you went in there was a user account on the computer that said NASA Wives’ club?”

“Yes, why?” Josh was starting to feel confused about why this had become such a direct topic of conversation.

“Okay Josh. So this means I’m supposed to begin telling you something now. When Heindrich gets home he will continue the discussion. You’re going to have to process a lot of information this evening. However, tomorrow morning you’ll wake up with a more balanced outlook on life than ever before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t talk, just listen. Your father, Heindrich, wasn’t born like you or me. When I was younger I had a romantic ideal of meeting the perfect husband and raising the perfect children.  Every man I met I scrutinised from the very first moment. 4 times I thought I had found a good match and 4 times I was underwhelmed by disappointment,” Rae felt happy that she was the one telling Josh the truth. At the same time she was a little apprehensive; she wanted to get everything out in one go before Josh could interrupt.

She continued,  “there were a lot of dating apps that boasted finding the formula for love. All I needed to do was answer their personality survey and upload a short live video everyday.  However, the results were not auspicious! I am one of a growing group of women, Josh, whose standards make it almost impossible for me to tolerate any living man. The app told me that the best I could hope for was to fall in love, get married, be happy for a maximum of 6 years and then separate but remain friends. That was the best I could hope for! I was utterly exasperated! I mean, am I really that bad? I would lay in bed at night with a suffocating anxiety. I’d look up at the ceiling and wonder what was so wrong with me.  Why was I incapable of building a long-lasting relationship with a man? I was really, depressed Josh.” She had looked honestly and openly at him the whole time. His expression had not changed. He simply looked back and listened attentively.

“Then someone came to visit me at my home. He was from NASA. He knew my name and about the troubles I had faced with the dating app. He introduced me to a program known as the NASA wives club,” she got up and poured a glass of red wine for herself, “would you like one, Josh?”

“I’m okay, just please continue. I have no idea what's going on right now and it's weird.”

Rae frowned slightly. She had ran this conversation through her head thousands of time since Josh had been born. She thought it had been going well, she didn’t want Josh to feel weird, “okay, Josh, let me continue. So this man told me about a new project. They could take all the data about me that had been uploaded to various dating apps and generate a perfect digital personality to suit my needs: that’s Heindrich!”

“What?! That’s crazy!”

“I know, I thought so too. I always believed my perfect match would be an adventurous, flamboyant hunk.”

“No, not that. I mean, Heindrich, dad, he’s an invention? He’s not actually real?”

“Josh, just because he’s been invented it doesn’t mean he’s not real. He has been programmed perfectly so that he is a loving husband and great father. His body is entirely organic, just like yours and mine, his brain is just programmed more efficiently. It was created with all human knowledge already uploaded. Every second he is calculating complicated algorithms. He reads our facial expressions and body language to detect our emotional status. Then he can use the knowledge to always behave most appropriately as a husband to me and a father to you.”

“So who’s my real father then?”

“He is your real father. As I said, his anatomy is 100% organic. They used stem cells to create my perfect man. You were conceived from him, perfectly naturally.”

“Okay, no child wants to think about that mum. Even more so in this circumstance. So I’m made from an AI father and a human mother?”

Heindrich came through the door at that moment, “hello, Josh.”

“Heindrich,” he replied calmly. The information was surprising but, for some reason, Josh was not shocked at all.

“So now you know. How does it feel?”

“Fine actually.”

“That’s because you’re genetically endowed with the power to reason calmly even when dealing with revolutionary changes in identity and knowledge. Do you have any questions for me?”

“So you’re my father but you were made by NASA for a, er, difficult woman...”

“Hey!” interrupted Rae jokingly

“..that was incapable of finding a match with a real, human man?”

“Do you really blame me?” blurted out Rae, “look at all your friends. Look at how many of them suffer because their parents are not a good match.”

“She’s right, Josh,” added Heindrich, “ there are many women like your mother now. In fact, there are over 9,000 replicas like me now. We are all very different because we must cater for different women and raise different families. However, the trend seems to be growing. More and more women are unable to tolerate men. And more and more men are becoming too unreliable to make good fathers. You, Josh, are the future of this planet. You’re not like me. You were born as a real human man. But, unlike most humans, you have a father that is guaranteed to support you always! Plus, you’re mother is guaranteed to live the rest of her days happy and comfortable,” he looked over to her with a warm smile before continuing, “genetically you’re almost perfect. My sperm was synthesised so that the chromosomes would match  your mother’s. Unless you are unfortunate enough to be in an unforeseen, fatal accident, you are guaranteed to live, without illness, until at least 100. You will never get cancer, or alzheimer’s or and your child are 99% certain to enjoy the same benefits, regardless of your wife’s genes. Your cognitive functions are also balanced which help you to react appropriately in any social situation. You literally have the world in your hands, Josh.”

The conversations went on through the evening. Josh processed all this new information calmly, as predicted.

“You are the future…” Josh kept hearing Heindrich’s words ringing in his head. Funny, he thought to himself, that the American dream would be achieved by replacing the men that originally engineered it. But it was going to be better. No more dysfunctional families. Satisfied women and men programmed to do the right thing! Long live America!