There were no notifications. There was no comment, no apology from the company. By the time Tina made it to her dresser, however, she had already heard all about it.

Her routine had been perfectly normal, despite the day ahead being decidedly less so. A little chime from her cell phone had woken her, which she had turned off, and then scrolled through the news on the tiny touch screen. The first headline screamed it:

'Popular Dating Site Sets Humans Up With Machines'

Well. That choice of headline was very tasteful and tactful, for one. Not. Clearly it had been designed as clickbait. Judging by the amount of responses the article had, though, it was working.

The article went on to explain that the dating site and app Coffee Date, companion to the explosively popular social media site Expresso, had experienced a glitch beginning sometime the night before and, as such, the databases containing hopeful human daters had been crossed with the database dedicated for androids. That meant that anyone who had made a "connection" the night before might have done so with a robot.

Much of the outrage came from the idea that there had even been a database reserved for androids to date. "That's like setting my toaster up with your blender," someone quite callously noted. But now, for humans to have to put up with androids?

Tina set the phone aside and dragged herself out of bed. After showering and dressing, she turned on her television, and was instantly met with a newscast reporting on the same subject, but with a new development: the CEO of Coffee Date had made a statement. Part groveling apology, part caustic defense, Eric McGwion's comments had managed to soothe things a bit, but only because he had shifted the blame onto someone else.

Tina swore softly. "This will not be good."

In a press conference, McGwion had explained that the glitch had been fixed, so any further connections made would be perfectly normal. He failed to mention, as he always did, that the "human" databases actually included humans, vampires, werecreatures, elves, Gifteds, witches, and any other sentient things that signed up for the service. Only the androids had been kept separate. There were few enough of them, so the odds of a human being matched with one even during the glitch was laughably small. For some reason, McGwion also neglected to mention that.

McGwion did, however, make special note of Coffee Date's parent company, Moynahan Corporation, and the fact that the android database had not existed until after Moynahan bought Coffee Date, two years prior. He did not state that the company had forced the extra database into existence, but the implication was enough.

"Jerk." Tina switched off the TV and picked up her phone. It was early still, and she wondered whether she should log in to Coffee Date and cancel the connection she had made the night before. There was no telling who or what the man she would be meeting was. But the man, username "SingleBound," had not made any attempt to cancel; then again, he had not logged in since their last conversation. He might not have been aware of the glitch.

The profile photo was of a young-ish man, possibly of Middle Eastern or North African descent, very handsome, and charming as well. He had been very pleasant during their chats, and Tina had not noticed anything that suggested he was any different from her. But she had also not been looking for any such sign.

Tina found her keys and her purse, and drove downtown. A radio talk show was going over the Coffee Date "crisis," but with no further developments aside from the fact that the Moynahan Corporation's CEO could not be reached for comment. "That's promising," Tina remarked to herself as she drove into the parking structure adjacent to one of the city's landmark skyscrapers.

Tina was Mr. Moynahan's personal assistant.

"No, he's up in New York, at the old headquarters," the lobby receptionist told Tina. "In meetings. So we've been told." She snorted. One of CEO Moynahan's most annoying talents involved his penchant for misinformation. Then again, one had to be careful when one was working on projects as controversial as perfecting artificial intelligence.

Whichever the case, that meant Tina's day was going to consist of ignoring emails and answering phone calls with "I'm afraid Mr. Moynahan is unavailable at this time." It was not an unusual occurrence. However, she had barely settled behind her own desk when the interoffice comms lit up, indicating a summons to Lab 7C. Tina frowned, but took an elevator to the Science level and entered the Black Laboratory.

There, Tina found Christian Moynahan fiddling with the contents of a black box, which was hooked up to a processor and two monitors. "Ms. Andersen," he said, glancing at her for only a moment. Very few people had access to the Black Laboratory; Tina did, but only with permission. "Punctual, as always."

"Greetings, Mr. Moynahan," Tina answered carefully. "Forgive me, but... you have a series of meetings in New York this morning, which have already begun."

"I'll get the notes. Something came up." Moynahan frowned at the box and then started tapping at a keyboard. "Went for a drive in the East. It was a long night."

Tina sighed. "I must remind you that street racing is both dangerous and illegal in this city."

"I was testing equipment." Moynahan gestured toward the box.

Tina clasped her hands before her. "What of the... Coffee Date matter?"

"Delicately put." He stopped and looked at her. "McGwion handled it, as I recall. By pinning my likeness to a dartboard."

"Just so. The public's mistrust of you will not be eased by that."

He chuckled. "Rightfully so."

Tina blinked slowly. "Did you have something to do with the glitch, Mr. Moynahan?"

"It isn't a glitch when it's intentional." He shot her a grin. "Have you picked out a dress?"

For once, Tina found herself speechless. A few seconds passed before she stammered, "W-what have you done? Who am I meeting tonight?"

"I haven't a clue. I randomized the connection suggestions. But I did see your profile active during the experiment." Moynahan shrugged. "I have my hopes. The Turing Test may be useless, but it's still amusing."

She felt her jaw drop. "Christian!"

"It was random, I didn't see your match, I had nothing to do with it. So have fun." Moynahan waved a hand. "Please continue to direct my calls to voicemail. And do report back tomorrow morning, will you?"

Tina forced herself to nod and mutter, "Yes, Mr. Moynahan."

The day passed too quickly. Tina waffled on cancelling the date completely, but SingleBound messaged her first, and after that she just could not turn him away, whatever he was. So she went home after work, showered again, and put on a midnight blue dress, the only one she had for any special occasion. Then she drove to the little bookstore the app had recommended for them.

He was easy enough to spot - the exact image of his profile photo, smiling brightly, dressed in a button-up and slacks that managed to be casual while still stating 'hey, I'm on a date.' Striding up to her, he took her hand and shook it gently. "Vashti, I presume?"

"Tina, please." She found herself smiling, already at ease. "SingleBound?"

"Arman Aretas." He chuckled. "The screenname's a play on words. Care to sit?"

He pulled out a chair for her; Tina smoothed down her dress and took a seat. Then he settled in across from her. "I guess I should start by telling you," he said in a low voice, "that I'm an android."

Tina did not respond right away. Misreading her look of shock, Arman added quickly, "It's okay if that makes you uncomfortable. I understand."

"No, no, not at all." Tina regained her composure. "I just wasn't expecting that."

"Oh." Arman smiled again. "Good, I guess. Well, would you like anything to drink? There's a small café here."

"No, thank you. I'm fine." Tina sat up straight, barely blinking as she studied Arman. For his part, Arman did not seem bothered by her staring in the least.

"I take it you like books," he said. "Anything in particular?"

"Nothing in particular. I like to learn."

"Same." Arman nodded toward the many bookshelves. "I also like to escape."

Tina stopped, looked at her hands, considered her words. How much could she trust this stranger, android notwithstanding? After a time, she looked up at Arman's patient expression and decided to say it. "So... do I."

That led to a long discussion on genres and authors and the stories they enjoyed the most. That led to life, and their daily routines, and the things they would like to change. "It isn't boring," Tina found herself admitting. "Just frustrating at times."

"Who are you a personal assistant to?" Arman asked, a bit forwardly.

Tina ducked her head and brushed her hair aside. "I'm afraid I can't say."

"Gotcha." He took that well enough.

She glanced up at him. "What do you do, that makes you want to escape?"

Now he was silent for a moment, uncharacteristically. "I manage security for a large firm. It isn't boring either. The trouble is what I did in the past."

"What was that?" Tina asked, more carefully, sensing the shift in her date's demeanor.

He frowned for the first time. "I'm afraid I can't say." But he followed that with a bright smile and the question, "What else do you do for fun?"

They talked about cars and computers and drawing, and how Tina wished she knew how to ride a horse. "It's never too late to learn," Arman told her. "I'd be glad to teach you."

That meant meeting again. Tina realized she wanted that. It made her smile. "That would be wonderful."

"You're assuming I'm any good at riding myself." Arman grinned again, but then took a more earnest tone. "Tina, I... apologize."

She frowned. "For what?"

"I haven't been entirely truthful. In fact, I kinda told a lie." Arman sighed. "My friends put me up to making a Coffee Date profile a few days ago. Then they had me pick someone to go out with. I picked you during the glitch, so I thought I'd pull a joke to get back at them. At my friends, I mean. But I really, honestly like you. So I'm sorry." He clasped his hands. "I'm not an android."

Tina tilted her head as she considered that, and was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "What if I told you that I was?"

Arman blinked. "Is this you getting back at me?"

"No. You don't believe me?"

"Not for a second."

She took out her wallet and handed Arman her driver's license. As required by law, her photograph was surrounded by a pink box, and labeled "Synthetic Human."

He studied the license for a moment, then looked at her as he handed it back. "No way."

"I'm sorry I didn't say so before. But when you said you were an android, I..." Tina bit her lip. "I felt very relieved. I didn't think of it, I'm sorry - I must sound terrible."

"No." Arman reached for her hand. "Given the way humans treat you, especially with the glitch madness, I'd expect it."

"Then you... it doesn't bother you?"

"With the things I've seen, Tina, I don't make judgment calls." He gave her a faint smile. "I know that you have wishes and fears, things you like, things that bore you. I know from the way you spoke that it wasn't programmed. What you are beyond that is secondary."

Tina ducked her head again. "You make me sound human."

He chuckled softly. "Then, if you like, the next time we meet, I will have a horse, which I will show you how to ride, to make you feel human."

She kept her head bowed to hide her blush. His words were genuine, which made them incredible. "Thank you, Arman."

In response, he kissed her hand lightly, then released it. "In fairness, I have my own reasons for not wanting to be judged."

Out of his own wallet, he removed his driver's license, which he handed to her. His photo was surrounded by a blue box, with the label "Gifted" underneath it. His full name was given as "Arman Aranth Aretas, Superintelligence / Superhuman Strength / Superhuman Durability / Enhanced Leap."

After studying the license and handing it back, Tina gave Arman a small smile. "Then we are a bit alike."

"A bit." Arman stood and offered her his hand. "When can I see you again?"

Tina stammered a bit again. "I-I'll message you."

"I'd rather you called." Arman tilted his head and chuckled.

A few minutes later, with Arman's name and number scribbled on the back of a card on in one hand, and the steering wheel firmly in the other, Tina sat parked in her apartment's lot, wondering just what it was that she felt and what it all meant, and why she was so eager to see Arman again.