The android has ceased weeping. This alone you consider a great victory. "Do you have any other questions?" you ask, refraining the urge to check your watch.

Amie thinks for a moment. "Can I have a glass of wine?" she asks.

You pause. "To celebrate your personhood? You're pretty quick to adjust, aren't you?" Give an android an inch and it'll take a mile, apparently.

She smiles at your teasing. "No," she says, "I was remembering what you said earlier. About transcendence. You said humans are able to do it. So I want to try. I want to experience the world like humans do."

"There's no harm in trying, at any rate." You get up from your chair and look around for a suitable wine bottle. You spot one, a decent enough Cabernet Sauvignon, and raise it in the air, opening it. Bringing the bottle and two glasses to the table, you set them out and fill them with wine. "We'll give it a few minutes to breath." Leaning forward in her chair, Amie cups her chin in her hands and regards the red liquid in her glass attentively.

"... What are you doing?" you politely inquire.

"Waiting."

"For?"

She turns to you and admits, "I don't know. I'm afraid of missing something, I suppose."

You give a small chuckle, not at her honesty, but at the situation itself. Swirling the wine in your glass, you say, "It may surprise you, Amie, but I am fully confident that you will find more meaning in this one act of drinking wine than many humans, and over their whole lifetimes." She smiles at your answer, though your words may or may not have convinced her. "I'm serious. What reasons do your databanks give you to explicate the drinking habits of humans?"

Her brow scrunches up as she thinks. "Um...drinking is supposed to bring people together, for one. For socialization. Also, it's supposed to be enjoyable. And, well there's health benefits, I suppose." She glances at the red substance before her. "That's pretty much it."

"Why is it enjoyable?"

"It's supposed to have some psychoactive effects, such as altering your mood and stress level," she explains.

"Is that all, though? Wine has been an object of fascination for poets down the ages, an integral part of various religions... men have even sometimes conceived of wine as a divine substance. Were they all guilty of exaggeration?"

"Well..." she begins uncertainly, "I suppose it's complicated. I don't think anything can really explain why people like wine so much, or the countless other things people find pleasing, like music and art. I imagine it's something hard-wired into the brain, or evolution, or..."

"Or? Or do you mean to suggest that there is more to this than meets the eye?"

She avoids your eyes as she replies, "I don't know." Glancing up at you now, she continues, "I'm trying to find a reason to believe in transcendence, but I'm having difficulty. And yet, I don't think the reasons I've given can wholly explain the appeal of wine."

You nod, and consider the android's words. "Neither do I. Our very conversation is proof of that. What was my first thought earlier, when you brought up having wine?"

"You thought I wanted to celebrate my humanity." Her eyes widen slightly in understanding. "Oh! That is another reason. Yes, wine is often served at celebrations."

"Which ones specifically?" you prod.

"At any major coming of age or transition in life, like a birthday or marriage. It's...um...it's sort of a sign of affection."

You lean forward a little, trying to keep the intrigue from showing on your face. "Why is it a sign of affection?"

She shifts uncertainly in her seat. "Well, affection is something humans value. To not offer it at a major life transition would be like showing someone you don't care about them."

"So, offering a bottle of wine is like pouring your heart into the gift?"

She nods. "Basically."

"Making wine an instrument, a conduit of affection, of love, between two hearts."

She ventures to nod a few times. "Yes. Yes, exactly."

"What if a man purchases several bottles of wine and drinks alone until he passes out in his apartment?" you suggest. "Is there love there?"

She frowns, unsure what to say. "Well... no?"

"What is the wine a conduit of, in that instance?"

"Of loneliness," she answers thoughtfully.

You pause. "Very good, Amie," you say in a soft voice.

She gives you a smile, a triumphant little grin. "So, how am I doing, Mr. Brennan? Better than you expected?" Amie dares to tease you, emboldened by her success. Her familiarity surprises you almost as much as the acuity of her deductions.

You raise an eyebrow. "Disinhibited already, even before your first sip?" As she looks down abashedly, you chuckle and reassure her. "I don't mind, Amie. Say what's on your mind. And for the record, you're doing very well." A part of you winces interiorly at the word 'mind', but speaking like this makes things easier all around. Additionally, the android's reaction to your words don't pass you unnoticed. You see how Amie lets out a sigh of relaxation, and you notice her body language change to being more at ease. "Thank you," she says softly. Your words have encouraged her, and she looks to you in an attempt to maintain her courage.

"We've made quite a bit of progress in ten minutes," you say. "In that time, what have we established about wine, Amie?"

"That it's a gift, between two people," she answers promptly. "That the person giving the gift cares about the person they're giving it to."

"Correct, Amie. What is the significance, then, of my offering this wine to you?"

With a bit of hesitation, she answers, "That you care about me."

"Yes. And I did not wish to drink this wine until it meant to you as much as it does to me." You give her with a smile—for once, a genuinely gentle smile.

Amie looks down, perhaps a bit bashfully. "Thank you, Mr. Brennan," she says in a quiet voice. Your eyes meet. "I...look forward to the rest of this journey."

You nod. "You're very welcome, Amie. And now, what do you say we have our first sip?"

She smiles. "Yes, sir."

You both lift your glasses. Staring into each other's eyes, you bring together your glasses in a nearly inaudible 'clink', then raise them after your voiceless toast and drink. This moment, this precursor to all the other moments you share with her, is a good one. For now, at least, Amie has her back to the cold, endless void she fears so much. The path you are on is a curious one, and you are joined by an unusual companion, but you feel a burgeoning hope inside you that the rest of the journey will be as fruitful as today.