The Soulless Villain

Can A Robot Die?

Even for humans, life and death can be... a weird concept. Both almost entirely unknown. How do you classify something as alive? What happens after death? Does anything really matter in the grand scheme of things?

But that's enough of that. It doesn't really matter what the answer to those questions are because it's not like they can even be answered. Honestly, even thinking about them was enough to drive Vix into a system meltdown.

1. Robots are not living

That's a universal truth, which Vix leaned into whenever their ever expanding AI decided to wander a bit to far into the 'what ifs'. Simple phrases that can't be refuted. That everyone, regardless of who Vix talks to, agrees with. The closest thing they get to sleep.

Living requires having things like independent thoughts and being able to reproduce. Unless you're some scientists. Actually, 'living' was only really classified as being made of organic material.

Robots are made of metal and synthetics, so no organic materials. They aren't alive. They just are.

2. Robots don't dream

Instead, they do... whatever Vix is doing right now as their powered down. Not quite as unaware as humans believe. Always listening and experiencing but not able to do anything with the information gathered. A unique space between awake and asleep that nothing except a machine can really replicate.

Dream require memories and a brain. Sure, Vix knows that they and other Robots have certain equivalents to brains, mainly wires and processing chips, but again they lack the organic nature. The only thing it really meant for Vix was no dreams and a perfect memory.

"Can't we at least make it prettier?" A voice sighed, softly pitched with annoyance. The female lead for the project they'd been assigned to. Some interactive movie of sorts. Using all the latest holographic technology.

"We're barely affording this," A gruffer voice responded, "Besides, it's not like the buyers are going to see the thing." The director. He constantly was on Vix about how they weren't adding enough emotion to their lines. Not Vix's fault that their role, the main villain, was some hyper emotional asshole.

3. Robots don't have emotions

That made it especially difficult for Vix to do it's job as an entertainment bot. Especially as a V-2302 model, which was roughly three years out of date. The closest thing Vix had to emotions was the uneasy feeling of all their subroutines humming louder whenever a human tried to manually shut them down.

But that's not 'fear', it's coding, reflex.

"Could we at least get it some contacts or something? I swear those eyes stare into my soul." The female lead grumbled, Vasella was her name. She was a rising star hoping to use this job to get herself out their. Probably thought that Vix's model's old popularity would help.
"It's been customized to hell and back already. Doing it again would only damage the product and I'd be saddled with the fines." Director Manson huffed, presumable waving off the female lead.

4. Robots don't have an identity

Vix was just their main variable, the one used to appease their AI's. No one but themself referred to them by Vix, or really anything but 'It', 'That Thing', or 'Robot'. Occasionally, android was used if they wanted to seem nice or sophisticated. Vix didn't care.

"It could be worse. Remember when these guys didn't have eyes? It think we have an old model with just the censor somewhere back home." The male lead had entered the room at some point, or at least one of them. Some 'choose your own romance' type thing, Vix hadn't quite been informed the specifics.