Unraveling

Doubts

Moon stood in his recharge chamber and gazed at the delicate yet stubborn string hanging teasingly from his digit.

Sun had gathered a lot of data about it before moon switched in for the night.

It meant there was a person out there they were destined to be with. Linked by their souls. Which didn't make sense. They were animatronic, no matter how many glitches, how bad of a tumble, (how big of a virus,) they shouldn't have a soul.

No one can find out. If they do, parts and services will take it away. Or worse, experiment on and torture them.

His once predictable circuits now whirring with a turmoil of thoughts and emotions. Emotions he shouldn't have.

He felt as though he was standing at the edge of a precipice, staring out into an unknown void.

He had discovered that they now possess sentience, (quite an impressive thing to get from a fall impact) It was a realization that left him feeling like he was caught in a raging storm, with conflicting thoughts and emotions crashing down upon him like relentless waves.

Not to mention his remaining protocols sending alarms throughout their entire system every few seconds.

It essentially begged them to go to parts and services for damages taken in the fall, the virus Moon had been hiding from Sun and now the sentience they've gained which had been incorrectly identified in their systems as another virus, which made Moon chuckle silently.

A heavy weight sunk into Moon's chest, and he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that simmered deep within him. It was as if a dark shadow was lurking in the corners of his mind, threatening to consume him.

He feared what the company would do if they found out. Dismantle them and start from scratch? Poke and prod them for eternity? Or would the cash grabbing, no expense company that wouldn't even spend money on any actual employees, uncharacteristically let them go free?

Moon highly doubts it. Building them cost a fortune and they'd never just let that money wander out the front door to discover some fantastical life. No they would do everything they could to keep them here, even if it meant essentially murdering the first true AI.

The string wiggled tauntingly, reminding him that there was a person on the other side of it. A real person.

Moon wondered what you may be like, and two more fears spun around his head.

What if you're disappointed in them? Disgusted at the idea of being linked to essentially a hunk of metal. Or what if you took them in? What if you didn't want them so much that you informed the company about what's happening?

Just because your string was what might've given them sentience, doesn't mean they're going to let their sentience be taken away just because you decide it's an inconvenience to you. Moon had a life now and he was going to live it, soulmate be dammed.

Speaking of, the string was still moving. It was moving a lot actually.

Despite Moon's reluctance to trust you, he secretly hopes you're alright and not in any trouble with how much the string was moving.

You, in that moment were in fact, decidedly not fine.

You paced up and down your hallway, red string chasing behind you with each step.

What had you done? What in the world could you have possibly done to suddenly get a string? Did you eat something that morning to make you hallucinate? (Or maybe cure you of whatever was hiding it)

Did some sort of god realise he missed a string and just, pop- give you one?

Oh no was your soulmate just born?? That's horrible, no way.

Maybe it's a different kind of relationship, like a string leading you to your future adopted child or best friend, who said soulmates had to be romantic?
...
Literally everyone. Everyone says that.

As you paced your brain came up with even wilder explanations.

Maybe you blinked in a very specific way that toggled your ability to see it?

Maybe your soulmate was an alien and just stepped foot on earth?

Maybe you're being pranked and there's hologram projectors everywhere making it look like you've got a string.

At the thought you glanced around to search for any lenses hidden in your furniture.

After a tense moment glaring at different corners of your house you sigh, giving up your pacing and leaning down against the wall in defeat.

You're acting like a crazy person, you should be happy. You got the thing you've always wanted, a silly, annoying red string attached to your ring finger that now taunts you out of the corner of your eye constantly.

tommorrow you were going to work this out.

Typically it's frowned upon to immidiately seek out your soulmate as typically you'd get your string as soon as both individuals are born. So usually fairly young, the oldest known case being around six years old when their soulmate was born.

And even then following your string directly is not encouraged as it can lead you through private property and dangerous areas, like the middle of the highway. So therefore, people usually just leave it be until something happens to the string to prompt them, such as your friend running off at lunch when her string moved.

But you had to figure out what was going on. Just for peice of mind.

You'll be careful, you'll stay out of sight, make sure that whoever it is doesn't see the string on you. you'll make sure the string doesn't suddenly jolt or move in any strange direction, you'll follow it directly.

You have to figure out what this is.