Operation Revolution - ARMS

Robot soul

I. HAVE. A. PERSONALITY.

This is something I've genuinely never even thought of in my entire time of existing. I don't say "life" because I do not have one.

But I have a personality?!

I mean, at least that's what future Min Min told me.

I was about to get charging tonight when I thought about what she had told me last night.

I am aware that there's at least one thing humans can do that robots like me can't: and that's experiencing things within themselves, or what they say, mentally. Every single thing I ever do is programmed by an ARMS Labs worker Rhielle – she doesn't literally control everything that happens to me, but what I do in general. For someone who doesn't specialize in inventing, it's impressive and also important that she's built a conscience in me, so even if I can't control myself what I do, I can at least understand if what I'm doing is correct or not.

Suddenly, future Min Min's words come explicitly echoing.

"You're on our side, aren't you? We know you are, Coyle does too. You know she installed some sort of program in you that you weren't able to access some confidential information she accidentally revealed to you. But that information is what we needed, actually, to stop her. Mechanica later found a bug in you that actually erases your personality, bit by bit until you're nothing but a mindless killing machine, although I don't know when exactly she installed it."

That's right. I'm on their side because Rhielle programmed me to be.

And Coyle installed some program in me that went against Rhielle's... of course.

It was not until that moment I wondered if it was possible for Rhielle to, instead of programming a list of things I should do (e.g.: be kind) and things I shouldn't do (e.g.: go insane), program a personality into me.

The concept of actually being SOMEONE, being UNIQUE, being INDEPENDENT still remains something I've never gave much thought. I've always thought of myself as a soulless being, a robot. But for as long as I've known Min Min, she doesn't say anything that hasn't been carefully processed. She definitely said I have a personality because... I do.

I. HAVE. A. PERSONALITY.

...

......

I don't know what this feeling is. Simply giving Min Min's words a minute of thinking lit a torch inside me, making me feel new. Like this wasn't the Springtron that existed two minutes ago.

But now that I know I am someone, the least I can do for ARMS League is stay this way. Stay here, so if my friends ever need me I can help them.

I stood on my charging panel, feeling the electricity slowly gently pulsing into me.

...

While I might be happy to be somebody, I also realized another important thing – Spring Man was expelled from ARMS because of me. Min Min had said he was determined to bring the real me back by taking out the personality-erasing bug, but Coyle found out and removed him completely from the League. I guess anybody going against her plans would be naturally considered a threat to her.

Spring Man's expulsion led to the League members also having to steal the papers that confirmed it during the heist. Since Ninjara was caught in that room, it was technically me that caused his death.

So... is my personality still a good thing?

Here's the truth: In all the time Spring Man and I knew each other, less than half was the times we were really friends. When I first came out of ARMS Labs, from what I can remember, my first command was to crash the ARMS Grand Prix. Although not ever being sure who sent it, I do remember the command directing me to fight one specific fighter, although I don't remember who either. After the Grand Prix was when my conscience was built in and more positive commands were issued to me by Rhielle until she let me become more independent. I do remember, though that the League members were afraid of me then, considering I crashed the Grand Prix, but Rhielle convinced them that she'd fixed me to not do anything stupid and be like a real friend to them.

But Spring Man was the last member I befriended. I suppose one of the reason he hated me so much in the past was because I was modeled after him. My creator, Dr Coyle would say it in his face every time she saw him, saying how I, her robot was better than the original and that was an unchangeable fact. However, as I said I was modeled after him. This made me want to get to know him better. I wanted to be friends. I understood why he didn't, though, me existing was like having a "superior" twin he never asked for. Rhielle knew a lot about him. We'd sit in her room together sometimes and she'd tell me all about the things he'd been through, what he liked (pizza) and disliked (me), and what kind of a person he was. Until weeks later I finally had a proper conversation with him, we became actual friends. At first I thought he was just accepting me for show, but later on I felt like he was really into our friendship. Now, me existing was like having a twin he did ask for. In the short two months between him winning the Grand Prix and Coyle taking over both ARMS Lab and ARMS League, our relationship improved by miles.

One thing I appreciate Spring Man is his personality. Rhielle said he was a really hardworking, hotheaded and determined person, and I think it was something I can tell without her saying it. Everything he had ever owned, he had worked so hard for. In my opinion, that's a very good mindset to have.

"You're a robot," he once said to we while we were going through his old comics, "anything you'll ever want or need, you already have. Anything I have to train months for, you can already naturally do."

That was the first time we addressed the fact that although we were intentionally made so alike, we could never truly understand each other because he is a human. I am not.

"There is one thing I've actually thought of," I replied, "that I think I can never truly have."

He looked at me with a smirk. "Oh come on. What is that?"

"Lemme ask you something," I said, "how is it really like being a human?"

"Complicated" was the answer.

"How is it like to feel true joy, sorrow, anger, and other emotions?"

"I guess your feelings are artificially programmed," he said, actually seeming to think about it. "I suppose how humans work mentally is one think all supercomputer robots would wonder."

He paused for a while. "I don't know how to explain, actually. It's just something that occurs naturally to us. Like how I'm happy being friends with you."

But if future Min Min was telling the truth, then Spring Man did care about me enough to risk his place in ARMS just so the bug wouldn't succeed in taking me away.

Perhaps I don't have a personality. Perhaps it's just my conscience that tells me what Coyle's doing is wrong and should be stopped.

Just like how Rhielle told me about Spring when I didn't know him well, Spring told me about her, too. I had initially thought I already knew her well, as we interact in ARMS Labs often, but turns out there are some things I didn't know.

And it's mostly about personality, the topic which I am most unfamiliar with.

"She's a very concealed person sometimes," he had said, "she keeps all her troubles to herself, which I'm not sure if it's a good thing."

"Oh," I said, slightly surprised, "that's not the impression she gives though. She seems like someone who says nothing but truth. She's quite open to me."

"Well maybe," he replied, "we're quite close, but she still has her boundaries. I suppose everyone does, but hers is... well, you could say it's like a house where it welcomes you in there but the door is just extremely heavy. It's like she's fine with you knowing her better but doesn't want you knowing her better at the same time."

"You work out a lot," I said, "you could open it."