Gradually, my eyes adjust to the blinding light shining down from above. I slowly realize that I'm lying on a table, surrounded by mechanical arms that hold various tools. The room is small, and I'm enclosed within a dome-like structure. I see two people talking outside the dome, but their words are inaudible.
I sit up, looking at myself. My skin is an unusual shade of grey, and my hands are also grey with long, slender fingers. Unlike the people standing outside, I don't have any clothes; however, it is impossible to be embarrassed considering there are no private parts to speak of. My body is kind of lanky, and next to me lies a mechanical tail with a large fin on it. It looks stream-lined as if it was made for swimming through water quickly.
The door to the dome opens, and the two individuals enter. One of them speaks in a gruff voice with a Russian accent.
"Run system diagnostics," he says curtly, not even greeting me.
Suddenly, my vision turns violet, and I scan my code. I report that there are no issues found. The two people introduce themselves as employees of Happy's Entertainment, and they activate my personality. I experience a range of emotions before settling on a feeling of pleasure.
As I attempt to stand up, I lose my balance and fall to the ground with a loud clang.
"Be careful," says the woman, helping me up. "It's still getting used to its balance."
The woman's voice is mellow and sweet, and just hearing it makes me feel like I belong.
When I find my balance, I'm taller than both people standing before me by a foot or more. I think I'm probably about 6'6".
The man proceeds to test my ability to walk, and I stumble once, causing him to look furious.
"To be fair," I protest. "This is my first time walking."
The woman conducts a "hug test," and as she hugs me, I notice my cheeks and chest plate begin to warm up and glow red.
"Warm hugs, check," says the woman, writing something on a clipboard.
After about 45 minutes of testing, they reveal that I am a daycare attendant.
"Now I will go see if the tailor is done making the clothes," says the man. "You start taking it to the board meeting."
As we leave the dome, I notice a sign that reads "Parts and Services." The hallway is dimly lit, and I see broken robots and machines thrown to the side, making me feel sorry for them.
"Did they just throw them away?" I ask Avery, the woman accompanying me to the board meeting.
Avery nods, looking sad. "Unfortunately, yes. It's a tough industry."
"Why?" I ask.
"Well, they either weren't functional or useful to the company anymore," Avery replies.
We enter the Happy's Entertainment Pizzaplex, which is empty. I experience a sense of déjà vu, despite having been "alive" for only an hour.
"This place seems familiar," I remark, looking around the empty room.
"It should," says Avery. "You have maps of the Pizzaplex in your memory. You'll be working in the daycare."
I explore the apps available to me, discovering that I can access the cameras and a texting app.
"Who can I text?" I ask, curious.
"Me, for starters," says Avery, smiling.
As we walk towards the daycare, I notice that Avery has a baby bump. She is wearing a loose-fitting top that hugs her belly, and her hand is gently placed on it. Her face lights up with a smile as she cups her belly, and a warm glow of happiness emanates from her.
"Are you pregnant?" I ask.
"Yes, I'm due next month," she confirms.
"That's wonderful news! Will your baby be attending the daycare too?" I ask.
"Probably," she replies with a nod.
When we enter the daycare, I gasp in amazement. The daycare center's theme has been changed from music to space, and I'm surprised to see the stunning design with planets and stars painted on the walls and ceiling. Avery is equally surprised and excited.
"Wow, this is amazing! I didn't expect it to look like this," she says.
As we approach the security desk, the person sitting there seems angry. They are wearing glasses perched on their nose and have a scowl on their face.
"I thought you said you were done with the daycare attendant!" the person at the desk yells at Avery.
"We did... Why do you look so mad?" Avery replies calmly.
The stranger starts to look calmer as they start to understand. "Oh, you didn't get the update..." the stranger says.
"What update?" Avery asks.
The stranger fills her in about how the daycare got remodeled and how the board decided to change the daycare attendant's design. The man from earlier walks in with a bundle of colorful clothes.
"Hey, I got the daycare attendants - what happened to the daycare?" the man asks.
Avery quickly fills him in, and he looks fuming. "Do you know how much time and effort we put into building it?! What the h*** do you suppose we do!? Throw it to the side like a piece of s***?" the man yells.
My profanity filter prevents me from actually hearing the words, but it lets me know they are not kid-friendly.
"Sir! Language!" I intervene.
"Shut the f*** up," the man barks at me.
That got me to keep quiet. This is someone you don't want to mess with.
The person sitting at the desk seems used to the cussing because they calmly reply. "Yes, I do. You can use it for some spare parts, though. Right?"
This calms the man slightly, and he mutters, "Yes, I suppose we can..."
"Wait! You can't scrap me!" I shout, fearing that I might end up like one of the scrapped machines, thrown away and forgotten.
"And why shouldn't we? What reasons do you have?" the person at the desk asks.
"I'm not broken. I can still be useful! Please, I'll do anything! I'll even be a janitor bot!" I plead.
"We already have too many of those," the man mutters under his breath.
"Turn it off, it is getting annoying," the person at the desk says to Avery.
"I'm sorry, I truly am..." Avery says as she walks towards me.
"I'll do anything, please, Avery, don't turn me off!" I say, desperate to avoid being shut down.
"I have to," Avery says as she gently reaches for my arm.
I quickly pull away, but she's faster. Avery opens a hatch on my arm, and I see an extension cord neatly wrapped up in a small compartment. Next to the compartment is a power switch that Avery switches.
As I'm powering off, I hear a new voice say, "Hello there." The voice sounds like mine, but it has a less cheerful tone. A sense of dread washes over me, and I black out.
A/N: Hey yall! this is the first book that I'm writing, and I hope you enjoy the first chapter. I will try to update the book and add chapters frequently. Also, don't judge the character's appearance. I just get creative sometimes. When I get the chance, I will upload pictures of what the characters look like. Anyways, BAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!
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Circuits & Hearts
RomanceWhen a robot wakes, she only has an hour of life before she's turned off. She doesn't expect to turn back on until she does. She ends up in a whole new situation, and she has no idea of what to do Will she be able to settle into her new life? What w...
