"EGADS! I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!" Dr. Amelia raced past their sleeping robot partner, Aimee. Technically, they weren't the one getting married, it was the robot body double they sent to live in their place, but the rest of the world was none the w...
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"EGADS! I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!" Two brown eyes shot open as two pudgy feet shot over the side of the bed. Dr. Amelia Locke all but fell out of bed as they raced out the door, grabbing their black top hat on the way, already clad in their white lab coat, sleeping in it because it was cozier than any blanket. They raced from the back of the Locke-n-Key Steampunk Workshop to the front, clapping and talking all the while. "All right, everyone! Up, up, up! Morning, everyone! Hello, hello!"
All around the scientist and inventor, the workshop came to life with the sound of machinery, whirring and clicking in perfect working order. Amelia bustled past the check-out counter where a little black ball rested against the cash register. No, it was more than just a little black ball. It was one of Amelia's many store bots, the leader and most customer-facing.
"Good. Morning. Doc." The little robot chirped, stubby limbs extending from the smooth, round, black body. It had neither eyes nor face, but it still rotated until it was facing Amelia as they bustled by.
"Morning, LXS," Amelia said briskly, not stopping until they reached a supply closet on the side of the store, locked to patrons. Whipping out a large, bronze key, Amelia wasted no time going inside, and when they remerged, they were holding a golden cube with silver veins on the sides.
No, not veins, wires. The object hummed in the roboticist's hands as they carried it carefully over to their workbench, making sure not to touch any of the live, sparking, humming wires. LXS, meanwhile, rolled to the front of the store. When its four limbs extended from its body again, it waved its hands at the door. A moment later, something flickered and buzzed outside, the open sign. Then LXS rolled back to the counter, its little pinchers fetching a tiny slip of paper from beneath the register. It was a nameplate that read "Hi, my name is: Little Xeno Student".
Amelia muttered to themself, pulling a jeweler's lens over their left eye as they both darted back and forth while the roboticist tinkered with their tools, perfecting their little project. It was for the wedding later that day...
Ugh... And it's never going to be done in time! There's still so much I have to do...
"Amelia, darling, what is wrong?" Cutting through the chaos of the morning, a soft, delicate, tinkling voice called out over the hum and hiss of the machinery that acted as the workshop's heartbeat. It was the store's co-owner, the Key to Amelia's Locke.
