Mechtropolis

Chapter 7: Malfunctioning Robot

I woke up in this strange and soft material. I sat up while my screen scanned everything around me. The area was completely white with a mirror on each wall. I stood up and touched the glass. I flinched backwards from the sound it made, and I heard a door open.

A man with a lab coat, thick-framed glasses, and that silky material of black on his head came in. I studied him. He seemed very familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it. He walked towards me, and his lenses looked into mine.

"Welcome, Android," he said. "I see that your legs are working okay."

My screen then scanned the man and came up with this file.

Name: Devin Nelson Albon

Profession: Government Robot Creator and Scientist

Background: Devin began to work in the Robotic Engineering field when his hometown became completely polluted with toxic chemicals. He invented many robots such as Cyborgs and Robotic Animals, and he recently began to create plain robots that have the same traits and characteristics as humans. 

Relationships: Friend named Bryar Oaka Tech whom works in Bio-Medical Engineering.

"Do you know who I am?" Devin asked.

"Yes," I responded. "Where am I?"

"Hmm. Seems you are asking questions a bit early. Well, that means that your systems are better qualified for our programs than we predicted."

"How is Android doing, Dev?" A female voice spoke from nearby.

I looked behind Devin's shoulder, and a female with the same shade of that dark silk on her head, her lenses were also brown, and she seemed to be a scientist as well. Another files appeared on my screen as I scanned her.

Name: Bryar Oaka Tech

Profession: Technician and Bio-Medical Engineer

Background: Bryar was a young girl when her hometown was destroyed by nuclear radiation. She's been trying to help create robotic parts for humans, so they can survive through the harsh polluted environment. She is now focusing on trying to invent robots that work like humans to help with the pollution.

Relationships: Friend named Devin Nelson Albon whom works in Robotic Engineering.

"She's working fine, Bryar," he responded. "In fact, her intellect is much higher than what we thought it would be."

"That's great! That means we can work more on trying to fix up other robots and Cyborgs."

"May I ask what is going on here?" I asked.

"Wow. Questions already? Well, Android, we are going to run you through a series of tests. The first one was of you scanning us and gaining information on who we are which I'm guessing you've already gone through."

"Yes."

"What is my name?"

"Bryar Oaka Tech."

"Profession?"

"Technician and Bio-Medical Engineer."

"Good. Alright, I'll take her from here."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang of metal being thrown to the wall. 

"Oh no," Bryar said.

"What's going on?" Devin asked.

"One of the robots has been acting up a lot, and I think he's going in his worst one."

"Lead me to him."

The two went running through the door, and being alone, I decided to run after them. The hallways were wide, and windows showed the world outside. It was all yellow, musty, and dead. The entire area looked like a desert; there was absolutely no life at all.

The three of us then stopped in front of this group of scientists with this haywire robots that was jerking back and forth. My lenses scanned him, and everyone's gaze went to me. A file emerged onto my screen.

Name: Roboto Von Mech

Profession: Information Gathering Robot

Background: Roboto was made not too long ago, but he has been showing signs of malfunction due to an error in calculations. Nothing more is known of him.

Relatioships: None.

Roboto was malfunctioning with every circuit and wire sparking with electricity. The scientists were keeping back with these net like objects in their hands. My lenses scanned the robot once more, and it showed that he was about to shut down.

He stopped shaking and sparking, and I walked up to him. I knelt down, and when I reached to touch his shoulder, a painful shock was sent through my fingers. I took my hand back and rubbed it as the robot began to raise his head.

"What just happened?" Bryar asked.

"I think... I think Android stopped the broken robot from shutting down," Devin answered.

He then gave me this tired and relieved looked. He blinked and this beep came from it. The look was serious, yet at the same time it was soft. It sounds strange and trust me, I was confused, too. I held my hand out and helped the robot up to his feet.

"Are you alright?" I said.

"I am," he replied. "Thank you."

As if it were a habit, I smiled at the robot. He gave a confused look, but ended up smiling back at me. I looked at the other scientists, and Devin and Bryar were the most shocked at my responses I was giving to Roboto. They whispered something to each other, and I zoomed in and turned my audio up.

"Will she give him a nickname?" Bryar asked. "If her intellect is this high now, she must have at least this trait."

Roboto then scanned me, and I backed away a bit. He then looked like he was dazed, and when he came back to reality, he spoke.

"Android," he said. "That is your name."

"And your name is Roboto," I replied. "May I call you by something else?"

"I don't have another name."

"What about Roby?"

"Roby. Alright."

I wanted to know more of what happened next, but my vision was instantly taken back to the roof of the school. I breathed in deeply as Roby looked back at me.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"Something... that I wasn't prepared to witness, at all," I whispered.