Blue Hearts 2k16 (My Collection of Poems And Short Stories)

7281 (Short Story)

We all walk down the hallway in a straight line, each and every single one of us stepping forward at the same time. Even though there's more than a thousand of us, we're completely silent, completely void of emotions. We all belong to the institute. You might of heard of us, the well-known term for us would be "android." But in reality, we have no names, just numbers. I am number 7281. Sometimes the institute refers to us as, "Robotic Peace Makers" or R.P.M for short. In the institute, there are different versions of R.P.Ms. I am one of the recent versions; version #7. The newer versions are treated and taken care of more.

A couple of version #2s stride past me, talking. I stare at them. The older versions always seemed to be...lively. I then heard someone yelling. I calmly look to the right to see a version #1 being held by officials. "Let me go! You don't understand!" I sighed and ignored the sound. For some reason, I've always despised version #1s, they're just so, how do I say this, emotional. They never seem to focus on their role and job. They're always getting side tracked. I'm pretty sure that that one's going to be disposed of like the rest. We don't need old useless versions like them anymore.

As the version #1 is taken away, we all continue to walk in sync again. Suddenly, something clicks in my ear. "7281, come to room 2001." a monotone voice says to me. I immediately head towards room 2001.

When I get to the room, I hold out my hand, which is marked with a barcode, and put it under the scanner. After a few seconds of the scanner examining my hand, there's a high pitched beep and the door to the room opens.

When I enter the room, I see a man sitting in a leather chair. Instantly, I bow to my superior. "Good evening Mr. Creater." Mr. Creater nods in acknowledgement and stands up. He walks to a wall and presses a button. The button swirls and creates an outline of a door. He touches it and it opens. When it opens, he nonchalantly enters and I naturally follow him.

When we enter into the other room, there's somebody sitting inside. "7281, meet James." I bow to James, but he only stares at me. Odd. I thought. Mr. Creater walked next to James and put his hand on his shoulder. James didn't even flinch, nor did he bow to Mr. Creater. What a rude guy. I thought.

But oddly, Mr. Creater didn't seem to mind. "James is a version #8." Mr. Creater said with a hint of pride. I slightly raised my eyebrows. James? I was surprised that Mr. Creater gave him a human name. I took in James's appearance. He had no mechanical parts, he looked exactly like a human, however, his eyes were as cold as ice. Till the time that I was introduced to him, he never took his eyes off me. Even though he didn't even care to notice Mr. Creator's presence next to him, Mr. Creater didn't seem bothered by it. To others, Mr. Creator's face might've just looked neutral, but I knew that that wasn't the case, Mr. Creater looked...happy. I've never seen him look like that. Something inside me twisted when I realized that Mr. Creater never looked like that when he was with me.

I left the room feeling something heavy inside of me. In all honesty, I don't see what Mr. Creater sees in James. James doesn't even know common courtesy.

As I started to walk back to my own room, I passed by some Outside R.P.Ms. In the institute, there are many versions of R.P.Ms, but there are specifically two types. R.P.Ms that are distinctly made for outside puposes and R.P.Ms that are made for inside purposes. Outside R.P.Ms are made to be broader and stronger. They are also made to be quicker, louder and each of them are equipped with one special physical skill. On the other hand, Inside R.P.Ms are made to be more slender and smaller so they could easily fit in crowded areas. They are also made to be smarter, quieter and, just like their Outside R.P.M counterparts, are equipped with a special skill; which would be a specific subject or a certain role in the institute. Outside R.P.Ms constantly go outside and take care of "business." They are assigned into groups when they go out. Inside R.P.Ms only stay inside and work independently.