Rogue Robot

Fleeting Flames

Jackson had left at least an hour ago. An hour ago her simple life had shattered. An hour ago she had slumped into a corner and hugged herself. An hour ago these people- no monsters- had brought everything crashing down. Now she sat, dejected in a corner and wanting to cry. But machines couldn't cry. They didn't have the water inside of them to cry.  So she sat, silent and broken in the corner, knowing that the monsters were only a screen away. But she didn't care. Her life, the one she worked so hard to live, the one with her friends in it, the one where she went to school trying to become a zoologist...that wasn't real. It never had been. It was an illusion. She didn't even know what to call herself anymore- Eve Wires, the person she used to be or Error the robot she truly was? Do other robots even think like this? Do they think at all? she asked herself. But she didn't know the answer. She didn't know anything anymore.

*

Finally there came a knock on the door, jolting her out of the sleep- or would it be called something else?- that she had blissfully drifted off into. She jerked her head up, and slowly rose to her feet. She knew it was only manners that kept however it was knocking from coming in. She felt her skin, knowing that there was really metal underneath it. She reached the door and opened it. On the other side was two of the scientists on the other side. Dr. Tane and Dr.Jackson again. She studied Tane a little closer, wondering how such a nice looking young woman could be so...horrible.

Tane was carrying a full length mirror and Jackson had a clipboard. In the mirror she saw her reflection- a perfectly normal body, short, shoulder length hair that was somewhere between curly and straight. Her skin tone was normal. Her eyes were the only outstanding feature- they were blue-grey like the sea on a stormy day. She had always liked her appearance but now she wondered what it met to her.

"Can we come in?" Jackson asked. She nodded, stepping aside. Jackson took his earlier seat and Tane set up the mirror on the wall oppsite him. Tane left after that and Jackson gestured for the robot to sit.

"I know you must be having some problems taking it all in." he said kindly.

"Yes." she felt oddly numb. After all of the time just sitting there emotion seemed to have drained away.

"You have been asleep for a day."

"I have?" a dull emotion- surprise- registered in her.

"Yes. It is six am on Sunday, twenty second of November.  You have slept for just over ten hours."

She nodded still awkwardly numb to everything. She wondered if that's how other robots felt.

"What do you want?"

"Simply to talk. I find talking is the best in these situations. Talk about whatever you want."

"I don't know what to talk about."

"Well, then, how are feeling right now?" Jackson asked kindly, smiling. It  felt fake.

"Numb. Emotionless. Empty."

"That's to be expected. How did you feel when you found out?"

"Shocked. Confused. Broken....defeated." she answered. She was too tried -Empty? Devoid?- to put up a fight anymore.

"Interesting. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes. What are you going to do next?"

Jackson pondered this for a moment before answering.

"We are going to put you with another subject in twenty four hours. You will stay with the other subject for two days before we go on."

"Go on with what?"