RT diary

Rage

Silence hung in the air, heavy with swirling, unspoken emotions.

There was another soft thud of the closing door, as I heard stodgy footsteps of a man. Only one person could come at this hour. Kayden.

The man who entered could have been described as pleasant, were it not for his bulky, heavyset stature, which was in sharp contrast with a smallish face and twitchy, deep-set brown eyes. A receding hairline added an insult to injury.

"What's the tin can doing here?!" Kayden complained vociferously. "Margarita, how many times do I have to tell you to stay away from that....thing!"

"Kayden, stop it. You are fully aware that Art belongs to our congregation..." Rita tried to protest, but Kayden was full of rage, so he cut her off.

"Yes, worshippers of our Lord, creation of our Lord, not this God's abomination! Have you forgotten?? We have been graciously granted another chance on this planet after the demise of the old world, after the divine retribution put a stop to the abhorrent, repulsive, heinous practices! Creating things that looked like us! Look at him, Rita!" The man bellowed, his distorted mouth spraying saliva in all directions due to his righteous wrath, and pointing an accusatory finger at me. "He is a threat to everything we believe in! He is a threat to all of us!"

Kayden's face reddened to a shade of beetroot; he paused to take a long breath.

I saw an opportunity.

"With all due respect, Kayden, I am no threat to humankind" I started quietly. "I do not hold much data about robots, but I do know of the safety mechanisms my creators put in place. The first law states..."

"Don't you shove the Three Laws of Robotechnics in my face, you scrap metal dimwit! They mean nothing! Have they stopped your kind before?!"

"Kayden, I physically cannot harm you, or any other human in the Community. If you do not trust my lack of ill intentions, at least trust the science; my system will shut down sooner than I can cause any hurt."

This infuriated the man beyond what seemed possible; his eyes threatened to bulge out of their eye sockets, cheeks puffed out, and the white blotches now dappled his beetroot face. The accusatory finger clenched into a fist. "Let's see how you can cause no hurt now, you hellkite!!" Kayden's fist planted itself into my chin with force, unexpected from such a flack and paunchy frame. My facial sensors promptly registered the mass and acceleration to calculate around 75 psi, which would have made quite a damage to a human bone.

Margarita flew down from the organ console to wedge herself in between Kayden and myself.

"So, you've done boxing before, I gather...." I noted impassively. "Please be careful, for no boxer can punch through metal." Kayden was making a titanic effort to suppress a wail, nursing his right fist. Margarita looked at me questioningly, but I lifted my hands pre-emptively to show I was okay. Margarita turned her attention to Kayden's reddened fist, which was beginning to swell. I suspected this was nothing in comparison with the man's wounded pride.

"I don't think it's broken, but you should put some ice on it" I offered.

Margarita led the stricken hero away while I was left to muse over the ramifications of what has just happened.

I came over to the organ keyboard. Twice I extended the hand towards the keys and pulled it backwards. At long last, I dared to put my hand on the keys.

If I had a heart, it would be beating loudly and very fast now. If I were human, I would be shaking at this point. Nevertheless, the robot's hand was still, and the only sign of internal struggle was a CPU load of 100 per cent.

After what felt like an eternity, I pressed one key.