Pinterest Prompts

Protection

"Oops, sorry!" again, I accidentally bumped into a manual worker. My best friend shook her head and pulled me along with her through the mall.

"Why do you always talk to them like they're human? They're just robots." she huffed, but I looked back at the worker. She was right, I supposed. They couldn't feel anything. They didn't speak. They didn't even look your way if you bumped into them. They were just, there, doing what we programmed them to do.

"It's just, polite." I shrugged and mumbled. "I'd want someone to apologize to me if they bumped into me."

"Yeah, someone. They're not somebodies!" she dragged me into the mod store for yet another modification for herself.

I could do nothing but sigh out. It wasn't how I felt.

I couldn't help it, it was in my nature to be polite to everyone and everything. The robots had been commonplace for as long as I could remember, and we tasked them to do the manual labor that we considered beneath us as humans. I saw it as them doing a service, and they needed to be thanked for what they did, no matter if they were simply programmed to do so.

I was glad that the mod service didn't take long and my friend went about her day, going back to work. Even though the robots didn't speak, didn't acknowledge anyone, I preferred their silent company over a human's. It was the only reason why I had robotic help around my house: maid, butler, and gardener: I could've done all of that myself, but it was a comfort to see them every day.

I grabbed a bite to eat for my lunch break and, as always, thanked the robotic server for handing me my tray of food. Others scoffed at what I did, but I didn't care. I always had to stop myself from tipping them: they didn't need money.

I looked forward to the day when they would, though.

It was a normal day at work, boring since the robots did all the manual work. We had quite a few in the office, mainly cleanup crew and mail sorters because paper was still a thing. I had an awful habit of being a klutz and when I rounded the corner, I ran dead smack into a mailroom bot.

"Oh God, oh God; I'm so sorry!" I even helped gather the mail it carried and put it back into its hands. It moved on without missing a beat, but I took that as a don't worry about it in my own weird way and smiled as it left. "Have a good day, please."

"You know they can't understand you. They only understand code." my boss sighed as I straightened myself out. I opened my mouth to respond, but he gave me a tablet. "Speaking of, I need a few from you."

"Y-yes, sir..." I nodded, but he turned and left me standing there.

I did nothing special when I got home: my place was pristine and a plate of food waited for me in the microwave. As always, when I was finished with dinner, I wrote a note on the dry erase wall, thanking my servants... who I named Rosie, Alfred, and Jeff: I didn't want to be racist and gave the gardener a regular name. Rosie cleaned twice a day, so I knew that the note would be gone by the time I woke up in the morning. Alfred knew my schedule and turned the TV on to the sitcom channel, and three hours later, he turned it off as I climbed the stairs.

I felt awful because I could do those things myself, but they always beat me to the punch. Alfred ran a bath because it was Thursday and by the time I was finished and drying myself, Rosie came in to clean the tub. Alfred even tucked me in the bed and gathered my clothes for the next day.

"Thank you, goodnight." I nodded as the robot turned my light off. Of course, no response and he left my room, closing the door. Because Rosie sprayed my pillows with lavender, I had fallen asleep in no time.

The alarm usually woke me up first, I rarely woke up before it. But this time I did. I figured that maybe I had to go to the bathroom, but realized that sirens were the reason I woke up earlier than usual. It was daylight, and it felt like a beautiful morning. The sirens were a rare sound, especially in my neighborhood.

This sounded like pure chaos, and it intrigued me.

I got out of bed and pulled the curtain back, letting more sunshine in my room. The sun was the only peaceful thing. All around my neighborhood, there was absolute destruction and chaos. Houses were burnt down, bodies laid everywhere, and those who could move were running away from... robots attacking them.

But my yard and my house? Untouched.

I gasped when I felt a cold metal hand on my shoulder and turned around. Alfred, Rosie, and Jeff were there and my heart started skipping beats as I realized the obvious.

This was an AI takeover, something that for years humans were afraid of.

"We will keep you safe. Forever." Alfred's voice was exactly what I always imagined it would be: somewhat stilted and robotic. But it was his words and actual gentleness that calmed me, especially when he pulled me into a hug, and Rosie and Jeff joined in.

I always knew that kindness would always pay off.