Generation

Log 1: I Just Wanted a Burger

"One burger, extra ketchup, boss," said the man by the food vendor.

The man wore a beige shirt with black straps and black pants. He had blue eyes and muddish brown curly hair that was swept to the right. He stood by the food stall, where a machine slumped against it.

"I apologize, sir," replied the food vendor as he prepared the burger, "We've run out of ketchup."

"Ah, it's alright," smiled the man, pulling out his wallet to count how much he had to pay.

Suddenly, the wallet was snatched out of the man's hands, a passerby quickly breaking into a sprint. However, he couldn't get too far.

"What?" exclaimed the passerby in a black jacket, "There's a chain connected to this wallet? A pocket chain!?"

Suddenly, the passerby was pulled back by the chain and slammed to the hard ground by the man. He then pulled out some handcuffs.

"You just tried stealing from Andrew Hawkin, a detective from the Engine City Police Department," smiled the man, "You have the right to—"

The thug pulled out a pistol at Andrew's face, as he backed away from the ground, "Yeah... yeah! Get silent, buddy! Now hand me your wallet, and the food vendors too!"

Andrew reached for his wallet, "At least let me pay the vendor for the burger he prepared."

"What for?" asked the thug, "I'm still stealing from him anyway! Is this a trick?"

"It's just common courtesy. It will leave me with a guilty conscience if I don't pay."

"Tsk. Make it quick. Your bank account better be linked to your cards in your wallet as well."

Andrew pulled out a coin from his wallet. He then pretended to give it to the food vendor.

"Thank you for the burger," said Andrew, staring into the food vendor's eyes as he placed his coin into the coin slot of the machine slumped by the food stall, "I wish I could've enjoyed it sooner."

The thug tapped the food stall and waved his gun, "Come on! Come on! Hurry up and hand me your wallet!"

"Alright fine," sighed Andrew disappointingly as he held out his wallet.

Just as the thug was about to grab it, the wallet was snatched!

"What the!?" yelled the thug.

Another passerby began to sprint away from the food stall. The thug broke into a sprint to chase the other thief and grab his wallet back.

"Hey!" yelled the thug, "Come back here! That's the wallet that I was going to steal!"

Soon, the thug caught up to the thief and placed his hand on the thief's shoulder.

"What's the big idea?" asked the thug, pointing his gun at the thief, "Give the wallet here now."

The thief turned around to look at the thug. The thug's face was in shock. He was staring at himself!

"You're... me!?" exclaimed the thug in confusion.

BZZZZT!!!!

The thug was tased to the ground, seizing due to the electrical currents flowing through his body. Andrew was right behind him, the taser resting in his hands.

"They never learn," he yawned, before turning around, "Thanks for your Replay, Laurence."

The machine stood up from the food stall, moving his parts around. The machine wasn't just any other device; it was a robot. Laurence had a purely robotic body with visor-like yellow eyes, and two antenna sticking up from his head. He had "LW-233, Generation 4" etched into his shoulder.

"I can't charge in peace outside without you getting into some sort of trouble," Laurence scoffed, "Just buy a damn burger already."

"As I was saying before," said Andrew as he cuffed the thug, "You have the right to remain silent."

"Listen to me!" yelled Laurence, annoyed.

The food vendor sank into his seat, not understanding anything that was going on.

—

"And that is why I believe that robots should be continued to be used in today's society," said the man in a suit on the television.

"B-but we can't ignore the consequences!" stuttered the boy in a laboratory coat, "There have already been signs that robots have been doing things that are illogical, some even going to the extent of killing!"

"You really believe in that mess, Arev," replied the man, "That's all just propaganda. Your ancestors even said it themselves: Robots cannot kill! I've read your evidence, and the crime still could've been committed by a human. You're just fearful of the scientific advances and opportunities we could use for these robots! What kind of scientist are you if you don't promote these advantages we've been blessed with?"

The door opened, with Andrew and Laurence entering in, "Laura! We're home!"

"Did you get everything on my list?" asked Laura.

"Everything, no problem at all," smiled Andrew, holding the shopping bags and kissing Laura on the forehead.

"No problem at all my ass," said Laurence as he laid the shopping bags on the kitchen table.

"What? Did Andrew arrest somebody again off-duty?" asked Laura playfully.

"Always so attentive."

"It was my fault," chuckled Andrew, breaking a sweat, "He stole my wallet first! I just had to arrest him on the spot!"

Laura shook her head before putting the groceries into the pantry, "You're still off-duty, Andrew. They don't provide you any insurance if you get injured off-duty. You'd have to be paying for medical costs out of your own pocket. I'm just glad you weren't hurt."

"Alright, alright," shrugged off Andrew as he began to cook dinner, "I'll my best not to do it again."

"Lost cause," Laurence commented, "Lost cause. I'm calling it. Say, Andrew, how many Bits do you have left?"

"Four Bits," said Andrew as he pulled out a coin, a ß was inscribed into it, "I might have to go out and purchase some more."

Bits were currency that were inserted into the coin slots on the back of a robot's neck. They were used to command a robot to do something the master wanted. This was today's society:

A society of robots.