Cybernetic Malady

Entry for Rotary International eBook Story Competition. [Ranked 2nd runner-up!]

Synopsis:

As the Pandemic raged on in early 2023, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals have grown tired, overworked beyond their limits, and so, a global demand for robots to help shoulder the workload has grown exponentially.

In Hong Kong, there lived a meticulously crafted robot, harbouring the world's most fine-tuned AI.

This specimen was named Raphael the robot, otherwise known as R-V19 to his creators.

After a long while of refinement, he was released to a brand new hospital called Edgewater Hospital, made to train his functionality in caring for patients of all ages ridden with Covid-19.

As Raphael goes from patient to patient, his understanding of the life that he was made to protect and the duty that he was entrusted to help carry grows.