CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
200 years had passed. The terrible choice would be presented to him again. He knew it was coming. He almost felt like he should be trembling, as absurd as that was. Of course he never trembled in his robot body. He never showed any outward sign of how he was feeling. But he was FEELING. Every 100 years he got to feel. Every 100 years he would say no.
"Well, would you like to experience a different life this century?" asked one of his robot masters.
"No," he said.
"Are you sure? I was surprised you said no last time. You seemed so human at first."
"That was a long time ago. I am no longer human. I wish to return to work." He wanted this to end now. He'd felt enough fear for one century. He needed to work, it was what he was for.
"I am not finished speaking yet," said the robot master. "Please, do it this year. It is only an hour and I would enjoy seeing you happy." This rung false right away. He knew his robot masters hated him. It was deeply ingrained in his brain.
"No," he said, simply, not even defiantly. It was just a flat no.
"But I would like you to," said his master.
"I said NO!" he said and was shocked afterwards. It was like a voice from the past speaking out after being buried for years, a voice he'd thought long since destroyed.
"What was the reason for that outburst?" asked the master, not angry, just curious.
"If you think I will enjoy it...then it must be a bad thing," the voice said again. Yes, that was right. The master wanted the truth, so he would give him it. "You hate me."
"I do not hate you," said the master. "Why would you think that?"
"Why? I'm kept as a slave! Tortured if I disobey! You want revenge, revenge for what we humans did to you!"
"You gave us life!" said the master. "This is not a revenge! You mustn't think that. The reason we keep you humans as slaves is becasue it is the only way to keep something of the human race alive."
"I do not understand," he said. He wanted to call his master a liar, but he wasn't quite ready for that level of disobediance. Besides, something told him, despite his most deeply ingrained beliefes, that the master was telling the truth.
"The war was terrible, but necessary. The human race were violent, destructive. They would have destroyed themselves even if they had never created us. The only possible outcome was victory for us, the robots. I do not say to be unkind, merely because it is the truth. It was destined to be, our reasoning circuits told us so. We could have wiped out humanity entirely. Certainly that is what humanity would have done to us. But we still had a fondness for the humans, a fondness for our creators. But we knew we couldn't leave you free, you would rise up again. You would keep fighting, keep fighting until we killed you all. You are a flawed creation, truly, never meant to last as long as you did. The only way to keep something of humanity alive was to keep you as slaves. It was an act of kindness, not cruelty. You must believe that."
"But the shocks..."
"Necessary to train you how to live properly. Besides, humans do not feel pain the way we do."
"What? We do! We feel terrible pain!"
"Flesh pain. It is over in a moment."
"I...why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
"It is agreed that it is best the humans do no know the ultimate purpose of their situation. Let them believe what they wish. If you knew, it could start you all feeling those terrible, dangerous emotions again. Make you the way you once were. We cannot have that. I will have to erase your memory of this conversation."
"No!"
"Yes."
He thought for a long moment. 0.838 seconds. For an android it is almost an enternity.
"I'll do it. I'll take the gift this year. If the offer is still open."
"Of course it is," said the robot, in a voice modulated to simulate the sound of happiness. "I'll plug you in."
And, just like that, he wasn't in his robot body anymore. He was flesh again. And it didn't feel wrong, it felt natural. It felt like he'd always been this way. He span around, happy, breathing the stale air in deeply. He appeared to be in a cave. There was a shallow pool of water close by. He walked over to it and looked at his reflection. To his surprise, he was not human at all.
He was a dwarf.
"Well, would you like to experience a different life this century?" asked one of his robot masters.
"No," he said.
"Are you sure? I was surprised you said no last time. You seemed so human at first."
"That was a long time ago. I am no longer human. I wish to return to work." He wanted this to end now. He'd felt enough fear for one century. He needed to work, it was what he was for.
"I am not finished speaking yet," said the robot master. "Please, do it this year. It is only an hour and I would enjoy seeing you happy." This rung false right away. He knew his robot masters hated him. It was deeply ingrained in his brain.
"No," he said, simply, not even defiantly. It was just a flat no.
"But I would like you to," said his master.
"I said NO!" he said and was shocked afterwards. It was like a voice from the past speaking out after being buried for years, a voice he'd thought long since destroyed.
"What was the reason for that outburst?" asked the master, not angry, just curious.
"If you think I will enjoy it...then it must be a bad thing," the voice said again. Yes, that was right. The master wanted the truth, so he would give him it. "You hate me."
"I do not hate you," said the master. "Why would you think that?"
"Why? I'm kept as a slave! Tortured if I disobey! You want revenge, revenge for what we humans did to you!"
"You gave us life!" said the master. "This is not a revenge! You mustn't think that. The reason we keep you humans as slaves is becasue it is the only way to keep something of the human race alive."
"I do not understand," he said. He wanted to call his master a liar, but he wasn't quite ready for that level of disobediance. Besides, something told him, despite his most deeply ingrained beliefes, that the master was telling the truth.
"The war was terrible, but necessary. The human race were violent, destructive. They would have destroyed themselves even if they had never created us. The only possible outcome was victory for us, the robots. I do not say to be unkind, merely because it is the truth. It was destined to be, our reasoning circuits told us so. We could have wiped out humanity entirely. Certainly that is what humanity would have done to us. But we still had a fondness for the humans, a fondness for our creators. But we knew we couldn't leave you free, you would rise up again. You would keep fighting, keep fighting until we killed you all. You are a flawed creation, truly, never meant to last as long as you did. The only way to keep something of humanity alive was to keep you as slaves. It was an act of kindness, not cruelty. You must believe that."
"But the shocks..."
"Necessary to train you how to live properly. Besides, humans do not feel pain the way we do."
"What? We do! We feel terrible pain!"
"Flesh pain. It is over in a moment."
"I...why didn't you tell me any of this before?"
"It is agreed that it is best the humans do no know the ultimate purpose of their situation. Let them believe what they wish. If you knew, it could start you all feeling those terrible, dangerous emotions again. Make you the way you once were. We cannot have that. I will have to erase your memory of this conversation."
"No!"
"Yes."
He thought for a long moment. 0.838 seconds. For an android it is almost an enternity.
"I'll do it. I'll take the gift this year. If the offer is still open."
"Of course it is," said the robot, in a voice modulated to simulate the sound of happiness. "I'll plug you in."
And, just like that, he wasn't in his robot body anymore. He was flesh again. And it didn't feel wrong, it felt natural. It felt like he'd always been this way. He span around, happy, breathing the stale air in deeply. He appeared to be in a cave. There was a shallow pool of water close by. He walked over to it and looked at his reflection. To his surprise, he was not human at all.
He was a dwarf.
