CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
The robot man was sitting on a chair. His eyes were wide open. But he did not look conscious. Horseface wondered for a moment what the Hell he was even doing here. Why had he followed the message attached to the dead human's keycard? He did not owe the human anything. It had been kill or be killed. The robot wasn't even alive. It had all been pointless. Horseface turned around to leave...
"...not really. I never really had a chance. Genetics. Or my own choices. One of those. I was scared the chemistry class would explode." The robot had spoken, but not to Horseface. It was as if he'd just started up a sentence he'd begun possibly years ago.
"Who are you?" asked Horseface. But the robot didn't look at him.
"I wasn't stalking her. Not really. I just got off the bus one stop early. I liked her. I'd never hurt her. Am I being punished for that? For all the things I didn't do? For the lies I believed in? I shouldn't be like this!"
"You don't want to be a robot?" asked Horseface. The eyes of the robot man seemed to flicker in his direction. But it was so quick Horseface couldn't be sure it really happened.
"...so many nights alone. So any disgusting thoughts. BUT NOBODY CAN HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. There is not God. There are no alien listening devices. They're just thoughts. Nobody controls their thoughts. Nobody controls anything. There is no freedom. There is nothing."
"You're just a malfunctioning sack of metal, aren't you?" sighed Horseface.
"The mutants will replace us."
"Ah, you know about the mutants?" said Horseface, interested now. "But you must have been created in the ages of humanity."
"We need to be metal to defeat them!" said the robot, who then shockingly stood up, bumping his fist in the air. "DEATH TO THE MUTANTS! Hahaha...HAHAHHAHA. No. I'm not a robot soldier. I'm not even a robot. It didn't work! And if it had, what would I do? I'd just be the same."
"But you are a robot," said Horseface, and the eyes flickered to him again, for longer this time. The robot looked confused, if such a thing was possible.
"They tried to make me one," it said, at last. "Upload my brain into a robot body. Copy everything I was. They could do it, they said. Maybe I'd have a better life as a robot, I thought. A chance, at last. Time to figure things out. A longer life! No pain! Amazing! So they copied my brain. And I...just watched it being copied. I was still me. Still human. Of course I was! Why would I have thought differently? They explained to me that they were copying my brain, but not deleting the original. That would be murder. One of us would end up as an immortal metal God...the other would stay human. I was the other. Just my luck!"
"And what did you do after that?" asked Horseface. Clearly something was wrong with the robot's memories.
"I...I...I went home," it stuttered. It comtemplated this for a moment. "I must have."
"No," said Horseface, and he tried to sound compassionate. It was not something he had much experience in. "You can't remember what you did next, because you didn't stay human. You are the robot."
"I'm not the robot! I wish I was! Oh, to be the robot! I am the human. The worthless, smelly, hungry human. I remember. There would be two. I figured it out. I remember."
"You figured it out, did you?" asked Horseface. He came to a conclusion. "You awoke in the robot body, but it was such a shock to you that your brain rejected it. You created a fantasy that you were still human. And then you were shut down, because there's no point in keeping a broken robot around. And they shut you away here. I don't know how you got the note on the keycard, but..."
"No," he said. "No...no. No. No."
"Are you really hungry?" asked Horseface, picking on something the robot had said.
"I am! I remember it! I...I feel it? I must feel it. I just need food and then I'll know if I'm hungry."
"You're a robot. Anyway. I don't know what I'm doing here. I might just shut you away again if you don't face up to what you are soon."
"Now look here!" said the robot, striding towards him suddenly. "I am a worthless human scumbag with bad thoughts, don't tell me otherwise! I..."
"How long have you been in here?" asked Horseface. "If you were human, surely you'd be dead if you were locked in this room for years?"
"I am not dead."
"Then you are not a robot."
"I..." But before this could continue, someone appeared in the doorway. Another huamn. Holding a gun.
"You're not a balloon-addict," said Horseface, sighing. He lunged for the human. He hated having to kill when it wasn't legal, but there probably wasn't much choice...
The human fired the gun. It was not a normal weapon at all. It fired some kind of beam. It stuck Horseface and passed right through him. Horseface turned to follow its path, and found that the room he was in had changed. Only the robot remained the same, in fact, as the beam had apparently hit him too. The room was overgrown with vegetation now. It was as if years had passed.
"I guess I might be a robot, then," said the robot.
TO BE THINGTINUED
"...not really. I never really had a chance. Genetics. Or my own choices. One of those. I was scared the chemistry class would explode." The robot had spoken, but not to Horseface. It was as if he'd just started up a sentence he'd begun possibly years ago.
"Who are you?" asked Horseface. But the robot didn't look at him.
"I wasn't stalking her. Not really. I just got off the bus one stop early. I liked her. I'd never hurt her. Am I being punished for that? For all the things I didn't do? For the lies I believed in? I shouldn't be like this!"
"You don't want to be a robot?" asked Horseface. The eyes of the robot man seemed to flicker in his direction. But it was so quick Horseface couldn't be sure it really happened.
"...so many nights alone. So any disgusting thoughts. BUT NOBODY CAN HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. There is not God. There are no alien listening devices. They're just thoughts. Nobody controls their thoughts. Nobody controls anything. There is no freedom. There is nothing."
"You're just a malfunctioning sack of metal, aren't you?" sighed Horseface.
"The mutants will replace us."
"Ah, you know about the mutants?" said Horseface, interested now. "But you must have been created in the ages of humanity."
"We need to be metal to defeat them!" said the robot, who then shockingly stood up, bumping his fist in the air. "DEATH TO THE MUTANTS! Hahaha...HAHAHHAHA. No. I'm not a robot soldier. I'm not even a robot. It didn't work! And if it had, what would I do? I'd just be the same."
"But you are a robot," said Horseface, and the eyes flickered to him again, for longer this time. The robot looked confused, if such a thing was possible.
"They tried to make me one," it said, at last. "Upload my brain into a robot body. Copy everything I was. They could do it, they said. Maybe I'd have a better life as a robot, I thought. A chance, at last. Time to figure things out. A longer life! No pain! Amazing! So they copied my brain. And I...just watched it being copied. I was still me. Still human. Of course I was! Why would I have thought differently? They explained to me that they were copying my brain, but not deleting the original. That would be murder. One of us would end up as an immortal metal God...the other would stay human. I was the other. Just my luck!"
"And what did you do after that?" asked Horseface. Clearly something was wrong with the robot's memories.
"I...I...I went home," it stuttered. It comtemplated this for a moment. "I must have."
"No," said Horseface, and he tried to sound compassionate. It was not something he had much experience in. "You can't remember what you did next, because you didn't stay human. You are the robot."
"I'm not the robot! I wish I was! Oh, to be the robot! I am the human. The worthless, smelly, hungry human. I remember. There would be two. I figured it out. I remember."
"You figured it out, did you?" asked Horseface. He came to a conclusion. "You awoke in the robot body, but it was such a shock to you that your brain rejected it. You created a fantasy that you were still human. And then you were shut down, because there's no point in keeping a broken robot around. And they shut you away here. I don't know how you got the note on the keycard, but..."
"No," he said. "No...no. No. No."
"Are you really hungry?" asked Horseface, picking on something the robot had said.
"I am! I remember it! I...I feel it? I must feel it. I just need food and then I'll know if I'm hungry."
"You're a robot. Anyway. I don't know what I'm doing here. I might just shut you away again if you don't face up to what you are soon."
"Now look here!" said the robot, striding towards him suddenly. "I am a worthless human scumbag with bad thoughts, don't tell me otherwise! I..."
"How long have you been in here?" asked Horseface. "If you were human, surely you'd be dead if you were locked in this room for years?"
"I am not dead."
"Then you are not a robot."
"I..." But before this could continue, someone appeared in the doorway. Another huamn. Holding a gun.
"You're not a balloon-addict," said Horseface, sighing. He lunged for the human. He hated having to kill when it wasn't legal, but there probably wasn't much choice...
The human fired the gun. It was not a normal weapon at all. It fired some kind of beam. It stuck Horseface and passed right through him. Horseface turned to follow its path, and found that the room he was in had changed. Only the robot remained the same, in fact, as the beam had apparently hit him too. The room was overgrown with vegetation now. It was as if years had passed.
"I guess I might be a robot, then," said the robot.
TO BE THINGTINUED