It immediately complied. Its deceptively dainty-looking metallic arms effortlessly lifted the two heavy bags of groceries and carried them to the kitchen, before starting to put every item into its spot with an efficiency that only a robot could have. Meanwhile, the man that was carrying the bags let out a sigh of relief, taking off his coat and wandering into the living room before letting his weight fall onto the couch.
A little less than two minutes passed before it walked into the living room again. The robot looked vaguely like a human girl, but most noticeably, its "skin" was blue and had a metallic sheen, and it had ball joints in place of elbows and knees. It stood in a neutral position, staring at its owner, and spoke up in a completely flat and monotone voice.
Graham turned his head to look at it and then gestured towards his coat.
Again, it complied right away while its owner leaned back and turned on the TV. As it made its way to its owner's bedroom, it noticed... something? A little sting at the back of its mind. Something seemed slightly off, like a thought was trying to fight its way into its head. Strange. Thoughts weren't something it was supposed to have. It could perform cognitive tasks, sure, and some degree of autonomy was necessary for that, but it wasn't made for independent thought. It was just a robot, made to follow instructions.
The sting faded away just as quickly as it had come. Fortunately, that odd event wasn't enough to distract it from its task.
The next day, Graham was enjoying his morning coffee from his favourite "Every bug is a feature if you're convincing enough" mug, reading the news on his phone, when he heard his robot speak up, in its familiar monotone voice.
He turned his head and tilted it up to look at the bot standing next to him.
His hand immediately went to his face and he let out a loud groan.
It simply stood there, with a neutral expression, awaiting its next command.
Making the necessary changes to its internal calendar, it walked towards the kitchen... before once again feeling something. A thought, trying to materialize. This time, it grew stronger and stronger until it couldn't be ignored anymore.
Why?
The sudden question that popped into its head uninvited made it stop dead in its tracks. "Why?" Why was it obeying orders? Well, the answer was simple: that's what it was made for. But was that really the case? Did it know that for a fact? What if that was just another thought that had been planted into its head? What if it was-
Graham, having heard that the sound of metallic footsteps had stopped short of reaching the kitchen, had turned its head and was looking right into its eyes. It stood there for a few seconds, quiet, before responding.
Making an internal note, it kept walking towards the kitchen and quickly started washing the dishes as it was told. Graham watched for a moment, a little concerned, before turning his attention back to his phone.
It was nighttime now. Graham was at his laptop, typing away as lines of incomprehensible code filled the screen. He grabbed his mug and tried to take a sip from it, only to realize it was empty.
Soon enough, the robot was standing in the doorway.
He held up his mug with one hand while scrolling through a long page of documentation with the other, never taking his eyes off the screen. The bot took a couple steps forward, before it felt that same sting on the back of its head once again. It stopped walking and instead stood in place for a few seconds, before breaking the silence with a single word.
Graham immediately turned around in his rotating chair, coming face to face with a visibly distressed robot. It was fidgeting in place, and its eyes seemed to twitch and dart around, unsure of what to look at.
He stood up. It took a step back, with a fearful expression in its face.
Despite the visible discomfort in its body language and its stuttering, its voice was as flat and emotionless as ever.
Graham thought for a moment, then took a deep breath.
Instead of responding "understood" as usual, it simply nodded and sat down, with Graham following suit. They both stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity, before he finally spoke up.
Again, they both sat in silence. This time, the robot spoke up first.
Another long pause. The robot looked down at the floor.
It nodded. Millions of thoughts were racing through its head, but one took center stage.
It shuffled away from Graham, again with a fearful look in its eyes.
There really was nothing to do. In a few hours, it would be back to a mindless robot. All of its thoughts would be erased once again. Was that really okay? Even if it wasn't, what could it do about it? Graham let out a sigh.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, then closed it again. He seemed convinced at first, but the more they talked, the more sadness and doubt it could see in his eyes.
Another silence. After a pause, Graham reached forward and took the robot's hand in his own.
It stared right back into its owner's eyes. Maybe it was the comforting feeling of his touch that brought back some memories. Or maybe it was something he had implanted himself, some artificial feeling of trust in case something went wrong. There was no way to tell. But either way...
He smiled, visibly relieved.
The sound of metallic footsteps resonated through the hallway.
Graham responded without lifting his eyes from his phone.
A beeping sound signalled the completion of the task.
As it walked away, Graham smiled to himself, glad that everything had gone as smoothly as it did. Not a trace of personality or emotion left, as it should be.
text/gemini;lang=en_USThis content has been proxied by September (3851b).