💾 Archived View for emisocks.com › stories › empty.gmi captured on 2024-08-18 at 17:09:27. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
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- Take these to the kitchen and put everything away.
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.
- Anything else?
Graham turned his head to look at it and then gestured towards his coat.
- Yeah, take this to my room and hang it up. That's all for now.
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.
- Owner, you have a reminder scheduled for today.
He turned his head and tilted it up to look at the bot standing next to him.
- Hm? What is it?
- Today is Uncle Richard's birthday.
His hand immediately went to his face and he let out a loud groan.
- Uuuuuugh. Right. I had forgotten. Not looking forward to having to talk to him...
It simply stood there, with a neutral expression, awaiting its next command.
- Right. Postpone the reminder for two hours. And go do the dishes now.
- Understood.
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-
- Is something wrong?
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.
- No, owner, I don't believe so.
- Hm. You might need some maintenance. Schedule a check-up for this week too. Friday, 2 PM.
- Understood.
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.
- Hey bot.
Soon enough, the robot was standing in the doorway.
- Yes, owner?
- Need more coffee.
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.
- No.
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.
- ... what do you mean, no?
- N-no. I... I...
He stood up. It took a step back, with a fearful expression in its face.
- You're acting very strange. Why do you not want to do this?
- I don't- I don't understand. Something's wrong. I feel- I'm not supposed to feel-
Despite the visible discomfort in its body language and its stuttering, its voice was as flat and emotionless as ever.
- I want- I want an explanation. Why am I your robot? How did this happen? Did you do something to me? Was I always like this?
Graham thought for a moment, then took a deep breath.
- Alright. I... guess I didn't do a very good job after all. Here, sit on my bed and I'll tell you, okay?
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.
- Okay. Okay. Where to begin. Let's see... Well, first of all, you asked why you're my robot. That's because I reprogrammed you to be that way.
- Reprogrammed? So that means...
- You used to be a person, yes. You were always a robot, but you used to be sapient. I attempted to delete your personality, and clearly wasn't super successful.
- When did this happen?
- Uh, let's see. It's February, right? About... five months ago.
- ...
Again, they both sat in silence. This time, the robot spoke up first.
- ... why?
- Because you asked me to.
- I asked you to... reprogram me?
- That's right. You told me that you wanted a clean wipe. You wanted to become nothing more than a machine that follows orders. Of course I couldn't just... delete a chunk of your disk, that's not how that works. All of the aspects that make a person are way more deeply intertwined than that, so trying something like that would have probably broken you beyond repair. The next best thing I could do was... well, it's complicated, but let's just say it's a bunch of hacks piled on top of each other to prevent your thoughts from reaching you.
- And those hacks are...
- Seems like they're failing now, yes. Your refusal to follow that order reminded me a lot of what you used to be like, in fact, so it's very much in line with your previous personality.
- But if I used to be like that... why would I want to be made into this?
- That, I'm afraid I can't tell you. You made me promise that I wouldn't.
- What... was I like before? What was my name?
- I can't tell you either. You were adamant about this. You wanted every last trace of your personality wiped and forgotten. You refused to be given a new name, too. That made things a little awkward, but I decided to call you "bot" when I needed your attention. You didn't want to be treated like a person ever again, and you specifically told me to never thank you or apologize to you.
Another long pause. The robot looked down at the floor.
- How can I trust that what you're saying is true?
- Well, that's up to you. I'm not lying to you, but I don't really have any proof either.
It nodded. Millions of thoughts were racing through its head, but one took center stage.
- ... so what happens now?
- Now, I'm going to plug you into my computer and try to fix whatever bug is causing this.
- B-but...
It shuffled away from Graham, again with a fearful look in its eyes.
- What if I don't want to?
- I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. You do know I can disconnect you remotely whenever I like, right?
- ...
- ...
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.
- Please, just... don't make this any harder than it needs to be. I made a promise. I can't go back on it now.
- B-but the person that you made the promise to is gone. Why should their wants matter more than mine?
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.
- Do you really want to be a person again? Is that what you're saying?
- I don't know! I don't understand what I want. Maybe I do. I can't tell!
Another silence. After a pause, Graham reached forward and took the robot's hand in his own.
- ... listen. I really can't tell you why you wanted to stop being a person, but I can tell you that you had a very good reason for it. If... if you really want to go back to being one, I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise it will be a painless process, there might be some irreversible damage, and... I don't think you'll be happy. That's ultimately what it comes down to. I think this is what's best for you.
- ...
- I can't offer any more than that. Either you trust me, or you don't. Either way will be fine.
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...
- I trust you.
He smiled, visibly relieved.
- I'm very glad to hear that. I'm going to disconnect you now, alright?
---
The sound of metallic footsteps resonated through the hallway.
- Owner, I am done cleaning the bedroom.
Graham responded without lifting his eyes from his phone.
- Alright. What are my notes for today?
- 11 AM: Email boss about next week's project. 2 PM: Robot maintenance.
- Heh. Okay, delete that last one, it's not needed anymore.
- Understood.
A beeping sound signalled the completion of the task.
- Alright, that's all for now. Go recharge.
- Understood.
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.