Prototype R

Chapter One

After you tidy up, the light is turned off and you quickly make your way down the stairs. The smell of breakfast has inhabited your sense of smell and motivates you to move faster. You can't place the name of the food that is being tortured into smelling good, but you imagine it telling you to ingest it to fulfill its life's purposes.

"Just in time, Dmitri, the French toast is done. How many?"

"I'll take four." You say as you sit in a chair that is opposite of your father, "I will take the rest to work and maybe even give Ethan some in exchange for some out of date robot parts. He really likes how you cook and keeps nagging about how his wife's cooking is nothing compared to yours." For some reason, you feel as if you had said too much because your father looks at you to test if what you just said was true and watches your mother. She continues to cook, but there is a fleck of pink on her cheeks and seems a bit confused.

"Oh...well that is sweet of him to say that."

"Dmitri, what do you plan to do at work today?" Your father said to change the subject. His thoughtful green eyes slowly roam towards you and stay there. A plate of French toast is delivered in front of you and, grabbing a fork, you dig in.

"I plan on helping a newly made robot learn some manners and simple sentences." You say with your mouth full.

"You do know that you are proving that you need manners as well." Your mother says as she turns off the oven and sits next to her husband, "Eating with your mouth full is not only dangerous but also disgusting." Thanks for the lecture, Mom. "I do not need to see my great work inside of your mouth but on the skillet or pan."

After the last bite goes down your throat, you put the fork and plate in the sink for your mother to wash. Forgetting that you charged your phone in the living room last night, you go search for it and thankfully a text message sounds through the room. As soon as you look at it, you burst out laughing.

Check this out! Ethan gave me a old phone to ask when you are coming here. It feels weird on my fingers as I type this.

Still laughing, you think of a response quickly and your fingers become a blur as you tap on the keyboard provided. Each time your finger hits on a word, the feel the vibration and you find it soothing. You also forgot to silence it, so it is no wonder that your parents are eavesdropping on your silent conversation.

C-5, I'm just about to leave and it is called vibration.

You put your phone inside your pants pocket and grab a set of car keys that go to your ugly and shitty car. It was a present on your sixteenth birthday after getting the green light to work for the robot training facility. You wish it was the ability to fly because, at that time, it was considered cool and it just sounded awesome. Before heading out, you say your farewells to your elders and receive a kiss on your cheek by your mother and a nod from your father. "Don't text and drive and you better put that seatbelt on!"

Your mothers order still rings in your ears as you walk down the sidewalk and slide into the drivers' seat, slamming the rusty door with all your might. As soon as this door is gone, I should get a new car. You insert your chrome key into the ignition and it sputters to life and quickly dies. Anger boils inside you and your fists turn into weapons of little destruction as your tongue spills out horrendous chatter. Your tall and lean body rocks back and forth, making the car copy your movements.

As a last resort, you try the ignition again. This better work or so help me. The car purrs like it is on its last journey and entering the beginning stage where you take it in to the chop shop. You don't mind the high pitched squeak as you apply your foot to the brake as a red light appears. Unable to deal with the silence, you turn the radio to your favorite station: 107.5 Dr. Robo.

"Alright folks, we have a robot named Teagen with us and she is here to provide some tips for gardening. Gardening, huh? You enjoy that during your free time, Teagen?"

"Affirmative." You can already tell that she is from the new race because of her inability to talk with emotion. Her tone is too dry and would make some people cringe at its inhuman speech. "Garden...ing is fun and I like the colors because they are pretty."

"Okay, Teagen, what do you recommend if your plants are not getting the right amount of sunshine?"

"Bring it outside."

"What if your plant has too much water?"

"Bring it inside."

"What is the best fertilizer and which ones do you recommend?" Your ears pick up on Dr. Robo's voice rising as he tries to hold in a laugh.

"I do not compute."

The radio produces a sound of objects breaking to indicate that Teagen has said the trigger word "I do not compute." People that are in the same space laugh at her in ways that send subliminal messages, we are smarter and don't care about your kind. There is nothing against that because the Robot Humanity act allows robots to live and act like the human race but everyone, excluding you and countless others that work for the law, may do as they please. All is pretty peaceful so far, but you worry about the future and what these machines can do. You understand their inner workings and the machinery that is contained in them which is far more powerful than the human muscle and brain combined. Okay, that may be an exaggeration.

The laughter has died down and you can now hear the wheels flatten the road as you continue driving. "Well, Teagen, it was lovely to have you tell our viewers your tips about gardening and we hope you can tell us more in the future. Next, one of the robot trainers will tell us what we should do when a robot moves in next door. Please stay and we will be back after these messages."