His Synthetic Pulse

Chapter Two

My eyes fluttered open, a mechanical whirring sounding from my right side. I recognized it as the data of today filling my database. It was my human class of the day. I moved my eyes in attempt to look at the machine hooked into my ear, only to meet eyes with my scientist, unsurprisingly. His pointed glasses hung on his lab coat and he was looking at me, slightly distorted by a large computer screen.

"Sup." He nodded his head, returning to the computer. "I'm almost finished, just hang on a little more." I listened to his fingers clacking steadily against the keyboard, until something clicked and the weird wire in my ear loosened. My scientist reached in and plucked it out, tapping my forehead. I rose quickly, using my hands to steady myself. The daily data checks always left me a little dizzy.

My scientist, who always seemed to be seated in the wheeled chair, pushed himself back and rolled to the iron table where I was positioned. He rested his elbows on it and smirked knowingly. "I did a good job on your eyes." He mumbled, squinting to fight the LEDs in my eyes. I blinked slightly. Did he mean I looked similar to my human counterpart? Surely.

I moved myself so my legs hung off the side of the bench, sighing loudly and obnoxiously. I tried my best to distort my voice into a sarcastic tone fruitlessly. As human as I was, my voice was still robotic and monotoned.

        "If only I knew what you meant. It's just too bad you don't tell me anything." I raised a hand to my forehead and whimpered dramatically, like the theatrical women in movies I've heard of do. My scientist only raised his eyebrows the smirk still obvious on his face.

        "You aren't even supposed to know anything." He pushed himself away again, the clank of the wheels rolling against the linoleum floor. He looked down at a silver watch on his hand. "You've got five minutes until you need to get back to the Dorm. Keep watch on your programming and don't be a second late."

I groan loudly, letting him know that yes- I know and no- I',m not happy about it. My scientist acts like a parental figure, and while I know I need it, it's still really annoying. But I do wait, and in exactly five minutes I'm out the door and making my way to the dorm at approximately one-point-three-six miles per hour. 

I find myself at the door to the Dorm, where all the tables where the robots are supposed to shut off for the night is. I hear footsteps clanking behind me and almost turn to look at them. I already know who they are. 

Experiment 409, a tall and lanky female with sharp features and glimmering black hair. I always note that she looks cold, her cheeks and lips tinted cerulean. I can tell she was a failure because one, she's missing an arm, replaced by a strange metal contraption and two, one of her eyes are distorted and weird. Some of the scientists mention she can see in eighths, like an arachnid. Her walking time is just about the same as mine, arriving at the Dorm about two millisecond before me.

I reach for the doorknob, almost too quickly to be robotic, and enter the Dorm. Robots with faster walking times litter before me, all in different sizes in shapes. The creators never seemed to find the right 'perfect human' and the robots that came in constantly looked different. 

I found my way to the metal bench labelled '413' with ease and moved myself upon it. The bench was magnetic, it would shut off my chip at exactly 9 o'clock sharp. Or it would, if I had a chip. I just have to turn off the LEDs in my eyes and shut off my 'breathing' until 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. Easy enough.

I hear a clink to my right, where the bench for '412' lays. I know Experiment 412. He's built similar to me, although his skin is so frail it's almost greyed. 412 had failed for his ability to follow orders, leaving him to either stare blankly ahead when given a command or do the exact opposite. His eyes were a strange shade of black, along with a messy tuft of hair upon his head. He didn't have any redeeming features, which I guess in a way made him perfect. The only thing different about him, so I've heard, is he's the only robot with blood. Candy red artificial blood that pumps through silicone veins to every fake organ in his body. The scientists found that too messy and dangerous and scrapped the idea after one go. I've been jealous of 412 for that reason. He seems more human than me and I can think properly.