Chapter 1: Just A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, mankind lived happily on a planet named Earth. But man took for granted the gift of life and the beautiful environment they called home, and abused it horribly. Over time, Earth's natural beauty became buried in their greedy and wasteful ways as litter and trash piled at their feet. Soon, mankind was suffocating from the noxious fumes of the garbage that yet continued to build up around them and threatened to drown them if they didn't escape quickly. So escape they did, to the one place known for having plenty of blessed space—outer space. On the jet engines of an enormous starship known as the Axiom, man fled to the farthest reaches of the universe, as far away from the polluted Earth as possible. There mankind stayed for 800 years, and from eternity on they likely would have remained, were it not for one brave little robot.
WALL-E, our savior, the one who went beyond his own directive to save mankind. A mere clean-up robot built to clear away the trash left behind on Earth, and doing so for 800 years, WALL-E attained something many robots only dreamed of having: the ability to adapt and survive. And when he met EVE, a search probe designed to seek out life on the desolate planet, he realized that the universe had more to offer than the empty wasteland called Earth. WALL-E followed EVE back to the Axiom, and from then on launched into an epic journey that words can only begin to describe.
In short, WALL-E showed mankind the error of its ways, and aided the humans in returning to Earth. Man experienced the warm radiance of enlightenment, and saw that they needed to take care of themselves along with the planet on which they lived, while WALL-E realized his own feelings of love for EVE, as did she for him. And so, the humans, and the robots that accompanied them, lived happily ever after . . .
o~*~o
I gently eased the old storybook closed, and gazed out the window at the sky of the early dawn, where flames of oranges burned at the edge of the black horizon, and the first rays of morning were reaching through the darkness of night. It was great being able to witness the sunrise, but I couldn't help but think that most people would have probably been in bed at this early hour. But, I guess after spending the better part of your 18 years of life waking up at such times, you get used to it. I glanced back at the storybook in my hands, whose worn leather binding read: The Legend of WALL-E. My grandparents always told me stories like this, about a little robot that saved mankind with his courage. Yet, I had never seen this supposed "savior of mankind" anywhere, which was particularly odd, considering what I did for a living.
You see, I worked as a mechanic, repairing and maintaining the numerous robots on Earth. I was familiar with every single robot that inhabited Earth—but never before had I seen this WALL-E. I did know EVE, but I was still pretty skeptical. I just couldn't bring myself to believe that one little robot could save the entire human race. And the story mentions WALL-E and EVE falling in love, which only made the story less credible in my mind, because while I did believe that robots each had their own unique personality, I was set in the belief that they could never truly experience emotions as humans do. To me, that story, that old legend, was nothing more than a fairy tale.
I got out of bed and examined myself in the mirror. My rusty auburn hair fell in wild, cascading curls, framing my trim face. Two hazel eyes gazed back at me, which slowly roamed my lean, firm figure. My muscles and skin had long been toughened by years of near constant travel and strenuous labor. I swept my unruly curls into a practical ponytail that rested at the base of my neck and pulled on an old red jumpsuit that came from who-knows-where. It was rather filthy when I salvaged it, but I found the jumpsuit quite comfortable and easy to work in, so I didn't really mind. I then put on my utility belt that carried many useful handheld tools, slipped on my sturdy work boots, and I was ready to leave.
I started to head out the door when a voice called after me, "Nikki!"
I turned around to find my grandmother walking down the hall towards me, holding a toolbox in her hand.
"You almost forgot this," Grandma said.
I took the toolbox from her. "Thanks, Grandma," I said. My toolbox was very important to me; it held tools I needed for a majority of minor repair jobs. How I kept forgetting it, I'll never know.
"Been reading that story again, have you?"
"Huh?" I glanced down to find the storybook still in my hand. "Yeah, I guess I have . . ." For some reason, the story intrigued me, maybe more than it should have. Maybe because it was such an impossible story, I thought.
A smile curved Grandma's weathered, cracked lips. "You are so much like my great-great-grandparents, our great ancestors." Now, there was an odd statement, but nonetheless, one I heard often. "John and Mary . . . They met because of WALL-E, you know."
"Sure they did, Grandma." And pigs can fly. As if! I handed the storybook back to her, and headed out for the day.
As I walked, I breathed deeply to take in all the fresh air I possibly could. I caught the sweet, soothing scent of flowers, which helped me to turn my focus back to the current task of my job. Though, since there were no immediate jobs at hand, I had some time to myself. I passed by a glorious, ornate house that practically towered above all the others, and knew what I was to do with my free time.
I went into the house, where I saw a dark-haired man reclining on a large, plush sofa. This man was Colin B. McCrea, the descendant of the supposed captain of the legendary Axiom.
"Good morning, Captain," I said to him. Calling him "Captain" was like an inside joke only I was in on, since I knew that there was no way that the captain he was supposedly descended from ever existed.
"Morning, Nikki," Colin said with a warm smile, yet sounding a little drowsy. His voice was a deep and pleasant one that, if I didn't know any better, held a slight tone of authority. Though he tried to be discreet about it out of politeness, I noticed him stifling a yawn. Like most others, he wasn't accustomed to waking up so early, so the only reason he was probably up was because I must have woken him.
"Sorry for waking you up," I apologized. "I just wanted to talk to someone that wasn't my grandma."
He chuckled at that; he knew how my grandmother could get sometimes. "Well, why don't you talk to some of your robot friends, Miss Robot Whisperer?" he said teasingly.
I rolled my eyes. Colin always poked fun at me like that for being able to communicate with the robots. No one else could understand any of the robots, for the robots had amongst themselves a unique language I called Robot-Speak, for lack of a better name. After years of working with them, I eventually learned this language. Now, I couldn't produce the various beeps, clicks, and whirs that composed the language, but I could easily translate what the robots were saying when they spoke it. "All the robots are asleep, as well, thank you very much," I said to his mocking question. I started to leave, for I was done with him and I had to get back to what I should have been doing—my job. "It's been nice seeing you, Captain, but now I must be off. Unlike some people—" here I shot a pointed look at him "—I have a job to do. So, goodbye."
"See you later, Nikki," he said to me as I walked out the door.
I set out once more and headed for the Tree of Beginnings, a large tree—make that the largest, as it was easily the tallest tree around—that reached high into the sky, about 100, 150 feet if I had to guess. Since it was easily seen from a distance, it made for a good meeting place. This tree, if I recalled it correctly, was also part of the fictional legend of WALL-E. They said that it was the very first plant to be nutured and grown in the earth's soil after all life had been decimated by our ancestors' dumb mistakes. And—this I laughed out loud at—they also said that WALL-E found this precious plant and had carried it around in a boot as he traveled with it. A boot! What other ridiculous junk could they possibly have come up with?
Anyways, M-O, a hyper little cleaning robot with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, came to greet me at this tree. He tried to say something to me, but the words came out as a jumble that sounded more like a buzz. This normally happened from time to time, as he usually talked so fast, his voice modulator sometimes stumbled over the rapid stream of chatter. "Try again, M-O," I encouraged him. "And try to slow down a little."
"Goodmorningnikki," he said, pacing his words at a speed he considered slow. "Doyouthinkyoucanhelpmeout?"
"Sure. What can I do for you?"
M-O lifted up his scrubber arm, the main tool he used to clean anything he deemed dirty—which was usually just about everything. I saw that in the coarse bristles of the cleaning brush, some stones and pebbles were stuck, likely a result of him trying to scrub something he shouldn't have. Well, at least he wasn't as bad as he was when I first found him—he was a complete wreck then, freaking out and trying to clean everything in sight. He calmed considerably after I reconfigured his programming, though those obsessive-compulsive habits of his never really went away. I withdrew a small metal pick from my toolbox and began working the rocks out of the bristles.
Suddenly, M-O squawked happily and started waving his scrubber arm excitedly, interrupting my work. I glanced up to see EVE gliding by us. I called her over, and she slowed to a graceful stop in front of us.
"Good morning, Nikki," she said, her blue LED eyes smiling at me.
"Good morning," I said. "Anything new going on?"
"I'd like you to meet someone."
Not this again, I groaned inwardly. EVE often talked about that old legend as if she were there, and kept trying to introduce me to a robot that didn't exist. Though I never expressed such thoughts to her directly, I believed her to be delusional, and dismissed her words as the fabrications of a troubled mind. But this time, I decided to play along to appease her. "And who would that be?"
"His name is WALL-E. He's a very nice robot. I know you would like him."
"Where is he?"
"Wait just a minute. I'll bring him here." She zipped off into the distance in search of a robot that existed only in her mind. I idly wondered, How long will she look for that robot? That mythical, nonexistent robot . . . ? The thought drifted through my mind like a lazy cloud crawling across the sky before dissipating into nothing. I then went back to work on M-O.
I had just finished removing the last stone from M-O's scrubber brushes when I heard EVE approach. I looked up—and nearly dropped the tool in my hand. Next to EVE, standing before my very eyes was a robot I'd never seen before. Can it be . . . ? Is this WALL-E? Was the legend true, after all? I gaped at the strange robot. He gave me a wave and a cheerful whistle.
"This is Nikki," EVE said, introducing the robot to me.
The robot came up to me, took my hand in his odd three-fingered, shovel-like one, and shook it in a friendly handshake. By way of introducing himself, he said simply, "WALL-E," at once confirming my suspicions.
I couldn't believe it. The legend was true. All of it was true. My oh-so-skeptical mind was blown. So blown, in fact, I went into complete and total shock. I must have stood there a good twenty minutes just staring at the legendary robot that was truly, actually real. I finally snapped out of it when WALL-E waved a hand in front of my face, saying, "Yoo-hoo!"
"Uh, hi," I said somewhat awkwardly. "Nice to meet you." I looked at WALL-E again, still not entirely sure that he was really standing in front of me. He certainly was a peculiar little robot, with large, binocular-shaped eyes, a metal box for a body, durable treads to handle all sorts of terrain, and a solar-charge meter. No other robot I knew ran on solar power, and he seemed like an older, outdated model of robot that I never knew of.
WALL-E gave a concerned look to EVE, and she said for him, "Are you all right, Nikki?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little shocked. WALL-E is legendary, after all."
"Leh-gee?" WALL-E inquired. It was immediately evident that he wasn't quite as articulate as other robots. Though I have to admit, that only made him more charming.
"Legendary. You're famous, WALL-E. What you did, all those years ago, that was . . . incredible. Monumental. You did a very good thing, and all us humans know that, even today."
"Ooh!" was WALL-E's response.
"That's amazing," EVE said.
"It is pretty cool," I said. I just never knew that it was more than just a fairy tale, I added in my mind. "So . . . Would you two like to see my workshop?" I don't know why that came up right then, I think my thoughts were still scrambled from the mind explosion a few minutes before.
The two robots exchanged a glance that seemed to express more than words. "Sure," EVE said.
I led them to my workshop—which was really just an abandoned car garage—the place I performed more serious repair jobs. There, many power tools and other things I couldn't fit in my toolbox hung within easy reach. A mess of spare parts and blueprints covered the place, though I could almost always find what I needed with little searching. WALL-E and EVE both explored the workspace. EVE was more courteous and respectful, merely looking and making a point of not touching anything, while WALL-E was too curious for his own good, getting his hands on anything and everything possible. Several times I had to pull him away from the dangerous power tools, and he kept shifting my blueprints around when I had them just the way I liked them. And, out of all the drawers in that place, he found the one in which I kept my—ahem—personal items. I nearly died of embarrassment right there and then when he pulled out a pair of my panties and put it over his head, wearing it as some sort of hat.
"Give me that!" I snapped, snatching his "hat" off his head and placing it back in the drawer.
"Aw," he sighed, giving me a plaintive look that said, What did I do? That look in those big eyes of his was just too cute; I couldn't stay angry with him a second longer.
"I'm sorry about that," I said gently to him. "Just try not to touch anything, okay?" I turned away for a second, and . . .
BANG! CRASH!
"WALL-E!" Hadn't I just told him to not touch anything?
He responded with a beep that roughly translated to, "Not me!"
I turned around to see the expected sight of several objects on the floor felled by the wonderful physics of the domino effect—and EVE holding a single, out-of-place gear, looking sheepish and oddly guilty.
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "EVE?"
"Sorry," said EVE softly, fixing her gaze on the ground.
But I couldn't stay mad at her, either; I've always had a soft spot for the robot population of Earth. The human population . . . not so much. When I think about it, sometimes I felt as if I belonged more with the robots than I did with the humans. But, that's beside the point.
"Aw, it's alright, EVE," I said. "It's not that bad . . ." Who was I kidding? Half the shop was in ruins, though I would be able to fix it . . . eventually. "In the meantime, why don't we head someplace else?" No point in staying after the place had been turned into a veritable disaster area.
At that, WALL-E exclaimed in realization and started tugging at my wrist. "Come! Come!" he said excitedly.
I let him lead me to an old, rusted trailer that looked as outdated as himself. He pushed a button and, with the whining groan of centuries-old hydraulics, a door lowered itself to the ground. WALL-E then pressed another button, and a string of Christmas lights flickered on, illuminating the dark interior.
There was shelf after shelf of random knick-knacks and trinkets that WALL-E apparently had collected with no rhyme or reason. Toys, lightbulbs, spare parts, and more—way more than I could possibly list.
WALL-E directed my attention to an old iPod. He pulled a large wall-mounted magnifying glass in front of the small screen, enlarging the image on it to the size of a small television, then inserted a tape into the adjoined video player. An upbeat, bouncy tune filled the air, and the screen showed many people singing the song and dancing to the beat.
"Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lot of world out there . . . " the dancing people sang, making me want to get up and dance with them. I glanced at WALL-E and EVE. They, too, seemed to want to dance, their heads rocking to the peppy beat.
The song ended, followed by another, this one soothing and romantic. The screen now displayed a man and woman holding hands, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes.
"And it only took a moment to be loved . . . A whole life long . . ." the duet crooned softly to each other. It was very touching, and made me wonder what it was like to be in love. To be the other half of a whole. To have nothing else matter to you than that other person . . . I looked over at the two robots next to me once more, and saw that they were copying the couple onscreen, holding hands and looking at each other like they were the only ones in the world. They looked so in love . . . But that wasn't possible. Robots, no matter how sentient they become, cannot develop true emotions. WALL-E and EVE were simply mimicking what they saw in the video, nothing more, I convinced myself.
When the video was over, I headed outside, a new mission set firm in my mind. I already knew the legend was true—WALL-E himself was more than enough proof—but I was now determined to find the Axiom, the starship mentioned in the legend. I had to know if it still existed, as WALL-E did. I wanted to see, wanted to touch another piece of history.
I soon realized that I would likely never find the ship on my own, and asked EVE for assistance, as she probably knew the way and was easier to communicate with. She agreed, and led me, along with WALL-E, to wherever the Axiom supposedly was. After about half an hour of walking, with much thanks to EVE's guidance, we reached our destination. The Axiom, right in front of my eyes.
It was huge, way bigger than thought it to be. Tilting my head backwards in a futile attempt to see all of the larger-than-life starship, my heart leaped and skipped over an excited beat. Taking a deep breath to calm my trembling, I stepped towards the ship, looked back at WALL-E and EVE, and said:
"I'm going to explore the Axiom."