Hello, I am SUPPLY-R.
For whoever stumbles across this message and takes the time to read it, you probably do not know who- or what- I am. If you are familiar with the Buy N Large space-cruiser 'Axiom', and its automated crew, my acronym name should have served as a fair clue that I am in fact a robotic entity. You should also be familiar with a variety of different robotic models, including the PR-T, the BRL-A, or the sophisticated VN-GO. My workspace is out of eventful grounds, so my name may be new to you.
At this point you may be interested to know about me, but I should really be honest, I don't believe I will be of significant interest to you. However, for the curious, I will attempt to describe myself anyway.
Unsurprisingly, I function as a supply robot. I work collaboratively with the Basic Utility Repair Nano Engineer, otherwise known as BURN-E. I supply to BURN-E replacement lamp spires, which he replaces on the exterior of the Axiom whenever one is damaged. I also possess the power controls for the nine lamp spires in our zone of maintenance, outside the starboard airlock.
One could describe my build as, to put it simply, resembling a big, irregular block. That is my basic shape. I possess a touch-screen display panel for power-control purposes, a compartment for storing up to three lamp spires at once, and LED eyes for… Reasons unknown.
One could also describe my build as, to put it bluntly, resembling a big, irregular block with eight concealed arms. I do indeed possess eight arms, but they lack the versatility that would make them truly practical. Two of these said arms are on my sides. My left arm extends to press a button that summons BURN-E. Yes, it does seem rather absurd that my arm serves no other purpose than to press a button. My right arm is even more trivial; it does absolutely nothing, and has not done so in an alarmingly long time. As of now, I wonder if it is even functional after all of these years of inactivity. My remaining six arms extend from a compartment at my front. These arms hold the lamp spires which I hand to BURN-E when he requests them. Extending my arms and handing lamp spires to BURN-E is not their only function, however; I can also extend my arms and not hand a lamp spire to BURN-E, or I can drop a lamp spire. Oddly enough, I cannot touch my own display panel to cut or restore power to the spires. I wonder if this was intentional, to evade the risk of me getting BURN-E electrocuted horribly during his work.
Perhaps now I should run you through a typical day of work for me. Or to put it more accurately, BURN-E and I. To be honest, it is primarily BURN-E. Firstly, if a lamp spire within our maintenance zone is damaged, the Axiom's Autopilot will activate me and I will summon BURN-E. BURN-E will then arrive at my station, touching the affected spire on my display panel to power it down, and I will hand him a replacement lamp spire. Then BURN-E will leave down the long corridor and out to the Axiom's exterior through the starboard airlock where he will begin to replace the damaged lamp spire. This process typically takes less than one hour. BURN-E then returns to me and restores power to the newly-replaced lamp spire, before returning to his station and powering down until his next call.
What do I do between repair jobs? Generally, I achieve nothing. It would have been suitable to have mentioned earlier that my directive commonly requires me to remain at my station at all times. I tend to find myself observing my surroundings; however I have found they have barely changed since I first began my observations. The lack of activity within the area is a likely cause of this. The wall ahead of me bears a series of metal pipes lit by fluorescent lights, while the ground in front of me is a metal grid bearing the rail along which BURN-E travels. The walls beside me, according to my last observation, are much like the wall in front of me; though the wall to my left bears the POW-R button which I press to summon BURN-E. I am unable to describe the space above me, for my build does not allow me to look directly upwards. BURN-E once described it as being of very little interest. I could have gone into much more depth in my description of my surroundings, but I believe that information is not of significant importance.
Despite my limited area of exploration and history of interaction, I refuse to let myself descend into a lack of knowledge. I try to gather information from wherever possible, and I believe I have a reasonable amount of information stored within my memory. For example, I know that BURN-E has currently replaced 2978 lamp spires. That number could quite possibly 2979, depending on the outcome of his current repair job. That suggests a rough average of 4 lamp spire repairs annually, with five every fourth year. Of course, this data is not completely accurate as I am certain six spires were repaired in our sector during the years 2475 and 2644.
I am also aware that it has been 34580 days and 14 hours since my last visit to the Axiom's repair ward. In some ways that is a pleasant fact; however I seem to rather enjoy being sent to the repair ward. I do not enjoy malfunctioning, nor do I enjoy being forced into sleep mode through the use of a reboot cord. It is the journey to the repair ward that I find most enjoyable, for there are so many sights to see, so much indication that there is indeed a world outside of what I see from my station. I am also given the chance to make encounters with various other Buy N Large robotic entities, which I find pleasurable despite their brevity. I often find myself feeling guilt for the MVR-A upon which I stand during the trip, for I am doubtful of whether they were built with robots of my considerably heavy frame in mind…
Due to BURN-E being the only other robot that I frequently interact with, I know quite a lot about him. I would be able to identify the date of infliction of approximately 78.542% of the abrasions on his exterior coat. I am also quite aware of his taste for classical music, particularly the works of Ludwig Van Beethoven. My zone is ordinarily silent; I have heard him listening to 'Ode to Joy' quite frequently from his station. Approximately 37.432% of the music he listens to is that song. Another peculiar fact is that BURN-E lacks a right grasper, and without his welding torch attached exists nothing in its place at the end of his limb. His average speed attained while travelling towards the starboard airlock is-
My apologies for losing track there, I seem to know more about BURN-E than myself. At least it seems that I hold more information in regards to him than myself. That may come across as unsettling. Could this be because BURN-E is in fact much more dynamic and thought-provoking than I? It is likely. On occasion I begin to ponder the significance of my own existence. That should not be interpreted in a way that suggests that I do not ever find pleasure in my own existence, or that I wish to stop existing, I merely wonder why such mundane functions as my own required artificial intelligence. A touch-screen display panel built into the wall along with an automated or button-activated lamp spire dispenser would have operated equally as efficiently, and the Autopilot could directly summon BURN-E instead of activating me to summon him myself. If the suggested situation were reality, my consciousness would not be put to waste against a wall, and our repair job would be that of BURN-E alone.
Something has suddenly struck me- not a physical object, but a realisation I feel I should have made centuries ago. If it weren't for my presence, BURN-E would become incredibly lonesome. Now I feel somewhat self-centred for ever having considered that an insentient, mechanical device in place of my own presence would be beneficial. The truth is that BURN-E and I do not consistently get along as well as we would desire, however we always forgive and care about each other. It is almost as if in our many, many years working collaboratively we have grown tired of each other, yet attached.
I suppose that could serve as a fine example of how I am still open to new thoughts and discoveries. In fact, I think I ought to see if- Never mind, my right arm is jammed and will not be extending any time soon. Not that it is an issue, given its impracticality. Perhaps this jammed arm will earn me another trip to the repair ward. In the meantime, if you have read through the previous 1530 words of the dull musings of a supply-bot… I suppose I should mention my emotions. Emotions are peculiar things. They are comparable to malfunctions, not in my control, yet not originally programmed into my mechanical mind. I have made attempts, but I cannot pinpoint a time and date at which BURN-E and I developed emotions and self-awareness, they seemed to phase in smoothly over time. BURN-E is quite expressive, when he is joyful, dejected, irritated or fearful, he certainly shows it. On the contrary, it appears my expressions are quite subtle and often challenging to read- just one of the delights of being a big irregular block with eight concealed arms, I suppose.
A function of mine that baffles me is my ability to verbally communicate English. All of the Axiom's robotic crew understand English, but few speak it, and commonly only a limited number of short, programmed sentences. I, however, can communicate in full sentences structured from my own vocabulary, albeit in a monotone voice. I would assume you are wondering how or why this is the case, and unfortunately I do not know the answer. Perhaps I had originally been built with the intention of serving humans directly. This lengthy message may have caused me to come across as a heavy talker, when in actual fact I rarely speak a word, for I virtually never have to. I am, however, rather heavy.
I do a lot of thought processing, as you may have noticed. I generally find the time for this leisurely practice while BURN-E is out welding. However, on some occasions I find myself remaining active well beyond the point of BURN-E returning to his station. That is in fact how I discovered his adoration of orchestra. I understand the following is likely to be a rather detrimental habit to maintain, but in the last 239 years I have found myself from time to time allowing my energy to deplete until I am forced into involuntary sleep mode. Depriving myself of energy, feeling increasingly sluggish until my functions forcefully shut themselves off, is an unusual sensation. Not an entirely pleasant one, but one I somehow feel compelled to experience again. I fear that my constant isolation and lack of stimulation might have driven me into this negligent behaviour.
I feel as though I ought to bring this lengthy message to a close. Whether or not you have enjoyed taking the time to get to know one of the less desirable and sophisticated robots of the Axiom is not up to me to decide. By the time this message is received I may be long gone, melted down into scrap metal, my parts recycled into a loveable PR-T or HAN-S, a talented VN-GO or FIX-IT, or perhaps a curious REM-E, set loose to wander the darker, drearier corners of this great space-cruiser, and perhaps I will one day come across a solemn yet thoughtful supply-bot not unlike my current self. Until then, I doubt any significant changes will occur for me in my restricted setting.
My apologies, reader, I believe I may have come across as gloomy, displeased, or just plain dull. I rarely act in this way; I am just enduring a rather hectic and frustrating day. BURN-E was sent out to repair spire 7 at approximately mid-day and has had to return for two additional replacements already. It is quite unlike him to be irresponsible enough to lose or damage replacement lamp spires. Since I supplied the last lamp spire to BURN-E he has yet to return, and well over an hour has passed. I am beginning to feel concerned for him. Today has brought about unusual occurrences, to say the very least. In fact, either my vision is faulty or I may have seen an EVE probe hover past some time ago carrying some variety of rusted cube.
On second thought, BURN-E may have found himself locked out of the starboard airlock. It would not hurt to go check- Never mind, I can hear BURN-E heading up this direction, and he is chuckling like a madman.
Finally, he can restore power to spire seven and allow us both to return to sleep mode.
And all shall return to its usual routines.
Author's note- I don't think I've read any fanfictions about SUPPLY-R, not in his usual robot form anyway. I assume that's because he's exclusive to the BURN-E short. The use of language might seem a little unusual here, but I figured it would add to the vibe I wanted to give SUPPLY-R here. The vibe of an unsettling but lonely and gentle character. The story seems to also have fluctuating levels of creepiness, for example, it starts out with SUPPLY-R giving a rather general explanation of himself and his directive, then it slips into eerily precise trivial information, before settling briefly back to sombre self-contemplation, then revealing one of his unsettling habits. That was somewhat intentional, I guess?