The words "short, sweet, and to the point" come to mind. I whipped this up after having watched the WALL-E DVD. I've been wanting to write something for Miss E-Vah, so here it is!
Disclaimer: Wall-E is (C) to Disney/Pixar.
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Define "Directive"
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Throughout her existence, Eve believed in one thing and one thing only: her directive. It was not simply a word or a mission, but a deep resounding truth around which she centered all her attention. If she worked hard and did as she was programmed, one day she would know satisfaction. Nothing would distract her or keep her from the accomplishment of her duty. Nothing.
DELIVER PLANT TO AXIOM SUPERIOR.
So why...did it feel empty now? She stared at it, the end of her work, the object of success. For so long, it was all she wanted. All she needed. But it was light, frail, and wilting. It was empty.
DELIVER PLANT TO AXIOM SUPERIOR.
Her eyes flittered on the screen of her face, the equivalent of a robotic blink. The plant did not change. It did not complete her. It did not lighten her burden. It did not make her happy. Was that not the end she'd wanted for so long?
DELIVER PLANT TO AXIOM SUPERIOR.
Slowly, unsurely, she submitted a query to her systems: "Define...directive."
Directive: The singular purpose for which a robot exists, the meaning of a robot's being.
A directive...meant purpose. Reason. This thing...it had none of these. No reason, no purpose. It was not the way she would fulfill herself.
DELIVER PLANT TO AXIOM SUPERIOR.
With a soft fumf, the meaningless object left her grasp and her mind.
She offered her hand to the one that completed her, defined her, and gave her purpose. Now she understood.
"Directive."