Well, I have a flight to catch tomorrow to get home to the States, and I'm feeling so friggin' nervous about it…so I decided the best way to express this is through a oneshot about my favorite wheel! I'm feeling particularly Wall-E inspired because I just saw it again today (still an amazing movie after four times), so here it is. I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer (As Presented By Wall-E): Wwwaaaa-Llleee…nnnot…Cah-stooo-rooo's…
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Step Into the Sun
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His optic unit was designed to be flawless. It displayed perfect image quality, despite being stained a deep red. It allowed him to survey all his surroundings, taking in every minute detail and feeding it into the neurons of his artificial mind for thorough evaluation.
That being said, it was quite a shock to have a sea of pure white light flood into his eye at once. Auto recoiled, shutting his eye from the radiance.
With several mechanical whirs, his eye slid open, allowing in the light in, but tentatively, almost unwillingly. The strange glow filled the room, glimmering more beautifully than any incandescent light he'd ever witnessed. It seemed to beckon him further, inviting him to step outside, to look into the brave new world.
He looked back at Wall-E, the glow of his eye dim—his way of expressing feelings of fright.
"I…can't…" he murmured in a voice full of apprehension. Auto wanted more than anything to sink back into hiding in his control room. It was safe, secluded, and familiar…it was his world. He wasn't ready to be thrust into another world he couldn't control and predict.
The Waste Allocator chirped in encouragement, rolling from around the back of Auto's base—the Autopilot had been attached to a rolling base, hung rather like a skeleton used in a biology class. Wall-E looked out at the world stretched outside the doorway, lush and green after so many years of effort. He realized Auto had never witnessed the natural light of the sun, which couldn't penetrate the tinted windows of the bridge.
Believing this to be an appropriate moment for a new lesson, Wall-E extended a hand to the light, catching it in his palm.
"Sss…uuh…nn," Wall-E named the light, looking over at his student expectantly.
"Sun…define," Auto repeated, searching his memory for a definition of the new term. His search was interrupted by a sudden shove closer towards the threshold. Nonplussed, he flinched, the light almost blinding him in its increased intensity. A large metal finger pointed up towards an orb of light, now visible since Auto was closer to the door.
"Deh…fini—shun," Wall-E explained. To Wall-E, definitions were beyond cold text relayed from a cache of words. They were palpable, things to be touched and experienced. A word had no real meaning without a memory to connect it with.
Eye "squinted" against the oppressive sunlight, Auto observed the burning orb. He recalled passing suns aboard the Axiom, but none burned with quite the same intensity as Earth's. Perhaps it was due only to the tinted glass separating him from the bright stars, maybe not.
"Go…ouutside…" Wall-E hummed, lightly pushing him closer to the entrance. While he had no control over the wheels of the stand, Auto tried to put up some sort of resistance.
"I can't…I am not ready…" the Autopilot objected, longing for the dark quiet of his haven. The chaotic world outside was not fit for a being such as he. It was far too sporadic and random…no, he existed in patterns and routines. In a world like Earth, he would be useless, defective even.
"Auu-to…" Wall-E said softly, his kindly large eyes affixed on Auto, giving him a look of nothing but the purest compassion. It had been Wall-E's unconditional forgiveness and empathy that initially swayed Auto into attempting to change his ways; it seemed now the same quality would push him into leaving the sanctuary of the Axiom.
"What if I am shunned, as before? What if I cannot be forgiven?" Auto didn't like the idea of facing hundreds of angry, vengeful humans. Humans and the world that lay beyond the Axiom…so many things he could not control.
"Be…o-kayy…" Wall-E assured, patting Auto's spoke gesture of comfort. It wasn't nearly enough to quell Auto's apprehensions, but it seemed there was no turning back now. Thoughts filled with worries and dread, he gave no further protest, only muttered a halfhearted, "Proceed."
Slowly, so as not to hurry the Autopilot through the transition, Wall-E wheeled the stand into the sun. All around Auto, the world opened wide, the light pouring in from all around. It seemed to embrace him, welcoming him into a world of change and unpredictability.