Ones and Zeros
I just HAD to re-write it, it needed some fixing, and I added a little poem for it too .
Standard disclaimer applies.
You don't have to review if you don't want to, however, if you do please don't flame me. Your CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and compliments are very much appreciated.
Prologue
O precious song bird sing for me,
-Sing for me in your safe cage.
O precious song bird I call on thee
When jealous men stole you in rage.
O precious song bird,
Without your winding key
You cannot speak or sing a single word.
Fast asleep waiting to be free.
Asleep for so long you do not remember….
And now you are awakened and reborn in mid-November…
O precious song bird remember me….
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Chapter I: blue winged angel
It was November 15, almost a year too the day the Chobit was activated. Almost a year to the day since Reinen died taking his persocom Haiete and his future down with him. Almost a year to the day Nosada, Ichiro became an only child, having to walk to school instead of hitching a ride with his older brother and his persocom. Just one more month and then the unhappy anniversary that changed the world of robotics and the comfortable lives of millions forever…
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It was just another day in high school at its end for Ichiro and his friends. Another cold walk home, Ichiro always walked home alone because his two best friends Takomi and Nuichi lived in the opposite direction. Like everyone else they had persocoms, Nuichi had a male she named Raizo, along with two laptops: Nami and Kami. Raizo was a handsome brown haired, blue eyed model, well built and well mannered like most persocoms before and after his generation. Nami was a custom job, he was programmed to be loud, pouty, and restless while his fellow laptop Kami was kind, sweet, and polite.
Takomi had a female model he named Yumi, she had deep purple eyes, and wavy pink hair, even the tiniest smile was that of an angel's in the eyes of her master. Yes, everyone had a persocom to call their own, except Ichiro. He thought they were so lucky, yet odd at the same time, they only had eyes for their persocoms.
"Later Ichiro-kun! See you in biology tomorrow!" Nuichi called as she walked with Raizo.
"Bye Nosada, don't forget we have a test on Wednesday in English." Takomi said before running up to Yumi who was waiting for him in their car.
Why pick a robo-look-alike over the real-deal? He thought to himself after he waved good-bye to his classmates, watching Nuichi walk with her fingers laced together with her persocom's and Takomi hugging Yumi's shoulders with one arm, both humans very much in love with their electronic companions.
I wish I could have a persocom…but mom would never buy me one, and I can't afford one right now, besides I don't have a job, or even have TIME for one…oh well, let's face it, nothing in life is free…
As he walked home, there were persocom carcasses everywhere, on the curb, in the alleys, up against walls. After the Chobit hit Japan, many people disguarded their persocoms because they were defected , some people bought the newer generations which the companies claimed were free of the program that caused the persocom shut down almost a year ago. Others, just couldn't trust them anymore and threw them away. In short, a lot of people threw out their once beloved companions , like every day trash that the garbage man came to collect once a week. Some were taken by the garbage men immediately but others were not so fortunate. Nosada had seen many a persocom in ruin, some with the casing rotting off from the weather, some torn apart by druggies looking to sell the parts, and others dismembered and played with by teens that were either, sick, bored, or jealous of their perfect beauty. All in all it was a sad site. Fried hard drives here and there, chewed wires and old limbs everywhere it was like living in a robotic slaughter house. And what was even more disturbing was the humans' reactions to such waste…no reaction at all, it was like they weren't even there. The people and their new 'coms were in their own make believe world with out a care. Like this reality wasn't reality at all.
Ichiro was thinking about all this when he realized he had missed the turn that led to the short cut home.
"Well…", he thought aloud. "It's too late to turn back now I guess I'll just keep going this way, I'm half way there anyway."
It was getting dark making it too late and too cold to turn back. So he kept walking, listening to the scratchy calls of crows and a strange sound up ahead, it sounded kind of like white noise at night this part of town the streets and sidewalks were pretty barren so every sound was quite crisp and clear.
Maybe some one has bad reception on their TV or radio or something…
As he walked on it got louder, and a flickering, dim, blue light caught his eye. The white noise was coming from the same place as the light. Being a curious 16-year-old boy, Ichiro had to find out what this strange blue mystery was. He crept cautiously towards it, keeping his ears sharp and eyes peeled.
"Hello?"
As he looked over some crates that were stacked around the creepy glow he realized that it came from the eyes of a persocom slumped over in a corner between the wall of an apartment complex and an old rotting fence. It's eyes flickering on and off from loss of power.
"Oh…it's a persocom…", He said to himself, for this he knew for sure, but he couldn't really see much else of it, except for it's dimly lit face, that would come in and out of the darkness as its power drained.
"Hey, are you lost, do you need help finding your owner?" He asked as he stretched out his hand.
The persocom's fading blue eyes turned to acknowledge him, then its head tilted back in to center to face him as well.
"Here, let me help you…"
He inched a little closer and then, it's eyes snapped open and numbers and gibberish spewed from its mouth, Ichiro fell back in horror, too shocked to make a sound.
"1010101010101010101010101110011000000010101010101...singsingsongbirdblulebirdsingsing…!!" After quickly spewing out more random words and one-zero codes it let out a high pitched sound and shut down. He waited a minute before prodding it with his finger and then picked it up and carried it home.
"Don't worry we'll find out were you came from." He reassured the motionless robot that he flung over his shoulder.
He came home to an empty house, like every night pretty much, his mother was out of town on a business trip and wouldn't be back for two weeks, and his father had walked out on them years ago. So he didn't have to worry about explaining the unconscious person he had over his shoulder.
"I'm ho-ome!" He chimed to a dark and empty house. As he stepped in his foot got caught on the door frame and he fell over the persocom underneath him. He got off it immediate and turned on the light too see what he had brought home.
She was beautiful and he automatically felt embarrassed for falling on top of her. She had sun-kissed skin, and turquoise topped, ivory bottomed E.A.R.S. Her hair was jet black, a short little inverted bob in the back, and long strands in the front that stopped below her shoulders. She was in the default uniform all persocoms came in. She looked so innocent and peaceful lying unconscious on the floor, almost as if she were sleeping.
Ichiro quickly shook of those thoughts and carried her up to his room. He looked for body bar codes or a custom makers signature or logo, on her back were blue wing-shaped, shinny, metallic, shards imbedded in her back and a little hole in-between them. Further in his examination he found that her fingers were wrapped around something. He gentlely pried them open to find a little winding key, like that of an antique music box. He wondered what it could mean decided to figure that out later and set it on his desk, as he looked for an ON button. It was fairly easy to find, it was inside her E.A.R., but when he pressed it she wouldn't come back on.
"Wow, she sure did run her batter down… luckily we have Haiete's old charger, it's too late to use solar energy."
He went into the attic where they put Haiete's belongings, there wasn't much, just a box or two. He carried one down and brought it to his room, whipping the dust off the top and unfolded the it to pull out the charger. After he plugged her in the charge gave him the estimated time.
…12 hours until fully functional…
"Well then I guess I'll see you in the morning"
As he lay on his bed he watched her body pulsing with blue light as her battery recharged. After a while his vision started to blur, losing focus, and his eye lids were getting heavy until he couldn't keep them open any longer and drifted off to sleep.
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I hope this chapter was a lot better than the old one. I feel like I've improved it. Oh, and I have drawn the persocom if anyone wants to see imires.
-DH©