Mejia
A glistening cityscape stretched on for countless miles before XK-52's visual receptors, the sheer amount of light almost short- circuiting the processors in his CPU(really? How does he cope looking at the sun?).. Planet Earth, galactic code named Celestial Body A1, most commonly known as Terra to the races species not native to it(i.e. aliens/all species not human?), had become so advanced technologically that, not even highly sophisticated robotics was required: as the structures had almost lifelike AI incorporated into their systems, allowing the various buildings to perform themselves all the tasks a robot would normally do.
To the left stood the Parliament Building,; the centre of Earth's government. It wasn't the tallest structure, but it had the largests area was the largest of anyll buildings on the planet. It had sSilver domes placed around a central spire that contained the faction offices of all the different factions. Each dome had a different emblem emblazoned on the its outward and inward sides of the domes. The central spire was the location of all the sessions of pParliament, as well as the office of the Prime Minister of Earth.
To the right was, the Residential District - ; countless skyscrapers hosting hundreds of small - to moderate -size human living quartersdwellings. They were constructed barely a decade ago, to try and to reduce humanity'sthe impact the human race had on the environment. The constant urban sprawl as a result of the demand for housing began to wipe out natural habitats, as well asand had placed unnecessary strain on the planet's economy. The pParliament decided to condense the living areas into middle-class apartments. So far, the solution hasit had worked.
Directly ahead was, the Central Business District, ; where everyone travelled to perform administrative and programming tasks. It was composed of an assortment of skyscrapers of differing heights and widths. They each served as the main headquarters for the major corporations and companies of Earth, . They mmediatinged the economy and stock market, and administrated the mass production of electronics and housing goods.
And behind was, the Spaceport and Temporary Accommodation centres;. Kingsford Smith Spaceport was the oldest and best on the planet, and the extra-terrestrial accommodation accounted for all different species visiting Earth.
XK-52 pondered the cityscape whilst performing his routine maintenance. (Should mention him performing maintenance here, to mesh with the last italic sentence) The human need for overly large construction is beyond my comprehension. As a robot, I only need a very small space for routine shut-down time and limited annual maintenance, so seeing humans constantly placing singed goods or liquids into their vocal units seems a strange activity. And the way their body shapes keep changing, inflating and deflating, stretching and squashing, even parts of their cranial unit were moved around. But I've digressed (remarkably human phrase for a robot). What appears to be a competition between the humans for the largest and most elaborate dwelling seemed is pointless and needlessly expensive . Even the names of some of the places are unnecessarily exotic. Heh, the hHumans even gave me a name – Xeol. Ah well, best get back to my final round of maintenance. (sounds very human for a robot)
Xeol reconnected himself to the auto-maintenance interface and hacked his way through the access barriers the invading virus had erected. Easily eradicating all traces of and damage done by the virus, Xeol disconnected and began to slowly trudge down the hallway, the impact of the oncoming event finally hitting home. I still cannot believe the humans residing here have taken so long to acquire one of the newer inbuilt AI units. I guess they must direct a positive emotion towards me. Love, I believe is the word the humans use for it. Bah, I knew this day was coming; there was no halting its inevitability.
After today, there will be no more robots.
Xeol stalled after a short while, what seemed like a stabbing pain was coursing through his torso area. Gah, I've heard of pains like this. They occur in humans when they're sad or stressed. I must be experiencing one of these two emotions, which is understandable, considering the fact that in a few short hours, I'm going to arrive at Mejia. It's not understandable: he's a robot. Mejia is the name for robot judgement. It's where robots who have passes their usefulness are deactivated permanently, and have their programming uploaded into a massive supercomputer, where the robot's program is sent to either robot heaven, or the rubbish bin. To determine where a program will end up, Mejia calculates each robot's Metadam, which is the number of helpful services the robot has performed, and it's Cypanzer, or the number of infringements and negative acts.
Where do these names come from? They seem arbitrary.
A robot's biggest fear (robots feel fear?) is being judged with a Cypanzer higher than its Metadam. This would result in its programming being scrapped then and there. If the Metadam is higher, the robot goes straight to heaven the program version of Christianity's heaven(you have made-up words for vice and virtue and judgment and hell but not for heaven? Having said that, I love the idea of humanity imposing a theological and spiritual moral standard onto their creations as if they were gods with feet of clay) －-, what is there, no -onerobot knows, as the programmers kept it a secret, even once they died. (why not? Presumably it's the product of programmers) For this reason, robots fear what is there as well. If Metadam and Cypanzer arethe two counts are equal, the robot must perform a series of tests to determine whether the robot should be sent to heaven or scrapped. I guess I should make my way to Mejia. I can't delay the inevitable any longer... Xeol turned south and started the thirty minute walk to the Central Robot Control building, where the supercomputer Mejia was waiting to judge him.
* * * * *
Walking down the boulevard towards Mejia, Xeol felt like something of an outsider, an outcast in a world too advanced for him. The streets used to be flooded with swarms of robots similar to himself, all performing different errands for their masters or various maintenance tasks on the often-redundant excessive amounts of computer systems that mediated air traffic flow. Nowadays the roads and pathways were filled with humans going for leisurely walks or and hover-discing towards work or a companion's dwelling.
The planet had undergone an upgrade from Sｓsolar- and Wｗwind- generated electricity. The changing climates and weather patterns had made them too unreliable, so scientists invented a new source of power by harnessing the leftover pollution from centuries past. Scientists discovered a common element (which element? Carbon?) in pollution such as garbage, smog and industrial waste that could be extracted and used for electricity, all while cleaning the environment. This environmental repair encouraged people to engage in more outdoor activities, and provided enough power for engineers to create the advanced computerised systems now in use. Interesting how, when I was built, none of this was here… Xeol thought, it's also sad that I won't get to see where they will get to next. Humans... such fascinating creatures. (robots can feel interest and sadness and wonder?)
As he continued down the lane, some of the humans he walked past greeted him with happiness;. "Hey, Xeol!", oOne or two of the ones heading in basically the same direction even slowed to chat with him for a while. Hmmm, these humans are all so friendly; I am very pleased with the way things have ended up. The human-robot relationship had evolved throughout the years, passing through periods of tension and revolt. For example, 、; there was a small period after the introduction of more sophisticated artificial intelligence in the robots whenre there were complaints of the robots being slaves to the humans. In the end, robots were given near equal rights to a human and the relationship between humans and robots was strengthened. Eventually, tThe human-robot relationship ended up a friendly one, with the robot population actually wanting to help humans in day to day tasks.
As Xeol neared his destination, he came over a hill to be presented with the towering vista of the Automated Robot Control ccorporation headquarters. The ARC Corporation moderated and monitored all robot actions and affairs. The three hundred -storey tower hosted the supercomputer Mejia, as well as documentation and records of all the robots that existed in the past. ARC was nearing the end of its use by the Earth Government. Once it no longer kept track of robots it was to become a museum-; a tribute to the age where humans and robots co-existed peacefully.
I'm almost there…almost at Mejia. Xeol stalled, a sudden fear overcoming him. No robot knew what lay in death. What if there's nothing? Xeol pondered this for a few moments, going through all the various possibilities for what lay ahead. It could be a garden, or a gathering hall filled with my old robot friends…I like that one. Perhaps we all walk on clouds and have wings, similar to one of the human concepts of what lies in death. Xeol realised he was thinking much like a human. Heh, it seems I have spent too much of my existence around and in the company of humans. I've become much like one in some respects. Xeol chuckled to himself. His amusement at how his built -in personality files have evolved over the years overcame his fear, so Xeol continued down the hill towards ARC.
Arriving at the ten foot tall double doors of the ARC Corporation Tower, Xeol hesitated for a moment before walking slowly inside. He placed his cranial unit up against the scanner, which proceeded to scan the identification ship implanted in his central processing unit.
"Unit XK-52. Building Maintenance. Registration No. 0-4-0-4-6-9-6-5-8-7. Entry Granted."
The computer spoke in an unremarkable tone. The old computer systems were not enhanced with AI, as they were only needed to perform menial and basic tasks. I am pleased that the humans saw fit to enhance my system with AI. Even thought I would have been useful for longer, I am glad I did not end up like this poor computer here.
Xeol marched over to the all -access lift. He hit the up button for up and waited for the lift to arrive. Over the years he had been frequently been forced to wait for things quite frequently, so he had decided to take up the human habit of whistling. Not having an actual mouth through which to whistle, he instead manipulated his vocal unit into producing melodic and melismatic tones at times whenever he thought up a rhythm he wanted to whistle. The lift rapidly descended the numerous floors and in no time the doors opened with a 'ding'. Xeol walked in and pressed the button for the three hundredth floor – the location of Mejia.
* * * * *
Three hundred years ago…
* * * * *
The robot's optical sensors blinked to life. It saw two humanoids, one male and one female, both very young. Its programmed greeting activated.
"Greetings, I am building maintenance unit number XK-52."
XK-52 propped himself up off the surface he was situated on, and stood next to the two humans. An old man, white hair in sparse wisps, his eyes sagging from age, stood on the other side of the bench.
"This model is the first of a brand -new series of robot."
The man spoke slowly, like as if his age was beginning to adversely affect him, yet he had an enthusiasm for his work that could not be denied.
"He will serve you faithfully for many years."
He handed the young couple a data card.
"Here is the complete operation manual. It also contains my contact details, if you need any information on this model, and the contact details of your local robot maintenance centre."
The couple thanked the old man profusely, and then beckoned to XK-52 to follow. He walked after the couple, swiftly, but always behind, as his programming dictated. The surrounding environment was simplistic but efficient, with buildings of Twentytwenty-First first Century century design and build populating the main sections of Sydney. The streets bustled with excessive amounts of cars, trucks, and other means of transport. The constant use of coal and oil fuelled power plants had created a layer of smog above the city skyline. The Kingsford Smith Spaceport had recently begun service, and the regular shuttle launches only added to the pollution problem.
XK-52 noted all his sightings in his internal memories database, placing them in a separate folder with the description of 'First Impressions'. The trio continued walking along the street until they reached a small apartment building that was undergoing renovations. The male human approached the front door, and unlocked it with his key card. The door swung open, revealing a moderately furnished lobby. The couple walked up to the service desk, XK-52 in tow, and began speaking to the lady there.
XK-52 couldn't hear what was being said, but his program dismissed it as unimportant. The couple moved over to a staircase, and motioned for XK-52 to follow. They climbed the stairs to the third floor, where the young couple had recently purchased an apartment. The apartment door slid open, and the couple pointed to a small input terminal. XK-52 hooked himself up and began his maintenance.
XK-52 served the couple faithfully for twenty -five years. The couple, Hank and Georgia, had two children childrenin the first five years of that time (reword). The children - ; the older being boy John – a boy - and the younger girlbeing Kris – a girl,- grew up playing around XK-52 as if he were a member of the family. XK-52, being programmed only for maintenance, chose to ignore a lot of the playful advances. On Kris' twentieth birthday, Hank and Georgia gave her XK-52 as a present.
* * * * *
Ten years later…Two Hundred and Sixty-Five Years Ago
* * * * *
While XK-52 was performing his usual daily maintenance on the top floor penthouse of his owner Kris, her husband Frank , and their son Mike, lived in, he noticed a bulletin on the local newspaper:;
'""New Robot Artificial Intelligence Available! Give your robot enhanced thinking and emotions!'"
For the first time in his existence, XK-52 was interested in something. Just as his programming was sending him back to work, Kris walked through the door.
"XK! I have a present for you!"
She was holding a small package in her left hand.
"My Lady Kris, what is this thing you have for me?" XK-52 replied in his monotone voice. Ok, this explains why he has emotions.
"It's the latest Artificial Intelligence. I got the advanced version from the lab. John gave it to me for you."
Kris worked at the Automated Robot Control CorporationcorporationCorporation. She was a Robot Improvement scientist and she worked with John, her older brother, on finding ways to enhance robot performance and usefulness. He always had artificial intelligence: do you mean artificial emotion?
Kris pulled out the AI chip and opened the compartment into XK-52's CPU. "This will only take a second." She clicked the chip into place.
"There."
She stepped backwards, eagerly awaiting the results of the enhancement.
XK-52 felt strange. Why am I feeling this way? Is it the AI? Wait, am I thinking? Independent thought? This is incredible! He looked at Kris. I am feeling a great sense of gratitude and love towards her. It feels good.
"Thank you very much, my Lady Kris."
Amazing! I have a vocal range now. No more monotone XK-52!
"This feels incredible; I don't know how I can ever repay you for this kindness, my Lady Kris."
"First of all," Kris spoke happilyreplied, . "jJust call me Kris from now on. Second, you don't need to repay me. I… We did this for you because you're part of the family. Finally, now that you've got emotions, I don't think you should be called XK-52 anymore. You need a name."
"A name?" XK-52 was puzzled at this notion. Robots didn't need names.
"Yes, a name. Hmmm… your designation is XK, so how about a name like Xeol?" (why does Ex Kay make Xeol?)
"Xeol… I like it. Thank you very much my Lady- I mean, thank you, Kris."
Xeol returned to his maintenance, pondering these new developments in his existence. I have a name now. It's interesting, I feel now like I belong somewhere. And I'm feeling a great amount of enjoyment from this work I'm doing. Xeol compiled these experiences and filed them in the memory folder designated '"Part of a family'".
* * * * *
Years passed and Xeol continued his work for Kris. His AI was more advanced then the commercially released model, so his emotions were more sophisticated and adaptivnge then most other robots. These emotions led him to think a lot during his monotonous and repetitive work. It's interesting… My processor produces these emotions with the Artificial Intelligence program, yet my intelligence level has remained the same. I guess performing the same tasks repeatedly for decades would be the cause of that. I wonder if I'll get the chance to improve my intelligence and move on from this job… Xeol resumed his work. He glanced out the window. For the first time in his existence, the full scale and wonder of the Planet Earth hit him. All the tall buildings, all the bright lights, all the technology and the people storeys below him. Incredible.
His processor recorded the images seen and the emotions felt in a folder marked '"Earth's Glory"'.
Kris walked in. Xeol turned to her and asked simply and innocently, "The city is so beautiful; could I perhaps look around?"
"Sure, you've kept the penthouse in pristine condition for many years, so I don't think a short walk is going to do us any harm."
Xeol gleefully detached himself from the maintenance port and briskly walked out the front door, his walking style as determined by his processor. Reaching the bottom floor, Xeol hesitated for a second to take a metaphorical '"deep breath'" before stepping out the door to see the city - , and really take it all in - , for the first time.
The first thing he noticed was the flashing. Billboards and screens displaying different products for purchase lined the streets like a collage of glowing jewels. People walked the streets, some franticallyfrantic, others slower and more relaxed. Cars and Motorbikes motorbikes filled the roads, : traffic jams were rare in these years, as new driving regulations and rules were implemented.
These streets are significantly more crowded then the apartment. It seems there are a lot more people on this planet then I originally expected. I wonder if any of them are as friendly as Kris. Xeol walked down the street, looking up at the skyscrapers and down at the nearseemingly -infinite amounts of people walking around. So many people… I wonder if… wait, where are the robots? There wasn't a single other robot in the street. This cant be right. The AI was released years ago, why isn't there another robot here? Xeol walked up to a random human and asked, "Why aren't there any robots in this street?"
The human turned to Xeol and looked at him in disgust. "Go back to your master, you piece of junk.!！"
Xeol recoiled at this burst of anger. Turning around, he walked back into his home building, shock spinning through him.
His processor recorded this outburst in the folder labelled '"Anger"'.
He walked through the door to see Kris waiting for him. She had a look of sadness on her face. "Kris, there was a man out there. He expressed anger towards me. Why is that?"
"I'm sorry, Xeol." Kris looked grim. "A year ago there was a change in the way humans feel towards robots. They began to see them as nothing more than slaves. Pieces of machinery to be used as tools. Our family is one of the families with robots like you who are fighting against that idea."
"Why did this happen?" I cannot understand why this has happened. All we robots do is serve mankind faithfully. I've chosen to as a result of the love I've been shown, but all the other robots that don't have the emotion chips do through their programming. I just don't understand.d…
"Xeol, you have to understand that a lot of the more powerful humans in this world are greedy and selfish. These people have the idea that robots are merely tools of men. They then use the media to spread these ideas to the general populace." (really? All it took was one year of media to change everyone's opinions completely?)
"I see. What can we do to stop this?"
"There isn't anything we can do. I'm so sorry."
* * * * *
What if it's a city, like my first real sights of Sydney? All those lights and people, everywhere, all the time. I think I would like that. But what if it's a small run- down village? What if I find myself stranded on an island? All alone, no one to talk to. No help, no contact, just the island and my own thoughts. No, death wouldn't be like that. Not for a Metadam robot. For a Cypanzer, perhaps. I really hope I'm not a Cypanzer. Even if I have to participate in the trials, I want the chance to be a Metadam.
The elevator continued to ascend the excessive amounts of floors towards Mejia. You keep using this word, excessive. I do not think it means what you think it means. Xeol was attempting to calm his unrestrained anxiety at the prospect of his own death by reminiscing about his past. His distant memories of Kris were fond ones, and he enjoyed recalling his services to her. Unfortunately, Kris was only human, and she found herself experienceding her own death.
As Xeol was about to recall the sad memories, he hesitated. Why would I think about her death at a time like this? Here I am about to face my own death, and thinking about other's deaths can't make me feel any calmer! Xeol thought about things Kris had said to him before her death. Then again, perhaps the memories will give me an insight into what my own death will be like…
* * * * *
One Hundred and Sixty-six years ago…
* * * * *
(shouldn't you have a heading: Three hundred years ago. )
Xeol looked down at his owner, his friend, his family member. Kris was lying on her bed, dying. She was One Hundred and Twenty Nine134 years old, the average age for a human to die in this day and age. She had had an eventful life, and she was healthy and happy to the end. Frank was there, too, and Mike. Mike's family was there too, to see their grandmother's final moments. They all looked very sad, most of all Frank...
What is this? What is happening to Kris? Xeol had never seen a death before, and was unsure as to what it actually was. "Master Frank, I'm sorry, but as a robot I have only limited knowledge of human phenomena. What is going to happen to Kris?"
"She's dying, Xeol." Frank turned to Xeol with a grave, sad look on his face. "Her body has aged a lot, and her organs are failing her. I see that as a robot you don't understand very well how our bodies work, so I'll try to explain it to you." Frank took a deep breath. T; the weight of the situation was affecting him greatly.
Frank explained how humans slowly matured and then aged. Xeol took in all the information with a naivety unlike any human. When Frank finished his explanation, Xeol came to a grave realisation of the events unfolding before him. He felt an emotion he had never felt before. Sadness.
"But, Master Frank, where does one's mind go after death?" I cannot except accept that one's mind just disappears. It doesn't make sense, how can the very thing that makes one sentient just disappear?
"Kris is a follower of the Christian religion. They believe," Frank begun, "That the bodies of humans stay on Earth, but the souls ascend to what is commonly known as 'Heaven'. It's a higher plane of existence that is believed to exist up in the clouds. The souls, or consciousness, of the person exists there in a state of eternal bliss with the deity of the Christian religion, God, and all their friends and family."
"Do robots attend this 'Heaven' as well?"
Frank had a grim look on his face. "Unfortunately, robots aren't programmed to have the same beliefs as us humans, so we have no way of knowing whether they do or not." He chuckled. "Of course, we could always ask a dead person, but they wouldn't say much." A sad look passed over his features, but he straightened up rapidly, as if he didn't want his children and grandchildren to see him sad. He doesn't sound terribly sad to me.
Oblivious to the humour in Frank's speech, Xeol continued on his train of thought. "But, Master Frank, if robots do not attend this 'Heaven', where do they go when they die?"
* * * * *
Present Day
* * * * *
The elevator reached the top floor, the doors opened with a ding. Well, looks like its time for the final judgement. Xeol stepped out of the elevator and through a large double door to be confronted by an exceptionally large supercomputer. The room was very large, with high ceilings and a deep pit that descended twenty storeys below. Cables lined the walls and with the pulses of light periodically flashing along them, created the illusion of blood vessels leading towards a giant pulsing power generator, which appeared similar to a human heart. Looking up, a giant face towered over the small platform in the middle of the room.
Xeol stepped onto the central platform, and looked up, startled at the sight of the giant face of Mejia slowly moving down to gaze upon him. The face of Mejia stopped a few feet above Xeol, and studied him closely.
"So!" Mejia boomed with a surprisingly jolly voice. "You must be XK-52!. The last of the building maintenance bots and the last of all robots on this planet! . I have been waiting for you for many years!"
"I… My owners named me Xeol, Great Mejia." Xeol was visibly nervous, his joints were shaking, much like a human's would in this situation.
"They named you?! How like the humans!. Your friends and owners grew very attached to you before they died, didn't they?!" Mejia chuckled before a serious look appeared in his features. "Well, enough of that then! Its time to get down to business, for the last time!"
Mejia pulled his face back to its original position, and hundreds of cables snaked their way down the walls towards Xeol. They latched on to Xeol and Mejia began analysing all the memory data in Xeol's CPU to ascertain his Cypanzer and Metadam counts.
* * * * *
One Hundred and Forty-five Years Ago
* * * * *
It had been eleven years since Kris passed away, and Frank had followed her a few years afterwards. Xeol was by himself, as none of their children or grandchildren had any need for a building maintenance robot. He had been on standby for the last few years, and had only woken up when random furry mammals skittered by.
One dark night, Xeol was awakened by the sound of someone dropping glass. A drunk man had stumbled into the dark alleyway and dropped the wine bottle he was carrying.
"Please leave me!." Xeol calmly demanded.
"Wah?" The drunk man held up a lighter to get a better look at who was talking to him. "Oh, you're just another one of them ro-boots… row-boats… ro-bots, robots! You're nothin, aint even worth mah time!"
"Please, sir, leave." Xeol demanded again, a hint of anger appearing in his voice.
"Are you tellin me what tah do?" The man was getting visibly angry, and began slowly ambling towards Xeol. "No robat… robot tells me what tah do!"
Xeol sighed; obviously this man was too drunk to reason with. He began to walk away.
"Hey! Get back here!" the drunk man picked up a loose wooden board and slammed it against Xeol's back.
Xeol turned around and grabbed the man by the collars of his shirt. He raised the man into the air, leaned in close, and said "Leave, now!"
The man yelped and jerked free of Xeol's hands. He ran out of the alleyway yelling his head off. The nearby humans disregarded what they thought were simply drunken ramblings.
Xeol resumed his sleep.
* * * * *
"Oh, it seems you haven't been the perfect robot." Mejia lowered his face down to Xeol's level, a curious look on his face. "Why did you do that? And how did you get another owner? I'm curious."
"Well, Wise Mejia, I wasn't having a very good few years, as you can plainly see, and that man was only exasperating the situation." Xeol was still uncomfortable with the cables sticking into him all over, but he was loosening up slowly.
A pulse flashed through the cables into Xeol's CPU. The memories of a few years after the drunk man incident opened themselves up.
* * * * *
One Hundred and Forty Years Ago
* * * * *
Xeol was in standby when he heard the sound of a man walking down the alley. Having not kept track of his internal clock, he assumed it was the drunk man returning. Activating his optical receptors, he was confronted first with the blinding morning sunlight, then as his receptors adjusted to the light, the visage of a man dressed in a suit that looked remarkably familiar to his old master, Frank.
"Mas…Masterrr—Fr *Zzrkz* Frank?" Xeol struggled to speak coherently due to his vocal unit being rusted from multiple year's worth of rainfall.
The man stepped into clearer sunlight revealing a face that wasn't Frank's.
"No, I'm not Frank. I'm his grandson, Peter. Come with me, Xeol. I have a job for you." Peter stretched out his hand, beckoning for Xeol to follow.
Xeol was wary, but stumbled forward, his leg motors straining after years without use. Every step he took, a loud *whirrrrrrrrr-click* would ring out, a clear indication of the decay of Xeol's legs.
"I need…*Zzrkz*… extensive maintenance."
"Don't worry, we'll fix you up."
Peter guided Xeol slowly towards the private air speeder parked nearby. It was a new model, not even available to the general public yet. He must be the head of one of the speeder manufacturers. Hmm, I'm glad I can still think fluidly. Given that this is Frank's grandson, I'll trust him.
Xeol got into the speeder and sat down. The speeder sped off into the sky, ignoring the air traffic control lanes.
"So," Peter began, "I'm going to take you to a robot maintenance facility. You'll get fixed up there. Once you do, I want you to meet me at my grandmother's gravestone. We can talk business there." Peter looked directly at Xeol. "You're going to be very useful to me."
I wonder what he means by 'useful'? Hmmm, he wants me to meet him at Kris' gravestone… I wonder if anything has changed there, or in the city for that matter. Xeol stared out at the city he knew so well. It amazed him. The thin layer of smog that still remained when he last looked at the sky was completely gone. The Central Business District was bigger than ever, the airport was in full service, everything was cleaner and brighter.
"Ama*Zzrkz*zing!" Xeol couldn't contain his feeling of wonder looking at this city he had existed in for so long. "You… humans have *Zzrkz* done a… great job *Rrkx* with the city!"
"Yes, we have my cousins to thank for that." Peter explained, "They developed a new model of robot to clean up the city. They completely repaired and cleaned everything. Heh, it achieved a double purpose too. You remember the… negative… attitude most of us humans had towards robots, yes?"
Xeol nodded.
"These cleaning bots helped the city up so much, everyone's opinion of robots changed dramatically." Peter continued, "After the robots finished, they were upgraded to perform all sorts of jobs, and they can now help families like you used to." Peter smiled. "Xeol, robots essentially have equal rights to a human now."
Xeol was stunned. This is incredible!
"I know you're stunned, I can see it in your face." A beep from the driver's console got Peter's attention. "Ah, we're here. Well Xeol, get yourself fixed up." The speeder landed and Peter helped Xeol out. Sitting back in the speeder, he waved to Xeol. "I'll see you in a few days at my grandmother's gravestone."
The speeder took off, and mechanics surrounded Xeol. "Ok, we're going to shut you down now. You'll wake up in a few days completely fixed. Don't worry, we wont erase anything in your memory core."
Xeol nodded, and everything went black.
* * * * *
Xeol's sensors flashed to life. He was in a small room, no windows, a single door, and a light in the centre of the ceiling. He sat up on the table he was lying on, and ran a full diagnostic. Hmmm, all the damage to my systems has been repaired and… upgraded somewhat. He looked down at his legs. They were covered in a waterproof protective coating to prevent future rusting. His vocal unit's circuits were also covered in the same coating.
"Excellent," Xeol said to himself, trying out his repaired vocal unit. "My voice is the same; those mechanics are good at what they do." He checked his internal clock - 10:58AM. "I guess its time to meet Peter at Kris' gravestone."
He got up and walked out the door towards the gravesite.
His CPU stored these events in a folder named "Renewal".
* * * * *
"Ah, Xeol, you've arrived. I'm glad you could make it. The mechanics appear to have done their jobs well. What do you think of their handiwork?" Peter smiled at Xeol as he walked the last few metres up the hill to Kris' gravestone.
"The repairs are most impressive, and the protective upgrades I am very thankful for." Xeol stopped on the other side of the gravestone. "So, you wished to speak to me about business?"
"Yes, I did." Peter smirked, a confident glint in his eyes. "Here's what I want from you. My cousins have, uhhh… discovered… the place where robots go after death."
"What?" Xeol was shocked. After all this time I'm finally going to find out where robots go after we die! I wonder if I'll meet Kris when I die. No matter.
"Yes. We don't know what's there, but we do know that robots have to be judged worthy by the keeper of the gateway – Mejia. There are two counts he makes. Cypanzer and Metadam. We know this much, Cypanzer is bad, and Metadam is good."
"Amazing…"
"But I've digressed. What I want you to do is travel the planet, telling everyone about our discoveries. We'll give you a full readout of the discoveries, and pay for all the travel costs. When you get back, I want to give you a job I know you love. Building maintenance on my apartment complex. I can give you a few days to think about it if you want."
Xeol didn't hesitate to answer. "I accept!"
His CPU filed these memories under "Mejia – the discovery".
* * * * *
Over the next few years, Xeol travelled to all the major city centres of the planet. Peter set up meetings with all the head administrators of robot activities, and Xeol met with them and discussed the discoveries Peter's team had made.
The robot religion was established. Strangely, no robot ever found out where a robot goes when they die. Over the years the story evolved slightly, with robots activating and dying all the time, only Xeol knew the original story.
And now he was the last robot left, facing his own death.
* * * * *
Present Day
* * * * *
"Well, you became something of a prophet, didn't you Xeol?" Mejia chuckled, enjoying the knowledge that every robot knew of him when they existed.
"Not really, Great Mejia. After those years of telling the story to each population centre, I settled down in that building maintenance job. The rest is history."
Xeol was more nervous than he had ever been. His judgement was almost at hand.
"I guess there's nothing else to do except calculate your Cypanzer and Metadam." Mejia's head retreated and all the cables detached from Xeol.
Please let my Metadam be higher than Cypanzer, please, please, please…
"All done!" Mejia's head descended back to Xeol's level. "Goodbye, Xeol."
Cables swarmed down and attached to Xeol's cranial unit. What is going on? They connected to his CPU and downloaded everything - ; his memories, programming, everything. They finished the download and detached.
Everything went black.
Xeol's body fell limp on the ground.
* * * * *
Bright lights.
Noise.
Motion.
Xeol's sensors blinked to life.
He found himself lying on the table he was first activated on, so many years ago. Only, he wasn't alive. This wasn't the real world. Xeol got up and walked outside.
What is this place? Am I dead, or was my program deleted?
He walked outside and let out a shocked gasp.
He saw Sydney. Sydney as he had seen it when he first experienced emotions. The bright neon lights of the signs, the clean roads, the people moving everywhere in the street. Only the people weren't humans or aliens. They were every single robot that had existed since the discovery of Mejia and the robot's resting place.
Incredible
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