0110010101110010011100100110111101110010 - Binary meaning error in text.
"Accessing protocol 34.1. 760.23. Retrieving data from central core… Code confirmed. Initiating…"
The familiar zip through her system, a subtle shift in circuitry linking her to a new imperative and suddenly it was as though she was seeing the world at a slightly different angle.
"How may I serve you, doctor?"
In front of her, Gelimer was frowning but he wasn't frowning at her.
Beryl's visual processing modules slid to her right where Xenon stood, still in the process of rebooting at a much slower rate than his counterpart had before finally announcing, "Code confirmed. Initiating… How may I serve you… doctor?"
"Xenon, your processing speed is unacceptable! Have you not rid of your bugs yet?"
Xenon paused to do a quick system check before reporting, "No bugs or viruses detected. System is secure."
Gelimer hmphed before waving the matter away impatiently. "Never mind! I have a job for you two! It's the monthly system data collection. Go around and get the data from all the other robots."
"Understood," they both chorused.
"Good then hop to it!"
Without another word, they immediately speeded through the vast tunnels of Gelimer's laboratory to complete their assigned objective.
As two of Gelimer's most prized creations, they were often tasked with the more arduous missions that were both time-consuming and difficult and oftentimes, they themselves were subject to a plethora of the doctor's experiments.
But Beryl was indifferent to it all whether she was to be taken apart and put back together again like a giant jigsaw puzzle or whether she must patrol the laboratory for weeks on end without recharging, she will undertake it all so long as Gelimer spoke the word for she exists for no other reason. It was simply beyond her programming to even contemplate existing for anything else and as such, she does not pursue it.
But her counterpart, her brother, was different.
Xenon had always been different.
He never showed it outwardly but it was obvious in the small ways he rebelled, from misconstruing orders to semi-optimal performances at times and even the slower processing speed. The chances of Xenon executing so many mistakes were approximately 0.000163%. It cannot be coincidence. Xenon was built to be her equal after all.
Beryl did not understand his actions.
Xenon was made for no other purpose but to serve Gelimer at his highest caliber, just as she was. What could there be beyond that?
"Arriving at target location," Xenon informed.
Beryl did not reply.
Their work proceeded smoothly and efficiently but partway through, Xenon abruptly stopped and turned left.
Beryl frowned. That room was not part of their assignment.
She followed him into Gelimer's storage room for his test subjects and caught him staring at the one empty capsule that had previously also contained a subject within but has since escaped a long time ago.
"Why did you arrive here? This room is not part of our objective."
"… I do not know," Xenon replied and Beryl's auditory processors picked up a slight deflation in tone that was supposed to be indicative of sadness in humans.
But that cannot be for they weren't built with such capabilities.
"Beryl."
Beryl nodded stiffly.
"Have you wondered… about freedom?"
Beryl's visual cores narrowed, assessing. There does not appear to be any glitches she could detect as far as she could tell so then why did he ask such an inquiry? Was their whole existence not to serve Gelimer? Such question was beyond their consideration.
"No," Beryl answered nonetheless, the illogical data streaming through her system and looping over and over searching for an answer but with no definable results.
"I think… I was something else before this… Perhaps you were too," Xenon continued, turning fully towards her.
"What I may be before is irrelevant. I operate only for Gelimer. We both do. It is what we were created for and that is all," Beryl said. Perhaps a reminder of their main motive for existing would correct for some errors within Xenon's programming.
Xenon gazed at her before slowly nodding and making his way back out the room and Beryl followed silently after him.
She was unsure if it was effective but somehow, she did not wish to know, did not calculate the percentages. Such large error in Xenon's system should be reported immediately to Gelimer for repair but surely it will not interfere with his performance so there would be no need.
It was not long until Xenon defected from Gelimer, expressing things she did not comprehend, things that did not compute. The irrational information streams through her circuits in infinite loops and her system detects that she is on the verge of crashing. So she overrides it with Gelimer's audio input commands.
Because she exists for no other reason. She would be nothing without Gelimer. Which is why she will kill her own brother if Gelimer commands it. Which is why she must never see Xenon again.
If you've done the quests in Verne Mines, I believe Zechtok-2000 says that robots of the same model are considered siblings so Dolcetta-2000 would be considered his sister. It's the same thing when Beryl calls Xenon her brother.