Note: Inspired by the movie 'I, Robot'
"Don't let go," he strained, the grip he had on the other man's hand slipping. "I swear to God, don't you fucking let go!"
A pair of grey eyes were staring back at him, glistening from what appeared to be tears. That was such a foreign concept for both of them. For him to cry…hanging off a ledge.
The grip had slackened. He was no longer holding onto anyone. His heart seized in his chest.
"NO!"
Incessant beeping noises woke Regulus from his slumber. He stared blankly at the ceiling, wishing that the memory would hide itself in the most obscure part of his brain and never resurface again.
"I'm detecting high stress levels, Master Regulus," a human-like voice sounded near the entryway to his bedroom. "Is there something I can do to assist you this morning?"
Regulus rolled to his side with a low grunt and stared at the bot. The Kinetic Robot Emitting Artificial Care and Human Emotion Reactors, or Kreacher for short, had his head tilted. He knew it was because Kreacher was analyzing Reg's vitals in the direction his body was positioned.
This was the latest model of K.R.E.A.C.H.E.R. his workers had created. The original bot resembled those unlabeled aluminum cylinders society from the Founders Era used to seal food inside. He couldn't have the MoR, the Ministry of Robotics, branded with an image dating back to 1000 years ago, so this model had a more life-like appearance.
After all, it was good business to sell products the people would like to look at, such as a maid or butler; so the visual of aluminum containers or a Sphinx cat walking on two legs was not going to benefit him by any means.
Before Regulus lost himself in his thoughts, he yawned and rubbed his temples. "I'm fine, Kreacher," he said. "Just send over a message to the lab to inform them of my upcoming arrival."
The machine bowed his head, its dark, synthetic hair falling past its face. Regulus had to blink away the tiny voice in his mind; it was whispering to Regulus that he knew someone whose hair would do that no matter how much it was gelled back.
"Stop doing this to yourself, you fool," Regulus mumbled to himself. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up. He then stretched his arms, revelling in the pop his bones gave. Once he stood up completely, the tired young man played with the handmade necklace he wore. His fingers twisted the letter squares that spelled out the name 'SIRIUS'. "You'd be slapping me right now if you were here, Brother."
There was an attempt at a soft laugh, but it didn't last long. The harsh, cold reality of it was that his brother wasn't there, and nothing could be done about it. Not even creating artificial intelligence in his image would bring back the true rebellious spirit that was Sirius Black.
Shades of blue, white, and grey blur together as Regulus stared out the glassed side of the elevator. He would glance at his watch occasionally, rising floor after floor in the Ministry of Robotics, higher and higher until he reached his destination.
Having done this methodically for the past two years, the view of the sky lost its appeal to Regulus. That pesky little voice in his head taunted him with the idea that the scenery lost its appeal because the one who always commented on it was no longer among the living. He made a mental note to dig deeper into the dream extractor project; it would be a given solace once a prototype was ready for human test subjects.
Ding!
The elevator had finally stopped at his destination to the 100th floor, and when the metallic door opened, he was greeted with a brunette giving him a stern expression.
Her hair was brushed back into a loose ponytail, and her lean figure was partially obscured by the lab coat she wore. Her brown eyes bore into his, and Regulus knew he wouldn't be getting away from her when rested her hand on her hip.
"Kreacher transmitted the message of your arrival," she said, "along with the fact that you were stressed."
Regulus cursed under his breath. That damn Kreacher was supposed to be on his side of things. He might have to adjust his programming…
As if reading his mind, she said, "If you think about touching one wire in that robot's internal system, I will replace one of your legs with a prosthetic and set it to periodically kick your own ass."
His lips formed a thin line at her promise. He was smart enough not to call her bluff, even if he was technically her boss.
"Marlene, I'm fine," he said in hopes of reassuring her. "I was up all night working on the new nanite blueprints for the boarding school." Regulus shrugged nonchalantly. "That stress was purely a result from sleep deprivation."
Marlene rolled her eyes, and Regulus could tell she wasn't buying his half-lie.
"Cut the bullshit, Reg," she said. "You were having nightmares again."
He looked away, tugging at the tie around his neck. In an instant it felt like it was constricting his airways. Only the soft touch on his hand from the woman in front of him made him turn back.
"You're not the only one that misses him," she said gently. "I see him sometimes too. But we won't let that piece of slab Riddle get the last laugh with our grief. We're creating a better world with our inventions that he couldn't possibly dream of."
This woman knew exactly what to say to him; there was a reason she was Head of the Mechanical Engineering Lab and Division. Riddle may have taken his brother's life out of envy, but he was now old news. The rival CEO was in the most secure prison in the country, and he'd never see the light of day again for his crime. Since then Regulus did all he could to make his big brother proud of him.
It simply hurt when his mind went against him at night with that haunting memory in the robot hangar.
"I know you're right, Marlene," Regulus said finally.
She squeezed his hand with a small, sly grin. "I know I'm right," she replied. "Now adjust that big boy demeanor of yours so we can start your weekly inspection of the lab's progressions."
Marlene guided him forward to the entrance of the lab, placing her hand on the scanner next to it. An electric blue light hovered and traced Marlene's hand, beeping three times to confirm her identity. A blue strip similar to the hand scanner laid at the top of the entrance and jutted out an emission of electric blue lightwaves. It scanned them both, and the lab's double doors opened.
"Welcome, Doctor Marlene and Mr Regulus," a feminine, robotic voice sounded.
Regulus took a deep breath. This wasn't anything new, but no one knew the inner pressure he felt to live up to the standards of the late Sirius Black. He knew that the prat would say something intelligent then add something ludicrous just to lighten the mood and make him feel better.
Marlene's hand joined with his did help in a similar manner if he had to admit it. It'd get him through this inspection, and that was all he needed.
That was until that horrid tiny voice in his head decided it was time to damage his psyche some more.
A/N: Written for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Team: Holyhead Harpies / Position: Keeper / Prompt: Story must come under Sci-Fi genre: [Robot Fiction] Fiction in which the science of robotics is a central theme.
Word Count: 1,255