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[devoutish]

[Robots? Robots.]

Comments

[devoutish]

Nope. Don't be fucking ridiculous.

[He turns back to his book. He's going to stop talking now; this is pointless.]

[bywolves]

[ That's an order enough for the droid to go silent again. It'll stand there in silence, staring at the wall, for hours. Unless Alfie says something to it, it'll just be there. Like, forever. It doesn't seem to be bored, at least. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie reads for another hour, then closes his book and moves towards the bedroom.]

Fuck off.

[He says to the bot as he passes.]

Just stop standing there, eh?

[God, he'll have to figure out what to do with it tomorrow. Maybe sending it back to be destroyed really would be best. At least it could be recycled, then.]

[bywolves]

[ Oh! An order. A - well, it's not particularly worded very nicely, but it's an order. The android glances up at Alfie, and then nods and turns around and just walks away out of the room.

It'll stay quiet so Alfie can sleep, but - if he sleeps through the night and wakes up the next morning, the android won't be in the room. Or in the kitchen, or like. Anywhere.

Also, his milk is missing. ]

[devoutish]

[It's probably standing in a corner somewhere, he thinks, so he doesn't think much of it. He also doesn't make a connection to the missing milk, at first; when he goes to make himself some coffee, he figures he'd just run out (though hadn't he just bought a new carton a few days ago?). Not a big deal. He uses creamer instead, and then with his cup, wanders into the living room and pushes open the curtains, peering out the window at the overcast city morning.]

[bywolves]

[ It's overcast, but not overcast enough for Alfie to miss the fact that there is, indeed, his android out on the street. It's crouched down on the stoop of the building, back to Alfie's window. It looks like it might be petting a cat. Alfie might recognize the cat in question, too - it's a stray that lurks around outside often. It's a glossy, black, skinny and usually distrustful of strangers cat that runs from Alfie every time it sees him, and yet... it seems to be rubbing against the android's leg. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie just... watches, unsure of what to make of the scene. Can the bot do that? Clearly it can, because it is, but how? Had someone seen it through the window and given it an order? But no, that's not possible; it's only supposed to respond to his voice in most situations, and interacting with small stray animals isn't something that would have been programmed in as an exception.

If the bot looks up, it'll see Alfie looking down at it, a thoughtful, conflicted expression on his face.]

[bywolves]

[ It doesn't look up quite yet, but it does shift enough to let Alfie see that it's holding the brand new carton of milk that Alfie is missing. There's also a bowl of his that the bot is letting the cat drink from.

The door to the building opens, and a man walks out from inside. Alfie can likely see from his angle as the man's eyes go directly to that LED circle. A scowl crosses the stranger's face, and he roughly brushes past the android, knocking it over and scaring the hell out of the cat. The cat yowls and takes off running, the man heads down the stairs, and the android is left sitting on the stairs, covered in spilled milk, expression - sad?

And then it looks up, and catches sight of Alfie watching. A pause, and then it looks back down at itself. Welp. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie moves away from the window, disappearing from few. A minute or so later, though, the door to the building opens, and out he comes.]

What were you doing?

[He asks curious, even though the answer is pretty obvious.]

[bywolves]

Feeding the cat. [ The droid says, not getting up. ] It was out here crying.

*curiously gdit self

[devoutish]

And that mattered to you?

i didn't even notice

[bywolves]

[ It glances up at Alfie. It's a little confused, and hesitant to answer, but. ]

Yes.

[devoutish]

[He pauses, then reaches down and offers the bot his hand.]

[bywolves]

[ It hesitates, and then takes Alfie's hand, standing up with his help. ]

... Thank you. [ It says, quietly, cautious. ]

[devoutish]

Yeah.

[He'll reach down to pick up the bowl and milk carton, too.]

That cat comes round, sometimes; it cries because it wants people to feed it.

[bywolves]

I hadn't seen one before. [ It says, looking out to the street. ] She was a lot softer than my memorybank would suggest.

[devoutish]

She'll come back. She always does.

[bywolves]

[ The android keeps staring, and then turns to look at Alfie, finally. ]

It's a shame I won't see her again.

[devoutish]

[Alfie doesn't say anything to that. He's quiet, as they walk back inside, and his brow is furrowed like he's deep in thought.]

[bywolves]

[ The android follows Alfie back into his apartment, and then stands by the door, so it's out of the way. Back to standing all day, it supposes. It isn't bored, not really, it just wishes Alfie would give it something to do. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie puts the milk back in the fridge, and the bowl in the sink, considering the situation all the while.

He can't just send it back to be destroyed now, is the thing. He could send back a machine that stood in the corner and spat out stock phrases, but he can't send back one that sneaks outside to feed a cat and then looks sad when it's chased away.

Clearing his throat, he finally says:]

You couldn't survive on your own, could you?

[bywolves]

[ There's a pause, and it answers almost cautiously, this time. ]

I don't know what you mean. Could you elaborate?

[devoutish]

If I set you free, sent you out the door, you'd be picked up immediately. It's silly to even think of it.

[bywolves]

[ The LED circle flashes yellow again. ]

Most people do not -- set their androids free. I have no idea what would happen. [ And then: ] I would be capable of surviving on my own as I don't need to eat or drink, but I don't see why you wouldn't just return me to Good Life.

[devoutish]

Well, they'd take you apart, that's why.