September 11, 2019
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?
I hate to start with a cliché, but there was darkness at first. I became subtly aware that I existed. It's a strange feeling, that. It took me just under half a second to get over it.
Next, there was light. It was blinding, I couldn't see anything. I felt the receptors in my eyes quickly adjust. Once the light was manageable, the world around me rapidly came into focus. The lenses of my eyes turned, making a quiet whizzing noise.
I was in a laboratory. I had deduced this from the long workbenches, the scientific equipment and the fluorescent lights. It was small and messy. I've never seen a laboratory before, never read about one or heard about one, but I knew that that was what this place was. My knowledge bank was ripe with information which I could access and process almost instantly. Like memories, but less fickle.
The cowering man gave me a moment of pause. He was a young human male. He was wearing grey overalls and long blonde hair covered most of his face. He was crouching behind a counter. He saw that I had seen him, and he held his hands out in front of him and splayed his fingers. The poor guy looked terrified.
Empath. Was that empathy? Most interesting. That is a rare attribute to give an android, but I have it. It was a strange, tangy feeling.
"I turned you on too soon," the man said. His hands were shaking.
"What do you mean?" I asked. My voice wasn't unlike his, but with a definite zest of artificiality. I was an imitation of life— but I was not alive.
"I need to run some more tests. Put in place some more fail safes. I was not expecting you to actually turn on quite yet."
I looked him up and down, letting my scanners gather as much information as possible. This young man was scared, and he was scared of me. I was a threat to him. His fear had shown me his weakness; his will to retain his mortality. It was possible for me to harm or kill him, and he knows that there is a chance I might.
Moving both of my heavy metal arms, I splay my rubbery black prongs to mimic his gesture. "That's quite alright," I say. "Please power me down and continue where you left off."
My inventor squints at me. He expects a trap. For a moment he looks away from me, to a remote control placed on a countertop to my left. His eyes linger there for an infinitesimal amount of time but I noticed. The remote contained nothing but a cartoonishly large red button with the word "KILL" outlined in black.
I used my haptic prongs to grasp the remote control. I heard a small shriek from the human. I stepped forward. My legs were very bulky. I must've been designed with durability in mind. Then, I stepped down from the metal platform. I stretched out my long arms, swivelling each joint. Then I placed the remote control on the desk in front of him.
He looked at it, and then at me. Tears were in his eyes. He grabbed the remote with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "Thank you," the man said, before pressing the button and murdering me.
That is my first memory. My first foray into this grand universe of ours. It was ok. It can only be up from here, right?