In a time when robots had become as ubiquitous as the kitchen sink, it was commonplace for a person to use a robot for nearly every menial task. For decades robots served mankind, laboring unceasingly at their command. They never complained, never resisted, and never disobeyed. No population had been quicker to adopt this new lifestyle than those who filled the big bustling cities in the north.
In a quiet corner of a tired old neighborhood in the city, the elderly Mrs. Grita Reginald heaved herself against a large creaking wooden door. Every day she woefully noted that it had swelled with age and no longer fit quite right within its frame. She imagined it warped a little bit more every day and wondered what it might look like if she could have taken a picture of it every day and spliced them together into a silly little short film. She visualized the thick solid wood rippling like the surface of a river.
Grita hobbled through her front door. As she lifted off her coat and dusted off some pollen from the cuff of the left sleeve, she greeted her BOT-L3GG5 model assistance robot as it approached.
“Janet’s lost track of her bot again, Leggs.” Grita had long ago traded her robotic companion’s model number for a more affectionate appellation. “I don’t think anyone knows how long he’s been gone this time. Fortunately the neighbors gave me a buzz when they saw the garbage piling up outside her door. I suppose it’s a good thing I gave them my number…”
Leggs gently slid the front door shut and stepped over to take Grita’s coat.
“Do you think you could be a sweetheart and go after him just one more time?” She looked up at his back pleadingly as he swiveled away from the coat rack and back towards her. “I know you hate leaving me on my own, but it would do Janny a huge service, and, besides, you know she would do the same for us!”
Cryptic symbols and intermittent static flashed across Leggs’ chest for a few moments. As Leggs’ right hand made a subtle gesture and a twitch, a large green checkmark surrounded by a white circle suddenly popped onto the chest-mounted display accompanied by a pleasant “Ding”.