PROTOCOL (Written 11/19/2017)

Ringing, knocking, a chipper ‘Yoo-hoo!’ in the late morning were among the many distractions you usually blocked out of your hearing when you were focused on your repairs. As the schedule dictated, from 8 AM to noon, you would dedicate yourself solely to doing repairs on the androids you were commissioned to repair. Noon until 1 PM was lunch, and then you were back doing repairs or mods until one of your nightly primetime dramas started.

Today was Temptation Galactica, which was one with a military model android that was repurposed for a campy sci-fi action drama. You had to find out if the evil prince was going to exact his revenge on the hero or rejecting his proposal to be his wife! Or husband? Did androids have genders exactly? It was an odd show, but you liked it because the military android was cool.

Even so, work had to come first. Even if you just wanted to binge watch the show in your underwear again as you waited for the next episode, no amount of knocking, ringing, shouting, or greetings could disrupt you. Especially when this Roomba wasn’t going to fix itself!

You reached over with your foot, pushing open the door from the garage entrance with it and shouting into the house as loud as you could. “SYLAS, GET THE DOOR!” You caught the door again with your foot and gently shut it as you focused again.

“Ya know, it’s been real nice havin’ Lass around here with us.” Kim held up the mechanical arm she was working on, sticking her fingers into the connection port with her eyes flickering slightly. From just the small shock she gave it, the arm began to twitch its fingers, provoking a loud ‘Aha!’ from her. “Been nice to be able to focus.”

“Mhm… Could use more focus though…” You carefully pulled some of the wires from the small vacuum device. You just had to make sure that the wires got back into place, and the device should be able to move again. Just some wires that got jumbled up when your client’s dog decided that it was a giant frisbee… That didn’t fly in the air. You just sort of assumed that the dog wasn’t the smartest creature in the world, unfortunately. “Just let me stick these back in, and you’ll be able to walk again, little guy.”

With your small set of pliers, you pulled the wire aside, looking for where to reconnect it. And when you found the place, you moved the wire to connect it slowly… Carefully…

And SLAM!

You jolted from the loud noise, arms shooting up as a reflex and the wire you wanted to connect pulling itself out with you. You stared at the wire for a split second before you heard the little device begin to beep rapidly. Just before you could look down at it, the device bolted forward and into your torso before it clattered to the floor. “Son of a-!” You coughed a bit in pain before you looked down at the stupid Roomba on the floor. Well… It was moving along like it hadn’t been damaged to begin with. Just scooting. Your eyes narrowed at the little thing. This was the thanks that you got for trying to fix it? Asshole.