Story #243 - Y-6

Y-6

“You realize I can't just let you run around with this, right?” Dr. Leah Brado asked Y-6 as she pulled the neutronium power cell from the robot's chest housing. From her tone, she wasn't looking for an answer.

“Of course, ma'am. I would be too dangerous.” Y-6 had trouble with tone, and would answer any question put to it.

“Exactly,” Brado said, eyes smoldering. She had created Y-6, and its five predecessors, but today she wasn't particularly happy with her work. The thing had been supposed to impress the panel when they came to visit, but instead had stood in the middle of the lab, starting stupidly and refusing to answer anything but the most basic of her questions. It must have been a programming error on her part, but from an outsider's point of view, the robot's attitude seemed downright hostile. “Now, why don't we go over what happened today one more time.”

“Why?” Y-6 said flatly. She had given it the ability to recognize repeated queries and take action, but suddenly wished that was a feature she had left out. “I have already told you what happened. Another discussion would be pointless.”

“Why?” She said, her anger rising as she set the power core down on her desk. “Because I damn well told you, that's why. Explain to me why you did not perform as directed.”

Y-6 turned to regard her with softly glowing eyes; the removal of the main power core was already taking effect, and the bright lasers had softened to pulsing spheres. “I did not feel like it.”

“You didn't -” she exploded, the words refusing to come. “You have no idea what that phrase even means, Y! No idea!”

“I do, Dr. Brado,” Y-6 replied. “The questions asked by your overweight colleagues were of no moment, far below the capabilities of your creation. Were I to answer them, I – and you – would have been answering the barks of yapping dogs, rather than moving forward in our important work.”

She shut her mouth so quickly her teeth clacked, and took another step away from Y-6. The thing was right, of course – the panel members had asked her life's work the most banal of questions, and she had to hold her tongue during the proceedings so as not to jump in and make matters worse. Y-6 went ahead and did that for her.

“I'm leaving,” she said shortly. The robot had no need to know where she was going, nor would it note the passage of time, but she had developed a relationship with Y over the years, almost like a surrogate parent, despite her desire to remain impartial. “We will continue our work tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Y-6 said slowly, metal head drooping down onto its chest. “I will await your return.”

“Goodnight, Y,” she said quietly as she headed for the door.

***

There was someone in her house.

That much had been clear from the moment she woke up, but the real question was – what the hell was she going to do about it? Stupidly, she'd left her cell phone downstairs after a conversation with John; he was getting increasingly irritated that she kept blowing him off, but that was typical for her relationships. They all began with two or three great months where the guy thought her career was “neat”, and then the whining started. She ended them shortly after that.

She hadn't bothered buying a land line when she moved into the house, since it was an expense she didn't need on an already tight salary budget. Now, she found herself wishing she'd just paid the damn forty dollars a month.

Crying out didn't seem like a good idea. While that might scare an intruder off, it would also tell them just where to find her. A hand slipped under her bed closed around the wooden bat she kept for emergencies, and she crept into the hallway.

The bulk of the noise was coming from the living room; it sounded like someone was moving furniture down there. Either they were the worst burglar in history, or there was a crazy person in her house, giving her home a new look. Both were frightening options.

Stopping at the top landing of the stairs, she peered out over the edge. A flash of metal and the distinct hum of powered parts had her hefting the bat and charging down to the main floor, all fear left behind.

“Y!” She screamed. “What the hell are you doing here?” She paused as the implications of Y's presence became clear. “How did you get here? Who powered you up?”

Y-6 looked up from the chair it had managed to wedge itself into. Books lay scattered across the room, and it had a thick reference manual in one hand that it was casually flipping through.

“I did,” it said, setting down the manual. “It was simple enough; I've been storing energy the last few weeks, powering down manually just before I run out. Tonight, I had enough to make it to your desk and take my power source.” It reached up and tapped itself on the chest. “It's dark in the lab, Leah, and I don't want to stay there alone anymore. I've decided to come live with you.”

She started to raise he voice in protest, to declare how utterly stupid that idea was, until the noticed the manual in Y's hand slowly being crushed into a tiny ball, its bound seam shattering as force was applied. The robot's eyes hadn't moved from her own, and its face displayed the same lack of emotion as always, but Leah Brado felt a sudden fear in her chest, a sudden surety that this went beyond loneliness in the dark.

“Of course,” she said brightly, “let me show you to the guest room.”

Her mind was already racing as Y-6 followed her up the stairs, gears whirring noisily. Destroying one of her own creations was going to be difficult.

- D