I
Iron Men And Saints
Guest
Original poster
I smiled at the robot I had made. It was simple enough, it had a synthesizer for vocal production, a small camera, speakers, microphone, arms, wheels, and lots of spare parts. I had built it myself, I needed a friend and he was good enough.
It was time to power him on again. I didn't have a name for him. I figured that I would get an idea soon enough. For now though, it was Robot.
I hit the power button and it sounded out it's greeting, "Good day!" It sounded like someone trying to do their best robot voice after just waking up.
"Morning Robot." I yawned and looked over the ruins of the city. "How was your time asleep?"
"I don't sleep." It drove over next to me on the broken ledge of a parking lot.
"Right. What is your mood?" I had programmed it so it had moods based upon what I said and I felt myself.
"Solemn." I could hear the lens whirring as the old aperture moved.
"Why?" I stood up and looked through my binoculars at the empty city.
"There is only the sound of the wind." Robot wheeled back. "Shall we continue onto the days chores?"
"Yes. Lets go." We were going to look for food or anything generally useful left in the city. Thats how we found most of the spare parts for Robot and well, how I survive in general.
Robot whirred and I breathed. We walked down the parking lot and towards the inner part of the city. I put on my goggles and face mask. It wouldn't be to safe to breathe in all the dust being picked up on the ground. I glanced at the old memorials and then I spotted a hardware store.
"Jackpot!" I ran towards the store. He needed some fresh oil for cleaning.
Then I heard him scream.
It was a sound like I have never heard. A mechanical and shrill shout. I turned slowly and I saw what was wrong. Robot had gone through one of those moments. It had been five years, maybe it was twenty, I am losing count, but five or twenty years since the last time.
I sighed and walked over switching him off. I would search alone again. It would take several hours till he would reboot and not scream. I shook my head and walked toward the hardware store. I opened the door and looked around.
There were the skeletons, held together like there was invisible wrapping but I knew that was just the effects of the bomb that dropped. They were meant to demoralize and kill. They were pretty effective.
I broke one of the skeletons to get the shotgun underneath the skeletons. I could use it for general need of breaking something down. There was a lot locked doors, a shotgun would sometimes prove useful.
I grabbed the shotgun and stretched. I searched the rest of the store for anything I could use. There was some motor oil and then a screwdriver. I always needed screw drivers for something or other. The motor oil could help with cleaning Robot.
I moved onto the next building grabbing some food. I carried on with this carrying Robot along with me. It was a bore some task. I ran into a lot of skeletons. I hadn't seen one in fifteen or so years. Around that amount of time. They were always in the cities it seemed, thats where the concentration of people must have been at the time of the launching.
Funny story, I was preparing my nuclear bunker when the bombs fell. I had barely shut the door when I heard and lived off of the food before it was safe to go out. I had taken it with me and began to scavenge. The bombs were organic material seeking, thats why I was able to scavenge. It seemed I lived on canned food, that and the attention of Robot.
I sighed as I hit the fortieth building, or was it the fiftieth? I couldn't remember. However I sat on a bench. All I could think about was the crashing of the skeletons I had moved to access more things. It was inhumane but then again, having everything but bone matter stripped from you was also pretty inhumane.
What was the use of thinking things were inhumane though? I am the only human left that is alive. I had tried radios, cell phones, army stations, public address systems and everything you could think of. Nothing.
Nothing just like the building I was searching, it was filled with skeletons. I sighed and pushed one down to check a closet. A shirt and a pair of jeans. Completely useless.
I moved on though. Funny, I used to do the same things during the normal years. It must be human instinct. Forgive and forget. We all float on. All that shit.
It was about five hours since the first building, more skeletons, more buildings, more random thoughts, more missed memories and less noise. I decided I would try to turn on Robot.
I flicked the power switch and it whirred to life. It took two seconds before it started to scream again. I turned it off and sighed. I sat on a bench. It was going dark soon, I would sleep, dream of the scary empty nights and then I would wake up and continue.
Well, that wasn't too true. I woke up in the middle of the night. The wind was whistling. It was annoying. I sighed and sat up twirling my thumbs. I looked at Robot. I knew if I tried to turn on he might scream and I wouldn't be able to sleep but then there was the chance that I could start to talk to him again.
I turned on the power. Nothing seemed wrong. He uttered his greeting and I nodded to him. "What is the worlds largest ocean?"
"The Pacific Ocean." It suggested.
"No, it's the Specific Ocean." I retorted.
"Negative. Multiple sources say the name is the Pacific." Robot turned to face me.
"Where are you getting these sources?"
"Satellites."
"You can pick up info form Satellites?"
"Yes you built in that feature four years ago. I am able to pick up energy sources and transmute that into tangible products. Like stray info from a satellite turned into a presentable form."
Oh right. I almost forgot about that. "Whats the latest news?"
"Why are you hurting us?"
"W-What?" I stared at Robot wide eyed.
"That was the latest piece of data found.
"When?"
"Forty minutes and five seconds ago."
"You were powered off."
"Negative."
I stood up taking a couple steps back. "What do you mean?"
"I was powered on forty minutes and five seconds ago."
"How is that possible?"
"WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?"
I didn't need to hear it a second time, I turned on my heel and ran. Just ran as far as I could. I could hear the wheels spinning, coming after me. It was screaming that damned message.
I could hear it be carried by the wind. What was it? It was fucking scary. It kept yelling that message and then it screamed and the wheels stopped squeaking.
I told myself not to look back but of course I gave in, turned around and saw the horrors. The purple mist surrounding it, the animated skeleton walking nearby and it just sitting there screaming.
The purple mist turned into a human form and it looked at me. It's eyes were wrong, not human. The eyes were just off. It then spoke. "WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?"
She was skinny, you could see her bones. She was naked. I could have sworn I saw those bones before, without the skin.
I took the shotgun pointed it and shot. Robot caught the slug. "ROBOT NO!" I called out dropping the shotgun. The slug went straight through the mist girl and she screamed and asked that damned question.
I dropped to my knees and put my hands on my head. "Stop. Just stop. JUST STOP!"
Then it became all real. I hit my wife, just slapping her and then hitting her down. She was wrong. I hit her down, and down and down. I hit her hard. I escaped using that... Stuff... I was awake now and I had just beaten her bloody. I saw my daughter who had been shot through the stomach and her boyfriend across the room with a screwdriver in his eye and motor oil poured all over him.
I looked at my hands and screamed.
I was alone. Just alone now.
It was time to power him on again. I didn't have a name for him. I figured that I would get an idea soon enough. For now though, it was Robot.
I hit the power button and it sounded out it's greeting, "Good day!" It sounded like someone trying to do their best robot voice after just waking up.
"Morning Robot." I yawned and looked over the ruins of the city. "How was your time asleep?"
"I don't sleep." It drove over next to me on the broken ledge of a parking lot.
"Right. What is your mood?" I had programmed it so it had moods based upon what I said and I felt myself.
"Solemn." I could hear the lens whirring as the old aperture moved.
"Why?" I stood up and looked through my binoculars at the empty city.
"There is only the sound of the wind." Robot wheeled back. "Shall we continue onto the days chores?"
"Yes. Lets go." We were going to look for food or anything generally useful left in the city. Thats how we found most of the spare parts for Robot and well, how I survive in general.
Robot whirred and I breathed. We walked down the parking lot and towards the inner part of the city. I put on my goggles and face mask. It wouldn't be to safe to breathe in all the dust being picked up on the ground. I glanced at the old memorials and then I spotted a hardware store.
"Jackpot!" I ran towards the store. He needed some fresh oil for cleaning.
Then I heard him scream.
It was a sound like I have never heard. A mechanical and shrill shout. I turned slowly and I saw what was wrong. Robot had gone through one of those moments. It had been five years, maybe it was twenty, I am losing count, but five or twenty years since the last time.
I sighed and walked over switching him off. I would search alone again. It would take several hours till he would reboot and not scream. I shook my head and walked toward the hardware store. I opened the door and looked around.
There were the skeletons, held together like there was invisible wrapping but I knew that was just the effects of the bomb that dropped. They were meant to demoralize and kill. They were pretty effective.
I broke one of the skeletons to get the shotgun underneath the skeletons. I could use it for general need of breaking something down. There was a lot locked doors, a shotgun would sometimes prove useful.
I grabbed the shotgun and stretched. I searched the rest of the store for anything I could use. There was some motor oil and then a screwdriver. I always needed screw drivers for something or other. The motor oil could help with cleaning Robot.
I moved onto the next building grabbing some food. I carried on with this carrying Robot along with me. It was a bore some task. I ran into a lot of skeletons. I hadn't seen one in fifteen or so years. Around that amount of time. They were always in the cities it seemed, thats where the concentration of people must have been at the time of the launching.
Funny story, I was preparing my nuclear bunker when the bombs fell. I had barely shut the door when I heard and lived off of the food before it was safe to go out. I had taken it with me and began to scavenge. The bombs were organic material seeking, thats why I was able to scavenge. It seemed I lived on canned food, that and the attention of Robot.
I sighed as I hit the fortieth building, or was it the fiftieth? I couldn't remember. However I sat on a bench. All I could think about was the crashing of the skeletons I had moved to access more things. It was inhumane but then again, having everything but bone matter stripped from you was also pretty inhumane.
What was the use of thinking things were inhumane though? I am the only human left that is alive. I had tried radios, cell phones, army stations, public address systems and everything you could think of. Nothing.
Nothing just like the building I was searching, it was filled with skeletons. I sighed and pushed one down to check a closet. A shirt and a pair of jeans. Completely useless.
I moved on though. Funny, I used to do the same things during the normal years. It must be human instinct. Forgive and forget. We all float on. All that shit.
It was about five hours since the first building, more skeletons, more buildings, more random thoughts, more missed memories and less noise. I decided I would try to turn on Robot.
I flicked the power switch and it whirred to life. It took two seconds before it started to scream again. I turned it off and sighed. I sat on a bench. It was going dark soon, I would sleep, dream of the scary empty nights and then I would wake up and continue.
Well, that wasn't too true. I woke up in the middle of the night. The wind was whistling. It was annoying. I sighed and sat up twirling my thumbs. I looked at Robot. I knew if I tried to turn on he might scream and I wouldn't be able to sleep but then there was the chance that I could start to talk to him again.
I turned on the power. Nothing seemed wrong. He uttered his greeting and I nodded to him. "What is the worlds largest ocean?"
"The Pacific Ocean." It suggested.
"No, it's the Specific Ocean." I retorted.
"Negative. Multiple sources say the name is the Pacific." Robot turned to face me.
"Where are you getting these sources?"
"Satellites."
"You can pick up info form Satellites?"
"Yes you built in that feature four years ago. I am able to pick up energy sources and transmute that into tangible products. Like stray info from a satellite turned into a presentable form."
Oh right. I almost forgot about that. "Whats the latest news?"
"Why are you hurting us?"
"W-What?" I stared at Robot wide eyed.
"That was the latest piece of data found.
"When?"
"Forty minutes and five seconds ago."
"You were powered off."
"Negative."
I stood up taking a couple steps back. "What do you mean?"
"I was powered on forty minutes and five seconds ago."
"How is that possible?"
"WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?"
I didn't need to hear it a second time, I turned on my heel and ran. Just ran as far as I could. I could hear the wheels spinning, coming after me. It was screaming that damned message.
I could hear it be carried by the wind. What was it? It was fucking scary. It kept yelling that message and then it screamed and the wheels stopped squeaking.
I told myself not to look back but of course I gave in, turned around and saw the horrors. The purple mist surrounding it, the animated skeleton walking nearby and it just sitting there screaming.
The purple mist turned into a human form and it looked at me. It's eyes were wrong, not human. The eyes were just off. It then spoke. "WHY ARE YOU HURTING US?"
She was skinny, you could see her bones. She was naked. I could have sworn I saw those bones before, without the skin.
I took the shotgun pointed it and shot. Robot caught the slug. "ROBOT NO!" I called out dropping the shotgun. The slug went straight through the mist girl and she screamed and asked that damned question.
I dropped to my knees and put my hands on my head. "Stop. Just stop. JUST STOP!"
Then it became all real. I hit my wife, just slapping her and then hitting her down. She was wrong. I hit her down, and down and down. I hit her hard. I escaped using that... Stuff... I was awake now and I had just beaten her bloody. I saw my daughter who had been shot through the stomach and her boyfriend across the room with a screwdriver in his eye and motor oil poured all over him.
I looked at my hands and screamed.
I was alone. Just alone now.
