Page 57 - The Muse 2019-20 Issue

there were loud voices racing towards Dot and the Military. All of the soldiers lined up and loaded their weapons.
“Get ready!” shouted the commander in a deep voice. The loud screams were getting closer and closer. The Rebels became visible, and that is when an outbreak occurred. “Charge!”
The Rebels and the Military charged towards each other until they collided. Dot just stood there. He stood watching hundreds of humans stab one another right in front of him. And that’s when it hit him. He was made to fight, that was his task. Dot pushed his way through knowing what he had to do. His target was chosen based on the clueless expression on his face. Dot wanted his first victim to be an easy target.
A woman-like voice in Dot’s head spoke “Target acquired.” The expression on the face of the man he chose showed fear and worry. Dot realized that most of the Rebels didn’t know what they were doing, and that they were just citizens fighting for their lives.
Dot knew what his task was; to kill. And that is exactly what he did. Once they collided, the man tried to punch Dot. Once the man realized Dot was a robot, he started running. Dot caught up with his target and slammed his head against the ground.
“Task complete.” The voice in Dot’s head confirmed. Dot fell to the ground and his eyes closed shut.
“D7683 is down. I repeat. D7683 is down!” A scientist shouted.
“Dot. We need you to wake up, now. I’m not asking.” Dr. Lee looked down and placed his hand on his forehead as he let out a deep sigh. Then he noticed Dot’s eyelid twitch. The navy-blue counters, the white ceiling, the faint smell of chemicals, the familiar face of Dr. Lee, came flooding back. Dot sat up, confused. He overheard the scientists in the other room.
“We need to fix him,” his monitor said he crashed from an overload of emotion. “How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. Let’s remove his emotion hard drive. After all, he’s not even human.”
Dot’s expression grew sad. He suddenly wondered why he was laying on a table in the lab. Then he remembered. He had killed someone.
Then, Dot did what no one expected a robot could do. He cried. Oil tears rolled down his latex cheeks. He wiped it off with his sleeve, but more tears came. The whole lab grew quiet and everyone stared at Dot. He was not manufactured with the ability to do that. Dot took the life away from a human being. The amount of guilt in his body sent chills down his metal spine. He looked up and realized that each of the scientists hadn’t cried in decades, he could tell by the expression of shock displayed on their faces.
“Is he crying?” A scientist broke the silence. “I think he’s crying.”
Dr. Lee just stared with his hands in a fist, no emotion at all.
“You don’t feel guilty when taking another person's life?” Dot interrogated. The scientists looked
at each other then looked back at Dot, not saying a word. “How do you express emotion? You guys can’t jus-”
“Say your name and what you are,” Dr. Lee interrupted.
“Hello. I am D7683, also referred to as Dot. I was created to kill members of the opposing force. My kill count is currently: 1.” Dot shook his head, as he was forced to say that according to his coding.
“What were you created for?”
“I was created to kill...” Dot said, ashamed.
“Thank you, D7683,” Dr. Lee nodded. “Change his hard drive. Make sure he doesn’t remember
any of this. Now.”
Dot could not live by killing people. Right before the scientists grasped him, he ran. He ran out of
the doors. Dot was faster than any human, he could outrun them forever.
“Stop! Dot, I’m not kidding,” Dr. Lee shouted sternly in his loudest voice. Dot just laughed. He
ran all the way to a room on the other side of the building. There was a sign next to it that read “Android cells.” He burst through the doors and immediately sat down in front of a computer. Dot started typing codes that will create a chip. When the codes were complete, the computer quickly printed 20 chips. Dot coded them to give each humanoid emotions and feelings. Once they were printed, Dot inserted the chips
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