Chapter Text
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The ticking sound came from the giant clock tower standing in the centre of the old city, soaring into the sky as the tallest building. At the foot of the tower the city’s market place was flooding with people pursuing their everyday life; or should I say it was flooding with robots? Because even if they appeared to be humans like you and I on a first glance, every single inhabitant of that town was a robot. Robots made of different metals, turning gears, complex mechanisms and tangled circuits. But nonetheless, each and every one of them was brimming over with life and vigour.
There was but one entrance to the city’s clock tower and if I may call the side facing the market the tower’s front side, then the aforementioned entrance was located on its back. In most occasions, the door would be closed so that no person… pardon me, no robot would enter. Going through the door would lead you to a winding staircase in two directions. One led to the top of the tower, the other led underground.
The latter one was fenced in though and the gates were being closed by a slightly rusty padlock, which only seemed to open if you were in possession of the right key. But not only the lock and fence had gotten rusty over time, the metallic stairs themselves had seen better days as well. The only thing keeping the room lit and not sunken in darkness was the oil lamp hanging down from a chain in the middle of the staircase. If you stood underneath it and turned your gaze upwards you’d discover that several oil lamps were hanging from the same chain along the way up.
Depending on your pace it took you about one to four minutes to climb up all the stairs and arrive on the top floor. But surprisingly, that wasn’t the highest you could get in the tower. Though the further climbing was hindered by a similar structure as on the ground – only that this time it was a wooden cage and a smaller, wooden staircase that presumably led up to the clock and bells – there was another door on the right side of the room. Then what I forgot to mention until now… the clock tower wasn’t standing in the town on its own, it was attached to another building. And that big, wooden double-winged door with carved ornaments led into another room.
A wide room opened behind the door. No matter where you turned your head to, there were various things to examine as far as the eye could reach. A curious apparatus on the left side, several beds lined up next to each other on the right side. Shelves filled with dozens and dozens of books on all four walls. Drawings, blueprints and drafts plastered on the walls. A peculiar odour lingering in the air; perhaps a mix of oil, rust and… something else? And amidst all the gadgets and interior, a single robot was standing in the middle of the room. Next to him, lying on an operating table, another one.
The standing robot’s attire was composed of a simple pair of brown trousers, almost knee-high black boots with golden ornaments and a black and brown jacket with faint green parts, golden decorations, belts and buckles. Underneath that he was wearing a white shirt and around his neck a silk scarf of the same faint green colour, held together by a likewise golden scarf pin. His hair was greenish brown and he was wearing round glasses. On his head a top hat with a golden band and a little wind-up key. He was looking at the robot body on the table next to him, that one’s eyes were closed. Perhaps he was sleeping? Or maybe, he just hadn't awoken yet? The standing robot turned around and sighed.
His name was Fabra, he was in charge of winding up the robots once a year. The wind-up day was the only day in which the clock tower’s door was open to everyone so they could visit Fabra and get wound-up. But it wasn’t that day. It was a normal day, just like any other. Yet another day on which he tried to awaken the robot on his operating table. He had thought, maybe today was the day, but the robot still didn’t seem to open his eyes. Wasn’t he ready to be awakened yet? But no, it was time! It was high time, in fact. The clock is ticking, Fabra thought to himself.
For a short moment, his mind drifted back in time to a similar occurrence that happened almost three years ago, but he quickly shook off those thoughts and returned to the current matter. He turned back to the lying robot and approached him once more. He slowly leaned forward, getting closer and closer to the red haired robot’s face. And then, as if he had forgotten where he was, he jumped back quickly when the clock struck noon and the bells began to chime twelve times.
And much to Fabra’s surprise, something else happened before they chimed the twelfth time. The robot lying on the table had opened his eyes and had sat up on the table. It was as if the clock tower’s bells resounding in the room had woken him up. He looked confused and turned around his head. He yawned. The white blanket that was covering him fell down and revealed his bare upper body.
Even though it looked like any human’s body, we mustn’t forget that they were robots. Witnessing the robot’s awakening filled Fabra with joy. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a smile as he quietly stepped forward; he didn’t want to scare him, he had just awoken after all.
Fabra and the robot looked at each other, but then, before he said anything, he took off his hat and bowed down to the other robot who still didn’t know where he was. Fabra straightened himself again and cleared his throat.
“Good morning, Terra.” he said with a smile on his face, but the other robot only tilted his head in confusion.
And as the clock kept on ticking and the bells’ chiming began fading out gently, our little story of the robot named Terra unfolds.