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“Power on,” came the command.
He could feel his body come to life. His neck moved. His eyes opened. The world came into view, and he adjusted his gaze so the people in front of him remained in focus.
Sanha stood before him, smiling brightly. He waved when he saw B-1N. “Hello, B-1N,” he greeted, his voice cheerful and pleased. “Did you sleep well?”
“I do not sleep,” B-1N responded.
Sanha shrugged his shoulders, as if not really caring about the response he was given. He had papers in his hand, sheets and sheets of information. B-1N wanted to know what it said. He was curious to know.
“You’ll be coming with me, B-1N,” Sanha stated, and B-1N’s attention snapped up to him.
“I will?”
Sanha nodded his head. “I have been given a request from the government, and I have a task for you. You like to serve, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. It will be fun, promise. You’ll learn a lot.” He stepped back and gestured with a hand for B-1N to follow.
B-1N was confused. Was he supposed to leave? Shouldn’t he stay where he was? He was always told to never leave the room where he had been created.
He glanced around, searching for his creators. Only the female one remained. She chewed nervously at her lip as B-1N narrowed in on her. “Am I allowed to follow his orders?” he questioned, hopeful he wouldn’t do something bad.
She nodded, and B-1N detected an emotion on her. Frustration . Why was she frustrated? He was curious. He longed to know. “He’s your new owner now,” she mumbled. “You’ll listen to his orders from now on.”
With her permission, B-1N stepped forward. His creator had given him up. This man was now the person he would serve. He liked that idea. He liked Sanha. He hoped Sanha would treat him well. He hoped he would never experience pain again.
“What shall you have me do, Sanha?” he asked.
The man pursed his lips and took a deep breath. “I’ll let you know on our way.”
“Are you sure you don’t wish for him to be turned off?” the creator asked Sanha. “It will be easier to transport him if he’s off.”
“No.” Sanha shook his head. “He’s never been outside, right? I’m going to show him what it’s like outside.”
B-1N had heard of the outside. Though there was a window in the room, he had never been allowed to go near it or remove the blinds that covered it. He had asked why once, and had been ignored. He decided he was not allowed to ask such a question.
Outside, from what he knew, was green and blue. There were many humans outside. There were creatures, too. He had heard of dogs and cats. Perhaps there were more creatures. He searched his database and tried quickly to figure out what types of animals he would encounter.
But then Sanha asked him a question. “Can you walk fine?”
B-1N nodded, happy to have a good answer for the man who now owned him. “I can walk very well,” he stated. “I have become skilled at walking. I can prove it to you.”
Sanha snorted. “Prove it, then. Come over here.”
B-1N did as asked. While he didn’t often get the chance to walk around the room, he knew how to walk, and he liked the freedom to leave his corner.
Sanha was taller than he was, just by a bit. Sanha grinned at him. “You’re amazing,” he commented. “I’ve always wanted a robot. I was excited when we got the chance to look at the first prototype. Pity that the focus is now on machines of war.”
B-1N had heard of such a phrase before. As best he could gather, his original purpose was not to be a robot of servitude and companionship. He was a mistake. He was meant to be something used for battle, a machine that could go out on the field and take gunfire better and, in the end, be tossed aside, as disposable as a piece of equipment.
He had never seen war before. He had never seen a gun. But his database informed him that many humans died in war, in terrible ways, and guns were a major cause of that.
“I will not become a machine of war, will I?” he asked.
Sanha shook his head. “No,” he assured. “I have something else in mind.” He looked over at B-1N’s creator and said, “We’ll be leaving now. I will be back in a few weeks to look at the progress of your war machines. Do not follow Dongmin’s prototype and disappoint me again. We will look to fund someone else if you do.”
The creator bowed her head, and then Sanha gestured to the door that B-1N had never before touched. “Come on, then. I’m parked right outside.”
B-1N followed him out the door. They were in a hallway where bright lights hung. “Parked?” B-1N asked, trying not to appear too excited as they neared the front entrance. “Do you have a car, sir?”
“You can call me Sanha. And yes. We’ll be driving somewhere. I...I need to get someone else.”
“Oh.” B-1N nodded his head as if he understood, though he did not. Who else were they getting? Was it someone from the government? Was it another scientist? Regardless, B-1N was excited to meet this person.
They stepped outside and B-1N stumbled. Sanha grabbed his arm and said, “I thought you could walk fine?”
B-1N knew he should answer. It was a question, and all questions deserved answers. However, he was much too preoccupied with the scene before him.
There wasn’t as much green as he imagined. There were buildings, though, tall buildings made from brick that stretched upwards. He could see windows in the buildings, uncovered by blinds. He wondered if humans got the chance for such a view every single day.
He dipped his head back to look up at the sky.
It was blue, just as his database told him it would be.
“The sun,” he mumbled, pointing up at the celestial object. The sun was a star, he had learned from his database. He had never seen a star before. He had never seen the sun before. It was very bright. He wondered if it was hot outside. The sun supposedly warmed the Earth. B-1N didn’t feel warm, though. He never felt warm or cold. He wished he could.
“That’s the sun,” Sanha confirmed.
B-1N kept staring until something else caught his eye. Something was flying around, and B-1N pointed excitedly at that. “What’s that?” he asked.
Sanha had to squint to catch sight of what B-1N was referring to. “Oh, that’s a bird.”
“Bird?” B-1N asked. He searched his database, and then asked, “A winged creature that lays eggs? Is that a bird?”
Sanha tugged him along and they kept watching. The bird flew over some buildings and B-1N lost sight of it. “Yup!” Sanha exclaimed. “There’s a lot of different types of birds. Some live near the sea and some live in urban areas. Some are really small and some are really big. You’ll learn about all the different types, though.”
B-1N found it all impressive. There were so many different sorts of animals that he had yet to learn about and encounter. B-1N wanted to experience it all. He hoped Sanha would let him discover everything a regular human would.
The car was nearby. B-1N had never seen a car before, either. He stared at it in amazement before asking, “Who will we pick up, Sanha?”
Sanha glanced around and then said, “He’s a friend of mine. Myungjun.” Sanha opened one of the car doors and smiled. “He’ll be a bit unwilling, but that’s why I have you.”
“Me? What can I do?”
Sanha patted his back and gestured for him to get into the car. “You’ll see.”
B-1N complied to Sanha’s wish, and sat in the car with excitement brewing within his wiring and coding. He was going to meet someone new and learn new things, and he couldn’t wait.