Work Text:
06/20/1970 07:13:49am
Puppet peered out of its box, staring as it had for the last half hour at the Freddy-bear that now occupied Miss Bonnie's chair. She brought it in today, and placed it there that morning, before going off to start the daily preparations. The Freddy-bear’s legs hung over the chair, and its head tilted to one side.
Miss Bonnie loved it, just like she loved her Freddy. It continued to examine its plush, every stitch, how each fiber caught the light. It catalogued the shine of the purple silk hat and the bow tie it wore. It watched the Freddy-bear's eyes sparkle, intrigued with how an amber highlight moved when Puppet moved its head, the little highlight following wherever it looked.
As Puppet went over its examination, it assigned words to describe the Freddy-bear:
Yellow.
Round.
Purple.
Gold, the word for yellow with shine.
Shiny, particularly its eyes and accessories.
Motionless.
Off.
Happy, based on its smile.
Several other words in its internal lexicon came up, many quite similar to the words it already assigned the Freddy-bear.
Inactive.
Tall.
Fat.
Robust.
Brown.
Amber, like the light.
Smiling.
In its analysis, Puppet found several things Miss Bonnie could enjoy about it, such as his color, its pleasing shape, and its happy smile. But the Freddy-bear made her cry, too. Puppet since determined that crying, while generally denoting sorrow, could also signify immense happiness.
The Freddy-bear made her happy enough to break her programming.
With no more synonyms, and no new information to be gained from simple observation, Puppet pondered its next step. Miss Bonnie held it tightly where she first pulled the Freddy-bear from its box. Perhaps that brought her happiness? The act of holding the bear? Yet on occasion, Puppet held Miss Bonnie, and she reciprocated. Puppet made her happy too...
...So what made holding the Freddy-bear different?
Puppet lifted the lid of its box a little more as it listened. Outside the room, it heard Miss Bonnie shuffling around and getting things ready for when the children came. Slowly, it pushed the lid all the way open until it rested against the shelf. Puppet then freed itself from its strings and pulled itself out of the box. It crawled to the table where the Freddy-bear sat, determined to solve this mystery once and for all.
Upon reaching the Freddy-bear, Puppet pulled itself up to level its gaze with the brown, marble-like eyes. Like before, the amber shine seemed to follow everywhere Puppet looked. Puppet tilted its head as it looked over the bear's face. The Freddy-bear simply smiled and stared. Puppet lifted a hand carefully touched the bear's nose.
It let a out a loud
squeak
.
In surprise, Puppet ducked under Miss Bonnie's work table. It waited for a long moment, and when neither Miss Bonnie entered, nor the Freddy-bear moved, Puppet peeked out from under the table.
Engage watch_learn.
Engage artificial_intelligence.
So the nose made noise. Best to avoid it. Puppet cautiously approached the Freddy-bear again, before it gently touched its arm.
It received no response.
Daring to test it, Puppet poked the Freddy-bear’s round tummy with its long fingers, and found it easily sunk into the plush. More words popped into its mind:
Malleable.
Squishy.
Soft.
Puppet curiously watched the Freddy-bear as it poked it again. The bear just quietly smiled. Puppet lifted one of the bear's arms and let it drop. It found the arm just as soft, but just as lifeless.
Maybe Miss Bonnie enjoyed its softness?
Puppet hesitated a moment, then reached up to hug the Freddy-bear like it saw Miss Bonnie do before. It slid its arms under the bear's, rested its head on its shoulder, and gave the Freddy-bear a gentle squeeze to make its arms sink into the plush .
Engage watch_learn.
Engage artificial_intelligence.
Puppet gripped some of the plush in its hands. It enjoyed how the Freddy-bear changed shape, then sprang right back the moment it let go. Puppet nuzzled into the bear's shoulder. It created a dent that perfectly fit its mask, then disappeared the second it pushed away.
Pleased with this discovery, Puppet let go of the Freddy-bear to poke and prod and in different places just to see if any plush kept its imprint. No matter where it touched, the Freddy-bear retained its form. It hugged the bear again and rested its mask in the shoulder.
Soft.
The word repeated a few times in its processors.
Engage personality_test.
Processing new information.
Activating emotional_algorithm.
Determining factors.
Processing emotional output.
Puppet pulled the Freddy-bear off the chair and onto the floor. It positioned its legs around the bear's waist as it hugged the bear again. A delighted chime rang out into the empty room as Puppet squeezed the large plush toy.
A long while passed before it heard a click. Puppet knew that sound: Miss Bonnie was coming back. Thinking quickly, Puppet ducked under the table and pulled the Freddy-bear with it. The door opened. It heard Miss Bonnie's familiar tread as she stepped into the room.
Miss Bonnie gasped and quickly stepped towards the desk. She immediately ducked down to peer underneath it
"I thought I put it - Puppet?"
It stayed back and watched her cautiously. Puppet held the Freddy-bear tighter.
Miss Bonnie simply smiled as she pulled up an olive-gold hand to stifle a giggle.
"Having fun, Puppet?" she asked.
Puppet titled its head. Miss Bonnie watched it for a moment before she rephrased the question.
"Do you enjoy playing with my Freddy-bear?"
Puppet nodded. Miss Bonnie smiled wider.
"I brought it in to compare it to Fredbear," she said, "but it seems it's already in use. Go ahead and play with it."
Puppet let out a delighted chime, then clung tighter to the Freddy-bear, more than content to feel its soft squishiness.
"I am going to need it back later."
Puppet glanced up at Miss Bonnie. It made a point to squeeze the Freddy-bear tighter. It figured out why it broke Miss Bonnie's programming. The Freddy-bear's shape and texture was pleasing to hold. It wanted to have that happiness. Miss Bonnie watched Puppet for a moment. Her smile faded into a look of contemplation, before her face brightened again.
"Wait here."
Miss Bonnie pushed herself up and turned to leave the room. Puppet watched as she disappeared, and listened to her footsteps fade away.
It nuzzled the Freddy-bear as it waited for Miss Bonnie to return. It squeezed his plush again, once more enjoying how it reformed as soon as it let go. After a moment, Puppet heard Miss Bonnie return. She held a smaller version of the Freddy-bear in her arms. This one stood about three feet from his purple hat to his golden toes. Miss Bonnie held it out for Puppet to take.
"I know it's smaller," she said, "but it's just as huggable."
Puppet looked over the smaller Freddy-bear. It examined it carefully. The face was a little different, with plastic brown eyes instead of the marbles that shone amber, but it still smiled like the bigger one. Puppet let go of Miss Bonnie's Freddy-bear as she offered the smaller one. And just as she promised, this Freddy-bear squished and retained its shape just like the bigger one did. Puppet chimed happily as it poked and prodded the smaller bear. It didn't fit in its arms as easily as the bigger one, but the bigger one belonged to Miss Bonnie. Puppet couldn't take her gift.
But now it had a Freddy-bear of its own to examine and cuddle and play with. Miss Bonnie smiled as she watched her creature nuzzle the new bear. She reached under the table to pick it up.
"I have to get back to work, Puppet," she said as she carried it back to its box, "but you can play in here, okay?"
Puppet nodded to confirm. Miss Bonnie set it inside.
"When you're done," she said, "please return to your default stasis."
Puppet again nodded to confirm, then settled inside its box with the Freddy-bear. Miss Bonnie gave it a smile before she gently closed the box.