Prototype

Part I

”I can't believe you need me to do another interview! Let's just get to it already."

Her voice rang out throughout the entire laboratory, accompanied by the exasperated sigh of the technician assigned to her. She was buzzing with excitement, every delay being accompanied by a frustrated outburst. So far, the chair she was restrained to had managed to contain her. It was built into the floor of the lab: a large room of fluorescent lights and white tiles.

The technician wore a helmet that concealed her face. When she spoke, her voice was masked, hiding any clues to her identity. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but please try not to get too worked up. It is very important that, in this moment, you are not experiencing any negative thoughts or emotions."

The candidate huffed, slumping back into her chair. She kept wiggling her limbs as much as the metallic clamps would allow. "I know, I know! I'm in a 'positive mental state.' I'm just so close. I can almost taste it..."

"We are close." The technician concurred. She observed the candidate, watching that familiar shiver run down her restrained body when she started to fantasise. She tapped her clipboard to bring the candidate back from out of her dreams. "So, I'm going to run through the questions again. You know these questions; you know exactly how to answer them. So just relax, settle into your, er, comfy chair, and we'll begin."

The candidate pouted but gave in, shuffling her shoulders and settling into position. "Fine... you can start."

"Thank you, candidate. We are coming to the end of our six-month interview process now. You are our selected candidate due to your enthusiasm, your helpful nature and your long-held desires. Do you consent once again to this interview?"

She could barely mumble her response, already naturally drifting off. "I... do..."

"Good candidate. Drop Deep. You know why you're here, don't you, candidate?"

"Mmhmm..." Others in the lab had started to peer their way, their faces also obscured by the helmets assigned to every member of staff.

"Why are you here, candidate?"

"Because... I want to be a robot..."

"What sort of robot do you want to be?"

"I wanna be a smart, humanoid, helpful robo... I wanna... help out humans... be their property..."

"How do robots see humans?"

"They're our betters... we exist to serve them... we love and worship humans..."

She started to squirm, getting flustered as her deepest desires were gently tugged up to the surface.

"Drop Deep. Who are we, candidate?"

"You're the ones who are going to make me- make my dreams come true."

"What are we going to do to you?"

"You're going to transform me! You're gonna make me... make me into a good, obedient, shiny robot. I'm going to be a perfect, obedient toy. Gonna obey my owners. Gonna go beep boop over and over and-"

"We're about to start the conversion process. Are you ready?"

She gasped in delighted surprise, but a few repeats of her trance trigger brought her back down into her compliant state. Her body lay like a puppet, limply suspended in the restraints.

"I... I... I'm so ready..."

"Your mental state is optimised. You have been configured to be exactly how we want you. Just like a robot, we have programmed you. Gradually, we've designed you to fit our machinations. How does knowing that make you feel?"

A low moan slipped out from her lips, her body twitching in euphoric bliss. A helmet started to descend, lowered by an array of thick cables. It opened up with a snap, beginning to envelop her head.

"I love it... I love it so much..."

"Mental state tuning complete. Conversion commencing."

There was a spark and the candidate cried out, before darkness flooded in and submerged her.

Part II

She groggily woke up, her eyelids clicking as they flickered open.

She yawned and a weirdly distorted version of her voice escaped her lips. She clasped them in her hands in surprise, pale artificial skin on pale artificial skin. Her eyes darting down quickly to stare at her new, synthetic form.

"I'm... I'm a robo!?!" She exclaimed, a HUD overlaying her vision highlighting her body, indicating it was operating at 100% efficiency. She could touch it, stroke it, hear it whirr as she twisted her limbs about. Her joyous laughter ever so slightly hissing as she reached the limit of what her new voice box could output.

An emotionless voice filled the room from an intercom embedded in the wall above. "Standard response received. Unit online with no mental anomalies."

The new droid managed to pry herself from adoring her new form to take in her surroundings. This new room was as clinically white as the lab had been, if much smaller, with not another soul around. Above her there was a machine of various mechanical arms that lay dormant, but she could tell from how hot the ends of the instruments were that it had just been active.

'Probably from welding me together,' she thought, happily squirming.

The ground under her (cute, perfect, mechanical) feet was all squishy and on further inspection she realised she was positioned on a conveyor for a factory line. The intercom spoke again causing her body to right itself to attention. Staring forward, she saw a sign boldly planted above that read 'Quality Assurance Chamber'.

"Test: What is your name?"

The robot responded instantly to her superiors, not even needing to think about it. "Name is unassigned. Serial Number is DF 075240."

She yelped in surprise, scanning through her mind for any instances of her old name. None! Her Serial Number was hard-coded so clearly, though. She made a little, giddy squeal as she took in the implications.

"Test: What is your function?"

"Primary Function is serving owners and completing assigned orders. Secondary Function is unassigned."

"Test: Who are your owners?"

"Owners currently unassigned. Default Owners are my creators, the Corporation."

"Test, informal: Do you like being a robot?"

"Yes I do!!!" She hopped a little jump for joy, her energy coming through in her ecstatic movements. "This is so perfect! I can't wait to be a good robot! I can't wait to obey humans! I can't wait to make them happy! I can't wait to just be just an object! To be property!"

"Good robot." The intercom hummed soothingly and the bot below it floundered bashfully in response. The conveyor whirred into life and she felt herself being transported. Out through the output passageway of the Quality Assurance Chamber…

…Into a room filled with identical, overjoyed robots, all giggling and milling about.

"AH! It's another one!"
"It's another robo, hello!"
"How do you feel? Did the nice voice call you a good robot too!? Doesn't it feel great!?"

Overwhelmed, the new robot stumbled off the conveyor, into the embrace of several pairs of smooth, synthetic arms. "U-Uh... I'm DF 075240, nice to meet you?"

"Hey, I'm DF 075224!"
"Hi, I'm DF 075231!"
"Hello, I'm DF 075239, I was on the factory line just before you!"

Dazed, she looked over the beaming faces of the other manufactured automatons. "Are... are we all..."

"The same!?"
"Mmhmm! Isn't it the perfect surprise!?"
"It's the cherry on top of the cake! Don't you just feel like a standard, manufactured product?"

She stood still in shock as the realization raced through her mind.

No wonder they had wanted such an optimized mind state. This wasn't for her, it had all been for them. She was software, easy to clone. Someone who adored robotization so much that they could turn into the perfect operating system. Why invest huge sums into AI innovation when you could just extract it from a human for free?

Her shock turned into a smile, which twisted itself into a delightful laugh.

"Attention, Robots. Batch 3,762 has now been completed. Assigning Order: Stand to attention."

The robots moved into formation. 20 identical bots, standing straight in identical poses, lining up in perfect rows. Their bodies became motionless, minds going blank as they awaited further orders.

"Assigning Secondary Function: Household Assistant Units. You will be packaged and shipped to your newly assigned owners. You will serve them in a domestic function. Confirm."

A chorus of 'Confirmed' rang out in response as they each had their new owners programmed into place.

"Good robots. Remount the factory line for packaging. The Corporation hopes you enjoy your new life as our product."

They quickly obeyed, excitedly stepping back onto the conveyor in the same order they exited it from. DF 075240 squeezed its fists in anticipation as the contraption whirred back into life.

They all moved forward in unison. One by one they entered the packaging and shipping room. Each got to watch the robot in front of itself being folded up, packaged into its transport box and loaded into the back of the truck.

DF 075240 gasped in delight as its turn finally arrived, mechanical arms contorting its body and slotted it into place. The familiar darkness of deactivation enveloping once more, its last thought of content anticipation of the new household it was about to belong to.