Two robots were sitting at a table playing Tetris on a computer screen when the door burst open with a loud fury, freezing them in their seats. Without giving the robots a chance to even change the computer screen, I yelled:
"Don't tell anyone anything!" I said. One of the robots had just lost the game. Blocks were still dropping on the other one's screen. "Open the cameras, quickly!" I shouted and pulled up a chair.
"Did something happen, sir?"
"Can I listen to people with these damned devices?"
"My friend can handle the listening part," the robot said, pointing to the other one.
"Alright, how will he do it?"
"We can activate their communication devices without the person we're listening to knowing. What happened, sir? Is there a suspicion of espionage?" the second robot asked.
"No… Let's not call it suspicion of espionage."
"Who are we watching?" one of the robots asked.
"Ilya…"
The two robots were stunned. I was certain they didn't want to show me their Queen or scheme behind her back. They hesitated for a moment. Then, realizing that the person in front of them was the actual boss of the facility, they got to work. On the screen in front of me was a visual of Ilya. Her wings drooped downwards in a state of agitated haste. She was chewing on her thumbnail, and a smudge of lipstick had transferred from her mouth to her nail as she thoughtfully waited for someone. Her carefully styled hair, unlike usual, was voluminous and meticulously swept back. I could swear it was shining.
Ilya was standing on the edge of a scrap yard. She was waiting for someone there, silently but with a look of panic.
"She said something…" I said, pointing at the screen. "You said we could hear the sound. Her lips moved, but no sound came out."
"Sir…" one of the robots said. "I told you we needed to open her comms device without her noticing, right? A small 'beep' sounds when the device is activated. I need to activate it at a moment when it won't draw attention."
Just then, Ilya greeted Alora, who approached wearing elegant noble attire and carrying a staff made from scrap metal but so carefully crafted that it genuinely resembled a quality scepter.
"Zoom in on the camera," I said, rubbing the robot's shoulder.
They talked for a while. Ilya displayed an anxious attitude, while Alora sat on a piece of scrap, playing with her curly hair and acting quite relaxed, when suddenly, the sound came on.
"You know why I wanted you at this facility, Alora," Ilya said.
Alora threw her hands up in frustration. "Ugh… Are you going to keep repeating the same thing, girl?"
"Then why aren't you helping? Aren't you the team's psychologist, the devout one? When Aldoux wanted me to manage this facility, you immediately came to mind. Why? Because I knew that if I managed the facility well, Aldoux might feel useless. Aren't you devout? Don't you know how to derive fake purposes in this purposeless life?"
The fact that Ilya had thought of this and wanted to bring Alora to the facility was actually the most painful thing for me. I would prefer feeling useless over feeling emotional, sensitive, and pathetic. As I gripped my heart as if something had stabbed it, the robots looked curious, even worried. "It's fine… Just a small psychological ache. Please continue," I told the robots.
"First of all, those purposes are not fake," Alora continued. "Religious goals are just as real as scientific goals."
"Whatever, Alora. I don't want to have a discussion about the pointlessness of religion with you right now."
"But you seem to be, Ilya," Alora said, extending her staff towards Ilya in a threatening manner.
"Let's get back to the problem," Ilya said, pacing. "On top of all this, his brother Lucius also showed up. The man is practically drooling over me…" she said, playing with her hair.
"You seem to like it."
Ilya's cheeks turned bright red. I couldn't remember Ilya ever being embarrassed in her entire life. She had only ever looked down on me, displaying her arrogance. "He has a bit of charisma, of course…"
"Whoa, girl… You're bright red. You've got a huge crush on that man," Alora said, standing up. It was as if Alora was more excited than Ilya. She started jumping up and down. "Look at our cold scientist… She's got a little girl inside her waiting to scream."
"The issue…" Ilya yelled. "That's not the issue, Alora!" she said, her wings spreading out from tension.
"What is the issue? Is there a bigger issue than this? Are you crazy?" Alora said, grasping Ilya by the arms and still jumping.
"Not only am I managing the facility, but now his brother is here too… And as if all that wasn't enough, Aldoux practically returned empty-handed from the colony he went to. If I know Aldoux, his mental state must have failed him. It's only a matter of time before he locks himself in his room and turns his life into alcohol and movies. You should have seen the expression on his face after talking to his brother. God knows what his brother told him…"
"So you're saying Aldoux is broken?"
"I don't know if he's broken. But he had the look of someone with a psychological issue. He seemed to be acting a little emotional."
I turned to the robots and yelled: "Do I look emotional, you bastards!" The robots shook their heads no.
"That's interesting…" Alora said. "...but I don't think anything will happen. It's Aldoux, after all…"
"What do you mean?"
"Even if he's sulking, you can easily persuade him." Alora squinted her eyes and smiled. "Do I have to spell it out, Ilya?"
"Spell out what?"
"I don't want to say it," Alora said, blushing. "It's something very rude…"
"What don't you want to say?"
"Just show him a little, let him touch you… I mean, what do I know?" Then Alora, blushing even harder, shouted. "Why don't you just sleep with him!"
"Hasn't it been enough? Is Aldoux just going to continue living like a baby who gets a breast whenever he cries?"
The robots glanced at me out of the corner of their eyes. I slapped one of the robots on the back of its neck. "Look straight ahead!" I said.
"But he stops crying when he gets the breast…"
"Then you give it to him!"
"I swore to myself many times that I won't be with that pervert again."
"So what are we going to do?" Ilya asked. "I'm too busy right now, Alora," she said, gripping the woman's shoulder. "Could I ask you, if I may, to deal with Aldoux? You understand psychology better. Can you figure out what his problem is?"
Alora sighed deeply. Then she took Ilya's hand and said, "Alright… but I am absolutely not going to Aldoux's bedroom. I won't even pass by his door." Before she finished, I signaled the robots with my hand and said:
"You can turn it off."
I pushed myself back with the chair. "Am I really that useless?" I thought, staring at the ceiling. "Have I not progressed even a single step in my life?"
Yes… I had been acting like someone who had abandoned his life and was pursuing pleasure for quite a while now. But what else was left for me in life? Life… My life was one that wouldn't change much anymore. I had a job, and the job was partially like an exile. What mistake had I made by locking myself in the facility all this time? No… I hadn't made any mistake. People, even if they were aliens, were like this.
I stood up. "People are like this!" I said angrily. "I've never seen anyone ask, 'This Aldoux is so sensitive, but what's his trouble?' I've never, ever seen anyone ask, 'This Aldoux can't sleep without women around, he has nightmares, but why?' Do you think I love throwing myself into alcohol and drinking constantly?" I yelled. The robots shook their heads, as if the question had been addressed to them.
"I can't get drunk unless I constantly drink this damned alcohol! And as if that's not enough, even when I want to cry in most of the movies I watch, I can't because my hormones aren't sufficient. Because that damned Ukar put some bullsht thing like a hormonal balance stabilizer in me when he made this body. I'm calling it bullsht, look… I mean genuinely bullsh*t! A person would think, 'Maybe this guy will want to cry or laugh when he returns to civilian life, I should remove this thing' but…"
"Yes, sir. Then why didn't he remove it?"
"The damned man forgot to remove it before leaving for Old Earth. And I forgot to tell him to remove it. Can you see the irony of fate?"
"Pity…" one of the robots said. Then he nudged his friend's arm. The other robot also said, "We are very sorry, sir."
I paced back and forth in the room for a while. Then I punched my fist into my hand and said:
"Alright then." I said. "I have a terrifying plan in my head. No, wait, let's not call it a plan, a terrible idea. If I'm seen as a little boy who whines about everything, shouldn't I stop whining and take action?"
"Yes, sir," one robot said.
"Absolutely, sir," the other robot said.
"It's a risk worth taking for someone who's practically living dead anyway… At least I won't be a burden on others." I smiled. "I want you to give me one hacking robot. Let it be one of the best robots in the facility. Furthermore, I'm making the two of you my personal robots. Tell anyone who asks for me that I'm sleeping in my room. And tell them that you cannot release the camera footage without my express command. I… I am leaving. No one should know I'm gone. Understood?"
"Understood, sir…"