Robot Protection Zone Chapter 24

“Thomas, where is the robot?”

“Ah, it’s over there. I’ll guide you to where the prototype is.”

As I followed Thomas inside, I saw a group of researchers gathered in one place, murmuring. Among them, only one person was not wearing a lab coat.

I soon realized that it was the prototype of the robot to be released this time. It had a sophisticated appearance, identical to a human, but it was motionless without even the slightest movement, so I could recognize it at a glance.

The robot, standing still in an upright posture, was so difficult to distinguish from a human based on its appearance alone that I even felt a sense of familiarity, as if I sensed a familiar energy similar to the other human-bots in my memory.

“Is it operational?”

“It’s possible right now. Just a moment.”

Thomas signaled to another researcher. A moment later, the robot began to move.

The robot blinked its eyes and lifted its head. It seemed to be assessing the situation by looking left and right, then it began to greet the surrounding researchers.

The robot with its eyes open looked a little more human-like. It had been a long time since I had met a robot with the same appearance as me, and I was watching it with a fluttering heart when my master suddenly pushed my back.

“Ah…!”

“Didi, go and talk to it.”

“M-me?”

“Since you’re both robots, there must be something you have in common.”

Not all robots get along just because they’re robots….

My master gave an unfair order with absurd logic. I panicked and looked around for someone to stop my master. However, everyone, including Thomas and all the researchers gathered there, seemed to be waiting for me to talk to the robot.

I’m an introvert, so I’m not good at this kind of thing….

The atmosphere was such that I couldn’t refuse, as everyone had expectant looks. A heavy burden pressed down on my shoulders. In the end, I couldn’t overcome the expectations pouring down on me and cautiously approached the robot.

“Ah, hello….”

“Good day. I am H-13.”

“Uh….”

But what should I say?

My mind went blank. In a fluster, I glanced in the direction of my master and Thomas. But both of them just watched me silently, not giving me any answers.

As I hesitated, unable to continue the conversation, the robot spoke first.

“Do you require my assistance?”

I hesitated before asking.

“What can you do…?”

“Education, housekeeping, childcare, schedule management, and overall support tasks. If necessary, first aid and basic medical support are also possible.”

“Wow….”

Admiration escaped my lips without my realizing it at the string of explanations. Among those, what I can do is… nothing at all.

It was a completely different robot from me, only similar in appearance. Realizing that, I instantly felt a sense of distance. I felt unnecessarily intimidated, mumbled through the conversation, and went back to my master.

“How was it?”

“I think it’s an amazing robot…. But…”

“But?”

I recalled the sense of déjà vu I had felt while talking to the prototype robot and carefully continued.

“Somehow, it feels like I’m talking to Sophia….”

“That’s right. The same AI model as Sophia is applied to this prototype.”

Aha… so that’s why it felt similar to Sophia. But as it had a face, it seemed much more human than Sophia.

“So William, what are your thoughts?”

“Its movements have certainly become much more natural than last time.”

“Right? It’s thanks to checking and improving Didi’s motion sensors last time.”

Thomas, who had been speaking proudly, quickly changed the subject when my master’s expression slightly contorted.

“So what do you think?”

“…It’s not as good as a human-bot, but it will definitely sell well.”

“Right? Instead, the manufacturing process is complex, so mass production will take some time. Did you solve the legal issue from last time?”

“Yes. It was the work of a competitor.”

As I was listening to the conversation between my master and Thomas, a question suddenly arose.

Although I had only spoken with the prototype robot for a very short time, I could feel its intelligence. A robot as perfect as that would be able to assist its master properly. It wouldn’t make mistakes and would carry out commands perfectly.

Then… what about me, who can’t do anything?

A wave of anxiety washed over me. The moment my master brings that robot into the house, I would clearly become a useless existence. That wasn’t all. I might be kicked out of my room, from my master’s side, from everywhere, being told there was no place for a useless person like me.

My fingertips trembled slightly. I looked toward my master and Thomas, fidgeting with impatience, and finally, unable to hold back, I quietly cut into the conversation.

“Master….”

“What?”

“Are you going to bring that robot into the house too, Master…?”

“No, I already have three, so I have no intention of bringing in any more.”

I see…. Fortunately, my master didn’t seem to be interested in a new robot. I breathed a sigh of relief. If a robot that looked similar to me but was much more capable were to come, I might have lost even the small place I had.

But it was still too early to be at ease. As there exists a robot far more capable than me, I had to try harder so that my master would think I was useful.

“Master…! I’ll work harder so that you don’t need any other robots!”

“You can’t even massage my shoulders properly. You just don’t cause any trouble.”

“Yes….”

I have nothing to say to that. As I let my shoulders slump sullenly, my master chuckled.

Huh? I think he just laughed.

I blinked and raised my head, but my master was looking not at me, but at the prototype robot, with a very satisfied expression.

Did I see wrong? Probably so. My master has never once smiled at me. I was about to let it go, thinking that, but I felt a twinge of jealousy for no reason.

He’s never made that kind of face at me….

As I turned my gaze to hide my hurt feelings, I happened to spot another robot sitting alone in a corner. It had a human-like appearance, but seeing that it was motionless, it was clearly a robot too.

Researchers were swarming around the soon-to-be-released prototype, but there was no one around that robot. The robot’s expressionless face looked a little lonely.

Is that also the same prototype robot?

As I was looking blankly at the noisy people, I quietly moved my steps toward the robot left alone in the corner. The robot I examined up close looked so similar to the prototype to be released this time that they could be considered twins.

“Are you curious about that?”

As I was loitering around the robot in the corner, Thomas, who had approached me at some point, asked. I nodded and threw a question at him.

“Is this also a robot scheduled to be released this time?”

“No, that one’s a failure.”

“A failure?”

But for a failure, its appearance is perfect, and there are no visible flaws….

As I examined the robot with a puzzled look, Thomas continued.

“We found some code presumed to be the human-bot’s emotion process on an old server and put it in… but the important parts were encrypted, so it didn’t work.”

“Then does it just stay stopped like this?”

“Not really, it does turn on… want to see?”

Just a moment.

Thomas fumbled with the back of the robot’s neck and turned on the power.

Click. With a short sound, the robot’s eyes opened. But that was all. The robot stood still with its eyes open. It didn’t blink its eyelids, its pupils had no focus, and it felt like it was just standing there breathing, like a corpse.

“It seems this one is still in this state.”

My master, who had approached me at some point, said as he looked at the robot.

It was a chillingly cold gaze. Just like the expression my master had made on the day I first met him, when I said I knew nothing about human-bot technology. Yes, it was a look as if he were seeing a useless object.

For a moment, my heart sank. If I become useless, my master will make that kind of face at me too.

“Let’s talk about the failure later, first let’s set a release schedule.”

My master also called this robot a failure. It seemed the name “failure” had stuck for this robot.

A failure…. If I were that robot, I would have been very sad. The expressionlessly stopped robot weighed on my mind.

“Didi, could you just turn off the power when you’re done looking?”

“Yes….”

“Thanks!”

Thomas left me with the request and departed. My master and Thomas moved back to the front of the prototype and started discussing various things.

We were clearly in the same space, but the atmosphere was the complete opposite, as if a line had been drawn. One side was surrounded by people in a friendly atmosphere under bright lights, but this place was as silent as a completely separate universe.

I squatted down, shoulder to shoulder with the motionless robot.

Looking at the research lab from the robot’s perspective, I could empathize with its feelings even more. It must have been lonely all this time, all by itself in this wide place.

Somehow, it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem. Like me, when I was abandoned by my master….

We quietly spent time together. This robot felt a little more familiar than the flawless, perfect prototype. Even though we couldn’t exchange a single word, or even meet each other’s gaze.