Artificially Made

Papá is late again. I looked around my playroom. All the toys have been put away in the toy box, and everything is cleaned up. Papá always says to clean up before leaving. But he hasn’t come back yet. Papá takes so long that I put all the books on the shelf by color and size from biggest to smallest. I even counted all of them too, forty-three in total. I sat on the couch and wrap myself in my soft blanket. I stare up at the clock. The small hand is on the seven, and the big hand is almost at the eight.

7:39 p.m.

He was supposed to finish work at 6:45. It has almost been an hour. We’re supposed to go home a long time ago. He even promised that he’ll be on time too. Papá, you broke your promise, and I’m sad. I got off the couch and leaned against the door, listening for someone outside. I don’t want Papá’s friends to see me sneaking out. I don’t want them to worry. So far, I don’t hear anything, so that means I can open the door. I poke my head outside and look around the hall.

The walls are dark blue, and the floor is filthy. The floors used to be white, but the oils, dirt, and dirty footprints make it more brown and grey. All of Papá’s friends walk around the halls every day with gross metals and tools to cause the floor to be like this. They don’t even have time to put decorations and bright colors on the walls.

So far, I don’t see any of Papá’s friends. I start walking down the hall, heading towards Papá’s workshop. I counted each square on the floor like I was playing hopscotch. Counting the squares also help me get to Papá because most of the rooms in the building look the same to me. It’s easy to get lost in here. He taught me how to get to the workshop by counting the squares like it was one of those board games we play.

The playroom is the start, and Papá’s workshop is the end. Once out of the playroom, count five squares to the middle then count twenty-five squares up. That’s when I reach another hall, then ten squares to the left. As I counted, I noticed that it was very quiet in here. It is scary to be here alone. Usually, one of the robots that Papá and his friends make is here with me as a babysitter. The android’s name was Annie, and she was very nice even though I am shy. She is smooth and shiny, like a doll. But she didn’t have hair, clothes, mouth, and ears. He built her to watch me while he worked. He said he made her understand if someone is hurt. So if I get hurt, she can act as a nurse or call Papá. Annie would also teach me new things like a teacher would and play with me. But one day, Papá said Annie’s brain needs to be “updated,” and her body needs to be oiled. But she hasn’t come back for a long time.

I finished counting ten squares, now I’m next to the elevator. I press the button, and the door opened. Papá’s workshop is on floor B3. I asked what the “B3” means. Papá said that the “B” means basement, and the “3” means the floor number, so it means basement floor three. I press the button, and the door closed. As the elevator went down, the noises that it makes are loud and scary. I started to get more scared, but I’m almost going to see him. I can’t give up. Holding onto my blanket, I waited until the door opened.

Once it opened, the floor is dirtier than the other floor. On this floor, there are a lot of rooms. Each room is a big workshop. It’s looking more like garages with a lot of robots. Many of the robots aren’t finished yet and covered in an ugly blanket. They also come in different sizes. Some bigger than Papá and others small like me. Papá‘s friends are working very hard to make these robots work right, but sometimes they never do. There are a lot of parts and tools at the tables. Saws, wrenches, some type of tool gun, and more that I don’t know. There are even some weird computers with wires connected to the robots’ heads. Looking down at the floor, the squares are very dirty and broken with holes or cracks. Some even feel wobbly and like they’re going to come off. I guess some of the robots are really heavy or fall too much to walk right.

From the elevator, I walk forty-four squares to the right. I was trying to remember what number I was on, then this loud crash sound came up and surprised me. As I looked behind me, a scary-looking robot with big claws and creepy eyes is running towards me. I screamed so loudly that it hurt my throat. I ran away from the robot into an open door that led to the next room of robots and computers and hid under a work table. The scary robot ran past me, and then there was another loud crash. Then some people came running by, saying some bad words. Those people are wearing tool belts and grey uniforms. That means they’re Papá’s friends.

“What a mess! Look at what your robot did, Richard!” One person yelled. “Your robot even bent the wall and is spilling oil everywhere!”

“Shut up!” Another yelled, I think is Richard. “You’re the one who wanted this thing to be powerful! We both couldn’t predict the robot was going to be this strong right off the bat. And besides, the programming wasn’t finished before it was set off running!”

“Just be lucky that no one was hurt.”

“Really? For certain, I heard someone screaming. They sounded like a little girl.”

My heart started hurting in my chest, and I became scared. Those people heard me screaming. I don’t want to get in trouble for coming here. I crawled out of the table and ran to the next room. I kept going through more rooms until I got lost. I wandered into rooms, trying to find the elevators, but I couldn’t find it. Wiping my nose on my blanket and trying not to cry, I searched for Papá’s workshop. As I’m going through the rooms, I heard Papá’s voice. Running towards his voice, I started crying and calling out his name.

“Papá!” I sobbed.

When I entered the next room, Papá and a friend were talking in front of a robot. The friend is darker than Papá and have a little bit of curly hair. He is also a little bit shorter than him. They look like they are working on a robot. It looks different than all of the other robots I have seen. It had a white face that almost looks like a person’s face. The eyes are not though, they’re made of glass. But the rest of the head is wires and metal. The body is the same, but one arm looks like it’s a broken part while the other is missing. Papá then walked up and put a plug on the robot’s head and went back to the computer. I was going to speak until Papá’s friend started talking first.

“It’s strange that you’re doing this, Marshall.” The friend said as he scratches his neck.

Papá looked up at him and then went back to the computer, typing something onto the screen. “What do you mean by that, Thamill? The programming? If it is then I’ll-”

“No! Your career choice, man. We’ve known each other since college, and I know your preferences. You rather go hiking than being cooped up inside all day. You even told me what major you were in when we became roommates.”

“And why does that matter now?”

“Hey, I was just reflecting back over the years. You chose to be a marine biologist, but halfway through, you immediately change your major to robot engineering.” Thamill stood next to the robot and knocked on its head. “You hated that modern technology was damaging and polluting the environment over the years. You were even part of a volunteer group that helps restore some of the damages.”

“First of all, I don’t really hate it, it’s just that too many people rely on it too much. They became so callous to their environment that they supposed to rely on. But get to the point, Thamill. What are you trying to say?” Papá adjusted his glasses and glared at him. He seemed to be annoyed.

“Just, why did you change to engineering so abruptly like that? To be in the same major as me? With very little interest? You were behind on starting the basics. Yet, with my help, you were able to graduate with full knowledge of the subject. You were disgusted at yourself that you held that diploma in your hands.”

Papá dropped his glasses onto the table. He rubbed the corners of his eyes to the bridge of his nose. He looked exhausted, losing the energy to concentrate. His beige skin was becoming pale due to the lack of sunlight. His beard was starting to grow since he hasn’t shaved for a while, yet he still mustered up the energy to continue. “Mi pequeña flor.”

“Oh, c’mon Marsh. I failed Spanish class back in high school, so don’t expect me to know what you said. Translate, man!”

“My daughter,” He shot his head up at him. “My little flower… she is the reason why.”

“What? Silhouette?”

“Yeah. Silhouette is the reason that I pursue this career. Remember, when I told you that I want to have a family? Even as a teenager, I wanted kids, although I wasn’t able to find the right woman to marry.”

“Yeah, I remember. You were so desperate for a kid that you went to an agency to get a surrogate to have Silhouette. In the middle of your college years! You were lucky that my grandparents were willing to watch her while you took your classes. But what does it have to do with her?”

“Don't you remember? While the surrogate was halfway into the pregnancy, in our sophomore year,”

Papá looked at the robot then back to the computer screen. Multiple files opened, one filled with coding, while others show some type of programming or functions of the robot. He began typing again but still continued the conversation.

“That’s when this world became a more dangerous place to live in.”

“Oh, yeah…” Thamill rubbed the back of his head as his expression dropped. “That’s when everything went to hell. The Tech Evolutionary Epidemic. As technology advanced, so did the danger level for everyone. Huh...well, that’s another reason why to hate technology advancement.”

“Some idiots decided to terrorize and threaten others to feed their selfish greed. Since TEE, those bastards came out with these weapons and dangerous mistakes. The government started to do the same to protect themselves. But only they can save a limited amount of people while sacrificing others, from knowing the history and past incidents of war.”

“Better to get ahead and be prepared than be behind and possibly perish.”

“Exactly.”

Thamill then began to laugh. “It’s funny. Silhouette wasn’t even born at the time, and you were already getting concerned about her safety and future. What I’m getting is that you used this major to get close to the safety of the government. If that doesn’t work, you got the knowledge of advanced technology and the use of their tools just in case. Well, Marshall Cavallero, you are doing a good job of being a father, but just don’t sacrifice your friends. Help me to finish building this robot. This robot may save lives and our asses from future financial debt.”

Marshall chuckled. “And if something happens to me, at least one of these damn robots can protect her. Using the data from Annie, the robot’s A.I. should go under-”

“Papá!” I cried.

Tears were falling from my eyes, and my nose was very runny. Papá and Thamill looked at me. Papá’s eyes got huge then look back at his computer, believing he’s checking the time. He ran towards me and picked me up.

“Mi pequeña Silueta! I’m sorry! I lost track of time and-”

“Papá, what do you mean if something happens to you? Are you going to die?”

He looked at me weirdly as a smile grew on his face. Thamill started laughing as Papá use my blanket as a tissue for my nose. All my boogers coming as he pulled them out of my nose. All sticky and gross. “No, mi pequeña flor. No voy a morir. Nada me va a pasar.”

Then out of nowhere, there was this big crash, and everything began shaking. Papá and I fell onto the floor. So did Thamill. Bunch of parts and tools came tumbling down. It’s like an earthquake is happening. Some of the things fell on him and Thamill. Papá hugged me tightly, trying to cover me from the stuff falling down. A tool hit Thamill’s head, and he started bleeding!

I’m getting scared! I want to go home!

Then it stopped. Another loud noise came up. It was an alarm. Lights started flashing as someone started speaking through the speakers.

“Everyone remain calm! Quickly evacuate to the emergency exits! Drop what you are doing and head towards the nearest exit!”

That’s when Papá looked scared. He never gets scared like this. He stared at me for a little bit then gave me to Thamill. “You take Silhouette out of here.”

“What? Where the hell are you going?” Thamill yelled.

“All of our hard work is here! I’m going to save much of that as I can!” Papá ran towards the computer and went through his pockets, looking for something.

“Forget it! We can always make a new one! Your life is more important than these pieces of scrap metal!” Thamill slowly starting to tighten his grip on me. Then there was another loud crash and earthquake. It was much stronger than the last one.

“Then, you can build another body of that scrap metal!” Then he pulled out a small black rectangle out of his pocket. He plugged it into the computer and started typing something into it. “But all the data in this piece of crap is valuable! Its A.I. contains more than some nanny robot’s medical aid program! It also contains an aggressive battle combat system from the government’s military robots that can be easily used against us! Right now, I have to put this on the USB!”

“What the fuck! Where the hell did you get it, and why the hell do you have it!”

“I was assigned to update it! But right now is not the time to be questioning me about these things! Get out now!”

“I can’t fucking believe that you’re doing this! I can’t fucking believe that you’re really prioritizing that program over your own fucking life! Think about your daughter for fuck sake! What will happen to her if you die here?”

What! Papá is going to die here if he doesn’t leave?

“That’s why I fucking asked you to become her godfather when she was born! NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”

He continued to type on the computer, trying to get the program as another crash came. I screamed that it hurt my chest again. Thamill started running away from Papá. Is he really leaving Papá? You two were friends! Friends are supposed to help each other! I try to get out of Thamill’s arms, but he won’t let go.

“NO! PAPÁ! YOU SAID THAT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO DIE! PAPÁ! PAPÁ! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

Papá looked at me then back towards the computer screen. He looked angry as Thamill went to the door and ran towards the stairs. I was still yelling and crying. I want Papá to be here with me! I want him here with me!

“FUCK!”

That was Papá’s voice yelling.

“Sorry, Silhou,” said Thamill. “Your dad just wants you to be safe, and he said that the program was going to be used to protect you and a lot of good people. That’s why he’s doing this. He is doing this for you!” He started running up the stairs. As he ran higher up, I hear and see more people running away. All of them are screaming and yelling. Some fell on the floor but still got up and started running again. Then there was a door that leads to outside. I see a little bit of the trees and the starry sky. I look back down at the stairs.

Papá is not coming.

He is going to die.

“SILHOUETTE!”

Thamill stopped and looked down. He smiled. “There you are, bastard!"

He pointed down at the stairs. I looked around and saw Papá! He was running up the stairs, tripping a couple of times as he goes up.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave your kid alone! It would be a waste to have her then die heartlessly fucker!”

“HEY! Don’t say curse words in front of my seven-year-old daughter! You’re becoming a bad influence on her!”

“Said the hypocritic father who cursed at me in front of his daughter!”

“And this hypocritic had to sacrifice on some of the data he risked his life for! But he can improvise! Now get the hell out of here, I’ll be there in a minute!”

“Like hell, we are! We’ll stay here until you’re here with us! Right, Silhou?”

I nodded as tears fell down my face.