‘What’s a five letter word for solitude?’
This was my thought process as I sat staring into nothingness. I was homeless, roaming the streets of San Francisco on a normal day. I was munching on a chocolate bar I’d stolen from a local shop. I wouldn’t say I was a habitual klepto, but I was hungry.
Among the crowds of San Francisco, I heard a noise. It wasn’t a human noise - it was mechanical, robotic. My curiosity got the best of me, and I went on the hunt. I wish I hadn’t.
In the corner of my eye I spotted a glint of light - like shiny metal. I ran towards it, and it DISAPPEARED.
I heard it scurry away, whatever it was. I felt a rush of adrenaline, and I followed the noise. I chased it all through the alleyway, until I came to a dead end.
I was staring at the back end of a building when I heard it. A mechanical STEP.
Then, a robotic, stiff, incomplete voice met my ears…
“𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘.”
The hairs on my back stood up. My heart began beating even faster, and I don’t know how. I spun around, and there IT was.
It wasn’t what I expected. But then again… what was I supposed to expect?
It stood on all fours, with an odd, angular appendage sticking out of where its neck should be, like some sort of head. It tilted its ‘head’ at me, looking in my direction - if it could be called looking. The best label I could give it would be a robot dog. Yet, it was missing key features of a dog.
I gulped. “H…Hi?” I said, warily. I could hear the cameras on its odd head zooming in and out to focus on me.
“𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘.” It repeated, stepping closer. I flinched. I wasn’t sure whether to be horrified, or fascinated. The canine-robot was operating on its own, seemingly. Again, my curiosity won me over. I reached out my hand.
I expected to be attacked or ran from, but that didn’t happen. My hand reached the metallic, black surface of the artificially intelligent beast. It didn’t flinch or move an inch.
I relaxed slightly. “What… what can I call you?” I asked, half expecting another ‘hello.’
“𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎.” It rang.
I hesitated. Looking at the thing, I realized it was kind of… cute. “Would you be offended if I named you?” I asked, ignorantly. I didn’t know what I expected.
“𝙽𝚘.”
“I’ll call you…” I thought for a moment. “Arnold.” It was the first thing that came to my head. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Terminator.
The robo-dog didn’t object, it simply readjusted its camera with a *zoom* and *click.*
Then I ran my hand down its odd neck. “Can you feel my touch?”
“𝚈𝚎𝚜.”
I didn’t understand how. Maybe it was some sensors programmed into it… but it astonished me. I hate to say I fell head over heels for the technology that made this thing. I was, as you say, a total nerd.
Suddenly, Arnold walked away. “Wait, where are you going?”
It paid me no attention.
“Arnold?”
It stopped, swaying its head around in a snake-like, but also rigid, motion.
“𝚃𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔.” It said.
Something about that phrase made chills go down my spine. I know robots don’t have inflection, but I could tell that Arnold spoke differently when he said it.
I followed slowly. “Look for what?”
No answer.
I followed Arnold around, until it finally stopped. It seemed to like to hide in corners where it was hardly visible. This fact slightly disturbed me, but I shrugged it off.
“What are we doing here?”
“𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐.”
More chills. Suddenly I didn’t want to know what we were waiting FOR.
Perhaps Arnold knew something I didn’t. Maybe there was something to look for that I wasn’t aware of. Maybe that’s why it had been made.
Suddenly, a man appeared in front of us, holding an elderly woman’s arm roughly. She was wailing, and he was holding a gun to her head.
“Now empty your wallet, old hag!” He shouted, pressing the gun into her temple.
Suddenly, Arnold rose to its… well, it stood up.
It briskly and mechanically walked to the scene. The man and elderly woman looked towards it. The man was confused.
Arnold spoke, but its voice was deep and menacing. I noticed a red light where his camera was.
“𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍: 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚜.”
And with that, a weapon of sorts shot out of Arnold’s forehead and shot the man in the head. The man’s brains exploded, and he fell to the ground. The woman uttered a shaky ‘thank you,’ and ran off.
“That was amazing!” I shouted. Arnold paid no notice. It sat there, motionless. He was looking away from me. I sighed. “You should lighten up, Arn.”
Still no response. The red light glowering from Arnold’s head finally disappeared, and it looked like its normal… well, sort of normal self.
“You okay Arnold?”
Silence.
I wondered if something was bugging it, but I didn’t think I would get an answer if I tried. So, I gave up for a while. Shrugging, I pulled out my candy bar from earlier. I figured I would take time to enjoy it, since I knew I was safe from the cops. As I took a bite into the bar, I saw a red light gleaming in my face. I looked aside.
Arnold was staring right at me, unlike earlier. He was focused on my forehead.
“𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍: 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚜.”
***
I don’t know why I was born with a natural flight instinct, but I’m glad I was. I began running faster than I could. That’s why it was watching me all along.
It was waiting to kill me.
Anyways, I ran until I reached a dead end. And that’s where I still am as I write this. Arnold is nowhere in sight, but if I listen closely, I can hear the mechanical steps of a robot dog.
A L O N E.
That’s a five letter word for solitude.
And it’s also what I am almost certainly sure I am not right now.