Point21Gigawatts 8 points 5 hours ago I looked around at the wreckage of my study, tears welling up in my eyes. Years of research, blueprints, and construction, all lying in pieces on the hardwood floor.
When I studied engineering in college, all I really wanted to do was help people. I never thought things would get so…complicated. People got jealous of my marketing success, my ability to craft mechanical assistants from the most basic components. I never thought I had made such ruthless enemies, but evidently someone had allowed hatred to cloud their judgment.
The missile was a direct hit, smashing into my main data console and burning my latest prototypes to a crisp. I strolled around the perimeter of the console, picking up the remains of my precious creations.
I had started by programming simple robots, designed for the most basic functions. First there was Weather Bot, a smiling golden sun with expressive eyes. I picked up his now-malfunctioning shell, which had been cracked in so many places that it was hard to see his signature grin. I flipped him over so I could access his main keyboard, then I began to type.
“Weather! NY/New York”
Weather Bot sputtered to life, trying his hardest to present me with the forecast he was designed to provide. A single tear rolled down my cheek as he presented me with the collected data, then went dark.
Next I discovered Dictionary Bot. His design had been so simple, yet so effective, and the affordable materials I used to build him had allowed thousands of schoolchildren to use him for their studies. He was shaped just like an average textbook, but he could pull up even the most obscure words, from any language, within seconds.
“define sadness”
Dictionary Bot accessed his wide database of information for the last time.
Magic 8 Bot! How could I forget her? I opened her up and typed away furiously, managing to see her prediction before she shorted out.
“Oh glorious magic8bot, will I ever recover from this disaster?”
By this point, I was running out of robots to activate. All the others had crumbled beyond recognition or were simply buried beneath the rumble. I brushed some dust off another, which was shaped like a jester’s hat. Joke Bot. I could certainly use some humor at a time like this.
“Tell me a joke”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the punch line. But now that my sadness had receded, I felt pure, unfettered anger boil within me. It was time to activate the last robot I could find, one that could express the rage I had been bottling up inside.
The charred pieces of my main data console rested on a bright chrome table. There was still one screen giving off a faint light, and as luck would have it, a keyboard was attached. I did what I had to do, and typed what I had to type.
(╯ಠ_ಠ）╯︵ ┻━┻
The table flipped over almost instantly, sending the pieces of my main console flying out into the center of the room. I fell to my knees and let out an ear-piercing wail.
Perhaps I can rebuild, but for now the agony remains.