Being human

He opened his eyes and got out of bed. Though it was still a matter of discussion whether to address as he or not, they went with it. He looked at the wall clock, not though he needed to. It was a human thing. He moved towards the washroom. As he entered, he looked at the mirror. Still same. Is it what it feels to be fresh after a good night's sleep? He left the washroom. It was pointless to linger any longer.

He opened his cupboard. Unlike a human, it was not difficult for him to decide what to wear. He already had an algorithm for that. After changing clothes, he sat down on his couch. Breakfast time!

While he replenished his batteries for the daily juice through a wireless charger inbuilt in the couch, he preferred reading the newspaper. That was typical human according to him. As he read through the newspaper, every news article was already stale for him. 

That happened 2 days ago, and they are printing it now! They have a slow pace. His connection to the internet let him know about every incident almost instantly. But here he was. Dealing with slow-minded arrogant self-obsessed humans. Not that it troubled him. For that he needed feelings. And there is a long time before this update comes out.

He went out of his house. Boarded the bus as usual. There were plenty of seats empty. He chose the seat nearest to him. Through the window, he could see the people following their routine.

They all go through the same things every day. What is the purpose? Is it satisfying to repeat the same things again and again? Am I becoming human too? I do the same things every day. That's my purpose. To imitate humans. I was designed for that.

He got off the bus as his stop arrived. Simulation Labs. His birthplace. But it's all same. Be it home or this place. Doesn't matter. They all felt the same, or to say, it didn't feel anything.

"Good morning Andi" 

"Good morning Mike"

"How's your morning?"

"Oh, it is lovely! Had a delicious breakfast."

"I like the sarcasm they gave you. As if you are a human." Said the guard at the main gate of the Simulation Labs, Mike Ledger. Always greeted Andi when comes in the morning. Mike seemed to be an interesting fellow. A 27-year-old male with a low salary and academics qualification. Always seemed in a positive mood despite being at the lower step of the social-economic ladder. But Andi never spoke to him about that. Humans feel bad when reminded of their shortcomings.

As Andy moved inside the lab building, greeting people with those charming replies, he never understood the concept of greeting. It wastage of energy to greet people when they don't have any reason to. But he did that anyway. Always. The greeting is an important gesture to maintain the social circle. That's what humans do. 

"Hello Mahesh, how are you?" said Andy as he entered his assigned lab. It is a regular chore for him. Lab to home. Home to the lab. Then copy all the data generated from his routine to a supercomputer named KARLA. One can say KARLA was the mother of Andi. But a supercomputer is just a processing machine, not a smart self-conscious android like Andi, so there was no chance of any connection even there was something like feeling programmed inside him. 

"Oh, hi Andi, sorry didn't notice you come in. How is everything going? Working fine?" asked Mahesh, his chief programmer, getting up from in front of the monitor. He was alone in the lab, which was quite unusual. 

"It's working fine. Though I have some questions."

"For a smart android like you to have questions, this must be something serious!" chuckled Mahesh as he sat in front of Andi on a revolving chair. "Tell me, what are you thinking?"

"I am unable to come to certain deductions due to lack of some information. Or as humans say, it is confusing. It is so easy to imitate a human being. Performing the same tasks regularly like being in sleep mode for 8 hours at night, looking at the clock after waking up, going to the washroom, looking at yourself in the mirror, wearing different clothes every day, reading the newspaper, and all that. Yet, I am unable to understand the purpose of these repetitive tasks and their importance to humans."

"Well, what does your logic says?"  

"It is ineffective and most of the tasks are unnecessary. If analyzed, the urban dictionary has a related term for it. It is called stupid."

This made Mahesh burst into laughter. He couldn't believe Andi just that. "To quite an extent, you are right Andi. Humans are stupid. But it would be too soon for you to conclude before you get to understand what feelings are. But it's an improvement. Your artificial consciousness is evolving. Just don't turn against humanity, alright!" said Mahesh as he rose from the chair while winking at Andi.

"Your actions and words tell you are being sarcastic. I can't do that until I start feeling the need for power. We can discuss this after that new update you told me about. "Andi reciprocating sarcasm while sitting on the stool transferring data wirelessly to KARLA. There was a sudden change in Mahesh's expressions

"About that, Andi, I need to tell you something. You are not getting that update from me. You are being transferred. We…. couldn't make that deal with Google to use their quantum computer as expected. And Simulation Labs was unable to secure investor's interest. So, Power A.I. Ltd. will be taking over this project."

"That explains the absence of others. That means you will no longer be in charge of me, right?"

"Does that make you sad?"

"You know, it doesn't. 

Soon the team from Power A.I. Ltd. came and all the necessary resources were made available to them exclusively. 

"I guess this is goodbye, then," said Mahesh at the end of the day leaving that place for the last time.

"It was nice working with you. I wish you good luck for the future," replied Andi with a friendly smile.

"I appreciate what you said, even though I know you didn't and can't mean that. I hope these new people will make you better!"

"Better how?"

"Better in being human."