Cornelius-12

“Is this thing on?” A male’s voice groans. He sounds frustrated, and tired. A whirring noise sounds from deep in my motors. My “eyes” open. “It is!” He says. Exhaling loudly, he does a dance. 

“Where am I?” I ask. “Who am I? Who are you?” Whirring exhilarates and tickles me with its frequent motion.

“Hello Cornelia,” The man finally states. “My name is Basil Daedalus, I created you. Your serial number is 4265386364836, Model Cornelius-12. You are in my laboratory.” He tells me.

“Scanning facial features, recognizing voice.” A computer tells me, inside me the buzzing continues. An early memory appears in my eyes. Basil Daedalus taps on the glass. Checking my reflexes. At this point, my body lays on the bench, more like a doll than an interactive robot. 

“May I?” Basil Daedalus asks, holding a connecting port. I nod at him. “I downloaded the dictionary into you, so that is why you can speak, I also taught you some movements, so you could move around. Now, I am currently downloading a manners manual into you.” 

“Manners?” I say in an interrogating tone. I know what manners are, I don’t know why I would need them. At most, I would just talk with the other engineers and scientists in the lab. Sitting like a prop for examinations like my predecessor. 

“You are going to be the first functional-for-public robot that Daedalus Corporation makes!” He exclaims with jazz hands shaking in gusto. 

“Why?” I ask again.

“We have moved on from phones, so has the public. Daedalus Corporations will go out of business without innovations. And we really have not done that in some time.” He says. “How are you feeling?” He asks but his voice is drowned out with the buzzing coming from the computer and the fan inside me. When I opened my eyes again, there was a notification on my internal screen. “Please Finalize: WOULD YOU LIKE TO DOWNLOAD MANNERs.DAuDalius.Corps INTO YOUR SOFTWARE?” 

Yes

“DOWNLOADING” The screen read. Information slowly processed through my core. 

“We are done here, but we are going to try doing a tabletop dinner with volunteers to test how to Look for some bugs that the software might produce.” I sit in the charging port with my name labeled on it waiting to be tested out. 

⚙⚙⚙

When I wake, there is a small grey tuxedo left on the table. Uncharging, I read the warning page on my screen.

WARNING: DEVICE POWER CAPACITY CRITICALLY LOW. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHARGE <1> OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ONTO LOW BATTERY MODE <2>

Pressing <2> I get the tuxedo on. Mr. Daedalus meets me at the door, he carries me onto the rooftop, as I scan the scene around me. A dinner is layed out with an overflowing plate of spaghetti. Sharing the table with 5 cups of overflowing liquid. In the middle of the table there is a candelabra holding a taper candle. All of them are risk factors. I stand by the door activating wings to float above those who enter. With children jumping to catch me I might have to hover above even the adults. The door to the rooftop opens, and 2 parents and 3 children enter sitting on the table. Mr. Daedalus and a group of scientists dressed as waiters are at the side of the 

table. First Mr. Daedalus orders me to put a ball of spaghetti onto each plate with no spillage. The task is daunting, but I get through it. Next the first child spills some of the tomato sauce onto the floor, I skillfully zoom towards the spill Cleaning it up. As I fly up, the internal screen says POWERING OFF. No no no! I bump into the table. The wings blades slice through the thin table leg. A shriek sounds in the air. Before the spaghetti falls on me. The cup of the child, a plastic cup filled with chocolate milk pours on my head. Malfunction tremors my body, as I pass out. 

⚙⚙⚙

When I wake up Mr. Daedalus stands over my body placing back a dead, soggy, chocolate milk clogged battery. I sit up looking at the clunky legs and old gears in my body. It makes me seem like a Cornelius-1. Shame goes throughout my body.

“Well, that was a disaster-”Mr. Daedalus says before I pull out the new wings, which are circular and fly away.

I don’t know where I go, but it is dark, the only light coming from the blue triangle on my belly. I sit against the wall. Suddenly there is a rustling of a garbage bag and I tighten my grip against the wall pushing myself to stand.

”Who are you?” I call. My defense mechanisms kick in a light that only I can see shines through where an old Cornelius-1 sits in the corner barely whirring over the ground. 

“So you were the new robot? Huh.” He says “Why are you in the dumps?” He asks. 

“I don’t fit in. With the humans.” I reply. 

“No, Why are you in the dumps. Here there are other editions of Cornelius, ready to go to the incinerator.” he asks 

“I malfunctioned and I am too ashamed to show my face.” I say

“So, you made a mistake, what can you do?” He asks me. Now he crouches over a small walking stick. “When I was your age, I made so many mistakes I was surprised they did not send me here in a second after my awakening.” He says as I look at him with big eyes. he continues, ”Life is about making mistakes and fixing them. Not living on it forever. Try your best to be a better Cornelius then us. But never forget to live. You only get one computer life. I forgot that, and look where I am. Who cares if the humans don’t include you, as long as you have yourself. That is all that matters.” He chuckles as the door opens, Mr. Daedalus looks and finds me. 

“I have been looking for you. Why did you run?” He says. 

“Because, I failed.” I reply. “And I won’t do it again.” I add

“Okay. I was trying to tell you that it was the chargers fault, it never was working.” He informs me. 

“Really?” I clarify

“Really.” He confirms.

“Although you did not do well, I believe you can do it in some time.” He tells me. As Mr. Daedalus and I go back, we share a smile.