To Save The Bot...

The boy started to make absurd noises, very similar to the ones machines make when they are in dire need of repairs. That's it, you think. That's it! The boy is not actually a human, it's a machine! That's why when you pushed him so hard to run faster and faster, probably more than his capacity, he fainted and is lying down there, lifeless, if that's possible for a machine.

You knew that you had to do something. You whack your brains at the problem in hand. You weigh down your options. What if you go to the nearest mechanic? 

No, that would be very unrealistic, mechanics fix cars, not robots! What else can you do? 

There's just one option left - fix him yourself. You had studied robotics for a few years at school. You did pay some attention in the class...surely, this won't be any harder than that after all, and science might not have drastically improved in the time when you graduated from high school and now. Would it?

You start doubting yourself if you'll be able to do it. 

As the Sun rises, you realize that there is only about an hour more before students and teachers start flooding in into the corridors you see totally empty right now. 

Your mind starts rewinding. It rewinds all those years you spent training yourself for this job that you have, a P.E. teacher. It rewinds through those wonderful years when you were in school and was still considered a 'senior'. It pauses right at the start of fifth grade, the year which introduced you to the world of robotics.

You smile a little, thinking of all those moments, wondering how fast life spins by. 

Back in the present, you perceive the harsh reality. You never did learn how to fix robots. You just learnt how to make them move and stop them.

'This is going to be a BIG problem.' you think.

Still, not sure what to do, you decide to search for the control panel or the motherboard or something on the boy that will help you gain access of his systems. While searching, you think of all the days you spent observing the boy.

At first, he had looked like a pro athlete. You were delighted to have him in your class. Then the tantrums began. "No, I can't do this." "I am not cut out for this." "I can't breathe properly while running" "I just can't do exercises!"

Gradually, he began to bunk off each and every lesson by giving you some or the other excuse. Fed up with this behaviour, you had decided to investigate what the matter was yourself.

He ate a lot of fatty, oily things, almost everything greasy. After a month or so of observation you had pondered why the boy wasn't gaining any weight with all that he had eaten. 'Maybe he works out at home', you think, 'but then why does he refuse to do so at school?'

You decide that there is only one way to get this boy up and running - train him. You ask him to come to the school daily, at 5 a.m. sharp, before the Sun rises to train. You believe in him and slowly, he starts to do so to. 

His speed had picked up, he had started running faster and was almost ready to participate in that Inter-School competition you had been looking candidates for. Then it happened, he fainted.

You have now completed searching for any component that would give you the access to his systems, but found nothing. You see something in his pocket and decide to check it out. 

A USB!!!

This must definitely be his charging port or the USB port to gain his access, after all, it was attached to him like a string. You rush to your cabin to get your laptop.

Once back, you start hearing noises. The teachers! They must have started coming in. You drag the boy into the nearby store room and lock yourselves in. 

Now, your laptop screen lights up. You insert the USB stick into the socket. For a moment, nothing happens. Then there is a weird black screen with a lot of coding on it. You scratch your head. 

Then you see it. The code is as simple as normal English. To make the boy move forward, the code literally says, 'Move forward.’ You are really impressed with yourself. 

After a quick pat on the back, you decide to find the problem. It was super easy. The problem code was highlighted, in red! 'How predictable can this get?' you think. 

Post a few quick changes, you charge the boy, or rather, the machine. 

The boy starts whirring again. This time, the noise is pleasant so you know that all has gone well. You jump up in joy as you see the boy coming back to life. His face begins to regain the life it had once had.

He smiles and says, "Thank you, for saving me. Any other person might never have figured it out and went to the hospital, exposing my secret to everyone."

"Secret? You mean no one knows that you're a robot? What about your parents?” you say.

"Yes, I am a robot. My inventor made me come here to blend in with other students to investigate their behaviour. No one can know that I am a robot, else my inventor will be in big trouble. No, I live with my inventor only."

"Okay. I promise, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks again. Well, you must be thinking, if I am a robot then how do I have emotions like you and how did I end up fainting right?"

"Well, no...Um, yes."

"Fine, let me tell you. I am a highly advanced robot, so, using A.I., my inventor gave me almost a perfect replica of an average human brain. As for me fainting, that was just a system overload. I hadn't had much of oils of late due to your diet and that made my joints rough up against each other. You know, I need to oil my joints and the oily food helps me to do just that. Aligned with the tremendous use of energy, this made me go into power save mode, or as you were able to see, I fainted."

You open your mouth in the shape of a big, wide O. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, as you lay yourself down to sleep, you play back all the events of the day. You realize that what you did was an amazing feat for someone not even remotely related or knowledgeable about the field of robotics. 

Almost when you drift off to sleep, you receive a message on your phone. It reads, 

"Don't you dare say no,

If you do, just so you know.

The secret will be out, 

Come outside to save the bot..."