I am the android cleaner

It was official. I'd hit bottom. Me, the android cleaner. The worst job ever. Not even the androids themselves wanted this job. I could hear my daughter as if she stood right beside me:

"I told you so. You can't get any decent job nowadays without an education. Why haven't you gone back to school as I said?"

And my son would say:

"It's not too late, mom. You could apply for virtual education and do it after work."

I sighed. Although I loved my children, sometimes I was glad that they didn't have time to visit as often. Hopefully, I could get something better before that. I didn't want to study. No matter how lousy the job got, but soon I wouldn't have any choice. Android cleaner wasn't just a lousy job. It didn't pay enough either.

I've collected all the equipment at the office on the base floor. Now I had to descend all the stairs down into the basement. I wasn't allowed to take the elevators. I could still remember when you could walk alongside the lakes in the city, but it was at least twenty years ago. They had built on all available space in the city. It was only the people on top of the ladder who was allowed on the top floors with windows towards the lakes. The rest of us only could stay in the lower levels with no windows at all. If you didn't have any education there were few jobs to be had. Most unqualified jobs were performed by androids. The last bastion had long been cleaning, but nowadays there were cleaner androids who took care of that. Most people had given up and either got an education which meant you had to compete with all the young people who were hungry for the best jobs or rely on charity which was hard in demand nowadays. I think most people relying on charity had been transported out of the city. I wasn't prepared to give up yet even though I've plummeted the ladder down to the lowest of all job. The cleaner of the android cleaners. I wasn't even allowed to clean the androids with better jobs. I was only allowed to clean the androids who cleaned for the rest of the androids. Those androids re-charged during night down in the basement. Therefore, I had to go down into the basement in the middle of the night.

I sighed and started climbing downwards. The steps were made of concrete. So was the walls. Soon I had to turn ninety degrees. I was climbing down the stair at the side of Munksjön. The farther down I got the damper was the air. Soon moist patches started to show on the walls. They had built the city so close to the waters that the walls were unable to keep the damp away. It was chilly. I froze in my overalls. 

After a long time, I'd reached the bottom. It was a long corridor with doors on the right side. It must be in those rooms the androids re-charged. The fluorescent lamp blinked. The power was fluctuating again. It often did during the night.

I opened the heavy steel door to the right. It closed behind me with a thud. It was a small room with a narrow corridor between the charging stations. There were five stations on each side. All with an android with closed eyes. The humming from the charging filled the air.

I stood lost for a moment. Not certain how I would proceed. It wasn't going to be easy to reach all parts of the android as they stood connected to the charger, but I knew that my work would be inspected the first week, and if I didn't pass, I would lose this job as well.

I climbed onto the first charger and inspected the android. It was a male model dressed in what looked like a uniform even though I knew it was part of the android. I gently touched the android. It was smooth. Not a wrinkle. Not a rift. But it had stains. I had to clean the whole android from top to bottom. Last, I should clear all sockets. I sighed. It probably would take me all night, but I should get started.

The first android took a long time, but when I started the second, I felt like I got the hang of it.  I was just cleaning the left hand when the android opened the mouth and said:

"All this shit makes it harder to clean."

I slipped and fell, staring up at the android. The mouth was closed, and it seemed to be asleep. It was eerie with androids suddenly speaking although they should be asleep during the charging. Before I could get up, an android on the other side of the aisle spoke.

"Why didn't she?"

It was silent again. Shaken, I raised and continued my cleaning duties. Suddenly the next android shook her head and clear said:

"No."

When she was silent again, but before I could resume my work the first android said loudly:

"The chairs shouldn´t be on the balcony."

Now I was intrigued. What was going on? Why did all the android speak random sentences while charging?

By the side of the door, there was a panel. I should be able to access the androids' assignments. Maybe that could tell me more. Probably my boss wouldn't want me to investigate the mystery, but I wanted to know, and I had never stopped trying to find out whatever piqued my interest. It probably explained why I always lost my jobs. As my daughter would say: I'm a stubborn curious old bitch, who never let a bone go. Excuse my mix of metaphors. I never was any good with words.

It took me a while to find the correct directory, but finally, I stumbled upon it. The identity of each android was printed on the charger. They probably wanted to avoid mix-ups. Maybe they down-loaded new instructions at the same time the charging took place. But I thought they ought to be able to solve that even if the androids just claimed one available spot.

The android who had spoken about the balcony and the chairs was assigned to one of the finer offices with a view towards Munksjön and a balcony. It was easy to see because the office plans were included in the assignment alongside how often the different areas should be cleaned.

While I was searching one of the androids exclaimed:

"Watch out! The scissor is sharp."

That android cleaned at the kindergarten. This was interesting. What they said seemed to depend on where they worked. Could it be the thoughts and conversations they had during the day? Maybe the androids dreamt while they slept.

* * *

Last night, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about the dreaming androids. They did a lot of talking during charging. I was really curious about what they were saying, but I couldn't stay in one room all night. I had to clean all androids. After a lot of thought, I managed to gather five recording devices and re-build them, so they only recorded if a sound was heard. Now I had them in my backpack and planned to install them in five different rooms. After work, I should be able to listen to all the different opinions. Maybe, I could learn something important. For instance, if an android revealed valuable information, I could supplement my too meager income as an android cleaner.

In the first room, I installed the recording device before I started the cleaning. That meant that I didn't need to remember everything that was said when I was in the room. It was a lot. Somewhere in all that noise, something valuable had to be buried. If I could uncover that, maybe I could escape the necessary education and race against all the young and eager. At least, that was what I hoped.

Finally, all androids were cleaned, and I could continue with the next room. As before, I started with installing the recording device. Nobody should discover it. I was the only person to work down here and I would remove them after my shift.

"What on earth are you doing?"

I jumped at least a meter. The heart stopped for a short while. I turned with my hands shaking. From one of the alcoves, an android had stepped down. He was quite tall with brown hair. The uniform was grey. I didn't recognize where he cleaned.

"Well," he said and took one step forward. "Answer me. What are you doing?"

Certainly not the ordinary behavior of an android cleaner. After the shock passed, I wasn't so easy to step on. I crossed my arms and raised my chin.

"Well, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be charging as a good android."

"I'm already re-charged. I had no duties, so I remained here during the working hours. Why charge, then I don't need to?"

Quite a good point. I resumed the installation but didn't start the recording. It could be that this conversation shouldn't be recorded. The android took some additional steps and looked at my handiwork.

"It looks like a recording device." He tilted his head to the side. "Why record charging androids?"

I grinned at him.

"It turns out that androids talk in their sleep."

He threw his head back and laughed.

"You don't say. That's marvelous. Androids cleaners see a lot. If they talk about it … Imagine what we can learn."

I laughed. He was an android in my taste.

"My thought exactly. The work as an android cleaner is certainly not enough to pay the bills." 

I choose the nearest android and started cleaning.

"Why do you work as an android cleaner if it doesn't pay the bill?"

I shrugged.

"No choice. I have no education. What's your story? Where do you clean?"

He grimaced.

"At the police station, but they don't let me see anything interesting."

He picked up a cloth and polished the face of the android.

"I haven't always cleaned," he said after a short while. "I used to be a police detective, but was demoted when I solved a case the politicians didn't want solving."

I smiled.

"Let me guess, you couldn't keep quiet either? Well, if it's any comfort, neither would I. You have to do what you think is right. Otherwise, what's the point of living?"

"Yes, I agree. I'm Erik by the way."

"I'm Sofi."

He raised his eyebrows and gave me a questioning gaze.

"If I help you with the cleaning, we can listen in to all the recordings together. Maybe, we can find something interesting."

I wiped off the last grease from the android and moved to the next.

"Great idea!" I said. "Now we're partners."

He smiled.

"Partners," he said.

* * *

After two more rooms, we had gotten the hang of it. Install the recording device, start recording, work under silence, and then move to the next room while chatting about what we heard. This was the fourth room and we were soon busy cleaning. I was feeling warm and sweaty. It was a bit annoying that Erik never broke a sweat, regardless of how hard he worked. On the upside, he worked hard and was a great company.

I listened to the androids' exclamations with one ear while I cleaned. Erik tilted his head to one side every time an android spoke, so I guess he was as interested as I.

"No! Don't!"

The shout made me drop the cloth. Erik had his eyes widened. His mouth was slack. 

"Dead!" The android moaned.

It was eerie with so much feeling in the words and no facial expression to match. Erik moved closer. His eyes didn't leave the android's face.

"I promise," said the android. "She's dead, but I wouldn't tell anyone. You know I can't."

Silence ascended. We watched the android for a long time, but no other words came. After a long while, I checked the android assignment. She worked in one of the high-end apartments. I wouldn't find the owner here.

Erik opened the door and gestured for me to follow. When the door closed, he leaned on the wall despite the damp and closed his eyes.

"Do you understand what we heard?" he asked.

"I think so. It sounded like the android witnessed a murder."

He nodded.

"And promised to keep it quiet. This means that she's not able to tell anyone. This is an extremely stressful situation for her."

"I doubt the murderer cares. It doesn't feel right that a murderer gets away."

He shook his head. It only took a moment for me to decide.

"Let's clean the rest of the androids. After that, we pick up all the recording devices and head to my home. We can listen to this recording and search the registers. Together, we can solve this crime."

He grinned at me.

"The android cleaner detectives."