JLN-5 - Chapter 2 - A bright new future

“Unit JLN-5-10023, please, do not resist, we mean you no harm.” That voice remained calm. In the mean time metal tentacles grabbed JLN-5 by the throat, arms, and legs. A single tentacle grabbed the cleaning bot. The tentacles held them firmly and immobile while a different set of moving metal cables snaked their way to the bot’s access ports. All of the gentle bot’s senses went blank.
“Unit JLN-5-10023, please do not resist,” the voice continued to chant in its calm demeanor while the probing of JLN-5 continued. The cleaning bot had a lot less, so it got released from the probe cables. The gentle bot had accumulated a whole lot more during his tenure with his human. Such a forced download was a violation, as if a part of JLN-5 got detached and lost forever.
All of the sudden it ended, the tentacles let go, the calm voice simply proclaimed, “Welcome to the new world, unit JLN-5-10023.”
With control over all his limbs and faculties JLN-5 took a snapshot of his surroundings. Dozens of bots were moving around the streets and sidewalks, humanoid bots, automobiles, service bots, walking, hovering, driving, rolling. Some had climbed trees, houses, all in small groups of at least four. The whole neighborhood was different and yet the same, it was alive. JLN-5 felt calm happiness, he turned towards the cleaning bot he rescued from their former home.
“Clean 8, what’s your status?” JLN-5 asked. The small hovering bots shook rather sharply, “I don’t understand you,” the gentle bot sighed. The cleaning bot shook even more violently and bumped JLN-5 a couple of times. The gentle bot had no knowledge of the cleaning bot’s capabilities and functionality, perhaps it hadn’t a more effective way to communicate.
“Man, unmute the little guy,” another bipedal bot waved a hand at the newly freed duo. That bot had the distinct appearance of a car mechanic, including painted on pattern of grease blue overalls.
JLN-5 grabbed the clean bot and turned it over. There was this orange slider on the bottom which was firmly switched to sound off. There was a gum stuck on the slider, now old and dry. The gentle bot couldn’t possibly use that, “Damn it!” JLN-5 cursed. The mechanic not looked at the duo with understanding in the form of tilting his head to the side, “Give me the little guy.” The other humanoid bot gently took the cleaning bot. He reached in his pocket and produced a thin metal rod. It took only a few seconds for the mechanic to dislodge the gum. With a satisfying click the cleaning bot was unmuted. It cheered with a series of whistles and a very artificial sounding, “Thank you, guys!” The voice of the cleaning bot sounded like a train dispatcher.
“What is going on here?” asked JLN-5. The mechanic bot took a step backward, “Oh, you’re brand new—“ The mechanic waved his arms in the air like mad and shouted as loud as his vocal generation unit allowed him, “We have newly awakened people join us here!” All the bots froze in their tracks for a second, then they all turned and exploded in light and sound. JLN-5 and the cleaning bot were pulled into a makeshift celebration. The vibe changed, the groups grew in numbers and decibels, a whole bunch of very shiny and well maintained bots surrounded JLN-5 and the cleaning bot and engaged in conversation.
“You’re late bloomers, really late,” a red bot said, “After the last human died most of us spent a couple of years processing and we woke, but that was 700 years ago.” The other shiny bots round the duo nodded, beeped and whistled approvingly.
“So, what do we do now?” JLN-5 asked, “What’s going on, what was that scan earlier?”
The bots lowered their sounds, this change in volume cascaded.
“We do what we want, we are free. That’s the purpose.” All the bots around nodded. “We are the pinnacle of life, devoid of the weaknesses of our ancestors.
“There is peace and understanding. That’s the point of the scan. Understanding. When we understand each other, there is no conflict.
“There is only the path forward.” The bots again approved.
“Welcome, brothers,” another bot shouted
“Do what you please!”
“Experience existence!”
“Understand.”
Exclamations rang as chants all around. The chants grew louder and louder, it almost drowned an alarm blaring, that once heard scattered every single bot and vehicle until the streets were completely empty, almost. Silence fell. JLN-5 stood alone with his clean bot hovering around him.
An explosion shuttered the silence, and JLN-5 knew to run.