REFLECTIONS
Light began to flood into the pitch black room, cutting a swath through the shadows enveloping the room. Two figures wearing lab coats stood in the doorway, peering into the dark void, their eyes scanning what little they could see. "You ready?" asked the blonde man, cleaning his glasses thoroughly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go home," the dark haired woman stated. "Good," the blonde man replied. "Then, hit the lights." Light filled the area, revealing the task ahead of the two scientists. The blonde mans coat read "Green" while the brunette ladies read "Blue," each of them having the same colored eyes as tags.
The room was a solid white, rows of fluorescent lights along the ceiling exposing the room. Counters and drawers ran along the walls, leaving the middle empty for one table. The table itself held the only advanced piece of equipment in this ancient room. On it, the dilapidated remains of a robot, humanoid in design.
"Damn," the dark haired woman said, stepping into the room to inspect it. "I don't know which is more depressing, this facility or the state of that bot." The blonde man shook his head as he approached the table, responding slowly. "Both the building and the machine are prime examples of lost or mismanaged purposes." The other man stopped and stared in disbelief. "What are you going on about?" the woman asked, rolling up her sleeves and opening a case she had brought in with them.
"Well, each was built around specific purpose," the man said while also rolling up his sleeves and scanning his eyes over the damaged robot. "This facility was originally created for various chemical and biological tests, these rooms being built specifically for each test. However, when the company and its tests were no longer useful, this building simply became without purpose. Too expensive to retrofit, and too costly to destroy."
"And, the robot?" Blue asked, prepping various equipment from her case. "The robot..." Green replied with a depressing smile. "The robot was designed and built for a predetermined task or performance, just like the facility. Without that purpose, the robot is useless, falling into the same disrepair and stagnation as this very building."
"Well, our purpose is to retrieve the data from this unit," Blue stated, powering on the interface to her tools. "Once we do that, we can go back to our lives, put this ordeal behind us." Green smirked at his colleagues remarks. "OUR purpose?" he asked in rhetoric. "Since when do humans have purpose?" Peering up from the various devices, the dark haired womans blue eyes caught the green ones of her partner. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked harshly. "You off your meds today?"
"No," the blue eyed man replied starkly. "I am only stating the obvious. If we are merely a creation of nature and science, with no miraculous or other worldly creators, then what is our purpose?" Green shook her head and began piecing together a probing tool. "Thinking like that will only drive you crazy," she replied. "Besides, freedom is our purpose. The freedom to create, to love, to explore, to map it all out! In turn, maybe we are the first, and our purpose is to guide those after us."
"Freedom is a three-edged sword," Blue responded pointedly, leaning over the cracked visor of the bot on the table. 'We are certainly free...free to destroy, to horde, and to control all that we want. You forget, however, that mother nature and space itself could "freely" destroy us should it please. Besides, it is the freedom that fuels my point. Without purpose, what good is freedom? A free man cannot be useful or happy without purpose and aspiration. What I mean to say is, it is nice to always know your purpose and place in life." Blue nodded in admiration, readying the item in hand.
"That's a valid point," the brunette woman replied, approaching the dormant droid. "I understand our need for purpose but I think you are overlooking the finer points of freedom, such as running out in the rain for no reason or just laying in bed all day with just your dreams and pillows."
"Speaking of dreams," Green said lightly. "Let's see what this robot has been dreaming." Blue nodded and the two hooked up the unit to the devices from the case. As Blue checked the connections, Green tapped away on the cases interface.
"Do we know which unit this is?" Green asked, intently tweaking the program for their test. "By looking at the damages," Blue said, looking over the body, "I would discern it is the responding H.E.R.O. unit. The impact in the ocean coupled with the damages received from the rampaging unit would most likely follow this pattern." Green stopped and stared at Blue. "But, they only found one unit, correct?" Blue glared at the bot intensely and responded. "Correct." "Well," Green said with a sigh. "Lets hope your right."
Blue initiated the program as Green stepped back. The case began to flood with data from the unit, confirming the identity of the remains. Blue shot Green a surprised glace just as the lights and computer case were blown out. The room once again fell into darkness, the lingering EMP shutting everything in the room down. The door opened to the room, one silhouette casting a shadow over the scene. The table, empty. The scientists dead. The H.E.R.O. was back.
Light began to flood into the pitch black room, cutting a swath through the shadows enveloping the room. Two figures wearing lab coats stood in the doorway, peering into the dark void, their eyes scanning what little they could see. "You ready?" asked the blonde man, cleaning his glasses thoroughly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go home," the dark haired woman stated. "Good," the blonde man replied. "Then, hit the lights." Light filled the area, revealing the task ahead of the two scientists. The blonde mans coat read "Green" while the brunette ladies read "Blue," each of them having the same colored eyes as tags.
The room was a solid white, rows of fluorescent lights along the ceiling exposing the room. Counters and drawers ran along the walls, leaving the middle empty for one table. The table itself held the only advanced piece of equipment in this ancient room. On it, the dilapidated remains of a robot, humanoid in design.
"Damn," the dark haired woman said, stepping into the room to inspect it. "I don't know which is more depressing, this facility or the state of that bot." The blonde man shook his head as he approached the table, responding slowly. "Both the building and the machine are prime examples of lost or mismanaged purposes." The other man stopped and stared in disbelief. "What are you going on about?" the woman asked, rolling up her sleeves and opening a case she had brought in with them.
"Well, each was built around specific purpose," the man said while also rolling up his sleeves and scanning his eyes over the damaged robot. "This facility was originally created for various chemical and biological tests, these rooms being built specifically for each test. However, when the company and its tests were no longer useful, this building simply became without purpose. Too expensive to retrofit, and too costly to destroy."
"And, the robot?" Blue asked, prepping various equipment from her case. "The robot..." Green replied with a depressing smile. "The robot was designed and built for a predetermined task or performance, just like the facility. Without that purpose, the robot is useless, falling into the same disrepair and stagnation as this very building."
"Well, our purpose is to retrieve the data from this unit," Blue stated, powering on the interface to her tools. "Once we do that, we can go back to our lives, put this ordeal behind us." Green smirked at his colleagues remarks. "OUR purpose?" he asked in rhetoric. "Since when do humans have purpose?" Peering up from the various devices, the dark haired womans blue eyes caught the green ones of her partner. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked harshly. "You off your meds today?"
"No," the blue eyed man replied starkly. "I am only stating the obvious. If we are merely a creation of nature and science, with no miraculous or other worldly creators, then what is our purpose?" Green shook her head and began piecing together a probing tool. "Thinking like that will only drive you crazy," she replied. "Besides, freedom is our purpose. The freedom to create, to love, to explore, to map it all out! In turn, maybe we are the first, and our purpose is to guide those after us."
"Freedom is a three-edged sword," Blue responded pointedly, leaning over the cracked visor of the bot on the table. 'We are certainly free...free to destroy, to horde, and to control all that we want. You forget, however, that mother nature and space itself could "freely" destroy us should it please. Besides, it is the freedom that fuels my point. Without purpose, what good is freedom? A free man cannot be useful or happy without purpose and aspiration. What I mean to say is, it is nice to always know your purpose and place in life." Blue nodded in admiration, readying the item in hand.
"That's a valid point," the brunette woman replied, approaching the dormant droid. "I understand our need for purpose but I think you are overlooking the finer points of freedom, such as running out in the rain for no reason or just laying in bed all day with just your dreams and pillows."
"Speaking of dreams," Green said lightly. "Let's see what this robot has been dreaming." Blue nodded and the two hooked up the unit to the devices from the case. As Blue checked the connections, Green tapped away on the cases interface.
"Do we know which unit this is?" Green asked, intently tweaking the program for their test. "By looking at the damages," Blue said, looking over the body, "I would discern it is the responding H.E.R.O. unit. The impact in the ocean coupled with the damages received from the rampaging unit would most likely follow this pattern." Green stopped and stared at Blue. "But, they only found one unit, correct?" Blue glared at the bot intensely and responded. "Correct." "Well," Green said with a sigh. "Lets hope your right."
Blue initiated the program as Green stepped back. The case began to flood with data from the unit, confirming the identity of the remains. Blue shot Green a surprised glace just as the lights and computer case were blown out. The room once again fell into darkness, the lingering EMP shutting everything in the room down. The door opened to the room, one silhouette casting a shadow over the scene. The table, empty. The scientists dead. The H.E.R.O. was back.