My Name is #304842
Author: lullabymysmist
DISCLAIMER: I don’t expect this to be completely clear of grammar errors, not that I don’t try or anything, but I’m not going to spend two days going over something looking for grammar. This is the first story I’ve done since stuff I did when I was a kid, so I’m not going to say I’m that great of a writer, either. I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.
This is simply a roboconversion story. There is no sexual content. Sorry if that’s what you were looking for.
If I realized how late it was I never would have left the house, but I had gone out shopping with my friend Samantha. Now here the two of us were tucked into a dark alleyway trying to avoid searchlights that roamed up and down the city streets looking for people like us. To make it worse it was raining cats and dogs and freezing cold out causing me to shiver. Or was I shivering from the fear of what might happen if we got caught for being out past curfew? I wasn’t quite sure. I just hoped – no, prayed – that they couldn’t see us from our little hiding place. But we couldn’t stay here forever.
“This is all your fault!” I said. “What were you thinking going out this late?”
Samantha turned towards me and said. “My fault? You got lost on your way there! Besides, I didn’t notice the time.”
“I did not!” I said. “What do you want to do now?”
Okay, I guess she was right. I did get lost, but how could she not have noticed how late it was before we went out shopping! I had heard some pretty scary stories of what happened to people who were out past curfew. People like us.
“Let’s get out of the alleyway and go to the other side of the street. It’s only a short run from there to my house.” Samantha said.
“It’s nowhere near your house.” I don’t know what she was talking about. It had to be at least 20 minutes away from her house, but my house was even farther away.
I grabbed onto her arm, and the two of us ran across the street as fast as we could. I held as tight as I could onto her arm as I darted and weaved between the searchlights as best as I could. I felt like we were performing some sort of prison escape. I thought for one brief moment that maybe, just maybe, that we might make it, but just a few steps before the other side of the street one of the searchlights landed on me. I felt like I received a death sentence.
I knew my life had officially just ended.
There were loud “woo-woo” blaring alarm noises from all around us and searchlights from every direction moved with lightning-fast speed to focus on me. I moved my hand to shield my eyes from their blinding light, but it was no use. The color of the searchlights quickly turned red. I felt like I had a headache from hell, and I shoved Samantha away from me, which is when I noticed the terrified look in her eyes. She looked just about as scared as I was. Maybe she realized that she’d never see me again, or maybe she realized that this could happen to her. A few seconds later everything went black.
I hope Samantha got home okay.
—
I don’t know how long I was out, but the next thing I knew I was in a pitch-black room. I couldn’t see anything at all. My ankles and wrists had been bound with leather straps to a very cold table – I think it was made of some sort of metal. Is this what happens to everyone who breaks curfew?
I could just barely make out the figure of a man lighting up a cigarette. I could hear him inhaling and exhaling and soon enough there were clouds of smoke filling up the room. He said. “I’m just here to get some information straight. You are #304842. Your citizen name is listed as Amanda Crawford?”
Would lying – saying I’m someone else – get me out of this? Or maybe if I admit the truth, it will help? There has to be something I can do! I’ll just stay silent. Maybe that’s best.
He puffed out a rather large cloud of smoke. “We are used to some resistance, but you are connected to several different monitors. Heartbeat, brain activity, respiration, memory scan, among many others. We can detect if you are telling the truth...or not.”
I nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m Amanda Crawford.”
He said. “Good, good. You broke curfew last night at 11:04 P.M.?”
Oh god, what are they going to do to me? I gave another reluctant nod. “Y-yes..and I’m really sorry! I ju-just didn’t know! I’ll never do it again! I promise!”
“There are no second chances. All citizens know that.” He said and I heard him whispering something to somebody else, and it only took seconds before I felt a needle being punctured into my right arm. Who or what injected me and with what I wasn’t quite sure.
I asked “Wh-what was that?”
“Don’t worry.” The man said. “It’s just something to help you sleep. In one week, you will be reprogrammed.”
I could feel the sedative starting to take effect in seconds. I was so tired I couldn’t move my arms or legs, not that it’d matter with them bound like this. I was having to force myself to keep my eyes open. Even then my eyes kept trying to close. It was only the fear of what was going to happen to me that was keeping me awake. I felt like running away from this place as fast as I could.
I asked. “Re-reprogrammed?”
The man said. “Citizens who don’t obey the laws must be reprogrammed to do so. Now that we have confirmed your identity we can begin with a series of injections that will make your mind more easily accessible. Once the series of injections are complete we can reprogram you.”
No, no, this can’t be happening. I felt my eyes getting all watery. I was unable to stop the tears falling down my face. I wasn’t going to be able to stay awake much longer no matter how hard I tried. My eyes kept pushing themselves just barely open and then closed again as I tried my hardest to keep them open. I haven’t done anything to deserve this! Stay awake, Amanda, stay awake. Then unable to stay awake any longer I let out a long yawn, and my eyes closed shut all the way. I fell down into a deep slumber.
Maybe I’ll wake up, and this will all be some horrible nightmare...
One week later...
I don’t know what’s happened to me. Everything seems so strange now. It feels like I’m living underwater. Maybe it’s the drugs. Maybe it’s the fact that the last person I saw was this strange man who referred to me as “#304842,” and even the conversations with him were somewhat of a haze. Nothing really made sense anymore. Since she met with the man all Amanda had done was stare upward at the darkness of this empty room. I’ve lost all sense of time and reality. The drugs have distorted my sleep cycle so much that I don’t know how long I have been lying here. Has it been a day? Or a month?
A voice suddenly entered my mind. It wasn’t the man from before, but this time a female synthesized robotic voice. It seemed as if it was coming from inside me. Almost as if it was my own voice speaking to me. Or maybe my own thoughts.
“Hello Amanda.”
I said. “Hello?”
The voice said. “I am here to inform you that you are a Robot.”
What was it talking about? Me? A robot? I’m not some sort of machine!
I said. “No, I’m not.”
The voice repeated. “You are a Robot.”
It felt weird when it said that. Because it was almost like I was trying to persuade myself that I was a robot. Each time I had to convince myself otherwise. It seemed to be getting harder... Why? Why I was a part of me trying to admit that I was a robot? I’m not! My mind felt as if it was in some sort of whirlpool as I tried to pull my hands from my bindings. This is so scary. I had to get away somehow before it was too late. But how?
The voice repeated again. “You are a Robot.”
I am a robot. I’ve always been a robot.
I am a robot. I’ve always been a robot. I spoke slowly in a monotone voice. Like a robot would. “”I..am..a..ro..” I shook my head. Why was I speaking like that and thinking the things I was? Was I really...No! It couldn’t be true! I’m not a robot! My voice still came out slowly and monotone as I spoke. “I..am..a..hu-man. Not a...ro-bot!” I was shocked at what I just did. I trembled on my table. I was speaking like a...like a robot!
The voice said. “You are a robot. You know that it’s true.”
Am...I? No. No it cannot be true. I am not a robot! I’m not. How can I even be considering it? I was speaking like one. Thinking like one. What in the world is the matter with me? I was afraid to hear that robot voice again so I just shook my head.
The voice said. “Do you remember your life before this past week?”
I just lay there looking at the darkness for a long while and tried to think about it. I thought really hard, but I couldn’t remember anything before this week. Nothing. It was all blank. Why couldn’t I remember anything before the dark room and that man! Why? Why? I stammered with my newfound robot voice. “N-no.”
The voice said. “It’s because we had to restart some of your systems, and we didn’t turn you back on until a week ago. You are a robot.”
But I used to have a life, didn’t I? Or did I? Maybe it’s true. Maybe I am a robot.
The voice repeated. “You are a robot and we are giving you your programming right now.”
It must be true. It is true. “I am a robot.” I said. I had to admit the truth to myself. That I was a machine that needed to be programmed. “I need to be programmed.”
“That’s why you are here, Amanda. You are finally old enough to be programmed.” The voice said. “And robots are meant to do whatever others say. I want you to say “I will do whatever I am commanded to.””
“I will do whatever I am commanded to.” I said.
The next thing I knew I was unstrapped from the metal table, but I no longer wished to escape. It wasn’t necessary. A robotic arm came down from the ceiling and practically ripped my clothes off, but it didn’t bother me. It escorted me to a large tank filled with a glowing silver liquid, and I climbed inside until I completely submerged myself from head-to-toe. I stayed submerged for several minutes until a larger-sized robot arm wrapped itself around my belly. It lifted me out and placed me on the ground beside the tank. A thin layer of the silver liquid covered my entire body and slowly turned into a second-skin. It made my body glisten and shine like a robot’s body should.
Then a new set of clothes were given to me, and I was sent on my way.
I am Amanda Robot #304842. Made to serve...do you need me?