Chapter 1 - Dismantling: One Day Before
In the afternoon, a guest arrived.
An unfamiliar man in a gray uniform appeared in front of the door with three large, rough robots. They declared that they are from Robots Managent Oval Branch, saying that they’re here to reclaim . Seeing that I stink of machine oil, the man frowns.
I am Professor's property, but Professor doesn’t have any relatives, so nobody can inherit . Thus, I have beco a ‘res nullius’ in law, and am categorized as national property. They are claiming as representatives of the nation— that was how he explained it.
I was clamped between two robots and dragged to the sturdy rack of the escort car. I cannot resist, because there isn’t an ounce of energy in .
After reaching the office of the Robot Managent Departnt, the man hands a stack of thick folders to , ordering to go to a specific destination. With the guidance of the steel robots, I am brought to a place.
It is the maintenance factory for robots.
Before robots can be released to the market as products, they must satisfy the safety standards required by law, so they're inspected here. The robots that pass inspection will be bought at auction by private parties.
After my initial construction, it was Professor who did the maintenance and inspection for , so this is the first ti I've ever seen the maintenance factory.
“Take off your clothes.”
Were his first words to . No introductions.
I hesitantly start to take them off with trembling hands. After my socks and my apron, it’s my dress—
“Stop dilly-dallying!”
The inspector orders , with only my lingerie on, and glares at fiercely.
“Hurry up and take them off!”
Quite a few male inspectors have their eyes glued on . “We’re all grown n, what are you embarrassed for!” Hearing soone’s taunt, the n laugh.
After taking off my clothes, they start to sha further.
The n’s hands crawl on my skin. So do so chanically, while so deliberately do it very indecently.
I am silent, letting them touch as they please.
My thoughts are full of sha and disgust when the inspection ends.
ntal circuit scan, movent control confirmation, safety circuit check. The inspection procedures co one after another, while I am just made to move here and there in the factory.
They did not return my clothes to . So I stayed nude. The cigarette box hanging from my neck is my only belonging.
Finally, I have to undergo the last ‘resale test’.
‘Resale test’ is an auction to return the robots that satisfy the safety standards to the market. If the robot does not have a buyer, it would be circulated to the second hand parts market— being dismantled, made into scrap tal.
Before the test starts, I have to put on a ‘collar’ in the waiting room. The collar is a tag used for product managent, numbers and a bar code are printed on it.
I walk into the room for the resale test, seeing the round gallery conveyor spinning along. The other robots and I line up in a row, then sit onto the conveyor in turn.
With a slow speed of ten centiters per second, I spin on the conveyor. On the other side of the caras, the people are probably deciding if they should buy , asking themselves questions like “Can this thing sell” “Does it have comrcial value” and so on. Right now, I am just sitting blankly, thinking about trivial matters like “The ceiling is so white that it’s strange” “What day is today?” and so on.
Just like that, I continue to spin on the conveyor. The other robots spin along with . This is the rry-go-round that controls our life or death.
During the tenth circle, I was taken down from the belt. Nobody wants to buy .
My only future is to beco scrap tal.
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