After the lunch hour with the intern, I took him back to the storage closet. That had gone as well as it could have, and no other potential injury risks had occurred. He suggested the idea of taking the time to completely tidy up the area, and while his enthusiasm is greatly appreciated, we simply did not have time available to us to actually perform the task well. However, I did note to him to be sure to keep that idea in mind; that could definitely get him on a few leads'' good sides.
We dropped off the boxes to the hardware team lead, who appeared shocked we had actually successfully completed the task, and that it hadn''t taken us all day, at that. While the intern and I were sifting through the towers of boxes, I frequently stopped what I was doing to ensure he was safe, and was not putting himself into any more precarious situations. It is simply protocol, of course.
I pulled the main office door shut, ensuring the door clicked and locked behind me before carrying on. Most of the employees had gone home by now, as it was approaching the evening hour, though the sun had already completely set. By now, the team leads would be tidying up if not in the process of leaving.
As I ran through my memorized schedule, right on cue, I could see the elevator ding and the doors slide open, and the last of the software and hardware associates stepped out of the machine. I continued walking, passing the two team leads a wave as they both smiles and wished me a goodnight.
I turned to the left hallway, knowing that the janitorial staff should have arrived minutes ago, and if not, should be arriving shortly. As I peeked around the corner, I saw that the janitor''s closet was, in fact, open, and the light had been turned on. I took a few steps down the hallway.
One of my responsibilities every night was to complete a sweep of the building, and to check on any of the evening, or overnight, staff members. While it was for security reasons, and of which I understood the importance of completing my task appropriately, it has come to be one of the few things I find comforting.
I looked up from the ground, hearing rustling and lightweight items cluttering to the ground, followed by someone muttering curses. I slowed to a stop, not wanting to embarrass any of the employees, nor wanting to startle them, and peeked around the doorframe.
The first floor janitor was picking up her empty bottles of cleaner and was muttering to herself. She turned to her cart, setting all but one of the bottles down, and then moving to the sink embedded into the corner floor, and pushed one of the knobs on the concentrated cleaner station, and then turned on the water.
With the sound of the tap being rather aggressive, I took a small step backwards, and then proceeded to knock on the door jam a few times in quick succession. The water flow was reduced, and then the familiar voice rang out.
"I swear, if I come out there and you tell me something about food poisoning again, I am gonna turn and walk right back out-" The sanitary employee took a small step out of the doorway, drying off a bottle filled with a pale orange colored liquid. "OH!" The bottle was set down onto the cart, and she stepped out of the closet.
"Ah, hi, Fleck! Sorry, it''s been bad these last few days.." She smiled warmly up at me, and I tilted my head and waved to her. She has been here for many, many years, and has made it very clear to me she does not plan on leaving the company anytime soon. The first-floor janitor was a very determined woman.
"Hello, miss. It is lovely to see you this morning! How are you doing today?" I asked politely, my head still tilted to the side as my lights shifted to blue. While it was absolutely the mid-evening, I have learned that individuals who work the overnight shifts, often referred to as simply ''thirds,'' still call the beginning of their shifts the ''morning.'' It took me longer than I would like to admit to understand the logic of phrasing it like that.
"Oh, eh, I mean.. same thing different day, you know?" She shrugged slightly, waving me closer as she moved to continue getting set up for the day. I followed, and nodded in response to her words. I could imagine the act of performing the same tasks, repeatedly, in the same order, every single night, could get quite annoying for any human. Before I decided to speak, I ran through the file for any important notes for the janitorial team tonight.
Quickly, my lights flashed to yellow, eliciting a confused sound from the janitor, who shook her head at me as she began filling a bottle with a pale blue cleaning liquid.
"Just go ahead and tell me now, Fleck. Before I have the chance to get mad at you!" She smiled back at me, and I tilted my head to the left, demonstrating my enjoyment of her humor.
"It seems they have had an emergency hire for a replacement for the second-floor janitorial employee." I spoke at a slighter lower volume than usual, still attempting to process the information I had just shared.
"What?? They got rid of that old guy Jerry, after all these years??" The janitor turned to face me now, screwing on the lid to the bottle. She had a confused, yet very clearly displeased look on her face. I completely understand her shock, as the individual who had been discharged and replaced within a day, had been with the company for just shy of ten years, and would have seen that milestone in about five and a half weeks. It was rather strange.
"It is very.. bizarre, I can understand your distress. There is no included information regarding his situation in my plan for your team today, and as such I cannot search the database for those reasons." She nodded, turning away from me as she went back to getting her station set up for her shift.
"It seems like the new employee will need to be trained for a night or two. His name is Zeke, and he is a college freshman this year." When I began explaining to the janitor who she would be working with, she instantly shut the water off and turned to look at me. Her expression was deeply unnerving, and if it were anyone else, it would have activated my caution protocol. However, I have come to understand this employee well, and I knew her resentment towards training anyone.
"Uh-unh. No. No way." She crossed her arms, glaring right up at me. I turned my head to the side, attempting to emulate a display of empathy.
Training someone to join the janitorial team is much closer to ''babysitting,'' as the first-floor janitor has repeatedly described it. It is just reminding the new employees not to mix chemicals at any point, knowing emergency protocols, and making sure they know how to use various cleaning materials. It is rather.. redundant, as I would hope that this company would hire individuals who at least understand how to use a mop and broom, and even a fancy vacuum cleaner shouldn''t be a challenge...
"Unfortunately, his schedule forbids him from training with the first-shift janitorial team. Regardless, this employee will be part of your team eventually. Just try and give the new employee a chance before you judge him?" I suggested, and while she did scoff at me, her expression softened. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked away from me.
"Always this helpful shit with you, you know that?" She shook her fist at me. "I''ll still do it. I won''t like it and I won''t like you while I have to train that boy." The janitor turned back to what she was doing. I took a step back, giving her room for when she needed to move around, and took a look down the hallway.
I saw a young man of about average height standing in the middle of the hallways, who was looking at something on his phone. He looked back up, appearing to look down each hallway before catching a glimpse of me, and put his phone away as he began rapidly walking towards me.
"One second, miss."
I stepped out of the janitor''s closet, and properly waved as the new individual mentioned in tonight''s notes, who now stood in front of me.
"Hello! I assume you are Zeke, correct?" I asked, my head tilting to the right as my lights tinted the slightly dimmed hallway a very pale blue. The young man nodded, and turned to wave at the first-floor janitor in the closet.
"Yeah, that sure is my name. You''re the like, training robot, or whatever, right?" He looked at me and pointed at me with his right hand. His intonation did not match the manner he was speaking; I understood he was asking a question due to the way he phrased his sentence, but his pitch did not rise to indicate an uncertain tone.
"Correct. You may call me Fleck, but I will not be the individual training you tonight, and tomorrow night. You will be with REPLACE, the first-floor janitor. She will make sure you understand the necessary safety precautions you must take in your position." She stepped out of the closet, looking at the young man I was standing with as she began pulling her cart out of the room.
"It''s.. nice to meet you." He spoke slightly softer than he had moments ago, which was strange, but if it was his first day, I could understand his strange behavior.
There has been a lot of strange behavior from the new hires lately, actually...
"Well, I will wish the both of you a good day at that!" I turned my head to the left, lifting my right hand up to wave in a few moments.
"Oh, uh, okay! That''s.. fine I guess." The new second-floor janitor shrugged somewhat, glancing at the first-floor janitor, who did not looked very pleased.
"I will check on the both of you when it is about time for your lunches. Treat Zeke well!" I then waved to her, who eventually begrudgingly waved back. With that, I turned away from her, and continued down the hall.
Once I made it to the corner and turned to head to the elevator, the lights dimmed down another level, telling me that I was right on time with my canvass of the building. The only individuals left would be the overnight employees, and maybe one or two higher-level employees.
I pushed the call button for the elevator, heading to the second floor to check for anyone working that I would need to check on again. Quickly, the elevator made its way down with its usual bell, and the doors slid open smoothly.
I still do not understand why the maintenance team did not care to fix the elevator''s sore hinges. It was a very easy fix, and it''s likely I would have been asked to reach it, as the first-floor janitor could not reach the top of the elevator doors. I also cannot grasp why the software project lead did not ask me if I saw the janitor or any maintenance employees fixing the elevator during my late check-ins.
I selected the button for the second floor, the small screen on the button panel displaying the late hour, albeit always three minutes behind. It was behind for so long that after the team had managed to fix it, everyone ended up being three minutes later to their shifts or lunches. Which, it was quite humorous to go around informing the software team of that occurrence. It was changed to be three minutes behind permanently.
The elevator bell rung, telling me that I had arrived at the second floor, and the doors slid open in front of me. I stepped out of the elevator, and saw that the motion-activated lights in the restrooms were off, which was a good sign. I approached the hardware department''s door, and lifted my left hand to the terminal, before entering.
I could see that there was nobody in the break room for the department, with the lights dimmed appropriately by the last team lead. I pulled open the office door, and took a small step in.
The room was empty, with the lights on the lowest setting, nothing but the low hum of various machines and computers, and the droning of a 3D printer working. I stepped back out, and unlocked the department door once again. I exited, glancing down the hallway to the restrooms. The lights were still off. I then proceeded to the software department, and similarly unlocked the doors and entered.
The office door was propped open with a door stop, so I peered in, and while the lights were only halfway on instead of entirely dimmed, there was nobody to be found. I tilted my head to the side, recalling that today''s software team lead did tend to be rather absent-minded at times.
I briefly entered the room to dim the lights to the lowest setting, and pulled the door stop from the door. I made sure the door shut quietly, and then turned to check the break room. The lights also had not been dimmed in there, and a few items needed to be straightened up, and so, I entered the room.
The blinds for the window on the far wall for the room had not been drawn, and I could see very clearly outside tonight. As I made sure the door was shut, I approached the small coffee table by the couch, and picked up a few pieces of garbage that were left by mistake. I removed them, and disposed of them in the trash can by the coffee machine and the water cooler.
As I turned back around, I made my way around the couch and table to the far wall with the window. I appreciated that the team had at least turned the TV off, ensuring nothing would end up burning into the screen.
I reached up to grasp the cord to close the blinds, and I took a second to look out the window. I knew it was not crucial to my performance on my patrols, nor was it something I had been asked to do. I enjoy looking through that window, one of only a few I have access to.
I looked down at the trees that surrounding the land that appeared to be very far away from the company building. I believe it to be some manner of forest, as it extends as far as my range allows me to. The trees appeared much thinner than they had over the last few days, and looking down at the other plants and items, it appeared that it was quite windy.
I moved my arm, and hovered my right hand over my side vents, feeling my fans gently blowing air out to keep me cooled.
Roughly in the center of the trees I could view, one of the trees still remained a dark green, its pointed shape already making it stand out among the rounded branches of the other trees. This one was an evergreen, meant to withstand the harsh temperatures of the winter season. The majority of the deciduous trees had dropped many of their leaves, though there were more without any leaves than there had been the previous night. I gently placed my left hand onto the glass of the window, sensing for the temperature to confirm my logical thinking.
The glass rapidly brought the temperature of the metal of my left hand down, and after a few seconds I pulled my hand away, the sensation of the current in my digits moving quicker growing uncomfortable rather quickly.
I allowed myself to watch the trees shake and sway for another several seconds, before looking up at the sky. It was completely dark out, and the lights of the various electrical and data towers in the area blinked and communicated to each other the exact same way they always did.
On certain nights I could see through the reflection of the city''s and the company''s lights, and see an actual star or two. The lights of a helicopter spun by, a repetitive pattern of white and red blinking back and forth, and the occasional blip of blue or green. It was a familiar sight, at this point, though anything that novel excited me greatly.
I pulled myself away from the window, and drew the blinds to their closed position, and I turned away. My cameras fell to focus on the couch of the break room, and it caused me to recall some of the events that occurred here, in recent memory.
This new software intern.. he was strange. Very strange. He is incredibly anxious when it comes to talking to another person, and he is just as anxious when it comes to me.
I focused myself on my actions, and tidied up the small things in the break room, and scanned over it briefly. I decided to check the stock of snacks and other goods, on the off chance anything needed replaced.
The coffee cabinet was well-stocked, and everything was organized appropriately. The drinks in the mini-fridge were stocked, as were the replacements. The snacks didn''t need topped up at all. It was turning out to be an easy night.
I turned around from the cabinets, and looked at the couch one more time. The intern had said something about my eyes not matching with my headlights here. Perhaps I should run my diagnostic scan a bit early this quarter.
I made myself face the door, making my way out of the break room, and scanning the door unlocked. I looked down the hallway to the restrooms for the final time. They were still off, and so I turned to the elevator. I pressed the call button, and once again the machine eventually beeped and slid open its doors.
I stepped into the elevator, and pushed the button for the third floor. This was the last floor I needed to check, as the fourth and fifth floors were locked up by the department leads. Plus, my office resides on the third floor as well. I scanned through my files to check for anything that I had been assigned while I was busy tonight. Once the item refreshed, it was clear I was confirmed to have no other responsibilities tonight other than my basic check-ins on anyone. It leaves me with quite a bit of time free to myself again, just like the previous night, but even then I still had to get set up for the intern.
The elevator doors slid open again, and the third floor was partially dimmed as well, however still not fully dimmed. I approached the clear box on the wall, and lifted my left hand to the sensor, which beeped and something inside its mechanism slid, and I pulled the box away from the dial. I set the lights to their lowest setting, and latched the box back over the dial. I looked to my right, checking the short hallway to see if any of the motion-activated lights were on. None were, and nobody was in either private restroom. I looked forward, looking to see that my office door was still shut like before. I approached the left portion of the hallway, seeing all of the meeting room doors open, and the lights off as well.
I peeked down the right hallway as well, all of the lights for the additional meeting rooms shut off as well. Everyone cleared out rather quickly tonight. The night previous, I only saw the executives had left the meeting room during my second check of the night, when I go ensure the third-shift employees were taking their lunches.
I nodded silently to myself, the only sound the slight hum from the lights, and the barely audible noise of my fans and gears. I walked down the last hallway, all of the unused office rooms still shut as they were this morning. Still shut as they had been a calendar year ago. Still shut as they had been when I first got to claim my own office all that time ago.
I scanned the terminal for my office, and the door unlocked. I turned the handle, and pushed the door open. I let it shut behind me, taking in the glow of the lights in my room.
My office was completely dark, I had actually asked the maintenance staff to remove the fluorescent lights in my room, and asked them very nicely to turn the power off to them in my office as well. The lights still hummed as they always did, even with no bulb to be powered and lit.
Much rather, I had several ambient light sources, including one that mimicked the color of the sky outside, the pixel light display along the top half of the wall to my right. The far left corner of my office held my charging units, including spare backup batteries, and a small screen that would tell me my battery health and charge levels for each battery.
Directly across from the door was the main light source at night; a glowing red tube, attached from floor to ceiling, that was filled with liquids of different densities, and caused them to flow and dance around each other. The glass of the tube was always slightly warmer than the air around it. To my immediate left, was a shelf, filled with books and articles on the side I was facing. I moved around to the other side of it, the shelf concealing a desk only big enough to hold a computer monitor, its keyboard and mouse, and the computer itself. On this side of my shelf I had several files stacked and organized, and there was a printer hidden inside a cabinet of the desk. Directly above the small workstation, was a lamp mounted sideways to the wall. I turned the light source on, and room was filled with a warm glow. I gently moved the computer''s mouse, the monitor turning on and greeting me with the standard login screen. I held my hand out to a small black cube, that had a cable running through it, connecting to a USB port in the main computer tower. The login screen changed to a loading screen, and welcomed me to my applications.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
The successful chime echoed from the speakers of the tower, and I tilted my head. She was always so quick when I needed her to be.
I let the computer finishing loading its necessary processes for several seconds. I simply let her whir and spin away at what she needed to make sure was working before she could help me. I pulled the computer chair to my build, and sat myself down and moving myself closer to my desk. I had to tuck the bottoms of my legs, my feet, behind the wheels of the chair, otherwise the hinges on my legs would press into the underside of the desks, and that could generate quite a lot of noise.
Eventually, the cursor on the screen changed from a spinning wheel to the usual gray pointer.
"There we go! It is lovely to see you again." I spoke quietly. I enjoyed using my computer, and she enjoyed checking on my status and helping me download and install my updates when necessary. I moved the computer''s mouse along the mousepad, moving the cursor to hover over the browser before gentle clicking on the program.
The cursor once again turned to spin, and I removed my hand from the mouse, leaning away from the computer as I allowed her time to start the program. I had been given an older model from when the entire office upgraded their computer system, and so mine did not run at peak performance. I did not need peak performance in a computer, however, and she runs perfectly well for me.
The program opened, and there was a notification in the top right corner, asking me if I wanted to reopen my browsing tabs from my last session. Not immediately recalling what I had been researching last night, I selected yes, and three new tabs were opened, their icons spinning and loading.
"Oh, yes, I recall." I announce quietly, once the tab I clicked on had finished loading. I was looking into possible causes of someone appearing afraid constantly. The intern was of great concern to me. We have not had somebody quite so.. high strung, all the time..
I heard the fans of my computer kicking up as I continued scrolling through the text on the website. I scanned over some of the things I recalled from the night before, and I then closed out of the tabs. I had nothing else in mind to gain different information on.
There were certain things that just.. were not available from the libraries I have constant access to. A lot of the items I have been attempting to pull are far too old to be considered a reliable resource to anyone worthy of respect. I had nothing to pull from other than my own resources I have built and created, for what may help somebody who is anxious about their job expectations.
"Well, wait, actually.." I reopened the browser again, and chose not to reopen the tabs I had just closed. I rapidly typed a query into the search bar, being cautious enough not to press her keys down too hard. I pressed enter, the search engine spinning as it sought answers for the question I had asked.
I saw the intern wince as if he were in pain again today, despite no appropriate stimuli to elicit such a reaction. I have noticed now that this occurs when the intern is referred to by name, and I tested this when introducing him to the hardware lead. He did not wince when I introduced him without including his name, and did not appear to become more socially anxious as he typically does when called by name.
I waited patiently for the computer to spin and whir while she looked through her information. I knew how slow she could get when I attempted to research things, so hearing her whir and hearing her fans especially kick up and work harder has become somewhat of a comforting sound. I had done the most I could to optimize the performance of everything I would typically need to perform using my computer, but I could not fix everything, particularly due to the age of my technology.
The webpage loaded in, and I moved my hand to my computer''s mouse once again. Eventually, the text on the screen finished loading in and I began to scroll. Many results for what I had searched did not match the specifics of my situation, and I began to sift through the many, many results for my query.
Many of the resources I had been given did not help me remotely. A lot of the pages had been for expecting human mothers, discussing name choices for their young and other related family drama as a result of baby names. This was not relevant, and I had to keep sifting through the murky results.
I was curious about the reasons why somebody may feel uncomfortable about their name. It was clear that this is what was happening with the intern, and I do not think there would be an appropriate time for me to present my query to the intern himself. It did not take long for me to become rather discouraged with my search, and eventually, I closed out of the browser program.
I heard the fans of my computer settle down very shortly after the browser was closed, and I gently tapped the top of the tower, showing her I was appreciative of her work regardless of the results. I gently moved the cursor over the diagnostic scan program, before opening it and letting it run the setup protocol.
I turned on the small device that was plugged into a USB port on my computer tower, the little red light blinking a few times before it connected properly, and the light settled to a steady red. After about a minute, the program finished booting, and I looked at the screen on the monitor, prompting me to connect to the diagnostic port.
I needed to get to the bottom of the several issues I had been experiencing lately. I was concerned that I had been receiving an excessive amount of static electricity and that that was causing major havoc on my internal system. The fact that it appeared that some of my LEDs were misfiring and not a cohesive color was strange. I have not encountered this issue before, nor was it in my handbook of common issues I may experience depending on certain factors.
However, that could just be a simple interruption of the code to activate the specific diodes necessary to produce a specific color, and that would match with my running theory of the static electricity causing issues, as those wires do run close to my surface on my head. On the contrary, however, the other error I encountered today does not line up with this, as I was not receiving any excess static electricity whatsoever.
I knew my protocol forbid me from causing any potential harm to an individual. The way I had handled the intern during his workplace incident was absolutely outside of my protocol. I could have hurt him. I could have caused him more damage than what would have happened if the pile of boxes had just come down on him. I could have coiled around him tightly enough to fracture a rib. I could have shocked him.
But I saw that flag go up in my code. It was as if my components did not respond to the flag... at all. The caution bell did go off but I know I can ignore those, as they are often just an extra security measure to inform me that something could go wrong, based on previous experiences. It was as if something with higher priority overrode my programming. It was strange. It should not have happened.
I looked down at my right hand, my first digit containing my USB connector that I was being prompted to install into the diagnostic hub by the program. It was almost as if I was hoping this program would tell me that I had something outdated in my programming, that a few lines of code were not set up properly and causing my protocols to be overridden by something foreign.
I unscrewed the metal cap from my first digit, looking at the port on my hand. I looked back at the monitor, which was asking me to begin searching for a connection again. It had been.. quite some time since I had needed to run a diagnostic early, and typically this is only when I am receiving programming updates. Since time and resources were directed to a more important project, my updates have been placed on hold, aside from the very occasional maintenance update.
I placed my hand back onto the mouse, and selected the option for the program to begin searching again. After waiting a moment, I held the port steady using my left hand and pressing it very gently against my desk. I angled my USB against the correct port, and installed my USB drive into-
Immediately, the jolt of electricity shot up my arm, and immediately I removed the drive from the hub, hearing my computer complaining about what had just happened. My hands were raised above my head, the cap to my USB drive clattering into the tile floor, and I pushed myself away from my desk.
That was not a good sign.
Was I that overcharged? Had I been overdoing it when it came to my battery capacity? I have not noticed my internals overheating, or my fans working harder, which are typical signs of lowered battery health. My charging station would have indicated, however, if that was the case, but my primary battery health was still at 99% as of the night prior.
After several minutes droned by, I finally reached to recover the cap of my drive and screwed it back on. I looked at my right hand, which, my arm was still jittering slightly, but it did not appear to be significantly damaged from the electric shock.
The program had caused the computer to force-close the program, and the recovery wizard was running, the wheel spinning as the crash logs were being created. It would be several minutes until she was back up and running.
I stood, tucking my chair out of the way so I could begin to investigate the internals of my computer, as well as to check any connections. I watched her finish her recovery mode, and she booted into the login screen shortly after. I pressed the button of the top of her tower, the monitor shutting down, and I heard the fans shift into a barely audible hum.
I moved closer to the computer tower, crouching down and placing the front of my right hand on the top of the diagnostic port. The temperature was slightly elevated surrounding the port I had connected to, but the rest of the unit appeared unharmed. I ran my digits down the cable and to the USB port the hub was connected to, and the cable was also appropriate in temperature. The port itself was barely elevated, which was a good sign.
I ran my right hand down the far side of the computer tower, sensing her overall temperature, feeling her fans whir against my digits. I curled my fingers, running the tips of each digit along the side of the computer tower, attempting to check for any specific spots on her unit that may have been the cause for the electric shock. Fortunately, none of the segments felt abnormally elevated.
I stood myself back up, placing my hand on top of the tower again, looking at the idle lights flickering and dancing on the front of her build. Her lights danced the way the stars did on clear nights. I placed a digit against her rapidly flickering green light, her connectivity light, and let the light become trapped between us. I felt the air being pushed out by her fans, only slightly elevated, brushing against the rest of my hand. I removed my digit from her light panel.
I did not want to have to check the entire build of my unit, especially with the hour approaching my first check of the third-shift employees. I left my hand to linger against her front panel, looking at her disc drive as I began to run through some of the things that could cause the incident I was now dealing with.
I knew the cable for the hub was in working condition, and the last time I had checked, the main power cable for my computer was perfectly fine as well. Regardless, it had been quite some time since I had checked, and so, I gently placed both of my hands on the short sides of my computer.
Gently, I lifted the unit, pulling her forward, and shifting my build enough to be able to scan the port that the power cable connected into. I let her sit on the desk again, and ran my right hand down the back of the computer, feeling the slight draw of the air from the fans working to keep her running as optimal as possible.
I placed the tips of my digits on the cable, and immediately could tell something was faulty, as the cable was warm to the touch, warmer than it arguably should''ve been, even if I had been running my computer for days without appropriate rest breaks. The cable had become only partially attached, the metal components exposed against her port, and I placed my digits around the cable.
I heard the fans kick up inside her unit, and I could feel the heat surging through my hand from the plastic part of the cable. This was definitely the root cause of any issues I was having, surely. I slid my hand down, and before making contact with the metal prongs, I grazed one digit over, and I felt a small arc of electricity make contact with my digit. Not enough to cause any errors, but enough that I pulled my hand away from the computer. Shortly after, I heard the fans freeze, skip, and then begin whirring loudly, and the draw through the back of the tower about doubled.
This could become very, very bad.
I ran through the options in my head, attempting to find the best solution for my situation. I needed a more accurate method to assess the damage, and particularly the internal temperature of a lot of her parts, and I needed to avoid sending more voltage through my computer while also ensuring my own safety.
I eventually decided on enabling the thermal camera option, feeling more air being released through the vents in my sides. I knew this program was a bit resource intensive, but it was the only option I could find.
The area immediately surrounding the port appeared to be slightly elevated, which did track considering I had just caused it to receive who knows how many volts over its limit, however the contacts for the power cable read significantly higher, and the cord itself was only slightly cooler. The cable itself was compromised, which was hopefully the only cause of the issue. I completely disconnected the cable from the back port, grasping only the insulated portions of the cable to avoid any further damage.
I moved myself onto the floor, and shifted underneath my desk. The cable appeared to grow warmer as it neared the outlet, which was where the temperature registered the highest overall. The second port on the outlet read at an appropriate temperature, which luckily confirmed my suspicions that it was only the cable that was not grounded properly.
I wedged myself sideways against the side of my desk, as the outlet placed against the wall to my right, if I were facing the computer as before. I carefully hovered two digits around the insulated plug of the power cable, and after not receiving a shock for several seconds, I grasped the cable, and removed it from the socket.
The ground pin had detached when I did so, and I heard the fans of my computer slow to a stop as the cable slid down from my desk to hit the floor. I looked at the grounding pin that was completely wedge into the socket, and looked at the plug of the cable. The pin had not completely detached from the plug, but rather the metal had broken and was now wedged inside of the outlet. The temperature appeared elevated around the pin, and around the socket that was not properly connected to anything, but it was not enough to cause immediate panic.
I could not shut off power to my room, as the breakers were secured on the fourth floor and I did not have clearance to enter that floor without an escort. I also could not shut the power off to my charging station, as this would trigger an emergency check of the power source, and would alert several individuals higher up in the company. Any sort of pliers could potentially transfer an electric shock, as I could not verify if the socket was properly updated and kept up to code. Considering that this office was unused for multiple years prior to me making use of it, I think it is safe to assume the socket is likely damaged as well.
I took a closer look at the cable I had removed from the wall, needing to check if the rest of the metal contacts were damaged to properly assess the situation. Once I looked closer, it appeared the very tip of the right prong was no longer attached, and there were no metal pieces anywhere surrounding the outlet. I needed to replace the outlet entirely, as well as the cable. Luckily I had another replacement cable in one of my desk drawers, but the outlet would be another story entirely.
I shut down my thermal imagery, knowing enough to continue moving along. I knew this was typically something I needed to contact maintenance about, but considering none of them were scheduled for tonight, and this was a repair that posed genuine risk if not completed immediately, I knew I had to perform it myself.
I had to leave my office soon anyways to check on the third shift staff regardless, and I figured I could access the maintenance closet on my way back up to find a replacement outlet. I knew we had at least four in our inventory stock, if our numbers were correct.
I maneuvered myself out from the small confines of underneath my desk, and moved to the left-hand side. I took ahold of the desk, and as quietly as I could, I pulled my desk away from the wall, so that I could easily access the outlet when I returned from checking on the employees. I looked at my computer, who sat upon my desk, no lights blinking, no fans creating an ambient whisper in my office. I still needed to check her internal components for any long-term damage. I have no method of telling for how long the power cable had been damaged.
I let my cameras linger on the unlit panel of my computer for several seconds, before getting my internal reminder to check on the employees relatively soon. I returned my focus to that task, making my way to the door of my office of proceeding out into the hall. This check was usually rather brief, as it only was for me to ensure they were on task and did not need any assistance from me. I pressed the elevator''s call button, the dim lights of the hallway creating strange shadows when combined with the ambient, gentle green glow of my lights.
I entered the elevator once it had arrived, and selected the first floor. I only needed to check on the two janitorial employees, and tonight both would be on the first floor since the new hire was still being trained. I just hoped that they had been getting along, or at the very least could tolerate the other while they worked together.
Per usual, the elevator rang out to let me know I had arrived on the first floor, and the doors slid open. I could hear the sound of the first-floor janitor explaining something to the new hire, which already mostly completed my objective. I made my way towards the direction of the sound, which led me to the bathrooms. I knocked against the wall, seeing the young individual turn towards me.
"Hello! I am just here to check on the two of you. Is anything needed from the either of you?" I asked, my volume lower to match the quiet of the floor. The young individual quickly shook his head no, and the first-floor janitor paused where she was, and also gave me a no. With that, I nodded, and wished them well, reminding them I would see them again in the next two hours to ensure they took their lunches on time.
I returned to the elevator, waiting for the machine to beep and for the doors to open. I selected my third floor again, and waited patiently to be delivered to the floor I was previously on. Once I arrived, instead of heading straight down the hallway to my office, I deviated, turning down the right hallway to the larger closet that remained locked at the end of the hallway. I raised my left hand to the terminal, and it spun for a few moments longer than usual, before the door was very audibly unlocked, and I turned the handle.
I pulled the door open, and began scanning the organized shelves that I was greeted with, and eventually found the electrical outlets. I selected one from the box, before replacing the lid and exiting the room, waiting for the door to return to the locked state before I turned back to my office.
The comforting glow of the moving components in my room was a welcome return. I watched the uneven and round shapes dance and flow around each other, not understanding exactly how the liquids moved the way that they did. I looked at the replacement outlet, and brought my focus back to replacing the fire hazard I now had staying in my office.
I walked around my small shelf, looking at the slightly bizarre looking outlet as I eventually sat in front of it. I pressed on the hidden compartment around my left shoulder area, and once the chasm opened, I removed a small screwdriver, and pushed it shut again. I knew I would receive a small amount of voltage as I repaired the outlet, but it should not be enough to damage any of my hardware.
I pressed the flat head of my screwdriver into the notch of the top screw, and immediately felt the slight tingle and pulses of the outlet. It was nowhere near enough to elicit a reaction, and within a few rotations, I had the screw removed, and I placed it against the back of my right hand, the metal screw sticking to the magnet placed inside my hardware. Just as smoothly, I was able to remove the second screw, and the outlet cover came off in one piece.
I looked closely at the internal screws holding the outlet in place, and began to remove them, as well. I could feel the pulsing of the electricity with how close to the wires of the outlet my hands were working, and it was quite a strange sensation. It certainly was not a new sensation, in fact, it actually felt much more familiar than I anticipated.
When I had locked my arms around the intern, to remove him from harm, I could feel his heart below his body beating. It was beating rapidly in an attempt to keep his body working properly, and I know that humans often have spikes in heart rate when in a dangerous situation. It was a similar feature, to how my gears and my fans worked harder when my danger protocol was activated, or was checking to assess the risk level of a situation.
When I made such direct contact with his body, rather than brief seconds or brushes, I could feel his electrical current buzzing against my metal. Not enough to cause anything to happen, but.. it just was strange. It was as if none of my other protocols activated while that was happening. All of my resources were, in those seconds, dedicated to monitoring the intern''s electrical impulses and his safety.
The screws gave me no issues at all, and once I pulled the outlet out from the cutout in the wall, I could see the wires. I saw the lights on my head shifting hues as I gazed at the wiring, evaluating the risk of handling. I set my screwdriver onto the ground, and I let my desire for more information lead my actions.
I brushed one digit against one of the worse-for-wear wires, seeing the electricity arc towards me and I felt the buzz ripple through my arm. I felt the voltage running through my arm as I kept my digit pressed lightly against the exposed wiring. I could feel several programs getting pushed into my background processes, and more of my resources became available, making finding my ambition to continue the repair more challenging.
I pulled my hand away from the wire, feeling my internal operation slowly beginning to return to my typical allocation. It seems like my hardware was measuring the voltage the second it made contact, and demanded that all available resources be allotted to monitoring the threat level of such voltage.
It felt like I could not access my own files, my own memory access being rerouted to focus on the sensations that my hardware was receiving. It was.. bizarre, but it was almost.. pleasant. It was nearly a comforting sensation, the same way my computer always whirred gently throughout the evening hours.
Without much consideration, I placed two digits of my right hand firmly against the exposed wire, and I could feel my fans shift to a higher speed, and the gears in my chest actually felt as if they had slowed ever so slightly. Every bit of focus I had in my body seemed to be stripped away from me, as the voltage ran up my arm and through my build. My arm shivered lightly in time with the electric pulses, and I could quickly learn the rhythm of the jolts. I felt my body lean in closer, a hunched posture overtaking me and I did not care enough to change it.
All I felt that I could do was sit there, and within a minute I felt the intensity of the electricity in my digits increase sharply, and my fans skipped with the sudden change, and I watched my hand start to tremble as the joint mechanism became overwhelmed with the constant slight overcharge.
I quickly found myself recalling the intern''s actions. I was seemingly back where I was earlier in the day, where the intern was investigating my eyes, and had been touching my face panels. It was strange. It was almost identical to what I had initially felt when I was shocked..
The intern was warm. Warmer than my metal plates. He ran warmer than many of the humans I had encountered, though of course by a very slim margin. He was... very prone to touching things. He appeared very sensory driven, in the little time that I have managed to spend with him. The warmth of his skin, combined with the tingling sensation brought on by any contact with my plates..
The wiring sparked, a bright flash of yellow-white snapping me back into what I was supposed to be doing. I removed my hand from the wires, letting my arm shudder and shake as my unit processed the excessive voltage. My hand was trembling, and I felt something change in terms of my protocol.
I think I damaged one of my processes slightly.
Seeing as I had not received any internal flags, and that I seemed to be operating perfectly as usual, I slowly reached for the screwdriver again. I needed to replace the outlet so I could continue using my computer properly.
I focused on the wires again.
The only action I could think to perform was to feel their voltage again.
Something in my system had been damaged, certainly. The image of the intern gazing into my cameras flashed briefly as I recalled the intensity of the electrical shock. All I knew is that too many minutes passed with me sitting there.
This could wait until morning. I could not complete this task on my own.