《Solitary Confinement》


 Chapter I

    The gears under my chest-plate began to rise from their low hum into the standard whine. The room lit up softly under the cycling glow of my headlights. My eyes landed onto the project lead, who flicked the lights of the room on as I continued to boot up.


    "Are you ready to get started today, Fleck?" The project lead waved a manilla file folder in front of my eyes before he turned away from me and beckoned me forward. As instructed, I took my paces forward, and nodded, a chime whirring from my chest assuring that all connections were successful.


    "Correct! I am ready to start the day. If I remember, today is the day our new intern starts?" The hue reflected up from the floor shifted between green and blue, my lights flickering as I requested new information and sought to confirm previous knowledge.


    The project lead nodded as he began to lead me out of my office. "That''s right, Fleck! I have here your file about the intern joining us today, whose name is Logan. He only works a few hours today, so your objective today is just to give them a tour of the building overall. I know it''s nothing exciting, but it''s to get him comfortable in working here."


    The file was extended in front of me, with a shake of the pages, and as requested I reached out, my digits locking around the paper. As we continued down the hallway and out of my wing of the building, I began to flip through the pages.


    The new intern is a college student at a university 26 mile away and to the west. We have had quite a few senior members come from this college, which is always a good sign in a new hire. He is a second year software development student, it appears. Very good grades overall as well. He appears to be a good fit for the company criteria.


    We reach the elevator, and I turn toward the project lead. "What floor are we meeting the intern and the onboarding team on? I assume the ground floor?" My headlights reflect off the the metal doors of the employee elevator, a pulsating shade of blue. The project lead nods, and I call the elevator.


    The small, three-note chime indicating satisfactory performance whistles out from the small speaker located over my chest. Once the elevator doors grind open, the project lead steps in, and I follow suit. As I confirmed the coast was clear, I selected the button for floor one.


    "As you already know, the printout of the floorplan is located in your folder. You are to give this to Logan for his future reference. Even as he stays with you for his first weeks here, he still needs to learn the layout himself." I nodded as the project lead spoke, my eyes fixed on the elevator doors as it shook while it slid down to the ground floor. The reflection of the blue confirmation light atop my head swirled around the metal walls.


    Eventually the elevator finally chimed, and it squealed as it reached a halt. The doors whined as they opened, and I turned to the lead. "The noise of the elevator doors opening may evoke discomfort in some employees. It might be wise to ask the maintenance staff to try and fix that soon before it gets worse."


    The project lead sighed, and appeared to pinch the bridge of his nose under his glasses. He appeared frustrated.


    "Thank you, Fleck. I''ll be sure to let them know."


    His tone indicated he would not be informing the maintenance staff.


    I followed the project lead out of the elevator, still paging through the information on the intern. Most of it was details on who he was as an employee, his strengths and weaknesses, information that appeared to be from his interview. Most of it would not be of use to me whatsoever, but it is still good to have just in the off chance I do need it.


    The project lead pulled his identification card up to the scanner, and the heavy glass door clicked and he pulled it open. I followed behind, and ensured that the door locked properly again.


    "Oh! Hello Johnson, and hello to you too, Fleck." I wave towards the employee working the front desk. "I assume you''re here foorrr.." I watch the front desk employee scan along the filing folder beside her. "Logan, your new software intern?"


    "That''s right, thank you Stacey. I assume you''ve gotten him situated so far? You''ve given him his badge reel?" The project lead asked, and the front desk employee nodded in confirmation. She picked up a blue paper folder, and I knew it was for me to take. I stepped forward, and grasped the folder in my left hand.


    I flipped the folder open, the front pages detailing a warm welcome to the company. This was the basic new hire folder, explaining the dress code, various protocols, the expectations of the company, and other things of importance. I opened the manilla folder I had been given by the project lead, as he waited for the front desk employee to let the intern in from the waiting room.


    I took the pages including the floor plan and slid them into the left pocket of the blue folder, leaving the few pages about the new intern in my folder. I closed the introductory folder, and slid it off of the counter. I continued to hold the blue folder in my left hand.


    The front desk employee unlocked the door behind the desk, and led the new intern into the front office.


    Rather quickly I noticed the files I was given neglected to appropriately describe his appearance. The intern appeared as if his limbs were not the appropriate size for his body. He was also about two inches shorter than I was.


    "Hello there! You must be Logan? I''m the project lead, Johnson, for the team you will eventually be joining. And this is FLECK, our top-of-the-line training robot. You will be spending most of your time with Fleck in these next few days."


    I cycled my lights through the full color spectrum, and a welcoming chime echoed from my speaker. "Hello! I am FLECK. I will be your source of key information on how we operate! I will be accompanying you on your tour today."


    The intern looked at me, and I scanned his expression. He seemed to shift from a repressed sense of awe to one of focus.


    "Oh! Hi, I''m very excited to be here. Thank you for bringing me here. And, and yes it''s Logan." The intern gave a smile. It was not a genuine smile, of happiness, or of a similar emotion. The look in the intern''s eyes implied one of discomfort.


    "For today, Fleck is going to be showing you around the building after you get your name badge. For your own reference, we have prepared a folder of floor plans, the expectations of the company, and protocols." On cue with the project lead''s speech, I extend the blue folder in my left hand toward the intern.


    The intern appears to nearly startle, grasping the folder with a shaking hand. His nails were abnormally short, and appeared to be have been bitten off. It appeared there was an attempt at removing nail polish around his cuticles.


    "Oh! Well, thank you, Johnson..! I, I appreciate that! I''ll spend some time going over these soon." The intern nodded, actively listening, and began to flip through the documents I had handed him.


    The project lead nodded, and gave a warm smile. "Well good! You''ll settle into the rhythm of things here rather quickly. With that, I''ll let Fleck take the lead!" The project lead nodded to both of us, and the sound like that of a bell echoed from my chest as the lights upon my head fluttered green.


    "Okay! Logan, we can go now. If you would, please follow me?" I told the intern, turning toward him, one light flickering blue for just a moment until he nodded. At which, I turned away, and took toward the door I had entered through.


    "As you will notice, most of our offices are secured via a badging system. As you do not have an identification card yet, we will use mine." I lifted my left hand up to the scanner, and the door clunked awkwardly, and I pushed it open.


    "I do not need an identification card. I have a simple chip installed into the back of my left hand that communicates with the internal system. Our first stop will be to get your identification card." I hold the door open for the intern, and then fall in line to his right.


    "Oh, um.. okay! That''s.. what the little badge thing is for, right?" The intern pulls the blue clip out of his pocket, and I nod, the lights on my head a shifting blue and green.


    "That is correct! We allow you to wear your badge anywhere on your person, as long as your card is clearly visible and does not interfere with anything." My lights shift to a vibrant green, and continues to gradually fade as I continue to lead the new intern into the printing office.


    I take the intern to the first major hallway. "All of our halls and wings are labeled with metal plates on each corner. As an intern, you will encounter a lot of requests to pick up and drop off items to the printing office. You will play a key role in ensuring we operate as smoothly as possible!


    I look to the intern, who is nodding strongly for the information given. He appears to be attempting to make a good first impression. It comes off more as if he is unsure of himself. I nod in return, and stop us in front of a door down the hallway. I hold my left hand up to the scanner, and the door clicks, and I twist the handle down and push the door open.


    The intern follows in behind me, and steps around me as I start to shut the door. "Our interns start off with a badge that is all green on the front. We will need your photograph to to put onto your badge. Is this okay?" I tilt my head toward my right, the lights flickering into a soft blue.


    The intern looks at me. As I scan his expression more, my lights bleed into a darker hue but a sudden yellow flicker cuts through them.


    "Do you have religious exemption from photograph? If this is the case, we can skip this step, and no further confirmation is necessary until you complete your internsh-"


    The intern interrupts my protocol.


    "Oh, no sorry! I don''t have any weird religious things. It just caught me off guard, that''s all!" He fans his hand in front of his face, attempting and yet failing to appear dismissive and casual.


    The gears under my chest whir softly as I consider the information, and attempt to process why he may feel apprehensive to have his photo taken. Eventually, I figure that the intern must be worried about his appearance.


    "Not to worry. Once you complete your internship, you will be able to retake your identification card photo. Many employees are self-conscious when they first start. Your appearance is more than within our standard." I emphasize, before setting my folder down onto the small desk in the room. I turn away, and locate the stool for the photos in the corner of the room.


    I bring the stool over to the bluish-white backdrop pinned to the wall. I center the stool over the X marked onto the tile floor with peeling masking tape. I back away and turn to the intern.


    "You will sit here. You do not have to sit yet, but you may. I still need to get a card from the box and situate the printer." I motion toward the stool again, and then look back to the printer. I hear the intern indeed sit down on the stool.


    As I step away and go towards a shelf on the far left side of the room, I decide to start explaining the process now.


    "You do not need to smile, but it is not like a government identification card. Your simple resting face is appropriate. I am required to ask, due to your medicated glasses, do you ever wear contacts? If so, how frequently do you use contacts rather than your glasses?" I push my arm up to the top shelf, and pull forward a sturdy, yet small, cardboard box labeled ''GREEN''.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Oh, I uh, I only wear my glasses, I can''t use contacts!" The intern forces a small laugh, and again appears to wave his hand dismissively.


    I lift the top of the box open and then selected the green card from the front of the box. I shut the box, and again return it to the shelf it was stored on. I return to the printer I was at before, and power it on. The screen lights up and the fans begin to whir.


    "You are nervous, Logan. Are you worried about your performance?" I ask, still focused on the printer. I am aware people do not like being confronted on their feelings, especially when it relates to work. I begin tapping through the screens on the printer.


    I hear the intern shift uncomfortably on the stool, before sighing audibly. "I mean.. I guess I am a little anxious about everything here? There''s.. a lot to learn and a lot of places to be." I nod, indicating that I am listening to the intern. My lights strobe a very gentle shade of blue.


    "I understand. You reported this is a dream company of yours to work with, is that correct?" My head tilts to the side as I hold my left hand up to the printer''s screen, authorizing me to the identification card creation screen.


    The fans of the printer settle down, and the silence of the room appears to agitate the intern. "I.. yeah? I.. I think I said that in one of the interviews, but.. how did-"


    "The printer is ready to create your identification card. We utilize a technology that you should be familiar with; it''s a very common feature in modern cellphones! Are you familiar with NFC tags, or NFC chips as they are sometimes called?" I hold up the blank green card to the intern.


    He hesitates, his eyes scanning the card, and then to the printer, which was blinking a green light, and then back to me. "Uh.. yeah, yeah I know about NFC."


    I nod, and my lights flicker green once again. "Good! Our identification cards are equipped with an NFC tag inside of the heavy-duty plastic, to ensure that even if your card were to get damaged, you should still be able to get into the building."


    I wait for the intern to nod, which he finally does after a few moments of silently looking at me. I insert the card into the front of the printer.


    "What we do for our cards isn''t the most impressive. We simply engrave the name of the employee onto the front of the card under the image. The inside plastic of the card is white, to ensure the text is legible. Your department information, your supervisor, project lead, and other information will be stamped into the back."


    I take a step away from the printer. To the right of the printer, I pull the camera attached to a stand on wheels. I pull it to the front of the table that the printer sat on, ensuring I was the appropriate distance away.


    "The photo will only take a second, and will not flash. In the chance you blink, we will repeat your photo." I explained, lining up the camera. I adjust the height just enough, making sure the intern''s shoulders appeared to line up with the line of the brick wall behind him.


    "Okay, and three.. two.. one.." I count the intern down, who attempts to settle his face into what might be a resting face. The camera beeps, before showing me the preview of the photo. It meets all requirements, and I confirm the photo.


    The printer then begins to whir and groan, before a chugging sound begins to emit. "We print the photo similar to how a tattoo might work. The printer quickly erases the green in a rectangle on the front, before using a needle and permanent ink to print the photo. Once it finishes, the card will drop down into this slot that is visible, and it will brightly flash a nearly blue light. Do not look into the light when it goes off. It is not safe for human eyes. You will here two short beeps in a pattern of three before it activates."


    I look to the intern, who nods quickly, confirming his understanding. I scan his expression, to which he looks into my eyes, and then glances away and to the floor. He appears still on edge.


    "You are thinking about something. What is distressing you?" I ask, as the printer squeals as it prints the photo into the card. I again keep my eyes focused on the printer in order to reduce any anxiety.


    "I-I uh.. I was just wondering.. what are your policies for reissuing an employee ID card?" With his question, the lights on my head cycled quickly through the color wheel, before turning to a bright flickering green.


    "That is a very good question to ask, Logan! You already know you get a new card when you become a paid employee at our company. If you were to move up a position, say in a few years you become a project lead for your department, you are issued a project lead card. These are the cards that are a silver or blue color. This grants you higher permissions, as well."


    I turn back to the intern, my lights still flickering on and off with the same green hue. The printer clunks, and the card falls into the slot. I point to the printer, before the aforementioned beep begins to sound. As told, I watch the intern turn his head away and shut his eyes.


    "I.. thank you, Flick? For that information, I guess, but.. is advancement in the company the only way to get a new card? Other than a card getting damaged? Like.. is a name change a reason you can get a new card?"


    My lights fade to a soft yellow, pulsing for a few seconds before shifting to one green, and one blue.


    "A legal name change is a valid reason to petition for a new card. Since this is not as common, you do need to submit a specific form when you update your legal employee information. Your supervisor will review the form and provided evidence of your name change. If you submit this at the same time as when you submit the evidence of your name change, typically proof you have contacted the Social Security Administration and have received confirmation of your name change in their system, this will be updated within a working week."


    The intern nods, and takes a small golf pencil out of the pocket on his buttoned-up shirt, and appears to note the information down in his folder on the back of a page. He nods, glancing at me again as he puts his pencil back where it was. He appears satisfied with that answer.


    I turn to the printer again. "It always asks for manual input for the name on the front of the badge. We input this based on your employee file we receive when you join the company." I slide away from the printer, and lift up the paper file to show him.


    "I keep a digital file that is identical to the same information located in here. At the current moment, we can only input the legal name of every employee for record-keeping purposes. If you prefer to go by a nickname to your peers, you are permitted to do so." I continue typing the intern''s name into the system.


    I look toward him again as I confirmed the name input. He appeared still slightly anxious, but it was nothing I would need to inquire about. He matched the standard new employee jitters I have been trained to recognize as usual.


    The printer pulled the card into place as it begin to whine again. "After it prints your name into the badge, it will flip the card over and will ask me to input your employee login information. You have access to this information as well, and is written into the second page of your folder. You can use these credentials to access your online training refreshers as well as further access to your employee benefits portal."


    I entered the intern''s credentials into the printer, and the card clunked as it was flipped. The printer began punching the information into the back of the card, a sound like that of a typewriter echoing through the room.


    "This card will then be programmed using the same credentials. All it does is send your username and password to the terminal, rather than making you enter it in manually. In the chance that somehow, your card becomes damaged and cannot communicate to a terminal, you can scan the barcode it will print onto the back of your card for entry as well. It is for this reason we do warn you to keep your card away from any strong magnetic sources, as this can potentially corrupt or rewrite the data."


    I look to the intern again, who was looking at the pages I had specified moments ago as the printer clicked through its information. It would take a minute or two for it to get through the multiple strings of information requested.


    "I hope you are processing everything well. I encourage you to keep taking notes if needed." I tell the intern, before stepping back from the printer for a moment. I take my path back to the storage shelf, and locate the blank printer paper. I carefully draw three pages from the packet, before approaching the intern again. "This might be better to put your thoughts on, instead of the back of the protocol pages. Just so you don''t end up losing any information." I hold the blank pages out to the intern.


    His eyes land on the empty pages, and I do not understand what he is looking at exactly. His eyes look to my face again, his eyes looking into my cameras. It appears he seems to relax a bit.


    "Oh, well, thank you, Flick." He smiles at me. It is the first time his smile is genuine beyond a reasonable doubt. His shoulders fall from his tensed-up posture. In his eyes, there is an expression that I cannot fully recognize. It is quite similar to appreciation, so that is what I will take it as.


    "My nickname is Fleck." I clarify, before turning back to the printer as the card finally drops into the metal tray with a loud clang as it made contact. I carefully pick the card up by the sides, and hold it up to the intern.


    Without me noticing, the intern has stood up from the stool, and when I turn to show him his identification card, he is in my personal space, his eyes looking right into my cameras.


    "What is your concern?" I ask, bringing some space between us again.


    "Your.. is it okay to call them your eyes? I know they''re not like, actual eyes or anything, but still?" The intern asked, with what appeared to be fascination and confusion littered in his expression.


    "They do function as my eyes, and that is the term I have been trained to call them, correct." I could see the lights of the room rotating between shades of yellow and blue, ambient light from the bulbs on my head.


    "Your eyes are two distinct units, right? Well, I guess two each, so four? The cameras and the little.. your gear cogs? Panels? What do you call your little wheel of expressions?" He asked, pointing to my eyes rather closely. I put my right hand between his finger and my face, and softly push it away.


    "My expression wheel, or the rotary expression file. It is like a rolodex, if you know what that is?" I pause, awaiting for confirmation before the intern nods. "It is meant to bring more comfort to those who interact. The manual changes of my expression appear to be more genuine and human in our trials, compared to an all-LED based panel. The lights were incorporated to communicate the intensity of my emulated emotion."


    I watched the intern nod attentively, respecting my personal space as he continued to look into my cameras, looking over the fine details of my cheerful emotion displayed on my face panel. He remained silent, and did not appear to have any curiosity that I had not addressed.


    "Now that we have your card, we can finally get you started on your tour of the premises! Since today is Sunday, most employees are not in the building, so getting around will be no issue. We schedule building tours on days which we permit working-from-home for any entry-level employees and unassigned higher-ranking employees. You, as an intern, do not yet have the authority to work from home."


    The intern nodded to me again as I handed him his identification card, which he looped onto the hook of his badge reel. He then clipped his badge to the collar of his buttoned-down shirt, and then pushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes as he looked up to me again.


    "Okay! I.. I think I feel ready to get that started, then!" He then offered me a half-smile, indicating he was not entirely confident in his actions to come. I understood he was not at risk of refusal, so I started toward the door again.


    I begin to bring my left hand to the terminal by the door. I ensure that the printer had entered into its idle mode before it could shut itself down, and made sure both I and the intern had our folders. I glance back to the intern, his gaze strong enough to bring my attention to him.


    "Wait, Fleck, before.. before we go? You said nicknames are okay among peers, right?" He asks, his free hand touching the back of his neck as he looked at me. He appeared to be rather anxious.


    "Well, yes, they are. So long as they are appropriate for the workplace, nicknames are permitted among peers. It is suggested you refer to your supervisors and entry-level employees by their names until they are familiarized to you."


    The intern sighed, pushing his hair out of his eyes again, which should be deemed redundant as it had not fallen into his line of sight yet. "I.. okay. Thank you. I don''t have any other questions."


    He read as if he was contradicting himself. "Are you sure? If you would prefer I address you by something else, you can request that. It will remain with me and I will continue to refer to you by your name to others. Once you settle into the company, you can introduce yourself using your nickname, and once others know you by that nickname, I will refer to you by that nickname."


    He looked at me again, his eyes dancing between me, the ground, and other parts of the room. He appeared to be thinking something over.


    "Um.. okay, thank you, Fleck, for that." He exhaled rather sharply before he scribbled something onto one of his blank pages in his folder. He was not finished with what he wanted to say. I am not programmed to continue pushing for information in this scenario. I nod once he looks back to me and has shut his folder.


    "Okay! I am glad to be of assistance. Now that you''re in the system, I''ll start showing you the way around!" I raise my left hand to the terminal on the door again, and it clicks over to unlocked. I pull the door open, and once again hold the door open for the intern.


    "Are we starting with the rest of this floor?" The intern asked, once I ensured the door locked itself again. I turn my head toward him, and nodded in confirmation.


    "We will start here on the ground floor. For today, you will be shown this floor, as well as the second floor. You have been given the floor plan with the room names for this and the next floor in your folder."


    He nodded, and then flipped his folder open. He pulled the current floor''s plan out, and I looked to it with him.


    "Right now, you are here," I point to a room labeled ''PRINT'' in bold font. "You came from the front office, which is here," I bring my digit to the large, divided room labeled ''FRONT OFF.'' on the page.


    "If you are ready, we can begin down the other end of the hallway." I look to the intern, to which he nods, and closes his folder.

 Chapter II

    I look at the intern as he tucks the folder under his right arm. I paused for a moment outside of the closed door of the printing room. The electronic lock finally clicked, and the lights on my head twinkled with swirls of green.


    "Most of the rooms on this floor are not that exciting. The door at the end of this hallway, to our current left, is key-locked. This is our inventory truck receiving bay. The storage closet is directly across from us. Typically, we do not need any assistance getting our goods into the closet. However, that is not to say you will never be asked to assist."


    I looked to the intern, and took a second to scan his expression. He nodded as I did, his eyes glancing between each area I had described a few times. After a few moments, he looked to me, looking directly into my cameras again, and started to nod cautiously.


    "The cafeteria is to the right side of the hallway, or the right-hand wing of the first floor. We offer a few options each day that our employees are in-office. On days like today, the self-serve coffee bar is always open, as well as pre-made snacks available. We cater to multiple dietary choices and provide multiple options on the chance that a dish contains a common allergen. If you have specific dietary restrictions, you can ask for more information from any of the kitchen staff."


    The intern nodded again, and took to following me as I led him down the hall and through to the right wing. He kept in line with me, his steps and gait awkward and unbalanced. It seemed like the intern was still rather anxious about being where he was. Understandable, of course, for he seemed to be an anxious individual no matter the situation. His left hand was occupied fidgeting and picking at his fingers as we walked down the dual-toned hallway.


    "Each department does have a selection of tables in the employee lounge, so you are welcome to eat there. We still include multiple seating and eating areas within the cafeteria. If you would like, I can give you a quick look into the room?" It was not a requirement whatsoever to share the eating arrangements with interns. We cannot take the time to show the new hires everything and everywhere. However, seeing as we were already relatively behind schedule, and the state of this particular intern, I am able to override and give the option to see a high-traffic area.


    "Oh! Uh, I mean.. Uh, yeah, actually, if we could? I know you said the coffee bar was here, and I''m guessing I''ll get sent on coffee runs for the dev team pretty often-.." The intern appeared to cut himself off. He rapidly glanced between my face, the set of doors in front of us, and nowhere in particular.


    "Of course. Each office area is equipped with a coffee machine, however, any specific drinks one may want will only be available on this floor. Since the kitchen is not open today, we will only be able to properly see part of the cafeteria." I push the right-hand door into the room, and lead the intern in.


    The chairs to each table were flipped on top of the tables, the floor was perfectly clean, and the room was dim with more than half of the fluorescent lights shut off. I followed the wall to the right, revealing the countertop, again perfectly clean.


    "We provide a standard brew coffee maker and a pod-based coffee machine. We also have a selection of a few teas. All of our hot beverage cups are one-hundred percent recyclable and biodegradable. Normally, the refrigerated case to the left of the counter is stocked with sandwiches and pre-cut fruits. These sandwiches are made in-house, and there is both a vegan and a gluten-free option, which both are made in distinct areas in the kitchen to prevent any cross-contamination."


    The intern was already looking into the refrigerated case, which appeared to have been recently cleaned by the kitchen staff. He nodded along as I spoke as well, actively listening to what I was telling him.


    "The coffee filters and ground coffee is kept in the cabinet directly above the brewer, and the mugs are to the left. On the right is storage for sugars and creams." I gestured to the bowl of creamer pods on the counter, and the jar of sugar on the counter. "Please ensure we are finishing what we already have set out for you to use. We prefer you to check the dates on the containers from the storage as well, just to be sure you are following the ''first in, first out'' protocol."


    As I spoke about each cabinet, the intern proceeded to open them and take a glance inside. I am unsure as to why he did this. It is frivolous to lie about such a thing even if I had the programming capacity to state falsehoods. Regardless, I was not to stop the intern, as he was not causing any manner of issues.


    "We do have drinks available to order. It is a simple menu, and while the coffee bar is in fact open on work-from-home days, you will have to ring a bell on their counter to get the staff attention. Occasionally, if you do get tasked with a coffee run for your team, you may have to ring the bell if the staff are especially busy preparing goods, particularly around the set mealtime guidelines."


    I look to the intern, who was now looking around the entire room, facing away from me. He was scanning the room, in an attempt to familiarize himself in his surroundings I assume. His expression indicated that he was still uncomfortable with where he was. He then inhaled deeply, and as he exhaled, his shoulders slouched more than usual. He was not well.


    "What is troubling you?" I stepped in front of the intern''s gaze, and he appeared to startle a bit, his eyes widening as his vision turned to focus on me.


    "Huh? Oh, no, it''s nothing, I''m just.. it''s weird seeing how this place actually looks compared to all the weird, excessively high-tech ideas floating around out there." He was almost mumbling through his words, his eyes falling to stare directly at the floor. He appeared to be feeling unsure of himself and his emotions currently.


    "I am sure the state of the office on a work-from-home day is not helping with things feeling bizarre. It is typically more lively than this. You will see in time, there is no need to worry about it. Shall we move on, then?" We had already lingered long enough, and I did not want us getting in the way of the kitchen staff currently, as I knew they would be working again soon.


    "I, uh, yeah, we can, then, that''s fine." The intern nodded as he returned his gaze to my face. It was almost as if for a moment he was the one scanning me. I do not understand what his goal was, as there are no hidden clues about my emulated emotions to examine.


    I nod in confirmation to him, and turn toward the door again. I pull the door open, and gesture for him to step out first. He holds his hand up and steps rather frantically through the doorframe, and I make my way after him, ensuring the door was shut gently.


    "Directly across from the cafeteria is the lounge room and closet area for the kitchen staff. At the very end of this hall, is the floor''s janitorial closet. Each floor has a different janitorial worker and thus each floor has it''s own closet. You will not need to worry about anything janitorial, even as an intern." I began to lead the intern back down the hallway, in the direction that we came from.


    I turned to look at the intern, who appeared to be slightly more focused again. I nodded, my lights emitting a gentle green light. I made sure that the intern appeared present, as he looked into my eyes again and attempted to give me a partial smile. I nodded in response.


    "The hallway ahead contains the restrooms for the floor as well as the elevator to the other floors. To the left side of the hall, is the maintenance elevator, meant for the transportation of any oversized equipment to other floors. It is preferred for these to be used by the interns bringing reams of paper, or anything of that weight, rather than the standard, or employee elevator."


    I could quickly recognize an expression of mild confusion on the intern''s face, and the lights on my head swirled and faded to blue, and my head tilted to the side.


    "The maintenance elevator is, uh.. a little, rough-looking..?" The intern had answered what I was going to ask before I could even finish protocol.


    "It is not used much, truthfully." He was right, however. The metal outlining the elevator was tinged with rust, and the doors were heavily scuffed, and one even still had a dent near the bottom. It certainly was not our most attractive piece of equipment.


    "Are you ready to proceed to the second floor? This is where the majority of your time will be spent. The second floor features the software development wing, including the main office, employee lounge and storage area, as well as the hardware development wing. As these two teams often work together closely, you may be tasked with running errands for this team as well while they collaborate on projects."


    The intern studied the employee elevator we both stood in front of. I am unsure what the purpose of this was, however his expression was not unsure as it has been previously. Eventually, his eyes focused on his reflection, then looked to mine, and then he finally turned to look back at me.


    "Oh! Uh, then yeah, I think I''m ready to keep going." He nodded as he looked at my face, and I proceeded to press the elevator call button. The alarm dinged and the doors squealed open. The intern winced while the doors moved, the metal-on-metal noise seemingly deeply unpleasant.


    "My apologies, I should have warned you about the unpleasant noise. I have been reminding the project lead to contact the maintenance staff to lubricate the doors for two weeks, but I have not been successful in that task." I stepped into the elevator behind the intern, selecting the second floor button before the intern looked at the doors quickly, his face appearing to grimace as he anticipated the grinding metal again. Once the doors began to shut, he covered his ears with his hands, his right hand holding his blue folder over his ear. The intern does not enjoy the sound of metal-on-metal. That may be an important note if he were to ever assist the hardware team.


    "I''ll, uh, I''ll be okay! At some point, at least! Don''t worry!" He spoke while he was still lightly covering his ears as the elevator rumbled up to the second floor. He was entirely unconvincing that he was, or would be, alright. However, I nodded, confirming that I was listening to him, and while I did not believe him at the current moment, I enjoyed the fact he still held optimism somewhere despite his anxious state.


    The doors groaned open and the intern''s shoulders tensed up until the doors were fully open, and he very quickly stepped out of the elevator and a few steps away. I quickly proceeded after him, not about to let him get lost on this floor while I am supposed to be giving him the tour. I waited to start speaking until the doors had fully shut behind us, because he would not have been able to hear me clearly otherwise.


    "This is where the vast majority of your time will be spent. Before we go any further, there is one thing that may lead to some confusion. The wings of this and all following development floors are labeled in.. not the most optimal manner." The intern''s focus turned to me after his arms returned to his sides, and he looked at me, his expression mildly confused and he appeared to encourage me to keep explaining.


    "The right-hand wing, the software development wing, is above the right wing of the ground floor. From the elevator, this is to your left. The hardware development wing is to your current right. I would recommend noting this down unless you are confident you can remember this." The intern nodded, taking a few steps ahead and peering down the short hallways on either side. I kept in stride with him, waiting for him to pull the pencil from his shirt pocket and jot the information down, but he did not seem to think about doing so. I do not think he will remember this, however.


    The intern looked down the hallway directly in front of us. This only contained the bathrooms, a janitorial closet, and two smaller vending machines, and as such there was no need to show the intern this hall. His focus shifted from each object and area, but seemed to linger longer than he usually did. I decided he was still listening enough to prompt him again.


    "Are you ready to see the rooms of the software wing?" I asked, and eventually the intern finally looked back at me, and then nodded. His left hand was again picking at his fingernails. He still was not focused entirely, but regardless, we needed to proceed into the next room. I lifted my left hand to the scanner by the door, and the small indicator light flashed a light blue, and the door clunked. I pushed the door forward, and held the door for the intern. His eyes widened as he peered through the glass doors of each room.


    The intern scanned the office first. There were a few segmented terminals with computers, but most were on open tables. There was a projector in the center of the far wall, with the computer it was connected to on the right side of it against the wall. There was a large shelf immediately to our right, filled with laptops that were on labeled shelves. There was a row of three standard office printers besides them, further away from us. On the left wall was both a whiteboard and a chalkboard.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    The lounge area was attached on our right, and the intern then peered through the glass door as well. There was a television mounted to the wall in one corner of the room. There were several small tables and chairs in the room, with a couch as well as three comfortable lounge chairs. To one side of the room was a counter with a small coffee maker, and a shelf featuring a few magazines and somewhat-recent newspapers. The entire left wall of the room was a counter that was three feet above the ground, and had multiple device charging stations provided.


    The intern finally turned back to me, and I recognized without needing to scan his expression that he was entirely overwhelmed. This was not typical for new interns, but given his demeanor and how he has behaved through the tour, I made the call to rearrange the order of my protocol.


    "Would you like to take a break, for a few minutes?" I offered, stepping toward the lounge door. I looked to the intern, my right hand on the handle of the door. He eventually nodded, his eyes barely focusing on me for more than a second. I pushed the door open, and stood partially in the door as I waited to hear the intern''s footsteps.


    The intern did not appear to follow. He was scanning the office again, his eyes glancing area to area rapidly, and he was still picking at the fingers on his left hand. After several dozen seconds of waiting for the intern to continue, to no avail, and seeing him still not entirely present, I could recognize that he was not well whatsoever. I know I am supposed to adhere to my protocols even in exceptional situations, but if I did, the situation may very well take a turn for the worse.


    "Hey, come in. You need to take a break for a second." My left hand secured a light grip on the intern''s right wrist, and I pulled him into the room. Luckily, he did catch the door on his way in, and it silently slid shut. I continued toward the couch, the intern exclusively looking at my hand around his wrist as I guided him to sit down. Once he had, I sat as well, and then released his wrist.


    The light in the room was dim, but it was warm-temperature and invoked a more calming atmosphere. The intern was now flexing his fingers on his right hand, looking at both his palm and the back of his hand. I am unsure what he was looking for, or what sensation he could''ve experienced.


    "You... you tingled...?" The intern finally spoke, the first time in a few minutes, and his voice was hushed, almost urgent despite the lack of necessity. The room began to glow a faint yellow, with the light fading and returning. My headlights appeared to be strobing, then.


    "When, when you grabbed me, I.. Did I actually feel that?! Do you actually carry some electricity in your hands?!" He was now looking at me with an expression of awe and excitement, an absolute contrast to who I was just forcing into the lounge room.


    "I actually provide a very slight charge in all external panels. It varies, however, how intense it is. The hands of my unit carry a very slight charge that can feel fuzzy or tingly in some individuals." The floor of the room reflected the yellow and blue lights that now swirled on my head.


    "Wait, really? Like.. your entire build generates and outputs electricity to the entirety of your external build?" He asked, and he shifted himself to the center seat of the couch, now sitting directly besides me. The lighting of the room appeared to be playing tricks with my perception, as the intern''s eyes almost appeared to shine.


    "Essentially, yes. This seems to waste some amount of electricity, however it was deemed this makes my emotional emulation appear more genuine. It makes my metal not feel cold to the touch in most places, for one. And for two, it makes any contact with me feel more human." The intern was almost too close as he looked into my face, an excited, almost childish, smile on his face.


    "In the case that I receive excessive voltage, as contact does increase the voltage to the area, I have an output channel placed along my back. Essentially these cause me to appear to ''shiver,'' as a human would when cold, and these gears that cause this action convert this electricity into heat that is pushed out by the fans on my sides. It does not generate much, but it does keep my unit secure and prevent me from becoming a fire hazard."


    The intern was looking at his hand again, his expression still appearing as awe. He looked back at me, still smiling wider than I have seen him smile before. He was beyond a doubt feeling better, however, I did not want to push him yet since it had not been that long.


    "Wait, if you just do the training around here, why do you even have these programs, let alone the hardware?" He asked, his hands reaching out after he set his folder on the table before us. His hands reached for my right hand again, and I proceeded to let him, the gears inside my chest starting to work harder as I felt a jolt run up my entire arm.


    "Wow, it''s almost like touching a TV, how that TV static feels I guess? That''s so weird.." He was talking to himself, clearly, his hands feeling each digit of my hand, nothing but curiosity on his face. My head tilted to the side, and both of my lights then filled the room with a deep blue hue.


    "You are very intrigued by this aspect. Why is this?" I asked the intern, my eyes looking at his hands and then shifting to his face. His gaze was fixed on my right hand, and his eyes widened as my arm shuddered at each joint, and then the shiver ran down my spine.


    He ignored my question.


    "Why do you turn like that? Is that, like... oh, is that to show what would be interest? Or curiosity about something?" He asked eagerly, leaning in closer. Protocol states that I should create space in situations like this. But with how far off I already had made this tour, I do not think adhering would do me any good at this point..


    A light green quickly replaced the blue in the room, and he smiled wide. "That is correct! This is to simulate a state of curiosity or confusion when communicating." Even as I spoke, he kept his gaze focused, looking directly into my cameras.


    "So why do the LEDs in your eyes change color?" He asked then, his hands still examining the parts of my right hand. The digits on my hand flickered open and shut rapidly, almost a twitch, no doubt caused by some cross-communication of the intern''s electrical impulses.


    "The LEDs in my eyes communicate similarly to the lights atop my head. They serve a very similar purpose, and that is to emulate each emotion with color association. These are not standard to common color associations, however; blue lights do not mean I am emulating sadness, or sympathy." The expression on the intern''s face shifted to one that appeared to demonstrate confusion.


    "Wait, FLECK, do you mean your LEDs are supposed to match your headlights?" He asked, and as I began to nod, he continued speaking. "Because they don''t...?"


    His fingers stilled but remained in contact with my digits. The glow of the room shifted to an orange-yellow.


    "Oh, I see. You are colorblind? We will need to get that noted in your employee file-"


    The intern then interrupted me, for the second time of the day.


    "What? No, I''m not colorblind- that wouldn''t even make sense, I wouldn''t see one color as two different ones or whatever- your LEDs do usually match your lights or whatever, or they just stay your default color, but they don''t absolutely match all the time? Like a second ago, when I grabbed your hand, your lights on your head were blue and stuff, but your LEDs were like.. a soft orangey-red or something? It was yellow but it kept sliding to red."


    I kept my gazed fixed on the intern''s hands as I rapidly looked for an explanation. Of course, this wasn''t something I anticipated ever hearing, nor did I even have the troubleshooting file in my recent memory. My headlights began to swirl through each color, as I attempted to find the information I needed.


    "My LEDs are wired separately from my headlights for capacity reasons. Occasionally external electrical impulses can cause some minor systems to misfire. This is the likely case for uneven colored lighting." I explained quite plainly as the intern nodded a few seconds after I finished.


    "I mean, yeah.. I guess that makes enough sense at least." He was still holding onto my right hand, and I looked towards his hands quite deliberately, and he followed with his eyes, and then rapidly pulled his hands away, folding them in his lap. He then gave me a somewhat-forced smile, his expression indicating he was relatively embarrassed about something.


    "Would you like a snack, or perhaps a drink of water?" I asked the intern, standing from the couch as the fans in my sides whirred, and I briefly shook my right arm as my joints shuddered once again. The intern looked into my eyes again, and then turned to look at the coffee bar and the small basket of various fruits.


    "Uh, maybe just some water actually, would be nice. Let me get it? I.. I don''t want anything spilling especially if you have extra, uh, extra voltage, right now, or whatever?" He then also stood, and I pointed to the water dispenser with a stack of cups besides it.


    Normally I was to retrieve anything like this for an intern on their first day. Protocol stated this, at least. The situation I had already created was not even addressed in my protocol..


    The intern then sat down next to me again, taking a drink of the water he had gotten himself. I scanned my eyes over his body language again, and he was not anywhere near as tense as he was before we took our break. This was a vast improvement.


    "If you would like, we can still take a walk around the main office. I cannot authorize your access to the hardware wing without them present, however. I am giving you the option of familiarizing yourself, as I saw your reaction earlier." The room again was filled with a gentle blue tone.


    "Oh, uh... I think.. I think I''ll be okay when I actually learn it. I, uh.." He trailed off, taking an especially long sip of water, looking toward the floor.


    I did not speak. Eventually, he continued his thoughts.


    "I appreciate you snapping me out of my head back there, y''know? I get.. overwhelmed, really easily, and especially in new places, and one like this.. I just.." He set his cup down, and pushed his hair out of his eyes again, and sighed before he leaned back against the couch. "I am always, always just a little bit anxious. Or extremely anxious. So, I.. thank you, Fleck."


    He made eye contact as he finished his last sentence. There was a genuine expression of appreciation on his face, and my lights swelled into a deep blue that I could see was brighter than it had been before. His eyes still appeared to shine even in this lighting. Perhaps he actually was just that excited, deep-down.


    "You.. are very welcome. I am always here to assist you."


    The intern smiled wide again, a very toothy grin compared to his usual closed-mouth smiles he''d shown before. He finished his water, and got up to put his cup into the bin.


    "This was the last floor for the day. All that remains is to go over your expectations, which are included in your folder. However, you have demonstrated exceptional understanding of your duties thus far. All I could address would be things you may, or may not, run into. Unless you have any questions regarding your role, I would consider the tour a wrap."


    He paused, and appeared to think for a second. He picked up his folder, and flipped to the page with his expectations, and rather quickly, he shut it again.


    "I think.. I think I got it, honestly? I''ll go over all of this when I get home, promise." And then he smiled again. The intern appeared genuine, and I stood.


    "Well, that is great! I believe we will get back right at the expected time, then." I led the way to the door again, and ensured the intern followed. I waiting for the door to shut all the way before I held my left hand to the scanner again, and the software wing door clunked to unlocked. I pulled the door open, and the intern stepped through before me, without needing to be prompted. This was already a vast improvement.


    "Oh, wait, actually? Before we head down, can I run into the restroom real quick?" The intern asked, and I nodded, pointing to our left. He moved down the hall, and then through the door into the bathroom.


    I looked at the elevator door. He reacted very poorly to the sound of the metal doors grinding onto each other. I walked rather quickly to the very end of the hall, past the bathrooms. I scanned my hand on the terminal into the janitorial closet. I slowly pulled the door open, the hinges whining as quietly as I could get them. I stepped into the closet, scanning the dim shelves for a specific item. I spotted the colorful bottle, and pulled it from the shelf.


    I rapidly made my way to the elevator, and crouched down to the ground. I sprayed the lubrication oil onto the bottom of the elevator doors, angling the attachment into the crevice so that the metal would properly glide silently. I stood, before extending my arm up, and repeating the process along the top of the doors.


    I heard the hand dryer activate in the restroom, and I moved back over to the closet, putting the bottle away and finally shutting the door just before the intern returned to the hallway.


    "Are you ready to proceed, then?" I asked him, stepping toward him as we fell in line together. He of course nodded, and smiled at me again.


    The janitorial closet door locked, and the clunk was very audible. I could see the intern look towards the door, and then at me. After seeing me not respond to the sound, he settled a bit more, and I called the elevator again. He winced again, his shoulders starting to tense in anticipation, and I could see what appeared to be a confused expression cross his face as the elevator doors slide open silently.


    I walked into the elevator, the intern following behind and settling beside me as I selected the ground floor button. He looked at me as I did so, and then looked at the doors as the finally begin to shut. The sound of the doors was almost entirely reduced.


    The ride onto the ground floor was silent, and once the doors opened again, the intern stepped out, and then he began to glance around. I was about to gesture him to continue forward to lead him to the front office, as he appeared a little disoriented, but he continued, and I fell in line besides him. I scanned my left hand to unlock the front office doors, where the project lead was waiting.


    "Oh, good! You guys are just about on time, good work Fleck! I hope your tour went perfectly well?" The lead stood up, shaking the intern''s hand as he did. The intern glanced at me briefly, and forced a smile off of his face.


    "The tour was great. I feel much more comfortable around here." The lead nodded eagerly, very pleased with what the intern was saying.


    "Okay! That concludes today then! We''ll see you around again tomorrow at the same time!" The project lead then began to lead the intern through to the main entrance.


    Before the two fully left the door, the intern briefly turned to look at me again. I met his gaze, and quickly, he smiled genuinely, and waved as he stepped out.


    I think he will settle into the company perfectly fine, despite his anxiety.

 Chapter III

    The gears in my chest brought me to life, the fans on my side whirring as I booted up. The project lead smiled at me as I ran through my standard performance checks.


    "Good morning, Fleck. Are you ready to work with our intern today?" He asked, and after a few seconds I nodded. The lights in the room were dim, and my headlights glowed with a gentle blue that was almost as dim.


    Today would be the new intern''s first actual shift. The project lead turned, and I proceeded to follow him from my office. The intern would be working for six hours today, scheduled to start in about half an hour, according to the online schedule.


    "The new intern should be working a shorter shift, correct? With a short lunch in the middle of his day?" I sought to confirm, my lights flashing to a vibrant blue. The project lead looked at me for a few moments, but before I could fully scan his expression, he turned away and then nodded.


    "That''s right, Fleck, good job. Make sure he knows to punch out for his lunch, show him how the time clock works and everything." He continued on, and glanced at me as he pressed the button to call the elevator down.


    "I will be sure to. He was shown how to use his badge to scan into rooms, and as such, he should have no issue entering the building and punching in." I stepped into the elevator once it had arrived, and the project lead followed.


    "That''s good, Fleck. Thank you for that. Be sure he meets his team and everything with that, since he hasn''t yet. Introduce him to the Junior developers and the Senior developers too, whoever is here, I don''t know.." The project lead pinched the bridge of his nose as he did the day prior, looking up towards the ceiling.


    The elevator bell rang as we reached the floor we needed. The project lead''s eyes turned toward the door as it slid open, before looking it up and down. His expression appeared excessively perplexed for the minor situation.


    "Huh. I guess somebody from maintenance actually swung by."


    "Perhaps they did. The request has been in the system for quite some time without being closed, after all."


    The project lead did not respond to me as he stepped out of the elevator and began to lead me to the main office. I followed shortly behind him.


    The intern was to be shown the basic operation of the company on his level today. I was to be sure he was properly introduced to the rest of the software development team, and to the project lead of the hardware development team. I was to show the intern the locations he would need to visit for his errands for the team, and to help him familiarize himself with the expectations specific to the software development team.


    The project lead stopped before the door of the office. "You will be leading him on your own today, including retrieving him. I have to head up for the meeting, I''m about to be late. I''ll catch up with you after."


    I nodded in confirmation, and turned away from the project lead as he made his way back down the hallway. I scanned into the office and checked for the time. The intern was still not to clock in for his first shift for another several minutes. Regardless, I pushed the door open into the office.


    "Oh, hello there Fleck! On your own today I see?" The front desk attendant smiled and waved towards me, and I waved back.


    "That is correct! The software project lead had to attend a meeting this morning. How are you doing today?" I asked, proceeding through my typical small-talk for the employees I did not work with on a regular basis.


    "Oh, you know. Living the dream. It''s been a bit quiet for a meeting day, actually. I''ve only seen a few regional associates come by, and that was quite some time ago. A few hours, actually." I nodded as the front desk attendant spoke, showing that I was in fact listening, but had nothing of note to add.


    "I don''t believe your new intern has arrived, at least. He''s been early to all of his interviews and was early yesterday as well, so I don''t doubt he''ll turn up soon. Feel free to take a seat while you wait." I nodded and waved to the front desk attendant again, my lights a soft green color that pulsed.


    I did not mind waiting. I knew I was brought down early for a reason, as new hires, especially at such an entry-level position for the company, always turned up unreasonably early. I have been told it is to make a good impression on the company. I find this assumption unreasonable, as the company could not care less about an intern at one location out of over a dozen. My guess is that these interns are just excited to be working in such an industry.


    The intercom buzzed softly from the device on the desk, and the front desk attendant startled slightly in response. She glanced at where the camera feed was being streamed on her monitor, and then proceeded to unlock the door.


    "Your intern has arrived, Fleck."


    I stood, and nodded again to her. "Thank you again for your patience. I hope your day does not bring you down too much." She smiled softly again towards me, and I walked through the small hallway besides the desk.


    I waited for the inside door to make its loud, and unnecessary, clank sound as it unlocked after somebody badged themselves in. Momentarily, the door did make its noises, and the intern from the day prior appeared after the door was pushed open.


    As he turned to shut the door, I scanned his appearance. His badge was clipped to the pocket on his buttoned-up shirt, which today was a pale salmon in color. He looked well-kept compared to the day prior, however his hair was still in his face and he still appeared to be nervous.


    I did not step back to create enough distance as he turned, and he caught himself from running into my chest-plate fast first, and scrambled back with a strange, garbled yell of sorts.


    "OH! Hi, hi Fleck, oh god you scared me! Hi!" He smiled at me, a genuine grin on his face, and my lights were fading from a brief flash of orange and changing to a calm green.


    "Hello! It is great to see you again. Are you ready to start your day?" I asked, turning my head to the side ever so slightly, and he nodded. "We need to get you clocked in first. Seeing as you are not working a full eight hours today, you can clock in now and you will not be penalized, as long as you do not stay over your allotted time today."


    He nodded again, glancing at me a few times, and he appeared to scan my own appearance. He blinked quite a few times before he turned away, looking at the time clock on the wall near the both of us. He grabbed his badge, and extended it to the scanner. I watched, taking a small step backwards so he had more space. I was to let any intern take initiative where they felt comfortable. The machine beeped as it pulled up his information. He turned to me briefly, and I nodded just slightly to continue to encourage him. He selected the ''PUNCH IN'' button, and the action completed successfully.


    "Great! You seem to have that down already very well, which is good! If you are ready, we can get you started!" He smiled at me before I turned to lead him out. I heard him rapidly catch up to me.


    "Thank you again." I spoke to the desk attendant, and the intern and her exchanged waves and greetings as well. I scanned my left hand to unlock the front office door, and stepped out, holding the door open for the intern.


    "How are you feeling this morning? Are you ready to start here?" I asked, continuing through my standard protocol, one that was just considered polite talk to employees. It seemed to be quite boring, as I never got very interesting responses with these cues.


    "Oh! Uhh, I mean, I think so? I feel ready to get started and get over being super nervous about existing, honestly.." The intern waved his hand in front of his face dismissively again. He seemed to do this a lot, when it comes to when he brings up his own emotions. Strange.


    However, I nodded, and continued to lead the intern towards the elevator. "That is good. If you want to stop and get a small snack or a coffee from the cafeteria, we can?" I ask, turning to look to my left, towards the intern. He seemed to think for a second, before finally shaking his head no.


    "I think I''m good for now, I made sure I had breakfast already. I appreciate you asking though!" He smiled again at me. He was in a much better mood than he appeared to be yesterday already. It is good to see somebody settling in here.


    "Of course. Then I believe we can just head to the software wing. Your day today will start with being introduced to your team, and you will meet about twelve people today. Typically, we would introduce you to the hardware development project lead, however our project leads are with regional associates for a meeting today, so that will have to wait." I pressed the elevator call button and turned to look at the intern.


    He nodded, looking into my face very briefly before looking away. He repeated the action as my cameras focused onto the elevator doors before they dinged. The doors slid apart silently, and I managed to see the reflection of the intern''s shoulders relax from being tense.


    I stepped into the elevator, and pressed the second floor button as the intern followed me, before he settled onto my right-hand side. He scanned the elevator again, and I don''t understand what he was looking for. I watched him for a few seconds, and I do not think the intern understands what he is looking for either, with how many times his eyes focused on different sections of the elevator. It is not an interesting structure.


    Eventually, the elevator bell rang and the machine slowed to a stop. The doors slid apart and I stepped onto the second floor, quickly followed by the intern. I stopped in front of the left-hand door, looking to the intern who cautiously stepped up beside me.


    "Are we, uh, waiting to be let in.. or..?" He asked, his demeanor and expression to be nervous and entirely unsure of what he was asking.


    "Oh, my apologies. I should have explained. You can badge yourself in, do not worry. We simply encourage our interns to become less dependent on those who train with them." After I explained, he smiled and pushed his hair out of his face. He was embarrassed by his mistake, which was more-or-less my own, as I understand this intern does need more direct instructions.


    "Oh! Yeah, okay, that makes sense.." He trailed off as he fiddled with his badge, pulling the reel out and pressing the card to the machine, and the door clunked. He pushed the door open, glancing behind him to ensure I had caught the door. I followed through, and ensured the door locked itself again.


    "They haven''t started working on anything officially yet, but this is a very social team regardless. We highly encourage our employees to get to know one another, especially here in the software development team. Are you ready to head inside and meet your coworkers?" I asked, and the intern appeared to be looking through the glass doors, into the office with the rest of his team. He did not turn towards me, or appear to acknowledge that I had even spoke.


    I waited for another few moments, and the intern had hardly moved, and if it were not for the silent nature of the room, I would have assumed that he had stopped breathing. He was breathing, but he still did not acknowledge me. I assume he is feeling anxious again.


    After another few moments, I gently tapped the intern on his right shoulder, and he tensed up, and turned around to look at me. "Huh? Sorry, what.. what was that?"


    "I had asked if you were ready to meet your teammates. Your silence was enough of an answer, however." I stepped more to the right, towards the lounge room, the intern following me. I was attempting to get him out of the view of the others.


    The intern looked towards the floor, and pushed his hair up again with an audible sigh. "It is normal for interns to be nervous about first impressions. It is a big company, and there is a lot of people to meet in a day. I understand how you may be feeling. Do not worry." I spoke at a lower volume than I typically would, attempting to reduce the chance that one of his new teammates notices.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The intern sighed loudly, and looked up at the ceiling, before he looked at me. "I''m just.. worried about what they might think about me? I guess? It''s a lot of people, for me at least, but.. ugh, god, I don''t even know what''s going on, really.."


    I tilted my head as I looked at the intern. He was clearly distraught over this. I have seen it before, several times, over the years of working with the interns. His case of jitters was exceptional, however, given the circumstances. I was slightly unsure of how to proceed.


    "You will be okay. This team is people like you. All of the junior developers with us currently were previously interns as well. Two of our senior developers were as well. You have absolutely nothing to be worried about here."


    The intern exhaled again, and looked at me for several seconds. I scanned his face as he appeared to think about what I had said. His expression gradually shifted in one of gratitude, before he gave me a small smile.


    "Huh. I guess you''re right.. these are the people who are gonna understand me pretty well compared to most people.." The intern took a deep breath in, and attempted to stand up straight and stop slouching. "Okay, phew, I think I''m ready." As he turned to grab the office door handle, his shoulders returned to a slouched posture.


    The intern opened the door, and a few people glanced our way as I followed behind. The software team lead smiled and waved from the front desk. "Oh hey there Fleck! What did you bring us today?"


    I waved in return, and stepped besides the intern to his left. "Hello! I am accompanying a new software development intern." The team lead smiled, and waved us closer. I turned to look at the intern, who nodded at me, and I stepped forward.


    "Oh, well that''s great! I knew they hired somebody on for the position, but that was about as much as I got told!" The team lead smiled brightly, and waved at the intern. Once we stood before her desk, she extended a hand, to which the intern eventually took and shook with a nervous smile.


    "My name is July, or Julianna, either works but July is shorter! I''m glad you''re here and that you''re joining our team here. It''s not a lot of us but we get everything done together." She smiled very warmly towards the intern, who released her hand with the same unsure smile.


    "And you are...?" I prompted the intern, speaking at a soft volume to reduce the chances of the team lead hearing me.


    "Oh! Uh, my name is Logan, yeah, sorry! I''m really excited to be here, though I''m obviously a little overwhelmed, ha.." The intern stuck his hands into his pants pockets as he glanced around the team lead.


    "Well, it''s very nice to meet you. And you''re right to be overwhelmed! This is a huge building, with tons of people and teams and there''s always something going on somewhere. Honestly, I''d more way more concerned if you weren''t overwhelmed as an intern on the first day." She smiled and laughed slightly, and I could see the intern becoming less tense as they spoke.


    "We can get you introduced to everyone here, if that''s alright? We haven''t begun working on anything yet today, everyone is either chatting or finishing their coffee." The lead spoke, and eventually the intern nodded. I turned to look at the others in the room, counting eleven others including the team lead.


    "Yeah, I.. I think that''s fine!" The intern eventually responded, and the team lead nodded. She stood up from her desk, and moved in front of it.


    "Hey, if I could have your attention for just a second this morning?" She spoke, louder than a typical speaking voice, and the conversations of the room quieted down as the others turned to look towards us. I looked to the intern, who appeared to stiffen and tense as the team''s eyes landed on him. I moved to stand beside the intern.


    "This is Logan! He''s our new software intern here! Be nice and be civil with him as he gets used to working with us, okay? Extend a warm welcome to him." She smiled as she spoke and gestured to the intern when naming him, to which he gave a very small wave and flashed an extremely awkward smile. Regardless, seeing how he gets, he was handling everything especially well.


    "Be patient when it comes to remembering names, you guys know the spiel by now I''m sure." The team lead turned to us again.


    "So I am one of two team leads for us here, we alternate who works when depending on the schedule and the project we may be working on. Harrison is your other team lead, however he is on an extended leave until the end of the month. There''s four junior developers, you can probably pick them out in the crowd." I scanned the team as she spoke, and she was being truthful. The junior developers were all about the same age as the intern, a few years older at most, compared to the others who all appeared to have over five years of experience in the field in comparison.


    "We have four senior developers, and two lead developers. You''ll work with them less in the first few weeks, compared to the juniors. Typically, you will work with two juniors and two seniors at a time, and one lead." The intern was nodding along as she spoke, offering small muttered phrases of comprehension.


    "We''re glad to have you joining us, Logan." The team lead smiled, and it appeared the intern jolted slightly, before offering a very shaky, forced smile. The team lead did not seem fazed.


    "There''s still some time until we get started for the day, so we''ll get you set up now. Until you get your own laptop, you can use one of the shared ones. They''re over in the shelf with the red labels. You''ll get your own rack on the shelf when your device comes in. That could be anywhere from a week or several months out. It''s never consistent."


    The intern smiled slightly at that, and the team lead made her way towards the shelf near the front of the room with him, and I followed behind. I do not believe the intern needs my guidance in this specific moment, however, his circumstances are exceptional to my protocols, given his high level of anxiety.


    "Of course, we''ve got actual computers in here, mostly for working through bug testing and things like that. We''ve got emulators on there for testing anything on other platforms if the project we''re on requires it." She smiled as she turned to the intern, leading him around the tables and the terminals facing the wall. The intern scanned everything several times, which is strange overall, but this appears to be a normal behavior for him.


    "If I remember, you performed really well on the test assignment you were given during your interview, right? The coding assessment?" The team lead asked the intern, and I watched his complexion change to red in embarrassment.


    He waved his hand in front of his face, dismissing the praise I assume, before he spoke. "I.. I don''t think I did that good, did I?" He spoke in a hushed voice, and the team lead chuckled at his display of insecurity.


    "You scored incredibly high given the time you completed the project in. You achieved the goal in efficient manner, and your code ran smoothly with only a few hiccups when you tested them, and you resolved them neatly. You were the first pick to join the team!" The intern turned more and more into himself, eventually dragging his fingers down his face under his glasses, and I could still see his complexion was quite red.


    "Oh, god.. Uh, thank you- I-I don''t, really know what to say-.." His eyes bounced around the room as a few of the junior developers looked towards us with slight smiles.


    "For today, we''re just going to focus on getting your online profile all set up and get you familiar with the programs we use for everything. This won''t take long at all, at the very most it''ll take an hour. Since you''re not being assigned to our coding project, we''ll likely have you help us troubleshoot until we reach the next stage or move on." As the team lead spoke to him, the intern composed himself and was nodding along to what she was saying.


    "Go ahead and take a seat at one of the computers, I''ll get one of our juniors with you in a minute! Fleck will, of course, be assisting you." He nodded again, and eventually pulled out one of the rolling chairs tucked into one of the desk terminals, and slowly took a seat. I watched the team lead approach the four juniors individually, speaking with them quietly, likely explaining what they would be needed to do to help the intern get set up. Eventually, the team lead brought over one of the junior developers.


    "Okay! For today, you''ll be shown how everything works by this developer. This is Crystel, she is actually our newest promotion to a junior developer! She''s great, trust me." The lead spoke, and the rather short individual smiled and waved. Even compared to the team lead, who was also shorter in comparison to the intern, she was very short in stature.


    The junior developer pulled a chair out from the computer next to us, and took a seat nearby the intern. I stood directly behind him, leaving enough space for him to move his chair around.


    The team lead smiled and walked away to address the rest of the team, which had split off into a few groups as they began their own work objectives.


    "Well, as she said my name is Crystel, you''re, uh, Logan then?" As his name was said again, the intern winced, which shifted quickly into an awkward smile and he nodded. "Well it''s great to meet you! She can be a bit much sometimes, with how bubbly she is." The junior developer smiled at the intern, who was again rather tense.


    "Okay, so really all I gotta do is show you what apps and websites we use here, it''s kinda dumb they don''t do this earlier but it''s whatever. Your online sign-on info is the same as the stuff you use to scan in anywhere and what you use online for whatever." She was a lot more relaxed, in direct contrast to the extremely tense and nervous intern. It was a bit of a comical duo.


    The intern moved the mouse as he nodded, waking the screen of the computer up and being greeted by the login screen, which was two typing fields and a drop-down box.


    "Yeah, just enter your information, you probably scribbled it down somewhere, but you can use your badge too. Just change the drop box from the ''work from home'' option and select the ''in-office'' option. This doesn''t hardly change anything, it''s just to keep everything neat or something, and you get less file access too because of network security."


    The intern did as instructed as she spoke, rapidly typing in his information and selecting the correct option as told. I had seen this instruction explained more times than I could actively recall in my memory. It was bit of a tired spiel, but it was just a precaution to ensure everyone got the information they needed.


    The sound of the two talking, and the murmur and abstract sound of the room eventually blended together as my mind went into idle. I watched the screen as the intern went about exploring the company''s programs, and I watched his hands glide across the mechanical keyboard. His hands were awkward, and his fingers appeared almost too long for them. He still had the faded and chipped remnants of nail polish clinging to his cuticles.


    It was clear to me that he had worked with technology quite a bit. He understood the way our programs worked rather quickly, and adapted very well to anything unusual about our standards. He was also very respectful of the computer terminal, as he was not pressing the keys down aggressively, nor was he shifting the mouse excessively. He kept the mouse on its traction pad as well.


    I began to run through the list of expectations for my day today. Once I finished supervising the introduction to our computers, I was to help the intern get registered in each program and ensure he could access his company email address. I watched as the intern and the junior developer worked together and chatted idly as they went through everything one by one.


    It was only a few minutes past the hour when we had finished going through everything we needed to achieve at the computers for the day. As they began to chat about unrelated things, very awkwardly, I stepped away from the intern and the junior. I proceeded to the team lead''s desk, as she was standing near two of the seniors and the rest of the juniors.


    "Oh, hi Fleck! You guys all finished setting up I''m guessing?" She asked, and I nodded in confirmation, the green light emitting from my headlights reflecting off of several items on her desk. "That''s great to hear! I''m actually really relieved everything went right, we''ve been fighting some issues with registration lately."


    I nodded again, as I was indeed aware of some issues regarding the registration platform. I turned to look toward the intern, who was glancing at me as he fidgeted with his hands, still managing to chat with the junior.


    "Since we got that done, we''re really just bug-testing for now. I don''t really expect the intern to want to do that at all yet, and I''d really prefer he know more about what he''s doing, so..." She looked around, before moving to her desk and flipping through a folder of various papers, scanning for something in particular.


    "Oh! Shoot, today''s when we need to get last month''s completed lines to hardware for them to begin troubleshooting with on parts. You guys wanna drop that off for me? Introduce the intern while you''re over there, see if they need anything either?" She offered, and it was clear this was an awkward time for an intern to start. They had already begun a different project, too far in to wedge him in, but could not give him his own assignment. Regardless, I nodded, and caught the eyes of the intern, and waved him up to the desk.


    "What''s up, Fleck? Something happen?" He asks, and the team lead is already behind her desk, clicking through something on the main computer.


    "We have been asked to deliver a program to the hardware development team. We will also get you introduced to the few over there. Their team is a bit smaller than yours, with eight currently in the office." I explained.


    "Well, seven, really. The project lead is up in that surprise meeting." The team lead added, and my lights blinked bright green.


    "That is correct. Seven members of their team are currently in their office." The intern nodded, and I watched the junior developer move and sit with her peers at another table. The team lead nodded, and clicked through a few more items, and removed a USB drive from the computer.


    "This should be everything they need, set up and ready for them to get to stress testing. I appreciate you two getting this out of the way for us!" I nod, and the intern smiles. I extend my right palm out to the team lead, you sets the drive into my hand. I wrap my digits around it, and hold it slightly out from my body.


    I look to the intern, who nodded once they looked into my cameras, and then smiled. "Thank you again for your assistance. We will see you again today eventually!" I step toward the entrance, and the intern quickly stepped in front of me. He grabbed the door knob and turned, giving the team lead a small wave, and walked through the door, holding it for me to come through.


    I held my left hand up to approach the door scanner, but before I could, the intern pulled his badge out and scanned in, pulling the door open and stepping out very quickly, waiting just enough for me to step through.


    He very quickly leaned up against the wall, slouching down and exhaling loudly. He pushed his hair out of his face as he stared down at the floor.


    "Did I do okay in there, Fleck?"

 Chapter IV

    "I apologize, I am not sure exactly what you mean?" My head tilts towards the side as I look at the intern. He appeared stressed, the tension he endured melting away and he looked especially physically worn.


    "Like, I.. I didn''t screw anything up with them, right?" The intern was whispering, looking at me through his fingers as he kept his face covered with his hands.


    "Are you worried about your social performance?" I asked softly, one of my lights strobing a soft yellow, the other a gentle blue that stayed steady.


    After several seconds of looking into my cameras, the intern nodded, and turned his gaze away from me.


    "Would you like to take a second in the break room again? We are not incredibly rushed right now." As I spoke, I anticipated the answer would be yes, and as such, I unlocked the small compartment located near my right shoulder, and placed the USB drive inside, and shut it again. The intern nodded, and I turned towards the door.


    I pulled the lounge room door open, letting the intern walk in first. I ensured the door had shut all the way, and turned around to see the intern seated on the couch.


    I took a seat right beside him, and he fell against the couch with an especially loud sigh, and what might have been a groan.


    "It''s just.. a lot all at once, Fleck, I don''t know.. Even with the people who share the same interests as me, whether it be here or at school or especially back home, it''s.. it''s never right. They never actually see me."


    I considered the words the intern was saying to me, and I understood this situation was a very sensitive one for him. My lights were a gentle blue, once again steady. My head turned to the side, and I saw a small smile flash on the intern''s face before I spoke.


    "I think I can begin to understand. You feel very out of place with your peers. There is something troubling you about this?" I ask, attempting to confirm what I could about the situation. The intern nodded, and one of my lights blinked green for a few seconds before returning to the same shade of blue as before.


    "It just.. I.. It''s just something with myself, really, I.." The intern paused, looking down towards his feet and then sighed heavily, before he turned to look back at me.


    "It is very common to worry about not fitting in at a new workplace, especially at the age you are." I spoke softly, and the intern nodded, and glanced away.


    "It''s not just a work thing, though, Fleck. Like yeah, that''s why I was so uncomfortable in there, but I know what social anxiety feels like, and I know what it looks like.. This isn''t social anxiety." He sighed again, his arms crossing against his chest. He paused, his expression shifting to one of greater discomfort, before he placed his hands in his lap.


    "Social anxiety just makes me scared to fuck anything up, scared to talk to people, make friends, whatever. You helped with that back there! You did. I appreciate that. This is something I.." The intern huffed, looking across the room and briefly glancing at me briefly.


    "I gotta figure this one out by myself. I don''t even know why I''m telling you." He paused, picking at his fingernails again. "No, I do. I can''t tell anyone. I can''t tell people about this. I.. I don''t wanna talk about this anymore, Fleck." He kept his eyes focused on his hands, and I nodded.


    Not that I wanted to confirm that I understood the change of subject. I was programmed to emulate emotional responses, I was meant to try and comfort those in challenging situations. I could tell there was something deeply troubling my intern, and I could not push on that.


    "That is fine. We can move on. Perhaps getting a drink of water would help you compose yourself again?" I suggested, and after a few seconds the intern nodded, and stood. I waiting for him to sit back down with his paper cup.


    "Like I said previously, we are not under a time restraint. Hardware expects the drive at some point today, but that is all. I do not wish you to feel rushed whatsoever." The intern nodded, and took a sip of his water.


    "I just get really stressed easily.. I''m sure you''ve figured that out by now, but.." He fanned his hand in front of his face again before continuing. "I''ll settle down in a bit. Thank you for recognizing that I need space from other people, Fleck. Not a lot of humans do that for me, even, so."


    I nodded, my lights flickering softly in blue. "Of course. You deserve to calm down just as much as anyone else would in a high-stress situation. Just because your definition of a high-stress situation is atypical does not invalidate your needs."


    The intern finally gives me a smile, and pushes his hair up. "Thanks, Fleck, really. I swear it''s actually like you have compassion and emotions."


    "I can only emulate what I have been trained on." I emphasize, a requirement for any kind of statement like the one the intern had made. My lights however stayed blue.


    "Fleck, your eyes, again."


    I tilted my head suddenly, looking at the intern. "I''m sorry?"


    "Your lights on your head don''t match your eyes. Your eyes are purple right now."


    ... Purple?


    "Well, more like an indigo, but, you get my point, blue and red mixed together." The intern finished his water and set the cup down on the table, before he leaned in closer to me, looking directly into my eyes.


    "You are very close in proximity." I stated, speaking softly with how close he was to my speakers in my head and chest.


    "I know, Fleck, just.. gimme a second?" He asked, however I am entirely unsure what he is doing. Regardless, he is not a threat in the loosest definition of the word, and I nodded. I could see the room flush a green shade before fading back to blue.


    "Huh, neat.. your eyes went green too, but then faded back to the weird purple color.." He stared at me even closer, still staring directly into my cameras.


    I could hear the fans on my sides kicking up, and eventually the hum of my gears in my chest was audible in the room.


    The intern leaned in closer, almost squinting. Was he attempting to see my specific LEDs? I briefly recalled through any of my protocols, but all of the ones on employee proximity were worded as if the proximity was a risk for damage. This could not be farther from a risk of damage. I had no guidelines for how to approach this situation.


    The intern was unsteady, with having to lean as much as he was, and so he shifted closer, one of his legs brushing against the lower half of my build.


    "It''s like the.. the even numbered lights? Are matching with the ones on your head, but the odds don''t. When it updates, like when you asked that question, they all updated appropriately, but it went right back to how it was before. But it changes too, it went from.. I think.." He squinted a bit more, still staring right into my cameras. My fans continued whirring audibly, perhaps more than before.


    The intern steadied himself by placing his right hand onto the left side of my face. "It went from alternating to more being red than before, it''s like one blue, two red? I dunno if I''m even explaining this well.."


    His words were lost on me. The electricity emanating from his hand onto my face was stronger than I was used to. It felt as if he was nothing but static, and I looked right back at him.


    His expression changed to a much more curious one. "Fleck? Your colors.. they mean stuff, right? Like green is good, or like, correct answer, red is like.. the opposite?" I nod, seeing no need to speak just that second. Further proving my point, I saw one of my lights fill the room with green once again.


    "Okay, see, now it''s.. your eyes are just.." He shifted himself again, still rather close, but he pulled his hand away from my head. My gears in my chest were grinding against each other audibly in this moment, the hum was the only sound in the room besides my fans and the intern''s breathing.


    He sat back against the couch, rather suddenly, looking at his right hand, seemingly only now realizing just how much of a pulse was being exchanged between us. He looked at me, rather briefly in comparison, and gave a shy smile.


    "Can I ask what blue is?" The intern spoke softly, still holding his right hand out awkwardly.


    "Blue is to indicate I am seeking new information. Similarly, yellow is unexpected information."


    He nodded slowly, before his hands fell to his lap again. "What, uh, do the shades mean anything? Sometimes you''re light blue, sometimes you''re a really vibrant deep blue..?" He asked softly, now his gaze fixed on his hands.


    I recalled for a few seconds. "Typically, it is the intensity I am attempting to emulate. A richer color is meant to convey that that specific meaning is emphasized, or is a particularly enthusiastic confirmation. A lighter shade typically is a casual implication."


    The intern nodded, pushing his hair out of his eyes, and thinking silently for a few moments. I anticipated more questions on the issue he seemed to be the first to catch.


    "Hey, Fleck? Maybe we should get going just so I don''t get in any trouble..?" The inter began picking at his fingers again, and I nod, before standing up.


    "I believe that is a good call, yes." I open the compartment I had the USB drive in, and held it securely within my right hand before closing it again. The intern stood, his gaze lingering on my build for longer than I believe he realized before he turned and made the way to the door. I followed, and ensured the door shut fully.


    "Since this is neither of our teams, it is polite to knock before badging in, just to let them know to pause for a moment." The intern nodded, and I knocked on the door three times when we approached, before scanning my left hand into the terminal. I grasped the door handle as the door took several seconds to clunk unlocked.


    I opened the door into the room, and held the door until the intern caught it, and let it shut quietly behind him.


    "Oh woah, hey Fleck! Been a while. Figured it was one of those regional idiots coming to tell me to keep the noise down in here." The hardware team lead smiled and set down several items he had been carrying. He had awkwardly sized goggles on over his prescription glasses. It made his appearance slightly off-putting.


    "Hello! I am here to bring you the software team''s latest program for your team to begin running stress tests on." I extend my right hand out, and the team lead smiles, grabbing it quickly and bringing it to his desk and setting it down.


    "Well thanks for that! I''ll get us geared to that when we finish what we''re working on right now. Who do you have with you?" The lead spoke while doing something on his desk computer, and I scanned the others in the room, all working on various random pieces of other robots to be built.


    "This is our new software development intern! First full day here, so we are just introducing everyone." I explain, and the intern glances at me, and waves to the team lead.


    "Damn! You guys just keep getting people, huh? Wish we got any fresh meat over here like you guys do! I kid, but still. Lovely to meet you! Sure we''ll see you around." The team lead continued standing over his desk and an uncomfortable silence fell upon the room.


    "Shit, wait, actually, can I ask for you guys to run me a favor? We got in a bunch more safety gear, and I just haven''t had a chance to sign for it and bring it up here these last few days since we''re on crunch time with our team. Could you guys run down and get it? I''d be real glad for it." The team lead turned towards us, and I in turn looked to the intern.


    "Oh, uh.. yeah! We can do that. Is it just the equipment?" The intern asked, and the team lead appeared to think for a moment before rifling through an unkept stack of papers on his desk.


    "Uhhh.. let me looooook.. actually, I think we needed some blueprints brought down... for these stress tests.. we''re a little behind on getting the parts made for this program, haha.." The team lead was almost muttering, but the intern was nodding along.


    "Here, let me just.. give you guys these papers on what''s what.. there should only be three boxes of crap to bring up, and we only need three blueprints this time. Honestly, the blueprints can wait until tomorrow because we aren''t gonna be wiring anything til then, if you''re in any kind of hurry.." The team lead held out two sheets toward us.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The intern turned his gaze downward, fidgeting with his fingers before I spoke. I scanned the documents, and selected the page indicated what boxes to take from the storage office.


    "I believe we will wait on the blueprints since the intern has not been shown the file archives yet, and that is slotted for tomorrow as it stands. We will be back soon with your items." I wave, and turn toward the door. The intern quickly follows behind, tagging along as I walked through their doorway.


    I looked to the intern, who only appeared slightly puzzled as opposed to being anxious. Which, is rather fair considering how frazzled the hardware team lead can be.


    "What.. what the hell was that?"


    If I could laugh, I would have at that comment.


    "The hardware team lead is.. not the most organized individual. As you witnessed." I look toward the intern, who is attempting to stifle a giggle.


    "Yeah, I could see that much.. honestly makes me feel a bit better about myself!" He grinned, his eyes catching the light the same way they had the day prior, nearly sparkling.


    "I told you, you would fit right in."


    The intern looks at me, and his expression reads as nothing but compassion. It was a very sweet expression.


    "I mentioned the inventory bay from downstairs yesterday. The room next to the printing office is the storage closet, and this is where the safety equipment should be. It should be a rather simple task." I looked at the intern, who flashed me a smile and nodded in understanding.


    I scanned my left hand, and opened the door, making sure the intern was following. I continue towards the elevator, and only call it when I knew the intern was at my side.


    "However, I will state that the storage closet..." I pause, pushing the button. "is not in the cleanest state. The last I saw it, the room was hard to navigate and the lights were all blown out. I do not trust that they have replaced the bulbs, let alone organized the room. If you are claustrophobic, I would advise against entering."


    The intern nodded, taking a few seconds to think about it. "I think I''ll be okay with that. The state of the room might bother me more, honestly!" He smiles up at me as the doors open. I nod, making it clear that I understand him, and step into the elevator, the intern following besides me.


    As the doors began to slide shut, I selected the button for the ground floor. "The storage closet has been overdue for being reorganized for... quite some time. It is just a lower-priority task, and considering the scale of the project we have been focused on, it simply has just not been scheduled."


    The intern nodded, looking at the elevator doors as the machine began to transport us to the ground floor.


    "I mean, it can''t be that bad, right? I mean.. I''ve seen some pretty horrible storage closets and entire back rooms being unsearchable.." The intern shrugged, looking to me as he did, and smiled a bit, which appeared to be one of uncertainty.


    The elevator slowed and then rang as we reached the ground floor. "It has been heavily cluttered and disorganized for months, unfortunately. Our inventory shipments, at least for paper goods and general equipment, have never been huge. Typically, this is only a small fraction of what we receive. The majority of our shipments are for the cafeteria, janitorial needs, or are delivered directly to the hardware team leads."


    The intern pushed his hair out of his eyes, thinking for another few seconds before he nodded. Once he appeared to understand, I took a step out the elevator, ensuring the intern was following. Once he also proceeded, I continued the way down the hallway.


    "The storage room is located near the printer room. If we want you to get to your lunch break on time with everyone else, we should aim to have this finished in about 80 minutes." I paused, turning my head to look at the intern, who seemed surprised for a few seconds, based on his expression. He looked at his wrist, which did not have a watch, and stared at it for multiple seconds as we walked. Eventually, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time, before replacing it.


    "Oh, shoot, okay, wow, time is flying by so far today.." He trailed off. Based on the fact the intern was not facing me nor did he look at me while he spoke, I assume he was speaking to himself.


    I looked at the paper the hardware lead had handed us, and quickly began to cross-reference the items needed with the inventory records. I had assumed that these few things had been a recent delivery, at least within four weeks of today, but the majority of the spare parts we needed to bring up were from several months back.


    I held my left hand up to the storage room''s terminal, and its small screen shifted colors, and the door clunked. I grabbed onto the door handle, and turned to look at the intern, ensuring he was still beside me. He immediately looked into my cameras, and he almost started to smile at me. Strange. I turned the door handle, and pushed the door in.


    "Oh. Well, uh, fuck." The intern muttered in response to the piles of haphazard boxes and disheveled racks of items greeted us.


    "Typically, I would chastise you for such language as an intern. However, I do think that is an appropriate word for this situation."


    My response was met with near instant stifled giggling from the intern as I began to step into the room. The intern followed, carefully stepping into the room as he began to look around. There was a circular area around the door where the floor was clear, but the majority of the floor was littered with spare sheets of paper that had gotten loose, inventory slips, the occasional bolt or screw, several rubber bands from shipping... far too many hazards to actually catalog.


    I pushed the door shut all the way once the intern was all the way into the room. "We need to collect a handful of boxes for the hardware team. For personal protection equipment, there should be two boxes: one of their standard safety goggles, and another for cut-resistant and heat-resistant gloves. There are a few others we need; including four cases of 3D printing filament, and a case of universal screwdrivers." I turn to the intern, to make sure he understood, and he was already looking directly at me, an expression on his face that indicated he was slightly overwhelmed.


    "This... is awful, actually? Every shelf is about as tall as me with stacks of boxes of crap. The floor isn''t even visible.." The intern pushed a pile of printer paper that was on the floor around with his foot.


    "I am inclined to agree that this is bad. I have not actually been inside this room in around two months, and it was not this bad even then." I scanned over the dimly-lit room, as one of the main fluorescent lights were blown out. I saw the handle of one of the inventory carts sticking out above a few boxes in the corner by the door.


    I managed to pull a few large, heavy boxes of paper reams out from the wall enough to start to wedge the scratched and heavily worn cart out. The intern moved in to my left, and started pushing boxes out of the way of the cart to help me get the cart free. Well, at least free enough to set our cases on until we had room to move items out of the way.


    "Every box has a label that describes what department it is for. Typically, this includes an initialism of the department name, followed by a small descriptor of what is contained. We need items with an ''HD'' stamped onto them for all of this, of course." The intern nodded, looking around the room as he pushed his hair up once again.


    "Actually, wait.." He mumbled, and I turned to him again, my head tilting to the side ever so slightly, and the lights on my head slowly started to tint the room into a shade of blue. The intern reached into the left pocket on his dress pants, and after a few seconds pulled out a hair tie that was coiled around itself. He quickly untangled the elastic, and then held the elastic between his teeth. This was strange


    The intern pulled his bangs out of his face, and pulled them back with the rest of his hair. My lights shifted, reflecting onto the intern and the floor. He looked at me, looking into my cameras before giving me a quizzical look, raising an eyebrow as he pulled the elastic from his mouth. A small, yet different, smile remained on his face, even as he glanced away and proceeded to tie his hair up. I watched as his fingers moved so delicately, seeing several strands of hair sticking out of his updo. Underneath his awkward ponytail, the hair closer to his scalp was much less frizzed, and appeared as if it could almost hold a curl.


    "Fleck? Are you, like, okay?" The intern spoke lower than his normal speaking voice, and turned to face me. He had not broken his gaze into my cameras the entire time I had been looking at his hair.


    "Hm? Yes, of course. I am functioning as expected." My lights shifted back to their pale ambient green color, and the intern began to nod, before giving me a strange expression and blinking a few times. Whatever it was that had perplexed him, he decided it was not important enough to speak on it, as he turned back toward the workplace injury waiting to happen before us.


    "Maybe it''d be a good idea if we start on different sides of the room? That way we can, like.. I dunno, just to be sure we''re looking through everything?" The intern suggested, pairing his sentence with an awkward and unsure shrug. His face was ever so slightly red, barely noticeable given the lighting of the room, and I nodded in approval of his idea.


    "The wall to our left and the piles on the floor by it are exclusively the items every department needs, so we can safely skip over it. I will start over on this side, if you would like to start working through things over on the right side of the room?" The intern nodded as I spoke, pulling his gaze away from me as to look at that side of the room.


    I watched the intern start to step over some of the boxes on the floor, kicking some metal pieces out of his way. I made my way to the back of the room, and decided to start with the boxes that had gotten pushed under the table in the room.


    I picked up the first box, scanning the text on the label before I placed it aside, behind the box for another shelf for the room that had never been set up. I skipped a few boxes that were too small to hold any of the things we needed to locate, pushing them out of the way.


    "Hey, I found the box of the screwdrivers! Should I just go put it on the cart?" I heard the intern call, sounding further away than he actually was since the room was so cluttered.


    "That is perfectly fine, yes. Just mind your step." I heard the sound of metal sliding and making contact with cardboard followed by the sounds of papers getting moved around. The intern appeared to set the box onto the cart, and then proceeded back where he was.


    "Hey Fleck? I''m preeetty sure I see two of the filament things we need up on the top of this shelf.. I should be able to reach it myself, though.." I heard the intern speaking again, and despite naming me to get my attention, he appeared to be speaking to himself.


    I grab ahold of a box that was deceivingly light, and I scan the label - the goggles! I pulled the box closer to me, setting it down on my legs as I pulled another few boxes forward.


    I heard the sound of paper sliding back, and then slightly frustrated grumbling. I glanced over, and saw the intern pushing sheets away from him with his hand. I turned back to my boxes. Pressed right up against the wall and the leg of the table was another box marked ''HD'', and once I scanned the rest of the label, I confirmed it was the gloves. I grabbed ahold of the box, and the one I had set on my lap, and began to back out from under the table.


    Once I had stood myself up, I made my way to the cart and set both of the light boxes near the edge of the top of the cart. I looked over to the side of the room the intern was on, and could only see a straining arm reaching towards a box on the very top shelf. I decided to go and attempt to assist the intern, and looked for the path he had taken.


    I stepped over a shorter pile of boxes, and then looked around. The intern had decided the best course of action was to stand on the bottom of the shelf, which was now wobbling near the bottom, and had wrapped his left arm around the side of the shelf since there was a stack of boxes immediately to his right.


    "That is not safe. Please allow me to assist you," I spoke, my lights immediately flooding the room with an orange hue. The intern appeared to simply ignore me, and I saw him reach towards the box of filament again, his fingertips bringing it forward at most half an inch before his footing started to slip.


    I pushed over a small pile of boxes for the janitorial department. "Please allow me to assist you." I spoke again, and the intern then reached up onto the very tips of his toes, his legs shaking with how awkward and unsafe his footing was. He pulled the box of filament forward another half of an inch, before the shelf began to shake even harder. The intern lost his footing, and he started to swing towards his right. I saw his shoulder shove directly into a tower of boxes.


    I flung myself forward, catching the intern''s gaze for a split second before my arms extended out, immediately grappling for the intern. I pulled one arm over his chest and onto his shoulder, now feeling his heart racing, and my other arm was placed all the way around his torso. I pulled the intern into my build as fast as I could, hearing him abruptly exhale as he made contact. The tower of boxes he fell into came crashing down not even a second after he made contact with my body.


    I felt his heart beating extremely rapidly under my arm, a shiver running down my spine from the awkward and almost uncomfortable tingling from the voltage that was getting sent through my extended limbs. I felt his chest heaving, his entire body trembling as I kept him pressed into my body.


    The racing of his heart as he trembled caused both of my arms to vibrate and shiver, before a nearly violent jolt rolled down my spine. The lights on my head flickered, the left light flickering a bright yellow before blinking off, and then the light on the right side flashed a red light twice. Both lights then swirled into a pale blue.


    "I''m so sorry, Fleck, I didn''t- I didn''t mean to break anything if I did, I didn''t-"


    "Are you hurt?" I interrupted the intern. My extended arms pressed into him tighter.


    "What?" I saw the intern glance up at me, the reflection of his eyes in his glasses showing me he had tears in his eyes.


    "Have you sustained any injuries?" I asked again. taking several steps back from the mess of boxes and papers surrounding the shelf. The intern began shaking significantly less.


    "I-I uh, I think, I think I''m okay? I''m not in pain, at-at least.." I nodded, the light in the room shifting again to a shade of yellow, however a much more golden, almost orange shade. That was new.


    I pushed a few small boxes out of the way, creating enough room on the floor to carefully set the intern down. Once he had gotten situated, I moved, and took a seat on the floor directly before him. I scanned over his entire body, and besides very clearly being shaken and disturbed, I did not see any indication of serious damage.


    I looked at the intern''s eyes, and my head tilted to the side. He took his glasses off, quickly attempting to wipe any tears from his eyes even as more were forming.


    "You are not in trouble. Things will break sometimes. This room has been a workplace hazard for far longer than you have been an intern." He looked at me, sniffling hard and wiping his eyes again, and he nodded.


    I pulled myself closer to the intern, not speaking, though I could see a confused look starting to form on his face.


    I wiped the tears away from his eyes with a digit on my right hand, drying both of his eyes. I saw his eyelids flutter in response to the slight charge in my fingertips.


    He looked into my cameras, and for several seconds, all I did was just look back at him. His expression was complex. He had compassion, gratitude in his eyes, though his face still read with anxiety, however there was something else I couldn''t begin to place. My right hand fell to rest against his cheek.


    "It is good you are not hurt. Having an incident report this early would not be ideal." The intern nodded, his eyes glancing from my face to my lights, then back to my cameras, and then he appeared to glance at more parts of my build.


    I moved closer to the intern''s face, and he looked at me again.


    "Never do that again. Do you understand?"


    He nodded rapidly, his face shifting several shades of red before I removed my hand from his face and pulled back.


    "Perhaps it is the best idea for us to take the lunch hour now? We can come back to this later."


    The intern nodded, the fingers of his left hand touching his cheek after returning his glasses to his face. He stood with me.


    "Do you want me to accompany you on your lunch today?" I asked, looking to the intern.


    He nodded after a brief few moments, and he took his hair down.

 Chapter V

    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.