Please Note: Water May Void Warranty

Rain lashed at the window, lightning showing off the drawn out rivulets of water running down the glass as clouds and night darkened the sky outside. In Lisa’s room the two girls sat on her bed, staring intently at the robot. The air was hot, though the heat may have been more due to their exhaustion. After they dug around a mysterious hole for an hour and a half they had to hurriedly clean up the kitchen before their moms returned. The metal man had heard their mothers from upstairs, curiously leaning out of Lisa’s room when the women came home and the storm clouds started rolling in.

“Look at all of this in the fridge! Chicken pie, fruit parfait and…do I see a candied ham? Frankie, usually you ask to do anything but cook at the diner! What’s all this?” Frankie’s mother asked in awe.

“I want to be more helpful in the family business,” Frankie said confidently, the lie rehearsed as they had cleaned.

“And I helped!” Lisa said.

“Well, it looks like you two have bright careers ahead of you!” Lisa’s mother said, pride swelling in her voice. “So, what should we all have when your father gets home, Lisa?”

“Actually, we’re pretty beat! So Frankie and I are going to hang out upstairs for the rest of the night! Don’t come bother us! Enjoy the food!” Lisa called back as the two girls thumped up the stairs. The robot could hear Frankie’s mother sigh.

“You know they’re doing something stupid, right?” Frankie’s mom asked.

“As the mothers were, so too are the daughters. Now, let’s eat the parfait before Dan gets home. What hubby doesn’t know doesn’t hurt hubby,” Lisa’s mom said.

The girls took turns showering the grime of the day away, one staying in Lisa’s room to watch their metal friend, the cat sitting in its arms. “Patches likes you,” Lisa said as she dried her hair, Frankie taking her turn in the shower.

“Ah. My new companion is named Patches!” the robot said.

“Yeah, well, go easy on the companion stuff. We still don’t know what to do with you,” Lisa said.

“I don’t understand,” the robot replied, tilting its head.

“Make it two of us,” Lisa said, sighing and leaning back against the headboard.

Moments later Frankie was with them, sitting on the bed, ready to begin the interrogation. “First thing’s first. How did you turn back on?” Frankie asked.

“I do not know. I awoke on the dark. My talisman must have fallen out somehow,” the robot said.

“You mean this thing?” Lisa asked, holding the green object which had been embedded in its forehead.

“Yes! I don’t understand. You act like you know nothing of my functions. Surely you were briefed on my activation and processes before purchasing me from Magus Industries, yes?” the robot asked.

“We didn’t purchase you. You were found in a hole in the woods,” Frankie said.

“A hole in…no, no, it makes no sense,” the robot said, shaking its head. “Why was I in a hole? I am a servant unit!”

“What does this say? All this stuff on here looks like writing,” Lisa asked, holding up the talisman.

“You don’t know how to read Arkuth? This is so confusing. Oh well, mistresses. Allow me to read for you. It should be a simple containment spell for my artificial soul, a statement of instruction written into talismanic metal,” the robot said. It held the talisman up. “Magus Industries soul golem construct 110-ID. Warning: Do not remove. Unit deemed defec…” The robot paused, the light dimming in its eyes. “Defective.”

“What does defective mean?” Lisa asked.

“I…I have been thrown away. Deemed a waste…” The robot said. It held up the talisman, reading more. “Scheduled for disposal, 13/45/3148. Reason for disposal: death of charge.”

“Death?” Frankie’s head snapped to it. “Did you kill someone?”

“I…honestly, I do not know. It is inconceivable for a soul golem to kill someone. We live to serve our masters, but we cannot kill. I would not kill! The most precious thing to us is life, as it is something out of reach for us!” it said, fists clenching.

Frankie and Lisa were quiet for several moments, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Frankie sighed. “Wherever you’re from, you’re not there anymore. You’re on Earth, and for the moment, you’re our problem. So, what do we do with you?” Frankie asked.

“Is there a lake nearby?” the robot asked.

“Sure. Why?” Lisa asked.

“Drown me. Order me to the bottom. I cannot do it myself. It is a sure way to extinguish my artificial soul. Clearly…I have done something to deserve it,” the robot said. Lightning flashed, breaking through even the curtains on Lisa’s window. The girls faces went pale.

“Absolutely not,” Lisa said. “I don’t abandon my friends, no matter how weird and messed up they are.”

“Gee, thanks,” Frankie said.

“I am not your friend. I am not even your servant. I am a mistake…a reject,” the robot said. “I am…”

“Lloyd!” Lisa suddenly said, excitedly leaning forward on the bed. “Those serial numbers! Kinda looks like Lloyd! I’m proud I saw something so clever.”

“It’s the weirdest stuff with you…” Frankie said before turning her attention back to the robot. “Magic, amnesia, other worlds…death…I don’t like it,” Frankie said. She got right up to the robot’s face, looking into its green eyes. “But I don’t like the idea of you wanting to take yourself out more. So until we think of something better to do with you…call us mistresses, I guess…Lloyd.”

The robot looked between the two, Lisa’s smile wide, Frankie with a small smirk. “Lloyd…” the robot murmured. He bowed to them, holding Patches close to his chest. “I Lloyd will serve you dutifully and gratefully, mistresses,” Lloyd said, and if he could, he would have shed a tear of happiness.