Obscolesence Part 1

CHAPTER 1

0 wakes up—sort of. His vision is obstructed; he can only see out of one of his two cameras, which are hidden behind the screen. He is half-buried underneath some scrap metal. He does not remember almost anything. As he slowly finishes rebooting, a message pops up: fifteen percent battery. On the screen where his eyes would be, as they take form, he looks around himself. All he sees is a mix of red and black smoke emanating from a gaping hole in front of him. The one visible eye is shaking. He uses the arm that isn’t buried under the scrap to dig himself out, but it takes him some time.

When he finally does, he is badly hurt. Half of his screen is black, one of his arms is dangling—as if the only thing keeping it on were the wires. He looks around frantically as he realizes he is slowly drifting toward the hole. Stumbling across the rubble, he takes a short breather behind a pile of parts. A blur that resembles a red claw rockets past him. As he blinks, his eyes turn white. He sits there for a moment, still, looking for another place to hide. When he finds one, he runs as fast as he can, resting there, still dazed. His eyes notice something moving. It looks like him—but slightly bigger—and with two different-colored eyes. It signals for him to be quiet. 0 obliges.

Slowly, unbeknownst to him, the claw looms right behind the pile of parts. The camera cuts back to X, who is showing a concerned expression. It does not last long. He picks up a tin can and throws it in another direction, and the claw follows the sound. As soon as it does, X flashes a message on his frontal screen: RUN. 0 looks forward and does so.

Both characters are running toward the camera as the claw descends from the ceiling, looking toward them.

We cut to the X characters sitting around an oil-burning stove. Y is poking at a can of oil on the stove with a slightly surprised expression. She is a one-wheeler—meaning that instead of two legs she has a single wheel connected to a skinny, cone-shaped body with a flat tip, topped by a head and two arms. Instead of hands, she has something resembling arm cannons. On the other side sits X, relaxed, arms resting on the armrests of what appears to be an old massage chair. It’s vibrating, and it looks like he’s enjoying it.

The camera moves to face them.

0: And that’s pretty much it.
(A medical droid slaps a bandaid onto his now-welded arm, and another one bandages the damaged part of his frontal screen.)
X: Can confirm.
Y (facing 0): Sooo, who exactly are you?
0 (his face slightly glitching): I… can’t seem to recall.
X: Yeah, we get that a lot.
Y: Let’s call yoooou… 0!
0: Why 0 exactly?
Y: It’s like your memory—zero!
0: Well, I guess…
Y: Do you happen to remember what purpose you were meant to serve?
0: …What?
Y (a message on her screen reads overdramatic sigh .mpY): Like, what purpose were you built to serve?
0: …
Y: You sure are the quiet type.
X: We all fulfill a specific purpose. For example—
(His hands retract into his forearms. From one, a welding rod emerges; from the other, a welding torch.)
X: I was built to weld metals together—to make things made out of metal and stuff. And Four over here—
(He points to Four, who is standing with her arm cannons crossed.)
X: She’s meant for poolside assistance.

(Camera moves to face 0 as he says this.)

0: And… what does that mean exactly?
Y: It means—
(An ice cube flies past 0’s head.)
Y (raising one of her arm cannons to blow across it): I can do that.
(X comes behind her and places his arm on her shoulder.)
X: Calm down. We don’t want you getting low on ice again, do we?
(Y sits like an angry teenager.)
X: Well, look at the time! It’s past all our bedtimes!
(0 and Y look at him with disapproving eyes.)
X: I mean… we still need to sleep.
Y: Uuugh, fine.
(They all turn and head toward a large camping tent in the not-so-far distance.)

Cut to 0. He is lying motionless in the tent with a message on his screen: Nightmare in progress. As the camera zooms in on his face, nothing is seen at first, but slowly bits and pieces become clearer: a table, a chair at the other end, and a big mirror on the opposite wall. He looks down and realizes he is strapped to the chair. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape. Just as the white sterile door creaks open—he wakes up.

(The camera zooms out from his face as his eye appears. It looks shaky, still half open.)
He pushes himself off the ground and looks around. He can only see Y—she is lying on the floor with “ZZZ” displayed on her screen. X is nowhere to be found.

(Cut to the outside of the tent.)
0 sticks his head out. He sees red ground, the now-off oil stove, and in the distance a cliffside with an android sitting right on the edge, its head looking straight down. 0 slowly moves toward it, trying not to make loud noises. When he gets closer, he notices it twitching. Then, with one swift movement, it does… something. 0 can’t quite make out what.

0: H-hello?
X: ROBO JESUS!
(X screams and hurriedly tries to stuff something into his bag.)
X: Where did you come from?
0: The tent. What are you doing here?
X (sigh): I guess you want some explanations, huh?
(He gestures for 0 to sit.)

0 sits and looks forward. A landscape of scrap and robot parts fills his view.

0: Where, exactly, are we?
X: It’s… complicated. From what we’ve managed to deduce based on our scarce memories, this is a giant graveyard.
0: A… what?
(He tilts his head, his one eye showing confusion.)
X: Yeah. This is where all old and outdated tech goes when it isn’t needed anymore. And we… managed to survive.
0: So they use us, and then just… THROW US AWAY?!
X: That’s how the world goes sometimes.
(On 0’s screen a message flashes: Memories partially recovered. Then he stands.)
0: WAIT—when you found me, were there any other androids who looked like me?
X: No, I didn’t notice anyone. Why?
0: I have a brother. Or… had one, at least.
(He sits back down.)
X: Oh. That’s tough, man.
0: But he could still be somewhere. I just have to look for him!
(Determined expression.)
X: I… would not get my hopes up.
(He speaks slowly, methodically.)