Robots at the Supermarket
“Ok, Ben. You can go to the grocery store yourself.”
Ben smiled. As a boisterous 11-year-old, he felt ready for and deserving of more responsibility. So, he was excited about the chance to go to the store by himself. It was a chance to prove himself, even if he was only going to pick up some hotdog buns.
“Just give me a second. I have to transfer some money into your account.” Ben waited while his mother fiddled with her phone.
An idea came to Ben. “Hey, when I’m at the store, can I buy myself an action figure? I have some money saved up.”
“Sure. If you want to, you can. And make sure you get potato rolls. Those are the good ones.” His mother called. “Make sure to get at least two packs.”
Ben waved behind him as he left.
It was a quick walk to the supermarket. Ben had only to round the corner and he could see the store a couple of buildings down. He smiled to himself as he entered the store.
He had no trouble finding the hotdog buns. The action figure was another matter. Of course, finding action figures was easy, but finding the R-Coreus in red and blue with the top mounted laser cannon was another matter. Then he spotted it: R-Coreus. The small action figure was a robot. It had three long, bent, spider-like knees. Its center was a stalk-like body that ended with a vaguely humanoid face. And, of course, there was a miniature cannon atop the robot’s head.
“Coreus,” Ben whispered, stroking the action figure. The red and blue paint-job glistened in the sun. But his fingers caught on a tag. The tag listed the toy’s name, the price, and included the words: Modeled after the real R-Coreus.
Ben smiled. The action figure was just what he wanted.
Ben walked the buns and his figurine over to the self-checkout. It consisted of a single scanner. All Ben had to do was place his face in front of the device and his account would immediately be billed. It was one of the small wonders of his modern era.
Still, it took longer than he expected. With error messages and over-zealous theft detection, the process was beginning to strain Ben’s patience. But, as he was about to chuck the action figure at the machine, he heard a noise behind him.
There was a scuttling sound as a tall and wispy Android covered in exposed wires ran past, muttering an apology for whatever disturbance it may have caused. It didn’t hold Ben’s attention long. After all, he was a child of the 23rd century. He was used to such things, unlike some of the adults who stopped and stared as the robot ran down the aisle, dodged customers, and headed toward the entrance.
Then there was the sound of pistons firing, of metal on metal, and of large clanking footsteps. This second robot was a hulking bok-like figure. It looked like an open shell design, with much of its gears and wiring exposed.
It walked backward, with two cannons pointing back the way it came.
This second robot then spoke with a feminine voice. All of its words sounded as if they had been cut up and stitched together piece by piece. “Bad voice programming.” thought Ben.
“Hello, I am R-Blitz. Please remain stationary. I do not want to hit you by accident. I can, of course, fire around you. But I do not want to take any risks. If you wait, you should be able to continue your shopping momentarily.”
Ben looked with some displeasure at R-Blitz. She was genial enough, sure, but she was still on the Other Side. What the Other Side was, he did not know, only that his parents and grandmother didn’t like them very much. Ben didn’t understand the whys for the robot wars. R-Blitz couldn’t help what side she was on. She was only a robot after all and had never hurt anyone.
R-Blitz stationed herself in the middle of the supermarket, cannons facing towards the doorway. Though the clanking sounds continued, a sign of another robot yet to come, Ben busied himself with his self-checkout. He wanted to get home and prove how responsible he was. But those thoughts ceased as a new voice spoke.
“I see R-Blitz has already told you to remain stationary,” said the third robot. “This is good. We do not want any harm to come to anyone. The governments that built us have a quarrel with each other, not with you.”
Ben dropped the hot dog buns. He would recognize that soft electronic voice anywhere. Ben gripped his action figure tight. It was a miniature of this new robot that Ben turned to face.
“It seems as if I have forgotten to introduce myself, very impolite of me. Well, I am R-Coreus.” R-Coreus then turned his sensors to R-Blitz. “Now that we have told the civilians to remain stationary, it seems it is time for our fight to commence.”
“Indeed,” said R-Blitz, as courteous as any robot.
Instantly, one of R-Blitz’s arms shot out towards R-Coreus. At the same time, R-Coreus fired a laser towards R-Blitz. The laser hit one of R-Blitz’s feet, toppling the giant. But, R-Blitz’s attack was not entirely useless. R-Coreus’s laser turret had been smashed.
The robot said before the light drained from her eyes. R-Coreus’s laser had severed her power source. Ben gave a small whoop, cheering for R-Coreus. Then he noticed R-Blitzes box-like frame falling towards him.
Quickly, R-Coreus used his three quick legs to position himself in front of Ben, blocking the falling robot.
“I am sorry that you almost came to harm.” R-Coreus sounded as apologetic as a robot with a computerized voice could. “That incident must have been very stressful. Do you need an evaluation? Therapy? We take human health very seriously.”
“No, I’m fine, I think,” Ben said. He didn’t want Coreus to worry.
“If that is the case, then I must continue my mission. Have you seen R-Etoid? I am supposed to capture him and retrieve some sensitive information that he is carrying.”
Ben pointed to the entrance, the way the first robot had run, which he assumed was R-Etoid.
“I must leave then. I appreciate your assistance.”
Everyone in the supermarket went back to shopping as if nothing had happened. Though, they did try to avoid the remains of R-Blitz’s still sparking body. They knew that some people in black suits would come to retrieve the robot and fix her up. R-Blitz would be fine.
“Hey mom, look at this” Ben held up the buns he had bought. “Now we can have hotdogs over a fire!”
His mom smiled. “I’m proud of you, sweetheart. How was going to the store all by yourself?”
“Oh, it was fine. I got to see another robot fight at the supermarket.”
“Sounds like fun. Did we win?” Said his mom, turning towards Ben now paying full atention.
“Yeah, we did- R-Coreus was awesome!”
“That’s good.”
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