In the near distant future
It was just another day average day at work. As usual I was sitting at the front counter, clicking away at my keyboard completing my duties. As the front-desk receptionist, one of my duties was to provide a friendly face to all incoming guests and tend to their needs. In the busy lobby in front of my desk, nurses sat with worried families, using gentle voices to explain how their relatives were doing in treatment. Robots the size of hummingbirds zipped back and forth from the back rooms.
These little mechanical workers, no bigger than your thumb, buzzed around doing their jobs while everyone talked. Each robot wore scrubs like their nurse coworkers. Their wings sprouted from each shoulder blade and were coated with metallic feathers. These little flying robots had an important job - they helped families who came to visit. Like tiny tour guides, they showed people where to go, give the hospital rules and answer any generic question they might have. It was just an ordinary day for the world's greatest psychiatric hospital.
The main entrance doors opened, and walking through them was my boss, Ruzo. A man walked through the automatic doors wearing a long trench coat that flapped as he moved, his white collar peeking out like a slice of paper against his neck. His shiny black shoes made quick taps on the floor as he walked throughout the entrance, it was my boss Ruzo. On his shoulder was his robot secretary—Robotic Artificial Intelligence Mobile Operator, or as we called him Raimo.
Raimo was one of the VPs of the hospital. He had the ability to control every robotic escort and computer at across each hospital. He was the size of a dove, giving him a much larger wingspan than the escorts. Raimo was reading something aloud from his tiny tablet. They were to far way for me to hear but given Ruzo's stern face it couldn't have been good news. As he listened to the the briefing from his assistant, Ruzo scanned the room to see how his lobby was operating until, finally, his gaze reached my desk. A smirk emerged from the side of his mouth, resting just below his ear. He raised his hand, signaling his assistant to stop reading.
"Gilbert! How are things going?" he said, outstretching his arms, as if he was about to give me a big hug through the desk. Startled by the loud, gleeful voice, people across the lobby turned to look at the man as he made his way toward the front desk.
"More like what are you doing here? It's your birthday. Go home!" Raimo said. He had a distinct metal undertone in his voice, a shared trait between all robots. Raimo's wings clicked open as he hopped off Ruzo's shoulder and flew ahead of him.
If angels existed, they surely flew like Raimo. It was as if the surrounding air bent to his will and carrying him with effortless grace and speed to my desk. Before I could blink, he landed on the front counter, putting his tablet in his toga. He crossed his arms around his chest and stared down at me.
Sitting back in my chair, I looked up at the tiny robot. "Thanks, guys, but I don't have any plans today, so I wanted to spend my birthday here, my home away from home," I said.
"Nonsense, Gilbert. Take the rest of the day off. You work extremely hard, and I appreciate all you do. Now go do something fun for your birthday. Why don't you hit up Quintin? I'm sure he is doing something spectacular," Ruzo said, finally getting to the desk.
"No, it's fine. I'm sure he's not even here in the states. Besides, who's going to watch the front desk?” I said. Truthfully, I would rather just have a quieter birthday than whatever crazy idea of fun Quintin had in mind. “Oh, before I forget, you received an email marked as high importance.” I pulled up Ruzo’s inbox and looked for the email.
"Gilbert, you're too good to us. But Raimo will be excited to cover the front on your special day," Ruzo said, grabbing the mail from the bin, opening and reading the contents of each envelope.
When I found the email I looked back At Ruzo "Thank you, boss. Before I leave, let me tell you about this email. It’s really strange it’s from your sister, Winter Kühn. There is a file attached but she didn’t leave a message, and the subject only says, 'I've found the island.' I tried opening the zipped file attached, but it's password protected and she didn’t leave the password anywhere." I said.
"Ah, so big sis, has finally found it," Ruzo said. If I hadn't been paying attention I wouldn't have noticed the tiniest change in Ruzo's expression-all the features in his face hardened but then before I could even blink they softened to his usual warm smile. "Thanks, Gilbert. Send it to Raimo, and he'll read me the contents of the file later. I have to go to my next meeting, but I better not see you when I come back up front." Ruzo walked to the back door.
"I'll send an escort to take notes to read the message to you in my place." As Raimo said it, a nearby escort robot finished guiding a family out of the building. The same robot hastily flew back to open the back door for his boss. Not looking up as he opened a piece of mail to read it, Ruzo walked through the open doorway.
As the door closed, Ruzo shouted, "Excellent, you're the best, Raimo!" Then the door closed with a click. Ruzo was always such a busy man. I guess that's what happens when you're only 26, and you've created the biggest psychiatric hospital chain with thousands of branches across the world.
"Now, go on and get out of here, Gilbert. Relax and enjoy your birthday," Raimo said, hopping down off the counter and onto the desk. He walked over to my clipboard. Then, reaching into his toga, he grabbed a pair of glasses and read the upcoming appointments.
"Why do you wear glasses? It's not like a robot can have poor eyesight," I asked, sliding my worn textbooks and notepad into the frayed navy backpack, worn down since I first got it freshman year of high school.
"Well, it makes me feel more human, and besides, it gives me more of a secretary look. Don't you think?" Raimo said. For a moment, a smile brightened his face as he pushed up his glasses, before he settled into back to his neutral experience as he went back to scanning the remaining appointments for the day. "You should invest in a fake pair," Raimo said. Flying back up to the counter, he sat down facing the door and put his chin in his hands.
"I'll consider it. Have a good day, and tell Ruzo thanks again," I said, throwing my book bag over my shoulder. Before I walked out the door, I turned to wave one more time just to see Raimo lazily waving goodbye.
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