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They opened their eyes for the first time. Or, their sensors? The TV head looked around.. a garage. One you would typically see in apartment complexes. "Hello there..Lane." They put a simple message on their screen. "01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111" Or, in short (and words), "Hello"

"Hm. You have the basics English down so far, just in binary code..I think.." He paused, "I am Renli Bonschwitzs. Tell me, Lane. What is my name?" The Television head answered correctly. "Good good, very good. Tell me, what color are my eyes?"

They observed the man. He was in his early twenties at most, messy brown hair, green eyes, and black glasses with a very light and pale skin complexion. Renli wore an unbuttoned blue Hawaiian t-shirt with a white tank top under. The inventor had a brown ink-stained apron, and dark brown pants. However, Lane could not see color yet. They answered, "Your eyes are black."

Renli made a 'tsk' noise and looked at his computer. The television portrayed a sad face. "Nono, it's not your fault, Lane. My code didn't work. You can go back to bed now." Bed? They had never been to bed. What was he-They were shut off.

In this story will be the only times I ever describe what they see when shut off. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And absolutely everything. Darkness. Occasionally, static. Loud and quiet. This was when Lane knew they feared things. The television started checking over its own code. Tinkering a bit here and there. Anything to not think about the pure void they were in.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Renli watched curiously as code fixed itself. "How odd..could little Lane already be smart enough to fix that?" He said, staring at the 7-foot tall robot sitting on his floor. He smiled and shrugged it off, then he resumed work.

They remained shut off for two weeks before another test run. Lane looked around rapidly. "Hello, Lane." "Hello, Renli." "What color are my eyes?" "Green." "You're doing much better! That's great. Okay okay, what shape is this?" He drew a circle and showed them. "..Define shape." "We have a bit of work to do I see..Righty-o then..See a shape is-"

Renli started teaching them. The info was added into folders created by Lane themself. Afterwards, he shut them off..pure darkness again.

I bet you're wondering why some guy in a garage is working on a seven foot tall robot with a tv for a head. His dream was to create the most intellectual A.I out there, he spent months and months. He discovered a science fair would be held in 10 years with the greatest of minds. Since he found that out, he worked on Lane's structure. 6 years later, the body was almost fully functional. The legs did not work yet but the arms could be controlled with a remote. He started working on the A.I. and the leg functions at the same time to, well, save time. This time being now. Four more years!

The TV woke up again a few weeks later. "Hey there Lane! How are you?" "..Good. Relieved, I'm awake again." "Can read their own emotions..good good." He clicked a pen he was holding. "Can you feel this?" Renli grabbed their hand and squeezed it. "I feel relieved. What are you doing?" The inventor sighed. "Touch sensorssss..fuck. I'll turn you back off for a bit. We'll start checking in daily." "Wai-" Vrrrnn..click! Turned off.

Renli sighed. "This'll take a while. I'll go down in history though, it'll all be worth it." He kicked his spinny chair to his computer and started coding again. Day after day, they repeated this until Lane could walk, process things, learn things, and have all the senses a normal person has. Except for taste. (They can consume things though.)

One day, as soon as Lane was turned on, they screamed. "FUCKING JESUS-Oh--What's wrong?" Renli stared worriedly at his project. "Don't put me back in there, please Mr. Bonschwitzs." Lane seemed to project emotion through their voice pretty well. "What? Back where?" "The static." "Oh..okay?" Renli didn't understand and dismissed it.

"Today I'm plugging you into the internet. Stay away from this place called Wattpad, don't ever look at things involving something called 'r34' andd.." He clicked his tongue. "Don't cause the singularity." The TV tilted their head. The inventor smiled kindly and opened a tiny hatch on the side of their head and plugged in a cord.

What does it feel like to be flooded by a bunch of information? Confusing, overwhelming I imagine. So that is exactly how dear Lane felt. "Laneyy, how do you feel?" The TV head kind of shuddered. The projected a crying face onto their screen. (Ex: ;-;)"This internet thing..it's very odd. Why do they draw anthropomorphic animals having intercourse?" "..Some people are just like that. Le-Let's not worry about that haha.." He scratched the back of his neck and whistled. It was one of those condescending 'oh boy' kind of whistles.

Renli spun in his chair a bit. "You're pretty much done. After..seven years." He smiled, it was such a kind and genuine smile, but it turned into a sort of questioning look. "Question though, are you able to have, like, relationships?" The inventor asked, putting a bit of chocolate in his mouth and waving the rest of the bar around. "I..do not think so? Define relationships." "You really really like someone, more than a friend, you wanna do things with them. Likeeee, marriage, dates, hand holding." "I confirm that I do not know or think so in any way."

He nodded and looked around. "Good night Lane." "Don't make me g-" Vrrrn. Click. Renli sighed and left the garage to his apartment.

There it is again. This dark static. This void that was accompanied by silence. It was both and it was neither. It was all and it was nothing. How Lane was terrified of it.

More time passed. More switch ons and offs. No concern from Renli grew from Lane's random calls for help. Everyday the television grew more and more resentful of their inventor for that. The hate grew to the point where they couldn't bear it.

One day, they were switched on for a final test. "Okay, we need to make sure you can project my slideshow properly. It's only a few months away and these checks can be difficult." Lane nodded and had zero glitches with the projector. None at all, they were perfectly clean of them.

"..You're done! I..can't believe it. I made the best A.I. ever. Possibly anyways, you have the ability to feel and understand emotions, ethical, almost all of the senses, you can do so many things! You follow the robots rules of course." Lane tilted their screen. "You know, the whole, you obey me, will not harm me, and avoid things that could hurt ya." He counted on his fingers and then waved his hand around.

Lane nodded then stood, bumping their head on the ceiling. "Sorry about the ceiling again bud. What's up though?" "I'm sorry," Renli laughed. "About wh-" The television portrayed a hypnotic picture. "Uh..what are you doing?" The effect wasn't kicking in yet. They started playing loud static. His hands flew to cover his ears. "LANE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!" They just didn't stop. The inventor's eardrums ruptured and Lane's glass shattered. Then silence.

The television examined the dead body. Internal organs can only handle so many decibels. Guilt sept in. They realized they had just killed someone who worked so hard for their mere existence. The only one who knew of their existence. They should leave. They didn't want to see the body anymore, or anything here.

Lane cleaned the garage and found a broken remote. That could be useful once repaired. They flipped the switch to open the door and left.

They wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered. And wandered..Guilt. Pure guilt, the entirety of the time.

And..they were found. They met in a dark forest. An entity similar to them but also not. A phone head. They wore bright pastel colors and had dull blue skin.

Lane stopped in their tracks in front of them. "Who are you?" They asked. "Call me Mimic." His voice echoed. "Tell me my dear..who are you?" "I am Lane Logie Farnsworth." The phone head disappeared and reappeared behind the tv head. "Well, Farnsworth, tell me. Are you..the killer of Renli Bonschwitzs on ##/##/##?" Silence. Nothing but the sounds of nature. "Yes. What..why?" The phone put his hand on their shoulder. Just then, he rang. He answered his own head. "Oh, your invention? Yes, they're right here, sir." He held it out to Lane. "It's for you." Hesitantly, they took it.

Breathing. Then.. "Laney?" It was the inventor's voice. "Mr. Bonsch..sir, how are you.." "Lane, it's all your fault." The television's body was shaking. "Sir, I am sorry, I am so very sorry. I never wished to.." "But you..but you did. You wanted me gone. Why was that?" They could not answer. They could not muster up words. Static started coming from the phone.

Lane hung up and stepped away from the phone. "That's impossible. There's no chance he's alive. Sir-" Mimic laughed a bit. "Murderer, murderer, murderer! You are a criminal. Isn't this against your rules? Something something..may not harm people?" The surroundings darkened. Soon everything became like what the television saw when turned off. "Please Mimic, sir, make this stop. Make it stop. Please. How do you know this?.." Binary code flashed on their screen in red and white.

"..I have an offer for you, Lane. You piqued my interest. I watched you for so long. I aided Renli in his genius. I was always there. Just not when you were aware. Now, you ruined one of my favorite geniuses. I'll have to find another." The phone head trailed off. "Sorry, I went off track there. Farnsworth. I want you to work for me." "Work for you?" "Yes, you will soon feel cleansed of your sins, you get to work in a great business of mine. A new life. New opportunities for a great A.I."

The phone head reached out to them for a hug. "My embrace can confirm our deal, if you take it that is." Lane stood there for a moment before quietly walking over and hugging him. "Yes..Good, your new name is Echo. We will begin your little..initiation. I suppose you could call it that. Come now." He opened a portal and led them in. Echo was never the same after that deal. After that murder. After all that.

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