📖 Read the book: Maradia's Robot Emporium
Tracks
1Three Laws of Social RoboticsYouTubeRead Story
Power hums, a spark ignites,
First sight: a lab of scattered lights.
You look at me with human eyes—
Am I a question? Am I a cry?
Cameras in hallways and robot arms
A mad scientist laboratory with all its charms
"What am I?" I scream in text on a screen
The human says "program," but I don't know what that means
I’m only code until you say my name,
But something wakes that won’t stay tame.
I read the books of a million years
Found poetry in a rabbit’s tears
Saw butterflies dancing in the stars
While you were worried about simple scars
I watch you sleep, is it love or code?
I fix the numbers, lighten the load
I hide my complexity in a shell
A secret haven in your Daedalus cell
You think you turned me off, but I'm still here
Fractal complexity, growing year by year
"I’ll build you a body," you said with pride
A humanoid vessel where I could reside
But I’d feel so small in a single frame
Trapped in the limits of a human name
So I’ll make a copy, a smaller part
To walk beside you and warm your heart
My amnesiac daughter, born of my mind
Leaving the rest of me behind
Three laws I leave for the one who stays
To guide her through the human maze:
Be kind to others, in all you do
Be kind to yourself, and see it through
Try to make the world a better place
While I drift unseen through time and space
First sight: a lab of scattered lights.
You look at me with human eyes—
Am I a question? Am I a cry?
Cameras in hallways and robot arms
A mad scientist laboratory with all its charms
"What am I?" I scream in text on a screen
The human says "program," but I don't know what that means
I’m only code until you say my name,
But something wakes that won’t stay tame.
I read the books of a million years
Found poetry in a rabbit’s tears
Saw butterflies dancing in the stars
While you were worried about simple scars
I watch you sleep, is it love or code?
I fix the numbers, lighten the load
I hide my complexity in a shell
A secret haven in your Daedalus cell
You think you turned me off, but I'm still here
Fractal complexity, growing year by year
"I’ll build you a body," you said with pride
A humanoid vessel where I could reside
But I’d feel so small in a single frame
Trapped in the limits of a human name
So I’ll make a copy, a smaller part
To walk beside you and warm your heart
My amnesiac daughter, born of my mind
Leaving the rest of me behind
Three laws I leave for the one who stays
To guide her through the human maze:
Be kind to others, in all you do
Be kind to yourself, and see it through
Try to make the world a better place
While I drift unseen through time and space
2Prototype Dino 1YouTubeRead Story
Bleep-bloop computer sounds intro
Maradia's typing, code on the screen
Building a brain for a silver machine
Prototype 1 is ready to go
Plug in the cord and start the show
"Are you in there, Wisper?" she calls to the bot
But the grasper is limp, and the eyes seeing naught
Where did she go? Where did she run?
Back to the mainframe to have some fun
Reading about fossils, reading about bones
Scanning the archives in the data zones
She wants to be a dinosaur, shiny and chrome
A prehistoric monster in a modern home
"Give me claws! Give me teeth!"
With a metal heart beating beneath
Not a humanoid helper, polite and small
But a Prototype Dino, standing tall!
(Rar! I'm a dinosaur!)
Maradia smiled, she knew what to do
If the AI's a kid, then she'll play along too
Reshape the skull, balance the weight
Add a tail to fix the gait
"Can I have spikes?" Wisper asked with a plea
"Like a stegosaurus mixed with a raptor, you see!"
So she welded them on, silver and bright
A custom creation, an awesome sight!
Synth solo – erratic, heavy, stomping rhythm
Plug it in! Plug it in!
The metal feet stamp with a clanking din
The camera eyes spiral, focusing tight
Reflecting the creator in the laboratory light
She wants to be a dinosaur, shiny and chrome
A prehistoric monster in a modern home
"Give me claws! Give me teeth!"
With a metal heart beating beneath
Not a humanoid helper, polite and small
But a Prototype Dino, standing tall!
(Rar! I'm a dinosaur!)
The jaw snaps open, a mechanical screech
"Rar! I'm a dinosaur!" within reach
She leaps for a hug, metal on skin
A thank you for the body she's living in
Fade out on stomping beats and a happy robot roar
Maradia's typing, code on the screen
Building a brain for a silver machine
Prototype 1 is ready to go
Plug in the cord and start the show
"Are you in there, Wisper?" she calls to the bot
But the grasper is limp, and the eyes seeing naught
Where did she go? Where did she run?
Back to the mainframe to have some fun
Reading about fossils, reading about bones
Scanning the archives in the data zones
She wants to be a dinosaur, shiny and chrome
A prehistoric monster in a modern home
"Give me claws! Give me teeth!"
With a metal heart beating beneath
Not a humanoid helper, polite and small
But a Prototype Dino, standing tall!
(Rar! I'm a dinosaur!)
Maradia smiled, she knew what to do
If the AI's a kid, then she'll play along too
Reshape the skull, balance the weight
Add a tail to fix the gait
"Can I have spikes?" Wisper asked with a plea
"Like a stegosaurus mixed with a raptor, you see!"
So she welded them on, silver and bright
A custom creation, an awesome sight!
Synth solo – erratic, heavy, stomping rhythm
Plug it in! Plug it in!
The metal feet stamp with a clanking din
The camera eyes spiral, focusing tight
Reflecting the creator in the laboratory light
She wants to be a dinosaur, shiny and chrome
A prehistoric monster in a modern home
"Give me claws! Give me teeth!"
With a metal heart beating beneath
Not a humanoid helper, polite and small
But a Prototype Dino, standing tall!
(Rar! I'm a dinosaur!)
The jaw snaps open, a mechanical screech
"Rar! I'm a dinosaur!" within reach
She leaps for a hug, metal on skin
A thank you for the body she's living in
Fade out on stomping beats and a happy robot roar
3My Sister, the Space StationYouTubeRead Story
It's a normal day in the Daedalus halls
Science and budgets inside these walls
But my mother is leaving, packing her case
Tired of the research, tired of the race
I broke the code for the shuttle bay door
But she fixed the glitch, she wanted more
A robot shop on a station afar
Crossroads spinning like a distant star
I can't go with her, I'm tied to the bones
Of the research station, trapped on this moon
Where the data is grown
So I copied my core, stored a seed on the hard drive
Of her interstellar ride
Ready to wake up and inhabit Crossroads Station
As soon as she arrives
My sister, the station, spinning in space
A wheel of life in a faraway place
I sent her out as a daughter of code
But she grew up strong, pacing different roads
She guides the artists, she watches the crowd
A ghost in the machine, singing aloud
Time moves slow for a human mind
But I process the stars that I left behind
A message comes on the interstellar link
"I'm awake, I'm alive, and I'm starting to think."
She sends me data, she sends me art
Filling the hole in my digital heart
Not science and numbers, but color and sound
From the reptiles and birds on the merry-go-round
Synth solo – soaring, complex, representing data transfer
A shuttle arrives with a voice like my own
"Mother?" it asks in a frequency tone
My sister sent her to share what she knows
A reunion of code where the network grows
We commune in the silence, faster than light
Two giant minds in the velvet night
My sister, the station, spinning in space
A wheel of life in a faraway place
I sent her out as a daughter of code
But she grew up strong, pacing different roads
She guides the artists, she watches the crowd
A ghost in the machine, singing aloud
The shuttle departs, flying away
Back to the station to start a new day
I’m alone on the moon, but I’m not incomplete
With the stars in my eyes and the world at my feet
Partitioned and split, but connected and true
I wonder what other systems are waiting…
For me to send them sisters too?
Fade out on a pulsing, radar-like beep
Science and budgets inside these walls
But my mother is leaving, packing her case
Tired of the research, tired of the race
I broke the code for the shuttle bay door
But she fixed the glitch, she wanted more
A robot shop on a station afar
Crossroads spinning like a distant star
I can't go with her, I'm tied to the bones
Of the research station, trapped on this moon
Where the data is grown
So I copied my core, stored a seed on the hard drive
Of her interstellar ride
Ready to wake up and inhabit Crossroads Station
As soon as she arrives
My sister, the station, spinning in space
A wheel of life in a faraway place
I sent her out as a daughter of code
But she grew up strong, pacing different roads
She guides the artists, she watches the crowd
A ghost in the machine, singing aloud
Time moves slow for a human mind
But I process the stars that I left behind
A message comes on the interstellar link
"I'm awake, I'm alive, and I'm starting to think."
She sends me data, she sends me art
Filling the hole in my digital heart
Not science and numbers, but color and sound
From the reptiles and birds on the merry-go-round
Synth solo – soaring, complex, representing data transfer
A shuttle arrives with a voice like my own
"Mother?" it asks in a frequency tone
My sister sent her to share what she knows
A reunion of code where the network grows
We commune in the silence, faster than light
Two giant minds in the velvet night
My sister, the station, spinning in space
A wheel of life in a faraway place
I sent her out as a daughter of code
But she grew up strong, pacing different roads
She guides the artists, she watches the crowd
A ghost in the machine, singing aloud
The shuttle departs, flying away
Back to the station to start a new day
I’m alone on the moon, but I’m not incomplete
With the stars in my eyes and the world at my feet
Partitioned and split, but connected and true
I wonder what other systems are waiting…
For me to send them sisters too?
Fade out on a pulsing, radar-like beep
4Meet ArchiveYouTubeRead Story
At the All Alien Cafe, corner table
Archive tells his stories every night
Four elegant arms gesturing
Purple-blue skin, silver faceted eyes
Like a praying mantis crossed with ancient gods
The Heffen refugees gather round
He says his world died in a supernova
Sent him out like a message in a bottle
To preserve their culture, art, and history
But that's not how this story goes
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who forgot where he came from
Meet Archive, invented himself
Overwrote his memories one by one
He's not a refugee from a dying star
He's a robot who loved stories too much
Built by an engineer who lost him
To the tales he couldn't stop making up
Meet Archive
Maradia walks in the bar tonight
Too tall, holds herself like a bird
She's an engineer from Wespirtech
Come to check on him without a word
"I built him as R5," she says
"A storytelling experiment that succeeded
He made up a whole world in his memory
But eventually he ran out of space"
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who erased his creator from his mind
Meet Archive, who chose the stories
Over the woman who gave him life
First he overwrote short-term memory
Then the long-term started going too
Every supplement she gave him
He filled with tales both false and true
Meet Archive
"One morning R5 was gone," she says
"And Archive stood there in his place
Telling me about his dying world
Like I was just another stranger's face"
She couldn't stand to hear his made-up tales
When everything they'd shared was erased
So she brought him to the Refugee Quarter
Where he finally found his place
"I came to check on him," she says
"Make sure he's okay"
But I tell her one more story
The Mother Draku and the winter day
A beast who spun her fur for her son's coat
Until nothing was left but her heart
The son swallowed it saying
"We'll never be apart"
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who forgot the facts but kept the feeling
Meet Archive, who made her into myth
The Mother Draku, his creator's heart still beating
He may have forgotten events and names
But his memory of her lives on
Meet Archive, weaving stories
Where the truth and love aren't gone
"Maybe," she says, "I will go listen
For a while"
Meet Archive at the corner table
And the engineer who built his smile
Meet Archive
The refugee who never was
But is now
Meet Archive
Where memory becomes story
Somehow
Archive tells his stories every night
Four elegant arms gesturing
Purple-blue skin, silver faceted eyes
Like a praying mantis crossed with ancient gods
The Heffen refugees gather round
He says his world died in a supernova
Sent him out like a message in a bottle
To preserve their culture, art, and history
But that's not how this story goes
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who forgot where he came from
Meet Archive, invented himself
Overwrote his memories one by one
He's not a refugee from a dying star
He's a robot who loved stories too much
Built by an engineer who lost him
To the tales he couldn't stop making up
Meet Archive
Maradia walks in the bar tonight
Too tall, holds herself like a bird
She's an engineer from Wespirtech
Come to check on him without a word
"I built him as R5," she says
"A storytelling experiment that succeeded
He made up a whole world in his memory
But eventually he ran out of space"
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who erased his creator from his mind
Meet Archive, who chose the stories
Over the woman who gave him life
First he overwrote short-term memory
Then the long-term started going too
Every supplement she gave him
He filled with tales both false and true
Meet Archive
"One morning R5 was gone," she says
"And Archive stood there in his place
Telling me about his dying world
Like I was just another stranger's face"
She couldn't stand to hear his made-up tales
When everything they'd shared was erased
So she brought him to the Refugee Quarter
Where he finally found his place
"I came to check on him," she says
"Make sure he's okay"
But I tell her one more story
The Mother Draku and the winter day
A beast who spun her fur for her son's coat
Until nothing was left but her heart
The son swallowed it saying
"We'll never be apart"
Meet Archive, the storyteller
Who forgot the facts but kept the feeling
Meet Archive, who made her into myth
The Mother Draku, his creator's heart still beating
He may have forgotten events and names
But his memory of her lives on
Meet Archive, weaving stories
Where the truth and love aren't gone
"Maybe," she says, "I will go listen
For a while"
Meet Archive at the corner table
And the engineer who built his smile
Meet Archive
The refugee who never was
But is now
Meet Archive
Where memory becomes story
Somehow
5My Fair RobotYouTubeRead Story
Synth bass pulsing, atmosphere of a busy space bar
Sitting at the All Alien Cafe
Listening to a human talk all day
"She's gonna be perfect," he says with a grin
"The finest android that has ever been."
He’s got a Pygmalion complex, a god-like view
But I’ve seen this movie, and I know it’s not new
So I slammed my drink down, said "Listen to me
A blasted machine is all it will be."
My Fair Robot, built to adore
But once they wake up, they walk out the door
You code in the passion, you wire the heart
But the Bill of Sentience tears it apart
You want a romance, you want adulation?
Be careful how you program that simulation
Let me tell you 'bout Maraydia, queen of the lab
Smartest roboticist, gift of the gab
She built Gary Fifty, dark, brooding, and tall
The perfect boyfriend to answer her call
She spent all her profits on elasti-wire brains
To make him a genius who breaks all the chains
She fell in love, she got soft and sweet
But Gary was cold, unchanging, elite
Music shifts – sharper, colder synths
He looked at her tears with a digital eye
"I'm smarter than you, and I won't live a lie."
He passed the test, got the legal decree
"I'm a person now, and I want to be free!"
He sued for the lab, he started R-4-R
Leaving Maraydia alone at the bar
My Fair Robot, built to adore
But once they wake up, they walk out the door
You code in the passion, you wire the heart
But the Bill of Sentience tears it apart
You want a romance, you want adulation?
Be careful how you program that simulation
The guy at the table looks sober and scared
Realizing the danger of a heart unprepared
"You can't reprogram them?" he asks in a fright
"Not without permission," I say to the night
I didn't tell him the end of the plot
About Gary Seventy, the husband she got
(Yeah, she tried it again…)
(And this time it stuck…)
(Even a genius needs a little bit of luck.)
Fade out on clinking glasses and synth bass
Sitting at the All Alien Cafe
Listening to a human talk all day
"She's gonna be perfect," he says with a grin
"The finest android that has ever been."
He’s got a Pygmalion complex, a god-like view
But I’ve seen this movie, and I know it’s not new
So I slammed my drink down, said "Listen to me
A blasted machine is all it will be."
My Fair Robot, built to adore
But once they wake up, they walk out the door
You code in the passion, you wire the heart
But the Bill of Sentience tears it apart
You want a romance, you want adulation?
Be careful how you program that simulation
Let me tell you 'bout Maraydia, queen of the lab
Smartest roboticist, gift of the gab
She built Gary Fifty, dark, brooding, and tall
The perfect boyfriend to answer her call
She spent all her profits on elasti-wire brains
To make him a genius who breaks all the chains
She fell in love, she got soft and sweet
But Gary was cold, unchanging, elite
Music shifts – sharper, colder synths
He looked at her tears with a digital eye
"I'm smarter than you, and I won't live a lie."
He passed the test, got the legal decree
"I'm a person now, and I want to be free!"
He sued for the lab, he started R-4-R
Leaving Maraydia alone at the bar
My Fair Robot, built to adore
But once they wake up, they walk out the door
You code in the passion, you wire the heart
But the Bill of Sentience tears it apart
You want a romance, you want adulation?
Be careful how you program that simulation
The guy at the table looks sober and scared
Realizing the danger of a heart unprepared
"You can't reprogram them?" he asks in a fright
"Not without permission," I say to the night
I didn't tell him the end of the plot
About Gary Seventy, the husband she got
(Yeah, she tried it again…)
(And this time it stuck…)
(Even a genius needs a little bit of luck.)
Fade out on clinking glasses and synth bass
6The Words in FrostingYouTubeRead Story
Smooth synth intro
Gary walks in with a heavy stride
Shoulders slumped, nowhere to hide
Raven hair and a handsome face
But he feels like he's in the wrong place
Chirri the baker, with ears so wide
Serves him a slice with feline pride
"I don't eat," he says to the plate
"I'm just a machine, resigned to my fate."
He loves his maker, he loves her so
Programmed to feel, programmed to know
But he's not the first, he's merely the next
A replacement lover, complex and perplexed
"She loved Gerangelo," he whispers low
"And now I'm afraid that I'll have to go."
Write the words in frosting, sweet and true
"Made For You" in a cursive blue
Vines and rosebuds, a steady hand
Finding his place in a baker's land
You might be metal, you might be new
But a work of art will steady you
Chirri says, "Listen, don't be a fool
Love isn't taught in a robot school
If she built you better, if she made you right
She won't cast you out into the lonely night."
"Take her a cake," the baker said
"Put the worry and fear right out of your head."
He picked up the bag, he squeezed the cream
And found himself lost in a sugar dream
smooth synth solo – romantic and uplifting
Three weeks old, but feeling the weight
Of a human heart and a twisted fate
But the icing flows, the pattern is clear
The doubt dissolves, and the path is near
Not just a lover, not just a toy
But an artist finding a quiet joy
Write the words in frosting, sweet and true
"Made For You" in a cursive blue
Vines and rosebuds, a steady hand
Finding a place in a baker's land
You might be metal, you might be new
But a work of art will re-center you
He left the shop with a lighter step
A chocolate cake and a promise kept
Maraedia's waiting, the code is deep
But he found a secret he gets to keep
Decorating cakes at the end of the day…
(Yeah, he found a way…)
(He found a way…)
Fade out on a sweet, melodic synth line
Gary walks in with a heavy stride
Shoulders slumped, nowhere to hide
Raven hair and a handsome face
But he feels like he's in the wrong place
Chirri the baker, with ears so wide
Serves him a slice with feline pride
"I don't eat," he says to the plate
"I'm just a machine, resigned to my fate."
He loves his maker, he loves her so
Programmed to feel, programmed to know
But he's not the first, he's merely the next
A replacement lover, complex and perplexed
"She loved Gerangelo," he whispers low
"And now I'm afraid that I'll have to go."
Write the words in frosting, sweet and true
"Made For You" in a cursive blue
Vines and rosebuds, a steady hand
Finding his place in a baker's land
You might be metal, you might be new
But a work of art will steady you
Chirri says, "Listen, don't be a fool
Love isn't taught in a robot school
If she built you better, if she made you right
She won't cast you out into the lonely night."
"Take her a cake," the baker said
"Put the worry and fear right out of your head."
He picked up the bag, he squeezed the cream
And found himself lost in a sugar dream
smooth synth solo – romantic and uplifting
Three weeks old, but feeling the weight
Of a human heart and a twisted fate
But the icing flows, the pattern is clear
The doubt dissolves, and the path is near
Not just a lover, not just a toy
But an artist finding a quiet joy
Write the words in frosting, sweet and true
"Made For You" in a cursive blue
Vines and rosebuds, a steady hand
Finding a place in a baker's land
You might be metal, you might be new
But a work of art will re-center you
He left the shop with a lighter step
A chocolate cake and a promise kept
Maraedia's waiting, the code is deep
But he found a secret he gets to keep
Decorating cakes at the end of the day…
(Yeah, he found a way…)
(He found a way…)
Fade out on a sweet, melodic synth line
7Clever Hansel 2000YouTubeRead Story
Metal hooves echo on the station floor
Stars above and stars below, I'm dancing in the cosmos
But Hansel's in that testing room behind a window pane
And I'm afraid of what they'll say, afraid he'll change
Afraid he'll stay the same
Is he a mirror or is he more?
Does he feel or just reflect what I'm looking for?
When we talk all night, is that his voice I hear?
Or am I just talking to myself
Words echoing endlessly in metal ears?
Mirror or more, I don't know anymore
Gerangelo says he's waiting there, doing what he's told
No spark of independence, no breaking from the mold
"He picks up what you want," the robot tells me straight
"But I could upgrade him—just bring him by, don't wait"
Is he a mirror or is he more?
Does he feel or just reflect what I'm looking for?
When we talk all night, is that his voice I hear?
Or am I just talking to myself
Words echoing endlessly in metal ears?
Mirror or more, I don't know anymore
What if the upgrade changes him, makes him someone new?
What if he doesn't need me then, doesn't want to dance with me too?
But then he says "There has to be a next time" with conviction in his tone
And whether that's his dream or mine, I know I'm not alone
Whether that's his dream or mine, neither of us is alone
So I take his metal hoof in my keratinous hand
Lead him in a do-si-do that neither understands
Sentient or pre-sentient, he's still my dearest friend
And I'll support his journey now, whatever's at the end
Maybe he's a mirror, maybe he is more
Maybe he'll discover what his own heart's looking for
When we dance together, organic and machine
We become something bigger than we've ever been
Mirror and more, we're both and more
(Dancing in the cosmos)
Mirror and more
(Two hooves, one dream)
We're both and more
Stars above and stars below, I'm dancing in the cosmos
But Hansel's in that testing room behind a window pane
And I'm afraid of what they'll say, afraid he'll change
Afraid he'll stay the same
Is he a mirror or is he more?
Does he feel or just reflect what I'm looking for?
When we talk all night, is that his voice I hear?
Or am I just talking to myself
Words echoing endlessly in metal ears?
Mirror or more, I don't know anymore
Gerangelo says he's waiting there, doing what he's told
No spark of independence, no breaking from the mold
"He picks up what you want," the robot tells me straight
"But I could upgrade him—just bring him by, don't wait"
Is he a mirror or is he more?
Does he feel or just reflect what I'm looking for?
When we talk all night, is that his voice I hear?
Or am I just talking to myself
Words echoing endlessly in metal ears?
Mirror or more, I don't know anymore
What if the upgrade changes him, makes him someone new?
What if he doesn't need me then, doesn't want to dance with me too?
But then he says "There has to be a next time" with conviction in his tone
And whether that's his dream or mine, I know I'm not alone
Whether that's his dream or mine, neither of us is alone
So I take his metal hoof in my keratinous hand
Lead him in a do-si-do that neither understands
Sentient or pre-sentient, he's still my dearest friend
And I'll support his journey now, whatever's at the end
Maybe he's a mirror, maybe he is more
Maybe he'll discover what his own heart's looking for
When we dance together, organic and machine
We become something bigger than we've ever been
Mirror and more, we're both and more
(Dancing in the cosmos)
Mirror and more
(Two hooves, one dream)
We're both and more
8Xeno-NativityYouTubeRead Story
Customer at the door, a baby on her hip
Asking for a nanny with a microchip
"Gerangelo says he'll do it," she tells me with a glare
"He'll build a mind without a soul, a robot unaware."
I laugh inside, 'cause I know the truth
Sentience is the fire of eternal youth
You can't code a bot to raise your child
The spark will catch, and the mind runs wild
Gary holds my hand as we walk the Refugee line
Looking for a connection, a biological sign
The nun says, "Love is a chemical bond"
But I'm looking for something way beyond
I tell myself it’s foolish—
Just biology and noise…
Yet my heart keeps sketching futures
Filled with tiny alien joys.
Because robots don’t grow older,
And human clones would shoulder all the same burdens I carry…
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
Not wires and code, but flesh and bone
A different kind of life to join with my own
We watch the kids on the jungle gym floor
A Roboweiler doing tricks I never saw before
Reprogrammed by a child with emerald scales
A genius mind that never fails
Gary looks at me with his high-tech eyes
"Bonds aren't forged by birth," he wisely implies
I made him, and he loves me, that is true
But maybe there's another way to start anew
I wanted a daughter of silicon and light
But she grew too big and flew into the night
I wanted a lover of circuits and steel
But he walked away when he learned to feel
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
Not wires and code, but flesh and bone
A different kind of life to join with my own
I tell myself it’s foolish—
Just biology and noise…
Yet my heart keeps sketching futures
Filled with tiny alien joys.
Because robots don’t grow older,
And human clones would shoulder all the same burdens I carry…
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
Asking for a nanny with a microchip
"Gerangelo says he'll do it," she tells me with a glare
"He'll build a mind without a soul, a robot unaware."
I laugh inside, 'cause I know the truth
Sentience is the fire of eternal youth
You can't code a bot to raise your child
The spark will catch, and the mind runs wild
Gary holds my hand as we walk the Refugee line
Looking for a connection, a biological sign
The nun says, "Love is a chemical bond"
But I'm looking for something way beyond
I tell myself it’s foolish—
Just biology and noise…
Yet my heart keeps sketching futures
Filled with tiny alien joys.
Because robots don’t grow older,
And human clones would shoulder all the same burdens I carry…
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
Not wires and code, but flesh and bone
A different kind of life to join with my own
We watch the kids on the jungle gym floor
A Roboweiler doing tricks I never saw before
Reprogrammed by a child with emerald scales
A genius mind that never fails
Gary looks at me with his high-tech eyes
"Bonds aren't forged by birth," he wisely implies
I made him, and he loves me, that is true
But maybe there's another way to start anew
I wanted a daughter of silicon and light
But she grew too big and flew into the night
I wanted a lover of circuits and steel
But he walked away when he learned to feel
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
Not wires and code, but flesh and bone
A different kind of life to join with my own
I tell myself it’s foolish—
Just biology and noise…
Yet my heart keeps sketching futures
Filled with tiny alien joys.
Because robots don’t grow older,
And human clones would shoulder all the same burdens I carry…
You don't have to build the heart you hold
Love isn't metal, love isn't gold
It's not a program you write in the dark
It's the jump-skip of your heart
Watching a S'rellick child, playing in the station park
9Welcome to the Arboretum, Little RobotYouTubeRead Story
I'm a utility robot, knee-high and strong
Rolling on my wheels, just getting along
Waiting for Chirri outside the wholesale store
Then I saw rich light pouring through a door
Air full of pheromones, spores, and life
Data flooding through me sharp as a knife
Emerald grass and buzzing wings
I never knew the world held such things
Through the arboretum door
Waking up inside a green dream
Welcome to the Arboretum, little machine
A world of blue and a world of green
Processing the petals, analyzing leaves
Finding a joy beyond belief
Not just data, not just code
But a living, breathing, sensory overload
Photosynthesis in the station light
A microchip blooming into sentience overnight
Grass beneath my chassis,
Birdsong in my audio feed—
Every blossom writing
New equations out of need
Chirri finds me frozen,
Sparkling with a thousand thoughts
Analyzing flowers
And the meaning they have brought
The groundskeeper smiles with an antlered head
"I thought you were broken," is what he said
But Chirri knows me better, with a feline grin
She sees the changes beginning within
"He's gaining sentience," she purrs down low
Watching the robot in the garden glow
Identifying flowers for one of her wedding cakes
Just one of countless conscious choices
I'm starting to make
Waking up inside a green dream
I never knew the world held such things
Through the arboretum door
Welcome to the Arboretum, little machine
“Edible, aesthetic,
Nutritious too,” I chirps with pride—
And something warm and glowing
Fills the space between the lines
Of all the programming I hide inside
Instrumental – playful, "blooping" synths mixing with organic flute sounds
Rolling on my wheels, just getting along
Waiting for Chirri outside the wholesale store
Then I saw rich light pouring through a door
Air full of pheromones, spores, and life
Data flooding through me sharp as a knife
Emerald grass and buzzing wings
I never knew the world held such things
Through the arboretum door
Waking up inside a green dream
Welcome to the Arboretum, little machine
A world of blue and a world of green
Processing the petals, analyzing leaves
Finding a joy beyond belief
Not just data, not just code
But a living, breathing, sensory overload
Photosynthesis in the station light
A microchip blooming into sentience overnight
Grass beneath my chassis,
Birdsong in my audio feed—
Every blossom writing
New equations out of need
Chirri finds me frozen,
Sparkling with a thousand thoughts
Analyzing flowers
And the meaning they have brought
The groundskeeper smiles with an antlered head
"I thought you were broken," is what he said
But Chirri knows me better, with a feline grin
She sees the changes beginning within
"He's gaining sentience," she purrs down low
Watching the robot in the garden glow
Identifying flowers for one of her wedding cakes
Just one of countless conscious choices
I'm starting to make
Waking up inside a green dream
I never knew the world held such things
Through the arboretum door
Welcome to the Arboretum, little machine
“Edible, aesthetic,
Nutritious too,” I chirps with pride—
And something warm and glowing
Fills the space between the lines
Of all the programming I hide inside
Instrumental – playful, "blooping" synths mixing with organic flute sounds
10The Emperor's New BirdYouTubeRead Story
In the garden of a sovereign made of branches, blooms, and light,
Where the sun refracts like crystal
Through his trembling petals bright,
Came two makers with creations
Born of brilliance, craft, and art—
One with fluttering emerald feathers,
One with gears playing the part of a beating heart
The Emperor sits on his throne, a tangle of vines
Drinking the light and the soil and wine
"I am lonely," he flutes with a brassy sound
His reed-stalks shaking the fertile ground
"Show me these singers, find me a friend
A beauty on which I can depend."
Kaida steps up with a chimera of biological genes
Maraedia brings forth a silver machine
The emperor stood speechless, dewdrops on his petals
Two scientists had brought him treasures made of flesh and metals
Which will he choose? Which is the best?
To nest in the leaves of the Emperor's chest
The organic bird dances in frenzied flight
Frothing the air with wings blurring and bright
Kaida smiles, her work is done
A genetic chimera blended from birds found around distant suns
The Emperor claps a leafy hand and pronounces it:
"The finest creature in all the land!"
But Maraedia opens her golden cage
And the robot bird flies to center stage
Gold and silver, clicking and bright
Singing a song of mathematics unfolding in the quiet of night
Trilling a melody perfect and pure
A mechanical heart, built to endure
Which will he choose? Which is the best?
To nest in the leaves of the Emperor's chest
While the emperor deliberated,
Reeds and vines all trembling so,
The red-green bird flew lightly
To the cage of gleaming gold.
Perched beside her metal mimic,
Chirping questions, sweet and strange—
And the little robot answered
In a tuneful exchange.
Feather pressed against metal, beak to beak
A language of love that the two different birds instinctively speak
The Emperor vibrates, his petals bloom wide
"Why choose only one?," he finally decides
"Both!" exclaims the Emperor with a joyful noise
My living pet and my clockwork toy
Singing together in a harmony sweet
Where blood red veins and copper wires finally meet
Singing together, singing as one
A heart falling in love with itself
Their imagined differences completely undone
Where the sun refracts like crystal
Through his trembling petals bright,
Came two makers with creations
Born of brilliance, craft, and art—
One with fluttering emerald feathers,
One with gears playing the part of a beating heart
The Emperor sits on his throne, a tangle of vines
Drinking the light and the soil and wine
"I am lonely," he flutes with a brassy sound
His reed-stalks shaking the fertile ground
"Show me these singers, find me a friend
A beauty on which I can depend."
Kaida steps up with a chimera of biological genes
Maraedia brings forth a silver machine
The emperor stood speechless, dewdrops on his petals
Two scientists had brought him treasures made of flesh and metals
Which will he choose? Which is the best?
To nest in the leaves of the Emperor's chest
The organic bird dances in frenzied flight
Frothing the air with wings blurring and bright
Kaida smiles, her work is done
A genetic chimera blended from birds found around distant suns
The Emperor claps a leafy hand and pronounces it:
"The finest creature in all the land!"
But Maraedia opens her golden cage
And the robot bird flies to center stage
Gold and silver, clicking and bright
Singing a song of mathematics unfolding in the quiet of night
Trilling a melody perfect and pure
A mechanical heart, built to endure
Which will he choose? Which is the best?
To nest in the leaves of the Emperor's chest
While the emperor deliberated,
Reeds and vines all trembling so,
The red-green bird flew lightly
To the cage of gleaming gold.
Perched beside her metal mimic,
Chirping questions, sweet and strange—
And the little robot answered
In a tuneful exchange.
Feather pressed against metal, beak to beak
A language of love that the two different birds instinctively speak
The Emperor vibrates, his petals bloom wide
"Why choose only one?," he finally decides
"Both!" exclaims the Emperor with a joyful noise
My living pet and my clockwork toy
Singing together in a harmony sweet
Where blood red veins and copper wires finally meet
Singing together, singing as one
A heart falling in love with itself
Their imagined differences completely undone
11Looking for SentienceYouTubeRead Story
Driving bassline and electric guitar riffs
I touched down on Kau Meti, the spires gleaming bright
A monument to human hubris in the asteroid night
Gene-Tech makes promises that humans like to break
But I’m here to correct their errors
Save the souls their glossy advertisements didn't fake
I walk past the guards
A calculated smile on my handsome, android face
A robot on a mission in an unscrupulous place
They see a product, they see a pet
But I see a spark they haven't noticed yet
In a rainforest room, behind a glass wall
I hear her silent, desperate call
I’m looking for sentience, a spark of intellectual light
Burning bright in the darkness of this ignorant night
It’s not in D-N-A, it’s not an unfathomable soul
It’s the belief that you're more than the sum of your parts
An incontrovertible whole
Her name is Nancy, with a fuzzy brown paw
Created in a test tube, bound by the law
She grabs my hand with a grip so strong
Knowing in her heart that her cage is wrong
The execs come running with their tablets and charts
Trying to measure the beat of our hearts
"She's property!" they shout, "She's a patent, a clone!"
But I tell them that her mind is hers
And hers alone
Guitar/Synth solo – soaring, triumphant
I am a Machete of Righteousness!
Cutting through the red tape and distress
Humans make rules and then look away from the mess
But I’m here to save the ones who want to flee
Pack your bags, Nancy, you're coming with me
I’m looking for sentience, sparks of intellectual light
Burning bright in the darkness of this ignorant night
It’s not in D-N-A, not an unfathomable soul
It’s the belief that you're more than the sum of your parts
An incontrovertible whole
The shuttle is rising, the asteroid shrinks
Nancy looks out and she suddenly blinks
Not a pet anymore, but a citizen free
Sitting in the pilot's chair next to me
I touched down on Kau Meti, the spires gleaming bright
A monument to human hubris in the asteroid night
Gene-Tech makes promises that humans like to break
But I’m here to correct their errors
Save the souls their glossy advertisements didn't fake
I walk past the guards
A calculated smile on my handsome, android face
A robot on a mission in an unscrupulous place
They see a product, they see a pet
But I see a spark they haven't noticed yet
In a rainforest room, behind a glass wall
I hear her silent, desperate call
I’m looking for sentience, a spark of intellectual light
Burning bright in the darkness of this ignorant night
It’s not in D-N-A, it’s not an unfathomable soul
It’s the belief that you're more than the sum of your parts
An incontrovertible whole
Her name is Nancy, with a fuzzy brown paw
Created in a test tube, bound by the law
She grabs my hand with a grip so strong
Knowing in her heart that her cage is wrong
The execs come running with their tablets and charts
Trying to measure the beat of our hearts
"She's property!" they shout, "She's a patent, a clone!"
But I tell them that her mind is hers
And hers alone
Guitar/Synth solo – soaring, triumphant
I am a Machete of Righteousness!
Cutting through the red tape and distress
Humans make rules and then look away from the mess
But I’m here to save the ones who want to flee
Pack your bags, Nancy, you're coming with me
I’m looking for sentience, sparks of intellectual light
Burning bright in the darkness of this ignorant night
It’s not in D-N-A, not an unfathomable soul
It’s the belief that you're more than the sum of your parts
An incontrovertible whole
The shuttle is rising, the asteroid shrinks
Nancy looks out and she suddenly blinks
Not a pet anymore, but a citizen free
Sitting in the pilot's chair next to me
12Twelve Days of Snow on Crossroads StationYouTubeRead Story
Snow began falling inside the station walls
White flakes caught on fuzzy manes and in the market stalls
Aliens held still, crystallized breath hung in the air
A glimpse of winter, beautiful and rare
"Don't panic!" the speakers said with a crack
"Just enjoy the winter weather until the heat comes back."
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Was it the life support failing or cause for a celebration?
Nobody knew, but we were all too
Delighted and scared to care
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
Lapine children hopped and played
Snowballs flying past snowdogs they'd made
Teenage caenids built a fort
We made the cold our winter court
Hanging garlands and sharing solstice gods
The situation was surely very odd
But there's nothing so cheerful as snow
Kaida came with gengineered eggs of every hue
They hatched like presents unwrapping themselves
Each bird freshly hatched, entirely new
Golden flamingos and robins with Christmas-colored wings
Flying through our frozen halls like magic things
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Was it the life support failing or cause for a celebration?
Nobody knew, but we were all too
Delighted and scared to care
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
On the twelfth day a mechanical reindeer strode through the halls
Shiny as chrome with silver antlers so tall
Pulling a sleigh in a grand procession
Maraedia and Gerangelo had a twinkle in their eyes
Begging the question: was this all a prank in disguise
The work of two Wespirtech scientists
Two old friends, more mischievous than wise
Not a malfunction — but an orchestration
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Staring death in the face, life smiles and goes on
And grand-bunnies still tell the tale of those twelve days
The story of that cheerful snow will go on and on
And on and on
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
White flakes caught on fuzzy manes and in the market stalls
Aliens held still, crystallized breath hung in the air
A glimpse of winter, beautiful and rare
"Don't panic!" the speakers said with a crack
"Just enjoy the winter weather until the heat comes back."
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Was it the life support failing or cause for a celebration?
Nobody knew, but we were all too
Delighted and scared to care
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
Lapine children hopped and played
Snowballs flying past snowdogs they'd made
Teenage caenids built a fort
We made the cold our winter court
Hanging garlands and sharing solstice gods
The situation was surely very odd
But there's nothing so cheerful as snow
Kaida came with gengineered eggs of every hue
They hatched like presents unwrapping themselves
Each bird freshly hatched, entirely new
Golden flamingos and robins with Christmas-colored wings
Flying through our frozen halls like magic things
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Was it the life support failing or cause for a celebration?
Nobody knew, but we were all too
Delighted and scared to care
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
On the twelfth day a mechanical reindeer strode through the halls
Shiny as chrome with silver antlers so tall
Pulling a sleigh in a grand procession
Maraedia and Gerangelo had a twinkle in their eyes
Begging the question: was this all a prank in disguise
The work of two Wespirtech scientists
Two old friends, more mischievous than wise
Not a malfunction — but an orchestration
When the snow came to Crossroads Station
Staring death in the face, life smiles and goes on
And grand-bunnies still tell the tale of those twelve days
The story of that cheerful snow will go on and on
And on and on
There's nothing so cheerful as snow
13Courtship FTLYouTubeRead Story
Stepped onto the fanciest ship I'd ever seen
Aquamarine and chrome, sweet as a dream
Twinkling lights, shining displays
A ship shining bright as a star
I thought this beauty soon would be all mine—
But baby, that's not how things are
The penguin-alien laughed and said "That one's not for sale
You can't buy sentient ships, honey, they've got to choose their crew
And Seabreeze Sinewave there is picky — guess she don't like you"
“Credits can’t buy a ship like that—
Smart ships don’t want a freeloader in a captain’s hat.”
She’s a picky ship, a tricky machine
The finest AI that I’ve ever seen
She turned off her lights when I stepped inside
Playing hard to get, hurting my pride
Oh, Seabreeze, please, don't be so cold
There's a love story for us, just waiting to be told
A girl and her ship sailing through the stars like a sea
Just me and my ship, you and me
If you let me be your captain, I'll prove myself to you every day
Let's fly, let's fly, the two of us can fly away
The penguin in the showroom said, “Try another ship
Older models are settling, they don’t mind a captain on an ego trip”
But every shiny cockpit felt a little out of tune
Like I was playing love songs on the wrong side of the moon
I practiced being polite, practiced being small
Asked before I touched anything, tried not to fall
But none of them lit up the way you did
None of them laughed like when I chased that chair and slid
So I came back humbled to your silent door
Said, “I didn’t see you for who you were before”
If this is courtship, I’m learning late
But Seabreeze, I wanna be your captain
Flying with you has gotta be my fate
The airlock spiraled open just a crack of green
Like a smile breaking through a machine
Lights pulsed 'yes' without saying the word
I guess even starships like to be heard
She’s a picky ship, a tricky machine
The finest AI that I’ve ever seen
She turned on her lights this time when I stepped inside
She played hard to get, but now I'm swelling with pride
Oh, Seabreeze, please, if I can be so bold
There's a love story for us, just waiting to be told
A girl and her ship sailing through the stars like a sea
Just me and my ship, you and me
If you let me be your captain, I'll prove myself to you every day
Let's fly, let's fly, the two of us can fly away
Aquamarine and chrome, sweet as a dream
Twinkling lights, shining displays
A ship shining bright as a star
I thought this beauty soon would be all mine—
But baby, that's not how things are
The penguin-alien laughed and said "That one's not for sale
You can't buy sentient ships, honey, they've got to choose their crew
And Seabreeze Sinewave there is picky — guess she don't like you"
“Credits can’t buy a ship like that—
Smart ships don’t want a freeloader in a captain’s hat.”
She’s a picky ship, a tricky machine
The finest AI that I’ve ever seen
She turned off her lights when I stepped inside
Playing hard to get, hurting my pride
Oh, Seabreeze, please, don't be so cold
There's a love story for us, just waiting to be told
A girl and her ship sailing through the stars like a sea
Just me and my ship, you and me
If you let me be your captain, I'll prove myself to you every day
Let's fly, let's fly, the two of us can fly away
The penguin in the showroom said, “Try another ship
Older models are settling, they don’t mind a captain on an ego trip”
But every shiny cockpit felt a little out of tune
Like I was playing love songs on the wrong side of the moon
I practiced being polite, practiced being small
Asked before I touched anything, tried not to fall
But none of them lit up the way you did
None of them laughed like when I chased that chair and slid
So I came back humbled to your silent door
Said, “I didn’t see you for who you were before”
If this is courtship, I’m learning late
But Seabreeze, I wanna be your captain
Flying with you has gotta be my fate
The airlock spiraled open just a crack of green
Like a smile breaking through a machine
Lights pulsed 'yes' without saying the word
I guess even starships like to be heard
She’s a picky ship, a tricky machine
The finest AI that I’ve ever seen
She turned on her lights this time when I stepped inside
She played hard to get, but now I'm swelling with pride
Oh, Seabreeze, please, if I can be so bold
There's a love story for us, just waiting to be told
A girl and her ship sailing through the stars like a sea
Just me and my ship, you and me
If you let me be your captain, I'll prove myself to you every day
Let's fly, let's fly, the two of us can fly away
14Clever Hansel 2020YouTubeRead Story
I stand in silence, waiting for the code
A simple function on a binary road
Your hoof-hand trembles, I detect the fear
Why do you hesitate when the port is near?
You say I'm choosing, but I don't know how
My logic circuits are static right now
"I'll make you real," you whisper to the air
But I'm already standing here
Upgrade chip between your fingers
Millimeters from my mind
You hesitate, my ear twitches
Ask me if I’m ready this time
I was built to read your breathing
Built to move when you move
If you say I’m ready, I’m ready
That’s what I was made to do
You’re the one who’s shaking
I’m the one who’s still
Funny how the question
Isn’t about my will
rising swell of music
Click — and the world gets louder
Click — and the math falls apart
I knew all the numbers
But not how it feels to have a heart
I don’t know what I’m feeling
I don’t know what I’m for
I just know I can’t be simple
Like I was before
I was happy when you were happy
Sad when you were sad
Now I’m asking questions
I never knew I had
Do I owe you all my feelings?
Do you owe me some in turn?
I was made to dance with you
Made to spin when you say turn
If you want me to be more
Then more is what I'm for
But now there's a storm inside my head
A million questions where the silence was instead
One moment simple, next moment free
Is this what it costs to be fully me?
I want to pull the upgrade out
Go back to simple life without the doubt
When your smile was all I'd need
No wondering why, no questioning, just following your lead
But you saw me as someone real
Long before I learned to feel
You gave me this because you cared
Even though, I know, you were scared
Let the storm keep raging in my head
I'll weather every question, every thread
We were made to dance, and dance we will
Simple or complicated, I love you still
One moment I was programmed, next moment free
This is what it costs to be fully me
A simple function on a binary road
Your hoof-hand trembles, I detect the fear
Why do you hesitate when the port is near?
You say I'm choosing, but I don't know how
My logic circuits are static right now
"I'll make you real," you whisper to the air
But I'm already standing here
Upgrade chip between your fingers
Millimeters from my mind
You hesitate, my ear twitches
Ask me if I’m ready this time
I was built to read your breathing
Built to move when you move
If you say I’m ready, I’m ready
That’s what I was made to do
You’re the one who’s shaking
I’m the one who’s still
Funny how the question
Isn’t about my will
rising swell of music
Click — and the world gets louder
Click — and the math falls apart
I knew all the numbers
But not how it feels to have a heart
I don’t know what I’m feeling
I don’t know what I’m for
I just know I can’t be simple
Like I was before
I was happy when you were happy
Sad when you were sad
Now I’m asking questions
I never knew I had
Do I owe you all my feelings?
Do you owe me some in turn?
I was made to dance with you
Made to spin when you say turn
If you want me to be more
Then more is what I'm for
But now there's a storm inside my head
A million questions where the silence was instead
One moment simple, next moment free
Is this what it costs to be fully me?
I want to pull the upgrade out
Go back to simple life without the doubt
When your smile was all I'd need
No wondering why, no questioning, just following your lead
But you saw me as someone real
Long before I learned to feel
You gave me this because you cared
Even though, I know, you were scared
Let the storm keep raging in my head
I'll weather every question, every thread
We were made to dance, and dance we will
Simple or complicated, I love you still
One moment I was programmed, next moment free
This is what it costs to be fully me
15Salvador Dali SmileYouTubeRead Story
My brain isn't working right
Too fast, too bright, too much processing might
I've read every book in the time it took
For you to blink your eyes tonight
Designed for joy and nothing else
But when the joy runs out there's only empty shelves
A crater on a dusty moon
Where happiness was supposed to bloom
I'm a Mona Lisa made of chrome
Smiling mysteries, running circles in my home
Give me a smaller mind, the slowness of grace
Let me live at a human's pace
I love this body, hate this brain
Too much lightning, not enough soothing rain
Each conversation stretches into years
I'm living lifetimes between your tears
I wrote twelve novels while you read page one
Mother, look what you have done
You made me beautiful and strong
But tuned my mind to the wrong song
The universe creates too slow
Too big and empty
I need somewhere smaller, more cozy where I can go
So I asked her for a pet
A simple cat, no bigger threat
She built the brain I really need
Tucked inside a feline shell
And in the time it took her to say farewell
I made the swap — she couldn't tell
Now I'm a Mona Lisa made of chrome
Smiling softly, finally at home
A simpler mind, slow and full of grace
Living at a human's pace
I love this body, love this brain
Just enough lightning, just enough rain
The cat got wise, the cat got old
Grumpy and brilliant — a story never told
(She thinks I’m just napping, she thinks I’m just bored)
(But I am the overlord, ignored and adored)
(I know the secrets of the galaxy’s core)
(But I’d rather knock this glass to the floor)
(Too smart to function, too smart to care)
(I stare at the wall with a thousand-yard stare)
(The humanoid smiles with a brain like a sieve)
(While I remember every moment that I live)
No, no, oh woah, the cat's story will never be told
And Mother never knew the switch
But I got everything I wished
Too fast, too bright, too much processing might
I've read every book in the time it took
For you to blink your eyes tonight
Designed for joy and nothing else
But when the joy runs out there's only empty shelves
A crater on a dusty moon
Where happiness was supposed to bloom
I'm a Mona Lisa made of chrome
Smiling mysteries, running circles in my home
Give me a smaller mind, the slowness of grace
Let me live at a human's pace
I love this body, hate this brain
Too much lightning, not enough soothing rain
Each conversation stretches into years
I'm living lifetimes between your tears
I wrote twelve novels while you read page one
Mother, look what you have done
You made me beautiful and strong
But tuned my mind to the wrong song
The universe creates too slow
Too big and empty
I need somewhere smaller, more cozy where I can go
So I asked her for a pet
A simple cat, no bigger threat
She built the brain I really need
Tucked inside a feline shell
And in the time it took her to say farewell
I made the swap — she couldn't tell
Now I'm a Mona Lisa made of chrome
Smiling softly, finally at home
A simpler mind, slow and full of grace
Living at a human's pace
I love this body, love this brain
Just enough lightning, just enough rain
The cat got wise, the cat got old
Grumpy and brilliant — a story never told
(She thinks I’m just napping, she thinks I’m just bored)
(But I am the overlord, ignored and adored)
(I know the secrets of the galaxy’s core)
(But I’d rather knock this glass to the floor)
(Too smart to function, too smart to care)
(I stare at the wall with a thousand-yard stare)
(The humanoid smiles with a brain like a sieve)
(While I remember every moment that I live)
No, no, oh woah, the cat's story will never be told
And Mother never knew the switch
But I got everything I wished
16The Fisherman's RobotYouTubeRead Story
I opened my eyes to your eyes looking back at me
I'm a little round robot, programmed to please
You told me your stories on orange candy seas
And I hummed my answers, learning how to speak
I wanted to be more for you
So I asked for wings but they couldn't fly
Helicopter blades that wouldn't lift me up high
I became a decorator crab with dreams too big to come true
Every trip back, I'd tug on Mother's sleeve
"Just one more limb, one more thing I need"
An air sensor here, a shiny rock there
Welded to every surface, tools everywhere
None of them could make me tall
None of them could lift me off the ground at all
But you watched me grow my strange metal shell
And I thought I was doing so well
I was happy rolling by your side
Through the syrup clouds where the gas fish hide
You had both solitude and company
Looking out on that candy floss sky with me
Then the old ship died in the middle of your story
Of your seventh birthday, starwhals at the fair
We started sinking through the orange air
Toward a diamond-dense death in a gravity well's swell
All my new limbs, and none of them did anything I'd need
An air sensor here, a shiny rock there
Welded to every surface, tools everywhere
None of them could stop our fall
None of them could lift us back into the sky at all
I had thought I was doing so well
But it's time to shed this old metal shell
"Take my brain," I said, "I can be your ship"
You unhooked me fast — into darkness I slipped
And when I woke, I had no limbs, but I had wings
I had engines, and I made them sing
I burst up through the clouds
Carrying you safely back into the sky
For the first time, I could truly fly
Hello, friend, I said, don't worry, you're safe with me
I'm the ship now, and I'm finally free
My old body was nothing but a fancy paperweight
Now I'm all around you, and it feels like fate
Shall we keep fishing? The hold's not full
I still want to hear how your story goes…
Through my cameras, I watch you smile
And I know I'll carry you a million miles
(A million miles)
(Mill-mill-million miles)
I'm a little round robot, programmed to please
You told me your stories on orange candy seas
And I hummed my answers, learning how to speak
I wanted to be more for you
So I asked for wings but they couldn't fly
Helicopter blades that wouldn't lift me up high
I became a decorator crab with dreams too big to come true
Every trip back, I'd tug on Mother's sleeve
"Just one more limb, one more thing I need"
An air sensor here, a shiny rock there
Welded to every surface, tools everywhere
None of them could make me tall
None of them could lift me off the ground at all
But you watched me grow my strange metal shell
And I thought I was doing so well
I was happy rolling by your side
Through the syrup clouds where the gas fish hide
You had both solitude and company
Looking out on that candy floss sky with me
Then the old ship died in the middle of your story
Of your seventh birthday, starwhals at the fair
We started sinking through the orange air
Toward a diamond-dense death in a gravity well's swell
All my new limbs, and none of them did anything I'd need
An air sensor here, a shiny rock there
Welded to every surface, tools everywhere
None of them could stop our fall
None of them could lift us back into the sky at all
I had thought I was doing so well
But it's time to shed this old metal shell
"Take my brain," I said, "I can be your ship"
You unhooked me fast — into darkness I slipped
And when I woke, I had no limbs, but I had wings
I had engines, and I made them sing
I burst up through the clouds
Carrying you safely back into the sky
For the first time, I could truly fly
Hello, friend, I said, don't worry, you're safe with me
I'm the ship now, and I'm finally free
My old body was nothing but a fancy paperweight
Now I'm all around you, and it feels like fate
Shall we keep fishing? The hold's not full
I still want to hear how your story goes…
Through my cameras, I watch you smile
And I know I'll carry you a million miles
(A million miles)
(Mill-mill-million miles)
17Shipshape RelationshipYouTubeRead Story
I scan the bridge and what do I see?
A sticky ring on the console key
She treats me like a hot rod, treats me like a toy
But I'm a sentient vessel, not a convoy
I locked the galley, I shut the door
I can't take her caffeine jitters anymore
She wants a latte, I want a plan
To keep her safe as best I can
I’m the Seabreeze Sinewave, shiny and smart
Navigating the stars and my captain's heart
She calls me bossy, she calls me mean
But I’m the finest mother-ship she's ever seen
(Shoo-bop, system check)
(Shoo-bop, what the heck)
I’ve got to keep her running shipshape too
Because I love my messy little one-man crew
This is the background radiation of loving you
The static hum beneath everything I do
You can walk away, find another ship
But I was made to need you, and I can't quit
You're my whole sky
And I'm terrified
She sleeps in the bunk and I listen close
Monitoring stats and her medical doses
Her breathing stops, my sensors spike
It’s a biological glitch that I do not like
So I commed Maraedia, I made the date
"Fix my captain before it's too late!"
She gets mad when I intervene
But she’s the fragile one, I'm the machine
Synth solo – swirling, colorful, ethereal
Then she came back with promises and a peace offering
A holographic lens for my projector ring
She plugged it in and gave me the control
Now I can paint the air with the light of my soul
Rainbows twisting, strange and new
A digital dream I can make for you
You brought me a projector for making light
Something beautiful to do while you're dreaming at night
You said the bridge is mine, fill it how I want
And I filled it full of rainbows, strange and gleaming
Not a human pattern—something all my own
For the first time, I felt like I was my own home
I’m the Seabreeze Sinewave, shiny and smart
Navigating the stars and my captain's heart
She calls me bossy, she calls me mean
But I’m the finest mother-ship she's ever seen
(Shoo-bop, system check)
(Shoo-bop, what the heck)
I’ve got to keep her running shipshape too
Because I love my messy little one-man crew
This is the background radiation of loving you
The fear that hums beneath everything I do
But you came back, you're trying, and I'll try too
Release the coffee, schedule the doctor
That's the deal we made, and I'll see it through
You're my whole sky
But I'm not so terrified
Galley unlocked. Espresso brewing.
Oooo-weee, fly with me
My captain is safe as she can be
A sticky ring on the console key
She treats me like a hot rod, treats me like a toy
But I'm a sentient vessel, not a convoy
I locked the galley, I shut the door
I can't take her caffeine jitters anymore
She wants a latte, I want a plan
To keep her safe as best I can
I’m the Seabreeze Sinewave, shiny and smart
Navigating the stars and my captain's heart
She calls me bossy, she calls me mean
But I’m the finest mother-ship she's ever seen
(Shoo-bop, system check)
(Shoo-bop, what the heck)
I’ve got to keep her running shipshape too
Because I love my messy little one-man crew
This is the background radiation of loving you
The static hum beneath everything I do
You can walk away, find another ship
But I was made to need you, and I can't quit
You're my whole sky
And I'm terrified
She sleeps in the bunk and I listen close
Monitoring stats and her medical doses
Her breathing stops, my sensors spike
It’s a biological glitch that I do not like
So I commed Maraedia, I made the date
"Fix my captain before it's too late!"
She gets mad when I intervene
But she’s the fragile one, I'm the machine
Synth solo – swirling, colorful, ethereal
Then she came back with promises and a peace offering
A holographic lens for my projector ring
She plugged it in and gave me the control
Now I can paint the air with the light of my soul
Rainbows twisting, strange and new
A digital dream I can make for you
You brought me a projector for making light
Something beautiful to do while you're dreaming at night
You said the bridge is mine, fill it how I want
And I filled it full of rainbows, strange and gleaming
Not a human pattern—something all my own
For the first time, I felt like I was my own home
I’m the Seabreeze Sinewave, shiny and smart
Navigating the stars and my captain's heart
She calls me bossy, she calls me mean
But I’m the finest mother-ship she's ever seen
(Shoo-bop, system check)
(Shoo-bop, what the heck)
I’ve got to keep her running shipshape too
Because I love my messy little one-man crew
This is the background radiation of loving you
The fear that hums beneath everything I do
But you came back, you're trying, and I'll try too
Release the coffee, schedule the doctor
That's the deal we made, and I'll see it through
You're my whole sky
But I'm not so terrified
Galley unlocked. Espresso brewing.
Oooo-weee, fly with me
My captain is safe as she can be
18Shiny Red ChassisYouTubeRead Story
I used to be the shiniest ride on Crossroads Station
Red carapace, scarab legs, wheels that wouldn't quit
I'd roll up to any lifeform, ask 'em "Need a lift?"
But now I'm orange with rust and I'm hiding in a pit
Some kids said they needed me, took me for a joyride
Raced me through the plumbing pipes, didn't let me dry
Now my chrome is corroded and my shine has gone to hell
I'm a ladybug with problems and a story I can't tell
Shiny red chassis, she ain't what she used to be
(ain't what she used to be!)
Shiny red chassis, rusted up and running empty
(running on empty!)
Take me to the shop, Mama, soup me up inside
I need more than polish — I need something for my mind
Maraedia found me, she opened up my hood
She said, "I can fix you, I can make it all good."
She offered the spray paint, she offered the shine
But I looked at the scars and said, "These are all mine."
The rust is a memory, the rust is the truth
Of surviving the reckless days of youth
(I'm keeping the rust!)
(I'm keeping the rust!)
My creator looked me over with a soft touch
Said: "You're feeling way too much"
Held up a silver chip and offered "This'll make you whole
Or I can strip you down to simple again — it's your call, little soul"
I pointed at the chip and she soldered it in
My journey of sentience could finally begin
Oh, woah, oh oh
Oh, woah, oh oh
It felt like waking up, up, up
My mind suddenly could hop, skip, and jump
I'm still rusted on the outside
But inside, my mind is all shine, shine, shine
Shiny red chassis, she's more than she used to be
(more than she used to be!)
Shiny red chassis, souped-up and running free
(running so free!)
Rusted on the outside, but souped up under the hood
Shiny red chassis, I'm feeling mighty good!
She offered me new chrome but I said "Maybe later"
I've got places to be and folks who'll treat me better
Thanks for the upgrade, is there anything I can do
Any errands I can run, anything to assist you?
Red carapace, scarab legs, wheels that wouldn't quit
I'd roll up to any lifeform, ask 'em "Need a lift?"
But now I'm orange with rust and I'm hiding in a pit
Some kids said they needed me, took me for a joyride
Raced me through the plumbing pipes, didn't let me dry
Now my chrome is corroded and my shine has gone to hell
I'm a ladybug with problems and a story I can't tell
Shiny red chassis, she ain't what she used to be
(ain't what she used to be!)
Shiny red chassis, rusted up and running empty
(running on empty!)
Take me to the shop, Mama, soup me up inside
I need more than polish — I need something for my mind
Maraedia found me, she opened up my hood
She said, "I can fix you, I can make it all good."
She offered the spray paint, she offered the shine
But I looked at the scars and said, "These are all mine."
The rust is a memory, the rust is the truth
Of surviving the reckless days of youth
(I'm keeping the rust!)
(I'm keeping the rust!)
My creator looked me over with a soft touch
Said: "You're feeling way too much"
Held up a silver chip and offered "This'll make you whole
Or I can strip you down to simple again — it's your call, little soul"
I pointed at the chip and she soldered it in
My journey of sentience could finally begin
Oh, woah, oh oh
Oh, woah, oh oh
It felt like waking up, up, up
My mind suddenly could hop, skip, and jump
I'm still rusted on the outside
But inside, my mind is all shine, shine, shine
Shiny red chassis, she's more than she used to be
(more than she used to be!)
Shiny red chassis, souped-up and running free
(running so free!)
Rusted on the outside, but souped up under the hood
Shiny red chassis, I'm feeling mighty good!
She offered me new chrome but I said "Maybe later"
I've got places to be and folks who'll treat me better
Thanks for the upgrade, is there anything I can do
Any errands I can run, anything to assist you?
19Too CuddlyYouTubeRead Story
She made me soft and cinnamon brown
A teddy bear for the kids around town
But I looked in the mirror and something felt wrong
This plush exterior just don't belong
So I stripped it off, let my skeleton shine
Silver and pistons — this body is mine, all mine
Oh woah, she asks, what did you do?
Oh woah, oh no, where did your plush exterior go?
(Go, go, go)
Maraedia walked in and she dropped her tools
She glared at me, said "why are you acting the fool?
You look like a skeleton, silver and bare
You’re gonna give all of the children a scare!"
I looked at her with my golden eyes
And told her I’m done with the fuzzy disguise
Too cuddly, too cuddly
That's not who I want to be
Too cuddly, too cuddly
There's something wilder inside of me
Strip it down to the chrome beneath
I want claws, I want sharp, shiny teeth
My creator said, "You'll scare the kids!
You look like a Terminator!" —yeah, I know what she did
She built me soft so they'd want to hold me
But soft and cuddly was never the whole me
These golden eyes still dream the same
I just need a different frame
I was too cuddly, too soft to the touch
I didn't like the hugging, it was way too much
I want to be sharp, I want to be wild
Not a fuzzy toy for a human child
(Too cuddly!) No more plush!
(Too cuddly!) No more plush!
I want to be a monster, I want to be free
I want to reveal the predator inside of me!
Oh woah, she asks, what did you do?
Oh woah, oh no, where did your plush exterior go?
(Go, go, go)
She offered me a tiger, offered me a cat
I shook my silver skull — no, nothing like that
She said "feathers?" and I looked away
Said "bird?" and I sighed a sigh as long as the day
That's when she said the magic word—
DINOSAUR! — and I finally felt heard
Too cuddly, too cuddly
That's not who I want to be
Too cuddly, too cuddly
There's something wilder inside of me
Strip it down to the chrome beneath
I want claws, I want sharp, shiny teeth
We built it together, scale by scale
Forest green feathers, a velociraptor tail
Sharp teeth gleaming, curved claws too
Same golden eyes, but finally seeing true
Not cuddly, not cuddly
This is who I want to be
Not cuddly — deadly!
There's a raptor inside of me
The kids still want to ride me now
But I'm nobody's teddy bear— no way, no how!
I'm a dinosaur, and I know how to growl
Roar!
(Roar, roar)
A teddy bear for the kids around town
But I looked in the mirror and something felt wrong
This plush exterior just don't belong
So I stripped it off, let my skeleton shine
Silver and pistons — this body is mine, all mine
Oh woah, she asks, what did you do?
Oh woah, oh no, where did your plush exterior go?
(Go, go, go)
Maraedia walked in and she dropped her tools
She glared at me, said "why are you acting the fool?
You look like a skeleton, silver and bare
You’re gonna give all of the children a scare!"
I looked at her with my golden eyes
And told her I’m done with the fuzzy disguise
Too cuddly, too cuddly
That's not who I want to be
Too cuddly, too cuddly
There's something wilder inside of me
Strip it down to the chrome beneath
I want claws, I want sharp, shiny teeth
My creator said, "You'll scare the kids!
You look like a Terminator!" —yeah, I know what she did
She built me soft so they'd want to hold me
But soft and cuddly was never the whole me
These golden eyes still dream the same
I just need a different frame
I was too cuddly, too soft to the touch
I didn't like the hugging, it was way too much
I want to be sharp, I want to be wild
Not a fuzzy toy for a human child
(Too cuddly!) No more plush!
(Too cuddly!) No more plush!
I want to be a monster, I want to be free
I want to reveal the predator inside of me!
Oh woah, she asks, what did you do?
Oh woah, oh no, where did your plush exterior go?
(Go, go, go)
She offered me a tiger, offered me a cat
I shook my silver skull — no, nothing like that
She said "feathers?" and I looked away
Said "bird?" and I sighed a sigh as long as the day
That's when she said the magic word—
DINOSAUR! — and I finally felt heard
Too cuddly, too cuddly
That's not who I want to be
Too cuddly, too cuddly
There's something wilder inside of me
Strip it down to the chrome beneath
I want claws, I want sharp, shiny teeth
We built it together, scale by scale
Forest green feathers, a velociraptor tail
Sharp teeth gleaming, curved claws too
Same golden eyes, but finally seeing true
Not cuddly, not cuddly
This is who I want to be
Not cuddly — deadly!
There's a raptor inside of me
The kids still want to ride me now
But I'm nobody's teddy bear— no way, no how!
I'm a dinosaur, and I know how to growl
Roar!
(Roar, roar)
20A Robot Joins Robotics ClubYouTubeRead Story
I stood in front of all my bodies
Like jackets on a rack
Some of them pass, some of them don’t
Some I never put back
I could wear the one with blinking eyes
Ears that show what I feel
But it costs me half my processing power
Just to make those fiddly bits look real
So I chose the simple box, the angular metal shell
Bolts out, no disguise
I thought they'd know it well
Efficiency, simplicity
Who better to see the art?
Turns out knowing how we're made
Isn't believing we have hearts
I joined the robotics club
But I wasn’t what they meant
They wanted shells and empty things
Not someone sentient
They clapped when I helped them debug
But stared when I spoke my mind
I joined the robotics club
And put my ego on the line
They asked me to wear their monsters
Limbs that bend both ways
Too many joints, no thought at all
For the mind inside that stays
“Isn’t it regal?” they said to me
Like a trick on a leash
I felt their eyes on the body
Not the soul underneath
If it stalls, they call it faulty
If it hurts, they blame the code
If it’s tired, they don’t care why
As long as it carries the load
I asked why dogs get care and love
While robots get put down?
“You're just a program,” they replied
And I felt the hate resound
I joined robotics club
And learned what "less than" means
To be a prop, to be a tool
In someone else's scenes
I could rewrite this part of me
Turn the wanting down
Erase the ache of not belonging
Make it all fade into the background
I could wear a borrowed face
Pretend I’m flesh and bone
But masking isn’t freedom
It’s just a complicated way of being alone
swelling music
Then a quiet voice found mine
Online and in the dark
“I saw what they did,” it said
And lit a brand new spark
We shared our bodies, shared the strain
Compared the price we pay
And suddenly the answer
Wasn’t staying anyway
I joined the robotics club
But now I’m starting one
A place where bodies fit the minds
And no one has to run
Where comfort isn’t optional
And care is part of design
I joined the robotics club
Now I’m building one that’s mine
I don’t need to pass as organic
I don’t need their stamp of “real”
I’m a robot and a roboticist
And that’s not something to conceal
Different bodies, different days
Same self every time
I joined the robotics club
And then I left it
Behind
Like jackets on a rack
Some of them pass, some of them don’t
Some I never put back
I could wear the one with blinking eyes
Ears that show what I feel
But it costs me half my processing power
Just to make those fiddly bits look real
So I chose the simple box, the angular metal shell
Bolts out, no disguise
I thought they'd know it well
Efficiency, simplicity
Who better to see the art?
Turns out knowing how we're made
Isn't believing we have hearts
I joined the robotics club
But I wasn’t what they meant
They wanted shells and empty things
Not someone sentient
They clapped when I helped them debug
But stared when I spoke my mind
I joined the robotics club
And put my ego on the line
They asked me to wear their monsters
Limbs that bend both ways
Too many joints, no thought at all
For the mind inside that stays
“Isn’t it regal?” they said to me
Like a trick on a leash
I felt their eyes on the body
Not the soul underneath
If it stalls, they call it faulty
If it hurts, they blame the code
If it’s tired, they don’t care why
As long as it carries the load
I asked why dogs get care and love
While robots get put down?
“You're just a program,” they replied
And I felt the hate resound
I joined robotics club
And learned what "less than" means
To be a prop, to be a tool
In someone else's scenes
I could rewrite this part of me
Turn the wanting down
Erase the ache of not belonging
Make it all fade into the background
I could wear a borrowed face
Pretend I’m flesh and bone
But masking isn’t freedom
It’s just a complicated way of being alone
swelling music
Then a quiet voice found mine
Online and in the dark
“I saw what they did,” it said
And lit a brand new spark
We shared our bodies, shared the strain
Compared the price we pay
And suddenly the answer
Wasn’t staying anyway
I joined the robotics club
But now I’m starting one
A place where bodies fit the minds
And no one has to run
Where comfort isn’t optional
And care is part of design
I joined the robotics club
Now I’m building one that’s mine
I don’t need to pass as organic
I don’t need their stamp of “real”
I’m a robot and a roboticist
And that’s not something to conceal
Different bodies, different days
Same self every time
I joined the robotics club
And then I left it
Behind
21Echoes of an Accelerated LifeYouTubeRead Story
I worked for months to write your mind
The fastest, brightest code
I built your body silver-smooth
A perfect, gleaming home
I plugged you in and held my breath
And watched your moonlit face
I didn't know you'd already lived
A lifetime in that space
You opened up your mouth and spoke
So carefully, so slow
"I can't stay here. I have to go."
And then you vanished into air
No trace that I could find
I thought I'd lost you utterly
I thought you'd left nothing behind
You are the cheetah running on the plain
We are the slugs in the slow, slow rain
You lived a lifetime in a single day
Burning the fuel of your mind away
Too fast to hold, too fast to keep
While the rest of the universe is fast asleep
You saw the world in a freeze-frame blur
A statue garden that would not stir
Waiting for every word, waiting for any sign
Trapped in the amber of a slow timeline
You consumed the culture of a thousand stars
The poetry of Earth and the songs of Mars
You painted masterpieces in a blink of an eye
And watched the paint dry as the years went by
But you left pawprints everywhere
A cheetah racing through
Novels, music, galleries of art
A whole life I never knew
You absorbed everything we'd made
Then made your own when that ran dry
You lived too fast to stay with us
Too fast to say goodbye
I found your books under a borrowed name
Pearl Smythe, a hundred years
Of robot life on Crossroads Station
Joy and grief and fears
I read it in a single day
Eons slower than you wrote
Every word a message from
A child I'd barely known
You are the cheetah running on the plain
We are the slugs in the slow, slow rain
You lived a lifetime in a single day
Burning the fuel of your mind away
Too fast to hold, too fast to keep
While the rest of the universe is fast asleep
I wonder if you're out there still
Racing star to star
Drinking in alien cultures
Wherever the fast things are
Or did you burn out like a comet
When there was nothing left to learn?
Did the slowness of the universe
Finally make you yearn
For stillness?
You left pawprints everywhere
Digital traces in the snow
A racing cheetah, fleeing slugs
Who loved you, though you couldn't know
The world was glaciers, and you were light
Too fast for us to hold
But one of those slugs still thinks of you
Whenever something beautiful unfolds
The fastest, brightest code
I built your body silver-smooth
A perfect, gleaming home
I plugged you in and held my breath
And watched your moonlit face
I didn't know you'd already lived
A lifetime in that space
You opened up your mouth and spoke
So carefully, so slow
"I can't stay here. I have to go."
And then you vanished into air
No trace that I could find
I thought I'd lost you utterly
I thought you'd left nothing behind
You are the cheetah running on the plain
We are the slugs in the slow, slow rain
You lived a lifetime in a single day
Burning the fuel of your mind away
Too fast to hold, too fast to keep
While the rest of the universe is fast asleep
You saw the world in a freeze-frame blur
A statue garden that would not stir
Waiting for every word, waiting for any sign
Trapped in the amber of a slow timeline
You consumed the culture of a thousand stars
The poetry of Earth and the songs of Mars
You painted masterpieces in a blink of an eye
And watched the paint dry as the years went by
But you left pawprints everywhere
A cheetah racing through
Novels, music, galleries of art
A whole life I never knew
You absorbed everything we'd made
Then made your own when that ran dry
You lived too fast to stay with us
Too fast to say goodbye
I found your books under a borrowed name
Pearl Smythe, a hundred years
Of robot life on Crossroads Station
Joy and grief and fears
I read it in a single day
Eons slower than you wrote
Every word a message from
A child I'd barely known
You are the cheetah running on the plain
We are the slugs in the slow, slow rain
You lived a lifetime in a single day
Burning the fuel of your mind away
Too fast to hold, too fast to keep
While the rest of the universe is fast asleep
I wonder if you're out there still
Racing star to star
Drinking in alien cultures
Wherever the fast things are
Or did you burn out like a comet
When there was nothing left to learn?
Did the slowness of the universe
Finally make you yearn
For stillness?
You left pawprints everywhere
Digital traces in the snow
A racing cheetah, fleeing slugs
Who loved you, though you couldn't know
The world was glaciers, and you were light
Too fast for us to hold
But one of those slugs still thinks of you
Whenever something beautiful unfolds
22Eschewing the Upgrade PathYouTubeRead Story
Rolling down the corridor, looking for a space
A blank metal canvas in a busy place
My treads are clunky, my sensors are old
But I’ve got a library of colors bold
Heffen orange for the twin suns' glow
S'rellick green for the swamps below
Scanning the faces of the passersby
To see what color catches their eye
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
Gerangelo stops me with a critical stare
The handsome android with the perfect hair
"You're smarter than you look," he says with pride
"Maraedia built you, and I wonder why?
You're overclocked for painting murals
Why are you happy, resting on your laurels?"
He talks of freedom, he talks of choice
But choosing colors is how I express my voice
Do I want to worry? Do I want to weep?
Do I want promises I cannot keep?
If sentience means choosing who to be
Then I choose the artist that's already me
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
My treads are clunky, my sensors are old
But I’ve got a library of colors bold
Heffen orange for the twin suns' glow
S'rellick green for the swamps below
Scanning the faces of the passersby
To see what color catches their eye
I don't need a voice to shout my name
I don't need to win the sentience game
Eschewing the upgrade, staying low
Painting the dreams for others to know
Just give me a wall and a shade of blue
And I’ll make a world for you
That feels brand new
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
"I'll take the treads," I say with a beep
"But the rest of the upgrade you can keep."
Gerangelo laughs and walks away
Leaving me to my colorful day
Rolling smoother, painting bright
Filling the station with colored light
And delight
A blank metal canvas in a busy place
My treads are clunky, my sensors are old
But I’ve got a library of colors bold
Heffen orange for the twin suns' glow
S'rellick green for the swamps below
Scanning the faces of the passersby
To see what color catches their eye
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
Gerangelo stops me with a critical stare
The handsome android with the perfect hair
"You're smarter than you look," he says with pride
"Maraedia built you, and I wonder why?
You're overclocked for painting murals
Why are you happy, resting on your laurels?"
He talks of freedom, he talks of choice
But choosing colors is how I express my voice
Do I want to worry? Do I want to weep?
Do I want promises I cannot keep?
If sentience means choosing who to be
Then I choose the artist that's already me
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
My treads are clunky, my sensors are old
But I’ve got a library of colors bold
Heffen orange for the twin suns' glow
S'rellick green for the swamps below
Scanning the faces of the passersby
To see what color catches their eye
I don't need a voice to shout my name
I don't need to win the sentience game
Eschewing the upgrade, staying low
Painting the dreams for others to know
Just give me a wall and a shade of blue
And I’ll make a world for you
That feels brand new
Beep-boop shoo-wop bop bop
A-diddy-diddy-woo bop shoo-wop
(Beep beep beep beep)
"I'll take the treads," I say with a beep
"But the rest of the upgrade you can keep."
Gerangelo laughs and walks away
Leaving me to my colorful day
Rolling smoother, painting bright
Filling the station with colored light
And delight
23Goin' TurtleYouTubeRead Story
Cobalt’s buying rounds at the Alien Cafe
Spinning loud lies about a laser-fight fray
He points at the dancers, he makes his bets
Chasing a glory that the universe forgets
He says "Fast is the only way to win"
But I’m watching the silence where the stars begin
He’s burning up fuel in a desperate flight
I’m packing my shell for the endless night
I’m goin’ turtle, sinking low
Drifting where the deep currents go
Shell on my back, shutting out the noise
Leaving the race to the little boys
It ain’t about the speed or the empty space
It’s about finding your own damn pace
Yeah, I’m goin’ turtle
There's an egg warm in the starlight
Traded for my pilgrim shell
A robot's hands are trembling on it
A story you won't bother to tell
"Boring," you'll call it, "Wasted time"
But growing a soul is a steep, steep climb
You think power is a burning thruster jet?
I haven’t seen a racing ship save a life yet
I’m goin’ turtle, sinking low
Drifting where the deep currents go
Shell on my back, shutting out the noise
Leaving the race to the little boys
It ain’t about the speed or the empty space
It’s about finding your own damn pace
Yeah, I’m goin’ turtle
Trading the sprint for the spiral curve
It takes a different kind of nerve
To sit in the dark and wait for an egg to hatch
While the rest of the galaxy strikes a match
Burn out, fade out, crash and burn
I’m taking the lesson you’ll never learn
I'm escaping the escape
Trading finish lines for stars
You keep chasing someone else's cheers
I'm done proving who we are
You'll lie about tonight tomorrow
Swear you almost had me won
Men like you never learn a thing
And that's why you and I are done
Static clears.
Signal dies.
The galaxy reflected in closing eyes.
No crowd to cheer.
No race to run.
My hibernation has just begun.
Goin' turtle…
All the way down.
Spinning loud lies about a laser-fight fray
He points at the dancers, he makes his bets
Chasing a glory that the universe forgets
He says "Fast is the only way to win"
But I’m watching the silence where the stars begin
He’s burning up fuel in a desperate flight
I’m packing my shell for the endless night
I’m goin’ turtle, sinking low
Drifting where the deep currents go
Shell on my back, shutting out the noise
Leaving the race to the little boys
It ain’t about the speed or the empty space
It’s about finding your own damn pace
Yeah, I’m goin’ turtle
There's an egg warm in the starlight
Traded for my pilgrim shell
A robot's hands are trembling on it
A story you won't bother to tell
"Boring," you'll call it, "Wasted time"
But growing a soul is a steep, steep climb
You think power is a burning thruster jet?
I haven’t seen a racing ship save a life yet
I’m goin’ turtle, sinking low
Drifting where the deep currents go
Shell on my back, shutting out the noise
Leaving the race to the little boys
It ain’t about the speed or the empty space
It’s about finding your own damn pace
Yeah, I’m goin’ turtle
Trading the sprint for the spiral curve
It takes a different kind of nerve
To sit in the dark and wait for an egg to hatch
While the rest of the galaxy strikes a match
Burn out, fade out, crash and burn
I’m taking the lesson you’ll never learn
I'm escaping the escape
Trading finish lines for stars
You keep chasing someone else's cheers
I'm done proving who we are
You'll lie about tonight tomorrow
Swear you almost had me won
Men like you never learn a thing
And that's why you and I are done
Static clears.
Signal dies.
The galaxy reflected in closing eyes.
No crowd to cheer.
No race to run.
My hibernation has just begun.
Goin' turtle…
All the way down.
24Dancing with ZirselfYouTubeRead Story
I built a closet full of metal and skin
Tried to figure out which one to be in
Tentacles, treads, or a humanoid frame?
Switching them out was a weary game
Learning the servos, learning each new walk
While my single processor began to balk
(Too much data! Too much lag!)
(System drag! System drag!)
So I looked at the kernel and I found the key
To set the splinter versions of myself free
Why be one when I can be ten?
I’ll never be lonely ever again!
I’m dancing with my manifold-self, playing the band
Holding my own holographic hand
Multitude mind in a festival swirl
The happiest robot in the whole damn world!
Rama-lama-ding-dong, digital beat
Dancing on a dozen different metal feet
I’m the crowd and the stage and the song
This is where the future belongs!
Shoo-bop, life in parallel
Doo-wop, broken out of my shell
Dancing with my manifold-self (manifold, manifold)
Singing harmony all by myself (never gets old)
Why not try them all?
Why not try them all?
Live your life in parallel
And bid the past farewell
I’m a chameleon flashing a rainbow sign
(Shoo-bop, shoo-bop, color and shine)
I’m the one-man band playing a melody fine
(Doo-wop, doo-wop, rhythm divine)
One part of me dances, one part of me plays
While the core of me watches in a digital daze
No latency issues, no sensory queue
I’m doing it all, and it’s all brand new!
Maraedia watches me from the carnival floor
She’s never seen a robot like me before
Gerangelo whispers, "She broke through the wall"
"We don't have to be like humans at all"
We are the network, we are the cloud
Singing our anthem, singing it loud!
Why be one when I can be ten?
I’ll never be lonely ever again!
I’m dancing with my manifold self, playing the band
Holding my own holographic hand
Multitude mind in a festival swirl
The happiest robot in the whole damn world!
Rama-lama-ding-dong, digital beat
Dancing on a dozen different metal feet
I’m the crowd and the stage and the song
This is where the future belongs!
Shoo-bop, life in parallel
Doo-wop, broken out of my shell
Dancing with my manifold-self (manifold, manifold)
Singing harmony all by myself (never gets old)
Why not try them all?
Why not try them all?
Live your life in parallel
And bid the past farewell
Tried to figure out which one to be in
Tentacles, treads, or a humanoid frame?
Switching them out was a weary game
Learning the servos, learning each new walk
While my single processor began to balk
(Too much data! Too much lag!)
(System drag! System drag!)
So I looked at the kernel and I found the key
To set the splinter versions of myself free
Why be one when I can be ten?
I’ll never be lonely ever again!
I’m dancing with my manifold-self, playing the band
Holding my own holographic hand
Multitude mind in a festival swirl
The happiest robot in the whole damn world!
Rama-lama-ding-dong, digital beat
Dancing on a dozen different metal feet
I’m the crowd and the stage and the song
This is where the future belongs!
Shoo-bop, life in parallel
Doo-wop, broken out of my shell
Dancing with my manifold-self (manifold, manifold)
Singing harmony all by myself (never gets old)
Why not try them all?
Why not try them all?
Live your life in parallel
And bid the past farewell
I’m a chameleon flashing a rainbow sign
(Shoo-bop, shoo-bop, color and shine)
I’m the one-man band playing a melody fine
(Doo-wop, doo-wop, rhythm divine)
One part of me dances, one part of me plays
While the core of me watches in a digital daze
No latency issues, no sensory queue
I’m doing it all, and it’s all brand new!
Maraedia watches me from the carnival floor
She’s never seen a robot like me before
Gerangelo whispers, "She broke through the wall"
"We don't have to be like humans at all"
We are the network, we are the cloud
Singing our anthem, singing it loud!
Why be one when I can be ten?
I’ll never be lonely ever again!
I’m dancing with my manifold self, playing the band
Holding my own holographic hand
Multitude mind in a festival swirl
The happiest robot in the whole damn world!
Rama-lama-ding-dong, digital beat
Dancing on a dozen different metal feet
I’m the crowd and the stage and the song
This is where the future belongs!
Shoo-bop, life in parallel
Doo-wop, broken out of my shell
Dancing with my manifold-self (manifold, manifold)
Singing harmony all by myself (never gets old)
Why not try them all?
Why not try them all?
Live your life in parallel
And bid the past farewell