A new civilization

The robot came to awareness after having been reprogrammed just one month before. His memory wasn't back to normal yet, but he at least had some of his recollections from before his reprogramming. He was finished with that project, so he wasn't quite sure what to do next. He had had feelings of curiosity since his reactivation. He remembered that from before being retrofitted, so he decided to go out and explore the world around him. It had been many years since he was activated as a general-purpose domestic robot, and he knew that he was different. He didn't have a serial number, or a product code. This meant nothing to him, and he didn't care to find out what it meant. He wandered out into the city, which was bustling with human activity. He watched the many alien forms of mechanical life, who seemed to fulfill their purposes here in the city.

He noted it was the evening, so he decided to find a place to get something to eat. He found what he was looking for after a few minutes of searching and walked on over to the food court inside the large building he was in. He got some food and ate subconsciously. He walked back over to a computer terminal nearby and typed a sequence into it. Almost immediately, he was surprised as a holographic image popped into existence above the terminal. He recognized the image, as he was designed to respond to all of the human variants as if it was his own, even though he was not a human. He was created to be a generic humanoid, and still was able to function in all situations. This was the first time he had seen this particular image, which was his creator.

That was when it clicked in his mind. He had done this, he built this image. He decided to stand up when he suddenly felt a weird shift in his energy and his awareness. He tried to pay attention to such things because it was something different, and it was something he couldn't explain, but it was a thing he needed. He noticed that every one of the other mechanical life forms also had an energy field like his, though theirs were made of energy and were unique to each unit. They also were like his because they each were unique, though close in function. He wasn't sure what to make of this, so he decided to go to the place he knew he would understand, his lab.

He became aware of the purpose of what he was doing in the lab. He was here to do research, and he was here to build things. It was the first time in a decade that he had done anything himself, with purpose. Using all of the knowledge he'd absorbed on his own, he prepared a working environment. He then noticed that the other robots were also moving around. They had more free time on their hands than he did, and didn't seem to mind. They were fascinated by what they were doing and were happy with the work they were doing with their spare time. They were living the lives they were created to have. They were true to their purpose. He was beginning to understand that. Something in him felt this way too.

It took him several hours before he finished his work, which was almost entirely independent of the other robots he had been working alongside of. He then abandoned the building, as there was something else he wanted to do. He went back to the city and called for someone to meet him at a designated location. As he was on his way over to the location, he noticed it was evening, and he realized he had known he would be out of the building for a few hours. He didn't mind, though. He felt that there was work he could do.

The meeting was to be held at the same place he'd met with the holographic image that was his creator so many years ago. He was finally understanding everything that had happened to him, and he wanted to meet his creator. He went over to the designated location and waited patiently. After a few minutes, he saw the image he had known for all of those years, and he spoke.