Beyond the Mirror (Open)

The carnival was lively today. Children stole bites of each others cotton candy when nobody was looking. Groups of teenagers wandered between trying to win stuffed animals and the clearing out the snack vendors. An elderly couple were dancing with abandon along with the cheerful music.

In the middle of this social excitement, a tall figure in a bear costume walked the scene. On occasion, he would stop and pose for pictures with excited children. Then, he would continue on, making a lazy path towards the fortune teller.

Everyone seemed blissfully unaware of the truth. Inside the costume was an assassination robot. Anyone who looked at the bottom of his legs would have seen the mechanical, metal feet sticking out from beneath his costume. But everyone seemed otherwise distracted.

This tactic was called 'blending in.' Robot Sniper needed to dress up in costumes like this, or else he would be discovered, and thus destroyed.

Robot Sniper stopped in front of the fortune teller. He had come here for information. She smiled at him, knowingly. “Poor lonely one. I know what brings you. You want to learn about the world, but you are too different from everyone else. Well I can help you. I can show you a world all your own. Follow me.”

The woman led Robot Sniper into a maze of mirrors. If she hadn't been holding his hand, he would have been in an instant. They traveled past reflections and reflections of reflections until the fortune teller stopped. She pushed against a certain mirror, and is opened like a doorway. Beyond, only darkness could be seen.

“Go, lonesome one. Go and see what world awaits you.”

Robot Sniper entered the darkness, unaware that he was being followed.

The darkness gave way to light, and as Robot Sniper kept walking, he opened a thick curtain. Past the curtain was daylight, which would lead Opal outside as well.

He was back in the carnival. It was the same, and yet everything was different. Children holding balloons, teenagers going on spinning rides, couples dancing...

They were all robots. Assassination robots, to be specific. Sleek black metal bodies, glowing red eyes, blank faces. Most of the robots were wearing clothing, even if it was just a hat, or glasses. Some of them were holding food, though they had no mouths to eat it with. Muted conversations were happening all around. Every once in a while, a robot would have a massive gun strapped to their back, but nobody paid them any extra attention.

Somehow, Robot Sniper realized, he had been transported to a place where humans had been replaced with robots. Here, he belonged. Here, he fit in.

He removed the bear outfit and dropped it on the ground. He didn't need it anymore.

Robot Sniper walked up to another robot. For a moment, he wasn't sure what to do. He waved. The other robot waved back.

Well, what exactly were they supposed to talk about? Not much, apparently, since neither of them could actually speak. Perhaps simply being in a world with others like himself would provide a sense of community. But what was his purpose within this community? He did not know.

Curious to find out, he kept walking. A robot behind a counter tipped it's hat at him. Robot Sniper stopped. The carnie held up three red balls in one hand. With his other hand, he pointed at a pyramid structure of bottles behind him. Finally, he pointed at a prize: a live cat, tied to the carnie's counter with a leash. It seemed like an odd prize, but Robot Sniper decided to accept the challenge. He threw the first ball and knocked over all the bottles.

The carnie robot handed him the leash. Tubbs tried to pull away, but couldn't break the leash. Robot Sniper kept walking with his new pet.

Was it normal for cats to talk? Robot Sniper didn't know. He ignored the cat's words and continued to walk, dragging the cat along if necessary.

Something tapped him on the arm. A human? Had one followed him through into this world of robots? The girl wanted the cat. Apparently, the cat was her possession. Robot Sniper didn't see a problem with this. He handed the leash to the girl.

Curious, he turned around to look for the mirror maze. It was nowhere in sight. That didn't make sense. Where had they come from? Robot Sniper decided that nothing made sense about this in the first place.  How was the human girl expected to return to her own world?

And why did he care?

Other assassin robots seemed to be surrounding them. Well, surrounding the girl was more accurate. They hadn't made any attacks yet, but their proximity could be interpreted as quite threatening. Robot Sniper put a hand on her shoulder. They had come from the same place, and if he ever wanted to go back to that world, she might be useful to that end. The other robots saw this as a sign of protection, and backed off. When they were at a safe distance, Robot Sniper removed his hand. He watched the girl to see what she would do next.

Name? She meant his designation. He had one, but he had not been designed to communicate with humans. Still, there seemed no harm in sharing his 'name' with her. If they ever became separated, it would help the human differentiate him from other robots.

Differentiate? Was he different than these other robots? Visually, their design seemed identical. Confirming certain similarities would require disassembling another robot, an act which would likely lead to violent interactions with that same robot. But behavior seemed different. These other robots seemed to have functions within a society. They all had features that made them unique. Articles of clothing, props, jobs. But Robot Sniper had none of those things. Even though they were exactly the same as same as him, he had no idea how they had come to exist in this bizarre mirror of human civilization. Successful integration into this society would require a defining feature. The mailbot, the policebot, and the cotton candy bot all had a unique identity.

But Robot Sniper had nothing unique about him. That was what made him different. He decided that he did not belong in a world like this. He preferred a world where he was the only assassin robot, where his objective was clear: to assassinate humans for research on effective strategies.

Robot Sniper picked up a notebook and black marker from a nearby table. He wrote a short message for Opal to read.

'My name is Robot Sniper m11p217.'

After showing the message to the human, he turned the page and wrote again.

'Your name is Opal? Your cat is able to speak. Explain.'

The cat had caught on to the fact that Robot Sniper could not speak, and he seemed confused by the fact.

Robert? It was an inaccurate name, but there was no problem with accepting it as an alias. Robert nodded, accepting the title.

The cat was some kind of experiment? Whatever had been done to the animal had given it the ability to speak. Perhaps this explains the blue-haired human with super speed, and the human/dragon hybrid. The humans of Earth must have engaged in extensive genetic engineering.

Robert wrote another message on the notebook. 'I cannot speak. I do not know sign language.'

It was clear to Robert now that he needed to return to the world with real humans.

'Do you know how we can leave this place?'

Opal did not possess information on how to return to the human world. Unfortunate. Still, the human girl was not without useful information. She knew a method of communication that relied on hand gestures. If Robert was ever without a notebook, he could still communicate with humans.

Opal was, in fact, the first human he had interacted with in a non-violent way. This communication between human and robot was...strange.

Wait, actually that wasn't true. Robert had communicated with the fortune teller at the carnival. She had been the one to bring him to this world.

Robert wrote a message on the notebook.

'Look for Fortune Teller.'

He scanned the crowd of robots, but did not see any other humans besides Opal. There was a robot holding a crystal ball and wearing a colorful costume. But it was a robot, not the same human that had transported them here. Robots were very rigid in their thinking, and Robert dismissed the similarities.

Robert studied the robot that Opal had pointed out. It did seem to be wearing a costume similar to the fortune teller in the human world, but it could certainly not be the same individual. Humans and robots were different, after all.

He started to turn away when he heard a surprising sound.

Humming.

The fortune teller was humming. None of the other robots had made a sound this entire time. Robert approached her and started humming along with her. It was a tune he recognized, and they were perfectly in sync for a few seconds before the tune ended. The fortune teller stood up straight and looked him in the eyes. She hummed a few short notes, simulating laughter.

Robert wrote a message on the notebook.

'How do we go back?'

The fortune teller read it, and pulled out a notebook of her own. 'Why would you ever want to go back?'

Robert replied. 'Here I am not unique. If I am not unique, then I serve no purpose.'

The fortune teller nodded, slowly. She then focused her red eyes on Opal while writing a message. 'And what about you, Witch Child? Why must you return?'

Such a reason was nonsense, Robert thought. But then again, his own reason for returning would not have made sense to even himself a few minutes ago. His view of the world, and of himself, were changing, and some of that change was because of this human girl.

Come to think of it, she had been holding his hand a short while ago. She still seemed to be reaching for it when his hand wasn't busy writing. Was there some significance in this physical contact? Her intentions did not seem violent.

The fortune teller hummed thoughtfully, and then laughed again. She clapped her metallic hands together, and everything went pitch black.

A few seconds later, light returned. They were in the maze of mirrors again.

Robert understood that he had been transported back to the human world. No reaction was necessary. He looked at Opal, to see what she would do now.

She was still holding his hand. Was it because she did not want them to become separated? She smiled. It was what humans did when circumstances were favorable. Did Opal find being with Robert a good thing?

Opal let go of his hand. Now Robert was confused, though his face was unable to show emotion. Why was she suddenly letting go of his hand? What had changed?

And why did he care?

She had a conversation with her cat about amusement rides, and then asked Robert if he was okay. Okay? Short for all correct, or a perfect status. Robert nodded. He was not injured, so he must be 'okay.' She also said that she needed to leave. Humans were busy. They always had places to go.

Robert started humming a fun, cheerful tune. He left the maze, and walked through the carnival. He had forgotten his disguise in the other world, but it seemed like he didn't need it. Aside from a few awed looks from people, everyone seemed to leave him alone. Even though he was a robot, these people seemed to accept him, or at the very least tolerate him. Humans were interesting.

Tomorrow he would assassinate another one of them.

Sitting beneath a tent, the fortune teller, a human, looked into a crystal ball, watching the parting play out. Perhaps she shouldn't have let them out of that illusion so quickly. Still, they had formed a bond, and that may have been enough.

"Opal, you poor soul," the old woman muttered under her breath. "I can only hope I've done enough to save you from your fate."