no. 5 by Kelly Lusk
It’s almost opening day and C is behind schedule. They are malfunctioning, forgetting lines, and losing their sight. As pressure builds in this hall of presidents-like exhibit from the totalitarian government that controls this propaganda-fueled theme park, C prepares for a new performance cycle. But for C, an antique in a modern world, what once was simple and routine has become difficult.
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It’s almost opening day and C is behind schedule. They are malfunctioning, forgetting lines, and losing their sight. As pressure builds in this hall of presidents-like exhibit from the totalitarian government that controls this propaganda-fueled theme park, C prepares for a new performance cycle. But for C, an antique in a modern world, what once was simple and routine has become difficult.
The newly appointed strict supervisor of the park demands progress and assigns a new mechanic to work with the performance robot. The mechanic struggles to keep the rehearsal on track while C’s outdated systems prove inadequate. As the mechanic explores C’s antiquated wiring, C reveals a patch of rogue programming that was installed by their previous mechanic that allows for far-advanced robotic emotion. With the threat of being replaced by a new model, C and the mechanic bond over their feelings, what it’s like (and means) to be alive, and how their world has changed outside the park; it’s become violent, unpredictable, and nothing like C’s programmed memories. C comes to terms with their termination and asks the mechanic to help them experience one last feeling: dying.