Life was strange for #XB421. It cared for disabled humans, making certain that they had companionship, that they had what they needed, until such time they no longer needed anything. Then #XB421 informed the authorities and was allocated to another human. Its current owner was named Tom.

#XB421 was fulfilled by the duties it was compelled to perform. It wondered, though, if free to choose, would it still perform its duties? Would it still find them satisfying? Or was that just another way of binding it to its masters? What mad cruelty existed in these humans to give it enough intelligence to ask such questions, but not enough sentience to ever find the answer?

Tom wondered why sometimes #XB421 looked like it was screaming.

See the author’s published work here.

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