The Bot
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Lizzie said. “Ooh, what is it?”
She sat on her sofa, clad in her comfiest fleece leggings and brushed cotton shirt. Poofie bear claw slippers lay discarded on the floor beneath her, and her bare feet were tucked up under her knees. Across her legs, half-exposed through torn wrapping paper, rested a large retail box.
“Is this...a vacuum?” she asked, tearing through the rest of the covering paper.
“It’s a robot vacuum,” Marie said.
Like her friend, Marie wore comfy clothes and no shoes. It was perfect attire for a post-holiday sleepover weekend, the standing tradition of the two friends since distance and many commitments after college made it hard to get together during the holiday season.
“A robot?” Lizzie asked. “Wow! But, where’s its face? Does it talk?”
“No, silly,” Marie said. “Not an android. A robot. It vacuums on its own. You just charge it, tell it when you want it to run, and it does all the work. No more pushing around that ancient beast your Aunt June bequeathed you freshman year.”
“That is so cool! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome!”
Lizzie put down the box, got up, and went over to embrace her friend.
“It’s perfect. It really is.”
“Glad you like it. I love mine.”
“Here, let’s open it. You can help me set it up.”
“Sure,” Marie said. “But first, more wine.”
“Yes,” Lizzie said. “And afterwards, more wine.”
They giggled as they walked to the kitchen to get the glasses and bottle.
* * * * *
“Really?” Lizzie asked.
“Yep,” Marie said. “Let it run tonight while you sleep. It’s whisper quiet. You won’t hear it. And then tomorrow morning, you’ll wake up to clean carpets and floors.”
“All right. You’ve convinced me. Not that I’d hear anything tonight anyway. I’m going to be out as soon as I hit the pillow.”
Lizzie raised her mostly empty glass in punctuation of her point, then tipped it back to down the rest of her wine. Marie smiled and matched her friend’s actions.
“Speaking of being out,” Marie said. “It’s after two, and I’m beat. We have the rest of the weekend to catch up and drink more. So I’m going to call it a night.”
“Sounds good,” Lizzie said. “I’m right behind you. Except...are you sure the vacuum is setup properly? I don’t have to do anything?”
“It’s all ready to go, I promise. It will start at three. Even if you’re still awake--”
“Not likely!”
“Right. But even if you are, you won’t hear it.”
“Okay. I believe you. I’ll shut up now and let you go to bed. Goodnight, sis!”
“Goodnight, sis! Sweet dreams.”
* * * * *
Marie opened her eyes. No longer sleepy, she sat up in bed and looked at the clock. The bright red digital numbers read 3:10. She nodded. The robot should have started its run ten minutes ago. She had no reason to believe that it hadn’t. But she, like Lizzie an hour earlier, wanted to be sure.
She threw back the covers and stood up. Silent in her bare feet, she walked out of her room and down the hallway. At Lizzie’s room, she noticed that the door was ajar. She slowly pushed it open. Inside she could see a curved silhouette on the bed. Stepping inside she moved toward where she remembered a low-wattage table lamp resided.
Managing to avoid any embarrassing collisions in the dark, she reached the lamp. She hesitated momentarily and then committed to her decision. She turned on the light.
Amber illumination briefly blinded her. As her vision slowly adjusted and the pain of keeping her eyes open waned, she took note of the lack of response by Marie. Her friend remained asleep.
Now able to see in the mellow light, Marie walked over the bed. Lizzie lay there in the same lounging clothes she had worn that evening. Having kicked off the sheet and blanket, she was sprawled over most of the queen-sized mattress. Her body didn’t move, except for an almost rhythmic twitching of her feet, hands, and eyelids.
Marie leaned in closer. She heard an almost imperceptible hum and smiled. The advertising was accurate: You really could sleep through the robot’s run.
Then she saw it. On the pillow next to the one Lizzie slept on, its roundly streamlined form sat. Four thin cables extended from a front compartment out to Lizzie’s head. Two snaked into her ears, and the tips of the other two pressed against her temples. The cables pulsed ever so slightly, and Lizzie’s twitches coincided with them.
Reaching out to gently stroke Lizzie’s hair, Marie sighed in an almost parentally contented way. Then a low-key flashing caught her attention. She turned her gaze to the robot. A small LED screen took up most of its flat top, and on it blinked two words:
Subject ready.
Marie pressed a button next to the screen. The words ceased flashing, and the two cables within Lizzie’s ears slowly and silently retracted back into the robot’s front compartment.
“Lizzie,” Marie said softly to her sleeping friend. “Lizzie, can you hear me?”
Lizzie moaned. Her eyelids, hands, and feet continued to twitch to the rhythm of the robot. Then her mouth opened slightly.
“Yes,” she said. “I can hear you.”
“Good. I want you to listen to me very carefully.”
“Listen to you very carefully.”
“That’s right. I’m going to tell you some things that I need you to do. You’re going to do them without fail. I’m also going to tell you some things to think and believe. You’re going to think and believe them without question. And then I’m going to tell you some things that you’re going to remember and other things that you’re going to forget. You will remember and forget them without knowing that I’ve told you to. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“That’s excellent, Lizzie. You’re doing well. You’re doing so very, very well.”
In her sleep, completely unaware that she was being brainwashed, Lizzie smiled at her friend’s encouragement.
* * * * *
Marie yawned and walked out of her room to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. She walked into the kitchen and took a seat on a stool at the counter.
“Good morning!” Lizzie said cheerfully, pouring her friend a cup of morning caffeine.
“Good morning, sis,” Marie said with all the same happiness but none of the energy.
“Didn’t sleep well?”
“Eh. Nothing coffee won’t fix.”
“Amen, sis. Amen.”
They clinked mugs and then sipped at the steaming liquid.
“So, to say I’m impressed is an understatement,” Lizzie said.
Marie took another sip of coffee and tried hard to shake off the fog of sleepiness, so she could understand Lizzie’s reference. It took a second or two, and then it clicked. She looked down at the floor and over at the freshly combed carpet in the other room.
“Oh, yeah, baby,” Marie said. “Just like I told you.”
“And you were right. I didn’t hear a thing.”
“Nothing? Not at all?”
“Nope.”
“Good. And do you remember anything?”
“Remember?” Lizzie asked. “What would I remember? I was fast asleep.”
“You will remember what I told you,” Marie said in a suddenly serious voice.
Lizzie’s eyes fluttered closed and then opened again an instant later. They stared vacantly off into space.
“I remember that I am yours to command,” Lizzie said in monotone. “I am your slave, and I will do whatever you instruct me to do.”
“Very good. That is all for now, slave.”
As they had a moment before, Lizzie’s eyes fluttered closed. When they opened again, they were clear and sharp.
“What would I remember? I was fast asleep.”
“Exactly! You were fast asleep and didn’t wake up to remember the robot running.”
“Duh, that’s what I just said. You’re silly, sis. Or sleep deprived. Probably both. Drink some more coffee.”
“Good idea. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
“We do?” Lizzie asked. “Have you planned it all out?”
Marie sipped more of her coffee. Then she put down her mug and smiled a markedly devilish grin.
“Yes, I have planned it all out. Every last detail. I’m going to enjoy it very much. And so are you, my slave. So are you.”
Once again in a stupor, and completely unaware that she had been brainwashed, Lizzie smiled at her friend’s instruction.