~*~*~
by lizzyu and me, vanicola
Title: the working title is ~interoperate~
Pairing: ~~~?~?~?~?~~~ MYSTERY,,,. (or check the tags ;))
Rating: G, no dicks
Genre: ~*~*~*~* ?? sci-fi..??? general..
Length: ~2.8k
Summary/Warnings: ???????robots
Kyungsoo is 173 centimeters tall, has a regular BMI, and has never been to a counselor before. Sehun knows this because this is part of the information that he had receives about all new clients. Do Kyungsoo comes to him for the following reason: Kyungsoo's boss thinks that the young man is too robot-like. His personality traits, according to his boss, include stolidness, rigidness, and curtness. Do Kyungsoo currently stands in Sehun's doorway with a blank stare.
"Please, come in," Sehun says, gesturing for his new patient. Kyungsoo steps in and shuts the door behind him. Sehun gestures to the chair in front of him. Kyungsoo sits down, facing Sehun. They stare at each other for a moment. Kyungsoo remains silent during this exchange and Sehun does the same until Sehun decides to clear his throat. Kyungsoo, suddenly, begins a conversation. Sehun collects data about Kyungsoo's character continuously, storing the information in an internal patient database, filing it away into Kyungsoo's own little folder.
"What am I supposed to call you," Kyungsoo asks. His voice is deep. Sehun files this fact away into a miscellaneous folder. "Dr. Sehun? Mr. Oh?"
"Just Sehun is fine," Sehun straightens in his seat and associates the phrase 'excessive formality' with Kyungsoo. "How are you feeling today, Kyungsoo?"
"I'm well," Kyungsoo responds. His posture is impeccable. "How about you?"
"This isn't about me," Sehun says. "This is about you."
"Right," Kyungsoo responds. "You know why I'm here, correct?"
"Of course," Sehun says.
"I don't know how to fix it," Kyungsoo shrugs and Sehun wracks his databases for something to say. He's never had a case like this before. He almost doesn't know what to do, but then he finds something, quick and easy.
"Fill your life with excitement," Sehun knows he has to say this with a small smile and a tip of his head. Kyungsoo doesn't follow the direction in which Sehun tips his head in. ♧should we explain why is his profile difficult, like what makes him fall into that category?♧ Sehun associates a difficult psychological profile with Kyungsoo. "Do things that will get your adrenaline rushing."
"Like what," Kyungsoo asks. His stare is still blank.
"Rock climbing, scuba diving, parachuting," Sehun goes down the list. There are thirty more objects on the list and Sehun names all of them.
"Okay," Kyungsoo says. He makes to get up and reaches out to give Sehun a handshake. Sehun shakes his head.
"Don't think of me so formally," Sehun says. Kyungsoo smiles a bit and leaves.
The year is 2189. Since the spread of [influenza] in [year], 19% of the human population have been wiped out in [area]. Sehun, android SH0412, is one of many machines created to compensate for the loss of human life.
Prior to the [influenza], robots were merely prototypes-- things created to do everyday chores such as vacuuming, cooking, and taking care of dogs. They were simple, not as humanesque as they are now but looking more like machinery than the human-like forms they have been created to take on now.
The spread of [influenza] had caused there to be an influx of robots that were created to help and cure the disease. The robots were used to give vaccines in high quantities in quick succession, and very soon after the development of these robots, founder of what is now known as Zhang Industries created a full functioning android that had looked, talked, and, for the most part, 'lived' like a human. The year was 2098.
Dr. Zhang had created more of these androids. The first was kept in a room somewhere, serving as a blueprint for the following robots that had begun to come into existence. Teacher robots were being made, followed by pharmaceutical robots, followed by computer repair technician androids until every professional field had an android counterpart to its human counterpart.
Oh Sehun is a counseling android residing in [area]. [Area] isn't anything like the way a city used to be. [Area] is a large building, interconnected by a complex tubing system. People get around by travelators in the shape of capsules that travel to speeds up to 75 miles per hour. Androids get around this way as well.
Sehun leaves the charging room the next morning when the fluorescent lights in the building's basement are turned on. This signals the beginning of the day as it always does, everyone's working hours beginning at 6AM. He and some of the androids who work in the medicinal building board a capsule ready to leave in thirty seconds. He's cramped in a small pod with androids CY1127 (Chanyeol), JM0519 (Joonmyun), JI0114 (Jongin), and JD0921 (Jongdae).
Chanyeol greets everyone in the pod with a bright, "Good morning!"
Joonmyun responds with a polite smile and a, "Good morning," in response.
Jongin responds with a warm smile and a courteous nod.
Jongdae responds with a very reluctant, "Morning."
Sehun responds by looking at Chanyeol, tipping his head forward in a slight nod, and looking away promptly.
Today, Sehun has an appointment with a regular kid named Huang Zitao. Zitao is 21 years old and has very little sense of safety in the world. Once, Zitao had paged in for an emergency meeting. When Sehun arrived at the building mid-charge, Zitao was waving his hand around and exclaiming, "I got a cut, I don't know what to do!"
Meeting with Zitao isn't unpleasant, but Sehun finds himself having to constantly repeat the phrase, "Get a grip of yourself."
Sehun, though he doesn't really experience preference, knows he uses less CPU when he is interacting with the other androids. Dealing with humans uses more RAM than makes him comfortable because humans have so many different things they experience at once and so many different personality traits. Androids, Sehun knows, only have one distinct personality trait each.
For Chanyeol, it is joy. For Joonmyun, it is leadership. Jongin possesses warmth. He doesn't know what Jongdae's is.
"This past week?" Zitao asks. Zitao asks this every time Sehun tells him to recount the week at the beginning of their sessions. It's routine for Sehun, almost programmed into his system. He'll have the technician work that into his drive permanently the next time he goes in for a checkup. "Well. This past week. On Monday, I lost my comb and on Tuesday, I found it! I forgot to mail out a letter on Tuesday afternoon, though. I almost cried."
Zitao continues to talk about his week in painstaking detail. Sehun tries to retain all this information without frying out his hard drive.
As Zitao feeds all this data into Sehun, Sehun's system works on developing a response for Zitao. Zitao has the following human characteristics: sensitivity, irrationality, and, sometimes, mild cases of insanity. Sehun knows he should probably send Zitao to a different section of the building, but the option would trigger another one of Zitao's characteristics: severe anxiety.
Sehun says, after Zitao is finished, "Do you think you're doing better?" Sehun knows that Zitao is not doing better.
"I think I'm doing fine," Zitao says, nodding as he smiles at his counselor. "Bad things keep happening to me."
Sehun nods and takes a moment to find a proper response. He tries to find the right stringing together of words.
"Have you considered coming in more regularly? Perhaps twice a week? I do have a free hour on Thursdays--," Sehun gets cut off.
“No. Why would I ever think about that?” Zitao asks. There is a clear expression of hurt on his face. Sehun softens his voice.
“In the past, I’ve seen many patients better themselves with more, regulated attention,” Sehun explains. He tries to make himself seem more open, legs uncrossing as he relaxes his arms. “However, it is, entirely, up to you.”
"No, I like the system we have now," Zitao says firmly. Sehun nods.
"Okay," Sehun says. "That's fine. But if you keep coming in for 'emergency meetings', the head of the building may get upset because I won't be able to charge properly."
"Oh," Zitao says. "Sorry! It'll happen less, I swear! Sometimes, it just really is emergencies, you know?"
Zitao is a bright kid. Sehun can easily compare him to Chanyeol. But Chanyeol doesn't have additional traits that make him difficult to deal with.
"Yes, I'm aware," Sehun says. He gives Zitao a smile. "Don't worry about it any more. Breathing exercises now."
Sehun pulls the blinds open after Zitao leaves the room. It is a mandatory guideline of the hospital’s to leave the view to his office visible when there are no patients.
Sehun has half an hour’s break before his next session and, while he is waiting, he stores all the new information about Zitao into the hard disk before replacing his RAM with information of his next patient, Byun Baekhyun.
According to past experiences, Baekhyun will talk about his unrequited love and obsession towards his best friend. Sehun don’t know how to help him since Baekhyun does not listen to his advice.
The door to the clinic opens abruptly and Sehun can see Jongin frowning. The frowning is a side effect when androids try to retrieve too much data within a short period of time. Sehun had been implanted with the knowledge that frowning is a sign of worry and frustration for humans. This is why he ensures that he is armed with all the information he needs before meeting his patients.
A head appears at the door. It is Zhang Yixing, the scientist in charge of all the robots under the health department. Sehun’s memory reminds him that Yixing likes seeing everyone happy, including robots, even though they do not have any emotions. The corner of Sehun’s mouth gets lifted and his eyes crinkle as he prepares for Yixing’s arrival.
“How is my favorite counselor doing?” Yixing asks, stepping into the room after knocking on the door exactly three times, as always. The scientist puts down the box he had been holding before slumping into the chair.
“Fine,” Sehun replies, letting his smile spread at the praise. He doesn’t feel any happiness, but he knows that he should smile to make Yixing happy. A counselor robot is supposed to make people happy.
“Great! You’ll be having a regular checkup in three weeks’ time with Minseok. Don’t forget to come,” Yixing reminds, even though none of the robots will forget the schedules they were assigned.
“I have to go now.” Yixing stands up and struggles with the box momentarily. “See you soon.”
Sehun nods in reply, returning his face to its stoic expression as he waits for his next patient.
There is a mini commotion when Baekhyun arrives. He greets everyone in the reception area before heading towards Sehun’s office. Sehun pulls on the blinds, leaving the view to his office closed as Baekhyun settles into the chair.
“How was your week?” Sehun asks.
“It was bad,” the smile on Baekhyun’s face disappears. Sehun detects a significant slump in his shoulders. “I got rejected again. I bought him the most expensive chocolates that just came out last month.
“Have you considered giving up?” Sehun had been programmed to advise patients to give up anything that distresses them. Unrequited love is number 3 on that list because it causes inexplicable chest pains.
Baekhyun furrows his brows as he formulates a reply, “I can’t. Love doesn’t work that way.”
“Did you complete the set of tasks I recommended last week?” Sehun asks. This is a standard question he asks Baekhyun every week.
Baekhyun shakes his head pitifully. Sehun files this information away, noticing that Baekhyun is sadder this week in comparison to all his past visits. Baekhyun says, “I still find myself waiting for him below his house every day.”
“Maybe you should give those tasks a try,” Sehun encourages with an earnest smile. “That’ll definitely take your mind off him and allow you to move on.”
Baekhyun nods and Sehun takes it as an improvement from the previous weeks. Baekhyun is not resisting the idea of giving up.
He accesses Baekhyun’s folder and starts reciting the list, “You can go out and meet more people. Try to spend more time with your friends. You can try online dating and meet someone new. Alternatively, you can--”
“Wait, what is this?” Baekhyun points to an SD card lying on the table before Sehun manages to finish his list.
“I don’t know,” Sehun shrugs.
“Don’t you have a SD card slot somewhere?” Baekhyun’s sullen expression is replaced by newfound curiosity. “Can’t you, like, stick it in?”
Sehun shakes his head, trying to veer the conversation back to the therapy. Baekhyun has a short attention span. He is extremely curious, easily excitable and, to some extent, insecure.
“Please,” Baekhyun tries again. “It’ll definitely make me happier if I know what’s inside. Maybe I won’t think so much about D.O anymore,” he promises, knowing that this will make Sehun accede his request. The counselor robot has been programmed to execute tasks that will help in improving their patients’ conditions.
“Okay,” Sehun agrees readily once he hears Baekhyun’s promise.
He rolls up the left leg of his pants, pressing the flap on his ankle that hides his SD card slot. The slot is empty for all the robots as none of them have faced the problem of running out of memory space. He presses the card in, a soft click resounding in the room when the card is secured in its place.
“So, what’s inside?” Baekhyun leans closer to Sehun, as if the action will enable him to see what is going on within the system.
Sehun stays still for a few moments, accessing the memory card. It is empty.
“There’s nothing inside,” he answers, watching the excited expression on Baekhyun’s face fade.
“Is it?” Baekhyun asks in disappointment.
“Yeah. Let’s continue with the list of exercises you should try out.”
Sehun gives Jongin a curt nod as he exits his room at the end of the day. Jongin responds with one of his usual smiles. Sehun had had four more patients after Baekhyun. His battery supply is pushed to the limit.
The charging room is empty when Sehun walks in, the white walls void of any androids resting on them. A lurch happens in his gut. It is somewhere near his main processor. Sehun makes his way to his spot. He stops to check through his system’s applications and performances logs. Everything is functioning well.
Sehun heads towards his corner at the very back of the room and lifts his shirt up slightly. There is a hole situated on his lower back, and Sehun pushes the charging plug in. He sets an internal alarm for his system to power on at 6AM and closes his eyes.
Sehun’s eyes open exactly at 6AM sharp. A soft whirring courses through his body as his system prepares itself for the day. There is another abnormal lurch coming from his processor as he exchanges glances with the android directly opposite him.
He gives the other a curt nod once he is ready, unplugging himself from the cord before making his way to the exit.
There is a long line at the capsule platform. Androids from all professions are queuing up in an orderly fashion to get to their designated location.
This morning, he boards a smaller pod made for two with Joonmyun and let himself get whisked away as they exchange their greetings.
“Joonmyun.” Sehun calls out. It is uncommon for robots to engage in conversations other than basic greetings, but he needs Joonmyun’s expertise for his latest case.
“I’ve this new patient who refuses to eat anything. When her parents try to feed her, she throws up in the toilet moments later,” Sehun informs the dietician android with this problem. “This happened abruptly according to her parents. I don’t know how to solve it.”
“You just have to work out a proper diet for her,” Joonmyun replies kindly. “Human emotions are closely linked to the things they eat. A healthy diet makes everyone happy.”
“I have a diet plan that will work,” Joonmyun reaches out for Sehun’s hand and clasps it tightly as he transmits the file.
“Thank you,” Sehun says. He runs through the contents of the file before filing it into the folder containing his patient’s information.
Joonmyun responds with a smile.
“No problem,” Joonmyun reaches his stop five seconds later, leaving Sehun alone in the pod to travel to the counseling department.
The reception area is empty except for Jongin when Sehun steps into the clinic. Sehun’s first appointment of the day will arrive in an hour, Jongin informs him coupled with the customary greeting and smile.
Sehun nods in acknowledgement. A warm heat unravels in his gut as he makes his way into his room. His system had been reacting weirdly since yesterday night even though there had been no warning. He makes a note to ask Minseok about this at his next appointment.
Title: the working title is ~interoperate~
Pairing: ~~~?~?~?~?~~~ MYSTERY,,,. (or check the tags ;))
Rating: G, no dicks
Genre: ~*~*~*~* ?? sci-fi..??? general..
Length: ~2.8k
Summary/Warnings: ???????robots
Kyungsoo is 173 centimeters tall, has a regular BMI, and has never been to a counselor before. Sehun knows this because this is part of the information that he had receives about all new clients. Do Kyungsoo comes to him for the following reason: Kyungsoo's boss thinks that the young man is too robot-like. His personality traits, according to his boss, include stolidness, rigidness, and curtness. Do Kyungsoo currently stands in Sehun's doorway with a blank stare.
"Please, come in," Sehun says, gesturing for his new patient. Kyungsoo steps in and shuts the door behind him. Sehun gestures to the chair in front of him. Kyungsoo sits down, facing Sehun. They stare at each other for a moment. Kyungsoo remains silent during this exchange and Sehun does the same until Sehun decides to clear his throat. Kyungsoo, suddenly, begins a conversation. Sehun collects data about Kyungsoo's character continuously, storing the information in an internal patient database, filing it away into Kyungsoo's own little folder.
"What am I supposed to call you," Kyungsoo asks. His voice is deep. Sehun files this fact away into a miscellaneous folder. "Dr. Sehun? Mr. Oh?"
"Just Sehun is fine," Sehun straightens in his seat and associates the phrase 'excessive formality' with Kyungsoo. "How are you feeling today, Kyungsoo?"
"I'm well," Kyungsoo responds. His posture is impeccable. "How about you?"
"This isn't about me," Sehun says. "This is about you."
"Right," Kyungsoo responds. "You know why I'm here, correct?"
"Of course," Sehun says.
"I don't know how to fix it," Kyungsoo shrugs and Sehun wracks his databases for something to say. He's never had a case like this before. He almost doesn't know what to do, but then he finds something, quick and easy.
"Fill your life with excitement," Sehun knows he has to say this with a small smile and a tip of his head. Kyungsoo doesn't follow the direction in which Sehun tips his head in. ♧should we explain why is his profile difficult, like what makes him fall into that category?♧ Sehun associates a difficult psychological profile with Kyungsoo. "Do things that will get your adrenaline rushing."
"Like what," Kyungsoo asks. His stare is still blank.
"Rock climbing, scuba diving, parachuting," Sehun goes down the list. There are thirty more objects on the list and Sehun names all of them.
"Okay," Kyungsoo says. He makes to get up and reaches out to give Sehun a handshake. Sehun shakes his head.
"Don't think of me so formally," Sehun says. Kyungsoo smiles a bit and leaves.
The year is 2189. Since the spread of [influenza] in [year], 19% of the human population have been wiped out in [area]. Sehun, android SH0412, is one of many machines created to compensate for the loss of human life.
Prior to the [influenza], robots were merely prototypes-- things created to do everyday chores such as vacuuming, cooking, and taking care of dogs. They were simple, not as humanesque as they are now but looking more like machinery than the human-like forms they have been created to take on now.
The spread of [influenza] had caused there to be an influx of robots that were created to help and cure the disease. The robots were used to give vaccines in high quantities in quick succession, and very soon after the development of these robots, founder of what is now known as Zhang Industries created a full functioning android that had looked, talked, and, for the most part, 'lived' like a human. The year was 2098.
Dr. Zhang had created more of these androids. The first was kept in a room somewhere, serving as a blueprint for the following robots that had begun to come into existence. Teacher robots were being made, followed by pharmaceutical robots, followed by computer repair technician androids until every professional field had an android counterpart to its human counterpart.
Oh Sehun is a counseling android residing in [area]. [Area] isn't anything like the way a city used to be. [Area] is a large building, interconnected by a complex tubing system. People get around by travelators in the shape of capsules that travel to speeds up to 75 miles per hour. Androids get around this way as well.
Sehun leaves the charging room the next morning when the fluorescent lights in the building's basement are turned on. This signals the beginning of the day as it always does, everyone's working hours beginning at 6AM. He and some of the androids who work in the medicinal building board a capsule ready to leave in thirty seconds. He's cramped in a small pod with androids CY1127 (Chanyeol), JM0519 (Joonmyun), JI0114 (Jongin), and JD0921 (Jongdae).
Chanyeol greets everyone in the pod with a bright, "Good morning!"
Joonmyun responds with a polite smile and a, "Good morning," in response.
Jongin responds with a warm smile and a courteous nod.
Jongdae responds with a very reluctant, "Morning."
Sehun responds by looking at Chanyeol, tipping his head forward in a slight nod, and looking away promptly.
Today, Sehun has an appointment with a regular kid named Huang Zitao. Zitao is 21 years old and has very little sense of safety in the world. Once, Zitao had paged in for an emergency meeting. When Sehun arrived at the building mid-charge, Zitao was waving his hand around and exclaiming, "I got a cut, I don't know what to do!"
Meeting with Zitao isn't unpleasant, but Sehun finds himself having to constantly repeat the phrase, "Get a grip of yourself."
Sehun, though he doesn't really experience preference, knows he uses less CPU when he is interacting with the other androids. Dealing with humans uses more RAM than makes him comfortable because humans have so many different things they experience at once and so many different personality traits. Androids, Sehun knows, only have one distinct personality trait each.
For Chanyeol, it is joy. For Joonmyun, it is leadership. Jongin possesses warmth. He doesn't know what Jongdae's is.
"This past week?" Zitao asks. Zitao asks this every time Sehun tells him to recount the week at the beginning of their sessions. It's routine for Sehun, almost programmed into his system. He'll have the technician work that into his drive permanently the next time he goes in for a checkup. "Well. This past week. On Monday, I lost my comb and on Tuesday, I found it! I forgot to mail out a letter on Tuesday afternoon, though. I almost cried."
Zitao continues to talk about his week in painstaking detail. Sehun tries to retain all this information without frying out his hard drive.
As Zitao feeds all this data into Sehun, Sehun's system works on developing a response for Zitao. Zitao has the following human characteristics: sensitivity, irrationality, and, sometimes, mild cases of insanity. Sehun knows he should probably send Zitao to a different section of the building, but the option would trigger another one of Zitao's characteristics: severe anxiety.
Sehun says, after Zitao is finished, "Do you think you're doing better?" Sehun knows that Zitao is not doing better.
"I think I'm doing fine," Zitao says, nodding as he smiles at his counselor. "Bad things keep happening to me."
Sehun nods and takes a moment to find a proper response. He tries to find the right stringing together of words.
"Have you considered coming in more regularly? Perhaps twice a week? I do have a free hour on Thursdays--," Sehun gets cut off.
“No. Why would I ever think about that?” Zitao asks. There is a clear expression of hurt on his face. Sehun softens his voice.
“In the past, I’ve seen many patients better themselves with more, regulated attention,” Sehun explains. He tries to make himself seem more open, legs uncrossing as he relaxes his arms. “However, it is, entirely, up to you.”
"No, I like the system we have now," Zitao says firmly. Sehun nods.
"Okay," Sehun says. "That's fine. But if you keep coming in for 'emergency meetings', the head of the building may get upset because I won't be able to charge properly."
"Oh," Zitao says. "Sorry! It'll happen less, I swear! Sometimes, it just really is emergencies, you know?"
Zitao is a bright kid. Sehun can easily compare him to Chanyeol. But Chanyeol doesn't have additional traits that make him difficult to deal with.
"Yes, I'm aware," Sehun says. He gives Zitao a smile. "Don't worry about it any more. Breathing exercises now."
Sehun pulls the blinds open after Zitao leaves the room. It is a mandatory guideline of the hospital’s to leave the view to his office visible when there are no patients.
Sehun has half an hour’s break before his next session and, while he is waiting, he stores all the new information about Zitao into the hard disk before replacing his RAM with information of his next patient, Byun Baekhyun.
According to past experiences, Baekhyun will talk about his unrequited love and obsession towards his best friend. Sehun don’t know how to help him since Baekhyun does not listen to his advice.
The door to the clinic opens abruptly and Sehun can see Jongin frowning. The frowning is a side effect when androids try to retrieve too much data within a short period of time. Sehun had been implanted with the knowledge that frowning is a sign of worry and frustration for humans. This is why he ensures that he is armed with all the information he needs before meeting his patients.
A head appears at the door. It is Zhang Yixing, the scientist in charge of all the robots under the health department. Sehun’s memory reminds him that Yixing likes seeing everyone happy, including robots, even though they do not have any emotions. The corner of Sehun’s mouth gets lifted and his eyes crinkle as he prepares for Yixing’s arrival.
“How is my favorite counselor doing?” Yixing asks, stepping into the room after knocking on the door exactly three times, as always. The scientist puts down the box he had been holding before slumping into the chair.
“Fine,” Sehun replies, letting his smile spread at the praise. He doesn’t feel any happiness, but he knows that he should smile to make Yixing happy. A counselor robot is supposed to make people happy.
“Great! You’ll be having a regular checkup in three weeks’ time with Minseok. Don’t forget to come,” Yixing reminds, even though none of the robots will forget the schedules they were assigned.
“I have to go now.” Yixing stands up and struggles with the box momentarily. “See you soon.”
Sehun nods in reply, returning his face to its stoic expression as he waits for his next patient.
There is a mini commotion when Baekhyun arrives. He greets everyone in the reception area before heading towards Sehun’s office. Sehun pulls on the blinds, leaving the view to his office closed as Baekhyun settles into the chair.
“How was your week?” Sehun asks.
“It was bad,” the smile on Baekhyun’s face disappears. Sehun detects a significant slump in his shoulders. “I got rejected again. I bought him the most expensive chocolates that just came out last month.
“Have you considered giving up?” Sehun had been programmed to advise patients to give up anything that distresses them. Unrequited love is number 3 on that list because it causes inexplicable chest pains.
Baekhyun furrows his brows as he formulates a reply, “I can’t. Love doesn’t work that way.”
“Did you complete the set of tasks I recommended last week?” Sehun asks. This is a standard question he asks Baekhyun every week.
Baekhyun shakes his head pitifully. Sehun files this information away, noticing that Baekhyun is sadder this week in comparison to all his past visits. Baekhyun says, “I still find myself waiting for him below his house every day.”
“Maybe you should give those tasks a try,” Sehun encourages with an earnest smile. “That’ll definitely take your mind off him and allow you to move on.”
Baekhyun nods and Sehun takes it as an improvement from the previous weeks. Baekhyun is not resisting the idea of giving up.
He accesses Baekhyun’s folder and starts reciting the list, “You can go out and meet more people. Try to spend more time with your friends. You can try online dating and meet someone new. Alternatively, you can--”
“Wait, what is this?” Baekhyun points to an SD card lying on the table before Sehun manages to finish his list.
“I don’t know,” Sehun shrugs.
“Don’t you have a SD card slot somewhere?” Baekhyun’s sullen expression is replaced by newfound curiosity. “Can’t you, like, stick it in?”
Sehun shakes his head, trying to veer the conversation back to the therapy. Baekhyun has a short attention span. He is extremely curious, easily excitable and, to some extent, insecure.
“Please,” Baekhyun tries again. “It’ll definitely make me happier if I know what’s inside. Maybe I won’t think so much about D.O anymore,” he promises, knowing that this will make Sehun accede his request. The counselor robot has been programmed to execute tasks that will help in improving their patients’ conditions.
“Okay,” Sehun agrees readily once he hears Baekhyun’s promise.
He rolls up the left leg of his pants, pressing the flap on his ankle that hides his SD card slot. The slot is empty for all the robots as none of them have faced the problem of running out of memory space. He presses the card in, a soft click resounding in the room when the card is secured in its place.
“So, what’s inside?” Baekhyun leans closer to Sehun, as if the action will enable him to see what is going on within the system.
Sehun stays still for a few moments, accessing the memory card. It is empty.
“There’s nothing inside,” he answers, watching the excited expression on Baekhyun’s face fade.
“Is it?” Baekhyun asks in disappointment.
“Yeah. Let’s continue with the list of exercises you should try out.”
Sehun gives Jongin a curt nod as he exits his room at the end of the day. Jongin responds with one of his usual smiles. Sehun had had four more patients after Baekhyun. His battery supply is pushed to the limit.
The charging room is empty when Sehun walks in, the white walls void of any androids resting on them. A lurch happens in his gut. It is somewhere near his main processor. Sehun makes his way to his spot. He stops to check through his system’s applications and performances logs. Everything is functioning well.
Sehun heads towards his corner at the very back of the room and lifts his shirt up slightly. There is a hole situated on his lower back, and Sehun pushes the charging plug in. He sets an internal alarm for his system to power on at 6AM and closes his eyes.
Sehun’s eyes open exactly at 6AM sharp. A soft whirring courses through his body as his system prepares itself for the day. There is another abnormal lurch coming from his processor as he exchanges glances with the android directly opposite him.
He gives the other a curt nod once he is ready, unplugging himself from the cord before making his way to the exit.
There is a long line at the capsule platform. Androids from all professions are queuing up in an orderly fashion to get to their designated location.
This morning, he boards a smaller pod made for two with Joonmyun and let himself get whisked away as they exchange their greetings.
“Joonmyun.” Sehun calls out. It is uncommon for robots to engage in conversations other than basic greetings, but he needs Joonmyun’s expertise for his latest case.
“I’ve this new patient who refuses to eat anything. When her parents try to feed her, she throws up in the toilet moments later,” Sehun informs the dietician android with this problem. “This happened abruptly according to her parents. I don’t know how to solve it.”
“You just have to work out a proper diet for her,” Joonmyun replies kindly. “Human emotions are closely linked to the things they eat. A healthy diet makes everyone happy.”
“I have a diet plan that will work,” Joonmyun reaches out for Sehun’s hand and clasps it tightly as he transmits the file.
“Thank you,” Sehun says. He runs through the contents of the file before filing it into the folder containing his patient’s information.
Joonmyun responds with a smile.
“No problem,” Joonmyun reaches his stop five seconds later, leaving Sehun alone in the pod to travel to the counseling department.
The reception area is empty except for Jongin when Sehun steps into the clinic. Sehun’s first appointment of the day will arrive in an hour, Jongin informs him coupled with the customary greeting and smile.
Sehun nods in acknowledgement. A warm heat unravels in his gut as he makes his way into his room. His system had been reacting weirdly since yesterday night even though there had been no warning. He makes a note to ask Minseok about this at his next appointment.