Tears for Dreams By David Levins (midrael) It wasn’t raining yet, but it looked like it was about to. That moment just before dark gray clouds broke to cry upon the earth seemed to linger thickly like a fog refusing to dissipate in the morning sun. But such things as the dreariness of the weather were not important compared to the anxiousness that weighed on his thoughts and heart. A sort of giddy nervousness born from many nights of contemplation about this very visit remained settled over him and happily refused to leave. The doors, giant compared to most standards and made of metal so that they seemed to creak just a bit as they moved, finally swung open, revealing the entrance below the large but simple engraved sign. Large eyes moved slowly upward to look at the sign one more time, reading the simple initials C.B.U.R. and beneath the meaning of them: Cyborn Bureau of Upgrade and Repair. It was such a strangely silly sounding name when compared to such an ominous entrance, but he didn’t mind at all. Now there was nothing else in his mind but the sound of his footsteps as he stepped through that doorway and down the hall. The echo of his footsteps was metallic against the ground. Every few paces, he would pass under the soft fluorescent light or another set of lamps built into the ceiling. Those same wide eyes took in everything. Every little detail of that simple journey down a hallway seemed to be recorded as if taking note of a momentous occasion. Finally, the journey came to an end as another door swung open, revealing the chamber within. The room was dark except for a simple circle of light in the center of the room. “Step forward.” The voice resonated deeply against the walls of the chamber that were bathed in shadow. By the very sound, most may tremble and choose to turn, but he did not. Instead, he could feel each step as he walked to that circle of light, only stopping once he stood in the very center. “State your designation.” The sound of the door closing to leave him alone with the voice in the darkened chamber did nothing to dampen the excitement and energy that seemed to course through his very being. With a bit of pride in his voice, he turned his large wide eyes up as if to gaze at the very voice that spoke to him and exclaimed in response, “Dex!” A chilling pause immediately answered his exuberant announcement of his name. Finally, the spoken response came but not at all what he wished to hear, “This is not your designation.” Dex’s eyes scoured the darkness immediately, wanting to face the speaker directly. “It is! My name is Dex!” “No. Your designation is DX-10895.” Another moment of silence, as the barely glistening metallic jaw fell open almost imperceptibly, and the large apple-sized solid blue eyes incapable of expressing emotion seemed to reveal confusion. “My designation is,” he stopped only for a second before adding defiantly, “Dex!” “No!” the answer came sharply, the voice louder now as it echoed against metallic walls hidden in shadow. “Your designation is DX-10895, companion cyborn purchased by one Dean Galloway.” Dex’s blue eyes slowly lowered as a child would when chastised, gazing instead towards the floor as his defiance leaves his voice. “My designation is DX-10895.” With those words, a hint of the spirit that had coursed through his metallic body seemed to leave him. Above him, the mysterious voice was speaking again, but Dex did not hear. Within the soft gray hues of the metal that served as his skull, the firing of electrons was taking place, pulling up memories saved within data banks that served as his brain. As if watching a simple video, the memories played in his robotic mind. A small child sitting on a brown carpeted floor surrounded by building blocks looked up at him and smiled. “My name’s Joey,” he announced with glee, “What’s your name?” “DX-10895.” In the child’s light green eyes, amusement sparkled as a giggle left his lips, “That’s not a name!!” The robot standing before the child could only gaze back, unable to present a proper response. “I know!” the boy exclaimed as he leapt to his feet and walked up to Dex, standing only at his waist as the child peered up into the robot’s eyes, “Your name is Dex!” There the memory playback ended. The image of the child was gone and the voice that escaped the robot’s mouth, created by a synthesizer meant to approximate human tones, spoke very softly, “My name is Dex.” “According to your diagnostics, DX-10895, what repairs and upgrades are you due?” Dex lifted his eyes back towards the voice, a resoluteness returning to his own words as he spoke, “I want to be alive.” Yet again, Dex’s words brought nothing but silence, until finally the voice replied with a new grave tone, “It is the opinion of this bureau that your systems are malfunctioning. You will report to repairs for memory deletion and reconstruction.” Immediately, Dex shook his head, wanting to express that this couldn’t be the result of his coming here but within his own internal systems, his mind betrayed him. Forced to answer to the will of those who created him, he simply turned as the doors opened once again, and he listened to the hollow echo of metal on metal of his own footsteps as he walked once again down the hall. The clouds outside were still a dark gray as his blue eyes looked up towards them. A single drop of water trailed very slowly down from under one of his large eyes, causing his metal cheek to glisten. Incapable of feeling and expression, for just a moment the hints of a smile lingered on his lips as the first tear was joined by a second and a third, falling from a cloud filled sky.