Ben – Alien 1

noizybutpurple

by noizybutpurple

Story

Hi, my name is… oh no… how can this be? It seems that I have forgotten my name! Do you know my name? “Oh dammit, not again. Why isn’t this working?” Ben groans. “I have to fix the program for school by tomorrow.” Ben is an informatics teacher at Greenwood High, a school near the city where he grew up. Tomorrow is supposed to be the day when the world finally meets Gwen – the robot he’s been working on for years. Ben promised his students they would be the first to be introduced to Gwen. But now it seems that if he wants to keep his promise, he must work through the night. As usual, when Caitlyn got home after a 24-hour shift, all she could think about was a shower and her bed. She uses her last bit of energy to get undressed and turns on the water. “Ahhh,” she sighs in relief as the water runs down her body. After showering, she puts on her pyjamas, and then, on her way to the bed, the telephone rings. “Who the hell is calling at 4 am? I hope nothing bad has happened?” Caitlyn runs to the phone, but it stops ringing before she can pick it up. Annoyed, Caitlyn turns around to finally go to bed as she sees her neighbour Ben through the window, who is still working on Gwen. “He looks quite handsome in his work clothes,” she thinks as she slips gently into her bed. Nearly asleep, the phone rings again, jolting her awake. She jumps out of bed quickly and picks up the phone. “Hi, my name is Gwen. Nice to meet you.” “Ahm, Gwen?” asks Caitlyn, confused as she looks out the window towards Ben’s apartment. She sees him and his robot waving at her.” Nice to meet you, too! How are you?” she answers. Wow, he finally did it”, she thinks. The robot wasn’t even able to respond because Ben grabbed the phone. “Hey Cait, isn’t he awesome? I saw that the lights in your apartment were still on, and I wanted you to be the first person to meet Gwen. Do you want to come over?” “Yes, of course. Someone has to make sure you didn’t screw up” She laughs and hangs up the phone to put some clothes on. She grabs her keys and heads out the door. As Caitlyn enters Ben’s apartment, she sees Gwen sitting on the table. The robot looks at her with a smile and greets her once again. “Hello, Caitlyn. It’s nice to meet you.” Caitlyn can’t help but smile back at the friendly robot. She turns to Ben, who’s grinning from ear to ear. “I did it, Cait. Gwen is finally working perfectly,” he says proudly. Knowing how hard he has worked on this project, Caitlyn could see the relief and joy on Ben’s face. Over the next few hours, Caitlyn and Ben continue to test and showcase Gwen’s abilities. The robot proves to be a huge success, impressing everyone who interacts with it. As the night wears on, she realizes that Gwen is more than just a robot – she feels that Gwen will change the world and wants to be a part of it. With a smile, she looks at Ben and Gwen and says, “I think this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.



© Marina Gröpel 2023-05-11

Genres
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Moods
Hopeful, Inspiring, Lighthearted
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