Contest 4: Entry 2: M-O's Directive
Title: M-O's Directive
Rating: K
Warnings: Spoilers for the movie.
To cross or not to cross…that was the problem.
It wasn’t in his programming to cross the line. The little Microbe Obliterator had but one directive: maintain the pristine condition of the Axiom and its robots through optimal cleaning. Once he received orders from the ship’s main computer, he would then assemble a crew of cleaning robots in a pre-programmed line, follow that line to the workplace, obliterate the foreign contaminants, and then return to the charging stations via the same route.
That was what typically the routine would be; however, this particular cleaning job presented a few difficulties.
He was supposed to clean the EVE probes but instead discovered a renegade trash-bot that somehow ended up on the Axiom. Because this trash-bot was fully contaminated, he quickly forgot about the EVE probes and worked hard to clean this new robot; though, the garbage-bot would not stand still and dirtied up the floor easily. He even had the audacity to imprint filthy dirt on his head.
So when this job had ended and the Microbe Obliterator was about to retreat to his docking station, his scanners detected more traces of dirt, leading off from the pre-programmed line.
It had frustrated the tiny cleaner-bot. He suspected it was that garbage-bot’s fault. But looking at the illuminated light leading home and the dirt on the other side presented a dilemma.
Would he betray his directive if he just IGNORED the mess? He was an obliterator after all. Anything deemed unclean would be obliterated. Still, he wasn’t assigned to go after the trash-bot, and his other cleaning-robot friends had already retreated back to their docking stations.
But the urge to clean and purify the Axiom’s deck was over-powering.
He had never struck off the beaten path before. Would he cease to function if he did? What if he lost everything? What if that garbage-bot continued to mess up the starship? And what would happen if the Microbe Obliterator decided to stay the original course?
Looking from dirty path to clear path he bunched up his tiny body together and leaped over the line.
A siren sounded for a second. He glared warily at the line and at himself.
“Yu?...Yu...yuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyu!!!” he shook with glee. He was perfectly fine. It was worth the risk.
Then he got back to work armed only with disinfectant, his scrubbing roller, and an unknown path leading to adventure.
Rating: K
Warnings: Spoilers for the movie.
To cross or not to cross…that was the problem.
It wasn’t in his programming to cross the line. The little Microbe Obliterator had but one directive: maintain the pristine condition of the Axiom and its robots through optimal cleaning. Once he received orders from the ship’s main computer, he would then assemble a crew of cleaning robots in a pre-programmed line, follow that line to the workplace, obliterate the foreign contaminants, and then return to the charging stations via the same route.
That was what typically the routine would be; however, this particular cleaning job presented a few difficulties.
He was supposed to clean the EVE probes but instead discovered a renegade trash-bot that somehow ended up on the Axiom. Because this trash-bot was fully contaminated, he quickly forgot about the EVE probes and worked hard to clean this new robot; though, the garbage-bot would not stand still and dirtied up the floor easily. He even had the audacity to imprint filthy dirt on his head.
So when this job had ended and the Microbe Obliterator was about to retreat to his docking station, his scanners detected more traces of dirt, leading off from the pre-programmed line.
It had frustrated the tiny cleaner-bot. He suspected it was that garbage-bot’s fault. But looking at the illuminated light leading home and the dirt on the other side presented a dilemma.
Would he betray his directive if he just IGNORED the mess? He was an obliterator after all. Anything deemed unclean would be obliterated. Still, he wasn’t assigned to go after the trash-bot, and his other cleaning-robot friends had already retreated back to their docking stations.
But the urge to clean and purify the Axiom’s deck was over-powering.
He had never struck off the beaten path before. Would he cease to function if he did? What if he lost everything? What if that garbage-bot continued to mess up the starship? And what would happen if the Microbe Obliterator decided to stay the original course?
Looking from dirty path to clear path he bunched up his tiny body together and leaped over the line.
A siren sounded for a second. He glared warily at the line and at himself.
“Yu?...Yu...yuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyu!!!” he shook with glee. He was perfectly fine. It was worth the risk.
Then he got back to work armed only with disinfectant, his scrubbing roller, and an unknown path leading to adventure.