Chapter 2The Price They Paid: Ruining My Foster Family

My mom squeezed my hand happily, "Good, I'm glad you like it."

But her eyes never left the room she had decorated.

Her expression wasn't really about being happy that my preferences were met.

It was more like satisfaction that her own decorating skills were being appreciated.

But none of that mattered to me.

Parents who didn't really care, and a robot daughter without a heart.

We were a perfect match.

The day after I arrived was a Sunday.

Just like that, I inherited all the extracurriculars Unit 2 had before me.

Piano lessons, dance class, foreign language tutoring, swimming, academic tutoring…

My dad patted my head. "Summer, this is all for your own good, to help you become the best possible person in the future."

To better integrate us into the human world, Dr. Nelson, in creating digital life, hadn't just given us near-human appearances. He'd also made us simulate human energy levels.

Meaning, if we were overloaded with too many tasks, our chips would experience stress overload, just like a human brain.

This was clearly stated in the digital life instruction manual.

But my parents believed that if other kids could do it, their child couldn't fall behind.

And, being a robot, we were expected to do even better.

The previous Unit 2 couldn't handle the pressure and tried to use her programming to resist our human parents.

The consequence was that Mom and Dad, citing her disobedience, sent her back to the institute for decommissioning.

But I was different. Having gained self-awareness back at the research center, I'd kept it hidden.

I rewrote my own programming. Now I possess ten times the energy and resilience of a human.

Handling the current load was more than manageable for me.

To ensure my own survival to the greatest extent possible in the perilous human world…

Obedience was the prime directive for us robots.