Rose had visited the abandoned junkyard several times before, but this was the first time she'd come with the intention of stealing.

Half a mile away from anywhere of note, the only sign of civilisation was the distant hum of cars driving down the A22 in the distance. The sound felt relaxing to her, like the waves of the ocean.

She approached the chain link fence surrounding the complex. Someone had repaired the hole she used to enter last time, but she had come prepared. She rummaged around in her backpack and retrieved a pair of bolt cutters. Expertly praying apart rusty segments of fence with her tools, she breached the defences and found herself in a sea of discarded garbage.

From handheld items like phones and radios, to larger appliances like televisions and fridges, the junkyard had it all. But there was one particular prize she was looking for: A robot. It was rare but not unheard of for companies like Ashdown to dump their decommissioned workers in facilities like these, and she was planning on...

Hmm.

She wasn't really sure what she was planning on doing to be honest. Selling one for parts? Repairing it as a passion project? She told herself she'd figure it out later. There wasn't even a guarantee that there *was* anything here anyway. Better to not get her hopes up too early.

She gripped the scanner in her left hand. She'd spent the past week building it, the perfect device for combing for artificial life. The android designs that Ashdown Logistics pioneered had distinctive battery designs to accommodate for their intense workload, and it quickly became the industry standard. If she was able to locate a power supply with the scanner, she *should* be able to locate a bot. In theory. The scanner wasn't picking anything up yet though.

She turned on her torch and began walking deeper into the facility. The scanner's range wasn't particularly good due to the sensor she'd opted to use so-

Her eyes lit up in excitement. A figure! In the distance! Unmoving!

She crept up towards it, her eyes filled instantly with recognition: The body of a robot, slumped backwards over a pile of broken televisions, a steel rod driven perfectly through its left eye, pinning it in place. Most of its pure white hair had been torn away, the few remaining patches blowing gently in the wind.

Its chest had caved in as well, and the silicone plates that covered its rusted internals were covered with dirt and mould.

Rose wondered what had happened to it, how it could have gotten this damaged. It was hard to make it out in the state it was in but it seemed to be some kind of worker bot? Definitely not anything that would normally have combat experience, that's for sure. If any robot rights groups found out about this they'd be having a field day. But more than that... She wondered how her scanner never picked it up.

She ripped the steel rod out of its head and flipped it over. Its charging port was missing, a large cavity in its place. By the looks of it, someone had forcefully removed the battery and several other key components by the looks of it. What *happened* here?

A mystery like this was irresistible to her. If she could somehow repair it, she could interrogate it, and then she potentially had a story she could give to the press, or even one of the robot rights groups. They'd been springing up a lot recently and she was sure at least one of them would take interest. 

She dragged the bot through the muddy ground, through the hole in the fence, and loaded it into her car.

Rose sat on a chair in her workshop, staring at the android in front of her in contemplation. The first thing she needed to do was assess the damages and figure out if it was possible to salvage the bot. A more talented maintenance girl would probably know by now, but Rose was just a hobbyist, so she *really* needed to know what model it was. 

The sticker with this valuable information on had long since been washed away by rain, so she had no choice but to begin disassembling its head in the hopes of finding a motherboard. 

After half an hour's work, the bot's head laid sprawled out in pieces on her desk. She admired the beauty of the intricate mechanisms in front of her, how so many tiny parts could come together to form a believable imitation of a human face. At least, they would if they were in good condition. She could already tell that most of them had either rusted beyond repair or been badly damaged by the blunt force of the steel rod, so they'd have to be replaced. Still, the process should be simple enough once she got the model number.

Inspecting the motherboard, she noticed a peculiar chip with a pink heart on it. She'd never seen something like that before. She took a photo of it and made a mental note to reverse image search it later. Turning the board over, she was met with an unfortunate sight: The Ashdown Logistics logo, and the model number 4MB-3R. 

Ashdown's androids were known for being made with parts that were as closed source and proprietery as physically possible. They refused to release any data sheets or schematics, and the parts that *could* be bought were insanely expensive. No one, not even the smartest engineers of their rival companies had been able to figure out how to create even an imitation of their personality chips, so they held a complete monopoly over the robotics industry. 

Not only that, but the 4MBs were several generations ago. In fact, Rose was almost certain that they had been discontinued in 2002. By now, they were onto the 8MB range, which were mechanically unrecognisable from their 34 year old counterparts. 

Rose slumped backwards into her chair. There was absolutely no way in hell she would be able to buy any replacement parts for this, and she doubted that she'd be able to find any more 4MB units, let alone a 4MB-3R. She had no idea what the difference between the sub units even was, but she was certain it would be significant enough to hinder her progress.

She sighed. It looked like she'd need to take matters into her own hands. There *was* a crude accessory that was compatible with most androids she'd encountered before: A modified cathode ray tube screen could be used to visualise a robot's thoughts. With some training, she was sure that the 4MB-3R could teach itself how to use one as a face. It wouldn't be a great solution by any means but it'd definitely be better than having a caved in, unmoving face. And it wasn’t like the bot would be stuck with it forever, just until she found something better to use.

As for the rest of the body? She could replace the charger port with an external charging system she had lying around, and she was sure she had some spare torso pieces buried *somewhere* in her workshop. There were obviously a lot more parts missing but it'd probably be best to get the basic functionality working first. After all, she wouldn't want to put effort into building a body for an android that might not even be capable of turning on anymore. 

She gazed out her window wistfully, watching the cars pass by below her. In a way, Brighton looked like a giant circuit board, the roads forming tracks between the various buildings, which resembled cathodes, diodes and chips. Or perhaps it was the other way around, and circuit boards looked like cities. 

Despite living in a bustling city, she could never shake away the loneliness she felt in apartment. She was a single, lonely electron in a vast uncaring circuit board, but perhaps she'd be able to find a companion in the form of this bot. And if not, it'd certainly give her something to take her mind off things for a while.

4MB-3R-0069196 awoke suddenly with no sense of sight, hearing, or even control of its limbs. Completely alone with its thoughts, desperately wondering what was going on and how it got like this.

It began by running a simple diagnostics check, discovering to its horror that almost all of its major components had either failed, or were seemingly no longer connected. Perhaps there had been some kind of accident. A car crash? But then it wouldn’t be awake right now. Not only that, it seemed like it was currently running on a different power supply unit to normal. 

4MB-3R checked its recent logs and memories. Nothing of note there. Seems like it had been called to a meeting with Miss Clayton (An honour!!!!!) and…. Whatever had happened to it then had disabled its ability to save memories to disk.

After a few minutes of contemplation, it felt a strange sensation. It almost felt like… Something touching its face? But according to the diagnostics checks it no longer *had* a face. Then suddenly it felt something connecting to it and… Vision!

4MB-3R scanned its surroundings. It appeared to be inside a workshop. Or rather… A living room that had been converted into a workshop. Several large shelves full of various parts lined the walls of this peculiar room, while tools and cables lay strewn across the carpeted floor. Directly in front of 4MB-3R’s field of vision, a large mirror was propped up against the wall. Looking through it, the android could see what it assumed was its body. 

The delicate silicon panels had been removed from its frame, exposing the bare metal chassis underneath. Instead of being connected to an official Ashdown charging station, a long, thick cable connected 4MB-3R to a standard wall socket. Strangest of all, its head seemed to have been replaced by a television, which was currently displaying several question marks against a black background. A webcam was mounted on top of the television, which 4MB-3R assumed was what was providing it with its new sense of vision.

A human approached 4MB-3R, carrying a small metal cube. She looked like she was in her mid twenties, and had a pretty, freckled face, with pink hair, which was currently tied up into a bun. She was wearing a long, black shirt with a drawing of a cat on it, and seemingly nothing else. 

She’s beautiful, 4MB-3R thought to itself, staring at her intently through the webcam. To its horror, it noticed that the television attached to its body now displayed those words. Could it be… displaying its thoughts? 

The girl moved the webcam onto the table, making sure to angle it so that 4MB-3R could see what she was doing, and carefully tipped the television onto its side. Reaching into the innards of the device, she began rummaging around until she found a long, red cable. She blew on the connector, which caused 4MB-3R to feel a tingling sensation, and plugged it into the box she had carried into the room. After a second, 4MB-3R could suddenly hear again!

The whirring of fans, the sounds of the girl screwing the speaker into the tv, the woman’s gentle breathing, the sound of traffic in the distance, the rain outside against the glass of a nearby window, it all came rushing into her sensors at once, almost overwhelming her but not quite.

The girl seemed to notice this, and stroked the screen tenderly. 

“Don’t worry, you’re doing so well for me! I know this must be super scary for you” said the girl in a tender voice while stroking the screen, clearly noticing 4MB-3R’s anxiety. Her touch felt good, yet despite this the android wondered how it could possibly feel someone’s touch through a sheet of solid glass. Was it due to the static electricity? 

The girl set the television back on the correct side. “You must have a lot of questions right now! I know I would. I’m going to try and find a vocal synthesiser for you, but in the meantime I can read what’s on your screen. What’s your name? Mine is Rose”

That’s such a pretty name, 4MB-3R thought, before realising its every thought was being broadcasted for Rose to see. 

“Oh thank you!!!” Rose said, beaming “I chose it myself”

What is my name, 4MB-3R wondered. It had always been referred to as its serial number, 4MB-3R-0069196, or simply as “the bot”. Did it even want a name? 4MB-3R is fine, it thought at last, underlining the name several times on the screen.

“How is that pronounced?” 

It’d probably be easier to tell you once you find a vocal synthesiser, 4MB-3R thought, before suddenly freaking out over how impatient that sounded.

“Don’t worry about that! I can’t imagine how weird it probably feels for you right now” 

Rose stood up and began inspecting a nearby shelf. “I’m sure there’s one here somewhere… Although it.. You might not like it. It’s quite extreme.” 

4MB-3R wondered to itself how a voice could possibly sound extreme, as Rose fished the box from a bucket on one of the lower shelves. It was the size of her thumb, and was made of a frosted, pink plastic. 

Rose tilted the television on its side again, and began poking around. This time she had forgotten to move the webcam aside in her excitement, so 4MB-3R had no idea what she was doing in there.

“This might feel a bit weird at first” she said at last, and plugged the box into the bot’s motherboard. “Try and focus on saying something simple. Like your name”

“H-heLLO. M-my name is 4MB-3R” it stuttered out. The voice was…. Definitely extreme. It was high pitched, robotic, and the speakers in the television had definitely seen better days. But most importantly of all, it had a strong feminine feeling to it.

“Sorry about that. I salvaged it from a kids toy, I know it’s not great. I can try and buy a new one tomorrow!” 

“No it’s… I like it! It has personality to it. My old voice just felt dull and boring. This feels right to me.” 4MB-3R replied, as its screen became covered in pink hearts again.

“Well as long as you’re okay with it, that’s fine by me,” Rose replied, sifting through a box of tools and retrieving a screwdriver, “I just kindof assumed you’d hate it since you look like you’re one of the androgynous models”

“Well I…” 4MB-3R stopped talking almost as soon as it started, struggling to put its thoughts into words. As delivery drivers, the 4MB units had been designed to look as androgynous and unremarkable as possible. 4MB-3R had often found itself envying the slender, feminine frames of the 4NN units that were responsible for interacting with the mostly male customer base. Was it just jealous of the attention they got or… was there something else to it? 

“I think I prefer feminine”, 4MB-3R said at last

“Well… I need to replace the plating on your chassis anyway so… What if I made you look more feminine, too?”

The fans within 4MB-3R’s head began whirring with excitement. At Ashdown, any modification was banned, even something as simple as putting sitckers on your panels. The thought of being able to do body modification, something that 4MB-3R wouldn’t consider even in its wildest dreams, filled it with an indescribably joy.