#transformers boulder

You’ve never been a big fan of robots.

  Now, do you dislike technology? Absolutely not. It would be quite hard to have a phobia of all things electronic in this modern world. No, you just find robots…strange. There is something about their distinct inhumanity which throws you off and makes you wish to avoid them altogether.

  Now that you think about it, perhaps living on an island practically dominated by robots isn’t such a good idea for someone like yourself.

  The convention is bustling with activity while the beep-boops and mechanical whirrs of showcased inventions fill the air along with the mingling murmur of excited visitors talking. A loudspeaker welcomes guests, cheerfully inviting them to explore the possibilities of tomorrow! You watch little nanobots buzz overhead like busy bees, some of them coming together to create neon logos of the sponsors funding the program. Booths are set up side-by-side, displaying all sorts of wondrous creations. You see the prototype for a flying car, an android who can bartend, and even a little machine throwing and catching balls for dogs. It’s quite the variety, and you honestly can’t help but be astounded.

  Yet, when you see the four absolutely massive robots standing at the forefront of everything in their shiny new glory, your honest fascination dies at the claws of deep unease.

  Your friend stands beside you, offering you an inquisitive look when they see your stone-faced expression. “Hey,” they say. “You alright? Helloooo? Earth to Y/N!”

  You startle, blinking. “Oh. Um, y-yeah, I’m okay. Just…not really liking the sight of these things, you know? They’re…” You eye the robots again, stomach coiling. “Unnerving.”

  “Unnerving?” Your friend snorts. “They’re just robots, Y/N. Nothing really unnerving about them. They aren’t even alive!”

  You stare into the visor of the very helicopter-esque orange-and-white-mech standing proudly before the crowd of enamored humans and feel a chill travel down your spine. “I know that,” you say. “I’m just not a fan of them. They aren’t my favorite things in the world. I mean, look at how big they are!”

  “They’re robots meant for search-and-rescue, of course they’re going to be big. But I get it, you think they’re creepy, so we don’t have to go see them if you don’t want to.” Your friend grabs your arm and points to another booth. “How about we check out Dr. Greene’s nanotech instead?”

  You know Dr. Greene; he’s a sort of strange man, clumsy in personality and clumsier with the experiments he makes. Too many times you’ve seen his creations accidentally create havoc across the island, with the fire department and police almost always having to step in to put a stop to the chaos. He’s a good man, you think, because he genuinely seems like he’s aiming to make the world a better place. He just needs to be a bit more…careful with his technology’s programming.

  “Ah, welcome, welcome!” Dr. Greene bids you a greeting with a wide smile. “A great day to see the sights of the future, is it not? Allow me to introduce you to the latest upgrade of my most recent invention!” He gestures enthusiastically to five bipedal robots which look distinctly like mechanical versions of velociraptors from Jurassic Park. Instead of having the angled, sharp-toothed head you expect, however, they simply have a narrow, sleek searchlight with at least three antenna blinking green. “Say hello to the newest version of my search-and-rescue bots, designed specially to work alongside the police department! These beauties have all the best reconnaissance technology within them, giving the police a very helpful hand in tracking down criminals, finding those who are lost, and so much more! They can even read license plates and print car tickets! Isn’t that amazing?”

  “I mean, sure, I guess,” your friend says. “But, don’t we, like…already have people who do that? Plus, those big guys over there seem to have search-and-rescue covered.” They jab a thumb towards the large mechs you two passed.

  “Oh yes, indeed we do! These robots aren’t meant to take people’s jobs. They’re simply here to assist! Cases can be completed 50 times faster than without them! At least…” Dr. Greene glances fleetingly at a clipboard on his table. “That’s what my calculations tell me. I…may have to redo the numbers. But, my belief in the search-and-rescue robots stands! Griffin Rock would greatly benefit from them! And, if they really take off, so would the rest of the world!”

  “...Uh huh. Cool!” Your friend nods. “Can we see them in action?”

  “What?” you exclaim.

  “Why, certainly!” Dr. Greene looks ecstatic. He grabs a touchpad and begins typing something into it. “Just give me a moment to boot them up…”

  “Wait.” You take a step back. “Wait, I-I don’t think I want to see them moving.”

  “Y/N, come on!” Your friend takes your arm and gently steers you back over to their side. “It’s fine! We’re in a controlled environment with the doctor taking care of everything!”

  “A massive convention with creepy-looking robots who are near images of velociraptors doesn’t make me feel like everything is fine!”

  “They aren’t real dinosaurs. They don’t even have mouths! They can’t hurt us. What could possibly go wrong?”

  Five individual beeps sound from the robots. Their heads perk up and their antennas jump to attention. The searchlights sweep over you and your friend, then continue onwards to the rest of the town-wide gathering, taking in every sight they can see. One of them steps off of its perch. The three-toed metal feet thump concerningly against the blacktop as it strides forward.

  Dr. Greene laughs, delighted. “Look at that! It’s already starting to cover ground! Incredible!”

  “You mean, you aren’t making it do that?” you ask him.

  “Well…no. No, I’m not,” he admits. “But, this is in its programming! So everything is going as it should!”

  A crowd congregates around the robot. Everyone gasps in delight and begins taking pictures. A man steps closer and snaps a close-up shot of the bot’s searchlight. This causes it to stumble back a little, its antennas erratic as it shakes its head.

  “Oh, please don’t do that!” Dr. Greene cries over the crowd’s murmur. “They are very sensitive to other technology and their signals! You are allowed to take photos, just do so from a distance!”

  The robot begins making a strange keening noise. It continues throwing its head back and forth, like it's trying to drown out the loud noises and constant flash photography. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say the poor thing is growing quite flustered in its current environment.

  That sense of pity, however, gives under the weight of fear when all five of its antennas turn red.

  The robot thrusts its neck back and screeches. Quicker than you think anyone can anticipate, it turns and charges the same man who took the first flash photo, slamming into him and sending him careening backwards. The crowd’s awe turns into shock; screams echo in the air. Someone’s child starts crying. Mothers and fathers take their kid’s hands and start to run. Others follow suit, and before you know it, a stampede of panicked chaos floods the area around Dr. Greene’s booth.

  “Oh…oh no.” Dr. Greene furiously taps away at his touchpad. “Nonono! It’s too much for the bots’ audidal sensors! They can’t take the amount of stimulatory tension!”

  The robots are going absolutely crazy. People are running and you nearly get stampeded by the panicked mob as they try to get away from the threats. You feel your friend’s hand get ripped from your own, separating the two of you while they scream your name. You scream back, trying to recover and reach them, but someone hits your shoulder, and you fall with a grunt. Dr. Greene’s booth is in shambles. The search-and-rescue bots are off destroying other inert robots and unsuspecting property. One of them, however, focuses on you. It gives a screech, very unpleased with your presence.

  Oh, shit, is all you think. And then you are running as fast as you can, while the robot pelts after in pursuit. You can’t outrun it. You know you can’t outrun it. It’s going to catch you, and then who knows what it will do. You will die, you will be injured, this is why you hate robots, you-

  You look behind you just in time to see a massive mechanical foot slam down on the search-and-rescue bot. It completely shatters, sparks flying from its flayed parts as its roars stutter and gradually go out with a drooping groan.

  You follow the sturdy body of the thing now in the bot’s place with your eyes, up, up, up, until you meet the gaze of the gigantic helicopter mech. It regards you with a tilt of the helm, the ground reverberating with its heavy steps while it moves closer and bends down on one knee. Your heart stutters in your chest while you watch its arm rise with fluid mobility, fingers extending for you, ready to grab you and trap you in their hold. Horror bears upon you. Run, your brain howls. Run.

  You resume your escape just as you feel an index finger touch your shoulder. The mech makes a startled noise, joints creaking as it rises and quickly follows, nearly causing you to fall over again with how absolutely thunderous its feet are when they hit the ground. You don’t know where exactly you are running; you just need to get away from the thing chasing you. This is just too much for you to handle.

  Luck doesn’t seem to be on your side, unfortunately, because as you are pelting across the road that is directly across from the convention’s parking lot, another giant robot skids into view and cuts you off. This one is blue-and-white, with qualities that define it as part of Griffin Rock’s police force. Its sirens are wailing as it holds out both hands, mouth opening to bellow a very authoritative “HALT.” Whoever is controlling this thing does not seem to be happy with you. It takes a lot for you to not just freeze like a deer in the headlights, yet you find it in you to steel your courage and run right between its legs. The robot makes for you, the momentum of its hand whooshing right against your spine. You don’t know how you are still alive at this point, yet you aren’t questioning. As long as you can keep running, you will.

  The street is lined with cars, yet it is empty. Police sirens, not from the robot chasing you, blare in the distance. Your breath comes out in short, frantic puffs, legs protesting with pain in your muscles. But you don’t stop. You can’t stop. You can’t let these robots catch you, you can’t.

  A fire engine’s horn bellows as it makes a sharp turn from a side road and screeches to a halt in front of you. Another vehicle, a large green bulldozer, follows from behind, rumbling past its right and essentially cutting off a possible escape route. You turn in a circle, watching with impending dread as the two robots close in. “Nononono,” you whisper. “What is happening? Why are you doing this?!”

  Loud crunching sounds release from the fire engine and bulldozer as they suddenly condense upon themselves with a shifting of metal. You can only watch in horror as they expand, arms and legs forming along with heads. Both turn into robots equally in stance with the other two. The four of them keep you trapped within the circle. There’s no way out. Panic completely overtakes you, and you collapse to the ground, pulling your hair as you begin to cry.

  The orange-and-white robot gasps-actually gasps-and drops to its knees. “Heyheyhey, c’mon little guy, don’t cry,” it murmurs. “We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all.”

  “Blades,” the police robot hisses, lightly shoving the other’s shoulder. “You just gave us away.”

  “Oh, come on Chase, look at them!” The newly-dubbed Blades gestures to you. “They’re scared of us already! Knowing that we’re sentient won’t change anything!”

  Actually, that changes a lot. No longer are you simply dealing with rogue machines. Now you’re face-to-face with robots who can think?! Your panicked wheezes grow worse, and more tears spill down your cheeks.

  “Oh. Oh, geez.” Blades looks like it-he?-wants to help you, yet every time he moves his digits towards you, you shy away with a pathetic cry. “Heatwave, w-what do we do?! How do we calm them?!”

  The fire engine bot steps forward. When you look up at him, the blue vizor over his eyes somewhat obscures his expression, giving you no impression of what to expect. You drop your gaze, unable to hold eye contact for long.

  “Human,” the robot says. “Dry your tears. We are not going to harm you.”

  “Yes, he is right.” The green robot finally speaks. “You see, we are Autobots, hailing from the planet Cybertron, and we have been tasked by our great leader Optimus Prime to protect this island and all the organisms living on it! We-”

  “Boulder, let’s not start with all of the facts right now,” Heatwave cuts off. “They are overwhelmed.” He bends down and closes in on you, huffing out a low exhale of exhaust that lightly tosses your hair back. “Little one, lift your head.”

  You whine softly, responding with a shaky “N-No…”

  “I need you to. Look at me. Please.”

  A single mechanical digit gently tucks under your chin and tilts your head up. When you see the gazes of the four robots now all crowding around you, it makes you want to flinch back. But Heatwave doesn’t allow you to, and he simply murmurs a low reassurance. “Do not be afraid. I swear on my title as an Autobot that we have no intentions of harming you. I mean it. We work together with the Griffin Rock Firehouse Headquarters to protect this island and its inhabitants with the blessing of Optimus Prime himself. We are not Decepticons. We are good.”

  “Optimus huh? Decepticons? I-I don’t know what those mean.” You hold your head in your hands. “I’m so confused…”

  “We know you are, tiny human,” Boulder murmurs sympathetically. “But we promise, we will explain everything to you when the time is right.”

  “Well, maybe not everything,” Chase points out.

  “The point is,” Heatwave continues, “ you are safe. There is no reason to fear us. I promise.”

  “Yeah!” Blades pipes in. “And…for all it is worth, I’m really sorry we chased you. It…wasn’t our best move, I admit. But we just wanted to make sure you were okay. Those robots could have really hurt you.”

  He sounds so sincere. While you are still scared, these mechs…don’t actually seem like they want to kill you. They’re…kind of nice? Your terror begins to fade into mere fear. Swallowing, you whisper a soft “It’s okay.”

  Chase, Blades, and Boulder coo to you affectionately. Heatwave sighs. “You will grow used to us as we spend more time together. Now that you know what we really are, I regret to say that we simply cannot just let you go.” He lowers his hand to the ground and presents it palm-up. “Come with us. We will take you to the firehouse. The Burns family can explain more.”

  You eye the hand warily. Going with them will certainly mean your life will never be the same. But like he said, do you have a choice? You certainly don’t think so. Besides, you know the Burns family. They’re good people, and if these robots are telling the truth, then they can certainly provide more answers for you. So, although with great reluctance, you climb over the massive mechanical fingers and onto the center of his palm. Curling up with your knees tucking to your chest, you let out a low whimper when everything shifts with him lifting you up.

  “Do not be afraid,” Heatwave repeats. His voice is a rumble of thunder. His metal exudes a soothing warmth. “I won’t let you fall.”

  Blades and Boulder smile, with the former giving you a little thumbs up. Chase dips his head in an affirming nod. And Heatwave simply offers a soft look. “Don’t worry,” he says. “You will be okay.”