INT. THE CUBE – EVENING
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The soft glow of the overhead light bathes the room in warm yellow as they prep for bedtime.
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Emily’s pod rests on the center of the mattress now surrounded by pillows. A sits cross-legged beside her, a thin, worn storybook in his hands.
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A (serious, determined)
"I'm reading her a bedtime story."
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Jason sprawled nearby, fiddling with a blanket, raises a brow.
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JASON (teasing)
"You sure you don't wanna tell her about the cruel reality of taxes instead?"
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A (ignoring him)
"This one is called 'Rust and Steel.'"
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He opens the book and starts reading.
The story tells of a Labor bot and a Security bot—their quiet friendship blossoming into deep love despite the odds.
But misunderstanding, class prejudice, and fear from other robots rip them apart.
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By the end, the two characters sit under different skies, forever separated.
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A (softly, closing the book)
"...and they never saw each other again."
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Silence.
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Jason stares at A like he just summoned a thunderstorm into the room.
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JASON (deadpan)
"Great. Depression o'clock.
And you yelled at me for teaching her about tax fraud."
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A frowns.
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A (quietly)
"I thought it was beautiful."
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Jason opens his mouth to argue—and then just... sighs, defeated.
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JASON (grumbling)
"Whatever. If she grows up and writes emo poetry about failed love, it’s your fault."
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K (flat, already laying down)
"Appropriate emotional preparation for existence."
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They laugh lightly.
One by one, they drift off to recharge mode, soft whirring of cooling fans filling the room.
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---
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TIME SKIP – MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
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INT. THE CUBE – 2:41 AM
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Emily’s pod begins to tremble.
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A soft whimper.
Then a louder one.
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Then full-blown siren-level CRYING noises.
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Jason bolts upright in pure panic.
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JASON (blinking, hoarse whisper)
"Whuh—fire? Earthquake?!"
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A shoots up immediately and grabs the manual Josh left.
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A (focused, flipping pages)
"She's crying!"
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K calmly walks over, checking the pod’s readout.
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Jason stumbles around like a headless chicken.
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JASON (panicked, cursing)
"Dammit, dammit, this is why I don’t want one of these miniature nightmares!!"
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Emily keeps crying—loud, mechanical sobs echoing off the cube walls.
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A (reading manual aloud)
"Try feeding! Try holding! Try—uhh—singing??"
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Jason stares at him.
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JASON (flat, horrified)
"I’m not singing. I will not be a part of this cult ritual."
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Meanwhile, K gently picks up Emily, cradling the pod like it’s made of glass. He softly, almost rhythmically, rocks her.
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Jason meanwhile, flings himself under the blanket, dragging it over his entire body.
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JASON (muffled, despairing)
"I was not built for this...
I was built for slamming idiots against walls...
I was built for Security protocols... not this tiny crying gremlin!"
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He curls up tighter, murmuring into the fabric.
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JASON (muffled, nearly breaking down)
"This is why I don’t want a kid... they cry, they hate you, they grow up and call you a dinosaur and leave you in a scrapheap nursing home—"
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A gently sits beside the blanket burrito that is Jason.
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A (softly, soothing)
"It's okay. You're not alone."
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Jason peeks out a single optic, pathetic and betrayed by the world.
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Meanwhile, K—efficient as ever—manages to calm Emily down.
He rocks her with the soft mechanical equivalent of a hum, and the crying slows to a tired whimper.
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Finally, Emily’s pod goes back into a gentle sleep mode, lights pulsing softly.
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Silence returns.
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Jason finally peels himself halfway out of the blanket, looking at K like he's some kind of wizard.
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JASON (grumpy awe)
"...How the hell did you do that?"
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K (dry, simple)
"I used to hunt things. Making prey sleep is survival."
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Jason blinks slowly.
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JASON (tired sigh)
"I don't know if I should be impressed... or terrified."
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They all collapse back onto the mattress around Emily, exhausted beyond comprehension.
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Somewhere, Jason mutters something about "never trusting data pods again," but he’s already half-asleep.
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And Emily?
Peaceful, snuggled safely between the three most dangerous babysitters in the whole damn city.
ns18.188.228.10da2
