Chapter 24: Lost Record Number I (3)

The rest of the day was uneventful. Aside from the usual cold treatment, no one really wished to pick a fight with Ender. Not only because of his background but also because of the two young ladies who frequently hanged out around him. Even though many despised him for this, no one was more hurt than the man in question himself. For a weakling unable to even defend himself, how long would this fanciful peace last?

The bell rang across the hall. It was the end of the day and students were herding out to join their culture clubs or extracurricular activities. Many took this chance to improve themselves, either their own physical abilities or personal knowledge. After all, in this society where talent was everything, one must always strike forward in order to find a place for themselves. Or else, be swept away and forgotten. Helenor and Loriya, as part of their duties as representatives, must stay behind to take care of some school administration affairs.

As for Ender, he quietly found his way out to the exit. His presence was so weak he could be barely noticed. Most of the time, people saw him because of Loriya or Helenor. Being called the Good-for-nothing brother or the Zero of the school was something that has long stuck with him for years. To avoid Ender being persecuted, the two girls tried to stay close to him. But, the person who wanted to separate the girls from Ender the most was Ender himself. Without a doubt, the two were the most important persons in his life. Yet, it was for the same reason he dared not to be their burden. He didn’t want to become the obstacles to their futures. He was afraid, afraid of his failure of a being would drag them down with him. The light from these two stars were so bright for a mere shade such as him. While he refused to say it, it hurt to stay near them.

As Ender walked toward the entrance of the school, a black suspending car stopped in front of him. A familiar face poked out of the opening window. It was his father, the famous doctor Morpha. A biologist at heart, doctor Morpha was among the most influential people in the entire country. His profound knowledge on the human conditions has earned him a lot of respect, as well as many other rewards from the government. One of his greatest accomplishments, at least publicly knowing, was the pills that practically everyone in the population took. It greatly boosted a person’s brain capacity, allowing for clearer thoughts and improving reasoning skills. In addition, it also provided encourage the growth of both physical and mental abilities, ranging from pure strength to psychic power. In short, it was a wonder drug. Although, the origin of this wonder drug has remained quite mysterious, probably for securities reasons.

“How was the day, my champion?” Morpha asked cheerfully. “Have everyone been treating you nicely?”

“…Yes, of course!” Ender forced a smile. “Why are you here, dad?”

“Did you forget? We are getting you one of those assistant robots you love so much. We talked about this at breakfast.” Said Morpha.

“No no, I do remember.” Ender said tiredly. He really did forget about it after what happened at school today. “Let’s go then!”

The atmosphere inside the car was quite suffocating. Ender has always imagined himself as the stain and shame of his family. The others were so talented while him alone was just a zero. But strangely, none of his family has ever blamed him so. His sister always tried to help her brother. His mother cared for him deeply. His father, despite his status, never made him do anything he didn’t want. When he got bad grades, his father encouraged him to do better, but never scorned him for his failure. This made him even sadder as it would seem like his father never had any faith in him in the first place. Either way, just like Loriya, Ender feared that his father’s reputation would do downhill because of him. But his father kept his works very private so even if it somehow affected him, Ender would never know. Noticing his son deep in his thoughts, Morpha spoke.

“Son, if you have any trouble at school or whatever, you can tell me.” Morpha reassured his son.

“Everything is fine, dad.” Ender said.

“Okay. But you know who to talk to if you have any problem.”

Ender did not want to rely on his father’s influence. He has already caused enough troubles for the family. Incompetence, illness, how far must he burden them more? So he chose silent, believing that he could cope with this situation.

Perhaps it was time to change the air a bit, Ender told himself. School was over, at least for the day. He should not bury his head inside that pit anymore and just enjoy the moment while he still could. Because of his recent disability, Ender was going to need someone who could assist him when he went out. In short, a helper of some sort. However, that was only an excuse. The real reason was simply because he has always wanted a personal robot of his own, reminding him of a movie he used to watch as a child. It was about a superhero with a humanoid robot as his sidekick. The overall story was quite generic but the thought of having a super artificial intelligence as a friend and partner has captured Ender’s interest.

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And today, his wish came true. Exiting the car, Ender was greeted by a man in suit with a ridiculous hairstyle that almost looked like a helix on top of his head, standing in front of a luxurious building. Just from a glance, Ender could already tell that this was a top-quality establishment. After inviting the father and son to their office, the manager with his helix head began to present their finest selections via a hologram. But, none of those pleased Ender. They were all humanoid and for some reasons possessed female bodies. With the current technology, these androids looked identical to real humans. The sample even felt the same with warm skin and soft texture. However, those were not what Ender was looking for. To him, choosing a beautiful android seemed a bit perverted even though everyone already knew what these androids were going to be used for once they got into possession of a lonely male at his age. Still, he was embarrassed by the idea so it was rejected. The search took longer than expected. It was only after an hour of passing from one model to the other that Ender found his match. Unexpectedly, it was something entirely different from what Ender has seen so far. For unlike the current models which all shared a very close appearance to their masters, this model was not only outdated in term of technology advances, it also had a striking appearance.

“I will take this.” Ender took his decision. The item he picked was actually a miniature metallic ball with limbs following a steampunk design. The ball was its body but at the same time its face with two glowing cameras to be used as eyes and a rectangular bar which flashed when it talked.

“Uhm I am afraid there has been a mistake. That item is actually not for sales. The hardware is really outdated. The parts production has stopped, making it impossible to repair in case it breaks down and the software is no longer compatible with our current network. At most, it can be used as a toy but for a personal assistance robot, it is….” the manager said.

“But this one is very cool in my opinion. And unlike the new models, I can customize it however I want, not just appearance.” Ender said.

“It is true but like I said, sir, the production line has stopped for the model so it will be very difficult to find the additional parts. And because of its small size, it won’t be able to help you with your daily tasks.”

“I will take it.”

“But sir…”

“Are you sure this is what you want, son?” asked Morpha.

“Yes, dad.” Ender said without hesitation, his eyes focusing on the screen.

“We will take it.” Morpha said to the manager.

“But sir, it is not for sales. Our company policy wouldn’t allow us to…”

“I am sure we can arrange something, right?” Morpha asserted.

“…Yes of course, doctor Morpha! I will prepare it right away.”

That evening, sitting all alone in his dark room, Ender opened the box he brought back from the store. Like a child getting all excited for his birthday present, his eyes glowed upon seeing his gift: a black metallic ball. But the moment he touched the thing, two blue dots lighted up and began to analyze its surroundings. Then, it jumped up and let out a pair of legs and arms as thin as a pen.

‘So cute!’ Astora shouted inside.

The metal ball on its thin legs slowly turned around and looked at Ender.

“Are you my master?” The ball thing asked in a cute young voice.

“Yes. I am Ender.” Said the young man.

“Hello, master Ender! I have registered you as my owner. What should I do now?” The rounded robot inquired.

“Hum...we should start by giving you a name. I don’t suppose you have one?”

“A name? Do you mean my model? It is MBT11.”

“No not that...wait a minute...M-B-T-11…” Ender has actually prepared a name for his robot. It was inspired by the robot character he saw in his favorite movie. Coincidentally, this little ball also shared that name. Perhaps it was fate that brought them together. Of course not, in this world, fate had no place to explain these coincidences. “From now on, I shall call you….Eleven.”

“Eleven...is that my name?” Asked the tiny robot barely bigger than the size of a fist.

“Yes. Do you like it?” Asked Ender.

“Any name given by master is good for me.”

“Ahaha. From now on, you will be my sidekick. Together, we will change the world, no, the entire universe! Muahahaha!” Ender declared excitedly in a pose but then quickly redrew back to his usual stature. “….as if. What am I saying? I am not a kid anymore…” Ender felt disappointed at himself.

“Does the master wish to conquer the world?” asked Eleven.

“No…rather, I want to change it. They say the current system is for the survival of our race. But they are wrong.”

“How do Master know that they are wrong?”

“The current system is aimed to put the strong in power while the weak follows. But the strong becomes drunk of power and turns the people they are supposed to guide into nothing more than slaves, obedient dogs. People like my father, who treated me so well despite me being a complete failure, are rare. The rest are just like Sylvestro, preying on the weak.” Ender ranted.

“Is it not the right of the strong to rule over those weaker than them? For the weak cannot rule themselves. Is that not the natural order?” Eleven questioned. The question itself came from the curiosity of a little robot who wanted to learn more than just the presets installed inside him.

“I guess it is for some people. But this is the truth I choose to believe in.” Ender replied.

“Is it not selfish to assume your own perspective as the truth over the view of the mass? Does it not pose a threat to the common good?”

“It is.” Ender smiled.

“So Master wishes to shatter the world’s order and brings in a new one?”

“I suppose I do.”

“Sound fun.”

“Do you even know what fun is?”

“The enjoyment of pleasure, particularly in activities one desires to do. Since it is what you want, don’t you think it is fun to do so?” asked Eleven.

“Haha, I never thought of it that way. But hey, what we just spoke are just for fun. With someone like me, it is impossible to do such a task. Remember to not speak of this to anyone, you got that?”

“Yes. I shall put it in the confidential data.”

“I will go to sleep now. You should go charge yourself for tomorrow.”

“Yes, Master! Good night!”

“Good night, Eleven!”

…..

…..

…..

“Lost Record Number I has ended. Exiting memory!”