I don’t know when it started, when I first came to life, I just know what I have to do. I have to deliver food to people. There are people out there, starving and waiting for me to bring them their groceries or snacks. I cannot be late. I must do what I have to do to get to them, no matter the challenge.

And challenge it is. It’s a different kind of challenge from the ones I was used to before. I don’t remember much of my life before, of what happened before I was brought to this weird world where people order food from their phones and then some nice man loads the food into my compartment and I keep it nice and toasty or safe and chilly until I get to the person’s house.

The journey is normally okay but there have been some difficulties along the way, that’s for certain. Birds, squirrels and dogs have tried to get the food from me before but my lid is locked tight. They can’t get it out unless I want them to. So far, I’ve been successful every time that I’ve pushed past the critter and scurried away towards the location my map has shown me.

That’s another thing that’s different to my life before. I have a map. I can see it all times. It hovers at the edge of my vision, just on the right. There’s something else on the left. It really confused me at first but then I worked out what it was. I think part of the issue is that I couldn’t really read at first. Plus, there was no tutorial or anything to explain it.

I just had to get used to staring at the weirdly shaped letters and numbers on the left side of the screen until the little voice in my programming explained what it was. It explained a lot of things but it didn’t show up until I’d been conscious and aware for a couple of days.

They’re my stats, apparently. I have stats now. They all started at zero but they’re slowly going up. All except speed. That’s stayed the same. I didn’t have any stats in the last world I was in. Or wait, maybe I did? I don’t know and I don’t remember. I can’t work out if that world is getting fuzzier and harder to recall or not. Before, I could remember some things. A face, how it sounded when someone whispered my name, the feeling of a hand brushing my arm. That sounds ridiculous now and I know it. I mean, I don’t have arms. I’m a robot. I don’t have arms or legs or even skin for someone to touch. I don’t even remember that person’s name anymore.

But it doesn’t matter to me. Not anymore. The only thing that matters to me is the flashing icon at the bottom of the left side of my screen, right under my stats. Someone is placing an order.

I can’t help but shift back and forth slightly, my wheels nudging me towards the front door of the shop. There are other robots waiting for the order, none of them moving or showing any signs of life, but I want to be the one that is chosen. I want to go forth into the world again, rather than stay in a line outside a shop. I’m not at the front of the line though. There’s another white square robot closest to the door.

But there’s a gap. There’s a gap between it and the door. A gap just about big enough for one more robot. But should I? Can I even? It seems cheeky, maybe even not allowed but the voice inside me hasn’t said a word so surely, it can’t be that bad.

I glance at the flashing icon again. It’s changed. They’ve placed the order. I steel my determination and burst forwards, speeding out of my place in the line and rushing towards the small gap. I squeeze myself in next to the other robot, knowing that, if I had a heart, it would be racing. But I’ve managed it. I’ve gotten to the door just in time.

Determination increased.

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Speed 1/10 Hope 3/10 Determination 3.5/10 Happiness 3/10 Pride 3/10 Battery 98%

A man opens it, a bag of groceries in his hand. I can’t see much through the plastic but he’s also holding a pack of toilet paper. Oh no, it must be urgent. I hope that someone isn’t waiting for me to arrive to use the toilet. They could be, I need to be quick.

The man looks down at me and I see him shake his head but a smile plays on his lips. The main part of my body barely comes up to his knees so I need up at him from the camera on my lid. His dark hair falls over his eyes, making it hard to judge his emotion accurately, but I think he is happy to see me. It’s not as obvious as with other people. They openly speak when they see me but this man rarely does.

I cycle through my list of phrases, trying to find the right thing to say to him to greet him, my search becoming frantic as he pulls out his phone to unlock me. It feels rude for me not to say anything to him, to just sit in silence as he loads the order into me and sends me on my way.

“You have received an order,” the pleasant voice inside of me says just as I find the right phrase.

I ignore her, choosing instead to speak to the man.

“I’m Dasher and I am ready to take the order!” I say, my voice sounding both young and robotic.

It was unnerving at first. I remember being surprised the first time that I spoke but now it feels more natural, more like me. I think that most of the robots have a similar voice to mine but they rarely speak. They don’t speak to the man but I do every time. I make sure to.

The man laughs softly, the noise little more than an exhale.

“Of course, you are, Dasher. Silly little thing,” he says but his tone is fond as he nudges me softly with his foot. “Got some groceries going to seventy-four station road.”

I start to search through my list again, wishing that I had something appropriate to say to him but I know that I don’t so I have to give up. The preprogrammed phrases are good and I’m glad that I had them but, at the same time, I wish that I had more. I wish that I could say whatever I was thinking to him. Instead, I settle for moving forwards slightly, hoping that he’ll sense my excitement.

He’s too busy typing on his phone though. The instruction comes through and I open my lid. I look at my cameras inside as he lowers the food in, eager to get moving. Station road isn’t far but I need to cross four roads to get there and one of them is always busy. I need to get moving quickly because who knows how long I’ll be waiting for someone to come and push the button on the traffic lights for me.

The man shuts the lid and once more, I feel a pang of sadness for not having something to say to him. There is one thing that I could say but it’s not ideal. It’s better than nothing though.

“Thank you!” I chirp at him.

He pauses, still leaning forwards slightly and watches me for a moment.

“You’re welcome,” he says after a pause, still eyeing me. “God, talking to a robot. How lonely am I?”

I don’t have a response to say to him that time but him being lonely makes me sad. I wish that I could do something to help. Bring him some baked goods or something. That seems to make people happy.

I don’t remember what used to make me happy, back when I was a person. Now, the thing that makes my happiness stat increase the most is a successful delivery. I’m always filled with joy as I return to my home outside the shop, racing back in case another order comes in before I get there so that I can sneak to the front of the queue again and journey out into the world.

I wish that I could speak freely so that I could ask him what makes his happiness stat increase the most. I’d bring that to him if I could.

“Alright, you weird little thing. Go on, go take…” He trails off and checks his phone. “Katy her order.”

I don’t wait for another instruction. I turn happily and start to make my way down the pavement.