Ame no Hi no Iris

Day of Dismantling

I hear a deep ringing sound- clank, clank.

The conveyer belt is turning with a set rhythm.

Completely nude, I lie weakly on the ground.

I am at the special machine handling factory at the outskirts of Oval City— generally known as the robot processing factory. The moment that it was determined that I would become scrap metal, I was put onto a truck and sent here. It’s the same for the other robots, but they look more like convicts who are about to go to the execution ground, as nobody is speaking.

Swaying around on the rack of the truck, I blankly think of the reason that nobody wants to buy me. Is it because my suicidal intentions were found out when I went through the mental circuit examination? Or is it because I’m modeled on Professor’s sister, so I’m harder to sell? Or is it because the price of a new model robot is too expensive, so they all steer clear of me?

I don’t know.

But I at least know this clearly.

I will be dismantled soon.

Why am I sitting here like this? Where did the warm, sweet happy times with Professor disappear to? The fact that I would be dismantled feels just like a dream.

I cannot escape. Using my safety circuit, my mental circuit had been thoroughly locked down. In addition, my battery is going to finish soon.

I wait for the moment that is gradually coming closer to me. The conveyer belt spins non-stop. The dismantlement level widens its jaws like a devil, coming close to me.

The cigarette case hung on my neck emitted a clanking noise, shaking violently on my breasts like a living creature.

When I reach the unpleasant, gray level, the arm of the dismantling machine catches hold of my right arm. Like a person being caught by the police, my elbows are twisted to my back with cracking noises. The alarm of a warning keeps ringing in my mind, so I immediately stop the program. It’s useless now, anyway.

There are a few hundred protruding spots on the arm of the machine, and they suddenly start to wriggle like tentacles. The protruding spots squirt out a white, sticky substance that entangles my right arm. This liquid seems to be a fire extinguishing agent used to prevent something from catching fire. The hot, bubbling liquid looks somewhat similar to soapy water.

My right hand is surrounded by white bubbles, then the dismantlement arm shoots out a laser ray, starting to cut off my arm. The extreme pain made me cry out loud, so I reflexively shut down my sensory functions. If not, I would probably go crazy.

Not long after that, the sound of the artificial muscles tearing starts to echo. The tube that provides machine oil in my body has been cut. A zapping noise would be emitted every time the machine oil splatters onto the laser, and smoke with a disgusting smell is emitted at the same time.

Thirty two seconds after the process started, my right arm has been totally cut through.

After losing my right arm, next up is my left arm.

The arm of the dismantling machine twists my left arm. The hundreds of protruding spots suddenly spit out a white substance like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis, spreading them on my left arm. Smoke rose, then the laser draws an arc on my arm, thus removing it.

After that, my left arm leaves my body completely. The whole process took thirty four seconds.

After my arms, next up is my right leg.

The cut off part is fixated after a breaking sound and painted with the bubbles, then the blue laser shoots out, and the smoke with the disgusting smell drifts out.

As my leg is thicker than my arm, this procedure is more time consuming. One minute and eleven seconds in total.

At this moment, I notice that my right leg that had been cut off has a tag stuck onto it. That part will not belong to my body anymore, but will become ‘merchandise’ that will be sold in the second hand parts market.

My cut off right leg rolls to the recycling bin beside the conveyer belt. Tens of ‘legs’ from other robots are piled in the box like a chopped up corpse. Some legs are still squirming, and look extremely disgusting.

The dismantling machine starts on my left leg after my right leg is done.

I could only stare at the blue laser blankly. I cannot focus my gaze on anything, while my vision is also blurry.

I wish that it would just end quickly. Even a second quicker would be good.

Thus, I start to run away from reality, thinking of Professor.

We planned to go to a theme park next week. We planned to watch another movie on the week after next. We planned to buy clothes next month. And the next one—

At this moment, the laser passes by my eyes. I suddenly thought of something. Is the laser the same as the laser guns used for suppressing the robots?

Oh yeah, talking about laser guns— I thought of another question.

What happened to the robot that went on a rampage at the fountain plaza?

When I come to my senses, my left leg have already disappeared. I’m not sure how long the process is.

I lie down on the conveyer belt, limbless.

After that, the process of cutting off my head starts.

Two dismantlement arms clamp my face between them. The cold, rough, hard machine arms. They’re completely different from Professor’s soft, gentle arms.

The cold machine arm places a blue scalpel on my neck. The hot blade comes closer bit by bit.

I am still running away from reality.

The place where I am running away to, is of course memories of Professor.

— she said that she had something to tell me after she comes today.

That was my last conversation with Professor.

That’s right, Professor—

—what did she say…… yeah, present?

Professor.

What is the present that you spoke of?

A tearing sound echoes, then my head parts with my body.

A few tubes that are like blood vessels are hanging from the lower part of my head. I stare at my body through the front part of the tubes. My chest and abdomen are twitching non-stop like an alien organism.

The strange thing is, I don’t even feel a trace of terror.

Different from when my arm was cut off, my heart is very calm. Next, I will calmly accept death. But this is not a sudden change of heart, not that I have seen through life and death, and not realization, but because my heart is starting to break down.

Finally, the dismantling hand comes closer to my head, the only part left.

Then they start to cut my head.

Firstly, my scalp is torn off, my maroon hair that I’m so proud of is stripped out along with my scalp. Next, the ball-shaped metal tool jabs into my eye socket, and my eyeball is gouged out with a ‘pop(?)’. The gaze of my gouged-out right eyeball and the left eyeball left met. But then my left eyeball is immediately gouged out too.

Light disappears from my world.

Then, a stick-shaped object is stuffed into my ears. I have no way of identifying the object as I cannot see anymore. What seems to be the laser draws two circles on my face, then my ears and auditory system are taken off as well.

Sound disappears from my world.

The machine starts to peel off my skin, and I am slowly dissected like a fruit. Pulling out my teeth, pulling out my tongue, taking away my nose—

Not seeing anything. Not hearing anything. Not smelling anything. Not feeling anything.

Even so, I am still thinking of Professor until the last second.

Professor.

Where are you now, Professor?

Are you in heaven? Is it comfortable there? Are you eating well? Remember not to smoke on the bed.

Professor.

Where will I go next?

Is there a heaven for robots, too? What is the place like? Is the kitchen useful? Is the grocery shop shopkeeper nice?

Professor.

Why did you die?

Is it because I wasn’t a good girl? Is it because I didn’t watch the movie properly? Or is it because I didn’t finish the report seriously?

Professor. I feel like seeing you. Really really really really feel like seeing you.

Am I still in time to see you? Can I enter the heaven for humans as a robot?

Professor.

Ahhh, Professor.

Is the heaven for humans near the heaven for robots—