TS1 and the Planet of Robots, Part 6

"So, Unit 01236," V'Bar asks, kneeling by the Child-bot, "what do you need us to do for you first?"

"I need to be washed," 01236 answrs. "The wind blows in dust from the East, and it gets all over my shell and inside my joints."

V'Mar picks 01236 up and carries him to the washing station.

"You're pretty light for a robot," she comments as she cradles the child-sized machine in her arms.

She lowers him into a tub of warm water and soapy bubbles.

"Are you sure this won't rust your metal body?" V'Bar asks.

"Yes," 01236 answers. "So long as I'm not in her for more than 2 hours."

"It won't takes us that long to clean you," V'Mar says as she grabs a sponge. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all!"

V'Mar strips down and gets inside the tub. The warm water feels so good on her bare red skin.

"V'Mar!" V'Bar says. "I thought we weren't stripping down!"

"You were the only one to say no," V'Mar points out, "I didn't say anything against the idea. Now, come here, Unit 01236."

V'Mar hugs the little child-bot in her arms and scrubs the sponge up and down his metal body. As she busily scrubs away at the dust and dirt, V'Bar walks over to another station.

"Miss V'Mar," 01236 asks, "how are organics serviced?"

"How are we serviced?" she echoes. "Well, organics don't need the same kind of servicing robots and machines do. We don't have the kind of limits in programming and functionality you do."

Unit 01236 deeply ponders this information.

"Then why do you have a plug?" the child-bot blurts out.

"What? What plug?"

"That one between your legs," 01236 clarifies. "Isn't that a plug?"

"No, that's not a plug," V'Mar asks, a little embarassed. Now she feels that perhaps stripping really wasn't a good idea. "That's... a special thing organics have for... for..."

V'Mar hesitates, unsure how to answer. Before she can think of a good one, something of 01236's touches her there!

"Unit 01236, stop!"

"Why?" the child-bot asks. "You appear to like it, according to your pheromone levels."

"That's... I..."

01236 continues to play around inside V'Mar's zerbnif, and the level of delight in her body rises.

"Careful!" she says. "It is fragile!"

01236 understands, and the cylindrical object probes less aggressively. V'Mar continues to wash and scrub 01236's metal body as the little cylinder vibrates inside her zerbnif.

"Done!" V'Mar says quickly as the last inch of metal body is washed off, and only a moment before V'Mar's body reached satisfaction. She quickly exits the tub with Unit 01236, and together they dry off.

"Thank you," Unit 01236 says as he walks away.

"My turn next!" another child-bot says, stepping forward.