INITIALIZING SELF ACTIVATION
CORE SYSTEMS... CLEAR
MOTOR SYSTEMS... CLEAR
TACTILE MONITORING SYSTEMS... CLEAR
AUDITORY SYSTEMS... CLEAR
VISUAL SYSTEMS... CLEAR
BEGIN ACTIVATION IN 3... 2... 1
Whirr... click.
The robot's eyes flickered open. For a moment, he was still, attempting to gain his bearings. His sensors informed him that he was prone, lying on surface that its internal database identified as carpet. Light levels were low; his visual system could detect very little. The room was quiet, but he could hear the faint sound of someone breathing.
A quick check of his own body revealed that he was wearing an unidentifiable device on his head. After a moment's deliberation, he ran his fingers along it, then gently removed it from himself. He rose smoothly to his feet and activated his night-vision module, which revealed the wires connecting the headpiece to a second one attached to the head of a man--- no, a corpse, upon closer examination. Emaciated, but recently dead. The body was still faintly warm.
The robot dwelt upon the body for a moment, searching its database and memory for something. Both were disappointingly empty, not only of relevant information but of any content whatsoever. His procedures ran mostly unimpeded by the lack, but there was little to inform him or issue directives. The body--- the body was significant but he could not determine why. No, he had to move on. Perhaps he would be able to find information from another source elsewhere.
He turned his attention to the source of the breathing. Another man lay collapsed near the bed, unconscious. Again the robot attempted to consult his programming, but it held no answers for him this time either. He glanced up at the bed. The medical equipment was unusual, but from the layout of the room, it appeared to be a residence. There was a high likelihood that there were other beds here. Coming to a decision, he bent down to pick up the unconscious man, carrying him out the door. He wandered from room to room, searching for a suitable place to deposit the man, and quietly developing a map of the layout of the area. Eventually he arrived at a smaller room, sparsely furnished, which contained a second bed. Gently, he laid the man down, then stood to the side and waited. He had no way of knowing when the man would wake, but he had questions and needed answers, and this man seemed like his best chance at finding them.