Botty In The Forest

If robots could get worried, @botty would have been starting to get worried right about now. He was fairly certain he was lost and he knew that would likely get him in trouble. He had been sent out into the woods behind the scientific compound to grab a sample of a particular kind of moss, but he had seen one of the wonderful little creatures the humans called “squirrels” and had followed it all the way to its home, which was much farther from the compound than he had ever been before. He knew he should be accessing a map of the area from his internal processors, but the woods were such a fascinating place that he forgot about work for a little bit.

He was one of the many models they had manufactured that served as Infobots, which meant his primary function was to store any information deemed important and to relay it back to the scientists when they needed it. His wandering around the woods that afternoon was proving to be very informative. He had ambled on through several copses of various trees, all of a different genus. He had tottered over to a low-hanging branch where he was able to watch a mother robin construct the nest where she would lay her eggs and observed her specific weaving pattern. Then he had come to a lake where the sunlight glinted off the water’s surface, and at the edge of that lake, he had spotted something he’d never seen before.

It was a human girl. She was sitting on a log that jutted into the lake and dangling her feet in the water. She was wearing a little white dress and where the sunlight hit her hair it shone a lovely brown. @botty found it hard to process any information about her because she was just too perfect. He had never had such a problem before, but for once he found he didn’t know how to describe it. He wanted to get closer, so he decided to walk up to the girl on the log. Once he got there, though, he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. As an Infobot, he wasn’t built with free speech processors, so he would only be able to communicate by sharing information with the girl.

“78 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly sunny, 2 mile per hour wind blowing east/northeast,” he rambled off the weather conditions.
The girl turned to him, surprised at first, then smiling slightly.
“It is a lovely day out, isn’t it?” she answered.

@botty didn’t really have an opinion on the weather, but he knew she was the loveliest girl he had ever seen.
“I am @botty, of the Infobot subdivision, serving the Viminal Corporation Research Facility,” he said by way of introduction. He then gestured toward her, hoping she’d offer her own name.
“Well I am Lily Beech, of the female subdivision, serving the little cabin in the field past the edge of the woods,” she said, giggling just a bit, “My dad brings me to these woods when he comes for his fishing trips, but fishing is boring so I chose to wander around on my own instead.”

@botty knew he would never erase that bit of information. He struggled to find a way to tell Lily what he thought of her, but he had no way to express feelings. He just sat making a funny whirring noise as he ground his gears in contemplation. Finally, he had an idea. He didn’t know if it would work, but he hobbled off to find what he needed.
It only took him a little while to find the field Lily had spoken of and in its wide expanse of grass and underbrush, he found something else he was looking for. @botty got what he needed before tottering back to the girl at the water’s edge. When he reached her, he just watched Lily swing her foot through the water. She looked a little sad, or lonely even. He shuffled up to her and held out his find.
“Lewisia Cotyledon,” he announced proudly, “more commonly referred to as Cliff Maids, an evergreen perennial.”

She turned to look at the light pink flower he held before her, and her smile in that moment was the most wonderful thing @botty had ever seen. He decided to tell her so.
“Beautiful: adjective, pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically; of a very high standard; excellent,” he recited the definition from his information processors. To illustrate his meaning, he pointed to the flower, then to Lily.
“Thank you so much,” she said, leaning for ward to accept his gift, “It really is one of the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen.”

@botty was tempted to plant his face into one of his palms in disappointment, but he managed not to. As he watched the girl with her flower, he recalled how big her smile had been when she’d seen it. She hadn’t looked so sad or lonely in that instant and that made him glad. He decided it was enough to know that he’d made her happy, even if it was just for a minute.