gorobo | Memory Tape: Happy Birthday

The static of the tape gives until a small, one-room apartment comes into view. It’s sparsely dressed, with a bed pushed into one of the corners, while the opposite corner appears to be a small kitchenette, though that might be too generous. In the middle there is a table, at which a woman with medium-length black hair sits, alongside an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon with the face of Goro Akechi. One of his legs is mismatched to the other, and he generally looks a little beat up. Around one of the legs of his chair, one single balloon is tied. He looks mostly confused, while the woman is smiling. On the table, there’s something small wrapped in old newspapers, and a crudely made bow from some old lint; upon closer inspection, it appears to be a present.

The robot’s voice comes through first.

“What is this, mother?” he asks, curiously tilting his head. There’s something flat about his voice, as if he’s not quite sure how much emotion to put in. “Why are you giving me this like… this? I don’t understand.” He glances at the balloon on his chair. “Nor why you have tied this to my chair.”

The woman- his mother, Yumemi Akechi, smiles brighter.

“Goro, do you know what day it is?”

“June 2^nd, 1999. It is currently Wednesday.”

“Right,” she nods, “but can’t you think of something else that today is? Something special about you, hon?”

Goro blinks, but dutifully answers.

“Today is the day I was first booted up. I will have been active for exactly 1 year starting from 2pm, 48 minutes, and 12 seconds exactly.”

There’s a small pause.

“But I do not know how that is relevant to my own question.”

His mother laughs good-naturedly before she answers, “Usually, humans celebrate the day they are born, and while you may not have been born, exactly, today is still the day the world welcomed you.” She smiles affectionately. “It’s not much, but I thought we should still celebrate. Usually, there’d be cake too, but I didn’t exactly make you with eating in mind. Still, it’s not every day you grow a year older, you know?”

“But I don’t grow or age?”

“Oh- Goro, it’s not about aging.” She lets out a small sigh, ruffling his hair. He blinks, but leans into it anyway. “It’s about celebrating that you’ve been alive for another year. That, despite the hardships, you made it through, and take joy in the fact that you exist.” She smiles at him. “I’d say you’ve had plenty of trials, so out of all people, I believe you deserve to celebrate that most of all.”

“Oh…”

Goro continues to look at his present, then back at his mother.

“But what about you? When is your birthday?”

She laughs again, her voice light as crystals tinkling against each other. “Why’re you asking about me? It’s your birthday. You haven’t even opened your present yet.”

Goro’s eyebrows furrow. “But I want to know.” There’s another small pause, before he speaks up, more certain of himself. “My database informs me that usually, people celebrating their birthday get a wish. “

“That’s right.”

His face morphs into a grin. “Then, as my wish, I’d like to know what your birthday is.”

His mother looks at him, flabbergasted, before it melts away into a fond smile.

“Silly, that’s not much of a wish,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “You’re supposed to ask for something you really want.”

“Well, what I really want is to know your birthday,” he replies, tilting his head, “I do not recall celebrating it at all during the last year. With that being the case, I wish to know, so that we may also celebrate your birthday when the day comes.”

She shakes her head and sighs, but there’s something affectionate about it.

“You should really think about yourself more, Goro-kun,” she murmurs. “If I tell you, will you at least open your present?”

“Of course.”

She tells him the date, and he looks happy about it. The audio starts fading away with a crackle, as does the video, but before it cuts out completely, the present is unwrapped, its contents revealed.

It seems to be an old, secondhand nature encyclopedia. Goro’s eyes seem to light up, looking comparatively overjoyed to his previous, more subdued expressions. His mother smiles back at him, and they start talking again, the robot thanking his mother, and pulling her into his best attempt at a hug.

The video cuts out completely, leaving only a static behind.