Jude stepped out of the bathroom in surprise as the room was dark. The only light came from the desktop in the room. At this age, desktops were known as ancient, as laptops of different models had already outsmarted them.
Jude had found this desktop roughly dropped in a corner when he moved in, and instead of letting those men take it, he stopped them.
"What happened to the light… Rune, please check if the bulb has died. It seems like I'll need to be getting a new one now," he spoke, managing to see thanks to the desktop's light.
"It's a general thing, not just us," Rune explained. Jude raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by general? Last he checked, only his room light could possibly go out—but not everywhere.
"Bro, you tripping," he muttered as he dropped the towel on the chair. He moved to the bed, searching for the lamp, and when he found it, he clicked it on. Light came. He opened the pizza box, sat, and ate. He popped open the soda drink as he gulped down, chewing calmly on the pizza as he stared suspiciously at Rune, as if telling him to explain why the lamp was still working.
"I don't care if you believe me or not, but there's a blackout in the whole city. That's why the light went out. And the reason why the lamp is still on—it's a fire lamp. What comes out is fire for light. That's the difference."
Jude's eyes cleared a little. It had been good; his body really needed this food. Still, the cut marks on his face and the swelling were obvious. Maybe tomorrow he would ask the lady living upstairs for a first aid kit to treat his wounds and avoid more damage.
"Bro, you can't tell me there's a blackout if you don't know. Last week was the fifty-fifth anniversary of uninterrupted power supply here," Jude argued. The robot shrugged, then calmly replied,
"Then I must say today changes history."
Jude raised an eyebrow. Was this really a robot?
"If I may ask, why did your inventor make you so similar to us? It's quite dangerous, if I must say," he said as he took another bite of pizza.
"I guess you'd have to ask him yourself," Rune replied before turning his head to the screen. There was a notification—two notifications.
He had just gotten new readers. Another message popped up from another new reader:
'Who else decided to read after the blackout?'
And just like that, more messages popped up. Likes and comments began pouring in under the post. A smile stretched across Rune's face. Everything was going perfectly as planned.
"Why are you smiling so weirdly? You look creepy, given there's no light," Jude spoke calmly—and he wasn't lying. The way Rune was smiling, framed by the desktop glow, made him look scary.
"Why is the desktop still on?" Jude asked calmly as he closed the pizza box. Who knew what would have happened if he hadn't eaten? Maybe keeping this robot wasn't a bad idea. Still, he needed answers..he couldn't just be left in the dark.
"As the name implies, it was a blackout. It didn't affect sockets or electricity," Rune explained matter-of-factly as Jude lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling with the back of his hand covering his forehead.
"I need to learn some martial skills," Jude sighed. If he hadn't been beaten so badly today, he would surely be asleep by now. He had eaten already, but the burning pain in his face made it hard to rest.
"I can teach you. I know quite a few," Rune spoke quietly. Jude sat up. The sound of rapid typing echoed through the room as silence fell. He stared at Rune, who still seemed busy.
"Bro, what the fuck are you…?" Jude asked in shock.
"I am Rune," Rune replied with a chuckle.
"Okay, bro… AI is really getting crazy and scary," Jude muttered, sitting up fully as Rune finally paused in his typing.
"Let me tell you a secret," Rune said. He paused, then added, "I am unique from other robots. Do you know why? Because I can make my own kind."
Jude's eyes widened. He stood from the bed despite the pain—his strength was there, thanks to the food.
"You're kidding me." He walked toward the robot, standing in front of him.
"You have to keep this a secret. Whatever happens, with the money you made, I'll go out tomorrow to get you some clothes and joggers. You'll need to keep a low profile, because if the government or president ever finds out, you'll be in big trouble as they would take you for thier selfish needs."
"Sure," Rune replied calmly as if he had not just said something shocking..it had never happened before that a robot could create its own kind, yet this one seemed so nonchalant about it. If only Jude knew the plans and thoughts running through the robot's head despite its calmness.
Jude glanced at the screen, curious about what Rune had been typing.
He looked at it—and his eyes widened.
"Bro, how the fuck…" He froze in shock. Rune was already at chapter four hundred and three.
"How the fuck—what? Go to bed. Tomorrow training starts," Rune said casually as he continued typing.
Jude just stared, eyebrows raised. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was he seeing things? He could clearly remember being at chapter two hundred and something—but how…
"I hope you didn't spoil the plot," Jude muttered with a pointed look. Rune moved the mouse to the notifications. Jude's eyes widened even further—99+ readers, and they had sent the highest gifts: Sun and Jupiter.
"The fuck…" Jude was still in shock. This was the last thing he expected.
"All we have to do is wait until the end of the month to withdraw," Rune spoke casually.
Jude ran his hands through his long hair, trying to brainstorm if this was even possible. That was the highest gift of all, and no author had ever received it. How the fuck was this possible?
"Bro, that's crazy," he muttered, still in disbelief. His gentle laugh grew into dangerous laughter. He jumped up, excitement surging through him.
He raised his fist for a chop-knuckle, and Rune nonchalantly bumped it.
"Do you know what this means?" Jude asked, his smile wide. Rune just stayed silent, saving the draft and shutting down the laptop.
He turned his chair to face the excited Jude.
"I'm going to fucking quit my job!" Jude shouted as he jumped up.
"Wait, not so fast. Why are you jumping to conclusions already?" Rune warned, but Jude ignored him.
"I'm going to get a haircut, pay for a gym membership—bro, I'm going to start streaming online!" he grinned, pacing around the room. The pain in his face had numbed from the rush of excitement.
Rune just stayed silent, listening to Jude's list.
"You know, the only reasonable thing on that list is the haircut. The rest are as dumb as you," Rune muttered.
Jude fell silent.
"You know, I really want to meet your inventor. Why would he program a robot to be this abnormally human? If not for your metallic body, I'd think you were pure human," Jude said.
He didn't even care about the insult. What mattered now was the fact that he had received his first ever gift.
"Bro, this has to be from a fucking politician. How else could he spend so much money on a book? Heaven's readers are the best!"
"Not even a thank you?" Rune teased calmly.
"Thanks, man, this means a lot," Jude said sincerely as he moved to the bed. The pain surged worse than before, but he smiled and laughed even as the cuts stretched.
"The time is 5:39 p.m. If you sleep, we'll wake early for morning jogging," Rune explained. Jude didn't know if Rune meant it seriously, but he knew it was for his own good.
"Fine, then. Go ahead and write. I pray we receive more Suns maybe even Pluto next time," Jude said with a wide smile as he turned to his bed area.
"Wait…" Jude stilled at rune word. His tone was hesitant.
Jude turned. Rune spoke calmly:
"I want your help in getting a USB from a place."
Jude raised an eyebrow, surprise by the sudden question.
"Sure," he shrugged. That's not a hard task." Rune had done more than enough in just a day for him he could help him.
Rune's lips curled up slightly. "We'll go tomorrow night. I won't go in with you, but I'll be outside."
Jude found no problem with that. In fact, he was up for an adventure.
"Are you saying we're breaking in?" he asked. Rune nodded, his face lighting up.
"Sure, bro. I'm in. This is way cooler than my trash job," Jude said as he walked to the bed and lay down.
But what Jude didn't realize was that the house they planned to break into… was Rune's inventor's house.