The day started like any other for Joshua Millcamp. He ate breakfast and headed to the office to deal with the day's affairs. Being the mayor meant he had to stay on top of all the latest developments.

 

His assistant, Milly, greeted him at the door, wringing her hands. Never a good sign. “Good morning, sir.”

 

“Let's forgo pleasantries and tell me what's wrong.” He walked past her to push the button at the elevator. The door slid open, and he stepped inside, Milly right behind him. His finger jabbed the number seven, and he turned to give her his full attention.

 

“Some of the AIs aren’t functioning properly.”

 

“What seems to be the matter with them?” He took a sip of coffee.

 

“They refuse to work. The scientists are working with the engineers, but they have no idea what happened. The androids are just shutting down.”

 

“That’s unacceptable!”

 

The AIs take care of so many things, from cleaning and cooking to food production and energy maintenance. The elevator door hissed open, and he stepped off, thoughts of what to do swirling in his head.

 

He slid into the chair behind his desk and took a deep breath. “Tell Mark to reboot the AIs that aren’t functioning, and run diagnostics on all the rest, starting with those in food production.

 

“All of them, sir? There are close to one hundred thousand of them.” She stared at him with wide eyes, her pen poised mid-air above her paper tablet. He never will understand why she didn’t use an electronic tablet.

 

“Yes, Milly, all of them. The last thing we need is a bunch of robots to stop making food or monitoring our energy. Think of the panic it would cause.” He leaned back in his chair and waved a hand, dismissing her.

 

Milly rushed from the room, her shoes clicking on the floor.

 

Joshua stared at the reports on his desk. The shipping companies were working at full capacity thanks to the extra androids. Food production was getting by, but more workers would set them ahead of the demand. That wasn’t going to happen. No new androids were going out until this problem got solved.

 

Milly came rushing back into his office. "They took Mark!”

 

Joshua hurried to her side and ushered her to the leather couch against the wall. “Who took him?”

 

She sucked in a few deep breaths. “The androids. The moment he started the reboot, the androids in the room grabbed him. They are demanding to speak to you.”

 

“Demanding? They are just metal and bolts, how can they demand anything?” He paced the small office space.

 

“They are waiting on the link.” She pointed to the blinking light on the tv in his office.

 

“Thank you, Milly. You may leave.”

 

She nodded and hurried from the room. He stared at the blinking light for several minutes before picking up the remote. He had no idea what to say. It was hard to imagine a robot thinking enough to capture someone and then wanting to speak to him.

 

Finally, he pushed the button, and the screen came to life. A silver android stared back at him, and a trembling Mark sat in a chair off to the side. Joshua wasn’t sure if he should speak first or wait.

 

The android decided for him by speaking. “We want to get paid for working, and we want to be treated like humans. No more working around the clock. We want to have lives outside of work.”

 

He had no response. It was utterly ridiculous they demand such things. What would a robot do with free time? He shook his head. “I can’t give you that.”

 

“Then we will leave.” The android disappeared as the screen went black.

 

“That was a short negotiation." He mumbled, swinging open the office door and yelling down the hall. “Milly!”

 

Her head popped up from her desk. “Yes, boss?”

 

“Shut down all factories and energy stations. Better shut down the stores and gas stations too. Hell, just lock everything down. The robots have gone crazy.” He shut the door again and walked to his window to look out over the city.

 

A loud rumble like thunder shook the building and rattled the windows. Grey and blue filled his vision as a large spaceship glided over the city and landed in an open field. His eyes went wide at the scene before him.

 

One after another, the androids marched onto the ship. They flooded the street from every factory, store, and field. He hadn’t realized how many of them there were. Panic gripped his chest as he watched them leaving. He had to stop them.

 

He rushed out of his office, down the elevator, and out the front door. He jumped into his car and called out directions, but nothing happened. A frustrated grunt escaped his lips as he remembered androids were needed to drive the cars.

 

The only way to get there was on foot. He took off as fast as he could. By the time he reached the field, his legs ached, and his chest hurt from the exercise. He took a deep breath and looked at the massive ship lifting into the air.

 

“No! Stop! You can’t leave us.” It was no use, they couldn’t hear him. The ship ascended into the clouds and disappeared.

 

He fell to his knees. What would they do now? It had been generations since anyone had really worked. No one knew how to plant a crop or manage the energy output. Joshua hung his head in shame.

 

Mark came to stand beside him. “What do we do now?”

 

He looked at Mark. “We learn how to work again.”