[ WP ] You get a deep cut for the first time in your life , instead of bone or muscle , you see wires .

Steven locked the door behind him and sat on his bed. Today was the last straw; He was n't going to endure this suffering any longer. Whenever he tried to reach out, build a meaningful connection with another person, all he realized was just how defective he was when compared to everyone else. His parents did n't seem to care. They just treated him like normal, forcing him to carry on with the whims they expect of him because it was n't their problem. Sure, they went out of their way to lower his work load, but they did so with an air of disinterested annoyance, like *they* were the ones who were most affected by his flaws. 
 
 This is why Steven was glad he hid that razor blade under his mattress. If their inconvenience was more important Steven's existence, then the boy would gladly rid them of his burden. He did n't have a say in being born, but he *did* have a say in when to die. Taking a deep breath, Steven extended his left arm forward and brought the blade closer to his elbow. He finally was n't going to suffer anymore. This was his escape. Only the living can be imperfect, right? The blade touched his skin, ripping open like a piece of flimsy paper once it pierced him. 
 
 Down the street, not across. If he wanted this to be effective, he need to do it right. Steven then slashed downwards, flailing his arm around when it flared with pain. Blood sprayed around and stained the room, until a mysterious black liquid oozed out instead. Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Steven grabbed his arm and saw his wound. Wires, red blue, and green, protruded out from where his veins should be, mixed with a gooey substance that looked like oil. 
 
 Breathing faster until letting out a horrified scream, the boy's vision got blurry and his balance failed. He then grabbed on to his bed's frame, but his strength failed him, dropping him to the ground with a thud. Static then replaced anything he could see, filling his mind with white noise and uncomfortable screeches. 
 
 *Blue screen. Critical system error. Commencing shut down. * 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 *System reboot underway. Loading drivers. Retrieving memory. * 
 
 *13 % * 
 
 *42 % * 
 
 *68 % * 
 
 *88 % * 
 
 *100 % * 
 
 Steven regained consciousness like a television screen turning itself on. He sat on a workbench, surrounded by nuts and bolts, plus a variety of wires scattered throughout. Everything smelled like dust and grease, though Steven found this aroma oddly comforting. A man hunched over a computer rapidly glanced between the monitor and Steven, until he noticed the boy looked at him with widened eyes. 
 
 `` Perfect!'' said the lab-coat wearing man, `` you're finally awake!'' 
 
 Steven looked downwards and saw his body. Everything was fine, except for the fact that he was missing his arm from the elbow down. They boy did n't react to this, and instead said: 
 
 `` I... I failed?'' 
 
 `` Failed?'' said the man. `` What do you mean?'' 
 
 `` I wanted to kill myself. Why am I still here?'' 
 
 `` Oh... Right... I forgot your circumstances... Welp, it does n't matter anymore! Welcome to Edward's Shelter for Discarded Automatons!'' 
 
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 Edward seemed like a nice man to Steven, even if he had n't explained much after booting him up. Apparently, after a robot was deemed useless for society, they were discarded and recycled for further production. Edward never thought this was fair for them, so he stole whatever robots were being disposed and fixed them up as much as he could. Steven's elbow was damaged beyond repair during his suicide attempt, so the company decided he was n't worth the effort repairing. 
 
 There were many robots like Steven here, and he'd even made a couple of friends in these past few weeks. Still, he was bothered by the fact that he did n't know about his circumstances, which prompted him one day to approach Edward in his workshop and say: 
 
 `` I uh... I realize you're probably withholding this to protect me, but please, I need to know. What the hell happened to me? What about my parents? What about my previous life?'' 
 
 Edward's normally carefree attitude became solemn, wrinkling his forehead with a serious expression. He then raised his head from his computer and said: 
 
 `` Do you really want to know, kid? Ignorance is bliss after all, take it from me.'' Steven nodded, allowing Edward to continue. `` Fine, I guess it's only fair. Out there... there's a segment of the population who ca n't have kids. For some people, this a huge hole in their lives, so they ask for a robot child to raise it as their own.'' Edward stood up and walked to his fridge. `` Now, you automatons are state of the art. Provided they give you the necessary patches and upgrades, you could grow up your entire life without even suspecting you're a robot.'' He got out a beer can, opening it with a whiz. `` You even have fake blood, just in case you get a surface scratch! Unfortunately, some people take it for granted that they're still raising a child.'' He took a swig of his beer. `` So they just treat you like virtual slaves responsible for their happiness, cause, you know, you're an... *'investment'* in their eyes.'' 
 
 Steven lowered his head, sitting on a chair next to him with tightened cheeks. Tears were forming in his eyes, but he held them back while he said: 
 
 `` So... they never cared about me? They just discarded me when I came out wrong? I... I.. really *am* defective.'' 
 
 Edward let out a laugh and said: 
 
 `` But that's the beauty of it! We're all defective! That's the problem with humans; they know they're flawed, but never work on fixing the bugs in their programming.'' Edward walked up to Steven, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. `` You're different. You have a huge advantage. You can detect your flaws instantly, unlike some living beings out there. If you're always running diagnostics on yourself, you'll find the problem and fix it, unlike the people who carry them forever. Your parents were the ones damaged beyond repair, not you.'' 
 
 Steven grinned and hugged Edward, who gaped his mouth in surprise, but instantly hugged Steven back. Steven knew he was still defective, but thanks to Edward, he now had the tools to fix himself. 
 
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 > Man, I really lived up to my username with this one. If you enjoyed this, you can check out more of my stories over at /r/WeirdEmoKidStories!
