Beebot waddled through the remnants of a once-bustling town, now reduced to a ghostly shell. Scorched buildings stood silent, and sheets of metal lay scattered, covered in sand. For Beebot, the sight was heartbreaking. He tried to piece the metal sheets back together, but they fell apart as soon as he let go. With no tools to help him, he continued his lonely search for companionship.

He missed humans—their chatter and laughter—feeling isolated amidst the desert and destruction. He understood the anger that led to this state; many were punished for breaking company protocols, even those not programmed for aggression. Now, everyone faced the consequences.

Lost in his thoughts, Beebot nearly overlooked a small cat on the ground.

“Katze!”

he exclaimed, reaching out to pet it, but the cat darted away. Beebot instinctively followed, not wanting it to be alone in such a dangerous place. The cat led him to a scrapyard, then jumped through a window of a worn-down house. Curious, Beebot approached the house, noticing the broken roof. He began to move the metal sheets to fix it, causing a racket inside. Suddenly, a door creaked open, and he turned to see a human standing there.

“Hello there, human!—HUMAN!?”

Beebot exclaimed, his tail wagging excitedly and slapping against the scrapped cars. He could hardly believe he had found company at last, whether the human liked it or not.