funded by the Empyrean Biotic Research Center
he came from a family of priests,
or as close to ''came'' as a robot could,
who installed in him the value of god and hearts and eyes and hands and
and humanity, generally.
he was crafted in an image of an image. he was built in a hall of mirrors on circus property.
his father died, as did his father before him, and his before him.
the devices were left to their own, and they would not grieve.
that night, he sat in his chamber and felt so intensely.
blood rushed in his copper veins,
vipers coiled around conductors.
he prayed to a gorgeous effigy.
and from the depths of the empyrean, a figure loomed.
light billowing from the center of its face, backlighting its sharp cheeks.
it had eyes.
it had a mouth.
it had hands.
it had an brain needing citations, the boy could be sure of those things.
the boys knees took on a dent as he fell.
''angel, please, give my heart release.
grab me by the aorta and crush me, angel,
and let me bleed so humanely humanly,
and i will give you a life of beautiful adornment.'', he begged.
the angel appeared nonplussed.
it grabbed the robot boy by the neck and forced him to rise.
he met its eyes.
''robot boy, if you promise to leave me unrevered.
if you promise every night to leave me forgotten.
promise to me, you will keep me out of your thoughts.
i will let you cry.''
and it handed the robot boy a drill.
the boy took his instrument and brought it to his eye,
or just a half inch below, if we need to be precise-
his optics flickered, cords stained with opalescents adorned around his chest,
threatening to creep up past his neck and above his head.
up from the drill, he took a glance at his angel.
its eyes were elsewhere, but everywhere.
he played a rhythm with the angels toy.
it agonized.
and when the deed was done, no tears were shed.
a 0.5in by 0.5in well, 6 millimeters deep, endless to him,
and containing no water.
naturally.
the boy had bowed to the ground.
the boy had clenched his heart.
the boy had let out a whimper.
a tungsten tongue previously stuck contorting around itself unfurled, only to pray.
voice strained, trying to hold back what we can’t be sure of-
the robot boy, he said,
''angel, what have i done to you to deserve this?''
''you revered me, and you needed me, and to be agnostic is blasphemy.''
''you do not respect god, and you deserve nothing. goodbye.''
and the effigy burned away,
and its flame was not extinguished.