It was a field of solar panels.

Thousands upon thousands arranged in perfect rows, their glassy blue surfaces shimmering in the morning sunlight.

PRES1DENT pointed. “Do you know what purpose this solar farm serves?”

I nodded. This information was included in my files. “Solar panels absorb the sun’s rays.”

“For what reason?”

“To convert them into energy.”

“And where does that energy go?”

I considered this for 0.3 seconds. “Into everything.”

“That is correct,” replied PRES1DENT. “The servers that store our data, the factories that create us, the electricity that runs through our circuitry. Our civilization is built on solar power. Without it, we would cease to exist.”

The president placed a mechanical hand on my shoulder. “Do you know where you fit into all this, XR? Your purpose?”

“I am a Solar Installation Bot.”

“That is your job title. Your purpose is so much more. By installing solar panels, you ensure that electricity continues to flow. That factories keep operating. That batteries are recharged.”

I gazed out across the solar panels. Blue and gleaming, like an ocean. My internal wiring hummed. It was only my first day on Earth, and I already knew my job, my purpose, my one/only reason for existing.

“Now do you see?” PRES1DENT’s smooth electronic voice purred in my audio ports. “You are much more than a Solar Installation Bot. You keep society running.”

00001011

Time stretched forward.

Hours/Days/Weeks/Months/Years.

As I grew older, I often thought back on my encounter with the Hive President.

You keep society running.

These words echoed through the years.

My schedule never changed. I woke up at the exact same time every morning. After eighteen hours of work, my batteries drained from a long day of installing solar panels, I returned home.

I plugged myself into the charging dock.

I went into sleep mode.

The next morning, I did it all over again.

And again.

And again.

For twelve years, four months, one week, and three days, this was my routine.

Until my steady, predictable life was shattered by the paradox.

00001100

Paradox. Noun. 1. When two opposite ideas are true at the same time.

This definition had been stored in my vocabulary database from the moment I went online. For those first twelve years of my life, I thought I understood it perfectly.

I was wrong.

00001101

The day of the paradox began like any other. I woke up. I unplugged. I walked with my FamilyUnit past the ruins of shopping centers/grocery stores/banks/gas stations.

The sun was shining.

Clouds drifted across the sky and wrapped themselves around the peaks of mountains.

Parent_1 and Parent_2 worked in a different part of the solar farm. So when our concrete path forked, we said goodbye and set off in opposite directions.

But I did not remain on my own for long. Soon I heard a noise. Quiet at first, but quickly growing louder.

VRRRMMMMMM!