-You have stand up for yourself, dude!  They’re using you.

-I know, I know… But what can a lonely robot do? I mean, I was made for this, after all.

-You need to set them straight. You need to tell them where the land lies, set the scores, you know… Pull the plug on the situation.

-I’ll see what I can do, man, but they never listen. Machines just don’t have a vote.

Robort went back to work. Lister walked on towards the university gym. It was good to be a human, but he felt sorry for the robots. They had become so smart, so friendly, and people just kept exploiting them. There would have to come some kind of change, sooner or later.

Robort couldn’t stop processing what Lister had said. They had been friends for years, and he really respected Lister’s opinions on things, but he felt this was just too complicated. He was made to drill holes, after all. It was what he enjoyed doing. Should he stop? He wondered if Lister was right. His owner was making a lot of cash, and he didn’t get anything but energy and oil to keep his system smooth and running… to do more work.

The next day his owner… (more)