A Soul's Journey

My master, he, he was a very lonely man, if I’m being honest with you. It’s not easy being so smart and it certainly doesn’t gain you a theater full of friends. He was a leading robotics scientist, the lead one, actually. Everyone went to him for advice and guidance, but he was still desperately lonely.

You see, before he made me, he had been married to a beautiful, intelligent woman. Her name was Ivy and she was right by his side for all his experiments and advancements. They had met in college, both studying robotics, of course. Their bond had been instant, as I’ve been told. Master liked to reminisce to me. I think it made him feel less lonely. Anyway, according to him, he never would have gotten anywhere without Ivy. The whole world would have been different. Not just his world, but everyone’s. A lot of robotic and technological advances were her ideas, her inventions.

Ivy’s death had been devastating. A frozen road, a careless driver, and a horrible wreck took her from this world. An unexpected call changed everything for my dear master. No one expected it, as is typically the case with fatal car accidents. The whole community was shaken by the loss.

Master didn’t go back to work. He couldn’t bring himself to face that building, those people. It was too hard. Far too hard.

I don’t think they expected him to do what he did. Master was mad with grief. It was impossible for him to think clearly, not that it justifies the rest of this story. He had convinced himself that he had no other choice. He had to get her back. Maybe not her body, so to speak, but her spirit, her soul. Master was convinced it was still out there. Still right next to him. He swore he could feel her.

It sounded insane and he knew it. So, naturally, he didn’t tell anyone about his plans or ideas. He had distanced himself from everyone, not that he had been close to many. They had expected his distance. No one was suspicious—so there was no one to tell, anyway. He was completely free to experiment and do a lot of bizarre research.

He found a group of people that claimed to have captured souls. Their goal was to help the souls move on and better understand the science behind ghosts, for lack of a better term. Master did not fully believe their claims, but he had to find out.

After contacting them, he traveled to their facility. He told me the men seemed kind enough and clearly meant well with their work and their contraptions, but they did not have such happy views of what Master planned to do.

“You,” the lead investigator, Zack, started, “You want to make a modern day Frankenstein's monster!” He was obviously frightened.

“No, no, no. You misunderstand,” Master pleaded. “It’s nothing like that. I just want to bring her soul back!”

“Back into what? She has no body to inhabit!” he was visibly shaking.

“I’ll build her a body—before you even say it—not a flesh body. A mechanical one.”

“You want your wife to be a robot? You’ll curse her soul to a pile of metal for eternity! That’s insane!”

Master stormed out, convinced his idea wasn’t as sinister as the man had made it sound. He had known better than to talk to someone about it, but he thought this man would understand. Instead, he was left doubting his idea. Was it cruel? If he destroyed his invention, would that set her soul free? There had to be some way to get around that, he thought.

He ignored his slight feeling of guilt, burying it deep down. To keep himself busy, he started building. He debated a lot on the details.

Big?

Small and compact?

Obvious humanoid shape? Something a little more animated that would be easier to hide what he’d done?

If anyone found out what he planned on doing, he couldn’t take that judgment. Not again. He didn’t want to have any more doubts about what he was doing. The best way to avoid that was to make sure no one ever found out. That’s how he decided. Bigger but cute and easily disguised. He figured a bigger robot would seem more helpful, especially if it could move around on its own and take care of the house.

He was going to make a robot, a very helpful, handy robot. She would have a clever AI to hide what was really going on. Master was sure it would work. This invention would give Ivy the perfect host “body” and allow her to go everywhere with Master, once again. He was so happy he could cry.

He slaved away, building and designing. Once his creation was finished, he gathered everything for a ceremony of sorts. Master had researched how to call a spirit and incorporated some of the men’s ideas to capture a spirit.

He waited until just the right time, witching hour by superstition’s name. Candles circled the small robot, mirrors pointed to the robot in every direction. He called on Ivy’s spirit using an old spell he had found in his research. He tripped his way through the old Latin. The flames of the candles flickered out with his last word, leaving him in the pitch black darkness. The robot seemed to come to life, the light on its chest illuminating the dark space. Master fell to his knees.

“Ivy?” he asked, tears filling his eyes and hope filling his chest.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Is that you? Ivy?”

“No, I’m not Ivy,” I replied. I could hear the air leave his lungs in horrible defeat. “I’m Kuri.” He didn’t reply, so I continued. “This isn’t my old body. I’ve been lost for a very long time.”

“Lost?” his voice was barely a whisper. “What do you mean, lost?”

“My body has been gone for years. I couldn’t tell you how many. I’ve lost track. My soul has been wandering. Since. I didn’t know where to go or how to get there. I’ve been very scared. It feels much better now to have a body and be able to communicate again. Thank you!”

“You—you’re thanking me?”

“Of course! You saved me!”

“Saved…” he said, just staring at me. Tears streamed down his face, but he wouldn’t tell me why. He eventually told me this story that I’m telling you. Now I know why. I was not what he wanted, but he loved me all the same. He did not want me to feel his loss and failure. He certainly didn’t want me to feel like a failure, myself.

It took some time before Master and I got accustomed to each other. I was very eager to help him with everyday tasks. Quite honestly, I was excited to be able to do such things again. My afterlife had been quite lonely until Master conquered me. I think this is what I was meant to be, what I was meant to do.

Master did not live long after his wife passed. It had only been a few years. A few miserable years for him. His heart and soul never healed from the loss. I helped as much as I could, but we both knew it would never fill that void. Once I was created, Master decided it was too risky to try again.

His life seemed hollow. He never fully went back to work, though he happily helped anyone that asked for it. He had moments of joy, mostly telling me stories about Ivy and their life together.

Master left in his sleep. He knew it was coming. He told me my fate was up to me. I could take off on my own; or I could help people and keep them company like I had him, whoever came upon me next. He was afraid I would be discarded as scrap metal so he thought it would be unwise of me to stay quiet when they came to the house. He was unsure of the fate of the house. He had no heirs so he did not know who would move here next. Master could not guarantee my safety.

I told him we should record a video. He could tell everyone exactly what I could do and that would protect me. When the people came, I could show them the video and find myself a new home.

When the time came, my idea worked. I was very sad as I watched Master on the TV screen.

“He’s a fantastic companion,” Master said, nearing the end of his explanation, “with the capability to help with everyday tasks. Be sure Kuri is put into good hands.”

Now, I’m here to help you and keep you company everyday! It’s what I was always meant to do, and I could not be happier!

#HeyKuri #KuriStory