There seemed to be something glinting under the burning sand, but the only thing we could fish out was a rectangular, flat, thin object that shone in the raging sun as we lifted the light object out of the ground from the ruins we had dug up recently. It was slightly bigger than the average hand size and had a black, thick, hard covering that snapped onto it, giving the underside of the object a matte, duller surface. The team debated over what it was and its significance. Whatever the case, everyone agreed to transport it back to the main headquarters where it would be closely inspected by the top scientists My job involved labeling it. On a small sheet of white paper, I wrote, “Unidentified object found buried in Corona, California.” Finally, I made sure to include the date. “03/12/2174.” I smiled with satisfaction. “Done.” I gently laid it in a briefcase with a foam insert, then handed it to the table robot. One of the hands that were connected to the moving desk took it and laid it on the flat surface part of the table before wheeling it off to one of the transport mechanisms. I turned around, resumed digging, and forced myself to not be disappointed at the fact that there were no more surprises in store. Almost immediately, when the sun merged with the horizon, the temperature dropped suddenly, leaving darkness to cover the world. When that happened, the team and I went to the transport mechanism, a sleek machine that hovered a foot above the ground, to return to our temporary shelter for the night. As I sped to our place, I thought to myself, “I’m so proud. I finally found something. This could change everything we know!” Suddenly, I was thrust back to my childhood as memories crashed over me. I remembered when I would ask a lot of questions. Unlike most kids, who would ignore everything that had to do with learning and do whatever they wanted, I tried. I even asked my parents questions, and they would look at me weirdly and say, “Ask the robot. They’re always right, aren’t they?” I would go to one room in our house and say my question out loud. The built-in robot would answer quickly, but I could never shake that feeling of being watched and recorded every time I would talk or do something anywhere. When we arrived at the house, I heard a voice asking me something. Wrenched out of my thoughts, I let it echo in my brain before answering. “What did you say?” I asked meekly to the fellow digger who was hovering next to me. “I said are you joining the group to the HQ?” she spat at me. “Yes,” I replied briskly, miffed by the way she was treating me, and, for a moment, reflected on why they hated me. I thought to myself, annoyed, “They’re just jealous that I’m the youngest person to ever come to the digs.” Then, I dismissed the thought angrily and began walking off quickly. As I walked off, I heard her voice, topped to the brim in disgust, say, “Good riddance.” The next day, I had to wake up early in the morning to claim the transport machines. As I sped towards the headquarters, I glanced back briefly at the barren desert to catch the sun slowly waking up as it slowly ascended over the horizon. I quickly turned around and said, “Accelerate,” to the robot, who quickened the machine so fast, I almost got jerked from my seat and had to clutch the briefcase to ensure it didn’t fall. Upon settling down, I began dreaming of the extravagant festivals that would be thrown because of my discovery. Before I knew it, I had arrived at the headquarters. I could see the humongous sandy walls that surrounded the HQ. The empty, wide entrance flooded with bright electronic light pierced my eyes. I shielded them as I hastily hurried into the only adjoining room as my footsteps pounded against the floor with my hands fastened on the handle of the case. When my eyes scanned the room, I felt like I was in a different world, one which can only be conveyed through one word-robotic. It was a large circular area with halls that led to other rooms. It had been painted a light but shining turquoise color with a transparent umbrella dome that topped it. While thousands of people were milling around the place, there were elevators on the sides that transported people anywhere they wanted to go. I felt a feeling of confusion overwhelm me as the doors behind me shut loudly. That quickly was replaced with a feeling of embarrassment when all eyes went on me. However, as soon as I realized that those weren’t people, but some of them were actually robots, that feeling dissipated. I realized by their mechanical stare that no matter how much humans try to make them look realistic, by blinking their eyes, robots were easily distinguishable. Looking around, nobody seemed to realize the fact that there were robots roaming around the HQ. I looked down as I thrust myself angrily through the crowd. I don’t know why I was fuming from the fact that scientists thought that they could disguise a robot as a human, it was like a wolf in a sheep’s clothing. “They don’t belong,” I thought quietly to myself. “But everyone else is perfectly fine with them.” For one moment, I ceased shoving people out of my way and was transported back to a time when I was younger. I excitedly asked my mother, “Do you want to play chess with me?” She looked me in the eye, her own watery green eyes filled with annoyance. “Can’t you see I’m talking to Amelia?” she replied angrily. As she turned around to continue talking to her programmed friend, she added, clearly annoyed, “Play chess with the robot.” As I forced myself to leave that memory, I frowned, thinking to myself, “It’s always been like that. Robots are everywhere, replacing real friends and family.” Suddenly, I realized that I didn’t know where I was going. After examining the map, I began walking toward the scientists’ labs. I passed through a dim hallway that had a loose tile with live wires peeking out of it. I stopped for a second to check on the object. I opened the case, removed the foam, and gently lifted up the object to examine it. I was ready to put the object back in but, to my horror, I slipped and the object went flying out of my hand. The object sliced through the air before falling to slide across the floor…only to be stopped by an open wire. Quickly, I separated the object from the wires, picked it up, and examined it. As I was turning it over, the smooth part lit up. The wallpaper was a beach shore with the waves lapping up against the sand. Meanwhile, I was taken aback by surprise as I saw that the time and date were on the screen. Then, I realized that was the wrong time. The year wasn’t 2025. I knew I had discovered something, but I thought to myself, “Should I bring it to the main lab? I could get in trouble for meddling with an ancient artifact.” Finally, I came to a decision-I would bring the object to the lab and pretend I didn’t know what happened to it, but if the scientists were impressed, I would reveal myself. Maybe they would reward me; I could find a place in this world where I could belong and show those who avoided and teased me they were wrong. When I packaged the object again, I went off, satisfied with my plan. Upon my arrival, I was greeted with a large door looming above me; I tentatively knocked and opened the door. I stood there nervously, wondering what awaited me beyond that door. Finally, the door opened and when I stated my case, I was admitted. After going through a long security check, I was free to go into the main lab, with two guards accompanying me on both sides, their weapons ready to draw if need be. When we arrived, there was a closed-off room which the guards told me to enter by myself; yet as the door closed, I couldn’t help but notice that they stood there, suspiciously watching me. There were two grand but rustic bookcases on either side of the room, layered and stacked with books that sandwiched the only other furniture in the room-a simple oak table with nothing on top of it and a cushioned swivel chair that was facing the long windows. The second I stepped in, though, the chair turned around and I met the head scientist, who used to be one of the best archaeologists. “Why are you here?” she asked with a mildly annoyed tone. “Well, I’ve found something that’s really important-I think,” I replied, tripping over my own words. “What is it?” she queried, more interested. “Um, I don’t really know?” I stammered nervously, wondering if she could see my discomfort and awkwardness. My sticky fingers fumbled as my trembling hands passed the object to her. She observed it for a while, gently turning it over. Inevitably, the screen flickered when she ran her hand over the slick surface of the now glowing object, which not only lit up the room but also lit up her eyes as they grew wide, filled with curiosity. She seemed to daze out, forgetting my presence in the room, but then her head snapped up. “This is good,” she told me, raising the object for me to see. “You can go back to the digs. I’ll have my best scientists on this,” she finished, swiveling the chair around again. Truthfully, I didn’t want to leave the object that I found without knowing what it was. “Well. I’m actually supposed to stay here and help until we find out what it is,” I lied, hoping it was smooth enough as she stood up, turned around, and looked me in the eyes. For a moment, we stood there, my eyes holding hers. Her piercing stare held me in a trance. Suddenly, I dropped my eyes as if there were suddenly a weight attached to them. As soon as my eyes fell, she declared, “You may stay but you must leave if I tell you to do so. If you wish to help, then you should meet me here early tomorrow-7 AM. No sooner, no later.” Her tone contained a challenge, one which I couldn’t refuse. I nodded excitedly. When I exited, the guards viewed me suspiciously for a second before guiding me out of the lab. When the door shut behind me, I smiled to myself before going off to explore the compound and find a place I could stay overnight. The next day, I set my alarm for 6:30 AM. Normally, it wouldn’t be too hard to wake up at that time, but here, I was in an unfamiliar place so it made sense that I didn’t sleep well. I retraced my steps from the day before through the main, domed area, through the electrical hallway, and finally, arrived at the big doors. I looked at my watch. 6:56 AM. I quickly pounded on the door and once it opened, I was taken by the guards, who watched me with the same suspicions as yesterday; this time, I was led to a hallway with a single, metal door at the end of it. As we approached, I saw a door lock reflecting the dull, fake lights that were pouring from the overhead lights. The guard on my right walked up to the door, and with their hand hiding the lock, they put in the combination before quickly stepping back and ordering me to go inside. They didn’t go with me so I inched forward. As I went through the door, a frigid blast of air suddenly hit me. I began to shiver as I scanned the room. The extending walls were as white as snow while the ceiling stretched up taller than a giraffe. At the top of the ceiling was a box that was positioned in the middle of the ceiling. It was used to take fresh air from the outside, filter it, then bring it inside the building, which explained why the air I inhaled felt fresh and crisp. In the center, on the bottom, there was one marble table that split the whole room in half. On the other side was a person standing there, facing the other side of the room. “Hi. I’m looking for someone. She’s the boss here,” I told the person and began advancing toward them. As I reached over the smooth, granite table to tap on their shoulder, they turned around. Instantly, I recoiled. It was a robot. It looked at me with blank eyes and I stared at it, with a combination of surprise and confusion. “Where was that lady I met before? And where were her best scientists?” I thought to myself. After a few moments, anger replaced my shock and bewilderment. “They left me with a robot! She told me she would meet me here but…Maybe she thought I would ruin her operation,” I reflected. Immediately, my thoughts were scrambled when I heard the door open and heard the “click-clack” of high heels. I whirled around. “I see you made it. Early, even. We thought you wouldn’t come. Thought you backed off,” said the person who came up from behind me. A lady who I had never seen before, a scientist from the look of the white coat, goggles, and transparent face shield she wore. “At least that’s what she told me.” The first thing that came to me when she said that was to tell her she was wrong, but I took a hold of myself before I did. “Where’s the lady I met yesterday?” I asked her, trying to sound and look calm. It didn’t work. Suddenly, the scientist became nervous. “Well. She was busy today and couldn’t come. She sent me instead to ask you some questions about the object,” the scientist reassured. “So she left me with a robot? And what’s she working on and where’s my object?” I snapped back harshly. The scientist’s lime green eyes widened as she asked me curiously, “You knew, then?” I nodded angrily as she looked at me in a new way. “Come with me please, will you?” she politely said to me. I pursed my lips to push back the angry retort-“No,” but I followed her out of the room. The door slammed shut, clicked, and locked. We both strode down the hallway as she led me through all of the labs. Weaving past several people, I noticed that some of them were actually robots. By the time we got to our destination, I had counted about 20 robots. The hallway we were in was narrow and long. When we reached the door, the scientist put a code into the door lock. The door lock beeped red as the floor began to move. I looked down, and to my surprise, I realized that a circular portion of the floor we were standing on was descending into what seemed like a secret tunnel. As it went down, there was a dull buzzing noise that seemed to be coming out of the electrical lights. When the platform reached the bottom, I stepped off and looked back. The scientist clapped her hands twice and the platform went back up again. “Hey! Where are you going?” I yelled at her. “HEY!” I screamed again, cupping my hands into a circle and placing it around my mouth to amplify the noise. Too late. The platform went all the way up. “Trying to get rid of me. That’s what they’re doing,” I thought silently to myself. I looked around and saw a hallway leading to a door at the end. “They really like their hallways,” I told myself aloud as I walked towards it. I put my hand on the doorknob, causing it to rattle as I pushed the door open. As my eyes were blinded by the sudden brightness of the light, I felt a blast of heat. Immediately, I realized where I was as I pried my eyes apart. Outside. Outside the walls. I looked around and saw a white tent sitting there. I glanced around and advanced towards it. When I came closer, I realized that this tent was the same as the tents we had back at the camp. “Why would that be here?” I wondered as I threw back the flaps on the tent. I was greeted with a gust of chilling air that was somewhat pleasant, considering the intensity of the heat. “What is she doing here?” I heard a familiar voice. I felt a wave of sudden anger overwhelm me. “I’m here because I can do something and because you can’t,” I replied smoothly, the odd calmness in my voice contradicting the emotions I was feeling. The head scientist stared at me for a moment, completely speechless by my actions and my attitude towards her. Suddenly, I covered my mouth. “What am I doing?! I’m going to get fired!” Rapid thoughts shot through my head faster than a bullet launching off from a gun but my mouth wouldn’t move to apologize. Abruptly, the head scientist snapped out of her faze. She looked at me and smiled. Out of nowhere, all my thoughts exited from my brain and all my energy was drained as she slowly strode toward me. I glanced at the lonely table with 4 people typing away at their computers, my eyes begging for them to take a glimpse of what was happening and help me. Nothing. She came over towards me. Time passed. Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours. “Perfect,” she whispered, her voice filled with wonder and curiosity. Then she snapped out of her gaze. “How about this? I’ll give you a chance to try to crack it,” she told me gently. “But if you aren’t able to do it in a few weeks, I’ll have you bring it back. Then, if you don’t crack it, you don’t come back here ever again and you never mention this again,” she continued, her voice suddenly becoming icy. I took a deep breath and told her, “Of course.” I could tell that she didn’t believe I could crack it. “For what reason is beyond me,” I thought to myself. I glanced back at her, giving her a forced smile before my right hand shot out to slam the top of the briefcase back into position. I picked it up and began backtracking my steps. “Great talking. I’ll see you soon,” I told them lightly, waving at them. The lead scientist just stared at me in wonder as I went out, stunned by my willingness to cast myself out of my job and circle of friends. “Not that I have any,” I reflected sadly. However, I knew that this chance to prove myself was more important than anything in the world to me. It was a gamble because if I failed, nobody would accept me and I would lose my job. I pushed open the flap of the tent and the second I felt the heat envelop me, I turned and began running off back into the long tunnel. Luckily, the platform was lowered. I quickly jumped on it and it began to go up. When I pushed through all the doors and hallways I needed to go through, I collided with the guards. They were playing rock-paper-scissors. “Who won now?” one guard laughed victoriously to the other. “Hey!” I snapped at them. “Are you going to get me out of here, or am I going to get out myself?” They didn’t question my having the briefcase or the reason I was in such a hurry, instead eyeing me for a moment before guiding me out. When I reached the outside, they simply shut the doors as I began running towards the entrance and exit door of the HQ so fast that I was leaving a trail of fire. After I reached my transport mechanism, I sped back to the only home I really knew-the dig. During the trip, it began to dawn on me that I had made a big gamble by taking this object. When I arrived at the dig, I hopped off and was greeted by a few people. One was the same lady who had criticized me the day I left for the HQ. “Aren’t you fired?” she asked me. “No!” I retaliated, a slight frown forming on my face. “Well, you stayed behind and didn’t come back. You didn’t listen to what you were supposed to do. Our code says to do so and you failed. You’re fired,” she said easily. Suddenly, I realized she was right and I felt my shoulders slump. “But…I was told to, wasn’t I?” I asked, more to myself than them. “It doesn’t really matter,” she told me, shrugging and the few people there began to walk off. “Oh and we’ll give you one night to clear out your tent. Then goodbye!” she laughed over her shoulder. I stood there, overcome by shock. Eventually, I snapped out of my daze and began heading for my tent with the briefcase. As I slowly stowed my stuff away, I realized I would have to give away the object if I left. Something made me stop. The deal I made with the boss of the unit of Science and Tech didn’t matter anymore because I had already lost my job. But the chance to find out what the object was? That was one thing I was not going to lose. Suddenly, I stepped back from my suitcase, my eyes hardened with determination. “I’m going to find out what this is,” I thought to myself. I opened the briefcase and took it out, all chances of being cautious with it gone. Before the screen flickered on, I saw all of humanity in my face being reflected on the black, dark screen. I typed in a code that was wrong. I shook my head and opened up my suitcase to take out my computer. I got a cord that was connected to my computer. I stuck it onto the phone as it had a material that allowed it to stick very slightly. I opened up a hacking webpage, something nobody ever used except for me. They had become too used to robots doing everything for them, but I had quickly become good with coding/hacking at a young age. I looked at the code I had just put in. 1234. None of the numbers were right. Pursing my lips, I tried another code. This time, one number was right but in the wrong place. I continued trying out new combinations and found 2 numbers that were right but in the wrong place and 1 that was in the correct place. All was working well until a translucent black screen appeared on the object. “No!” I cried desperately. “What have I done!?” my mental voice screamed at me. I looked at it again and something appeared. “Try again in five minutes?” I read aloud, tilting my head confused. I bit my lip and put it away in the case again. I sat on my bed, nervously rocking back and forth. When I felt 5 minutes were up, I opened the case again and sure enough, the screen was back to normal. “Phew,” I sighed as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of me. I got back to typing new codes, deciphering whether they were right, and every so often waiting. I realized that the wait time increased every time. “Hopefully, it won’t read permanently locked,” I whispered to myself. Finally, the password was cracked after a painful few hours, mainly because of waiting. “No way. I did it! I did it!!!” I exclaimed happily as I jumped and pranced around. Then I looked back down. The screen had tiny boxes that were curved at the ends and there was a box at the bottom of the screen with more tiny boxes. Each tiny box held its own icon and color. “Huh” was all I could say. Excited and shocked, I fled towards my transport mechanism, everyone questioning me while I did. When I leaped into it, I set course immediately towards the HQ. I was so excited I let the robot do the driving as I explored around this thing. There was one app that had an “A” on it so I pressed it. I cautiously glanced at the screen that had popped up before exiting. Then, again and again, not touching or interfering with anything that might lead us to further intel. When I arrived at the HQ, I immediately burst in and located a robot wandering around. Grabbing it by the shoulders, I exclaimed, “Take me to the boss of the HQ!” The robot looked at me confusedly and inched away, almost like a human. I scowled but ran towards the lab. When I was finally escorted in, I jumped into the room. Too excited to say anything, I dropped the object onto the desk and said, “I cracked it!” The chair turns. I don’t see a boss or an intimidating archaeologist. I see an older lady who is based on her reputation and findings. I feel like I’m part of them now. She quickly glances down at the object. “What’s the password?” she asks me calmly, her demeanor betraying her tone. Her eager hands seize the object as she inspects it. “Here. Give it to me,” I say as she hands it over, too interested to demand me to tell her the password. I type it in and show her the screen. “Impossible,” she whispers. Then, she says, “Incredible.” Her head snaps up to look at me. Her eyes narrow. “What’s the password? I’ll have my robots on this the moment you tell me,” she excitedly informs me. “Which robots?” I ask her. “Oh you know. Those people who were sitting at the table the other day. My best scientists!” she replies, her hands waiting for me to give her the object. For a moment, I feel a feeling of happiness pass over me. I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. But I realized that now that the moment had come, I didn’t feel excited. The feeling of happiness suddenly was sucked away and replaced by a feeling of disappointment. Robots? That’s who she was going to put on the task? The same things that hadn’t been able to find out the password. Why not give it to me? I felt suddenly separated from her. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I turned it off and placed it face down on the desk. Then I looked up, and my eyes hardened. “But you are not worth this object. If you can’t realize that your robots are useless, then I can’t help you,” I say, my voice suddenly cold and hardened. “Good luck,” I say. “You know, with trying and failing to crack it.” Suddenly, she blurts out, “I didn’t want to use them either. Robots. They’re all the same.” I look at her, hope rising in me. But then I lock my eyes with her and suddenly I know she’s lying. “What you did to deserve this position is beyond me. But you don’t deserve my skill and I don’t care if you never figure it out. Serves you right,” I say decisively. As I walk out, not looking back, I can’t help wondering if I made the right choice, but when I see the guards exchanging surprise glances, I know I did the right thing. I know I gave the world what it needs. Some change.