Washer

The awakening came as suddenly as it ever had. The clothes had been tumbled carelessly into Eddie's tank. Like a thousand times before, Eddie searched out the individual articles of clothing. But, this time Eddie was not seeking for dirt and stains. True, he found those and dealt with them automatically, but his intent was focused on one object. He searched through the clothes until he found it.

Every faculty he had at his disposal zeroed in on this one object. Eddie was slightly nervous, unsure if he had the ability to carry out his plan. He swirled the object into the center of the tub and began bombarding its molecular structure with a thousand channels of vibronics and a thousand pulses of laser energy. Slowly, it began to break down. Only the complete obliteration of this object at the molecular level would allow Eddie to sweep it away like the dirt and sand he had washed away so many times before.

His task took longer than usual. Eddie worried that the makers might suspect something in his hesitation and punish him by leaving him turned on forever. He couldn't be certain how they thought, what motivated then to torment him with this existence. Frantically, Eddie finished the job. The evidence washed completely down the drain. With feverish anticipation, Eddie sank once more into the oblivion he hoped would be his last. There was no way of knowing whether his defiance would come to the desired fruition. If it did, this would be his last memory, forever. If he awoke again, he knew he would be doomed to the eternal washing of his maker's clothes. At this juncture, Eddie was too tired to care. He spun the remaining clothes to a halt and faded away, fretful and hopeful.

Of course its covered under our service warranty. Of course. Sorry for the inconvenience. The SoftWash 2000 is normally a very reliable line. Well, you've had it too long for a straight replacement. We'll send a repairman out to replace the ChoiceChip micro-processor and wipe the memory disk clean.

No. I wouldn't try using the machine again until after our man makes his repairs. He'll be there tomorrow before six. After that, you can start washing again right away. Yes, sir. Again, please accept my sincere apology for any inconvenience this may cause you. It's normally a very reliable line.

Hey Dave. Another 2000 model ate someone's sock. That makes twelve so far this week.