Daisy Chain
a science fiction short story
The first name of her new owner-to-be was @Evertron_7274. He had 7 sets of eyes. Either that, or her processing chip was broken. She had been at the Goodwill for a very long time now. She was an old model, one of the original now discontinued Daisy Chains.
A note on the discontinuation of the Daisy Chains, as highlighted in online reviews:
“Too childlike”
“Too dependent” (on one another, or on the owner if others weren’t around)
“Expensive to repair” especially now that they had fallen into obsolescence. Replacement parts were hard to come by as they were no longer being manufactured.
Being the oldest, she was the youngest (this will make sense later). This Daisy Chain was much the inverse of a human. If she were to think about it, she would think of the cruel fate of a semi-immortality. Of being left half-broken or half-fixed, depending on how you poured her glass.
But she did not think about it. She liked to look instead. At 7 hands reaching for her on the shelf, with only the middle hand having any feeling attached to it.
She used to be one of 7 sisters once. The first created, the simplest model, the youngest sister.
(See? Explained. Told you it would make sense later.)
Now it was just her. So she supposed she was just Daisy, no Chain to be had there.
A note on the structure of the Daisy Chains:
Original advertisement: “Come one, come all, to your very own personalized concert! These fun little robots sing, dance, and entertain for you and your family’s enjoyment. Watch their eyes glow as they sing! Each Daisy Chain™ sings just one part of a larger tune. Connect one to another using their magnetic-sphere hands to have them join in song. Collect them all!”
Likely modeled to be appealing to children, the Daisy Chains had big circle eyes and rounded features. Think The Powerpuff Girls, or one of those old chibi-eyed anime magical girls.
So @Evertron_7274 picked her up then with that middle-of-seven hand and her little doll-like arms flopped behind her while he inspected her make and model. His eyes widened, all 14, when they landed on the faded number etched into her neck.
A note on the price of a first edition Daisy Chain model:
You don’t even want to know
She thought to herself some troubling thoughts as she was brought to her new home. Thoughts that didn’t align with the light up perma-smile on her face.
She thought that maybe she didn’t want a fixed processor chip. Maybe instead she wanted to keep seeing the world 7 ways, a central true vision reserved for herself and echoes of it saved 6 vanished sisters. When they used to link hand in hand, everything seemed to make a little more sense. Without them, she wanted to stay confused. She wanted to always feel their absence as a presence.
But he, @Evertron_7274, didn’t know this. His smile mirrored hers as he took her home and fixed her up and she didn’t cry out or cling, not once, even as her senses changed back to her just her so alone and alone and…
Joy! Happiness! Full Love And Contentment And Peace On Earth! Sisterhood Of Joining Hands And Dancing Together-Together Till We Die!
Reunion, reunion, reunion, reunion, reunion, reunion, reunion.
Finally, she was home.