The robot lifted the large rock and hefted it into the corner. 

Using a mental schematic (though admittedly incomplete) of the Hotel, he had 
quickly located both the former bedrooms and the Infirmary. Just as an ordinary 
person's mind can drift to many things at once, especially during somewhat 
tedious tasks, so too did his mind wander... 

*Why not? I have as much right as you do to know. In fact, I have even more! Why 
not? 

-I will not give you access. 

*There's something missing, I know that much. Something we didn't even give to 
Sonya. 

-... 

*If you've taken somthing from my mind, especially after I started thinking...you 
did, didn't you? 

-There. There's some bedding and cloth you can use. It's slightly singed, but it 
should suffice. 

*Yes...yes there is. Fine. Be that way. 

The robot took his prize and wandered off to the makeshift infirmary he had 
found, adding it to a small pile of various other useful-looking odds and ends. 

Robots, by the way, do not sleep, as humans do. However once a week, robots of 
Dherm's world go through a self contained process which dumps the information 
they receive during the day into their "hard" memory drive. Since becoming 
intelligent, however, Dherm receives much more information (much of it self 
generated), and thus he must go through the process once a day. It only takes 
about a minute, but to a robot, even a minute can seem like a long stretch of 
time. 

For perhaps the first time ever, Dherm "dreamed". Though he couldn't clearly 
remember what happened after that, he wasn't exactly eager to go through the 
experience again. 

{the worst part was the knowing knowing you're more than a puppet on strings but 
thats all you are now isnt it and the screaming the screaming that you can never 
tell whether it's you or them or him or they sometimes its they somehow he scares 
you most of all and he says do and you do and you never know why and they scream 
and the blood gets all over you and you love it dont you dont lie dont lie its 
not me its him hes making me love the blood and the screaming and the people who 
you dont know well you'll never know them now and how silly to think youre more 
than you are and the blood the blood oh the blood and even into the night as the 
scream flows so beautifully like a song didnt you used to sing didnt you make 
people happy well heres a new song so vibrant and free and bloodred stop stop 
stop ill never like this why why 

youre not loving this i am sit back and enjoy the ride and why kill so pretty you 
just have to rip like this and the bloods like a pretty fountain and the scream 
so lovely and do this and this and this and still alive well lets fix that 
dispose of him i order but i dont have to order anymore my little toy what 

{-It's all right. I won't let him hurt you anymore.} 

what what is this who do you think you 

{-Get out. He is not yours. You are no one. Leave him...us... alone.} 

you arent you cant 

{- -We- are. Leave.} 

nooo why noooo 

{-You are safe now. Please wake up. *safe? Safe. I am safe.} 

Much later... after Dherm had grown up, so to speak 

{*I can't forget it, no matter what. It burns and festers in me. What do I do? 
Please.} 

{-There's a way, but you have to trust me.} 

{*I'll always trust you.} 

{-<Cough> Um, y-yes, as I was saying. you may not trust me as much after this, 
but it will ease your suffering.} 

Thus, Dherm lost the pain that had haunted him, (along with a small portion of 
his memory). But was his newfound 'other self''s idea a good one? Will he come to 
regret his decision, especially after getting to know Victor a little better? 

As he waited for the data dump to end, Dherm's 'other self' 
was tortured by these questions and more. After approximately .0025 seconds, he 
finally came to the conclusion that so many other worried people have reached 
before, and will continue reach after. 

{-Only time will tell.}