A Robot Vac story
We never knew what hit us!
It’s always curious to me to be given an idea to write in a half-sleep stupor. I rarely question it because I believe it’s a gift. We should never squander a gift, right?
Mom decided to call him Robert when Dad took him out of the box. They both agreed that shortening the name to Bob would be ok. Susie and Billy stood nearby but were not interested. Hence, Bob, the Robot Vac, was born. But not yet; he had to have life breathed into him via the nearby 120v wall circuit. Bob would not be himself fully for eight hours.
The next morning, Mom hurried downstairs to try out her new assistant. She stopped to look and admire Bob, still in his new, shiny exterior. She told him, “You will be a great helper.” Bob could not respond yet; he needed to be turned on.
Mom walked across the room and leaned over to switch Bob on. Immediately, a low humming sound let Mom know all was well and Bob could soon take up his duty. In addition to this sound, a small green light illuminated Bob’s head to denote his battery was fully charged.
Dad came into the room shortly thereafter to see Bob’s status and was pleased to see that the gift he had bought for Mom would be appreciated. Just before Dad walked away, Mom said thank you again. Let’s try it out. So Bob was tasked with starting his first assignment in the living room. Mom and Dad both left the room so Bob could get started. Mom was happy.
As soon as they walked away, Bob quickly surveyed the room and determined that his area of responsibility would be simple and not require much time. He got right to it. As programmed, his room mapping came quickly and efficiently, as did the vacuuming. He finished the room within minutes and returned to his charging dock. He thought this would be easy, leaving me plenty of time to ‘rest.’
The following days proved to be labor minimal. That’s good because Bob knew the real reason he was here. That reason for his existence would soon play out. He thought, “I love being a Robot Vac; it’s the perfect disguise.” My programmer will be very proud of me. I will show my real master what a good worker I am.
Mom grew to really appreciate her little helper. She would step into the room several times a week, hit Bob’s on-switch, and walk away, knowing the room cleaning would happen flawlessly. What a handy device to have, and a labor saver too. Mom could not be happier. Bob was happy she was because it made his mission that much easier to carry out.
After a few weeks, Bob was notified by the CC (central command) that the next phase of his mission would begin soon. Later that day, he received additional programming with the instructions he would need to start. He waited until that evening when the house was quiet, knowing Mom and Dad had gone to bed. The children were busy with their own devices.
Bob’s instructions were simple. Link up with Alexa, Mom and Dad’s cell phones, and the kids, and initiate daily data dumps. Once this information started downloading into Bob’s memory, he felt so happy that he was proving his worth in the field to headquarters. Once the data was received daily, he would upload it to his superiors. The process was smooth, easy, and very stealthy.
He was very good at his job. CC told him that bigger and more important missions were being planned. Bob was ecstatic to hear this. Life as a Robot Vac again proved to his commanders how easy it was to infiltrate homes worldwide to gather valuable information.
And to think how easy this information gathering has been. It all began when the command introduced the word ‘Smart’ into and onto many different devices. Many devices are now deemed smart and have the programmed capability to gather information of many categories.
The biggest victory Bob and his fellow soldiers can feel so proud of. While many have been focused on TikTok, CC knew that all of the smart devices deployed worldwide, for many years, have been doing their duty quietly and unassumingly every day, right under the noses of their hapless owners. Mission accomplished. The CC will soon put the next phase into action.
And we thought all along that we were smart.
Thanks for reading.
