It was murder, living in rural Kansas - to be 12 years old, surrounded by the whole world, and to have nothing, absolutely nothing to do. Carolyn wore that burden like a weight around her neck, dragging her miserable self to the events of her mudane life... Early in the morning, feeding the chickens, picking out the firewood, inspecting fences, always the same. At least it wasn't winter yet, and she could walk the perimeter of the property. When the snow comes, she knew, she'd be confined to the house, with hours or even days to kill.
"I'm drowning", she thought "drowning in a cup of water". Her father had been a farmer for a long as she could remember, and her mother a botanist - it's easy to see why they were a team... Dad with his shovel and mom with her soil samples - they never had much to say outside of their jobs, and this isolated Carolyn even more so. it was a struggle to sit at the dinner table, her mind racing back and forth, ignoring every other word, and looking for any distraction.
It's a hard life, being 12 years old and alone. But every 34 days, she found solace. Her father put her in the special chair, while her mother fiddled with the diagnotics machine.
"It is now Thursday the 11th, 8:45 pm" her father said. "Program will resume in 12 hours". Her mother flicked a switch, and everything went dim "a 12 hour charge should carry her at least another month" her mother said, her voice elongating into a long deep drone. Dreaming at the speed of light, 12 hours could be several lifetimes. During the recharge she would be reborn, dream of traveling the galaxy, and growing old, of new friends and falling in love - the things a robot never sees in the waking world.
"Jim", the mother said. Her turned from the girl and looked at her without expression. "Jim, when we go home, let's have real children".
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