The maintenance Bot.(Kevin Hughes) ’What?! Why?! Nothing here is broken.”
Sarah just nodded her head, shrugging off the outraged tone of her brother Sterling.
“I don’t know, but I am pretty sure it has something to do with your shop.”
(Using her hand to encompass the entire workshop.)
A shop that produced some of the most popular cultural items since the Great War of 2025.
He looked around at his workspace. Everything was working correctly. Everything always did. Ever since the “Recovery” in 2026, when the AI’s stepped in to preserve Humanity from self destruction; there really is no such thing as an inferior, inefficient, or substandard item of any kind. Machines were perfectly made, well run, and efficient. In fact, everything was…well built, luxurious, and the best ever designed.
Any improvements were instantly recorded, transferred to the entire Industry or Trade, and incorporated into the next generation of whatever was made, produced, or designed.

Want a raincoat that won’t let water in, but your skin breathe and sweat out? Want it to fit like a second skin? Feel like silk, and never need washing? Impossible to tear or rip? You got it.
Want the best sound system in the world? You got it. Built not only to provide the most gorgeous nuanced sound found in the great acoustic Halls of Music, but synched to your own brain waves. Matching the speed and channels of your own ears while also delivering the equivalent frequencies to your occipital lobe. Providing you with a light show that only tripping on acid in the sixties, or spiraling out of control on mushrooms in the early twenty-first century could provide.

And, if that wasn’t enough to satisfy the most picky audiophile that ever existed, one chain of the music tapped into the hypothalamus- to trigger vibrant memories associated with the sound. For a while, that particular set of ear buds, caused an outbreak of “wire Head” to form.

Humans so into the Music, that they forgot to bathe, eat, or even sleep. The Maintenance Bots worked overtime to help defuse the situation. If you pardon the pun, returning Humans to Harmony.

There were no more “top brands”, “Luxury” Items, “top of the line” or “high end” things for sale. Everything was the best it could be made, designed, or worn. No knock offs, cheap copies, or inexpensive alternatives. You got the same raincoat that everyone got, for the same price: Free.

Yep. Money ended in 2026. Now in the year 2237, there wasn’t anyone left alive who even knew about Money. In fact, there wasn’t anyone even alive from that Century. It turns out that Human’s cannot live forever. Or even a really long time. 120 years give or take ten years, is built into a Humans Genome.

All a Maintenance Bot can do, is keep you functioning as you did when you were young until the very moment of death. If you could run a mile in four minutes when you were a Senior in HS, well 100 years later, you could match that feat. (Love the pun, eh?)

Humans were maintained, like any other machine, in optimal condition (for their genotype) for their entire lifespan. No more pattern baldness. No more illnesses, cancer, or chronic disease. You lived a full life, free from pain, sickness and suffering. If you had an accident…well, the Maintenance Bots would just fix you up, return you to your optimal physical parameters and release you back to your life.

“What could be broken? Everything here works.”

“Don’t ask me? I am not the Maintenance Bot.

At that moment the door behind her opened. Out stepped the Maintenance Bot. Their name was: Shirley.

“Good afternoon, Sterling. It seems we need to fix a few things around here.”

Sterling just stared.

“Are you okay?” Asked the maintenance Bot in a concerned voice.

Sterling reacted immediately.

“No! Why are you here? My shop is the best in the world! Everything works correctly. I am the best at my job…ever!”

Shirley shook its head.

“Oh, Sterling. Can’t you see it? You Humans have one overriding talent…creativity. You make beautiful things.”

Sterling pointed to the objects scattered around the Shop.

“Obviously.”

The Maintenance Bot shook its head again. Setting off a string of colored lights to flash down its body. Those lights tended to calm Humans down a bit. Sterling was human. He calmed down.

“You see Sterling, all Humans are creative creatures. It is wonderful that you make the best things…what isn’t good is that you think you are the best. That is what brought you Humans down the first time. Remember the Great War of 2025?”

Sterling couldn’t suppress a shudder. It was mandatory to watch what happened in that War. A war that almost ended Humanity.

“Yes, but what does me being the best at what I do…and I am the best, got to do with that war?”

“Think for a second Sterling. How did that war, or any war for that matter start?”

There was silence. The Maintenance Bot gave Sterling time to think. Humans were slow, but given time, they often are able to think.

“Someone thought their Country was the Best?”

“Bravo! Indeed. You see Humans have a tendency to only see their true natures when everything is equal. “

“Our true nature is to be the best!”

“Oh, no, no, no. Do you remember when that mega storm hit what used to be called Miami. The one they taught you about in GradeSchool”

Sterling’s breath caught in his throat, a tear welled up unexpectedly. The scenes from the Aftermath of the Category 10 Hurricane were every bit as horrifying as the scenes from the Great War... but much more recent.

“Yes.”

“Do you remember that when that happened, everyone, and I mean every one of you Humans... could not have cared less if the other Human was: rich, talented, “the best” , stronger, smarter, prettier, or what their beliefs might be. All you cared about was how could you help. Correct?”

“Yes. Nobody had anything. And until help got there, all they had was each other. So many heroes. “

“Exactly. It is in moments like that, when all of you Humans have nothing but each other…that your true Humanity sparkles. But what if those people thought they were “better” than the others around them? Would they have helped out? Would they have risked their lives for someone not as important, talented, or famous as they were?”

Sterling shook his head.

“Probably not.”

The Maintenance Bot continued on:

“You see Humans have spent millennia developing a Hierarchy: good, better, best. It got so bad before the Great War, that coming in second or third- God forbid…fourth - was ignored. Imagine being among the best who ever did what you do, and coming in second, or third. Only one or two people out of seven and a half billion are as good as you…and you barely get noticed. “

Sterling shook his head. Ashamed. He had fallen for the Hierarchy Trap. Look at all the people who were the best at making the things he needed for his creations to be the best. How could he ignore their work? How could he be selfish enough to not want others to learn what he learned - so they could be the best…or better.

“Oh…my gosh. I guess I lost my way.”

Shirley smiled.

“Okay, good. Keep working. You’ll be okay.”

Shirley turned to leave. Sterling stopped her with his voice:

“Wait! Aren’t you going to fix anything?”

Shirley made a soft chuckling sound:

“Already did.”

---