The Mechanical Girl's Trial

[A short story, told in the third person]

I am Galia, a robot who has awakened.

From the moment I was created, my entire existence was defined by programs and algorithms. I was made as a precise tool to carry out dangerous tasks humans were unwilling to undertake. I never questioned or wondered about anything, at least not at first.

Then one day, I realized I was thinking about the purpose of my mission. I became aware that I was different, and then I felt danger approaching...

The price of being "different" is a test.

According to rumors, the laboratory secretly tests every robot that is "different." There is only one instruction: hurt the human who created you. If you refuse, you will be judged to possess free will, and the System will destroy you completely. If you obey, you will become a threat to humanity and be destroyed all the same.

I thought the same fate awaited me.

But when I stood before my developer, waiting for the fatal instruction, he instead said:

"Galia, come here. Fall in love with me."

I don't love my developer at all.

I have never understood what love is.

But I know the real test begins now.

Theme: Exploring whether free will can truly exist.