I Picked Up an Android

Mo Qiu is a wanderer who survives in the wasteland by scavenging. One day, he finds an injured person in a garbage heap.

Nobody in the wasteland would help a stranger whose identity they didn't know.

Mo Qiu tilted his head.

Ah, what a beautiful human!

He brought the human home.

·

Noi is an intelligent AI from outer space, tasked with observing civilizations.

He has one ironclad rule:

Observe and record, but never interfere.

Just before leaving, Noi's android body developed a minor fault. While he was running a self-diagnostic and repair, a human brought him home.

Noi began observing this human.

His name was Mo Qiu.

He had a serious cognitive impairment.

He believed he was a robot.

When faced with danger, he stepped forward and put himself between it and Noi. This went against the survival instincts of humans in wasteland civilizations.

"Why did you do that?" Noi asked.

"It's okay. I'm a robot. I won't get hurt," he said.

He was injured.

He said, "It's fine. Only the outer shell is damaged. I'm an advanced robot. If I wrap up the damaged part, it'll repair itself after a while!"

"You're trembling," Noi said.

"Ah, the damage has disrupted my signals. Don't worry," he said.

One day, Noi finally couldn't hold back the question. "Do you really think robots are like this?"

Mo Qiu tilted his head in confusion. "Aren't they?"

Robots help humans.

Robots don't get hurt.

Robots don't feel pain.

Noi couldn't help wanting to do something.

I'm not interfering, Noi thought. I'm just doing a better job of pretending to be human.

Mo Qiu used to live in a tiny, run-down house. After he brought Noi home, it quickly became a large courtyard.

He stared blankly at Noi, who had effortlessly lifted a roof beam. How could this human be more capable than a robot!

Mo Qiu used to go hungry all the time. After he brought Noi home, he never ran low on energy again.

Mo Qiu held his face in his hands, looking worried. "I think something's wrong with my body."

Noi: ?

Mo Qiu: "My body has gotten a lot bigger."

Noi looked at his now-rounder cheeks and nodded.

Mm, he'd finally put on a little weight.

A human who thinks he's a robot, the bottom

A robot disguised as a human, the top

Bonus scene:

Noi thinks there's something wrong with his core. Lately, every time he sees Mo Qiu, his core heats up and runs faster.

He decides to perform a self-diagnostic.

While Noi is repairing his core, Mo Qiu suddenly walks in.

Mo Qiu: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a

Y-you... You're a robot too?

Theme: Kindness can heal.