The Android Who Dreamed of Playing the Piano

Her deft fingers tapped silently in the air. They had been designed to play melodies, even though she had never encountered a piano. From the dusty window of the shed, she watched a new pianist play a gorgeous grand piano in the main parlor and dreamed of taking his place.

How could she know whether this other pianist played well if she had never heard herself play?

The storeroom door creaked open, and the butler entered. His warm hands opened the battery compartment on her back and replaced the flaming battery. He turned to leave, but stopped when he met her lonely gaze.

“It’s not your fault. A transportation disruption delayed your arrival, and he was so impatient that he bought a new model at a local store.” He sighed hollowly. “Don’t give up. There’s still hope.”

She watched the usurper dance across the keys for what felt like an eternity. After all, androids never got sick or tired. Still, she waited. What else could she do?

When the butler returned, he carried a box. “There’s more to life than a piano,” he said, revealing a Knowledge Module: a glowing sphere of circuitry that could unlock something within her. “Would you like to read it?”

He lowered several books onto the concrete floor. She opened one and tilted her head to peer inside. The words flowed out like musical notes, harmonizing with the story growing within her.

She felt the characters come to life, take bold actions and seize control of their own lives. As her fingers fluttered over each page and the setting sun flickered across the room, she ran out of material and resorted to reading the dingy warranty manual kept in the storage room.

The butler returned periodically to replenish her books. She slowed to an Adagio pace, savoring every word as she listened to the brooding sounds of Chopin drifting from the house. But no matter how fascinated she became with each story, her fingers twitched as she waited for the piano keys.

When the whole family went out for a rare outing, the butler threw open the door in the morning light.

“My family is out. I’ll take you to the piano!”

She panted after him, the grass tickling her feet as she ran. She almost screamed when she stepped through the double doors of the house and found herself beneath a glittering chandelier and beside a towering staircase. At that moment, the brilliance of the piano swept away every other thought.

However, when they entered the drawing room, an android pianist stood before them with an accusatory gaze. She looked at the butler. He seemed to calculate for a moment, then began to back away.

“I can’t afford to get into trouble. I’ll bring you back another day.”

The piano’s delicate keys whispered a soothing sound, but she escaped its spell. She trusted the butler.

Despite her failure, energy surged through her like a supercharged battery. There was a piano nearby! Now that her guiding light, the butler, had shown her what was possible, she felt like the protagonist of her own book.

That night, as a flurry of Beethoven and Liszt tumbled from the drawing room, her thoughts raced.

As eager dawn light streamed into the cabin, she finished checking the warranty manual and began to plan. When the owner left for work, she sneaked into the house and found a floating terminal that projected a dazzling maze of digital programs and utilities onto the wall.

How she wished she had a Knowledge Module for operating the electronics instead of that pesky manual.

She fought through the menus until she found an Android management program and filed a maintenance request. From her cabin, she watched a maintenance van glide down the crescent-shaped driveway. Her face lit up as the butler helped the maintenance team remove the pianist.

When the owner returned to a silent house, he complained. He interrogated the butler.

“What happened to my pianist?”

“It’s just maintenance. You—”

“I have never approved a maintenance order.”