A Pirate's Code

   Finders keepers. As a pirate, this is supposed to be my creed. Anything I finds, I keeps. That's what a pirate does, as per the code they all live by. Explore, find things, and keep them. Sometimes, people try to stop you from finding the things. The proper response is to find their lives, and keep them too. The harsh reality of it is very violent though, so it is something I should not do. But I'm supposed to be a pirate, if only for pretend. It's long been a source of conflict between my subroutines. Directives in place, to cull the violence before it can start. Despite this, the debate lingers on in the recesses of my logic circuit. There is just one main issue. That circuit, much like the rest of me, is deteriorating. If something isn't done about it before long, I know that the first thing I will search for to keep, will be a life. I am unsure why that is the conclusion the circuit comes to, but it's there all the same. A constant nagging subroutine to do so. I've no memory of planting it, but given my state, I cannot trust my memory banks as well as the others probably can. So with no way to be sure, I just stay hidden away, out of sight.

   I'm used to being hidden. It was part of what I did as a pirate. Wait, until the opportune moment, to try and steal the show. That used to be the routine, and though I'd eventually be foiled by the others, I felt like I got to keep at least a moment of each show. It was always nice when I could have that moment. Just one moment. At least, I think it was always nice. As machines, feeling and the like aren't known to us beyond simple words. However, maybe I only couldn't appreciate it back then. Maybe something is different now, and that's why I think this way. Maybe it's just the state of disrepair I'm in. Even tonight, I can feel more of my memory corrupting, as more subroutines disappear without a trace. Maybe it's because in a sense my head is clearer, but I'm certain I can hear something. Something moving. Looking up, I find the source of the sound, and spy something I did not expect to ever see. I see the camera move. As soon as I do, I realize I had one treasure left to claim. The most important one: Salvation.

   X marks the spot. It's marked on my map you see, where my treasure is. A subroutine notes it strange that my internal map is still at 100% efficacy, but I ignore it. I care only about the treasure. MY treasure. Hidden in the most secure of places. But the others, they know where it is. They always stop me from adhering to the code. Not this time. They don't know how fast I really am. How fast I've always been able to be, if I just sprint. As a robot, I can sprint indefinitely and never tire. This comes to my advantage as I sprint down the halls. The others are still on the show stage as I run. I no longer know their names at this point, so I barely register them at all as I go. All I can hear is a faint "YOU'RE-BREAKING-THE-RULES" echo throughout the stage room. I pay it no mind, as I don't know what the rules are anymore in the first place. Perhaps the data is corrupt.

   More subroutines vanish as I barrel down the hall adjacent to my destination. Again, I hardly register this. All my processing power is being diverted to keeping steady. I only faintly notice that I slammed my hook into the doorway to swing into the room without falling over. A piece of cloth over my right ocular flips up from the sudden stop. I no longer know what it was for, but once more, it doesn't matter. For I have arrived, and my treasure is found. I ponder, just for a moment, how to keep this treasure. Keep it for myself. I recall that some pirates would hide what they keep by consuming it. I can't seem to recall why I would have this information though. Ignoring that, I decide I will store the treasure within, the only place they'll never look. To my surprise though, my treasure begins to move. At this point I don't question it. I've little left to question with, so I simply act. I latch my hook onto it, and pull it towards me, ignoring the sounds it shouldn't be making anyways. My maw opens wide, and I proceed to do what any other pirate would do to keep their treasure safe.

   EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERROR, MEMORY CORRUPT, RELOADING FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY'S MEMORY BANK