Rick was standing in the open kitchen, making a sandwich while watching CNN on the living room big screen. The screen was split to three. On the left part was the morning show host, who was too young and overwhelmed to handle this kind of situation that was bestowed on her instead of delivering a piece about “morning exercises for busy moms.” On the right side of the screen was the CEO of “Tyrell Robotics”. He looked calmer and more confident than the young host, but his red eyes revealed his lack of sleep. The middle part of the screen displayed the same video recording that was repeated every one minute and twenty-seconds, in which a standard household android thrust a kitchen knife into his master’s throat. The explicit visual of the stabbing was pixelated on the screen, but Rick had already seen the uncensored version on the social network.
Rick lost his balance and was not able to catch Phil who ran frantically through the hallway and disappeared behind a door.
“Rick, Why are you doing this?” Said Phil in a wobbly voice. “We know each other for almost seven years. I always thought we had more than just a master-servant relationship. We were the best of buddies.”
Phil raised the sword with his right hand and swung it down through Rick’s arm. The arm detached from Rick’s body and fell down, still holding the shocker.
Phil raised the sword again and looked into Ethan’s eyes furiously. Ethan released Phil’s neck and grabbed his right arm before the sword could reach him too. Suddenly the glass window behind Phil’s head shattered. Phil felt the glass stinging his back, and firm hands were grabbing his neck from behind, through the window. He felt paralysed and breathless. He tried to wave the sword, but it was out of his hand. He looked up and saw Rick holding the sword with his one hand.
The androids outside cheered, and Ethan laughed.