Stray - Entry 4: The Slums
I slowly pad down the decaying alley and as I approach the humanoid figure I realize it is a robot. It is tall and lanky with thin limbs and a boxy head. The moment it sees me, it freezes—then making slow inching footsteps backwards it activates an alarm and runs off down a side alley. I quickly try to follow but it shuts a gate to block my path. I continue down the lighted alley amongst the swirling amber light from the alarm. I see more robots, wearing oddly fitting clothes, in a panic flee into shops and stairwells, locking themselves away as if I’m something feral and dangerous. Doors slam shut.
I follow the alley until I reach a set of small stairs leading up to the base of the elevator. A small group of robots hurry inside, desperate to escape, while one stays behind and closes them in. After closing the elevator door it kneels down, intently watching me. It is holding a spear made from scrap. It doesn’t attack. It just watches, perfectly still, as if I might vanish if it blinks. I inch closer, tail low, ready to bolt. The robot doesn’t move—only tilts its head, studying me with a curiosity that feels different from fear.
I carefully approach the robot and B-12 initiaties a conversation and is able to decipher the robot language. The robot introduces himself as the Guardian and indicates it is not familiar with my kind. It referred to the creatures I encountered earlier as Zurks and, as long as I do not try to eat anyone, I am welcome to stay in this village. Guardian then gives an all clear signal and slowly, the village begins to open back up. Doors unlock. The fear recedes as all the robots come out from their hiding places.
B-12 then shows Guardian the post card and inquires about the elevator. Guardian responds, "Oh, a picture of the "Outside." Ridiculous. This elevator isn't operational. Everyone knows that it is impossible to leave this place. Well, except the Outsiders. But they're all gone now. Except Momo. You can try to talk to him if you want, but he gave up on trying to leave. It's for the best."
Guardian then points to a bright orange neon sign at the top of a building and says Momo lives up there.
I then nuzzle his leg in my gratitude for his help.
We then walk around and explore the village. It is a dilapidated, multi-level cyberpunk slum with some neon signs and home to many robots. At its center is the broken elevator that seems to serve as a village community center. Amongst large apartment buildings there are various shops, including a bar/restaurant and computer programming shop.
As we explore, it triggers memories for B-12 and we begin to learn a lot more about this place. Humans used to live here and created adaptations in order to be able to survive underground, like developing plants that can survive without sunlight. All the humans are now dead and these robots continued on...mimicking the routines of the humans. They also seem to have evolved from their initial models of basic autonomous helpers, called Companions, to something far more advanced. They create art not because they were told to—but because they want to. As we talk to the Companions we find out that none of them believe in the surface outside of a group called the Outsiders.
I find plenty to occupy myself in the village. I meet Morusque, a musician that is looking for sheets of music to learn new songs. Azooz, a merchant, that is willing to trade items for energy drinks I find in vending machines across the village. Elliott is a particularly skilled programmer and Grandma runs a clothing shop of items she knits herself.
In one quiet corner next to a building, I discover a small metal safe nestled into a heap of trash. Its keypad blinks patiently with a scrap of paper taped to it that bears strange markings—lines of ones and zeros. I don’t understand them. When we show other companions they call it binary and a computer programmer would be able to decipher it.
We bring the note to Elliott, the quiet programmer. As he reads, I notice something else—Elliott trembles slightly, shoulders hunched.
Elliott deciphers the note easily. Binary. Numbers. A code. But the answer isn’t here. It tells us where to look: Duffer Bar.
As we leave, Elliot's companion friend explains Elliott believes he is always on the verge of malfunction. A hypochondriac. He’s been hoping to find warmer clothes to stop his shivering. This is strange behavior for a mechanical robot...
At the village bar, I find a crooked picture on the wall just under a neon "Duffer Bar" sign at the end of the bar. I brush it aside with my paw. Behind it is the safe digi-code. The safe opens with a soft click. Inside was a sheet of music.
The village continues to unfold around me as I wander. I use window awnings, rusting air conditioner units, and balconies to climb up tightly packed buildings of abandoned apartments towards the rooftops. As I ascend, the brightness from the village lights fade away and the orange glow from neon signs becomes more prominent.
On the rooftops, I come across a group of Companions tossing paint cans back and forth. As I slip past them, my side brushes one Companion’s leg. The contact is light — but enough. The paint can slips from its grip and bursts open on the ground below, splashing paint across the front of the laundromat.
The shopkeeper storms out, waving its arms and scolding them loudly for dropping paint again.
Curious, I hop down and slip inside the laundromat. Among the clutter and rows of washing machines, a small bottle catches my eye. Detergent.
I remember Azooz was looking for some.
I carry the bottle to the merchant. He happily trades me a length of electric cable. That, too, sparks a memory — Grandma mentioned needing cable to finish knitting something.
She smiles when I bring it to her. Later, she presses a small knitted poncho into my paws. It’s soft. Warm. But I have no need for it.
I bring it to Elliott.
His voice wobbles with gratitude. He wraps it around himself carefully.
“Thank you,” he says. “If you ever need something repaired… come back to me.”
I flick my tail.
Then, with nothing more to distract me, I begin to make my way up towards the orange glow of the neon sign Guardian had pointed out. Once again, air conditioners become stepping stones. Balconies and window awnings become pathways. I continue across rooftops until I reach the sign. Beneath it, an open window waits.
I leap inside.
