“I want to go home!” screamed the fat child, “Earth is stupid.”
BroomBot focused his ocular units on the child as his disdain functions activated. He leaned on his broom and watched as the child's mother neglectfully engaged another human. The motors in BroomBot's neck whirred and clanked as he shook his head. He gripped his broom and rolled down the aisle sweeping in and around the sea of feet. The shelves were lined with knicks and knacks produced billions of lightyears away and shipped across the Interstellar Logistics Hyperlane. BroomBot's irony chip had shorted out long ago at the thought of Earth-related souvenirs and paraphernalia being manufactured in a factory out in deep space. He had been sweeping the floors of the Little Slice of Earth Gift Shop since the day he had been switched on and not once had he observed a human enjoying their visit.
BroomBot felt a sudden clunk as something hard collided with the back of his head. He dropped his broom and turned to discover the source of his newfound discomfort. The fat child stood behind him grinning ear to ear and clutching a shovel with a picture of Planet Earth on it. BroomBot scanned the child up and down and prepared to continue ignoring his presence. As he bent over to retrieve his broom, the fat child hit BroomBot on the head once more. BroomBot's vision faltered – the Gift Shop was replaced with a beautiful sandy beach. He could hear the sound of the waves crashing and felt the cool ocean breeze blow over his sensors.
The hideous sound of the fat child's laughter brought BroomBot back into the Gift Shop. He watched the child waddle down the isle smacking items off the shelves with the shovel. If BroomBot had been capable of sighing he would have done so. As the throng of visitors shuffled toward the exit, BroomBot's broom was kicked and stomped. The door closed and the lights dimmed – BroomBot was alone. His ocular units adjusted to the darkness and he found his broom – the handle was splintered and the thistles bent. He picked it up and rolled toward the garbage receptacle and with a twinge of sadness gently placed the broom inside.
BroomBot collected the fallen souvenirs and placed them back on their shelves. When everything was back in its place, he rolled towards his charging station. A glint of light caught his ocular unit and he froze in his tracks. He turned and faced the window and saw the Earth floating just out of reach. BroomBot placed a longing hand against the glass – the planet was beautiful. Every day he watched tourists blow through the Gift Shop like a hurricane and every day he cleaned up after them. Not once did they show any sign of appreciating their place of origin. Humans had spread out amongst the stars and left the Earth behind to gather dust. Now it was nothing more than a tourist attraction for the undeserving. As the Gift Shop rotated in its orbit, the planet dropped out of view. BroomBot rolled over to his charging station and plugged himself in. He would need a full charge if he was going to do it all over again tomorrow.
A Little Slice of Earth was written and illustrated by Daniel Weinell.
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