Catalyst: Broox

The sound of music quietly began to play from the farthest part of the apartment and the sunlight slowly lit up the room. In the distance of the room, a voice was heard.

"Good morning Broox." It said in a monotone voice, as the smell of citrus filled the room. The blankets that kept her warm began to slowly roll down to the foot of the bed.

"Do you need assistance in waking up today?" The voice said as the music that played in the background got louder.

Broox rolled over to her side as she slowly opened her eyes to the bright sun. She took a deep breath and stretched her whole body before rolling on her back side. The ceiling played the simulation of a blue sky and clouds rolling by. Irritated she turned back over and covered her head.

"I see you are having trouble getting up. Please allow me assist you." The voice said before her bed started to shake violently. Annoyed, Broox sat up and yelled, "Alright I'm up!" With in a few seconds the music turned down and the bed stopped moving. Letting out a loud yawn, she stretched her arms out and waited to feel her bones crack.

"Mornings are the worst," she mumbled to herself. Her hair felt tangled and matted while she ran her fingers through her head. Surveying the room, it was obvious that it was a normal, routine day. She can hear the water in the shower start to run as the voice began to speak up again, "Would you like assistance in the shower today Broox?"

"I can shower myself, thank you." She stated as she twisted her body and started to scoot herself closer to the edge of the bed. A tiny square mat can be felt slightly brushing the bottom of her bare feet. She sighed in anticipation; her planned out day would officially begin once she stepped down on the mat. It was days like this that she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she never stepped down; but being in such a controlled environment, her imagination never went too far.

She looked outside the small window one more time before being interrupted again by the voice, "I see you're having trouble getting out of bed. Would you like some assistance?"

"No T-X! I'm getting up," Broox huffed back. She turned back around to face the door and held her breath before stepping down on the mat. As if starting up a computer, the apartment came to life as every light in the room began to turn on. On the floor, glowing tiles began to light the way into the bathroom where Broox was first supposed to shower. She stepped off the mat and onto the first glowing tile, only to jump back onto the warm mat. "T-X the floor is too cold," she said aloud.

"A small error Broox, please try stepping on the tile now."

Broox then slowly lifted her foot over the tile and lightly placed a toe on it to test out the temperature before placing both her feet on the floor. "Thank You" she said in a dismissing tone. Walking onto each tile would make the next one glow and each tile left behind would turn off. At the doorway of the bathroom she turned around to look back at her bed that was now made. In front of her the tiles began to blink, as if telling her to catch up; she faced forward and walked into the bathroom where she began to undress. There wasn't much to take off since all assigned clothing was simple, for bed it was just a light night gown,and nothing more. She looked in the mirror as she began to slip off her night clothes. The controlled temperature allowed the bathroom to be warm from the steam but never humid. After undressing she slipped into the shower where the water was perfectly matched with her body temperature so it was never too hot, or too cold. She was given thirty minutes to shower but she never really took long. Her hair was short and thin, so there wasn't much to wash, and it wasn't like she ever got too dirty. She did, however, take a few extra minutes to stand under the shower head and drown herself in the frustrations of having her life planned out by computers. She never had a moment to herself. Nothing she did in life was of her own will, it was all just part of a program. Her own thoughts began to attack her before she blocked them from her mind and continued with her shower.

After shampooing and rinsing she tapped the shower faucet to turn it off and wrung out the water from her hair. A towel that hung on a rack close to the shower waited to be pulled. She grabbed hold of it and slowly stepped out of the shower. After a "Quick Dry" that was set by T-X and a quick morning brush, Broox was ready to change into her day clothes. Walking up to the doorway, the tiles began to glow again. This time they would lead her to the closet where she had to dress. She sluggishly walked her assigned path. Every now and then she can feel T-X scan her body for her vitals. Broox couldn't help but feel violated as she made her naked way to the closet. The door opened automatically when she stepped on the third tile closest to it. Inside the light turned on and her clothes for the day slide to the front where she could reach them. Black slacks, white polo shirt with a with bra, and black socks and underwear were uniform for her.

"Would you like assistance dressing today?" T-X asked as Broox reached for her clothes.

"No." She replied in her dismissing tone.

T-X had been her assigned home AI assistant since she was seven years old. After 7 years of living together, Broox had slowly become intolerant of its voice. T-X was now just a nagging parental figure Broox never had, or wanted.

She slid on the under garments before pulling over her shirt, then socks, and finally her slacks. Once she closed the door the assigned path began to lead her into the kitchen where she was to eat her canned breakfast, most likely ham and eggs, before having to brush her teeth and line up for work. As usual, she was right, it was the same thing every day. On the counter sat a can with a plain white label and lettering that read Country Ham and Scramble Eggs. Next to it was the lid opener, a small fork, and a little small dish with a red chew-able tooth pill on it. In disgust she opened up the can and scarfed down her "food," then popped a tooth pill into her mouth before running to put on her shoes.

Everything was made to be efficient for the normal human to start off the day without any problems. Everything was timed and assigned. Almost as if humans were fleshy androids with real organs and self thoughts without an actual purpose.

Broox tied on her last shoe and pulled back her hair to tie it up. She made her way to the front door where T-X would greet her as a hologram of a tiny talking rabbit doll. This was something that Broox had actually been able to decide on her own; unfortunately, she had been too young at the time to have realized how creepy it would look when she got older.

"I'm glad to see you're ready to welcome the day Broox. You have 3 Minutes before your walking schedule can commence. Is there anything you need while you wait?"

"I'm good T-X. I'll just wait until its time to go." She said as she faced the wall and waited for the door to open. T-X then disappeared from the hologram and in place showed the countdown, underneath it a message that read HAVE A NICE DAY BROOX! :D She rolled her eyes and sighed.