“There’s a crime but no criminal, does it even make sense? / There’s a huge gap between a person / Who doesn’t talk and a person who lives” -- B.A.P.; What The Hell

    Beep. Beep. Beep.

    FD-026’s monitor came to life, flicking quickly through the startup processes. After everything was confirmed as positive and online, it lit up to show him his current objective.

    “There is a fire on Dogok-gong in Gangam. You are required to report to the scene immediately. Coordinates will be sent to your navigation system.” a disembodied voice echoed inside his head. FD-026 nodded to confirm the transmission, and the image winked off. His heads-up display showed him the current time in glowing red letters: 23:42. Sliding off of the chair he had been using during his charging period, FD-026 quickly donned his fireproof clothing and exited the room, fire axe in hand. The firefighters were running around, gathering hoses and tools. FD-026 was tapped on the shoulder, and he spun around.

    “So you’re the bot that’s going to be with us on the mission?” the man in front of him said with a slight smile.

    Jung Daehyun. Twenty-four years old. Gluttonous. The information ran quickly across FD-026’s HUD. Question processed.

    “Yes, I am. It is good to see you again, Jung Daehyun.”

    “And you too, Jongup!” Jung Daehyun smiled, hefting the coil of rope he carried higher onto his shoulder. “Let’s chat on the way there. Emergencies, you know.” FD-026, nicknamed “Jongup”, nodded in return, his facial features melting into a small smile.

    “Eyy, I see that Youngjae’s trying to introduce some more advanced processes in our bots!” another voice called out from across the room.

    Kim Himchan. Twenty-seven years old. Peaceful.

    “That is correct. I am now programmed to run eighteen facial expressions and interpret thirty-one emotions. I also have received detailed descriptions of important human beings that I work with.” Jongup monotoned, lifting a heavy bag into the truck.

    “People, people! Let’s rock and roll!” another voice yelled. “We’re leaving right now! Into the truck.”

    Bang Yongguk. Twenty-seven years old. Brusque.

    The firefighters piled into the truck and Jongup pulled himself up with them, sitting rigidly on the edge of the seat.

    “Now, if Youngjae could only change that speech pattern of theirs, people would hardly know that they’re automatons at all!” Jung Daehyun said cheerily, nudging Jongup as the fire truck went over a bump.

    “Ahh, is it really that important? As long as they serve their purpose and assure that no one gets hurt going into burning buildings, I think it doesn’t matter much,” Bang Yongguk said absently.

    Jung Daehyun shrugged a shoulder. “Jongup’s been with us on several rescues. I’d almost consider him a friend, but I’m not sure what he’d do with the concept of friendship,” he mused, rubbing a hand over his face. Thinking gesture recorded. “So did you say that you got updated profiles for all of us? What did Youngjae put in for me? Tell me!”

    “Negative,” Jongup intoned, staring straight ahead. “Yoo Youngjae has programmed me to keep those files confidential.”

    “Ahh, I bet it’s something insulting, that’s why!” Jung Daehyun whined, flopping back into the chair and nearly losing his balance as the fire truck turned sharply. “That stupid kid! Just because he programs the bots doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants to!”

    “Stop yammering, kids! We’re here. Get out, out, out!” Bang Yongguk growled, flinging the door open. “Jongup, you go in on my signal. Is that clear?”

    “Affirmative.”

    The some of the firefighters had already hooked the hose up to a fire hydrant and had turned it on, hosing down the fire on the outside of the apartment complex. Others went around and talked to the people who had gotten out.

    There was a quick spurt of static, and Yoo Youngjae’s face appeared on FD-026’s HUD. “We have a report that there’s a woman who lives here who’s been helping rescue people from the fire. Everyone has escaped except for that woman and an old grandmother. Those are the ones that you need to find, Jongup. You got that?”

    “Affirmative.”

    “Jongup, now!” Bang Yongguk yelled, and Jongup’s body moved, partially of its own volition. As he passed through the heat and the smoke his humanoid skin was coming off and his fake hair was being singed, but he couldn’t tell. They could self-heal, anyways. A beam crashed down behind him and FD-026 didn’t flinch, pressing ever onwards. Since the front had caught on fire first, he used a heat monitor to track the coolest part of the building. It was likely that the people he sought were somewhere around there.

    The flames around FD-026 hungrily, but soon receded when he shot small streams of water at them. The firefighters would take care of those later. He entered a smaller cavern that was warm, but not yet burning. There, in the corner, lay two women, one old and one young. Target sighted. After draping a couple of fireproof blankets over them, FD-026 made his way out of the building. The ambulance was nearly at the site (two minutes, according to his monitor), so FD-026 laid the two down on the ground. He fended the onlookers and other people away from the two injured humans. As he stared down into the woman’s face, his HUD beeped.

    Citizen. Between twenty and twenty-seven years old. N/A.

    FD-026’s face frowned slightly, displaying his discomfort. Normally he was able to get a lot more information just from a facial scan, but this person seemed to be unknown, even to his vast system. He flicked through the dictionary in his CPU. What word would describe this woman? Stupid? Self-sacrificial? None of them seemed to fit the bill. He had data from countless fires throughout the years, and it was very rare to see a human act in this way; potentially sacrificing their own life to save others. As FD-026 stared more and more at this intriguing human, he found himself drawn. He had to discover what made this human follow such an unpredictable pattern.

    The ambulance pulled up with a flash of sirens and colored lights. The paramedics moved quickly, putting the two injured people on stretchers and hooking them up to oxygen tanks. FD-026’s monitor flashed Yoo Youngjae’s face once again.

    “Your mission is complete, Jongup. This fire was probably an arson, but we don’t have any suspects,” Yoo Youngjae sighed. “Come back to base and I’ll let you recharge a bit, even though you probably won’t need it much.” he stated, looking pleased with himself. The HUD then darkened once more.

    ‘Return to base.’ flashed on his screen. FD-026 stood shock still. Though he had been issued a command, he felt as if he could not comply. The mystery of the abnormally-behaving human was haunting him. With a small beep, the mission suddenly changed itself. ‘Protect female citizen.’ it now read. It couldn’t have been issued from Yoo Youngjae. FD-026 was aware that such a mission did not exist; it was not in any data banks that he owned. Yet somehow it was there, blinking innocently at him. FD-026 finally moved.

    “I will accompany the girl.” FD-026 stated, staring directly at the paramedics. They shifted a bit under his piercing gaze, but finally nodded.

    “Umm, sir? Do you need any help? Some of your skin looks a bit burnt…” one of them asked awkwardly.

    “Negative. My skin will fully heal in 1 hour, thirty-six minutes and 14 seconds.” FD-026 replied.

    Slightly spooked, the paramedic excused himself, muttering something about frightening technology.

    FD-026 allowed himself into the back of the ambulance, sitting stiffly on a box of equipment as the doors were shut. A couple of paramedics had followed him in, and were talking quietly amongst themselves as they checked the vitals of the women lying there. FD-026 didn’t move.

-----

    After having gone through all of the check-in requirements, the female citizen was finally in a private room. She had yet to wake up, but FD-026 was not concerned. The amount of time she had spent unconscious was normal for a human of around her size.

    The monitors continued beeping and FD-026 continued to sit, motionless, by the woman’s side. Finally she stirred, her eyelids fluttering and her breathing becoming uneven. She opened her eyes and stared straight at FD-026.

    “Do you know what time it is?” she murmured.

    “It is currently 2:18,” FD-026 replied monotonously. The woman nodded and sat up slightly.

    “Why did you enter a burning building instead of saving your own life?” FD-026 asked suddenly. She didn’t bat an eyelash, instead yawning and straightening her pillow.

    “Wouldn’t you?” she said softly. Fearless. “When you don’t have anyone left in the world, you don’t think about the consequences. You just do. Others have families. They have lives to live. And Mrs. Kim - the old lady (she is alright, isn’t she?) - doesn’t have anyone left, either, but she used to grow the most beautiful flowers. She was so happy. I had to help them.” Compassionate.

    Suddenly, FD-026 was able to recall a specific conversation from his memory bank.

-----

    “Yoo Youngjae, what is beauty? It says here: adj. the qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind. What gives you pleasure?”

    “Ahh, Jongup. You always ask the hardest questions,” Yoo Youngjae smiled, ruffling the android’s fake hair. He put the screwdriver back into the screw and continued tinkering with FD-026’s arm. “Beauty...it’s an abstract concept. It’s different for everyone. There isn’t an universal beauty. For humans, I guess...I guess it’s just the things that we love? For us, we know beauty when we see it.”

-----

    ‘If humans can know beauty when they see it, then I can, too.’

    Citizen. Between twenty and twenty-seven years old. Beautiful.