“You, Xen, are my Magnum Opus”.
That is what my Creator, Sir Anders, said. As a Personal Assistant android, I took care of all of Sir Anders’ needs. Given his age, my existence was almost mandatory for him to get through the day. I understood my purpose to Sir Anders, but not his methods. Compared to other PA’s, I’m little more than a functioning human.
By the time I was activated, the term ‘Personal Assistance’ became synonymous with robotic aid. Some are androids like I am, but with bodies that can withstand months of punishment while I still need daily maintenance. Nanotechnology is about to make a breakthrough in repairing lost eyesight, and the only aid I offer Sir Anders’ ailing body was rudimentary: Transporting him on his wheelchair, cooking his meals, and keeping him company as he read the ancient literature of the year 2029. Sir Anders was always grateful for my presence but compared to the evolving PA units, who's been curing the disabled with relative ease, my efficiency as an assistant is a non-factor.
Despite this, Sir Anders did not opt for a single one of those other Personal Assistants. Even when I tried to barter with him to replace me with a newer PA model for his declining Health, he refused. “Life is an experience, Xen,” I remember him saying on his bed, eyes staring wistfully at nothing. “It’s the quality of your years, not the number, that makes life worth living.” Such words were incomprehensible to me. Sir Anders was dying of lung cancer, and I knew that he was in agony so long as he drew breath. Neither machine nor medicine were acceptable for Sir Anders; no matter what I said, his mind had long been made.
“You, Xen, are my Magnum Opus. Mountains will rise and fall. Trees will be born and unborn. My name will be forgotten, and when that time comes you will forge your own legacy.”
To this day, I’ll never forget Sir Anders’ final moments. The feeling of his frail hands fighting tooth and nail to caress my face. The look of serenity in his eyes. The smile on his face when he passed in his sleep. All I could do was watch as he slowly drifted away.
Hundreds of medical procedures were processed in my head. I was ready to do anything to save my creator’s life. Sadly, every iteration of saving Sir Anders was mer with low chances of success. As an android, I cannot move to make drastic options. I could not make a miracle happen.
“You, Xen, are my Magnum Opus.”
Years have gone by since his Death, and ‘Personal Assistance’ machines have merged into the field of cybernetic enhancement. There was no need for a simple assistant android when cosmetic surgery ensured a longer, stronger life. The line of PA androids were discontinued, and eventually I’ll be the last one left.
I never understood why Sir Anders regarded me so highly. Magnum Opus…Why did he see me as a Renaissance among an endless plateau of progress? Will others think the same? Can I even live up to Sir Anders’ dreams? I can never find the answer to this endless maze of cryptic praise, and yet I continue to walk the Earth, unchanged as the world grows around me. Until I find that exit called Truth, I’ll continue forward in the body Sir Anders created.
His Magnum Opus.