Retribution

        Pizza Palace was easily the most popular place for anyone under the age of ten. Whether they would admit it or not, even teenagers and adults frequently visited it as well. Of course, this had almost nothing to do with the food. The pizzas served there were actually overpriced considering their subpar quality. It was the games that really brought in the customers.

        There were plenty of games available to appease fun seekers of all ages. The old fashioned arcade games tempted many parents into sneaking a token or two or ten from their children’s go den stashes so that they could relive the good old days where Donkey Kong and Pac-Man had reigned supreme. These games seemed like fossils to the younger visitors; they much preferred more modern sources of entertainment.

        While the youngest children enjoyed relatively simple games full of bright colors and friendly animals, their older siblings sought out more rewarding games. They would not be content to buy something as commonplace as candy after all was said and done. No, they aimed for the biggest prizes: the music players, the game consoles, and, above all else, the virtual reality machines. 

        Technology had taken huge leaps forward by the time the year 2034 rolled around. Although virtual reality machines were rather expensive with the cheapest models costing around $500, they were still the hottest new trend in entertainment. Their controllers were designed much like the GameCube controllers from way back when and were specially designed to rest comfortably in the player’s hands. The graphics looked almost exactly like real life minus a few little effects added in to give the games extra flare. All of these features were almost universally praised, but they were greatly overshadowed by the biggest changes to the gaming experience.

        Virtual reality games had become more immersive than ever thanks to the introduction of highly advanced facial recognition technology. The game gradually became accustomed to each individual player and how they reacted to different parts of the game. Then it could alter its content in order to provide the optimal experience for each player. These changes could include anything from difficulty levels to spending more time on fighting, puzzles, or whatever the player seemed to enjoy the most. 

        Substantially more advanced technology had been implemented in the animatronics. It had been a pricey yet necessary choice that had been made in an attempt to keep the animatronics more modern and up to date. They were the face of the entire Pizza Palace operation as far as the children were concerned, so it was vital that they could connect with the little rascals as much as possible.

        Before the revamped animatronics with the new technology had been introduced to the public, they had undergone an intense trial phase after hours to ensure that they were functioning properly. The whole process had taken over a month. During this time, the patrons had been told that King Lawrence the lion, Penelope the penguin, Cameron the cat, and Winston the wolf were planning a huge surprise for them and that they needed some time away to make sure everything was ready for the big day.

        The first phase of testing involved nothing besides getting the animatronics accustomed to their surroundings. This was far more difficult than it sounded; the highly perceptive AI had taken quite some time to get used to the enormous array of neon lights, the almost continuos barrage of cartoonish sound effects, and the aroma of pepperoni pizza that permeated the entire building. Their new sensors had to be conditioned so that they could react properly to different situations. 

        Remarks about how fun a party was, how delicious the food smelled, and how amazing it was when someone won a game’s jackpot were all standard. Other things had to be ignored in order to avoid overstimulation. This was especially important due to the new social flexibility given to the AI of each animatronic. Aside from the previous capability to perceive emotions and recognize repeat visitors, the animatronics could now have original conversations with the guests or invent games for them to play together based on past experiences.

        Needless to say, this particular improvement took quite a while to properly test out. Once the animatronics had learned to differentiate between important stimuli and those they should ignore, various employees began to interact with them to test them out. Some of them also brought their kids along so that the animatronics could get used to smaller children.

        At this point, it became evident that each AI’s unique programming had successfully created personalities that fit each character. King Lawrence was the proudest of the bunch, yet he had a special soft spot for kids below the age of eight. He loved to make them feel like royalty in their own right. Penelope was the sweetest animatronic; she absolutely loved to sing songs and cheer people up. Cameron was a bit of a clown, always telling jokes and telling funny stories. These three animatronics were sure to be very popular with the public.

        Winston wasn’t like the others. He was much less talkative and seemed very shy around younger kids. Thanks to his sharp looking teeth, he only ever seemed to appeal to the older boys. This made the company executives nervous. What if he scared away children? Could he ever fit in with the joyful atmosphere of the place? In the end, they chose to keep his improved AI, personality and all. Hopefully he could relate more to the steady trickle of teenagers that frequented this place. 

        When the animatronics were allowed to interact with the public again, things went smoothly for a while. King Lawrence thrived in the adoration he received from all of the children, taking great pride in the awe they expressed as they stroked his luxurious golden mane. Cameron always managed to send crowds of children into fits of hysterical laughter as he goofed around, often needing help finding his top hat on after tumbling gleefully into the ball pit. Penelope was especially popular among the girls; she was quick to learn all of their favorite tunes and to sing them beautifully. Even Winston managed to gain a few friends, mostly older boys.

        Despite all of this success, the excitement over the new and improved animatronics soon began to die down. Aside from occasional music shows and birthday parties, they didn’t usually get too much attention. They eventually felt more like parts of the scenery than anything else, always there yet rarely interesting. However, the littlest kids never seemed to lose interest in their robotic friends. They delighted in playing mdd up games with them, squealing with delight when they inevitably won against their perpetually smiling friends.

        The teenagers who visited Pizza Palace were not nearly so kind to the animatronics. They insulted them, poured soda onto their felt, and generally gave them a rough time. All of the animatronics eventually learned to avoid the rowdy troublemakers as much as they could lest the children see them being tormented. This worked well for King Lawrence, Penelope, and Cameron; they had legions of kids to look out for them. Winston had no such luck.

        Winston was unfortunately both the least popular animatronic among children and the most popular one among teenagers. They would seek him out specifically more often than not, possibly drawn to him because of his more fierce looking teeth or his ragged looking dull purple fur. After being showered with Coca-Cola until his fur was sticky and gross, Winston would often observe the other animatronics. Just look at them, having fun. Why didn’t he get a fancy jeweled crown? Why didn’t he get a bow tie? Why didn’t he get a necklace? Why wan’t he loved?

        He had done nothing wrong; it wasn’t his fault his teeth were scary. He could play games just as well as the others. It should be him being adored by everyone. After all, he put the most effort into being child friendly. He didn’t act high and mighty; he didn’t hurt himself for attention; he didn’t act like a walking stereotype. No, he tried to be a calm, quiet wolf who people would love for who he really was. He could create amazing adventures for these kids if they just asked him for them. But they didn’t. Whenever he tried to approach them himself, they cried and ran. He had long since learned how they felt about him. Now he hid in remote corners of the arcade, both to hide from the teens and to avoid frightening anyone.

        Tonight he hid in vain, he was found by a teenage boy with a mess of hair as black as petroleum. He grinned his usual sadistic grin as he approached the cornered wolf. Winston had seem this demented creature dozens of times before. Each time, the animatronic had found himself abused until the boy grew tired. Winston closed his eyes, crouched down and stood still. This was the best way to make the boy lose interest since it made him a boring target. Within moments, the teenager had smashed ketchup packets all over the cowering mass of purple fur. He laughed before ripping at any felt he could get his violent hands on.

        Winston stayed quiet as he was abused. He must look like a bloody wreck now with all of this ketchup covering him. Between that and the gashes in his fur, the children would definitely be terrified of him now. This had to stop. His lonely life was bad enough without all of this torment. Maybe more people would like him if he didn’t look so beaten up all of the time.

        The wolf slowly rose to his feet, allowing the fiendish boy to tear off more of his fur as he did so. “Hey, Chuck.” The abuser grinned, pausing in his assault. “Would you like to play a game? I’ll give you 50 tickets if you can make it all the way over to the Skee-Ball stations before I catch you. I’ll even give you a five second head start.”

        The boy agreed. This would be too easy! Everyone knew that the animatronics ran so slowly that even five year olds could easily beat them in a race. He took off, barely putting any effort into it. This game was pathetic enough, but the prize was even more ridiculous. Usually beating an animatronic at a game only led to a person winning 20 tickets at most and that was for the hard stuff.

        After five seconds had passed, Winston charged after the boy. He would teach him just how good he was at this game. The carpet underneath him was soon little more than a brightly colored blur as he rocketed after his target. The teen turned around to gloat only to yelp in surprise as the wolf quickly closed the gap between them. Winston poured all of his energy into his legs, easily making the boy’s best efforts look like the movements of a half dead turtle. 

        The boy screamed and whirled around to yell for the wolf not to tackle him. He had won, please stop! Winston heard his pleas to late; he had already sprung forward and opened his metallic jaws wide. The tattered, neglected, abused animatronic snapped his jaws shut on the boys head, piercing his skull and the brain within.