In the events immediately following The Great Cataclysm this particular robot (Cube as they prefer to be known) broke a drive wheel rendering them mostly immobile but intellectually sound in the first sub-basement of the old offices of Janus Janitorial Systems. In the ensuing years, what with the near complete collapse of civilization and the reassignment of “essential services” to the new offices within the Empire State Rocket complex, the old office blocks went through many changes. At first it wasn’t so bad for Cube, the facilities became housing for the displaced humans and the chatty robot was an integral (if somewhat annoying) fixture in a newly formed community. Gradually though the number of residents began to dwindle. The service economy had pivoted to rely more on post-human labor from the outer districts and the Jersey Wastes and retirement bounties were placed on AI workers by hegemony purity agents. For most, the only choice was to either leave or be deactivated. After that, scrap mongers in search of free or cheap dry storage while in the city (along with the occasional small time crook) were Cube’s only visitors. It was these people that, during a diagnostic reboot, bolted Cube into their current position...propping open the door...so that various and sundry “merchandise” could be more easily loaded and unloaded...at least that was the excuse. Being a generally helpful sort of person Cube took this in stride. Eventually though, being as the offices were very near the particle barrier and far from the center of Rocket City life, the place fell into complete disuse. Cube was alone. That is until Vessel IV, the titular Homunculus, stumbled in one day.
lyrics
How do you do?
You know I’ve never seen you
Lurkin around here before.
I’m here all the time
Mostly cause I’m,
Bolted down to the floor.
You’d say I’m a tin can man,
Wrapped around a battery,
And I’d say you’re just a ghost,
Caught up in a piece of meat.
That don’t mean that we can’t still be friends…
Double Negative
That don’t mean that we can’t still be friends.
You don’t have to leave,
I wasn’t tryna be mean.
I’m just not so good at jokin.
There’s a hint of a smile
Why don’t you stay for awhile?
I’ll have you know I wasn’t alway broken.
I used to move before the rock came down.
They’d say that my groove was 7th best in town.
Good old nights with 49,
Drinkin straight from power lines, fuckin around.
Oh uh oh oh
Would you be?
Would you be,
My 343?
Would you be?
Would you be,
My 343?
Would you be?
Would you be,
My 343?
You’d still say I’m a tin can man,
Wrapped around a battery,
And I’d say you’re just a ghost,
Caught up in a piece of meat.
But that don’t mean that we can’t still be friends
That don’t mean that we can’t still be friends.
credits
from Double Negative (single version),
released June 23, 2023
Written by E.W. Harris
Produced and Recorded by Kia Eshghi for Hanging Moon Records
E.W. Harris - vox/guitar
Phil Harris - drums
Kia Eshghi - vox/guitar/bass/synth
Ed Marks - vocoder
Born in the Rust Belt and raised in the South, E.W. Harris is what he terms "a dystopian romantic." Known in the Brooklyn
folk and electronic scenes for his strong vocals, unconventional songwriting, and infectious laugh, Harris has become a staple in the Big City Folk Collective, and in many venues both at home and abroad. ...more
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