A man and a woman trudge through a desert wasteland. They’re bundled in cloaks and wear dark sunglass visors and air filter units on their faces. As they move through the area, they collect scrap, looking for usable parts and, hopefully, food. We follow them from a distance, nothing but sand and rubble around under a cloudless sky with a glaring sun. The two stop and point to an odd coloration in the distance before heading towards it.
What appears to be a cave in the sand is quickly revealed to a man-made structure, almost like a small parking garage. Compared to everything around, it’s clear of sand, so our duo move cautiously as somebody has been here. There are multiple exits that are caved in or clearly ruined, but one exit has lighting and a small pod-like elevator. They draw weapons and enter the elevator.
At the top, they enter a bunker that looks like a present day manor. Bright with artificial light, temperature controlled, and immaculately cleaned. A cast shadow is moving from around a corner and approaching. The man steps forward with his weapon just as the object rounds the corner. A servant bot looms over him but it happily chimes, “Welcome home, Madame Opalton!”. The two shrug and venture deeper into the bunker and it opens into a fancy living room, just as immaculate as the entrance. The woman sighs in awe, this place is beautiful, and it has a working robot. She’s never even seen one that hadn’t been picked out for parts, much less actually working. As they wander, the robot follows closely before getting between the man and the woman and switching to a defensive stance. Since Madame Opalton has not spoken and the intruder has not identified herself, the robot can only surmise that this woman is a danger to the Madame and her manor and must be destroyed. The man panics and rips off his filter mask and declares that the woman is a friend! The robot instantly calms down, adopts a friendly stance, and offers to take her cloak. The man signals to the woman that the air is clean and they both remove their visors and masks.
As they explore, they can’t find any other people in the bunker and the robot confirms there have not been any visitors and the mail is rather late so it shall have a word with the carrier when they next decide to do their duty. Offering the pair a meal, the duo are stunned before turning giddy that the robot has food. The robot scoffs and says that if it couldn’t maintain the filtration devices and food replicators then the company would have scrapped it ages ago.
Full on the first fancy home-cooked meal the two have ever eaten, the pair discuss how amazing this place is. They need to bring the rest of their group here right away. Even if the manor alone can’t house the small clan, they can clear out the ruined bunkers connected to the garage and create shelters there. With their scrap supplies, they can keep the robot going for ages if it’s only producing food and water for a small society. Since the robot seems to have bonded with the man, he reluctantly agrees to stay behind and defend the space while the woman heads back to summon the rest of their group. He kisses her good-bye and wishes her a safe journey. The robot packs her some water and a healthy snack for her trip before showing her back to the elevator.
With the guest gone, the robot now feels that can be free to inform Madame Opalton that she is rather unkempt and in quite a state. The man shrugs it off but the robot guides him to the shower and says that after cleaning up, it will have another meal ready. After showering, the man finds women’s undergarments laid out for him. Having never seen clothes so clean and soft before and unaccustomed to an ancient rich person’s wardrobe, he gets dressed in them without much thought. Back in the kitchen, the robot serves a large bowl of what looks like frosting. A touch sad that it’s not another fancy meal, the man tries it and exclaims that it’s delicious. The robot thanks the Madame and says that it specially formulated the dish to cover her nutritional needs. According to its sensors, the Madame is dangerously thin and malnourished. The man eats most of the bowl before stopping and thanking the robot. Attempting to leave the table, the robot blocks him and pushes the chair back. The dish must be completed. At her age of, the robot whirs for what seems like too long as it calculates, 297, sudden weight loss as she has experienced is a health danger and she must take care of herself.