“Is it b’cause the human ‘ave more time to see the movies? Just… still gettin’ used to my existence bein’ made simply for the entertainment ‘f humans…” Bruce said, giving a long sigh. “I mean, it’s hard. I was built to please humans and they treat my species like…expendable resources. Killin’ us for sport…”

“Yeah,” the Repairman sympathetically replied, “Don’t know why Toons aren’t always told anymore…”

As Bruce sighed and continued, the inkblot stopped and looked at him in surprise. He had heard of Toons feeling exploited before, but not because of their “real-life” counterparts. He began to fidget as he considered this.

Finally, he replied, tentatively, “I…guess it would be hard…”

Feeling like he needed more than that, he continued, hopefully, “Maybe…you’ve improved…the image…?”