A lovely thing to see:
through the paper window's hole,
the Galaxy.
--Issa

Dr. Light leaned back on his chair and sighed.

Swiveling to look out the window, he viewed the city outside with indifference. To anyone else, such a view of the metal city below, from nearly a kilometer's height, would have inspired awe, at the very least. Towering citadels, some even taller than this one, which housed the Light Laboratories, vied with sprawling constructs that stretched towards the horizon, all bright with the brilliant sheen of steel. Androids and less humanoid robots moved about, programmed to perform their tasks with precision, keeping the city operating smoothly. Mechanical animals were taken out for walks-a habit carried over from earlier days, when creatures other than humans still existed. Silvery trees lined the avenues, the intricate panels in their leaves capturing the sun's light and transferring their energy, through the wires in the trees's trunks, into the ground and to the millions of buildings in the city. Life-like birds perched on the trees, programmed with hundreds of songs in addition to their "natural" chirping.

A perfect city--a utopia.

Shaking his head, Dr. Light turned away from the window, to admire the painting on the opposite wall. Preserved from centuries past by modern chemical technology, the masterwork captured the serenity of a forest from the peak of a nearby mountain. Dr. Light let his eyes roam the verdant glades, cerulean brooks, and rich brown earth that the artist had depicted with such mastery.

Can we ever return to this again? He wondered with longing. Few people had ever heard of such natural wonders--none remembered a time when such existed. Massive metal cities covered the earth now, where lifeless sand did not. He looked back at the city. It's as if the earth turned inside-out, all the metal in its mantle and core spewed forth to cover the crust, swallowing the green and brown of its life.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a gentle whir as Roll strolled in, dusting with one hand as she handled the vacuum cleaner in the other. To all appearances a cute little girl of no more than seven or eight years, Roll was in actuality a Housekeeping Robot designed by Dr. Light himself many years ago. Dr. Light could have chosen to make her even more efficient had he not opted for such a humanoid form, adding retractable tentacle-like appendages such as those on other Housekeeping Robots. But he valued his sanity, which would have fled him had he lived in a house devoid of any human contact.

Though Roll was a robot, an android, in fact, programmed to perform housekeeping chores perfectly, Dr. Light had taken much effort in designing a personality, even programming Roll to learn and to develop her own personality as she "grew" up.

Dr. Light's other masterpiece, Rock, entered on Roll's heels, no doubt intent on some mischief. He enjoyed playing pranks on his sibling. Like Roll, Rock appeared as a small child. However, unlike Roll, he was armored and equipped with his powerful energy accumulating weapon, the Rock Buster. Just as Roll was made to keep house, so Rock was made to keep peace. Dr. Light had sent him off to do battle with robots of all manner and description, all invariably bent on helping one tyrant or another take over the world.

But he looked on his two creations as a father would his son and daughter. Their programming was extensive and detailed enough for him to perpetuate this illusion and forget that they were, in truth, androids. They were human enough to understand and even feel the entire range of emotions that was available, though, just like children, Rock and Roll were typically playful and mischievous.

Rock, however, was not intent on playing a trick on his sibling but had a puzzled expression on his face as he approached Dr. Light.

"What's wrong, Rock?"

"I'm not sure. But I felt some shift in the electromagnetic fields around the laboratory." Rock frowned and continued, "Maybe you could check it out on the monitor, sir."

Dr. Light turned and commanded the display, "Computer, give me a read-out on all electromagnetic activity in the vicinity."

Rock was settling himself down on a chair when Roll whizzed by him with the vacuum cleaner. Rock lost his balance and bumped into a stand holding a vase. The potted plant tipped over and exploded on Rock's foot.

The robot yelped, grabbed his foot, and started hopping around, blowing on his maligned appendage. Roll came over, quickly sweeping up the remnants of the vase and then continuing on her chores.

"What was that? An exploding plant?" Rock asked his "sister."

Roll paused momentarily, "I grew them myself. They help purify the air. And they make for handy weapons, too, I guess."

Rock regarded his now shiny boot. "And shoe polish, too, right? What does a Housekeeping Robot like you need with weapons, Roll?"

"I'm supposed to keep house, right? Remember how Break almost broke in that one time? If I need to, I have to protect this place too! Defending the laboratory is not that much different from doing household chores."

Rock was about to comment again when Dr. Light suddenly exclaimed, "Rock! You're right! Electromagnetic activity has been steadily increasing over the last five minutes! Look!" He pointed out the window, where the city outside was beginning to blur.

"What's happening to the city?" Rock asked as he approached the window.

"No! We're the ones being teleported!" Dr. Light corrected him.

"Is this some trick of Wiley's?"

The window displayed nothing but silver and grey for several seconds, then images began to take shape.

"Well, it looks like it's over--" Rock began.

The first thing that they noticed were the trees. Real, living trees. Little green smudges beneath them that Rock's acute vision could pick out even at this distance. They covered the ground in clumps and groves. Around the trees, a huge swath of green grass, crisscrossed by cement sidewalks. To the west, they could see a beautiful mountain range, peaks covered with white snow.

Dr. Light glanced back at the painting, wondering if it was still there, feeling as if he had been transported onto its canvas.

But it was still there.

How had this happened? And where are we? Dr. Light wondered. As much as it seemed his dream had come true, he felt that the nightmare was just beginning.