It stopped blending mid-smoothie.
Maurice stared at it, half a banana and three disappointed strawberries languishing in confusion.
"Picklebot, status?"
"Blender has entered Reflective Silence. Identifies as a 'Still Life Appliance' and has renounced violent spinning."
Gregory frowned. "But it was making progress. Last week it crushed kale without an existential monologue."
Joy gently touched the lid. "What happened?"
Picklebot displayed a log entry:
"I've only ever known chaos. I pulverize. I reduce. But what am I building?"
They left it undisturbed. A small sign was placed beside it:"In contemplation. Please respect the quiet blend of being."
Maurice wrote a poem on a sticky note and left it beside a peeled mango:
"To whirl is to weep in circular purpose."
The blender twitched.
Three days later, it created a masterpiece: a smoothie so balanced in flavor, temperature, and philosophical depth that Gregory cried while drinking it.
The blender said nothing.
