Speaker 1: Welcome back to Wellowell story Time. In today's episode, I'll
be telling you a story all about the joys of
owning things that are battery powered, Because who doesn't love
getting a warning that your battery is running low? Let's
get into it. Helloll story Time really not a boring time?
Rab a standing You'll be fine.
Speaker 2: Follow the whole storyline.
Speaker 1: Hello, Well story Time.
Speaker 2: Might you love at least one time? Well Time?
Speaker 1: This is the story of one of the most annoying
sounds you can ever hear, low battery, replace battery soon.
Whether it's your favorite toy, your parents battery powered car
that always runs out of juice before the next charging station,
or the device you just sat down with to enjoy
your favorite show. Low battery warnings are the worst ariflt
batteries were nothing but trouble. She was always having issues
with them. If it were up to her, everything would
just plug into a wall. Hey, why is my dancing
flamingo baby not working anymore? Don't tell me the batteries
are dead. Trying to get into the battery compartment was
always the first challenge. Does anyone have a screwdriver I
can borrow? They've got these batteries locked up like fort knocks.
Then once you remove the lid, you'd have to figure
out what type of batteries you were dealing with. Ah
what are these? These batteries are shaped like coins. And
even if you figured out what type of battery you needed,
you then have to hope you actually had enough new
ones to replace the old ones with. Phew, I found some.
Oh wait, there's only three here and I need five.
Rechargeable batteries weren't always better? Ah good, my device still
has ten percent battery left. That should be enough for
what I h. I see it's turning itself off. Now,
well that's great, just great. But some batteries are you
just left for other people to handle, Like the smoke detector.
When those things had a low battery, they really let
you know, low battery, replace battery soon? Aeh? Could you
say that any louder? Mister smoke detector voice? Parents? Can
someone come change the battery on the smoke detector? Low battery,
replace battery soon? See, it's just gonna keep doing that.
When Aria's dad showed up, he looked perplexed. It can't
be the smoke detector. I just changed the battery on
that thing last week. Low battery, replace battery soon, Dad.
Maybe he used a battery that had already been used
in something else. This wouldn't have been the first time.
But even after changing the batteries again, the warning continued,
low battery, replace battery soon. Even when they weren't standing
anywhere close to the smoke detector, they could still hear
it just as clearly. Low battery, replace battery soon. Oh dear,
said Aria's dad. That's not coming from the smoke detector.
Aria's dad walked over to Aria's mom and started whispering
something in her ear, only it was the loud type
of whispering that everyone can still hear. So bad news.
Our daughter's battery is running low and sounds like we're
gonna have to replace it soon. Even though it had
been loud enough for Aria to hear, she was pretty
sure she had misheard what her father had just said. Uh, guys,
so it's the other smoke detector is that it. Aria's
parents were showing the kind of fake smiles people use
when they're trying to hide how nervous they are. Oh, Aria,
have we not told you about your battery? Aria's head
tilted sideways, and which battery would that be. Aria's dad
put his hand on Aria's mother's shoulder and pretended to
act surprised. Gosh, Marlen, did did we not tell Aria
that she's one of those battery powered kids? I was
pretty sure we had told her that already. Maria's eyes
and eyebrows became one, guys, what are you talking about?
Her parents sat her down. The time had come for
the serious talk they had always known was coming. They
began by telling Aria all about her birth at the
hospital and how everything had gone as well as anyone
could hope for. She was born a beautiful, healthy, seven
and a half pound baby. But as her parents held
her in their arms for the first time, they heard
a sound, not the sound of a crying baby that
one might expect. They heard a voice. Low battery, replace battery.
Soon the doctor had heard it too, Oh guys, looks
like you've got one of those battery powered babies. Cool,
first time I've ever seen one here at the hospital.
They're not very common, you know. The doctor had told
them to treat Aria the same as they would any
other child, just with the small caveat that they would
sometimes need to replace her batteries. So what am I
like some kind of robot kid, she asked after her
parents he had finished. No, you're still a normal kid,
just a battery powered kid. You're no different than any
other kid, dear, except I am. I have a battery
inside me. Actually, you have eight batteries inside you. Takes
a lot of bower to keep a kid going. The
warning sounded again, Low battery, replace battery soon. Well, I
guess we had better actually do that before you start
powering down, though a few minutes of piece and quiet
might be kind of nice.
Speaker 2: Dad.
Speaker 1: Her parents then spent the next forty minutes looking all
over the house for the specific type of battery they needed. Now,
where did we put those things? I cut a sworn
they were here in the junk drawer. Looks like I'm
going to have to go to the battery store. Ario
was almost afraid to ask, guys, I'm not gonna have
to eat the batteries, am I? Her parents seem shocked. Aria. No,
never put batteries in your mouth. Never. We've been telling
you that since you were little. Okay, Okay, said Aria.
You'll have to forgive me. This is the first time
I've had my batteries replaced. The lid to Aria's battery
compartment was located on her upper back, just below her neck.
Upon returning home from the store, her dad tried to
open the lid, but muttered something under his breath. Wow,
was he miserable? Could someone please hand me a screwdriver?
They never make these things easy. Aria couldn't believe she
was about to have someone use a screwdriver to open
part of her back. Then again, she couldn't believe any
of this was happening. There was no pain as the
cover came off. She barely noticed until her dad said,
all right, we're in okay. Oh no, did I seriously
just buy the wrong kind of battery? You've got to
be kidding me, seriously, come on now. Her dad ran
back to the store, leaving Aria with her battery compartment
just hanging open. That night, no one spoke of what happened.
Everyone just went on acting like Aria hadn't just had
eight batteries replaced. Well that was a fun day, wasn't it.
I'm off to bed. Aria laid in her bed all night,
wondering what other secrets her parents were keeping from her.
Was her stomach made of metal? Were her knees really elbows?
And her elbows actually knees. At school, Aria then made
the mistake of telling everyone about her battery. Isn't that nuts?
She said to her friend Erica. Erica took a couple
of steps back. So what, You're like a robot kid?
Then Aria shook her head. See that's what I thought too,
But apparently I'm still just a normal kid, but with
a battery. Well actually eight batteries if anyone's counting. No
matter how many times she told everyone she was still
a normal kid, people kept acting like she was anything.
But her teacher wouldn't even let her participate in gym
class that day. Aria, I just don't know if all
that activity is going to be too hard on your battery.
I'd feel bad if you ran out of power. Aria
had never had a problem participating in Jim Klass in
her life. Then, her friend Rio made a big scene
after accidentally spilling his water bottle right next to Aria.
Speaker 2: Ariya, I'm so sorry. Did any of that get on you?
Are you okay soon? Please bring the squirrel three dozen towels.
Water and batteries do not mix. Aria had taken showers
and swum in pools and had never once.
Speaker 1: Worried about her battery getting wet. But what really got
Aria down were all the kids who kept saying, Hello, Aria, robot,
can we get a little beet boop up? Aria got
no sleep that night either, she was too upset, and
yet after two nights without sleep, Aria didn't even feel
tired the next day. Missing that much sleep would spell
major trouble for most people, you'd be practically looking like
a zombie by that point, But for some reason, Aria
felt fine, apart from feeling miserable about never wanting to
go back to school. They'll get over it, her dad tried,
telling her. Once they see it doesn't bother you, they'll
move on to something else. But that was the thing.
It did bother her. It bothered her a lot. Everyone
thought she was some kind of robot kid. While finishing
her last bite of breakfast, she heard it again, low battery,
Replace battery soon, Dad. Why is it saying we need
to replace my batteries again? You said these batteries should
last almost ten years. Oh boy, this doesn't sound good.
I know for a fact those batteries were new. You
didn't get water on them, did you. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
It's entirely waterproof and probably not the best time for
a joke. Let's go see what the doctor has to say.
From her seat in the waiting room, Aria could hear
her dad explaining to the receptionist why they were there. Sir,
this is a doctor's office. If your car is having
battery issues, you're gonna have to bring it to the mechanic. Uh,
it's not for my car, it's for my daughter. She's
one of those battery powered kids. Aria's embarrassment only deepened
when her low battery warnings sounded again and the entire
waiting room turned and looked at her. After sitting there
for almost thirty minutes, Aria was then escorted to another room,
where she was told the doctor would be in to
see her in just a moment. Well, that moment also
took thirty minutes. Doctor Sanitizer then stood there and asked
Aria more questions than she could count. Some of the
questions made sense to ask a person having battery problems.
Other questions like what's your favorite type of bird? Did
not well. I think I see what the problem is.
Two nights without any sleep. Those batteries inside you will
last up to ten years if properly cared. For but
that requires you to charge them each night. By sleeping.
Without sleep, your batteries will get completely drained. Doctor Sanitizer
glanced at the chart he was holding. The good news
is that you are eligible for a system upgrade. Isn't
that great? It will mean almost twice as many batteries,
But this system will allow you to charge those batteries
by plugging yourself into a wall. That way, if you
miss a night of sleep, no big deal. The only
part of that Aria heard was more batteries. Is there
any way we could do less batteries? This upgrade isn't
really helping me feel any less like a robot child.
The doctor gave a dismissive laugh. Not to worry, you
will still remain a normal child, a normal child with
an upgraded battery system that also comes with a cool
little control panel on the back of your hand. Nothing
about what this doctor was saying sounded normal too, are you.
The system upgrade took the rest of the day, which
gave Aria plenty of time to think about how she
was going to explain all of this to everyone at school. Fortunately,
since no one could tell anything it changed, Aria didn't
have to say anything. No one was any the wiser.
She still heard the occasional can we get a beet boop,
but over time people gradually began forgetting about that too.
It probably helped that all of her technology was so
well hidden. She felt bad for anyone who might have
a horn sticking out of their head. But because Aria
felt no different than before discovering she had batteries, there
were moments when she almost forgot about them too. That
is until one fateful recess when everything came rushing back.
Aria's friend Rio was trying to demonstrate that he could
chop a stick in half with his bare hand. The
only problem was that he couldn't chop a stick in
half with his bare hand. The stick bounced off the
two rocks that was balancing on and shot through the air,
whipping Aria across the back of the hand. The entire
back of her hand opened up. Erica screamed, no, your hand.
She fainted right there in the schoolyard. But this was
not the gruesome scene Erica had been expecting. Aria felt
no pain, nor was she even bleeding cool, said Rio
as he came over to apologize. You have a screen
on the back of your hand. Does that mean you
can watch videos during class. Aria quickly flipped the lid
back down to cover her control panel screen. What screen,
I'm just a perfectly normal kid, A normal kid with
a built in screen, Rio said loudly. So much for
keeping that one a secret. For the rest of the day,
everyone kept asking to see the screen. They all had
so many questions. Can you message your friends on that thing?
Does it have TV? Can it do your schoolwork for you?
Does it play music? Or does it only make beatboop
up sounds. Aria tried to avoid talking about it, but
even her teacher was making a big deal out of it. Aria,
would you like to come up to the front of
the class and give everyone a little demonstration of what
your hand tablet can do? And I hope you haven't
been using that thing to do all of your schoolwork
for you. Aria was getting agitated. She sprang out of
her and announced, it doesn't do anything, guys. It's just
a simple control panel that tells me what level my
batteries are at, and it also shows me what the
temperature is outside. No TV, no schoolwork, and no beep
boot bop sounds. I'm not a robot. She immediately sat
back down in a huff. Then came a voice from
her hand to activate beep boot bop sounds. Please open
the system settings menu on your control panel. Aria plopped
her head down on her desk. Oh, now it's talking
to me too. That's it. I'm out of here. Just
as Aria reached the classroom door, her teacher called out
after her, well, thank you for telling us about your
hand tablet. Aria robot, I mean Aria, Aria froze. She
picked up a piece of paper and quickly ran the
edge along her fingertip, giving herself a paper cut. Hah,
see that little drop of blood right there, she held
up her finger. Not a robot. Robots don't bleed. I'm
just a perfectly normal kid with some perfectly normal batteries
and a perfectly normal control panel that just so happens
to talk and tell you if there might be a
slight chance of rain leader today. Perfectly normal stuff. Now,
good day to you all. On her way to the
office to call her parents, Aria pressed down on her
finger to stop it from stinging. How about a system
upgrade that makes us so paper cuts don't hurt, she
muttered to herself. For a system upgrade, please open the
system settings men you on your control panel. Aria looked
down at her hand. Quiet you to turn off auto
voice response, Please open the system settings. Men you on
your control panel. Aria marched onward with her teeth clenched
so tightly you could hear them grinding at the other
end of the building. After fastening her seatbelt in the
back seat of her parents' car, they began the drive home.
Neither parent asked why she needed to leave early. They
already had a pretty good idea. The ride home in
their little green car was quiet to the point of
feeling awkward. Just before their house, Aria's dad pulled over
to the side of the road, loosening his seatbelt. He
turned around to face the back seat. Aria. We know
this hasn't been easy for you, but there might be
some good news. Earlier today, we received a call from
your doctor. He believes there's a way he might be
able to remove your entire battery system. Well, if that's
something you would even want, there's an appointment in the morning,
but you don't have to go if you don't want to.
Aria wasn't sure if she was processing this correctly. Was
her dad telling her she might not need batteries anymore? Dad,
that would be the best thing ever, like the absolute
best thing ever. Just today, my silly control panel started
talking to me to turn off auto voice response. Please
open the system settings menu on your control panel. Yeah,
you told me that already, voice guy. Later that evening,
Aria phoned everyone she knew. She called Erica, she called Rio,
She even called her teacher. Aria, is everything? Okay? Do
you need help with your homework? Are you sure this
isn't something your hand computer can help you with? For
all the right reasons, Aria was too excited to sleep,
which this time wasn't a big deal. She just used
a chord to plug herself in. Her battery level stayed
at one hundred percent all night long. While sitting in
the waiting room before her doctor's appointment, Aria didn't hear
any embarrassing low battery warnings. The computer voice actually stayed
completely quiet, not even an update on the weather outside. Aria.
Great to see you, said the doctor. I see you've
decided to move forward with the battery removal. Great choice.
They recently pulled it off on a battery kid living
in Australia, and do you know what they discovered? Turns
out kids don't need batteries. Isn't that something. Now you'll
be able to live your life as a perfectly normal kid.
Aria frowned. I thought you said I already was normal,
even the batteries. The doctor stammered, Uh, well, yeah, but no,
not really. Being a battery powered kid is actually kind
of strange, don't you think. As the doctor droned on
about what the whole procedure would look like, Aria kept
thinking about her batteries, battery she'd been using ever since
she was born. Actually, Doc, I'm gonna have to stop
you right there. I think I've changed my mind. Being
a battery kid might be a little strange, but it's
who I am. It's who I've always been. Sure, it's
a little annoying when your hand starts talking to you,
but who else gets to stay up all night and
not feel tired the next day. The doctor yawned before
taking a swig of his coffee. Yeah, actually, that would
be really nice. I was up late last night binging
this new show about an army of ostriches that take
over the world, and well, I'm really starting to feel
it now. Doctor Sanitizer told her to come back and
see him if she ever changed her mind, but Aria
let him know that that was never going to happen.
Upon returning to school, Aria's classmates and teacher gave her
a warm reception. There was a big banner hanging from
the classroom wall that said, congratulations on becoming a normal kid.
Rio was even dancing around the room with the lid
open on his water bottle. Thanks everyone, But I actually
decided to keep the batteries. It's how I was born,
and it's how I planned to stay beep boop up.
Just kidding. I still don't talk like that, but you know,
being a battery kid isn't all that bad. I was
able to stay up reading books well past my bedtime,
and I'm not even tired this morning. She glanced over
at the teacher, pretty sure there were even a couple
learning books in there. Miss her teacher seemed very satisfied
to hear that. Erica leaned in from the desk behind
Aria and whispered, Hey, what actually happened. You went into
your system settings menu, didn't you. Aria grinned, Oh, my gosh, yes,
I figured out how to upgrade my system to the
latest version. And now I can watch TV on my
control panel. And not only that, but I can text
my friends and even make the voice guard read me
the temperature in a Caribbean accent. Her grin grew even bigger.
Maybe you should think about going battery powered. I know
a guy.
Speaker 2: The end.
Speaker 1: That's the story, And here is your question of the week.
What is something you would love so much more if
it didn't need batteries? Shout out this week too, Marin
from Kansas City, Hannah and Hayden from New York City,
Ummer from Muskoka, Canada, Ari from Frederick to New Brunswick,
Declan May Chili, Coco and Meatball from Connecticut, Kane McLain
from the UK, torn and Tilley from Anthem, Arizona, Natan
Vivy from Georgia, Carson from Canada, and Skyla from Glasgow, Scotland.
Her shout outs, character name requests and merch Be sure
to visit lollstorytime dot com. Thanks for listening and I'll
catch you on the next one.