It didn't take long for Dorothy to reach the yellow brick road. It started just a few blocks away from the mayor's house, and lead the way to the outskirts of their city.

Toto followed Dorothy along the golden bricks, stopping to scan just about everything every so often. She knew that the robotic dog was only scanning for danger, but she hoped that there were no dangers lurking in the bushes or in the cornfields that lined both sides of the yellow brick road.

Dorothy walked down the yellow brick road for several hours, and the sun was now high in the sky. They were now in the country, and they were surrounded by less and less houses and more and more fields of what looked like corn, as well as other crops that Dorothy did not recognize.

She had not seen anyone or any vehicles the whole entire time.

Dorothy sat down on the edge of the road and pulled her back pack off as her stomach let out a rumble of hunger. She hadn't eaten anything for breakfast that morning, and she needed her strength if she was going to continue along the road until nightfall.

She pulled one of the slices of bread from one of the many loaves the Munchkins had given her. Apparently, they loved bread and just about every form of carb. Dorothy bit into it, its yeasty sweetness dancing on her taste buds. It was absolutely delicious, and she couldn't remember ever tasting anything remotely like it.

Once Dorothy had finished her slice of bread, she stood up and stretched a bit. Suddenly, several birds flew out of the clusters of corn with very loud screeches. She quickly whirled around at the rustle and beating of their wings
This corn field looked like all the rest, with the exception of a long pathway and a mansion that stood at the end of that pathway. It was old, dirty, and dilapidated, with its broken windows, blue walls smudged with with dirt and what appeared to be ash and smoke, and the roof appeared to be caving in.

Toto stood up as well and raised his hackles. He let out a low growl, but his nose suddenly blinked green and he relaxed his joints.

"What is it, Toto?" Dorothy asked quietly, looking down at him and looking back towards the corn field quickly.

She flinched as she heard a thud on the ground and the corn rustled at some sort of physical disturbance. She stood completely still. What was there, in the corn field, coming towards her?

"Robot detected. Model and make: Unknown," a cool female voice said.

Dorothy let out a sigh of relief. She stepped forward towards the corn, pushing several stocks to the side as she stepped through.
A pale, silver robot with a short, feminine figure stood among the cornstalks. She did not move as Dorothy stepped closer.

"Hello," the robot said, "I am Effigy, your personal robotic caretaker. How may I be of service to you?"

"Who is your owner?" Dorothy asked it. She looked it up and down to see if she appeared to have any physical impairments or broken parts.

"Owner?" Effigy asked. "I have no recollection of an 'owner.' What is an 'owner'?"

Dorothy bit her lower lip and gnawed on a bit as she went around to the back of the robot. She found the button on the back of her head to open the slot for the memory drive. She pushed it gently with her finger, and it opened up.

She immediately saw what was wrong.
"So... an empty memory drive... no stored data whatsoever other than your programming... It doesn't even look like you have any access to any sort of database!" Dorothy exclaimed. She shut the thingy for the slot and stepped back around to the front of the robot.

"I do not compute," Effigy said. "I am Effigy, your personal robotic caretaker. How can I help you?"

Dorothy stamped down her foot a little. "Ugh."
Toto wagged his tail a bit and nudged her fingers with his nose. He looked up at her and then pointed at the robot with his nose as he wagged his tail a lot more.

"I am Effigy, your personal robotic caretaker. How can I help you?" the robot repeated, moving her joints some more.

Dorothy sighed loudly. "Fine. I'm headed to a place called the Emerald City."

Effigy was unresponsive for a long moment, then gave a nod of apparent recognition. Dorothy opened her mouth, expecting the robot to understand what she was saying.

"What is 'the Emerald City'?"

Dorothy slapped her forehead in frustration and stomped her foot down into the damp soil.

"It's where the Wizard, Oz, lives, apparently. I'm going there because I was told that he can help me," she explained in an impatient rush.

Effigy nodded. "I can help you. I am your personal robotic caretaker. I should do a better job than the Wizard could."

"I don't think you could get me back home to Earth. You probably don't even know what or where it is," Dorothy said, dragging her hand down her face.

"You would be correct. I was unable to compute most of what you said," Effigy said, "Would you like to me to play back a recording of your previous statements?"

Dorothy glanced down at Toto for a moment, then looked up at the sky. "No, I'm fine, thanks. The Wizard can help me just fine. A lot of people have told me that he's some sort of miracle worker."

Effigy was silent for a moment, then said, "Would you like some assistance with this Wizard?"

Dorothy hummed for a second, thinking. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad to have an extra robot along. If worst comes to worst, maybe I could salvage your parts and sell them."

"But I am your personal robotic assistant. You are the first sentient living being for me to come into contact with. It is in my program to imprint on the helpless and become their--"

Dorothy raised a hand in an attempt to silence the robot. "I know, I know, your personal robotic caretaker. I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself. But, I'll let you come along, I guess. It wouldn't hurt."

"Thank you. I will prove myself as your personal robotic assistance." The robot suddenly made a sound that was not unlike a gasp. "I did not ask for your name."

"Dorothy Gale."

"I will not let you down, Dorothy Gale."

"Maybe we could get the Wizard to get you connected to some sort of network," Dorothy mused, pinching her chin between her fingers.

"Would the Wizard do that?" Effigy asked.

"I don't know what he will and won't do. But we can definitely try," she replied. She stepped back a bit and snatched her backpack back up, pulling the straps onto her shoulder.

"Let's go."

"I am perfectly happy to be going to the Emerald City with you, Dorothy Gale," Effigy said. "I will assist you in any way I can."

"Um, thanks..."

"You are most welcome. How do we get to the Emerald City?"

"We have to follow the yellow brick road," Dorothy replied with a shrug. "Simplest thing in Oz, right?"