Simon The Friendly Spaceman 6: Simon and The Roboman

One day Simon the friendly spaceman was in the laboratory of his friend Professor Pootle and the professor was demonstating his wonderful new invention.
"Now watch very carefully, Simon. I will try to send an ordinary object through time and space", said the professor, placing a vase of flowers upon his machine and pressing a button that was marked 'Send'.
All at once, the vase of flowers disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"There now", said the professor and, looking at his watch, added, "Just time for a cup of space tea and a nice biscuit before the object reappears in the time and place I sent it to".
Just then however, both the professor and Simon heard a loud "Woop-woop-woop" noise from outside the laboratory and running outside, to their astonishment they saw a silver flying Saucer with a big, red letter 'R' on the side start to land and then, a hatch opening in the side of the flying saucer, a little robot come out carrying a very big raygun.
"Attack! Conquer! Destroy!", said the robot in a flat, robotic voice.
Then, the little robot seeing a rock infront of it zapped the rock with its raygun and, in a flash of light, the rock dissapeared.
But then the little robot started marching along zapping other things that it saw.
"Attack! Conquer! Destroy!", it said, zapping a cactus.
"Attack! Conquer! Destroy!", it said, zapping a flower.
"Attack! Conquer! Destroy!", it said, zapping a tree.
And, seeing Simon and the Professor, it was about to zap them too when Simon said,
"Wait a minute! Attack? Conquer? Destroy? Why can't we just be friends".
"I am a Roboman", said the Robot, "Robomen do not have friends. Robomen attack! Robomen conquer and Robomen destroy!".
"But why?", asked Simon.
"Why?", said the Robot.
"Yes. Why do Robomen attack, conquer and destroy?", asked Simon.
"Umm? Because?", thought the Roboman, scratching his robot head with a metal finger, "Because they are Robomen".
"But thats not a reason", said Simon, "Why not do something else instead?".
"Something else?", asked the Roboman, "Like what?".
"Like playing a game", said Simon.
Then Simon reached into the pocket of his spacesuit and took out a self-inflating silver spaceball that, when he pushed a button on it, started to blow itself up.
The Roboman pointed his ray gun at the inflated ball.
"Attack, conquer and destroy ball!", he said.
"No, no", said Simon, shaking his head, "You don't destroy it. You throw it and catch it".
"Throw and catch?", asked the Roboman.
"Yes, like this", said Simon and then he threw the ball to the professor and the professor threw it back to him.
But the Roboman was not convinced.
"I do not understand", he said, raising his raygun again, "I should just attack, conquer and destroy you".
Just then however, Simon had another idea.
"I know", said Simon, "Why don't we have a destroying contest then?"
"Contest?", asked the Roboman.
"Yes", said Simon and then he pressed another button on his space ball and the ball rose up out of his hands and started to float, just like a balloon, in the air, "If you can destroy the spaceball then you can destroy me but if I destroy the spaceball first then you have to leave this planet and never come back again".
"Very well", agreed the Roboman, "It will only take a moment anyway and then I can destroy you".
And aiming his raygun at the floating spaceball, the Roboman fired.
The moment he did, however, the spaceball moved to one side, avoiding the ray of his raygun.
"Bad luck", said Simon, "Perhaps you should try again".
The Roboman seemed slightly annoyed.
"I did not expect the ball to move", he said, "But I will not miss twice".
Then the Roboman took aim again with his raygun and fired and when he did the ball moved again, this time in the other direction and when it did, just as before, it managed to avoid his ray gun's ray.
"My turn now, I think", said Simon, taking out his rainbow ray gun from a little silver holster at his side and aiming it at the ball.
Then Simon took a deep breath and, concentrating on the ball he fired.
And, just as before, the ball moved out of the way but not before the ray from Simons raygun struck it and then, in a flash of rainbow coloured light, the ball disappeared.
"You win", said the Roboman, "I will leave your planet now just as we agreed".
And turning, the Roboman started to walk away back in the direction of his flying saucer.
But then, just as the robot was walking away, a light upon his chest started to blink on and off and Simon and the Professor heard another flat robotic voice speaking from out of his chest.
"Roboman 118Z/537X", it said, "Why have you stopped attacking, conquering and destroying?".
"Because", replied the Robot, "I made a promise to a spaceman".
"Bleep!", said the voice from the Robomans chest, angrilly, "Unacceptable. Robomen do not keep promises to spacemen".
"But why not?", asked the Robot.
"Why not? Because they are Robomen", said the voice, "Now go back and destroy that spaceman".
The Roboman turned round again, walking back towards Simon and the Professor.
"I'm sorry", he said, "But I am afraid I will have to destroy you after all".
And saying that the Roboman raised his big ray gun and pointed it at Simon and the friendly spaceman was sure that he and the poor professor were about to be zapped into spacedust.
But then, just at that moment, there was a bright flash of blue light and, right infont of the professor appeared the vase of flowers he had earlier sent through space and time and, catching it before it could fall and smash upon the ground, Simon threw the water in the vase over the robot.
Instantly something odd started to happen to the Roboman.
"Oh no! Not water", it said, "Water destroys Robomen".
Then the robots head spun around and went flying off with a loud bang and a puff of smoke.
"My that was very lucky", said Professor Pootle, "Thank goodness my machine worked"
But then, after that the professor reprogrammed the Roboman so that it didn't want to Attack, Conquer or Destroy anything anymore but only wanted to be friends and then he and Professor Pootle and the Roboman all played at throwing and catching the space ball until the sun went down.