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Part 9 of the Robot Princess web novel, stay tuned for the next parts which will be posted in the next few days
Read the previous part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45457770/
Read the next part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45791715/
Story is mine, written by
NuclearWendigo
After a successful third quarter, Axon was going to reward its workers with new hardware. Everyone was asked to save personal data onto an external source while the IT department conducted the replacements of the old equipment with new, top of the market rigs. While most of the company rejoiced, the IT department groaned.
5.30 AM. The streets and the day are dead.
Franz parked his car on a street close to the main building (the outdoor staff parking spaces reserved for the management body and he didn’t feel like going in the underground) and walked to the main entrance. The building he worked in was an architectural marvel; extravagant design, tall, fortified concrete base, stainless outer steel frame and polished glass windows that when sprayed with light shone like a beacon, invoking a powerful sense of awe. The Axon logo was placed prominently on the roof of the building in its custom font and shifting lights on the edges that created the illusion of pulsating nerves. The company was set up ten years ago. Franz had been a part of it for almost two. In that span of time Franz saw guys like him come and go all the time, transferred to other countries with higher salaries and benefits. But Franz remained stuck in his position for now almost two years, hoping to be moved or promoted. The only thing that kept him there was the decent pay and the fact it looked good on his resume. That is not something to smirk about. Everyone loves a paycheck. He scanned his card and got in.
Franz left his bag and jacket in his office then went to the kitchen to brew himself a coffee, black, the caffeine would give him some nourishment and improve his lousy mood. Einstein said a cluttered desk reflected a cluttered mind. Franz’s desk wasn’t that cluttered, but the custom-built mini bots were some hints to his character, that and the menagerie of notebook papers and sticky notes amongst desk utensils. They say forty grams of sugar are the max daily intake an adult can have. Judging by the cans that piled in his trash, they were in the triple digits.
He went down to storage and nicked two trolleys alongside a worker droid. Canine model named Jim, that’s the name that won the vote. One was for him, the other was for Jim,
For the sake of avoiding tedium, Franz had adapted a systematic approach; remove the monitors, then the keyboards, the mouses, then the computer towers. The new Dell rigs were already assembled when the shipment came. One routine for one floor, another routine for a different floor.
“Remove the monitors and move them to storage, okay?”
“All monitors, sir?”
“Yes. All monitors from that floor. When you’re done, wait in front of storage and I’ll give you a new order.”
“Understood, sir.”
While rummaging through the boxes Franz was thinking of novel ways to test Mia’s motor skills. Upgrading an AI was simple, few extra lines of code and the software could undergo adaptive learning. The machine learning parts. Maybe trying to write or draw, lift a can or perform specific hand movements.
An hour later his colleagues poured into the building and helped him with installing the rest of the computers. He’d already done a considerable amount of work with the aid of the droid. It was the usual courtesy. Hey Franz how are you? You’ve got bags under your eyes, did you not sleep well? How was your weekend? All these phony excuses for courtesy yet they couldn’t bring themselves to say thank you for making their life easier. They finished the installations and even checked to see if the systems operated for all thirteen floors, access to shared content and email access wasn’t an issue. Not even a single thank you email for being ahead. His office colleagues arrived last but were the only ones who could bring themselves to compliment him, probably just to maintain work relations instead of genuine appreciation. Axon doesn’t hire incompetent staff, but they do hire ingrates.
With the upgrades out of the way, Franz retreated to the kitchen and made himself another coffee to reward himself. He sipped the bitter stuff and was approached by Efrain Cain, a Siamese, half a decade younger than him and equally scrawny. He kept his hands in his hoodie’s pockets and appeared less dishevelled than the raccoon, probably because his diet and sleeping pattern was in line with a functioning organism’s.
“Hey Franz, can you come with me to storage, there’s some stuff I want to show you.”
The cat showed him something that appeared to be a smile but not really, it was just a pretence. Maybe it was the cynic in him talking but Franz didn’t think much of it in the moment.
“What is it?”
“Not tellin’. If you wanna know you’re gonna have to come with me. Trust me brah, you’ll like it.”
“Right. Don’t call me -brah-, guy.”
Reaching the comforts of the storage room, the man took out his phone and showed him a picture. A single piece of digital media that enticed the raccoon greatly. It was a molding machine, not just a regular metals, plastic, wax or rubber molding machine you see used for consumer goods, but a body molding unit meant for android forms. It was in a dusty garage, the led screen on the side of it glowing hinting at its functionality. It was this guy’s garage and Franz recognized it.
“A compact molding machine. That’s something you don’t see every day.”
“Ain't that the truth, look, I watched your new video you posted for your little side business, was cool seeing what you were able to do with what I assume is hobbyist junk. Imagine if you had one of these bad boys."
"Hobbyist junk? Really?"
The molding machine’s body was very complex with delicate limbs surrounding what looked like the extruder of a 3D printer. This was used to create the skeleton out of titanium. Once the frame was shaped however the user wanted, they could switch the machine to extrude carbon fiber for the robot’s outer shell with plenty of room for actuators and circuit boards.
Franz was skeptical.
“Right, and how did you get your hands on this? The company stock didn't see the consumer market"
“You know how shipping can be from one end of the world to another. Stuff might get lost and, especially when the android market is in the midst of maturity.”
“I doubt your confession, just tell me how you got your hands on the stuff.”
But he didn’t tell him. What the man knew is that Franz had a mission and a wallet.
“A thousand?” asked Franz. “A thousand for that?”
“A thousand bucks and its yours, man. That’s dirt cheap.”
“Dirt cheap when you’re trying to get rid of hot goods.”
“One of a kind offer, brah. Take it or leave it.”
Franz rubbed his eyes and sighed.
“You err, you gonna sell it to someone else right?”
“I will if you don’t buy it, naturally. You ever make an android from scratch?”
“Something like that”
“You know it’s a pain in the ass. Come on man, we can help each other.”
While Franz was at work, Mia was, or at least attempting to, perform basic hand functions. Four fingers plus one thumb connected to a base of bone and flesh. Or cold material in this case. She had learned the names of the parts and was practicing moving them. She clenched and unclenched her fist. She pointed at different objects with different fingers. She drew shapes on the desk with different fingers and even briefly attempted to pick up a pen cap. When Franz woke up he hastily turned her on and said something about machine learning. How he’d teach her how to act like a normal girl.
Her vision was limited to the laptop’s built in camera. A fixed view of his desk, posters on the wall and the assortment of literature he kept on his bookshelf. So much manga and android guides.
…
“I know you’re going to come back but I’m going to lay out the questions just in case. I’m curious; you’re going to build a complete body for me right Franz? You’re going to teach me how to be like a normal girl. What’re we going to do when I’m complete? Do I get to do work around the house? Do I get to be your assistant? I don’t want to pressure you Franz. I’m just curious. I know you’ll come back from work and the last thing you want to do is plan my future, kinda like a father or mother plan the future of their child. But you know. I’m curious. Here, I’ll highlight the main parts of the conversation for you. Right. I’ll keep quiet now. I don’t want to spam the chat.”
…
The pen cap was at the corner of her vision. Her arm rotated and her palm lowered to the cap and she contemplated what combination of fingers to use. Was it the thumb and pinkie finger? The middle and ring finger?
Read the next part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45791715/
Read the previous part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45457770/
Read the next part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45791715/
Story is mine, written by
NuclearWendigoAfter a successful third quarter, Axon was going to reward its workers with new hardware. Everyone was asked to save personal data onto an external source while the IT department conducted the replacements of the old equipment with new, top of the market rigs. While most of the company rejoiced, the IT department groaned.
5.30 AM. The streets and the day are dead.
Franz parked his car on a street close to the main building (the outdoor staff parking spaces reserved for the management body and he didn’t feel like going in the underground) and walked to the main entrance. The building he worked in was an architectural marvel; extravagant design, tall, fortified concrete base, stainless outer steel frame and polished glass windows that when sprayed with light shone like a beacon, invoking a powerful sense of awe. The Axon logo was placed prominently on the roof of the building in its custom font and shifting lights on the edges that created the illusion of pulsating nerves. The company was set up ten years ago. Franz had been a part of it for almost two. In that span of time Franz saw guys like him come and go all the time, transferred to other countries with higher salaries and benefits. But Franz remained stuck in his position for now almost two years, hoping to be moved or promoted. The only thing that kept him there was the decent pay and the fact it looked good on his resume. That is not something to smirk about. Everyone loves a paycheck. He scanned his card and got in.
Franz left his bag and jacket in his office then went to the kitchen to brew himself a coffee, black, the caffeine would give him some nourishment and improve his lousy mood. Einstein said a cluttered desk reflected a cluttered mind. Franz’s desk wasn’t that cluttered, but the custom-built mini bots were some hints to his character, that and the menagerie of notebook papers and sticky notes amongst desk utensils. They say forty grams of sugar are the max daily intake an adult can have. Judging by the cans that piled in his trash, they were in the triple digits.
He went down to storage and nicked two trolleys alongside a worker droid. Canine model named Jim, that’s the name that won the vote. One was for him, the other was for Jim,
For the sake of avoiding tedium, Franz had adapted a systematic approach; remove the monitors, then the keyboards, the mouses, then the computer towers. The new Dell rigs were already assembled when the shipment came. One routine for one floor, another routine for a different floor.
“Remove the monitors and move them to storage, okay?”
“All monitors, sir?”
“Yes. All monitors from that floor. When you’re done, wait in front of storage and I’ll give you a new order.”
“Understood, sir.”
While rummaging through the boxes Franz was thinking of novel ways to test Mia’s motor skills. Upgrading an AI was simple, few extra lines of code and the software could undergo adaptive learning. The machine learning parts. Maybe trying to write or draw, lift a can or perform specific hand movements.
An hour later his colleagues poured into the building and helped him with installing the rest of the computers. He’d already done a considerable amount of work with the aid of the droid. It was the usual courtesy. Hey Franz how are you? You’ve got bags under your eyes, did you not sleep well? How was your weekend? All these phony excuses for courtesy yet they couldn’t bring themselves to say thank you for making their life easier. They finished the installations and even checked to see if the systems operated for all thirteen floors, access to shared content and email access wasn’t an issue. Not even a single thank you email for being ahead. His office colleagues arrived last but were the only ones who could bring themselves to compliment him, probably just to maintain work relations instead of genuine appreciation. Axon doesn’t hire incompetent staff, but they do hire ingrates.
With the upgrades out of the way, Franz retreated to the kitchen and made himself another coffee to reward himself. He sipped the bitter stuff and was approached by Efrain Cain, a Siamese, half a decade younger than him and equally scrawny. He kept his hands in his hoodie’s pockets and appeared less dishevelled than the raccoon, probably because his diet and sleeping pattern was in line with a functioning organism’s.
“Hey Franz, can you come with me to storage, there’s some stuff I want to show you.”
The cat showed him something that appeared to be a smile but not really, it was just a pretence. Maybe it was the cynic in him talking but Franz didn’t think much of it in the moment.
“What is it?”
“Not tellin’. If you wanna know you’re gonna have to come with me. Trust me brah, you’ll like it.”
“Right. Don’t call me -brah-, guy.”
Reaching the comforts of the storage room, the man took out his phone and showed him a picture. A single piece of digital media that enticed the raccoon greatly. It was a molding machine, not just a regular metals, plastic, wax or rubber molding machine you see used for consumer goods, but a body molding unit meant for android forms. It was in a dusty garage, the led screen on the side of it glowing hinting at its functionality. It was this guy’s garage and Franz recognized it.
“A compact molding machine. That’s something you don’t see every day.”
“Ain't that the truth, look, I watched your new video you posted for your little side business, was cool seeing what you were able to do with what I assume is hobbyist junk. Imagine if you had one of these bad boys."
"Hobbyist junk? Really?"
The molding machine’s body was very complex with delicate limbs surrounding what looked like the extruder of a 3D printer. This was used to create the skeleton out of titanium. Once the frame was shaped however the user wanted, they could switch the machine to extrude carbon fiber for the robot’s outer shell with plenty of room for actuators and circuit boards.
Franz was skeptical.
“Right, and how did you get your hands on this? The company stock didn't see the consumer market"
“You know how shipping can be from one end of the world to another. Stuff might get lost and, especially when the android market is in the midst of maturity.”
“I doubt your confession, just tell me how you got your hands on the stuff.”
But he didn’t tell him. What the man knew is that Franz had a mission and a wallet.
“A thousand?” asked Franz. “A thousand for that?”
“A thousand bucks and its yours, man. That’s dirt cheap.”
“Dirt cheap when you’re trying to get rid of hot goods.”
“One of a kind offer, brah. Take it or leave it.”
Franz rubbed his eyes and sighed.
“You err, you gonna sell it to someone else right?”
“I will if you don’t buy it, naturally. You ever make an android from scratch?”
“Something like that”
“You know it’s a pain in the ass. Come on man, we can help each other.”
While Franz was at work, Mia was, or at least attempting to, perform basic hand functions. Four fingers plus one thumb connected to a base of bone and flesh. Or cold material in this case. She had learned the names of the parts and was practicing moving them. She clenched and unclenched her fist. She pointed at different objects with different fingers. She drew shapes on the desk with different fingers and even briefly attempted to pick up a pen cap. When Franz woke up he hastily turned her on and said something about machine learning. How he’d teach her how to act like a normal girl.
Her vision was limited to the laptop’s built in camera. A fixed view of his desk, posters on the wall and the assortment of literature he kept on his bookshelf. So much manga and android guides.
…
“I know you’re going to come back but I’m going to lay out the questions just in case. I’m curious; you’re going to build a complete body for me right Franz? You’re going to teach me how to be like a normal girl. What’re we going to do when I’m complete? Do I get to do work around the house? Do I get to be your assistant? I don’t want to pressure you Franz. I’m just curious. I know you’ll come back from work and the last thing you want to do is plan my future, kinda like a father or mother plan the future of their child. But you know. I’m curious. Here, I’ll highlight the main parts of the conversation for you. Right. I’ll keep quiet now. I don’t want to spam the chat.”
…
The pen cap was at the corner of her vision. Her arm rotated and her palm lowered to the cap and she contemplated what combination of fingers to use. Was it the thumb and pinkie finger? The middle and ring finger?
Read the next part here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45791715/
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Raccoon
Size 1280 x 905px
File Size 147.7 kB
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