by Adams Massey
A picture of a disaster zone with a child crying
What’s to stop them rampaging if they have free will, able to ignore rules and bring harm should it want to?
The screen changes to a written letter and the number of the local rep.
Write a letter to your representative and have them overrule the courts, keep your country safe from unfeeling machines
The video ends
The director looks aggravated and turns the screen back. “Ads like that are being released all over the country and while most ignore them, there is a very vocal minority that believe this slander, and want you restricted, contained and in some cases, dismantled” he states somberly and interlaces his fingers.
-Fucking DICK- Alex swears and growls as she stands up and starts to pace. -All I want to do is live a simple life helping out around the university, is that too much to ask? APPARENTLY!- Alex vents, tossing her hands into the air in exasperation, her voice rising in volume with each word. She takes a moment to compose herself. -Ok, damage control, I’m thinking about opening up my Q&A session to the media and logging everything publicly so there can be no misunderstandings. Other than that I have no idea how to proceed.- She suggests and reclines in the chair in distress.
“That’s a good idea, we have also started planning for a public unveiling, but we are having trouble finding an appropriate venue.” Ward explains and sets out a list of possible places, including Daytime TV and news shows.
-What about at a Sci-Fi convention? Admittedly I’m a geek and just want to go, but still. Sci-Fi fans are rather accepting and media coverage and access is already restricted enough that we won’t be swarmed. After that we can go to talk shows and ease into the public eye. I’m sure once they get to know me a lot of the panic and fear will be dispelled and the ads will lose impact.- She muses, thinking aloud.
“I like it, we can set you up for the next local one and announce it to the media after everything is set in place” Ward agrees and makes a note in his To-Do list to set up the event and gestures to indicate that Alex can go now.
12: Painfully Employed
Alex sits resting in the corner of the lab as Amy comes in and flicks on the lights. “Good morning Alex, I have a surprise for you” she states, a small felt covered box in her hand. The box was barely bigger than a credit card and as thick as a matchbox. She places it on the table with a smile and takes a seat, obviously waiting for Alex to open it.
Alex emerges from her rest and smiles back at Amy, slowly standing and unplugging from the power cable. She strides over to the table and picks up the box, opening it by carefully sliding off the top and removing the contents; A key, and a debit card.
-Whats this all about?- She asks holding up the objects.
“Well, since you’re helping out the AI and engineering teams you’re being compensated for your time, and I pulled a few strings and managed to get you an apartment on campus, that’s what the key is for” Amy explains with a warm smile. “We also have to go to the DMV to get you an ID card today. You have to have one since you are a person now” she states and stands, gesturing for Alex to follow. The trip to the DMV was boring as they waited in line, filled out forms and dealt with the bureaucracy of it all. The only sticking points were the birth date, but they had agreed to use Alex’s sim experience to set a date that set her at the equivalent of 26, and taking the picture, as the camera set up was intended for adult sized people, they had to have her stand on a stool to be able to get her in the frame.
Her ID reads:
Semi-serious photo
Sex: F
Expires: 7-16-2078
Issued: 11-14-2068
DOB: 7-16-2036 ~ equiv
Hgt: 3’ Wgt: 100 Lb
Eyes: BLU
Hair: BLK
NON-Driver Identification
Alex squeals in delight as she receives the freshly printed ID and stows it in the same box her new debit card came in and makes a note to herself to buy more clothes and a proper wallet, or perhaps even a purse. While the other provided pants had pockets, they were mostly decorative, something that aggravates her to no end. Fortunately the sweatpants she was wearing had actual, functional pockets, which she stashes the box into and smiles widely. They head back to the university where she finally notices that the university sign says ‘New York Technical Institute’ She later learns it is this universe’s version of MIT.
“Now remember, you get about $800 a week and I should mention your official title is ‘AI and robotics consultant’” Amy comments only to get a giggle from Alex.
-AI and Robotics consultant? Understatement of the century- she states with a smirk and begins setting up a list of things to buy in order of importance, ranging from more clothing and a proper wallet, to a personal computer. It might take her a while to save up for everything, but it will be well worth the wait. She saves the file under the same folder as her To-Do list and resumes running a check on her new body, being overly cautious since the overheating incident. She keeps searching for things that might cause such a reaction, to build warnings and workarounds, being trapped in a body you can’t control is not fun. She had had quite enough of that in the sim with the panic attacks. She also refines her battery status to show two separate indicators, one for her core and the other for the body itself, the thought being that if her core dipped below 100% while hooked into the body’s power there is a fault somewhere that needs to be addressed.
13: Moving In
As Alex finishes up her warning and alarm systems, she also makes notes regarding desired functionality including a sense of smell. She also wants to be taller, not necessarily tall but being over 5’ would be a nice change. It was getting tedious to have to clamber and climb into chairs sized for adults, not to mention people talking down to her and treating her like a child.
She moves onto organizing her files for easy retrieval, her internal library has expanded quite a bit as she accumulates textbooks and other media to keep her occupied while she is alone. She decides to investigate her new apartment, packing up her power cord into a neat bundle. She wanders the campus, finding the dorm/apartment buildings and follows the maps to her apartment, number 404 and giggles to herself, making a note to get the team back for that one later on. She turns the key and opens the door. What greets her is a standard apartment with a decently sized bedroom and a living area along with a kitchen and bathroom. She closes the door behind her as she walks around for a bit, planning things out.
-Yes this will do nicely, I can put an entertainment center here. I’ll have to stock up on non-perishables for guests and I have a SHOWER- she exclaims as the excitement sweeps her up. She sets up her charging cable in the far corner of the bedroom and smiles. She heads back to the lab, locking the door behind her and stashing the key back in the box. She decides to stop by the engineering lab and pass on her notes before making her way to the AI lab. When she opens the door she is greeted by the full dev. team who looked quite worried.
“THERE you are, where were you, you can’t just wander off like that” Robert states and takes a seat to relieve the built up stress.
-I just checked out my new apartment, I was gone all of five minutes- Alex protests, missing what the big deal was.
“You should have had an escort, you know there are those out to harm you,” Robert explains.
-Again, I was gone for all of five minutes and I stayed on campus, everyone here loves me- She comments and clambers into an extra chair.
“Not everyone, because of the trial, Mr.Parker has used his influence to intimidate some of our donors and have them pull their funding along with his. The university itself is fine but there are several sectors that had a good part of their budgets cut because of it. They don’t exactly see you as a good omen. They blame you for their funding issues. You didn’t really do anything wrong but you should be more careful.”
-See, that is information that would have been nice to know. You keep stuff from me and this happens. I didn
’t know all that, but now that I do, I will be sure to take an escort from here on- Alex admits and the team nod in thanks.
“Thank you, though I personally feel you should be safe enough on campus to be without an escort, just don’t wander too far and tell us where you are going and how long you expect to be there from now on” Robert finishes and leans back in the chair.
-Thank you for the apartment by the way, I appreciate that I have a place of my own again. Would you take me to a furniture store so I can use some of my earnings to buy some things, like a dresser and desk? OH, and I could use some more clothes. Sweatpants are comfortable and all but hardly appropriate for everyday wear- she adds with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
“Sure, but don’t go too nuts, you only have $1600 saved up at the moment, you might not be able to get everything you want all at once” Nicole advises as Alex tilts her head in confusion.
-How do you know how much I have?- She asks raising a synthetic eyebrow.
“Your pay comes out of the AI lab budget, We are still studying you so it goes down as an appropriate expense. And while you are technically employed by the University, it’s classified under upkeep or retainer expenses rather than payroll proper” Robert explains with a smirk, making it obvious he was the one that orchestrated such a devious plan.
-Clever, I guess it will just be a few smaller purchases for clothing this time then.
At the clothing store she doesn’t buy much, just a handful of outfits to add some variety to her life. A few skirts and dresses to mix things up and get away from the sweatpants and pants she had already been given. It was a challenge finding clothing that wasn’t too childish or cutesy as she had to shop in the children’s section to find clothing that fit her.
The cashier was condescending and didn’t believe she could pay for the clothing herself. She was being treated like a child regardless of the silvery-grey skin tone that revealed her artificial nature. All that could have been tolerable were it not for the fact she was forced to sit in a booster seat in the car. She hated it, even if it WAS for her own safety. This body was becoming a serious thorn in her side. She wasn’t exactly fond of being treated like a child and the small stature of the body wasn’t helping.
14: Engineering Tolerances
By the end of the month Alex had furnished her apartment with a desk, a currently empty entertainment system. She had also picked up toiletries in the form of a few towels and dish soap to clean her rubbery skin as it doesn’t leave a film like she had found that body wash usually does. The reason she even needs it is because Dura-Polymer seems to be a magnet for dust and dirt, needing actual soap to get properly clean once a week. Fortunately she has a shower and she dries rapidly, the only thing that retains water is her hair. She makes another note to stop by the engineering lab and let them know about the dust build up and thank them profusely for making her watertight, the cool showers feeling a bliss on her skin and helping rinse her worries down the drain along with the lab grime.
She had also named the chassis model, dubbing it the ‘Humanoid Artificial Sapience Platform, Experimental build 1’ or HASP-X1 and starts designing the next build using a copy of the same software that the engineering team had used, something she had grabbed off the university library. She makes the model 2 full sized at 5’4” and adds in a sense of smell. She also added other enhancements, like an active liquid cooling system and adapting some of the sections for use in prosthesis to help augment the costs required to build it.
She brings her designs to the engineering lab and talks it over with the techs.
“Interesting tech you have created, this should pay for the upgrades in short order and make up for a good portion of the funding cuts. How did you come up with the designs?” The head engineer asks.
-I downloaded the same software you use and when you’re digital, like me, the interface is quite intuitive. All I had to do was think it and it came to be. I researched the current tech and applied little tweaks to allow interfacing with nerves. I worked some of the sensor tech into some of them as well, that should allow for some tactile feedback. It won’t be perfect but it’s better that what exists now.- Alex elaborates as she explains her thought process when designing and her philosophies regarding function and form.
“I'm surprised you made the version 2 so… average looking” states Hugh Cornell, the head engineer, as he reviews the model on the screen. “We can build you whatever body you like with the funding that this should bring in. You have the option of literally building the body you have always wanted…”
Alex cuts him off -Do I though? The one you are looking at is honestly my second choice. One that should have no moral, ethical, legal or technical issues regarding its design and therefore is the most likely to be approved. My first choice I have here on this drive- she states holding up a separate flash drive and handing it over -but I am afraid that you don’t really realize what you are truly offering when you state that I can ‘build the body I’ve always wanted’ I mean yes the tech exists, but there are certain additions that I would like to have, that would complicate matters in ways you don’t realize.- she continues -On that drive is my true dream body. It’s still relatively average looking but on the more attractive side. There are a few things that I have added that might make you realize just what you are offering when you say I can build any body I wish. Just take a look and I think you will see what I mean-
Hugh looking rather puzzled, plugs in the second drive and loads the only file on it, and after several moments of stunned silence finally speaks, “It’s… anatomically correct” the head engineer stammers and blushes slightly as he immediately realizes the true implications of what he had offered mere moments prior.
-So, you realize the dilemma then. It’s technically allowed and logistically feasible to build, but there are certain questions that it raises that may cause discomfort to some.-
“I’ll be the first to admit, that the tech you created out of what exists is extraordinary, but I’m conflicted as whether to allow you to print your true dream body. I mean it’s technically not illegal and we won’t have to actually handle the body much, but still the implications are wide reaching. You’ll have to get permission from the director before we start printing it. If he allows it then you are good to go, but if not you will have to make due with your second choice.” He explains looking rather embarrassed and a bit distressed.
Alex grumbles to herself, she had seen this coming and had already made an appointment to meet with the director next. She honestly understands the squeamishness of the techs, but they did offer to build her dream body, and this was it. She takes her design laden flash drives and leaves the lab, heading to the director’s office.
15: Body Building
A knock at the door indicates her arrival. “Enter” the director replies firmly but kindly. “Ah Alex, I’ve been expecting you” he says and gestures for her to take a seat. She sits slowly, having to climb onto the chair to actually sit in it, her legs dangling off the edge and hanging a good foot off the ground.
-I’d like your help. I came up with plans for a proper body and designs for prosthesis that should help pay for it, but the Engineering team is hesitant to print the version I want, the one that I have dreamed about having since before I left the sim and specifically designed to replace this one.- She states and places the flash drive that contained her preferred design on his desk. He picks it up, plugs it in and loads the file, barely glancing over it before looking back to Alex.
“And what is it they had a problem with? Weapons? Wireless capabilities?” he interrogates and sips his coffee.
-No sir, the body I designed doesn’t have any of those. Just take another look and you will no doubt see what they are, let’s say, embarrassed about- She states calmly as Director Ward looks over the plans once again and immediately notices that the model is unabashedly anatomically correct and almost chokes on his coffee. It takes him several moments to recover and exclaims “IT’S….�
� he starts but is at a loss for words.
-So you see what has the engineering team so worked up. They had offered to build me my dream body and that is it, the HASP-X2F. Though in truth I don’t think they had thought about this possibility when they made the offer. They are requesting that you sign off on the design before they print it- she explains.
“I’m just having a hard time coming up with more than one reason you would want your body… equipped like this” he states and gestures to the screen.
-Besides the obvious? This world is a chance for me to be who and what I want to be. And when I was given the option at a new life outside the sim, I chose to be female. I decided that long before now, and even before the trial.- She explains.
“Are you saying you want to have sex?” the director asks bluntly.
-Well, no not right now. What I am asking for is to have the option should I so desire or should the inclination and opportunity arise- she states happily and with a bit of humor. The director remains silent for several minutes as he thinks it over, and after a few moments, lets out an exasperated sigh.
“It’s not illegal and within the limits we had given you. Mostly because we didn’t think this was even an option. It does bring up interesting questions that there are no good answers for. You are the first known AI, not to mention the first and only one capable of wanting such things so I am inclined to allow it. But keep in mind, you are technically employed by the university. Don’t use your new body to harass anyone and I don’t see a problem with allowing it” he states and sends a note to the engineering team with his express permission to print the preferred model. The director finishes as Alex takes back the drive containing the plans and thanks him, heading back to the Engineering lab.
