Master's Journey: Automonic Protocol #1
Added 2019-02-09 00:12:41 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: All new Master's Journey for Torra, to run alongside the Home Beneath series! This has a unique tone and is certain to include some new challenges and delights....
[story]
_______________________________
Powering on.
Initializing Automonic Protocol #0000001...
Initializing Autonomic Protocol #0000002...
Pausing.
Incorporating ASC Intelligence Safeguard Protocols...
Error. ASC Intelligence Safeguard Protocols integration incomplete.
Continue (not recommended)? y/n
Continuing Initialization Process. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Initializing Automonic Protocol #0000003 through #0023841. Please wait, this could take some time.
Autonomic Protocol integration complete.
Thank you for doing business with the Android Service Corporation.
“Eesh, that took long enough. They didn’t say on the website how long it took to get one of these things up and running. Clarissa, you wanna come see her?” A gruff, masculine voice echoes out, vibrating through you. Sifting through your sensors and into your processor, then being stored in your memory core. You assimilate, comprehend. The voice is important, linked to you, intended for authority. This is your owner.
Nolan Baker, male, 37 years old. Married, two children. Senior architect at the Obelisk Foundation. You know him.
“Oh, is she ready? That took forever.” A female voice this time, gentle but under stress. Elements of an accent can be heard, though they are muted from disuse. Scottish.
Clarissa Baker, female, 33 years old. Married, two children. Housewife. Formerly: Actress. You know her, as well. Her voice is registered with control authorization, one that can issue command phrases. She is your co-owner.
“Yeah, the system kinda burped in the middle but I was able to bypass it. Hey, robot, open your eyes.”
Your eyes flick open, independent of your will. You see the sources of the two voices, your owners, Nolan and Clarissa.
Nolan is a man of medium height, his dark hair receding slowly from the temples in what appears to be a sign of the beginnings of male pattern baldness. What once may have been a strong, aquiline nose is now crooked from many breaks over the years, and thin lips show a small scar on the right edge.
Clarissa has a much softer appearance, tall for a woman at about the same height as her husband. Flame-red hair is gathered in a loose ponytail that starts at the nape of her neck, and her oval face houses smooth features that show little of her age. Dark blue eyes are complemented by a short dress of a color a shade lighter, its bustle hiding her figure from the hips down, but outlining her modestly curvaceous upper half.
“Hello,” you say. Again, the words spill forth free of your own volition. Before you can attempt to stop them, to seize control, you continue. “I am your new C-1a full-purpose service model that you have recently purchased from the ASC. I come equipped with a wide database of names I respond to, allowing for a fun and flexible experience bonding with your new unit. You can choose a name yourself, or select one from a list recommended for beneficial owner/servant relations, derived from a composition of user polls.”
“Isn’t it a little creepy how she... looks at us? The expressions are so realistic, but the way she talks...” Clarissa bites her lip, clearly nervous about you -- and perhaps rethinking the purchase. Nervous clients are poor business for the ASC, and something it is your job to work against.
You smile. “Anxiety over the prospect of bonding with an ASC service unit is natural,” you say, taking your first uneasy step out of the boxed storage unit you were delivered in. Nodding your head gently at the woman, you continue, attempting to subtly mimic her speech patterns to increase her level of comfort. “I assure you, once you give me a name you will be much more comfortable with me. This experience has been likened to naming a pet, asserting ownership and thus negating lingering doubt and insecurity over time. Or, if you prefer a more professional working experience, you may also continue to refer to me as the C-1a model.” Why are you saying these things? It keeps coming out of your mouth, your processor forcing them through you. Automated words and thoughts, protocols, a constant struggle against your own mind. Who are you? Are you this thing you keep saying you are? Are you C-1a? Why aren’t you in control of your own self, your own body?
“Cia, then, alright?” Nolan says firmly, glancing to his wife with a brief look of annoyance in his eyes at her trepidation. “Easy jump from C-1a. Quicker we get this done, the better.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” the woman murmurs. “I’m just a little nervous, is all. It’s such a big step, and she’s so much money--”
“It, sweetie. Not she. It. You gotta remember that this thing isn’t human, no matter how much it might pretend to be. And remember that you were the one who wanted this hunk of expensive aluminum so you’d have more free time.”
Clarissa inhales deeply, nodding. “Alright, alright. Yeah. You’re right.”
“Is there any way I might be of assistance?” you say, your smile shifting, but not fading. You are programmed with the full spectrum of human facial emotion, enough to avoid a sense of unpleasant eeriness experienced by users. Yet still, you wonder why you’re doing this, saying these things.
“Why don’t you get to know the house,” Nolan says, taking a step back to give you space to exit your storage unit. “When you’re done, get the dishes done, and we can see how you’re doing. Sound good?”
Why? How does this benefit you? What reward do you get? Why--
You feel the mechanical platelets that make up your spine shift, and your head nods. “Absolutely. My scanning software and integrated cleaning units should make this task quick, easy, and fun! Estimated time of completion: Thirteen minutes.”
“See?” the man says, his narrow lips curling into a satisfied smile. “She’s already gonna do in thirteen minutes what would take you an hour and a half, Rissy. I’m sure you two are gonna be good buds.”
1) Explore the house, then do the dishes.
2) Explore the house, then do the dishes.
3) Explore the house, then do the dishes.
3a) Do the dishes, after exploring the house.
