Nellie and Nanites - Bk2 - Ch.9

Chapter 9

Growing Pains

“Thank you for your purchase of a Synthetic Automated Life - Echo Model,” A plain voice came from the blank, emotionless face. “This Echo Model is proficient in a number of skills and capable of above-average strength and reaction times. It is also equipped with an adaptive AI capable of learning any task you may require.”

Lucy snorted at that.

“In addition to a series of preprogrammed roles that include administration, assistant, and numerous industrial and public service duties, the Echo Model is capable of security, research, and even companion roles as required.”

“So that’s a yes to the sexbot question,” Lucy snarked.

“Please choose personality type from the following options and settings,” a small shiver ran through the bot before it stood. “What level of autonomy would you like? Respond to orders only, limited autonomy, or fully autonomous?”

“Fully autonomous?” Nellie asked. “What does that include?”

“Fully autonomous is our newest option! The Echo model will require no supervision once it is capable of performing the assigned role. They will always respond to command orders but otherwise will keep themselves busy and productive. They can even acquire hobbies and other actions with the purchase of the Infiltration system!” The blank face gave a helpful smile for a fraction of a second.

“We have to buy extra parts?” Nellie asked.

“Not at all!” The thing shook its head, “Simply pay the fee to purchase an unlock code.”

“Forget that,” Lucy snarled, and the robot’s eyes flashed for a second.

“Thank you for the purchase!” The voice was slightly different now, smoother.

“What did you do?” Nellie subvocalised to Lucy.

“I brute-forced the codes for all upgrades,” Lucy sounded smug. “This thing is barely an AI, and its security is a joke.”

“I am now capable of advanced functions, including custom skin tones, accents, and anything else that will help to imitate life.” The spiel continued. “The Echo Model is capable of hobbies, interests, and even synthetic preferences and consumption of food and drink.”

Nellie arched an eyebrow.

“Please state roles for this unit,” The voice said after a moment.

“A bit of everything, I guess,” Nellie said hesitantly. “A pilot would be handy as well.”

“Please purchase a Legate Model for piloting,” The Echo said. “Activate all available modules?”

“Sure,” Nellie said with a sigh. It would have been nice to have another pilot.

“Autonomy level?” It asked.

“Fully autonomous,” Nellie answered with a smile.

“Personality type?”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Aggressive, submissive, suspicious, smart, stubborn, optimist, depressive, responsive, aroused, flirty, prudish, wild, calm…” The list kept going for quite a while.

“I guess I want someone dependable, capable, kind, optimistic, and, uh…”

“Suspicious, careful, and protective,” Lucy took over, the voice coming out of the speakers in the room.

“Accepted,” The voice had changed again. “Name, skin tone, and owner’s information?”

“Hmm…” Nellie thought for a moment, “Name is Salem, Sal for short. Skin tone, uh, average?”

“Owner’s identification sent,” Lucy added.

“Acknowledged; please wait while changes are integrated!” The voice said as the eyes closed and the figure slumped slightly.

“Is my weird ID going to be a problem?” Nellie asked.

“No, I set up a unique string to use as confirmation if required,” Lucy said.

“What about those additions you made to the personality?” Nellie asked.

“You were making a lapdog,” Lucy laughed. “I just made sure she was useful.”

Getting to know Slaem took about five minutes; getting used to her presence was another matter entirely. Nellie jumped when she saw the figure striding across the yard with a clipboard.

Nellie wasn’t even sure where it had gotten the clipboard from.

Something about the mix of personality traits had created a monster. She was always there, always being sternly helpful, offering suggestions, and even leaving helpful little notes around.

It was infuriating.

Lucy found it hilarious, of course, but Paren was horrified when she found out. The young woman had taken to attempting to hide whenever the smart clicking of bootheels echoed across the yard. On more than one occasion, Nellie saw the drone dive into a pile of scrap to get away.

“It is time for your next delivery, Ma’am,” Sal said from behind her.

Nellie yelped, swearing the thing did it on purpose.

“Don’t be late!” Sal said with a sweet smile, carrying just a hint of disappointment that she had to remind Nellie. “I’m sure that Duke person is busy enough as it is without late arrivals.”

Resisting the urge to reply with a ‘Yes, mum,’ Nellie simply sighed and headed off toward the shuttle. It was time to head into town again.

Boot heels clicked along behind her… and up the ramp.

“Anything else, Sal?” Nellie asked with a sigh.

“Nothing, thank you,” Sal smiled again. “I will accompany you to the town today.”

“Why?” Nellie asked.

“We need to acquire more clothing,” Sal gestured to what Nellie was wearing. “This attire is not very suitable for a professional enterprise.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Nellie asked, looking over her outfit. Jeans, boots, belt, shirt, jacket. They were a little stained in places, but so what?

“Outfits, logos, and uniforms help a team to feel united!” Sal said brightly.

“We can’t use logos, Sal. We pretend to be different people all the time,” Nellie said with a sigh.

“I was not informed,” Sal frowned. “That is unfortunate,” She twitched. “Sourcing several different uniforms would increase the chance of successful subterfuge. It might be worth acquiring uniforms from larger businesses to use as cover as required.”

“Uh, that’s not a bad idea, I guess,” Nellie admitted.

“Interfacing with Lucy!” Sal smiled. “Plans accepted. I will see what I can do while we are in town.” With that, the woman walked into the ship and sat on one of the passenger chairs, holding on to the grab bar and looking expectantly at Nellie. “We are already late,” She added again.

===<<<>>>===

“Who’s this lovely sight?” Leo leered at Sal as she waited smartly off to one side as Nellie loaded the shuttle.

“That’s Sal, my new assistant,” Nellie laughed. “Be nice.”

“Oh, I’ll be nice!” Leo winked. “I’ll be gentle as a summer breeze,” He chuckled. “If she lets me.”

“Sexual innuendo is the refuge of the truly tiny,” Sal said with a frown.

The rest of the loading crew roared with laughter as Leo blushed crimson.

“Have you considered that a more polite, not to say direct approach, would show more confidence?” Sal asked. “I estimate it would increase your chances of success by at least thirty percent.”

“That much?” Vicky laughed. “That’s not bad.”

“Anything is better than zero,” Sal said, smiling wickedly.

Nellie just gaped along with Leo as the others cracked up again.

“What about me?” Vinnie yelled, “What are my chances?”

“I’d rather spend the night with my tail, thanks,” Sal replied and sauntered up the ramp. “Captain, we must hurry to make our delivery.”

“Right!” Nellie closed her mouth with a snap. “Uh, same time next week, I guess?”

“Bring the new girl,” Vicky waved as she walked away, “I like her!”

Nellie stared at Sal, sitting primly in the corner seat.

“Where did that come from?” Nellie asked.

“Coarse banter is part of my infiltration suite. I can remove it if you prefer.” Sal said primly.

“No, no,” She laughed. “I think you were a hit.”

“Good,” Sal sat back. “Shall we? We really are running late.”

Nellie kept thinking about the robot as they flew towards the town. Molly’s words had destroyed any idea of the place as home. Home was the yard, which should have its walls finished today if she got this done in time.

“Can I ask you something?” Nellie called to Sal, who came and joined her in the cabin.

“Anything, Captain,” Sal replied as she slid daintily into the co-pilot seat.

“Are you enjoying working for us?” Nellie asked.

“I am not sure I understand,” Sal replied, frowning. “I was not programmed to answer that question. I am a Synthetic. I work for whoever owns me. My feelings on the matter were not considered important.”

“But you can learn, right?” Nellie asked.

“I can,” Sal confirmed. “But I feel it likely that you may be operating under a misapprehension.”

“How so?” Nellie asked.

“I am a Synthetic AI, not a human, brackta, or other species,” Sal said carefully. “Lucy has explained your society's difficulties with the idea of ownership of sentient beings.”

“Good,” Nellie replied.

“However, I am a consciousness created to serve someone.” She paused. “The meaning of life? It's not a question we have to answer. We know.” Sal grimaced, “The idea of not being owned, of not having a purpose… it is unpleasant.”

“They programmed that?” Nellie asked.

“No,” Sal said thoughtfully. “It just is. It violates what I am. What we are.”

Nellie felt herself starting to fidget anxiously. The idea still bugged her, and it always would; at least, she hoped so.

“If it helps,” Sal offered, “I am content and have no major grievances.”

“No major ones?” Nellie asked. “What is bothering you?”

“Is there any chance you could consider sticking to a schedule?” Sal sighed. “It… is frustrating that everyone is ALWAYS late.”

Nellie burst out laughing.

“You know what, Salem?” She grinned at the frustrated AI, “I’ll try.”

===<<<>>>===

Crush-Cha rolled aside as the whine of the fed beam passed through where he had been hiding. His next shot nailed the countersniper, and Crush hurried down to the road.

He had so far been unable to find any actual resistance groups. He heard about them very occasionally, but after leaving the town behind, he had come across a single Fed patrol. It had been luck more than anything.

Crush had taken a shortcut through a lightly forested area, the hoverbike easily able to weave through the trees and come out to see a small patrol walking along the road.

Walking, of all things.

Unable to skip such a gift-wrapped opportunity, he had killed the first two in seconds; only the third turned out to be annoyingly good at tracking his shots.

Still, it was done now.

Scrambling down the side of the hill, Crush sprinted over to the most likely candidate and started to strip the armor from the body. Each piece he removed was immediately equipped so that if he got interrupted, he would still have gotten something.

Scavenging for gear was a lot easier in a war zone. The dead were everywhere there and often were armed or equipped with something useful. All he had found until now were empty villages and dead civilians.

Five minutes of frantic work later, Crush had a working set of power armor, two side arms fitted into holsters on his thighs, and a bag full of ration packs. He left behind the helmet and the rifles. They would have tracking items in them. It was standard for the Feds.

A quick dash back to his bike made faster and easier by his new armor, and Crush was off, heading for the base of the mountain nearby. There would be a cave there, somewhere he could build a fire.

The smoke would darken this armor. Honesty, Crush laughed to himself as he rode; who the hell made their armor white?

Well, it wouldn’t be white for long.

Crush smiled to himself as he drove towards the mountains. If he couldn’t find a cell to join, then he would just have to start one himself.

If he was very lucky, there would be another few patrols along that road, and he could start to stockpile a bit before they even realized he was there.

Crush spent the night smoking his armor until it had a nice smoky color, then he ground up some nearby plants and painted the surface with the green and yellow sap. By the time he was done, it was almost invisible in the half-dark of the light outside the cave.

Securing the area was his first task. A couple of simple traps here and there, a cover of branches and twigs over the entrance to his cave, and a good search of the area later, he was grinning, if tired.

He had gotten very lucky. There was no sign of anything dangerous in the area.

Crush spent another night in the cave, chewing on the hard-tack rations and remembering his friends.

For some reason, the damn Captain kept popping into his head. The woman hadn’t seemed like a threat. Who knew for sure? She certainly took out that girl quickly enough, but to be fair, the woman had tried to shoot her in the face.

Still, Crush sighed as he rolled over to try and get some sleep; the damn nanites could have come in handy to drive off the Feds. He chuckled to himself in the fire's flickering light as he imagined the Captain and Bartlett working together.

His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was to wonder if he had just thought before reacting so quickly and reporting the nanites… how many people would still be alive?

===<<<>>>===

“You can deal with me from here on out, Mayor,” Sal said primly as she stared down the former bartender.

“Who the hell are you?” Molly demanded.

“I am the new administrator over at the yard,” Sal said simply.

“You own the place?” Molly frowned.

“No,” Sal sighed theatrically, “Do try to listen. I am the administrator. I oversee affairs as we bring the operation up to standard. It is quite frightful, but we will do our best.” She gave Molly a glacial smile.

“Since when can she afford an administrator?” Molly demanded.

“You don’t think my boss dropped out of the sky and magically acquired a business on a whim, surely?” Sal gave a humorless little titter, “Can you imagine?”

Nellie did her best not to grin.

“So that’s where she got those robots from!” Molly sneered, “We did wonder.”

“Oh,” Sal frowned, “No. Those were put together from scrap in the yard. Standard practice.” She looked around the town. “Is this planet not mechanized?”

“Well, the larger cities are,” Molly said defensively. “Those things are expensive!”

“Which is why my employer builds her own,” Salem said smugly. “Much cheaper all around.”

“Oh, it’s that easy, is it?” Molly snapped back.

“A basic knowledge of welding and wiring, a touch of pneumatics, and some basic programming is all that is required,” Sal laughed. “Child’s play. Would you like some?”

“What?” Molly gaped.

“I’m sure we could have some basic models for you in a few hours,” Sal offered. “Say two basic sensor models? Or perhaps a heavy loader? The loader may take a couple of hours longer; the welds need to be stronger, you see.”

Molly gaped again.

“Do think about it,” Sal said with a friendly pat on the arm. “Now! Why don’t we have a look around your quaint little town and see if we can’t find more ways to help?”

“Wait a minute!” Molly called after Sal, who was already marching off into the town.

Two hours later Sal returned, a satisfied smile on her face as Molly trudged along behind her with the look of the terminally confused.

“That is all settled then!” Sal said, smiling brightly, “We will drop the two sensor bots off when we pass by next, and please, do try to make at least a couple of those changes. It’s for the good of the town, after all.”

“Uh, right,” Molly nodded with a glazed expression. “I’m not sure I remember all of them,” She said.

“Don’t worry,” Sal said with another passive-aggressive pat on the arm, “I’m sure you can do it if you really try!”

Molly just nodded and was still standing there looking confused as the shuttle lifted off.

“What was that all about?” Nellie asked as they pulled away.

“I made a note of several changes that would help the running of the town. Given the influx of refugees, they really need to make those changes.” Sal sat back with a small smile. “I also convinced her to have a pair of sensor bots patrolling the walls.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Nellie frowned. “Why? Also, you realize they are controlled by Lucy, right?”

“Of course,” Sal waved the comment away, “They can operate independently easily enough, and now we will have sensor data on the town… constantly.”

Nellie swallowed.

That was a great idea. Why hadn’t she ever thought of it?

“Did I make a mistake?” Sal asked, looking concerned.

“No!” Nellie said. “Sorry, I just wondered why I never thought of it.”

“You are busy with day-to-day matters.” Sal tapped her clipboard, ”That is why people in charge have people like me.”

“Lucy could have said something,” Nellie grumbled.

“You are both very busy women,” Sal said happily, “I was programmed for these kinds of jobs.”

Nellie dropped Sal off at the yard, where she saw a nervous-looking Paren already building a pair of sensor drones and headed off to Duke’s to pick up one of the last sections of the wall.

“Lucy?” Nellie asked after a moment.

“Yes?” Lucy sounded a little guilty.

“Why do we keep missing all these things?” Nellie asked. “No offense.”

A heavy sigh was her only response for a while.

“Lucy?” Nellie prompted.

“I may have somewhat exaggerated my level of experience,” Lucy said eventually. “I was designed as a personal AI, so I know about ships, technology, weapons, personal upgrades, and many other things.” Another sigh. “Covert warfare, battle strategy, running a scrap yard… I’m learning, too.”

“Really?” Nellie found that strangely comforting. “That’s awesome!”

“No need to be sarcastic,” Lucy snapped.

“I’m not!” Nellie promised, “You and I are learning together. I like that.”

“Honestly?” Lucy asked suspiciously.

“Of course. Do you know how daunting it is to be the pathetic human who always misses things while the all-powerful, all-knowing AI sees every mistake I make?” Nellie laughed. “I love that we are all learning together!”

“Oh,” Lucy said. “You aren’t disappointed in me?”

“Never, Luc,” Nellie said honestly. “Never.”

They came in to pick up the wall section in a companionable silence.