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Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:27 AM

The day it arrived at the estate, a disgruntled young man answered the door. There had been a lot of waiting, and the delivery man was getting impatient. He was not happy that he was being sent so far out into the backwoods, but the NOVA was an expensive unit and they wanted to spare no expense with her delivery. It would not do for it to be damaged, after all.

Still, it did not make him eager to do so. He was not the one getting a commission for her sale, after all. And the property did take an unusually long time to answer the door.

Image


“What?” said the man, when finally the gate crept open a very little bit. It wasn’t enough for the delivery man to enter. It barely allowed them a glimpse at him: enough to make out rumpled work clothes and unkempt hair of an unusually vivid red. His expression was a surly one, as if he was angry at the interruption to whatever he had been doing.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:28 AM

The delivery man did not immediately respond, caught off guard by his appearance, or perhaps by his attitude. He caught himself just as the man moved to slam the door in his face. “Sir,” he said, with some effort; he had wedged his foot into the gap to prevent the door from closing, not without cost to himself, evidently. “We’re here to deliver your... your purchase.” He tried, valiantly, not to wince. He didn’t succeed. The door also did not open any wider. Gamely, he tried again: “The android you ordered, sir? Model NOVA-R09?”

There was a pause, during which the unfortunate delivery man could do no more than hold his breath. Then, finally, the door opened more fully, though the man was still frowning as the delivery man walked in. He wheeled her crate in with him, half sagging on it, in pain and relief both.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:29 AM

That relief gave way to incredulity as soon as he took in his surroundings.

He said nothing, but his surprise was evident. His face did not hide it well. It was a large estate, large to the point of being sprawling. The perimeter was walled off with solid stone, but the walls stretched beyond their line of sight, encompassing what looked to be acres of fields and backwood. This was broken up only by the path that led from the gate, which wound its way down to a house and a few other buildings beyond, all relatively close to one another. It looked well maintained, if nothing lavish. The fields contained several corrals, and more pastures further out. Beyond that was nothing but untamed wilds, as far as anyone could tell.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:29 AM

“Right, so how do you activate it?” The red-haired man’s abrupt words snapped the delivery man out of his reverie. He had his arms crossed over his chest, evidently impatient.

The delivery man recovered with a start. “Yes, er... Well, um. Will you be operating the unit yourself, sir?” When the other man did not immediately respond, he tried another tack. “Is the owner of the property here...?”

“You’re looking at him,” said the red-haired man. Too late the delivery man realized his mistake, though the apparent master of the property did not look any more displeased for it. This may have been in part because it was not possible for him to look more displeased at all.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:30 AM

“W-Well then. Uh. If you would sign here please... The model is activated through a retina scanner and a voice registration signature, which I’ll set up for you in just a second.” The delivery man just barely kept a stammer out of his voice, holding out a tablet. The screen came to life, and the red-haired man scribbled out a rough sign in the designated box. The delivery man tucked the tablet under his arm before moving to open the case.

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“So, this is the defective discounted unit, huh?” said the red-haired man, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, not to worry, sir. We’ve done our number on it, replaced all the malfunctioning parts, the works. You’re covered under our warranty too. If you’re worried about energy, it’s powered by an internal fused core, with solar chargers as back-ups. I daresay it’ll keep going longer than I will.” He laughed weakly, then trailed off when the red-haired man gave no reaction.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:31 AM

“A-Anyway.” He fiddled with a mechanism on the android’s head, then stepped back. “If you would just stand here, sir, and maintain eye contact with it for five seconds...” The red-haired man did so, though with a distinct air of discomfort. There was a quiet [beep], and a moment later, the android spoke. ”Retina scan completed. Please register vocal signature.”

The delivery man mouthed, Talk at it, when the red-haired man shot him a questioning glance. He frowned deeper. “What do you want me to say?” he said, after a pause.

The android's eyes lit up at the sound. ”Voice registry completed. Activation sequence will now begin.”
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:32 AM

“There you have it,” said the delivery man. “The AI will take over after that, and then you can direct it like... like you would a person, I guess. There’s a user manual if you want it, but for the most part people figure it out pretty well without.” He was beginning to recover from his earlier surprise, settling back into the familiar rhythm of the activation process. He held a small booklet out to the red-haired man, who took it without so much a glance at its cover.

“Thanks,” he said tersely. “You can go now.”

The delivery man seemed a bit put out to be dismissed so abruptly, but he wasn’t about to argue with a customer. He unloaded the android and carted the case back to the entrance. “Thank you for your purchase, sir. If there’s any issue with the model, feel free to contact us, and we’ll replace it under your warranty.”
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:32 AM

Finding himself under increasingly unwelcoming scrutiny, he excused himself with those words. If he muttered under his breath after the gate closed behind him, the red-haired man didn’t hear it.

He turned to the android, which had by then completed its activation sequence. “So,” he said. “Orders just like a person, huh?”

“Master,” said the android. Its voice was hard to place, sounding as if it was filtered to make it sound more artificial than it was. The inflection, at least, felt mostly organic, if a little stiff. The red-haired man winced to find himself thus addressed.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:33 AM

“No. Call me Aster,” he said, running a hand through the tangle of his hair.

The android inclined its head. “Very well, Aster. Would you like to give me a name as well?”

His frown deepened, though not in the same hostile manner as before. He merely seemed uncomfortable at being put on the spot this time. “Hmm. I didn’t think that far. How about... How about Rabbit? Those things on your head kind of look like ears.”

“Very well. I will introduce myself as Rabbit from now on.” Another pause. “Do you have any directives for me?”
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 4:33 AM

Rabbit’s role at the estate was straightforward enough, if not always simple. There were more than tasks enough to warrant the purchase of a NOVA unit. Indeed, the greater mystery was how Aster had kept the place running all this time; there were no other humans living on the property, and it appeared this had been the case for quite some time. Even if most of the land was unkept wilderness, there was still the matter of the house, and the barn, and the other facilities which were mostly used for storage. And of course there were the animals.

Aster kept mostly dragons, the kind popular for pit-fighting among the city’s nobility. He had a few prized fighters himself, though he had mentioned their pit history only reluctantly, as a necessary detail he felt Rabbit ought to know. It had been done in the interest of proving the beasts, of getting his name out there as a trainer, and to improve the breeding stock.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 5:25 AM

Having accomplished this, they were all retired, except the one particular individual who had grown to enjoy combat and became listless if left unproven too long. Most of Aster’s own beasts were for breeding now, though some of the better-trained served other purposes. One truly striking individual was undergoing training as a trick flier, and another raised to pull wagons. His particular favorite, a relatively small and whippy mottled green beast, was given run of the grounds.

Rabbit was not to approach any of them. They were a volatile species, the man stressed, handled only by experienced trainers. Even an android, with its questionable personhood, posed enough of a threat to put them on alert, so Aster said.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 5:26 AM

There were other creatures too, safer ones, whom Rabbit had charge of in their daily needs. There was the massive drudge-beast, who in theory ought to have been as dangerous as any two of the dragons, but in practice it was easily bribed and inclined to napping. There was the small but well-maintained aviary, full of loud raucous residents, who somehow nevertheless came when called and knew a surprising number of commands. One, a black individual with a bold personality, had served in some capacity as a war messenger, so Rabbit had been told. The android couldn’t see anything remarkable about the big black bird beyond its ability to steal unattended objects.

The remainder of Rabbit’s time was spent maintaining the property itself. The massive wall had to be checked monthly for anything like the beginnings of cracks or damage. There were barns to clean and repaint, which was something Aster decided to have done now that he had the hands to do it. When a creature broke something during a training session gone awry, it was Rabbit’s job to fix it, if possible.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 5:26 AM

However, Rabbit was not allowed inside the house.

This was not the issue it would have been for a human worker. Rabbit had a renovated closet, proofed for dust and moisture, which was already sufficiently lavish for the needs of an android. The NOVA model did not, strictly speaking, require rest, but nevertheless it was good to have a place to go if there was nothing to be done. This kept Rabbit out from underfoot. The denial of access to the house itself was a little odd, considering the number of chores to do within, but nothing dire.

It was increasingly apparent that Aster was a man who liked his privacy. The remoteness of the location was a testament to that. He was often moody and short-tempered, though calmer with the beasts, likely out of necessity if nothing else. His training, though at times rigorous, was never callous or abusive.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 5:27 AM

Rabbit asked no questions of him. There were only directives, as were reasonable; the android explained what it could or could not do, and what it could do with some teaching and practice, and Aster gave commands within those bounds. There was barely anything in the relationship that could qualify it for such a title.

So it was at first, anyway. After a while, perhaps out of boredom, Aster began speaking more on occasion: unnecessary things, almost conversational. “You know,” he said, drinking--- not alcohol, as one might expect of a man of his age and temperament, but a dark and bitter tea. “I didn’t think it would work out so well. This whole ‘android’ business.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” said Rabbit.
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Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/03/2017 5:30 AM

“Well. They made a fuss about how the NOVA model was fully self-sufficient and sentient. Like they could pretend to be a person, if that was what you wanted. I just wanted a hand around here that didn’t ask me anything I didn’t want to tell.” He took another long draught, the muscles in his throat moving. The tea was hot enough to steam, even though the weather was warming.

The android, looking out at the expanse of pasture visible from the back porch of the house, wondered what he could want from saying so. For a man who had thus far been short and to the point, it felt odd. Rabbit wondered if he was not drunk after all, though he did not otherwise seem inebriated. “Ah,” it said, feeling a response was necessary. It had none other to give.

[Wild Pet Found]
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