Okay, started writing something else in light of my new workload. It takes the edge off the boredom but still helps me procrastinate and has no writer's block. I'm pretty unhappy with it so far but whatever. File 1: You've_Got_Mail.zip Kingsley walked down the road along where a walk would lie in a better part of town on his way home from a moderately stressful day at work. The folders full of reports that filled his satchel weighed down on his shoulder and his head drooped in the late afternoon sun. For several minutes his feet pounded on the pavement with a slow steady rhythm. Suddenly he heard a bus’s brakes squealing, as if about to protest but then losing the motivation to, as the dingy green and blue striped bus came to a stop alone at a light a ways behind him, it was his ride. His beanie capped head perked up just enough to see the formerly white pole with a thin metal sign marking the stop hanging like a dingy starched flag at the end of the block. He started running. It wasn’t far but by the time he reached to stop he was breathing somewhat heavily, a product of his childhood asthma and his current level of inactivity. The bus pulled up seconds later, he leapt on paid his fare, tugged his sleeves down over his hands and took a seat in the vacant front of the bus. With a quick glance at the people behind him he began to doze. As he wavered between waking and sleeping his mind was filled with his day thus far: the meeting, the new project manager, the guy in the cube next to him getting fired. All in all not a bad day. Twenty minutes later he was standing in front of an eyesore of a bungalow among pleasant looking homes with neatly clipped hedges and green lawns and all manners of flowers. He yawned and pulled out his keys fumbling with them as he unlocked the door and entered the equally dismal interior of the house. His only friend and temporary roommate was out, he was always was out, never paid him any mind and he barely said a thing since he got a girl. Kingsley yawned again and clumsily kicked his shoes off into some corner where he’d no doubt have to go looking for them again the next morning. Next he tossed folder filled satchel and cap over a chair covered in dirty laundry and assorted official papers. He walked to the kitchen and perfunctorily opened the refrigerator and, as he’d guessed, saw a sticky note asking that he buy more food and that the milk had gone funky. He tore the note from it’s spot where the funky milk was that morning, closed the door and sighed tossing the note into a recycling bin also labeled with a sticky note. An eyed zoomed over to the half opened cabinets followed by a searching hand that in an instant plucked a package of cookies from the shelf with the speed of an attacking viper before closing the cabinet returning to its resting position plus the cookies. Kingsley looked down at the cookies and tossed them onto the table thinking better of it, he grimaced when they crunched on landing but moved onwards to his desktop. The ancient shell filled with expensive newer parts was topped with a monitor that was indistinguishable from a small LCD television and lay in the corner of an unused room; one that under most circumstances would have been used as a dining room. However, since neither he nor his friend had a mind to entertain anyone in any capacity, the room had fallen into the clutches of a small jungle of wires creeping along the floors and up the walls, all converging on one usually glowing box. A socked toe tapped a green button and with the noise of a fan that sounded like a jet taking off a few blacks down the computer hummed to life. A password screen appeared moments later. A few keystrokes later and his personal settings were in the process of loading. He yawned again and turned around, scratching his left ankle with his opposite foot. Much to his surprise a midsized, rectangular, cardboard box lay before him. Upon closer inspection it was clear that it was a package addressed to none other than he with a sticky note on it telling him in excruciating detail how great it was that his roommate had gone to the trouble of signing for it and carrying it in. This one he simply crumpled up on the spot and didn‘t bother throwing it away properly. “Never thought they’d actually make good on that deal.†He said to himself, thinking back to the interview he had with a supposedly up and coming computer research firm. Supposedly into some new kind of computer technology that no one else in the world was even close to. They promised one of their very own new state of the art computers for all hired to participate in the beta testing project, but he never expected anything more than a note telling him he wasn’t qualified enough or something to arrive via e-mail five to ten minutes after interview. He most certainly hadn’t expected to actually get the job or the shiny new computer to match. He turned and cast an impatient eye back at the computer; now fully booted up and displaying a group shot of several overly dramatic looking cartoon characters with icons dotted about it. He turned away from the glowing box, frowned at the package, and went searching for a box cutter to remove the industrial tape that sealed it shut. Five minutes afterwards he came back with a pair of scissors and jammed them into the space where the flaps met and began tearing the tape apart. It was difficult with his tool of necessity but it wasn’t as bad as his experience with the pocket knife and so he decided to count it as a win in his book. With one final stroke he cut the last of the tape from the box and wedged his fingers in the flaps to pull it open. Kingsley’s eyes widened and his jaw fell open when the cardboard flaps fell apart, revealing the contents of his package. There were no packing peanuts, there was no Styrofoam cage, there was no instruction manual wrapped in plastic, and there certainly was not a computer lying in wait for him.
Very cliffhanger and short..... I'm gonna say.....a cliffhanger does not make better a stale start(not saying yours was, just clarifying )It was easy to read, and fun, now we need a second chapter to open this story up a bit more. Yes, today was a good day, both you and shades uploaded good stuff.
Yeah, this isn't dead. I still am going to finish it, eventually. File 2: Are_You_Sure_You'd_Like_To_Continue_With_This_Download.rar It was a human, more specifically a female human of around eighteen, give or take. Her unconscious form was curled up into a compact almost egg-like shape. The second thing Kingsley did was leap back and scream incomprehensibly at the top of his lungs. Eventually he ran out of breath and began to feel his throat becoming sore. As the young man stood breathing heavily several feet away from the box he noticed a packet of papers and a booklet wedged into the box, he quickly snatched them up and scanned over the first few pages of the packet. In his haste several pages and the booklet dropped to the floor as his frantic eyes glancing from one word to another searching for an explanation; he found one at the back of the packet. “This personal computer is the property of Synchron Tech Industries Beta Testers and is to be considered as such. Beta Testers shall complete their task and return the hardware to Synchron Tech Headquarters in Kyoto, Japan for inspection before final ownership is transferred. Should the Tester violate any of the Terms of Service agreements the ownership of any and all related hardware and software shall be rescinded. Note: Testers should not be alarmed by the unconventional build of the personal computers. This is a new and revolutionary study and shall be carried out as perfectly as possible. Thank you for your time.†“No fucking way. This girl--†He glanced over to the box and it was empty. “Gah! Where’d she go?!†After several frantic seconds of tripping over himself as he strained to look about the entire house without leaving the room he found her. She was not really particularly impressive to look at, but the fact that she’d come to him in a box and was now mumbling something to herself in an almost mechanically stilted voice was enough to make Kingsley gasp when he saw her clearly for the first time. Her eyes that had been clouded over began clearing up, they were violent electric blue and her hair was almost unrealistically yellow blonde. Kingsley walked closer to listen to her strange mutterings, hoping it could shed some light on the matter. “Startup sequence initiated, program files loading, status within functioning margins, initializing personal settings.†“Why’s she talking like a robot?†He practically yelled in crazed confusion. “I prefer the term artificial intelligence.†She suddenly interjected. “Huh?†He gaped and gawked as if he‘d seen a man in an alien costume. “Are you, or are you not my tester?†She asked brusquely. Kingsley could only hold open the page he’d just read from the packet. “Thank you, I seem to have gotten a dumb, ******ed, and deaf programmer. What else could go wrong?†“Um-- you are?†He stammered. “The hardware mentioned.†She said tapping a slender finger on the paper he still held before him. For several seconds he kept rereading the line as if it would suddenly bring forth some sort of revelation. None came. “So you’re a PC?†“I sure as hell am not a Mac.†She chuckled at her own wit and began looking around the small house. “But how?†Kingsley asked as he’d finally composed himself enough to think and speak properly. “Wonders of modern technology.†She replied without hesitation as she examined the contents of the refrigerator with unmasked disgust. “So what am I supposed to do?†He asked softly, he almost didn’t want her to hear because he almost knew her answer would either be unhelpful or sarcastic already. “Test me, make sure I can do whatever a humanoid PC should be able to do.†She said simply then pushed past him to take a look at the computer room with her box in it. She studied it with a furrowed brow and a frown that disappeared suddenly as she turned to look at him amusedly. “This is not real.†He stated shaking his head back and forth slowly. “I assure you that is not so.†She said plainly. “Where’s the fucking proof? I can’t be expected to believe--†He said almost angrily at his comments’ being dismissed so casually. “Here.†She turned around and held her hair up and out of the way; there were four marks, USB 2.0 ports to be precise. “Enough proof for you?†She said after several seconds of waiting. “But how?†He asked again. “I already answered that. You just have to accept the world is a bit further along than you thought it was.†She explained superciliously as if she were talking to a five year old. “Okay, then I suppose you can read this.†He said triumphantly thrusting a flash drive into the socket under her golden hair. “Don’t do that you ******! You could cause an-- you pervert!†She screamed causing Kingsley to fall backwards and start screaming as well. “What is it?!†He bellowed, rolling on the floor like a crippled pig. “You’ve got some fucking kinky pornography on this thing!†She spat back as she futilely tried to wrest the flash drive from its place. “What?! That’s my program drive! All my work is stored on there!†The boy protested. “What’s your job, huh?†She retorted kicking him angrily. “I’m a code monkey. But that’s not what I-- are you serious?†He said, finally realizing what she was saying. “Yes! Now get this thing outta me!†She demanded with another firm kick to his side. Several minutes later the two were sitting back to back in the middle of the room as a result of the furious battle with the flash drive that had just ensued. “Sorry, my roommate switched it with his by accident, I’m so sorry.†He said looking down at the words ‘David’s pr0nz’ with disgust. “I’m really--†“I overreacted, every idiot’s got a vice.†She remarked rather dryly. “It’s not my drive.†He corrected, hoping he could salvage his appearance in her eyes, if only a little. He still felt guilty that he’d done it without checking in the first place and that he’d been so determined to prove her wrong. “Like I care.†She said turning up her nose at him in spite of the fact that he couldn‘t see. “A dog runs with other dogs.†“Come on, I’m not that guy.†He persisted weakly. “I told you I don’t care. You’re my tester that’s all that matters to me. Now go and test something.†She ordered with a halfway stately air. “What then?†He asked knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere. “How am I supposed to know?†She replied simply. “You’re the brilliant super computer epitomizing technological progress and innovation, not me!†Kingsley blurted out in anger and frustration, everything seemed to be stacked against him. Not just that day either, pent of frustrations from as far back as his employment as a coder went all effused without control or restraint. “Oh sure, I can do anything so I don’t even need a tester, isn’t that right?†She retaliated harshly as she made a half turn to see him. “God dammit! I’m sending you back!†He shot up to his feet and marched over to the box deliberately leaving the girl to nearly fall over backwards. “What?†She demanded half nervous and half furious as she saw him pick up the box and make to bring it over to her. “I’m FedEx’ing you back to Japan, you crazy machine!†He bellowed even as he thought to himself on some level that what he was doing was irrational and moronic. “Abuse! Abuse! Abuse!†She protested, shoving him and knocking the box out of his hands. “No one’s here!†He retorted harshly as he regained his balance. “You’re treating me like some broken Xbox or a cheap microwave.†She balked, glaring at him and frowning sternly. “Aren’t you just some defective appliance, you‘d think you‘d have a better personality programmed in wouldn‘t you!?†Kingsley instantly regretted the words as they came out of his mouth but it was as if it was no longer connected to his brain and he continued to rage and gesticulate. “Oh, I get it, you’re just that small. Getting angry at your machine and blaming it for your own pathetic mistakes!†He froze the second he heard her. She didn’t take any notice of it until he spoke again, suddenly soft and calmed to the point where he could control himself again. After several moments he finally said, “I’m sorry.†“Save it for someone who cares.†Came her reply. “No, I really am, I shouldn’t have yelled like that.†He insisted his tone consistently soft and remorseful. “Let’s get this straight now. I’m not a person and though I’m programmed to respond as a person would, the feelings aren’t there. I, in the most literal sense and meaning, cannot care. So just stop wasting your time and get to deciding whether you want me here or not.†“It’s still not right to leave things like that. Saying those things to anyone…†He trailed off and dropped his gaze out of regret and embarrassment at his behavior. “Or anything?†She said good humouredly. “Like I said, I’m really very sorry.†He said apologetically. She sighed and smiled a little at him. “You’re pretty pathetic you know?†“I’m not throwing you out.†He said, more to himself than to her. “I’m going to have a pleasant time of it either way.†She bent over slightly to get a look at his face as she spoke. Kingsley turned away from her before she could take a look at the teary eyes he‘d been hiding. When he was sure she couldn‘t hear it in his voice he spoke again. “I’ll help you as much as I can, so just don’t get mad or anything.†“I couldn’t if I wanted to.†She laughed wryly. “Well, I guess I better get to reading that handbook and all that.†He sighed and knelt to pick up and right the box and all of the packets he’d left strewn over the floor. “Go ahead, tell me if anything interesting pops up I think I should get some sleep.†She said then she yawned and turned to leave. “Not even gonna ask how a compy like you sleeps.†“I wouldn’t know anyways.†She replied dismissively as she walked out leaving Kingsley alone to think. “So…†Kingsley’s eyes flitted about the black and white pages for several minutes taking in every word and diagram. He sighed and tossed the booklet back into the box. “I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into.†He ran his hand through his hair and stood to retrieve two blue and yellow flash drives from the cardboard box from beneath the slightly rumpled booklet’s pages. Each one held a basic program to test, and modify as desired as detailed in the handbook. He slid one into his personal computer and waited for it to initiate auto play. He glanced back down at the box across the room. The ‘PC’ he was sent was not only made to look like a human and act like one, the processing system and OS were set up like the human nervous system and the power source was set up like the human equivalent as well. Everything about the computer not only functioned like a human, but imitated the human method of doing so, but why the eerie similarity? Suddenly an error message appeared claiming the program could not run. Kingsley expected as much and looked into the program a little ways. A few keystrokes later a familiar code screen appeared with several minor differences. The code was one he’d never seen before, it wasn’t C based or similar to any other code for that matter. The second thing he noticed was the length of the single program was enough to be that of the entirety of a video game. He frowned, his brow furrowed, did they really expect him to understand this at all? Even as he continued searching through the code nothing came to him, no spark of inspiration, no sudden dawning of comprehension, just an unfulfilling blank. “Shit.†He cursed his own failure. “So much for the MIT super genius, right?†“You went to MIT?†She was up again and sardonic as ever. “For a while.†He replied almost wishing he hadn’t brought it up at all, it was all just bad memories and “You wanna say some more on that topic or is it only for people you like?†She asked, almost considerately, but still sarcastic and slightly biting to the wounded man. “I went to college, MIT to be most specific, at age fifteen, three years later both of my parents died and like an idiot I lost focus and my scholarship was revoked by senior year. I had enough training to get a job over at Inventech doing programming work, but my failure to graduate has limited my options and kept me to the basic end of the pH scale. "So here I am splitting rent with a moron who changes girlfriends more often than he changes his pants and I’m attending night school classes in the dim hope that I’ll get an equivalence of graduation by the time I would have the real deal if my parents hadn’t rushed me through elementary and middle school, then gotten killed in a hostage situation in an attempt to be heroes for some stranger‘s kid. "A friend of mine, back when I had them, described me in these exact words when introducing me to his other friends, “That’s Kingsley Prefect. He’s one fucked up mother fucker.†Any questions?†“Not really, never expected you’d be such a fucked up mother fucker though.†The girl answered barely glancing up at him as she prodded a beetle across the floor. “Thanks.†Kingsley responded ironically. “So how’s progress with testing going?†She asked as the beetle crawled around the corner. “Not good, I’m not sure why they even bothered with sending you over since most of the testing that I can think of could be done on site, outside betas are really unnecessary at this point.†He said disheartened. “Could there be something else to it? The company can‘t be that dumb if they made something like me.†She replied plainly. She spoke about everything as if it were simple, so simple that even a complete fool would have to come to the same conclusion. “True, but I can’t know for sure without taking a look at your programming and actual capabilities a bit more…†Kingsley trailed off awkwardly and averted his gaze with slight embarrassment showing through his expression no matter how he tried to hide it. “Don’t act like it’s something so awkward, just because I look like a girl doesn’t mean I’m all that much different from your desktop over there.†She explained almost exasperatedly. “It’s not that, I just kinda feel that I should be able to do some more.†“Whatever. So you said you need a demo?†He nodded. “Gotcha, I’ve run a check of my systems and if you’ve got a spare monitor and keyboard I can help out with that.†“Sure, I’ll get them now.†Several moments later and a few new ports later a bubble screened monitor and an old dusty keyboard were sitting on the coffee table displaying a user interface with several icons and a plain wallpaper. “Whoa, it’s like Vistaâ€, He said looking at the interface bemusedly, “but not crappy.†“Thanks.†The girl replied hover over his shoulder looking at her own home menu intently. “Anyways I’ve got a better idea now of what I’m looking at now, I’ll need to copy over the code to learn it and read it, but I should be done enough to help you out a bit more by the end of the week.†Kingsley said as he connected his external drive to her with as little awkwardness as possible, it was admittedly easier when he had something else to focus on. A few clicks later the files were copying and would soon be viewable from his desktop. “So what do I do till then?†She asked apprehensively. It was Kingsley‘s turn to reply simply. “Bum around the house and don’t let David find you.†“Why?†She asked loudly. “He’ll ask questions, he’ll try to attack you, and he’ll in all likelihood be an annoyance to you.†Kingsley said without taking his eyes off the screen as he watched several windows pop up telling him certain files were doing something they should or shouldn‘t. “Can’t be annoyed.†The girl corrected him with a wag of her finger. “To me then.†Kingsley amended without really paying much attention. “Whatever, I’ll stay in your room when he’s around.†She declared. “Don’t break anything.†He replied automatically. “Come on, I can’t be that bad.†She assured him with a mock smile. “Whatever you say.†He said dismissing her point. She clearly was getting nowhere and didn’t need to, he was going to let her do whatever she wanted in all likelihood. Suddenly her stomach grumbled and Kingsley turned around long enough to give her and shake his head disbelievingly. “So, is there a way I can get some food around here?†She followed up. “Not really.†He said thinking back to the contents of the refrigerator and pantry. “You’re mean.†She pouted. “I’m honest.†He contradicted. “You’re stingy.†She said bitterly. “I’m also broke. They don‘t exactly like to give low level coders the best salary you know.†Kingsley reminded her. “Seriously?†“Payday’s tomorrow.†He glanced over at her. She was lying down and looked slightly ill in the dim desk lamp’s light. “You okay?†“I’ll manage, but for future reference I need more energy than your average person and since I’m built to eat like one for a set percentage of my energy needs I need you to be able to pay for my power.†“Why didn’t they build you to eat cardboard or something?†“It’s not really a priority when you build a portable supercomputer with a personality and motor functions programmed in.†“Spectacular.â€
This has got to be the most funny material ever. It was so funny and inventive. The robot kinda reminds me of Aigis. but that is the norm. its kinda fun. I wonder what's next.
Again, this is not dead. I just take forever to update. File 3: Deep_Blue_Something.pdf Over the next week Kingsley spent most of his free time testing different coding schemes to try to understand the code that was used to run the girl that had come in the box. The going was slow and the difficulty was compounded by both feeding her seemingly insatiable appetite and hiding her from his roommate not to mention clothing her. She had argued, “What? You want me to run around with the barely substantial pajama suit that came in the package? Pervert.†Rather than fighting back Kingsley simply complied and filled her orders to the best of his ability. However he was able to determine that like Java and C the language ran on the same basic logical parameters but took everything several steps further and even had operators he was unsure of how to interpret much less use. In the end conquering the language took every last scrap of his time and he wasn’t even sure that his interpretation was entirely correct with his limited testing times impeding his research even more. “Shit.†The computer screen was now jumbled with a mess that Kingsley could no longer distinguish from key mashes and he threw up his arms in exasperation. “What is it now?†The girl inquired with a quick look over his slumped figure to see the failed code. “Nothing.†Grumbled the boy raising his head just enough to look at his complacent smirk. “Then stop whining, you whiny bastard.†Her smirk waxed to a chuckle. “I’d like to see you try this.†Kingsley retorted full of asperity. “I would, except I can’t code and how am I to test myself.†She was right again, whenever they spoke she found a way to be both acetic and even more agitatingly, right. Never once did she slip up in an argument or say something that she didn’t mean to. After several days of it Kingsley was beginning to sympathize with Kasparov in his battle with Deep Blue. “Hey are you listening?†“Yes. I’m listening, but I’d rather be coding so if you don’t mind.†“Oh, but I do mind, you should be working more efficiently and I don’t see a reason to keep me a secret from your roommate anyways.†He remained silent for he knew if he spoke it would end in a violent outburst again. “Can you answer my concerns or are you just going to start cursing at me and saying I’m annoying you?†An opening. “You remember my reaction to you?†Kingsley asked slyly. “Yes.†She replied taking no notice of his tone. “Dave has a functional IQ of 98.†“He wouldn’t be able to take it and would kick you out? I highly doubt this is true.†She answered dismissively. “Why do you think we’re roommates?†Kingsley asked sardonically. “Neither of us could find anyone else that would put up with us.†“You’re broken.†She snorted and rolled over scratching herself in a rude and most likely unnecessary measure that only served to annoy Kingsley more. Just as he was about to snap again he decided to just take no notice of her behavior and get what he could done. “I know, now be quiet and let me work.†She looked almost disappointed by his reaction and got up. “I’m going for a walk.†“Don’t get lost.†He said without looking back at her. “I’ve got a GPS chip in my body somewhere and it tells me where I am with up to date maps so long as I‘ve got Wi-Fi.†“Well don’t let Dave find you and please be careful of yourself.†“Do I detect a hint of concern?†She was probably smirking again, there was barely a time when she wasn’t at least doing that it seemed. “Yeah, you’re company property and I don’t want to send back a broken product, they’d probably have me fined or something.†He replied acidly. “Whatever dude.†“Stupid bitch.†Kingsley muttered to himself after she left the house. “If only I could just get a manual this would be a lot easier. I mean seriously, who asks you to code something that you can’t even read all of, this may as well be German.†Then it struck him. “It’s C that’s the German here.†With that he ran straight out of the house and looked for the girl. She was nowhere to be found. “Damn it!†He ran all around the straight, tight roads of the small suburban neighborhood looking for her, to no avail he did search. Eventually he came to the next neighborhood’s park, nearly two miles from the apartment and saw her sitting casually on the swing set looking at the children leaving for home in the failing light. “Hey!†He called to her. She looked at him bemusedly, or at least what looked like it. She always told him that she could not feel and that he shouldn’t be fooled by the programming. It was still hard to think any other way. “I figured it out!†She blinked at him expectantly. When he realized she wouldn’t simply follow him home he walked over to her and sat next to her breathing heavily. He hadn’t realized until now how much he’d run. “You don’t look good.†He only was able to hold back a sarcastic rejoinder because he couldn’t breathe well enough to speak at all. But his eyes betrayed his frustration. “Okay, what is it?†“I understand your coding language I think. You know how English comes from low German and Latin roots?†“Of course.†“You come from low Java and human nervous system roots.†“What?†For the first time he was able to take her by surprise, if he didn’t feel like he was in desperate need of an inhaler he would have chuckled. “The syntax is close to Java and C but the reason why it’s different is because you aren’t a computer like any other, there are approximations and inferences built into the programming, things that would never show up without a new kind of set up.†He began coughing, he’d gotten too excited and spoken too loudly and too quickly. “Can I help?†She asked with a perfunctory air. The boy only held up a staying hand. “I’m-- I’m fine.†Kingsley finally managed to stammer out in between deep breaths. “Continue when you’re ready.†She said almost concerned sounding to Kingsley. He remained silent until he caught his breath and then began again. “The logical operators don’t run on a straight Boolean binary. They run like the human brain does where things are stored as electrical impulses and cells. You have memory cells that cannot be written over and carry out very specific “pathway†functions that allow for the intelligence of a human to be combined with the computing power of the modern desktop. The two things are very similar it was simply a matter of integrating the code and building the right processing unit to take the orders. Now that I’ve got the theory--†“You can program me?†She asked, worry hanging in her voice. “You sound worried.†He said unsurely. “I should be, you can change my personality if you can change my code, I don’t want to change.†She continued, he emotion entering a shallow crescendo. “Why would I do that?†Kingsley asked, frankly he couldn’t think of a reason to play the role of god in that situation even if he could. “I always cause you trouble, I do it on purpose, that’s the kind of computer I am.†She said quietly now, the climax had passed and all that was left was a shadowy echo, her voice weaker than he’d ever her it and her motions showing weakness and frailty. “I told you, no matter what you say I still see you as a human, I wouldn’t force that kind of thing onto you. I promise.†Said the boy as he began to push himself slowly back and forth with his feet as they dragged on the ground. “You’re naively honest so I’ll trust you.†She replied with relief. “Now can we go back? Kingsley said straightening himself up and stretching himself. But as he was about to make his way back he felt a tug on his sleeve. The girl was still sitting but now she was looking up from him to the orange glow of the sun on the cusp of the horizon behind him. “I want to record a sunset, my data says that they are supposed to be awe inspiring.†She said pulling Kingsley back down to his seat next to her. “But you said you can’t feel…†She was looking at him with almost sad eyes, it was clear that no matter what she said her personality was programmed to react as if she felt it anyways. “That’s what you think.†She chuckled the sadness gone in an instant without a trace. “What?†Kingsley had been had. “I just wanted to see if I really couldn’t feel anything, I don’t know the extent of my coding so I wanted to test it myself is all.†She explained with her usual condescension. “Looks like I lost again.†Kingsley smiled and watched the sunset rubbing his head sheepishly. “Yep. We can go now, but I’m almost out of power so I can’t walk all the way back.†“I think I can carry you the rest of the way.†She raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down as he stood with a slight slouch and heavy breaths. “With that pathetic body?†She asked finally. “I’ll make it work.†He assured her as he turned, stooped down and threaded his fingers for her to climb on. At first she stared at him, then she obliged. “Thank you.†“It’s no problem, I’d do it for anyone.†He said as he stood up as best he could and started walking. “Glad to know I’m just like anyone else to you.†She definitely rolled her eyes as she said it. “Well I wouldn’t go that far. You‘re a little bit heavy.†Said Kingsley with a sheepish grin. “Stop.†“Hey Dave, you home?†Kingsley entered alone and let the girl follow after him. The lights were on but for a few seconds the house seemed empty. “Of course King Perfect. I’m always home at this hour, and so are you.†Dave grimaced as he spoke causing Kingsley to cock his head to the side. “Your point?†“Dinner man, dinner! You think I can cook for myself! My girlfriend always does it for me!†Dave whined at a pitch that Kingsley would swear could shatter glass with the right decibel level. “Which one?†Kingsley parried. “Don’t try to avoid the matter at hand!†Dave responded accusingly. “Fine I’ll get--†Suddenly Dave noticed the girl standing behind Kingsley and shoved his roommate aside to get a better look at her. “Hey! Who might you be?†He said suddenly perked up. “Shit.†Kingsley thought as the girl stared at Dave blankly. “I’m just a friend of Kingsley’s. My mode of conveyance is unusable presently and Kingsley was gracious enough to allow me to stay here until I could get a replacement, which should be within the next few hours.†“Well I’m Dave, it’s nice to see a new face, especially one like yours.†He must have imagined his act as winning and charming but the face the blonde girl made couldn’t be interpreted as anything but pure boredom. It was a shame Dave kept his eyes closed most of the time Kingsley thought as Dave continued to prance about stupidly. Kingsley decided to ignore the rest of the spectacle and find something to make in the kitchen. “That’s very kind of you Dave.†The girl responded politely. She even smiled convincingly when prompted, Kingsley was impressed. “Well, I guess it’s pasta night.†Kingsley sighed. “Alright!†Dave cheered stupidly. The girl frowned at him while he was too concerned with his exultations. After dinner Dave was fast asleep in his room leaving Kingsley alone with the computerized girl. “You need a name.†Kingsley said. “Why?†“I can’t just call you, ‘you’.†He paused because he clearly wasn’t making his case very well. “Besides to pass for a normal person you need to be able to introduce yourself as something.†“Suppose so, but I dislike your human names.†Just as Kingsley was about to retort the doorbell rang. “Wait here.†Kingsley commanded as he bounded over to the door to check who was there. It was a pair of gothic looking men. One wore a black trench coat and top hat paired with embroidery and cloth lengths draped all over his clothing, the other a dirty leather jacket with faux fur around the collar which was torn at the shoulders to reveal pale muscular arms striped with banded blue tattoos, both wore heavy monochromatic makeup. The man in the jacket smiled with a manner that could almost have passed as congenially if not for its revealing his abnormally sharp teeth. “Can I help either of you?†Kingsley said as he opened the door slightly. “Are you the tester?†The man in the top hat asked politely. “The what?†The young man said more out of shock than anything else. It had up until this point seemed impossible that anyone else could be a tester but if he thought about it localization and test samples did indicate that betas would need to be tested in numbers far greater than one. As he tried to think of something more to say the shorter man in the leather jacket began grinning. “I don’t know if he’s the tester, but one of them is here.†“One of--†“Kingsley, drop!†The girl shouted as her leg slammed into the face of the leather jacketed man through where Kingsley’s head was only a few seconds ago. The man fell to the ground with a heavy thud. “He’s a machine too!†“So you got a girl? I’d like to see how close she is to a real girl.†The man in the top hat grinned menacingly while still retaining his cool almost suave manner. “Take the tester and--†The girl began barking orders when she saw the jacketed man rise from the ground. “Bit[/FONTch nearly took out my ocular systems. Good thing your kick was weak.†He smirked. “Damn it.†She swore. “Fighting program 1?†The top hat man asked his partner as he withdrew a black flash drive from his pocket. “Should be enough for this little chick.†The machine answered. “Run! Once he’s got the program initialized--†Kingsley shouted to the girl as she barreled past him disregarding everything he said. “That’s why we end this before it activates.†The girl said confidently as she made a bee line for the target. She took a swing at the jet black haired head of the machine opposite her but was stopped midway through. “Loading: complete. Initialization: complete. Implementation: in progress. Scream for me girlie!†He howled in a ferocious, sonorous insanity. “Shit.†The girl was pulled into the grasp of the insane machine which proceeded to fling her about like a rag doll before releasing her into a wide arc through the air. “Are you alright?!†Kingsley asked urgently. “I think so.†She replied unsurely. “Run?†He asked more to see if she could at all. “Okay.†With that the two took off down the alley. “Come on back here kitten!†“If I can get my hands on my laptop I can program a fighting system better than his in about ten minutes.†“Didn’t I come with one!?†“Thinking back, the two programs that came with you were the equivalents of a degree in Russian Literature and thirty years of special effects experience. So they won’t help here.†“Why the fuck--†“Can you draw them off for at least ten minutes?†He gasped anxiously. “Meet you at the park.†She replied without waiting for an explanation. “I’ll do my best.†“Just go.†She said as they split up. “The boy’s ditching.†The vicious looking mechanical man cried almost gleefully. “The girl’s the one that matters.†The man in the top hat ordered strictly. “Get her.†“My pleasure.†His partner licked his lips as he stared at the corner where the girl crouched hidden. “Kingsley, if there was ever a time to be right, now’s it.†“Goddamn,goddamn,goddamn.†Kingsley entered the apartment in a frenzy of flipping lights on and tearing through all of his things in search of his laptop which he only used for work every so often. “What is it King?†Dave mumbled stupidly. “Where’smylaptop?†He answered with panicked breathing bordering upon hyperventilation. “In your room.†Dave grumbled turning over in his bed. “Idon’tseeit.†Kingsley insisted, his voice reaching a comical pitch with his heightening stress. “Oh, then maybe it’s in the kitchen, I was--†“Thankyou.†“What’s--†“SeeyaDave.†“Yeah…†Dave shook his head wearily and fell straight back to sleep. “It should take him three minutes to get back home, two to get his computer, ten to catch up at the park. Fifteen minutes optimistically. I need to keep them chasing me for just under that before reaching the park then ten more minutes to program. This is not looking good.†The girl calculated as she ran down the streets she’d mapped out earlier, her only advantage over her pursuers. After rounding a corner she vaulted a fence and hid herself behind some garbage bins and silenced herself as she waited for the two men to slow down and start looking. If it became a simple race then she’d definitely be caught eventually. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!†The mechanized man shouted down the streets and alleys. “Don’t yell so loudly Seis.†His tester firmly rebuked. “Couldn‘t you have been a bit more creative with the name?†Was the other man’s response. “64120-D any better?†The man in the top hat said grimly. “You‘re some lazy shit Seldon.†Seis chuckled. “There she is!†He called as the girl dashed out into the alley and took off towards another fence. “Come on! Catch me if you can little geldings!†She paused to taunt them as they both made their way over the first fence then fled through a gap just big enough for her. “Just wait a bit maybe you’ll have a chance to find out for sure!†Seis howled with beastly vigor as he stretched his arm through the gap and gnashed his teeth excitedly. “I can’t run all that way.†Huffed Kingsley. He carried his laptop with one hand and furiously typed in his password with the other as he looked around with equal furiousness for any mode of conveyance. As he whipped his head around he caught sight of a bright yellow paint job that he recognized as Dave’s moped. He instantly made a dash for it, the keys were still in, just like always Dave had forgotten to take them out. Kingsley checked back at his laptop, it was booted up and ready to work so he quickly opened the code files and began typing with one hand as he balanced the machine over the handlebars of the moped and mounted the vehicle awkwardly. After several more seconds getting adjusted Kingsley was ready and waiting to go. “Gotta go, gotta go, gotta get up and move!†He chanted to himself as he forced his eyes open and slammed on the accelerator. The jolt nearly threw him from his seat and jostled his laptop a bit but he was alright and with that he was off and on his way after the girl and her pursuers, half steering down the long straight streets and half typing up the code he was in the process of working out in his head managing to keep a few lines ahead; he only hoped he could type fast enough to make a difference when he arrived. “End of the line chickadee.†Seis said as he drooled over himself with a salacious look in his eyes. The girl stood just over ten yards distant and looked at him sourly. Seis and Seldon stood just outside of the park and the girl was in the playground area with two minutes until Kingsley was supposed to show up. The man and his machine advanced slowly, confident in their victory as the girl thought of ways to stall their progress further. “Keep it to yourself, mouth breather.†She stepped back defensively as she confirmed eight possible escape routes. “Don’t think of getting away, we know you have a limited energy supply since you are the type to be active in the day. “Shit.†She hissed. “I heard that.†Seis swaggered up to her slowly, smirking and chuckling to himself all the way. “What did you hear exactly?†She asked, suddenly provocative. “You short a circuit in that little head of yours girlie?†“Maybe you want to come over here and test that theory?†“Gladly!†“Stop. She’s toying with you now.†Seldon said sharply. “But I want to break her, slowly.†Seis insisted, rolling his head around as if he didn’t have any neck joints at all. “Down boy, your master is smarter than you.†“You as well, if you think you can get yourself out of this at this point.†He smirked with self satisfaction and condescension as he followed after his machine. “I mean even your tester abandoned you--or was that a noble sacrifice on your part?†The girl merely stared at him as he laughed madly, revealing himself to be every bit as insane as Seis. “Either way you have lost it and we’re gonna be the one’s to make it to the Headquarters and win whatever that prize is they’re giving out at the end.†“What?†She blurted out. “You mean you didn’t know?†The man chuckled superciliously. “Why else would I ask?†She retorted bitterly. “Point taken. Before I loose this dog to dismantle you I’ll tell you how things really are. Testers are participants in a race of sorts to all the Branch Headquarter Offices and eventually the Home Headquarter Office back in Japan of Synchron. The first pair to hit every checkpoint and end up back at the home base wins. Winning entails a hidden reward related to our testing efforts. That is the upshot of it all. It‘s in the papers that come with all the computers. Now can we proceed?†“Sure, me and that idiot could never win.†She despairingly lowered her head as if she was ready for the final blow. So Seldon and Seis advanced on her and prepared to deal it. Just as they reached her the roar of a motor could be heard. Just as they turned to see the source Kingsley came into view. “Agh!†Kingsley cried out as he came barreling down the road straight into the pair of gothic men crashing the scooter and throwing the three of them in all directions. The girl smiled, he was right on time. “You sure took your sweet time.†Said the girl ironically. “Don’t you know that a hero of justice will only arrive at the most critical moment.†Kingsley bantered in return. He’d managed to keep his laptop safe and powered on even through the crash and instantly got back to work. “Justice, huh?†She said watching him amusedly. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch!†Seis howled as he raised himself to his feet and tore his way back through the bushes he‘d been thrown through. “Stand back.†The girl didn’t wait for Kingsley to respond, she simple shoved him back. “I’ve got most of the program done. Just give me another two minutes.†Kingsley informed her as he said typing furiously with both hands now. “You have one.†She answered. “You don’t have shit! Now die already!†Seis charged for the girl as she stood between Kingsley and him. They crashed together in a fashion similar to two trains. When the two finally struggled into a stable pose they were deadlocked with their fingers intertwined and their full force moving into each other. “It doesn’t matter if you can fight better than me if I can simply hold on to you like this.†The girl smirked. “Like that’d ever happen.†Seis dipped his head for a moment and twisted the girl into a throw in an instant. But she held on and dragged him down with her. They separated as they fell and Seis managed to roll out of it without taking any damage at all. The girl on the other hand slammed into the ground, hard and couldn’t recover fast enough to stop the hand that fixed it’s grip on her throat. “Checkmate.†“Not yet.†She coughed as she struggled to free herself to no avail. Just as it looked as if she would pass out she drove sand and grit into the man’s eyes and tried her best to claw them out. Seis quickly broke his grip and she was free. “Stop wasting your time, take the tester out first.†“Got it.†Seis obeyed as he squinted through his one good eye at Kingsley and made straight for him. Just as the man had almost made it to him the girl blocked him and took the hit for Kingsley. She went flying past him and landed with a thud. She didn’t get up. “Damn it.†Kingsley swore when she fell. He quickly made it to his feet and ran to her. “Why did you take that for me?†“She’s not getting up kid.†“Come on, please work.†Kingsley prayed as he turned over the girl and inserted the drive into the port. The effect was immediate, not only did she get up the girl leapt up and closed the gap between herself and her opponent so fast that n one could react. By the time it had set in that she’d moved she’d already buried her foot in Seis’ chest with a sickening crunch and the shriek of tearing metal. “You--bitch!†He tried to speak but it came out in patchy interference filled phrases broken up by static. As soon as it had started it was over. Seis was clearly unable to fight any longer and Seldon knew it. Just as the girl made to make the final blow Seldon threw himself in from of Seis and stayed her hand. “You win. We won’t bother you ever again alright? If we ever cross paths again you can choose our fate then, but for now I just want to get Seis fixed up and out of danger.†The girl didn’t lower her fists and stared at him blankly. “Let him go.†Kingsley pleaded. “We don’t need to kill them.†“Understood.†She replied, lowering her hand and relaxing her posture. “Now, we’ll be off.†The man in the top hat said as he, with some difficulty, carried off his partner. It was over, and they had one Kingsley thought. He wheezed slightly as he sighed. Until then he hadn’t realized how hard he had been breathing. “Hey.†Kingsley called to the girl. She’d been standing perfectly still since she finished the fight and he was beginning to get worried. “Yes?†She responded almost mechanically, something he’d never seen before. “Are you alright?†“I am fine.†“Lemme get that drive, it still might have some bugs in it so I don’t want it to mess up anything.†With that he staggered to his feet and walked over to where the girl stood, staring at him with half glazed over eyes. He reached for the drive at her back and plucked it from it’s place and almost instantly she stumbled on the verge of collapse and regained her old manner. “What the hell was that?†She asked almost as soon as she regained her senses. “It was a basic berserker program, in order to reduce interference with your systems I essentially had it turn off parts of your brain that it might damage if it was granted access.†He explained. “I don’t want to use that ever again.†She said quickly. “I don’t either. It was short order so I had no other choice, I hope you can forgive me for it.†Kingsley already felt guilty after he’d made the huge deal about not changing her personality through programming. “I’m really sorry.†“We’ll see.†She said pensively. “So, I guess it’s time to head home.†“Yeah, this time do you want me to carry you?†She jested. “No, I’m fine, you did all the heavy lifting here anyways.†“I did, didn’t I?†She agreed, self satisfaction dyeing her words. “Hang on, let me get Dave’s scooter. He won’t like this but I have a feeling it’ll be much worse if I just leave it here.†Kingsley told the girl as he tur “Do what you like.†She answered dispassionately. Kingsley walked back to where the scooter lay in the grass, picked up the dented vehicle gingerly and began walking it back towards where the girl stood waiting. “Thanks for waiting.†He bobbed his head in a sort of awkward makeshift bow. “I just need someone else to deal with the moron.†The girl explained. “That’s very like you.†“It’s how I was programmed.†She answered almost gaily. Kingsley feel silent, thinking. It was how she was programmed and if he did anything wrong he could easily change her into someone else entirely. “Hey, snap out of it.†“Huh?†“You were heading into a wall.†“Oh sorry I was just thinking.†She only giggled in response. He would have been angry but he was too tired to manage it. Instead he lost the filter between his brain and his mouth and started speaking suddenly. “You said human names were no good. So does Eka Rigel Blue work?†“…?†She stared at him silently with a perplexed look on her face. “Eka is German for under and Rigel is the brightest star in Orion. In ‘97 Kasparov faced the smartest artificial intelligence machine before your generation, Deep Blue.†He explained. “You were definitely born under a bright star, as a living computer no less.†“I like it.†She turned her face away from him but he could still sense her smile. Kingsley would had done the same if he didn’t think it would ruin her mood. “That’s good. So would you like to be called Eka or Rigel because the whole thing is a bit long?†He asked. “Rigel.†Replied the girl. “Just Rigel is fine.†Little editing was done and as you probably know I appreciate and accept any legitimate CnC you can offer. Connecting the dots should be easy enough for you clever folks out there.
It's not dead yet, in fact, it's starting to feel better. File 4: Leaving_On_A_Jet_Plane.txt The next day Kingsley woke up sore all over. Not that he’d the right to expect anything different given his behavior the night before. Sensible or not, pain was pain. He didn’t regret a single one of the decisions that led him to it. It was a nice feeling in that respect. He felt like he’d accomplished something of worth. Rigel would probably just laugh at him or call him a dumbass and proceed to explain the great and small errors of his ways again. A right bitch she often was, but Kingsley could do nothing to help but feel a little bad for her. Acting like that without a reason. Thinking and doing everything without a single emotion, inclination, or anything at all. Everything was just a knee jerk reaction controlled by a probability generator that pulled a stock answer out at random essentially to respond to every situation. But she seemed so human at the same time. She seemed aware of that sad limitation to her programming and Kingsley couldn’t stand it. In the short time that he’d been with her he’d felt himself become motivated to work again, to learn and create again like he had in college. All in the pursuit of a single goal: to give her a reason. To make her think he was stupid before telling it to him. He knew he probably couldn’t do it, that he was wrong to try and make a computer into a person, but he couldn’t help but want to. He wanted to say it was for the challenge, he desperately wanted that to be the only reason, but it was because he’d already come to think of her as a human in a sense. One that needed to be taught something like that rather than reprogrammed to begin with. Either way, Kingsley felt he had to make that work for him rather than let it cloud his thoughts. So he crawled feebly out of his bed and dressed himself in his obligatory programmer daywear and hobbled out of his room silently and plopped himself in front of his desktop and turned it on. He cast a glance around the room as he got up to find something to entertain himself as he waited for it to warm up and get moving. Rigel was still sitting against a wall, charging. Dave was out doing god knows who as well so Kingsley felt like he had the house to himself. It was pleasantly quiet that way with neither of his life’s main annoyances was around, but at the same time it made him restless. After the previous night’s events he couldn’t help but want to talk with someone about it. In spite of the pain he felt a kind of frantic energy still twitching about inside of him. Even so, he had no outlet and sat back down and started bouncing his foot up and down almost anxiously. “Just perfect.†He grumbled as he heard soft footsteps behind him. “I heard that.†She replied with a likely unnecessary and affected stretch of her arms over her head. “Put on some real clothes.†Kingsley said without turning to see her. “Come on, I thought you’d like me better this way.†She teased. “I bought clothes for you so you’d wear them like a human.†The young man groused impatiently. She was the one who’d brought up her lack of clothing options in the first place, now she was refusing to wear things that she’d signed off on at the store. “It’s a computer’s right to walk around her own house naked.†Said the girl dismissively. Kingsley frowned and wound up for his response. “Clothes. Now.†“You’re no fun. Sore from your little exploit last night?†She mocked with a spectacular leap over his head and the couch. “I can only assume you’re not.†He replied with dulled irritation in his voice. “Ouch, I tasted the black coffee from here.†She chuckled but not before making a feigned wince. “Are you alright?†Kingsley asked, knowing that taking her seriously would only dig him deeper so he started on a new hole. “Perfectly, now that you’ve deleted that thing.†She responded off handedly as she could given how much she was programmed to act like she hated that thing. “Great ’cause we’re going on a field trip later. Just let me check a few things out first.†He started tapping his fingers on the table impatiently as soon as he’d said this as if he didn’t know it took him no less than fifteen minutes to boot up on a bad day and with his luck today was the day it came. “Details would be pleasant.†She replied in a singsong voice as she started looking over his shoulder at the inert screen. “But half the fun’s in the mystery.†He answered devilishly as he pushed his body between his two computers. “And the other half?†She said, straining to see around him. “Not bothering Kingsley while he works.†He replied distractedly as he remembered he’d crashed his desktop the day before trying to work on Rigel’s first program and that meant it wouldn‘t be making any sudden moves soon. So he shut off the power and lumbered over to his laptop on the coffee table between the couch and the television. He’d ended up deleting the program anyways so that just irritated him all the more. He sat himself down again and tried to power up his laptop before realizing the battery was dead. It was not his day at all. For once he was right about something. While he went to go look for a power cable Rigel started to ignore him and turned on the television for her daily dose of “humanity exploration†as she called it. She wasn’t going to start saying she learned much about human interactions from television but she did say she’d learn about demographics and culture from it. Advertisements, time slots, ratings, subject matter and dialogue all led to conclusions to be drawn and observed. And with him sitting in front of the couch she was just in range to kick him in the head if she had a demand for him. He sighed and tried to keep his head down as the laptop screen lit up against backdrop of the television screen. “How are we getting to Japan?†Rigel asked suddenly as Kingsley waited for his computer to boot up on the coffee table across from her. “Who said we’re going to Japan?†Kingsley answered with incredulity. “I heard from the other two, that’s where everyone who has a tester is going.†She replied bluntly as she walked around him to pick up the television remote and begin her daily ritual of flipping through the channels until either Dave got home or she found a bug to follow. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can go there with you. I can’t even afford to buy a one way plane ticket there much less to all of the other places we need to go on the way.†Kingsley finally said after a moment’s internal struggle, if she knew there was no point in hiding it from her anyways and lying about it would only make her angry. Act angry, he corrected himself. “So you did know.†She chuckled without looking at him. She stopped momentarily on the golf channel, then frowned and continued around the wheel. “I just figured there was no way to do it so I’d figure something out when Synchron came looking for you.†Kingsley explained from his computer, he was in the process of decompiling the berserk program and rearranging it into a usable fighting program in case others like Seis and Seldon appeared. “You’re really stupid.†Rigel commented as she watch two mountain goats bash their heads together. “Yeah I know, I should have told you so that you could have come up with a brilliant plan to get us there so we could win the race and feel ever so great about ourselves.†Kingsley retorted sarcastically. “You should have told me because it was pertinent information whether the two of us can do anything about it or not. We’re a team right?†She said softly. “Sorry.†He apologized in spite of the knowledge that she was jerking him around. “There’s no need for “sorryâ€â€™s, just actions.†She corrected him knowingly. “Well, there’s no course of action I can take given these circumstances. I really wish I could do something about it, but even if we work together nothing short of a miracle is gonna drop enough funding on us to head over to every branch of Synchron.†Kingsley replied defeat in his voice. “Aren’t I a miracle of modern science?†She asked shaking her head at him. “That’s not what I--†He began helplessly. It was back to normal, he couldn’t stand up to her at all when it came to conversations. “Don’t make yourself look any stupider, I’ve got a plan.†She said confidently as she tossed aside the remote and advanced on Kingsley. “What is it then?†He shuffled back slightly when she got almost close enough for him to see up her new skirt and let her bend down to look him in the face. “It’s a secret.†Rigel replied with a flirtatious grin that Kingsley knew meant nothing but trouble. ----- “Who’re we going to meet?†Rigel asked curiously. It wasn’t often that she had genuine interest, or at least the illusion of it, in anything so Kingsley was going to hold onto that as long as he could. The two of them were outside what seemed to be the rattiest and most run down loft within city limits so it was no wonder questions would arise, though it was only a secluded genius or a penniless vagabond who would voluntarily live in a place like this. So, Kingsley was betting that things hadn’t changed a bit. “Harlan, an old friend from MIT, if anyone qualified as a real genius back then, it was him. He does mostly contracting for the government and odd jobs now. These flash drives that came with you are pretty odd, so I’m taking one to him to see if he can make a new one that can hold one of your programs in full. Last time I just switched the program out with one of your default ones and ended up fucking up my desktop when I was moving everything back so I need more room to store everything permanently and you to get more programs in if we‘re actually gonna do this.†He explained as they climbed the rusty stairs. “I see.†Was this the first time she’d used fewer than enough words to insult him somehow? He quickly discarded the thought and focused on the heavy metal door he was knocking on. When Harlan opened the door Kingsley noticed the inside didn’t look much better than the outside but entered with a smile all the same. “Hey, Harlan, sorry to be a bother--†“Shut up with the apologizing for everything. I mean I know I’m a little older but that’s really no reason to act so reverently.†Said the incongruously clean and tough looking man that answered. He had a slightly grizzled look about him and the physique of a man who takes pride in--well-- his physique. His short dirty blonde hair and tan completed his absolute antithesis to Kingsley’s appearance. “I act this way with everyone, don’t overestimate yourself.†The smaller man said with a quick handshake before pushing his way deeper into the almost revolting building. “Ow. Harsh man. Harsh.†Harlan laughed boisterously. At least it seemed he hadn’t changed with the years. “Whatever. I have a job for you.†Kingsley replied with a smile. He simultaneously produced one of the flash drives that came with Rigel form his left pocket and dropped it into Harlan’s hand. It was instantly clear why Kingsley chose him when the man hopped over to his workstation filled with monitors and wires and computer parts in shipping boxes. “It must be pretty heavy stuff if you can’t do it.†Harlan commented as he took a closer look at the device as if the outside would give him a sense of it. “It is. I need you to make a replica of that.†Kingsley informed him. “Hm. Come back in a week, I’ll have it done.†Harlan said as he inserted it into one of more than twenty seven USB ports. “Don’t get so overconfident, I’ve checked the specs, that thing has more than a terabyte of memory.†The slightly younger man said with a half joking tone. “That’s nothing to worry about, if it runs on electricity, it might as well be my own life and limb.†His friend replied as simply as if he meant it. “There he goes again.†Kingsley said to himself. “By the way, who’s the chick?†Harlan asked as he tied a bandanna across his forehead to prevent his notoriously prodigious sweat glands from dropping anything all over his equipment. “Rigel.†She replied, making her presence significant for the first time since her question had been answered. “You’re pretty. What’s with you and Kingsley, huh?†Harlan joked playfully. “It’s like a master and servant type of thing.†She said with a contemplative grin. “I knew you were a submissive guy but--†Harlan answered after closing his mouth that had hung open in surprise just long enough to prove he believed her. “Don’t believe her! And where did you get that idea?†He said trying to make both of them stop their unified chorus of laughter only to make it worse. After what felt like at least five minutes of straight laughing at his expense Kingsley got the answer he‘d been hoping for. “Well, it seems I’ve got some work to do so everybody out.†Harlan said, still giggling a bit under his words. “Seeya in a week.†Kingsley replied as he dragged Rigel out behind him. “Then.†Harlan replied as he returned to his work with a grin plastered all over his face. ----- Nearly a week later Rigel handed Kingsley something that he at once understood and didn’t comprehend. By the time it was only one of the above, he felt like his life had changed more than when he first opened that cardboard box on that unspectacular day not too long before. “What is this?†The slightly bemused boy asked his robotic companion when she shoved a paper in his face and left it there with no indication of moving it away. “I wrote an essay on Rossum’s Universal Robots with my degree in Russian literature as a guide to writing about writing and a Czech dictionary to get myself through the work itself and turned it into some weird online literary mag that was running a contest.†She held the paper a little farther from Kingsley’s face so he could read it. He took hold of it out of habit rather than necessity, her hands were steady as mechanical servos. “This, the prize for it, is a trip to St. Petersburg. It’s not where I’d like to go but the European branches are in Germany and the UK respectively so it’s a hell of a lot closer than we are now.†“I’m still not clear on how we’re getting from St. Petersburg to London?†He said, pushing the paper back into her hands. It was a record of the contest prize, the tickets, and it said she’d receive them within five to ten business days. “No idea, but I figure we could bum rides through at least part of the mainland and since it’s summer--†She answered with her usual breezy, carefree tone. It was not only irritating now but infuriating to a certain degree. “Do you think?†Kingsley said slowly, just barely holding down his emotions and keeping himself under control. “Of course I do. I didn’t--†“No, that was stupid of me to ask because you think a lotâ€, he paused, “about yourself. Do you expect me to just quit my job and run off to St. Petersburg in the middle of the year to get something that I don‘t even have a clear idea about?†“Yeah, it’s probably worth more than your yearly earnings--†The girl replied dismissively. “And what if it isn’t? What if I don’t win? I hand you back over to Synchron and your troubles are over. But what about me? I don’t have anything to fall back on, I’m barely making ends meet as it is and you expect me to just do whatever you want me to like some mindless puppet. I’m really sorry that I can’t help you, but that’s how things are.†He drew a palm to his forehead and run it through his hair as he rested his elbow on his desk, thinking. “So it’s okay for you to only think of yourself because I don’t have as much time out here to worry about not getting what I want?†She responded, slightly irritably. “Yes. Whatever you get or don’t, you’re still getting deactivated or commissioned over again to do something else anyways. You’ve got nothing to gain from this in the grander scheme of things, whereas I‘ve got everything to lose. I’ve been sympathetic so far, but if anyone pushed me like this I’d say the same to them, it‘s nothing personal.†He lied. If it was anyone else he wouldn’t have put up with as much shit as she’d given him. That’s why it killed him to say it. “Bull. Shit.†She remarked acidly. There was a moment of silence Kingsley wanted to use to get in another apology, but Rigel kept going. “Then this is where we part ways. I’ll take whatever you have done with the programming and make do on my own. You’re not worth the extra time to begin with and I can always find another tester.†“I can get Harlan to do it for you. He’s better than me and he freelances his services worldwide anyways.†Kingsley said hollowly. His life had become… amazing when she’d entered it. He’d seen the other side and going back was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever do. “You can’t seem to be totally cold to even those you hate, can you?†She spat, still programmed to be angry over his betrayal. Understandable. “I don’t hate you. I really am sorry that I couldn’t do more, but if this is what gets you what you want then I’ll do what I can for you.†“You’re an idiot, acting all noble even though you know it won’t change my opinion of you or anything.†Over anything else, she’d have hit him square across the head by now and they’d go into separate rooms to cool off. But this time she just got more and more spiteful the longer it kept going. So he ended it. “You feel, so it doesn’t matter anyways.†“Now that isn’t like you.†Kingsley stopped. She didn’t sound hurt, no she was totally emotionless. But at the same time it felt like there was something more to it than just that. “How isn’t it? I’m stingy all the time?†He scoffed, suddenly on the verge of laughter for some reason. He wasn’t the only one surprised by it and he wasn’t the only one who hid it. “That’s not the point.†She said. “I always have to correct you about that. You always say things that sound like I have feelings.†“Maybe I just got the message.†“Then I’m better off without you.†She snorted. She turned away from him and walked out, picking up everything she needed along the way. Seconds after she’d started her trek, she was gone. “Message received.†Kingsley answered softly with his head in his hands. Comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated. I may have forgotten what they look like, but I'll try not to miss yours.
