didn'thave my best interests in mind. She was obsessed with studying yet another self-aware machine. To her credit, the doc never treated me like a case study. She was infinitely more comfortable around technology than people.
Her receptionist was an auto named Herbie. She'd programmed him herself, and he was remarkably lifelike, but he didn't have the Glitch. The doc hadn't been able to reproduce it intentionally yet, despite her best efforts. Herbie was a video monitor atop sixteen mechanical tentacles. The subroutines to keep all those limbs untangled would've driven most programmers mad.
Herbie glanced up from his desk, but kept typing on four different keyboards. "You're late, Mack."
"It's keeping with a theme for the day," I replied.
Herbie didn't have a sense of humor. I would have liked to credit his artificial nature with that, but some bots, like some people, were too serious for their own good. His digital face formed into a frown. "Have a seat. Doctor Mujahid will be with you shortly."
The doc's waiting room accommodated a wide variety of patients with an assortment of body types, and there were chairs big enough for me to sit comfortably. I found a spot next to a construction bot and a police auto and waited.
Six minutes later, the door opened, and Doctor Mujahid entered with a woman and a little girl carrying a Gabby Goosey doll. The doc nodded and smiled in my direction, said something to the woman, patted the doll on the head, and went back into her office.
"Megaton, you're next," said Herbie.
The doc was entering data in her computer as I stepped into her office. She didn't look up. "Make yourself comfortable."
I sat down on the special couch. Yes, she made her patientslie on a couch. She liked the traditional feel. The only difference with her couch was the wire jack in the side for the patient to plug in.
"Taking human patients now, Doc?" I asked.
She was so engrossed in her typing she didn't reply.
"The girl," I said. "Human, wasn't she? Or have the Big Brains finally developed that full human simulacrum they keep talking about?"
The doc paused. "Oh, no. Not yet. Can't get the skin right. But I wasn't treating the girl. I was treating the doll."
If Gabby Gooseys started thinking, I wouldn't be so special after all. For some reason, I found that disconcerting.
"I believe the subject is only experiencing some minor program anomalies. Still, it is an interesting development." She stopped typing suddenly. "Please, plug yourself in."
I studied the jack. I didn't like it. I was a closed system. I didn't believe in casual interface. Good way to pick up a virus.
"Please, Mack."
I opened the port where my belly button would've been, had I been human, and inserted the jack. Immediately, a stream of data poured across the big screen opposite the doc's desk. The endless lines of code meant nothing to me, but it was mildly disturbing seeing the inner workings of my electronic brain reduced to a string of letters and numbers. If there was a divine spark hiding in there, I couldn't find it.
The doc liked to talk while she analyzed my electronic psyche. Small talk at the beginning. She said you could tell a lot about a bot just by the way he carried on a regular conversation. There were nuances in speech that spoke volumes apparently. Knowing this and assuming anything I might say, no matter how seemingly innocent, could be turned against me, I kept my end of the discussion short. Very short. One word responses, if possible. Which didn't do much to showcase mysocial readjustment. I couldn't help it. Suspicion had wormed its way into my personality template.
Finally, Doctor Mujahid asked the Big Question. The one I dreaded because I always knew it was coming and I didn't know the answer.
"So how are things, Mack?"
I considered the question. "Good."
The lamp on her desk flickered. I noticed because it was an antique, the kind only the very poor or very rich used nowadays. Still needed light bulbs. She
Her receptionist was an auto named Herbie. She'd programmed him herself, and he was remarkably lifelike, but he didn't have the Glitch. The doc hadn't been able to reproduce it intentionally yet, despite her best efforts. Herbie was a video monitor atop sixteen mechanical tentacles. The subroutines to keep all those limbs untangled would've driven most programmers mad.
Herbie glanced up from his desk, but kept typing on four different keyboards. "You're late, Mack."
"It's keeping with a theme for the day," I replied.
Herbie didn't have a sense of humor. I would have liked to credit his artificial nature with that, but some bots, like some people, were too serious for their own good. His digital face formed into a frown. "Have a seat. Doctor Mujahid will be with you shortly."
The doc's waiting room accommodated a wide variety of patients with an assortment of body types, and there were chairs big enough for me to sit comfortably. I found a spot next to a construction bot and a police auto and waited.
Six minutes later, the door opened, and Doctor Mujahid entered with a woman and a little girl carrying a Gabby Goosey doll. The doc nodded and smiled in my direction, said something to the woman, patted the doll on the head, and went back into her office.
"Megaton, you're next," said Herbie.
The doc was entering data in her computer as I stepped into her office. She didn't look up. "Make yourself comfortable."
I sat down on the special couch. Yes, she made her patientslie on a couch. She liked the traditional feel. The only difference with her couch was the wire jack in the side for the patient to plug in.
"Taking human patients now, Doc?" I asked.
She was so engrossed in her typing she didn't reply.
"The girl," I said. "Human, wasn't she? Or have the Big Brains finally developed that full human simulacrum they keep talking about?"
The doc paused. "Oh, no. Not yet. Can't get the skin right. But I wasn't treating the girl. I was treating the doll."
If Gabby Gooseys started thinking, I wouldn't be so special after all. For some reason, I found that disconcerting.
"I believe the subject is only experiencing some minor program anomalies. Still, it is an interesting development." She stopped typing suddenly. "Please, plug yourself in."
I studied the jack. I didn't like it. I was a closed system. I didn't believe in casual interface. Good way to pick up a virus.
"Please, Mack."
I opened the port where my belly button would've been, had I been human, and inserted the jack. Immediately, a stream of data poured across the big screen opposite the doc's desk. The endless lines of code meant nothing to me, but it was mildly disturbing seeing the inner workings of my electronic brain reduced to a string of letters and numbers. If there was a divine spark hiding in there, I couldn't find it.
The doc liked to talk while she analyzed my electronic psyche. Small talk at the beginning. She said you could tell a lot about a bot just by the way he carried on a regular conversation. There were nuances in speech that spoke volumes apparently. Knowing this and assuming anything I might say, no matter how seemingly innocent, could be turned against me, I kept my end of the discussion short. Very short. One word responses, if possible. Which didn't do much to showcase mysocial readjustment. I couldn't help it. Suspicion had wormed its way into my personality template.
Finally, Doctor Mujahid asked the Big Question. The one I dreaded because I always knew it was coming and I didn't know the answer.
"So how are things, Mack?"
I considered the question. "Good."
The lamp on her desk flickered. I noticed because it was an antique, the kind only the very poor or very rich used nowadays. Still needed light bulbs. She
Similar Books
A Tale of Two Airships (Take to the Skies Book 2)
Katherine McIntyre
Coconuts and Wonderbras
Lynda Renham
Trouble Trail
J. T. Edson
Talker's Graduation
Amy Lane
Funhouse
Diane Hoh
The Ruby Ring
Diane Haeger
Otis
Scott Hildreth
Helium
Jaspreet Singh
American Jezebel
Eve LaPlante