This choice: to call Olivia to help her debug the android. • Go Back... Olivia was just wrapping up her last ticket handoff when she got a DM from Brooke.
[Hey, want to come over tonight and hang out?]
<Um… sure>
[You want a ride or ?]
<Yeah meet me in the lobby in 5>
[👌]
It had not escaped Olivia’s notice that her childhood friend had put on a few pounds over the past few years. It seemed however that she’d been growing faster than ever these past few weeks. Olivia had known for years that she was sexually attracted to women, though she never thought about her best friend in “that way.” But the way Brooke’s suit skirt stretched and puckered over her lower belly was a sight Olivia was finding herself fascinated by for reasons unclear even to herself.
“Ready?” The taller, rounder woman asked with half a grin.
“Yup!”
As they drove across town back to the subdivision containing House Wider, Broke and Olivia talked shop, and shared office gossip. Pulling on to their street, Brooke adopted a serious tone.
“So, I didn’t invite you over just to hang.”
Olivia’s mind twitched. “O… kay…”
“I have this work thing I need your help with.”
“What, at home?”
“Yeah, so… remember that product testing program I signed up for a while back?”
***
“Woah, this is amazing Brooke!” The shorter dark haired girl walked slow circles around Mary, while the android stood smiling in a polite way that was almost unsettling.
“She looks so real, aside from the seam lines on her dermal layer…” Olivia held up a finger toward Mary’s cheek, not daring to touch the device.
“What can it do?”
Before Brooke could answer, Mary began talking in her friendly but emotionless voice.
“I’m the latest and greatest in DynaCorp’s long line of stellar high-end products! As a personal android I’m capable of all sorts of things, from basic household chores like cleaning and cooking, I can help with taking care of both pets and young children, can help in any office setting, and can even access the internet so long as there is a WiFi signal nearby to update and learn new things for any and all of Miss Brooke and Miss Mikayla’s needs!”
Olivia blinked a few times, staring up at the android’s lifelike face.
“That’s uh… quite a speech.”
Mary smiled at their guest. “Thank you. May I have your name?”
“Sure it’s um, Olivia.”
“Hello Olivia. Welcome to our home.” The android looked up to Brooke.
“Miss Brooke, would you and Olivia like some snacks?”
“Uh, sure Mary, that’d be great.”
Mary went into the kitchen, and Olivia turned on her friend. “Wow Brooke she’s so life-like!”
“I know.”
“I mean, the voice sounds a lot like Siri or Alexa, you know, not quite ‘human’ but considering the chassis and whatever R&D did to make skin and eyes like that…”
“I think Mikayla sometimes forgets she’s not a person.”
Liv chuckled at that. “So what did you want my help with?”
“Well… this is gonna seem weird.”
Olivia arched an eyebrow.
“I can’t get her to make healthy food.” Brooke looked down and to the left in embarrassment.
“Since when are you trying to eat healthy?”
“Oh don’t give me that look you bitch. I’m supposed to be stress-testing it. And I think I’ve put on a pound or two with Mary doing all the house chores…”
Olivia’s eyes darted unbidden over her best friend’s body, noticing the slight muffin of shirt-clad flesh over her high-waisted skirt. She said nothing.
“Did you try asking it specifically for healthy food?”
“I mean, sort of…?”
“Alright, let’s do some tests.”
The girls crossed into the kitchen and sat. Olivia watched the tall android assemble a plate of cheese cubes and cured sausages. When she deposited the plate on the table, Olivia asked,
“Mary, may I have a healthy snack?”
Mary looked to Brooke for confirmation, who nodded.
The android returned to the counter and put together a plate of pita wedges and hummus. Chocolate hummus. Putting a bite in her mouth Olivia was pretty sure there was more Nutella than chickpea in the dark brown dip.
“Can I have some celery, Mary?”
“I’m sorry Olivia, we have no celery.”
“What about some tea?”
After Brooke confirmed, Mary poured Olivia a tall glass of sweet tea.
“She does seem to be interpreting orders with a particular bias…” Olivia observed. “Mary… do you have a remote access portal?”
“I do, Olivia.” The android turned to Brooke again. “Miss Brooke, would you like me to add Olivia to my Users list?”
“Yeah. Liv go stand in front of it so she can scan you.”
Olivia stood from the table and stepped up to the aneroid again. Mary stood more than a head taller than the birdy girl, and it was a little intimidating now that she’d been interacting with the android. The machine’s brilliant dark gold eyes scanned Olivia.
“You have to say your name and age.” Brooke instructed.
“Oh, sorry. Olivia Keever, age twenty-six.”
Mary’s eyes closed for several seconds, then reopened.
“May I see your smartphone, Olivia?”
Olivia hesitated for several moments.
“I’m sure if she bricks your phone or something DC will replace it.” Brooke offered ‘helpfully.’
Reluctantly, Olivia handed the android her phone. The last joint of Mary’s pinkie finger swung open to reveal a usb connector, which she plugged into the smartphone. A few seconds later Olivia got her phone back. She had a new app just called “MARY.”
“Oh nice, this shows me all the decision trees her CPU goes through when she processes a request.” Olivia said, tapping through menus in the app.
The two friends spent some time experimenting with the android, while absent-mindedly munching on snacks.
After a couple hours…   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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