Chapter 4
About a year later, as the disturbing elements of the puzzle were
fitting together we would start alpha testing. In alpha testing the
development team would get a prototype droid to use in the office to
test for glitches and bugs that were left uncaught earlier in
development. The thing seemed “happy” to do some of the cleaning
work around the office, getting us coffee and me sodas (for I never
got the stereotypical taste for coffee) and would sometimes talk to
us in the staff room and would make appearances at the meetings to
see how its progressing. As it was an alpha test there were bugs and
glitches and the dam thing would have to had been restarted and
dismantled multiple times in finding the bug.
The HX01 looked like any of our other droids: it was made of iron, it
had six legs two of which would be used for gripping things, its
torso was a square block, and it had black patches along it which
where optic sensors. The thing would talk, and we could talk to it.
It sounded all cute and that with its unisex robotic voice, asking
rather simpleton questions like “How you doing?” “Can I help
you further?” and would complement us for doing things or on slight
variations on our behaviour. In a meeting I mentioned how annoying
this was.
“I think its cute,” Devon said at the meeting, “That it would
talk to you like that, on its own.”
“I agree with Miss butch here,” Philip piped in, “Who wants a
nagging droid? Most of us wouldn't tolerate that type of behaviour
from an actual woman.”
“Who did you last date Phil, Lara Croft?” I said to him, then
turned my attention back to the boardroom, “but alas, he has a
point, as crude and sexually harassing as his statement was.”
“Maybe its too stupid,” Devon added in, “Gordon, Shannon, make
them smarter.”
“I think the solution might be to make the things silent until they
have something to say,” I shot back at Devon, “In that they only
speak if spoken to, or if there is an emergency of some description.”
“Course,” Phil replied, “By the way, last week I dated an
actual woman.”
“How much did she cost?” I asked rudely.
“Funny,” Philip responded.
Wait next week for Chapter 5
Wait next week for Chapter 5
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