Fan Fiction ❯ Love In Binary ❯ Awaken a new life ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Hiroshi stood in the particle shower, feeling the waves of energy running over his body and stripping the dirt from his skin. Particle showers included no water these days, they blasted a sentient with high frequency energy waves that caused any dirt to flake away and drain out of the bottom. They were much more hygienic than those ancient water spraying things, and actually rather sensual. The energy waves were generated at such a pitch that they were halted by the upper layers of dead skin meaning there was no risk of radiation poisoning or cancer, and also it meant that your skin heated up slowly and the heat gradually seeped into the rest of the bathers body. They tended to have a great relaxing ability. Hiroshi could feel his tension drain away along with the remnants of bird excrement. He stood in the little cubicle for a while, wondering what was on the data stick and he decided that when he finished he would make a big effort to thank these people for their help and hospitality. The medical facility in the shower kicked in and a green scanning light ran over his exposed shape. When it had completed the analysis, the energy frequency adjusted slightly and it began to decompose the roach venom in his system. The itching began to fade and was quickly gone as the swollen puncture wounds began to ooze the now inactive poison. This was also removed by the gentle energy caressing Hiroshi. It fell into the bottom of the cubicle and was washed away. The fresh feeling human turned the machine off and stepped into the bathroom to replace his clothing. It was very kind of Ms Koriani to let him use the bathroom so he would go out and be bright and cheerful and try to turn around his former rudeness. He exited the bathroom and stood happily in the middle of the living room."Thankyou very much for allowing me to use your shower and for giving me some assistance with the data stick. I am very grateful." he announced to the pair staring at the computer screen. When he got no answer he looked a little puzzled but moved closer to them and tried again."Excuse me? Er..... I was just saying how grateful I am for all the help you're giving me. I really appreciate it."Still nothing. He moved even closer and tapped Sakura on the shoulder. She leapt from her seat and moved close to him."Do you even know what this is?" she demanded. Hiroshi was taken by surprise."I..... I was hoping you could tell me.""What's your name?" she questioned."Um.... Hiroshi Sekato. And you are?""I'm Sakura Koriani and this is my brother Masahiro." she informed him. Masahiro looked up and nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to the computer."Well.... it's very nice to meet you both. Have you found out what the data stick is?" he said cautiously."Well it's a little complex. Do you know what true A.I is?""Er.... isn't it a machine that's self aware?""No no no, that's just A.I. TRUE A.I is a machine that is self aware, able to recognise and associate things, and most importantly, it can feel emotion. Masahiro and I are some of the many people desperately searching for the programming for all three of these traits. Masahiro and I have two. YOU my geeky friend, have the final piece of coding we need to create the galaxy's first true A.I. This is one of the biggest discoveries in the history of mankind. So we want to buy this data stick off you for a large amount of money. You'll be rich and we'll be famous. What do you say?"Hiroshi's jaw dropped. Am I actually going to be rich? he thought to himself. This is the offer of a lifetime. I'll take it! But something stopped him. He thought about what Corbad Talu had told him. 'You will search for someone to help you. But you do seem to have the kind of curiosity which means you won't just sell it on and be done. Perfect....' The old alien had clearly meant for him to be a part of whatever happened next and not just take the money immediately. At least not initially. He would have to hang around and see how it would pan out. Maybe he would get them to construct the A.I but give it to him afterwards."Well.... that's very generous of you but I want something else too. I'll let you put it into your robot but I want to be a part of this thing. I want to see how it all turns out, not just sell you the data stick and be done with it. Agreed?"Sakura jumped up and marched over to him."What do you mean 'you want to be a part of this'?" she demanded "Do you understand how much money we're offering you Mr Sekato?"Hiroshi nodded his head."I understand what you are offering but I still want to be around for all of this. Are we really talking about A.I?"The woman rolled her eyes and started on him again."Yes of course! But how come you want to hang around. You'll just get in the way, why can't you take the money and leave?" "Let him stay."The two of them looked at Masahiro. The kid had spoken up, they may as well hear his opinion."Sakura, how excited about this are you right now?" he asked."More than I've ever been Masahiro, you know that.""Then isn't it reasonable for Mr Sekato.....""Call me Hiroshi." said Hiroshi."Hiroshi....." he continued "to feel just as excited as we are? This is a big moment so if it's ok by you then I'd like to let him stay."Sakura looked unhappy with the arrangement but kept it to herself and stuck out her hand towards Hiroshi who shook it."Thankyou both." Hiroshi said "I really appreciate it. So when can you construct this A.I of yours?""We can put it in right now can't we?" Masahiro asked Sakura. She nodded."We'll pay you after we put the coding into the machine. Not before, alright" she ordered. Hiroshi nodded and decided to be generous to show good faith."Since I'm not going to outright give it to you then I only expect you to pay me half of what you would otherwise."The woman gave a short, sharp laugh."Well at least he has a nice side to him, eh Masahiro?""Indeed. Shall we get started?""Yes lets."The trio walked into the garage. It was dark and Hiroshi couldn't see anything until the lights were turned on to reveal a sleek shape on the work bench. He walked over and stared at it in amazement. The machine looked astoundingly high-tech, like something from a good sci-fi movie, yet still basically human. That was what it was designed to imitate he supposed, but it was still strange how it seemed to achieve its goal even before being switched on. In the dimly lit room it resembled a corpse, a skeletal thing, like something that had once been human and now was not. It was quite scary to see. The siblings took their places either side of the android and began uploading the data. Once that was complete they lifted it into an unusual device to one side of the room that Hiroshi hadn't noticed before. It was a large metal cylinder lying on it's side. The top was open and there was a control panel on one side but apart from that there seemed to be no other features. The young humans sealed the android in and touched some controls. A thin light shone from the gap where the lid was closed, running back and forth, back and forth. All Hiroshi could do was look on, fascinated."What's going on?" he whispered to the child beside him, his eyes never leaving the device."It's being coated with skin. It should look human afterwards but I can't give you exact details. The computer in the machine decides what sort of form is best appropriate to fit the android's metal frame. It could come out looking like anyone."Hiroshi couldn't help wondering what it would look like when it came out of the cylinder. More light streamed out from the coating device and then stopped abruptly. There was a quiet hiss as the lid opened gently. The trio held their breath. And then it arose. She had long, red hair right down the the small of her back, a young, pretty face, had an amazingly cute body and was looking right at Hiroshi. The siblings almost had tears in their eyes."It worked!" cried Sakura, her mouth wide open in a smile. "It worked. We have the galaxy's first true A.I!"Converting /tmp/phpvuouK3 to /dev/stdout