Machinations

[Lillian Gray]

Machinations​

A one x one between Lillian Gray and khaleeb​

In the future, the human race developed a way of making life easier - automation. Not just any sort of automation, robotic, intelligent, and humanoid. In a time of great debate over the use of such machines, there is one girl who keeps a secret from the rest of the world. Her android, molded and crafted from her own hands, has a mind. He thinks, breathes, and loves. He doesn't always understand what it means, but she fully knows that the discovery of such a machine could mean the difference of life and death for the entire automaton race. Some would seek to have her android destroyed, but what they don't know is that there are more, more deadly minds in these robots.​

 

[Lillian Gray]

Name: Annie Redd

Spoiler

Age: 21
Height: 5'6"
Hair Color: Blonde with dark brown streaks on the bottom half.
Eye Color: Blue

Personality: A total gear head. The girl has a bit of an overactive imagination, and takes on projects larger than she can handle. Her go to personality is what gets her through many situations.

History/Bio: Annie grew up in a household of boys, and by the trade of her family she learned the ways of the mechanic. She is the youngest of five children, the other four being all of her older brothers. Their mother left after Annie was born, leaving little influence for femininity. Her skills with the automaton sector of mechanics soared beyond that of her brothers, and she made good money fixing the machines for local residents. As well as doing repairs, Annie works with a major company which mass produces androids for household use. The company (to be named) has a large monopoly in the android market.

When Annie was only twelve, her eldest brother Max left a machine running in their shop used to bend and fold large metal pieces. Her leg was crushed in the machine, resulting in an amputation. In place of the leg she lost, Annie opted for a prosthetic instead. Max is a prosthetic master when it comes to the trade, and he's the only man she trusts to have fix her leg.

Other: The brothers

• Maxwell (Max) 28
• Harrison (Harry) 26
• Russell 25
• Hunter 22

 

[khaleeb]

H.A.R.L.I.E
(Human Analog Robot Life Input Equivalent)

Visual age: 24
Hair Color: Dark Blonde
Eyes: Blue

Personality: Topic debatable. H.A.R.L.I.E exhibits signs of compassion for human life, protective over creator and shows high aptitude for human emotion and curiosity.​

Bio/History: H.A.R.L.I.E's creator invented him as a means of helping out. He never began as a normal android and he forgets it as Annie tries everything in her power to keep the outside world from discovering his true self. He learns about human emotions through careful monitoring of Annie's day to day interactions with people. While he may not be able to set foot out in the real world (much to his burning desires) he does what he can with books and odd trinkets his finds.
​

Other:
Creator: Annie Redd
​

 

[Lillian Gray]

Humans understand it, react to it, are molded so strongly by the very thing which makes them human. Emotion. The definition is belittled after each passing year with the coming technology. Robots, androids, by whatever name they're called, make no mistake of their use. The last barrier which stands between man and machine is the simplest things. When a soldier returns to his family and they cry tears of joy, or when an elder passes among friends, the somber air of finality. These things make humans human. A machine will never understand something so curious as jealousy or sorrow.

Annie Redd didn't know where to draw the line any more.

She glanced up at the clock above her work bench. Two steely hands told her it was well past three in the morning. Her eyes had stopped working hours ago in the dimly lit space, but her hands never quit. They toyed and hammered against a small broken bot. Just a little thing of her own design, it picked up small screws and placed them in a bucket for her. It didn't have a name, just the simple purpose.

The girl sighed, and while her hands may have wanted to screw her to the desk to continue, she wouldn't let the gearhead inside her take over once again. She slowly stood and groaned as she shifted weight from sitting to standing on one precious leg and the other, made of cogs and gears of her brother's design. It cut off just above the knee and covered the surgical scars from the incident form years past.

"Harley?" Annie rubbed the sleep from her eyes as best she could, calling to the robot of her design. The Human Analog Robot Life Input Equivalent, or H.A.R.L.I.E. for short. There was no other like him in existence. A first and last model at all times. Blue eyes searched for the machine in the dark, wondering if he had powered down or wandered off.

With no immediate response, Annie gave up and headed out of the shop. It didn't connect so well with the rest of the house. In order to get back inside, she had to shut down the shop, lock up, and walk around the side in order to meet the front door again. None of the Redd's had bothered to install a door from the shop to their home, it was a hassle they could live with, sleeping soundly knowing they wouldn't have to deal with an intruder finding one space from the other.

"I'm going now Harley." She called into the shop. The girl let out a yawn and stretched her arms into the air with a sigh. "If you're in there, you'd better come out now before I-" Annie yawned loudly. "-lock you in."

 

[khaleeb]

Everything was just so…spectacular. Harley's programming marveled at every little detail of life and today, it had been captured by several dusty volumes about science he had found supporting a table. His mind whirred at the intake of new information. Tortoise. Amphibians. Galapagos Islands. Darwin. The whole idea of a primate evolving into what modern representation of man there was….was simply fascinating. Harley thumbed through the pages of the book rather quickly, his pupils moving back and forth across the page with speed. Every piece of information was carefully stored in his mainframe. Recall, at a later time, would be simple.

He snapped the book shut and carefully pushed it towards the table he had pulled it from, lifting the crooked frame to stuff it back in. Harley smiled to himself as he stood straight and dusted himself off. Today (or rather this particular rotation of the sun—days were arbitrary to a being who did not sleep) was quiet and the only thing he had ventured to do was follow his creator about up until his curiosity pushed him to explore. Annie was occupied with her mechanics—Harley had always thought to offer to help; there wasn't a whole lot he couldn't do when it came to assembling things and the math was simple, but she seemed to enjoy doing it. That was something he was still working to understand—enjoyment. Harley knew it was easier to keep himself with things that he was familiar with (most of which revolved around learning and small creatures he stumbled upon) but he had yet to grasp the concept. The definition was purely information but he could not put the feeling to it.

It bothered him that he struggled to identify with it but Annie had told him once to be patient with things he was not familiar with. Eager to please his creator, he did just that.

"Everything takes time." He cooed to himself under his breath, hearing the clank of metal from somewhere behind him in the workshop. Usually the increased noise meant she was almost finished. Harley's time was limited. He ended up shuffling quietly out to where Annie was tucked away doing her work. He remained in the shadows, merely watching her slumped form piece together something from nothing. He had once been a box of spare parts, this much he knew, but part of him wondered how Annie had been able to conjure up such a range of "feelings" for him. As far as his research on the matter was concerned, his existence was paradoxical.

His name sounded off and he was pulled from his thoughts once more. "Yes?" He said calmly, shuffling from where he stood to stand near her. He nodded slightly at her words. "You appear exhausted. 8 hours of sleep is recommended for maintaining homeostasis within the body." His head tilted lightly. "Unless you plan to sleep until the afternoon?" He was always particularly bored when she did that, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Humans were stubborn. Annie was incredibly stubborn.​

 

[Lillian Gray]

"Maybe, wait, no Harley." Annie moaned. "I have to be up to deliver a bot to Mr. Wurther at seven."

She pressed her head against the flat wooden shop door. Standing there felt like it would push back time a little, put it on pause so she could rest her eyes for a new day. Harley was always right, she needed more sleep. The bags under her eyes looked thick and bruised from the days she'd spent awake, working. It was typical of her after all. Annie, the little worker bee of the family. Even her brothers preferred to stay far from the shop when she was inside, fearing she'd drag them into her work.

"And Max is gonna look at my leg again. The knee is sticking again." Annie pulled herself from the door and tapped Harley on the back, her flesh hitting the familiar silicone material of his artificial skin. That was the nice thing about modern androids. They looked so human, a person could almost forget they weren't real people.

Wait, no, he's real, he's just not...not. Not what?

The blood in her veins was similar to the oil which ran through others. Skin and silicone. Eyes and cameras. The smallest details had been compared and reconfigured until they could be matched to an artificial human being. Still, Annie couldn't tell. The line, where did she draw the damn line? Looking at Harley, no one could tell he was a robot at first glance, not really. However, if he moved a certain way, or the light caught in the lenses in his eyes, it was apparent there was more to him than it seemed.

The mechanic stumbled off, limping with her stuck joints in the prosthetic leg. Half a robot herself, some liked to say. Her work followed her everywhere.

"Come on, let's go back inside." She muttered in the dark. "I ordered a new book for you, it won't be terribly interesting, but, they're common childhood stories. Grimm's. I figured maybe it would help you understand a little bit about people."

 

[khaleeb]

He nodded lightly at her words, seemingly pleased that he wouldn't have to wait long for her to wake up. As much as he liked his alone time, there were times where he got a little "stuck" in his own head. Harley had explained this to himself as a depression in his seemingly limited range of moods. "You're...ah...knee?" He sounded off rather questioningly, pushing a hand through his hair without so much of a thought. He had seen Max do this when he was in deep thought. "Would you...perhaps mind if I were to look at it? I am simply curious about the design Max has best chosen to support you." His lips upturned slightly as he drummed his fingers together.

He was then distracted by the promise of a new book. A small twinge of excitement came over him and he nodded at her. "Grimm's Fairy Tales, from what I have read, is an excellent take on the darker side." The darker side of what? Human potential? Human morality? He had only been able to obtain snippets of it when he had gone perusing through a library of information.

He shook his head as if to recalibrate himself. "Your knee however. It's a more pressing matter." His expression flattened slightly. "If the joint continues to stick then there is a potential for nerve damage further up the leg. Quite possibly into the spinal cord." It wasn't exactly a positive notion but in his mind, he wasn't too fond of it's potential for being true. "Please let me look at it first."

 

[Lillian Gray]

"Harley, it's not that serious." Annie laughed nervously. She had just admitted in her own head how he was more aware than most. His processors were able to work at a faster pace, his recall at a fantastic rate even she was proud of. If he'd read about it somewhere, it was likely to be true, so she sucked it up and sat on the small brick steps which led up to her front door.

The girl pulled the leg of her pants as far as she was able, revealing the stuck joint which smoked slightly under the pressure of walking. Of course, that was never a good sign, but pulling it off and reattaching it later was less of a hassle than going limp for a day or two. She grinned sheepishly up at Harley. As a machine she had to wonder if he could tell when hers weren't working. Similar to how she could tell when another person was sick or upset. It was probably nothing more than an idea in her own head though.

"Oops." She chuckled. "Guess I let it get out of hand."

 

[khaleeb]

Harley followed after her to the brick steps and kneeled down when she sat. As Annie rolled up her pant leg, he frowned deeply, brows coming together. This was another trait he had learned from Max. He had made this face many times when confronted with the perplexing puzzle of how to make Annie's leg better. He sighed lightly and wrapped his hand around the calf portion of the machinery, extending the joint so her leg was out flat and resting on his knee. The slight purr of the mechanics tickled his leg.

"The compression shocks aren't functioning." He said dully, running his fingers gently over the bolts before pinching them between his fingers. He twisted them until they were loose and popped them free. He separated the lower leg from the rest of the mechanics, leaving the knee joint mechanics exposed to his eyes. He gave it a once over before spinning the ball that acted as the joint. "It is warped." He ran his finger over the ball as it spun slowly. "The dip in the metal is wearing the shocks, which is..." He sighed. "...why it's malfunctioning." He met his eyes with hers, face stoic. "Max must upgrade his metal if you wish to continue to use a prosthetic."

Harley could identify the problem but as far as fixing it, he would need to go scout for metal. There was one place in particular he knew would have the proper equipment but Annie had warned him about the company that monopolized the android industry. They were rich and they were dangerous.

"I suggest a silica nanofiber construct but I do not believe it is affordable nor safe to obtain."

 

[Lillian Gray]

Annie leaned back on her hands, watching Harley's face as he worked. He seemed perplexed, which only caused her to mirror the emotion. Little habits, ticks, he picked up from her brothers. The hand on his head when he thought, and how his brows knit together when he was confused or bothered by something. Harley was learning, either that, or his memory was far more capable than what she'd planned for.

"It's too expensive to cover the whole leg." Annie confirmed. "Maybe for a finger or two, but, not that nanofiber." She was shaking her blonde hair, the cost flew over her head and far out of her purse.

She examined the stump which was left on her right leg. The open mechanics always interested her, they moved and breathed with a life of their own. As Harley held the rest of the prosthetic in his hand, she picked at pieces inside the leg, adjusting them as she saw fit. A spring was a little lose, a gear out of place, the small maintenance things which kept her busy in the morning.

"Max isn't going to be happy to hear this." Annie groaned and threw her head back in frustration. "We just spent the last of our cash on extra supplies for the shop, I'll just have to build a scrap leg for now."

Of all the things, a bum leg. She hated to think that on top of her delivery, she'd be piecing together a new leg. Annie was thankful her growth had stunted a few years back, as making a new leg took a lot of time and material in order for it to function the way she needed. If she didn't have the proper connections, the nerves wouldn't work. Blowing out the shocks was a common fix, but, dented metal? All these things took time. Time which took away from her work, and her income.

"That's it, I'll just have to.." Annie pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration. Even this action she'd seen Harley copy a few times. "Whatever. I have to sleep."

 

[khaleeb]

Harley seemed taken aback by her reaction of frustration. He had little to no concept of money and trade despite knowing the idea. All the loop holes of economics were in his head but how could he possibly get the materials he needed? Harley was "the help" to be frank and this was where he excelled: helping. "Please." He piped up as her frustration became apparent.

"I wish to try and fix it for you." He managed another smile, holding fast to the prosthetic part. "It is my..." It wasn't his birthday. Androids weren't born. "Creation date soon." He nodded lightly. "Humans give gifts to loved ones on the day their mothers pushed them..." He trailed off. "Birthday. " he concluded with a slight chuckle. "I wish for my gift to be fixing your leg."

He stood up. "Something I can do while you are working on smaller things that require you to sit." He would have to be risky in his pursuit but Harley had some ideas in his mind about how to fix everything for Annie. Afterall, all he wanted was for her to exhibit happiness.

 

[Lillian Gray]

Annie wiggled her stump. Harley had the other half of her leg and she wouldn't be going anywhere without it. She hoisted herself up using the railing and hopped awkwardly up to the top step, which extended into a thin wrap around porch. When she first had the leg, her brothers found it funny to take it from her, she'd learned to balance but it still wasn't an easy task.

"Harley, that isn't how birthday's work." She snickered. Still, flattered that he'd rather give something on his birthday than receive. It was selfless of him, and again Annie was fascinated by his ability to show the trait. Most humans weren't capable of being purely selfless, and she hadn't recalled programming anything that'd call for it, another thought for another time she had to suppose.

"I should be giving you something on your birthday." Annie explained. "To celebrate that you came into the world. But, if you have the time, It'd help me greatly Harley."

Again, she waggled her shortened limb at the android.

"Now can I have my leg back? Or do you intend to turn yourself into a lifting machine and hoist me up the wall here?"

 

[khaleeb]

He grinned wholeheartedly like a child would. "Semantics of the situation suggest you are giving me knowledge for my creation day." He said, proud of himself for having a come back. He nodded at her words and quickly reassembled her legs, tightening th bolts to their optimum strenght before ensuring the connections were put together properly.

Regardless of her reassembled state, he looped and arm around her and wiggled her onto his back before he scaled the wall like a cat, fingers gripping the ledges tightly.

"I will fix your leg for you." He said, hoisting the two of them up and over before dropping down to the ground. "But for now you must sleep. I will set an alarm for the early morning." He let her down gently.

 

[Lillian Gray]

Oh god oh god oh god.

Annie was hoisted into the air by Harley and she hadn't seen it coming. After all she'd been joking with him! The particular blend of silicone proved useful for climbing, and she was keen to remember it for another day. Just in case the situation ever arose she'd need to build another machine to climb a wall.

Solid ground was beneath her feet again and she took a shaky step away from Harley. They were back inside now, an open window let in the breeze behind them. Annie shook herself to get a grip, it was a short climb, nothing more. Not that she ever wanted to do it again.

"Thank you, Harley. I have to be there at 7, so..." She sighed, knowing that the promise of a good night's rest was gone. "Six, that should be fine, it gives me three hours at least."

With that she waved at her creation, her bed called to her like a siren to a man. Come it called, to wrap herself in tangles of sheets and rest.

 

[khaleeb]

He chuckled softly at her words and gave a gentle nod to her direction. "Of course." He said calmly, a reminder already backed up in his hard drive to awake her when the hours passed some time later. "Sleep well, Annie. I plan to heighten my knowledge about People magazine while you sleep." He chuckled yet again and left her to head to bed. He curved into the hall and disappeared into the sitting room where he spent most of the time he was alone. Harley had collected magazines for reading later and now was (seemingly--Harley hated the idea of not expressing the truth, but it called for it this time) the time to pose such an idea to his creator.

Harley liked to explore and he usually did so while she slept. His appearance was just clever enough to pass as humans in the city and once he was sure his creator had drifted off into a sleep, he set out for exploring what lay in short distance around the home.

---

6am came quickly but he had managed to make it back somewhat in time. Harley had run into a bit of a problem while he was out but as far as he was concerned, he had dealt with the matter entirely. He had sustained s bit of damage to his right hip but it was merely a graze. Harley planned to deal with it later and for the time being, his clothing hid it.

"Annie." He cooed gently, tapping the tip of her nose lightly with the tip of his index finger. In the other hand, a bowl of prepared cereal. "Wake up. You must get ready." He snorted lightly and pulled the spoon from the milk and cereal before resting the smooth underside of the dip against her nose.​

 

[Lillian Gray]

Annie groaned and threw her hand over her head. In sleep, she looked like a disaster. Her hair spread out around her face like she'd been hanging upside down for too long, messy and tangled from tossing and turning in the few short hours of peace.

"No." She moaned the word for a while, but the spoon on her nose didn't budge. "Is that cereal?" The girl opened her eyes and smiled softly at the prepared breakfast. Now that she felt at least slightly alert, she reached to accept the breakfast Harley had so kindly prepared for it. It was six on the dot, so she still had time to at least eat.

Never did she sleep with her leg on, risking a snag in the sheets wasn't something she wanted to deal with. The fine bedspread could easily get sucked into the gears and stop it entirely, risking a shock to the nerves which kept it connected. So, Annie sat on the side of the bed with only one foot hanging off as she normally did. Sometimes it was hard to live her life as a bit of a cripple, but she didn't mind. If anything it gave her new goals. A better way to have it work, another day of toying around.

If she could afford the nanofiber Harley had suggested, then maybe she'd appear more normal, but it was still far from her range.

"How was your night?" Annie asked innocently, as she did most mornings. Harley didn't sleep. It was always a curiosity to find out what he was doing.​

 

[khaleeb]

"Good." He replied curtly, handing the bowl to her once she was up. "Learned more about the Simpsons." He chuckled lightly and moved to the small chair that sat in the corner of the room. Pressure was released from the joints in his leg and it felt...nice. He smiled to himself at the thought. "I trust you slept good despite the few cycles of REM you got."

Harley's adventure had taken him to the outskirts of the city. He had been roughed up by a petty criminal (truth be told he wasn't sure how to react) but had scared him off when the man realized a knife to the abdomen did not make him bleed.

Harley had obtained some fiber cabling meant to help build Annie a new leg. The plan, in his mind, was to make the lightest and strongest prosthetic he could. Some part of him that he could not explain hurt knowing Annie did not have the best.

 

[Lillian Gray]

"I feel much more relaxed." Annie replied with a mouthful of cereal, giggling at how odd it looked. Harley was used to her awkward moments, but whether or not he could detect them wasn't sure.

When Harley was created, Annie had put him together as simply as any other bot could be made. Over the years, she'd improved the look, the parts, but be it the compilation of parts, or some mishap in her programming, something was different about him. He had thoughts, sometimes opinions. In time he'd become more like a man than a machine, but what happened along the way? There was only one material she thought might be the cause, but...

She pushed aside her worries and finished off the milk in her bowl, tipping back her head to get every last, cereal soaked drop.

"Delivery at 7, bot in the garage." Annie mumbled to herself. Half dressed already, she jumped into a pair of black jeans and threw on a small brown leather jacket. She hardly cared if Harley watched her change. "It's only down the street so..."

She bit her lip. Normally, Annie wouldn't take him along at all. He was too obvious out in the open, and it brought about too many questions about how he'd been created. The AI system was too human for most people to handle. However, it was close enough. Just this once.

"Harley, would you like to come with?"​

 

[khaleeb]

Harley had hesitated at her words. He had planned to repair himself while she was out that morning but the temptation of freedom without consequence was dangling in front of him. "Ah..." He began as if thinking it over briefly. "I think that would be lovely." His thought ended in another smile as he shifted himself to his feet again. "I would be happy to help you today. Is there anything you wish me to carry for you?" Of course it wouldn't be as exciting as his free reign visits to the city were, but for the time being, that didn't matter.

For once, she was letting him out. It was...refreshing.

Harley would have to come up with a way to explain his torso should she find out before he was able to repair himself. His best bet was just falling somewhere while she slept. Harley shrugged the idea off his mind for the time being and looked back to Annie. "I hope to understand more about how people interact with each other as well." He grinned lightly. "So now I must urge you to hurry! I am a little...impatient I think is the word. "​

 

[Lillian Gray]

"That sounds right, impatient." Annie chuckled, amused at his sudden excitement. It was hard still to believe none of it was programmed.

She was disgruntled to find that her leg was in disrepair, almost forgetting the early morning discovery. Begrudgingly, she fit herself into a simpler design. It wasn't fit to her height any longer, but it was better functioning than the stuck gears in her high tech option. Harley said he would fix it, and honestly, she was looking forward to seeing what he could do. The new leg was simply a ball joint attachment to two metal rods. It wasn't strong by any means.

Annie skipped down the stairs to get used to her old leg, waving Harley into the garage in order to have him carry the bot. It wasn't her original intention to have him assist her, but, now that he was coming with it made the load much lighter.

"This." She pointed to the newly repaired security bot on the floor. It was a small, motorized machine. "It's fixed now, but, I don't want to risk it running over anything it shouldn't on the way. It'll spare me the trouble later. It's only down the street, could you carry it for me?"

She tapped her leg, reminding him as if he'd forgotten about her bum leg.​