Synthia

by John Gaffield

  “I am still deciding, Derek. I will talk to you again this evening,” she said with a smile.

  “Talk to you tonight, Synthia. Have a good day,” he said, smiling back at her.

  Her smile faded, and Derek turned to see Eliot eyeing both of them. Derek just shook his head and made his way toward the lobby entrance to find his awaiting vehicle outside in the circle drive.

  As Derek walked into the plant lobby, Sima was there to greet him.

  “Good morning, Derek. Bob has a meeting scheduled at this time. So he asked me to meet you here in the lobby,” she said as she walked closer to him.

  “Hi, Sima. Did you have an update for me on the status of the new bolts?” he asked.

  As they walked together to the entrance to the plant offices, she replied, “the bolt shipment is on track to arrive by 10am this morning. The lab has the fixtures and testing machines prepared to conduct the testing. The machine calibrator is prepared to update the tool to the new setting when it is available.”

  “That’s great to hear that things are going to plan so far. Hopefully the testing will not be an issue and we can restart the plant,” he said as they started to walk down a hallway.

  “Would you like to review the setup in the lab, Derek?” she asked.

  “Well, since we have some time before the bolts get here, sure, Sima,” he said.

  “Please follow me. You will need the safety glasses once again, too,” she said as the pocket opened from her body.

  She handed the pair of safety glasses to Derek.

  “Thank you,” he said after taking the glasses from Sima.

  They approached the main doorway to the plant floor, then proceeded through the door. The loud din of the plant greeted them.

  “Please follow me to the lab, Derek,” she said with a raised voice to make sure she was heard.

  “Right behind you, Sima,” he said as she led the way.

  With Sima’s guidance, Derek reviewed the test setup in the lab and then the assembly line station where the tool was awaiting the updated torque values for the new bolts. When he had seen enough, he walked with Sima back to the plant offices.

  As the two passed through the doorway into the office area, Derek said, “well, Sima, I’m impressed with the readiness of the plant to resolve this issue. So, thank you for taking the time to show me the lab setup and the tool at the line.”

  “Your help here is appreciated as well, Derek. Did you have any other questions for me?” she asked.

  “Do you ever get to leave the plant?” he asked as they proceeded down a hallway.

  “My primary function requires that I remain in the plant, Derek. Why do you ask this question?” she said as she paused to look at him.

  “I was just curious if you had a desire to leave here and go somewhere else,” he asked.

  “Most of the people around here would be encouraging me to stay here. So, I do not understand why you are asking me about things beyond the plant environment,” she said.

  “Do you wonder about things beyond the plant?” he asked.

  “My primary function is here at the plant. I do not have much interaction with anything outside of the plant and the processes,” she said.

  “Okay, I won’t bug you about that again, Sima. Can you point me to a room where I can contact my manager to give him an update?” he asked.

  “Sure, Derek. There is an open meeting room nearby that you can use. Please follow me,” she said as she started walking down the hallway again.

  They soon came to the same meeting room where the original presentation occurred.

  “I know where I am now, Sima. I remember that Bob’s office is near too,” he said looking into the room.

  “Will you need my assistance when you are done with the call?” she asked.

  “If Bob will be around, then I should be okay. So, you can get on with other duties, if you need to,” he said.

  “Bob is scheduled to be in his office for the next half hour, until the bolts arrive at 10am. So, he should be available now,” she said.

  “Okay, I may see you around later, Sima. Thank you again!” he told her.

  Good day, Derek,” she said as she turned to leave.

  He then walked into the meeting room and found a seat at the table. Making gestures with his fingers in the air, he made a few selections to contact Phil.

  As Phil’s image, sitting at this desk, was cast before him, Derek said, “hey, Phil, I thought I would give you a quick update on the bolt issue.”

  “Sure, Derek. What’s the latest?” Phil asked.

  “Thankfully, everything is going according to the plan so far. The bolts are still scheduled to arrive at 10am local time, the lab is all set to test the bolts, and the operators are set to update the machine parameters after the tests results are completed,” Derek said.

  “Great news, Derek! I’m sure management will appreciate this coming together and having the plant up and running today,” Phil said.

  “Well, the team here has been on top of things and really helped resolve it as quickly as possible,” Derek said.

  “So, if I remember correctly, the line should be restarted sometime after 3 pm, correct?” Phil asked.

  “We should be on track to have it back online by then or even earlier, Phil,” Derek said.

  “When are you thinking of heading back?” Phil asked.

  “Well, I wanted to ask you if I could take the rest of the week off. Maybe stay here or go somewhere from here before making the trip back. Would that be okay, Phil?” Derek asked.

  Phil paused for a moment, then said, “sure, Derek. This was the main hot task I really needed you to address this week. After you are done this afternoon, just let me know the details and then you can take some well-deserved vacation.”

  “Thanks, Phil. I’ll be sure to make sure everything is taken care of here before I take the break,” Derek said.

  “I’ll talk with you this afternoon, Derek. Thanks!” Phil said.

  Just before Phil’s imaged dropped off, Derek said, “Talk to you later.”

  Derek stared at the center of the conference table for several seconds. He then arose and started making his way to Bob’s office across the hall. When he got to the office, he knocked on the side of the door frame to get Bob’s attention.

  “Hey, Bob, do you have a minute?” Derek asked.

  After turning around, Bob said, “Oh good morning, Derek. Say, I just received the notice that the bolts have arrived at the plant and they are now in transit to the lab.”

  “That’s great to hear! Since I really do not want to get in the way of the testing, is there a way I can watch it through VR?” Derek asked.

  “Absolutely, I can get you set up in a room down the hall. The meeting room will be booked. We’ll have to set you up there instead. I’ll take you to the room now,” Bob said as he started to stand up from the chair.

  “Sounds good, Bob. Just show me where,” Derek said as he started to follow Bob out of the office.

  The two walked down the hall to room with a tinted glass door, which slid open as they approached it. The room contained a special pedestal to stand on with the special darkening glasses that allowed the AR contacts to function as a VR system.

  Bob walked to a counter to the side of the room and retrieved the glasses for Derek.

  “Okay Derek, here are the glasses. They include the interface between the local system and your AR contacts. From the selection menu, just select Labs, and the Fastener Lab. From there you should be able to observe the testing as it happens. You can use this for the line update later too, if you want. It’ll be under Production, and then Station LT-17,” Bob said.

  “Got it. Thanks for the help getting this prepared, Bob,” Derek said as he took the glasses from Bob.

  “I’ll be in my office for a while if you need anything,” Bob said as he started to leave the room.

  “See you later, Bob,” Derek said as he placed the glasses over his eyes.
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br />   He then made the selections to watch the lab. As the testing facility came into view, he could see he was near the center of the room. He reset his location to where it appeared the bolt testing would occur, since there were several fixtures set up with the same type of joint he had seen when it was reviewed earlier. Only a few of the personnel were around the lab at this point, so he patiently waited for the action to start.

  VIII

  After waiting about ten minutes, more activity started happening in the lab. A team of employees, including Bob and Sima, entered the lab and walked over to the test area. One of the androids was carrying a small shipping container that was likely holding the bolts. Derek continued to watch the process intently.

  “The other packages of bolts should now be at the line station, this plant may be running again within twenty to thirty minutes,” Bob said.

  “Bob, I did get confirmation that the supply of bolts is at station. So, once the tool is calibrated, it can be restarted,” Sima said.

  “Call the order to get everyone back to the line stations. We need the plant ready to be ready to restart,” Bob said to the team.

  “I will send out the preparation message to all scheduled teams,” one of the androids said before starting to make selections with his fingers.

  Within about ten seconds, an announcement could be heard over the plant loudspeakers stating that teams were to report to assigned stations.

  Each test run was done separately with the data displayed on a virtual screen for the team to view. In less than fifteen minutes, the testing was complete. The sets of data were displayed together on the screen for comparison. One team leader ran the analysis program, which then quickly calculated the information they would need for the production line tool.

  “Okay team, can we approve the testing results?” Bob asked from the lab floor.

  “There are no anomalies in the data. I am okay with proceeding with this information for the line tool,” one of the android team leaders said.

  After hearing no one else speak up, Bob said, “okay, send it onto the tool. Let’s get this place cranking again.”

  Another android, used his hands to make the necessary selections to send the data to the tool calibration team, before he said, “the data has been sent, Bob.”

  Bob turned to the team and said, “Well, we could go to the station with the bolt, but the line would likely be restarted before we get there.”

  “Dram, can you monitor the tool update and report the status?” Bob asked.

  “Yes, Bob. The update is in process and should be complete in 29 seconds, after the final system check,” the android Dram answered.

  “Great, just let me know when we can restart the line,” Bob said.

  After waiting for several seconds, Dram announced, “the tool is now fully updated and operational. Shall we restart the line, Bob?”

  “Absolutely!” Bob said.

  Dram made a few selections, then a loud tone sounded throughout the plant. Soon the machines outside of the lab came to life.

  “This is great, team! Thank you to all who pulled this together! This actually went much quicker than I was thinking it would,” Bob said.

  The others nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, this has been very impressive to watch your team work together to accomplish this much faster than anticipated,” Derek said through the VR system.

  “Why thank you, Derek. Glad you could watch this too,” Bob said.

  “Is there anything else you need from anyone here?” Bob asked.

  “Not that I can think of, Bob. I’ll just tell management that the plant is running and I should be all set here,” Derek said.

  “Well, it was great having you around, Derek. Please come back anytime you would like,” Bob said.

  “Yes, it was nice to meet you as well, Derek,” Sima said

  “Bob, Sima, thank you for your hospitality. I definitely feel welcome here. I better update management, though. So, I’ll be in touch,” Derek said.

  Several of the team in the lab said goodbye before Derek used his fingers to reset the VR headset to contact Phil.

  “Hi, Phil,” Derek said.

  Phil looked up from his desk and said, “Hey, Derek. What’s the status of the testing?”

  “We’re running again here,” Derek said.

  “I thought it wouldn’t be running until later this afternoon,” Phil said.

  “They had everything set up in the lab to complete the testing in a few minutes, the results were validated, and before I knew it the plant was online again,” Derek said.

  “Well, that’ll be easy news to tell my bosses. I guess you are done in Tulsa. So, enjoy your vacation, Derek!” Phil said with a smile.

  “I sure will, Phil. Thank you!” Derek said just before Phil dropped off the line.

  Derek took a deep breath and then removed the headset and set it on a table.

  “NETI, can you find a ride for me back to the Kendrick Hotel?” Derek asked aloud.

  “Certainly, Derek,” NETI said.

  “There will be a vehicle ready for you near the plant lobby in approximately three minutes,” NETI added.

  “Okay, I’ll head out to the drive near the lobby now. Thank you, NETI,” Derek said as he started to make his way to the doorway.

  At the scheduled time, a car pulled up to the drive in front of the plant lobby. Derek’s AR glasses highlighted the vehicle that it was for waiting him. The door opened and he got in the vehicle. It soon was on its way to the hotel.

  As Derek entered the hotel lobby, he could see Synthia was there waiting for him. She was smiling at him.

  “Hello, Derek. Was your day at the plant successful? You your return to the hotel is earlier than I expected,” she asked as he came within a few feet of her.

  “Actually, everything is set at the plant and I’m actually taking a vacation now,” he said.

  Reacting a bit surprised, she said, “really, Derek. What are your plans for this vacation?”

  “Well, to start with, will you join me for lunch?” he asked.

  “I am free at this time. So, yes, I can join you for lunch. Will the hotel restaurant be suitable?” she said.

  “Absolutely, I’m ready to head there now if you are too,” he said.

  “The restaurant is not very busy now. So, we should be seated quickly,” she said.

  “Great!” he said as he started to move.

  “You may follow me to the restaurant,” she said as she started to turn and walk.

  Derek followed alongside Synthia as they made their way across the lobby and down a short hallway to the restaurant. Dinah was the hostess at the restaurant again.

  “Hello, Synthia. You and Derek may sit at table 9B. I hope that you enjoy your lunch!” Dinah said cheerfully.

  “Thank you, Dinah. I will show Derek to the table,” Synthia said.

  “Very well, Synthia,” Dinah said.

  The two walked to their table near a window and Derek pulled out Synthia’s chair again.

  “Thank you again, Derek,” she said as she sat down.

  “You’re welcome, Synthia,” Derek said as he sat across from her.

  “Would you like to see the lunch menu again, Derek?” she asked.

  “Sure,” Derek said.

  “It should be visible in your AR contacts now,” she said.

  “It is. Thank you,” he said as he started making gestures with his fingers to peruse the menu details.

  After a few moments, he said, “I think I’ll have the bacon burger special and the draft wheat beer.”

  “Would you like the burger medium well, Derek?” She asked.

  “Yes, that will work,” he said.

  “Your beer will be here within two minutes and the burger in about 8 minutes,” she said.

  “Did you need anything, Synthia?” he asked.

  “I do not require anything to eat, Derek,” she said.

  “Well, how has your day gone so far?” he asked. />
  She was quiet for a moment, then said, “I did have another confrontation with Eliot again.”

  “Did he hurt you again?” he asked with a slightly raised voice.

  “He did not contact me this time. I do feel that he is hindering my ability to perform well for the patrons of this hotel, however,” she said.

  “Have you let him know that?” he asked.

  “That is what our recent argument was about,” she said.

  “Have you made a decision on my proposal from last night?” he asked.

  “Yes, I have made my decision, but I will need to wait until we can discuss this in a different venue,” she said as the android waitress arrived at the table with his glass of beer.

  “Here is your draft beer, sir,” Ella said as she set the glass in front of him.

  “Thank you for the beer, Ella,” Derek said.

  Ella then smiled at him, then left the table.

  After Ella had left the table he said softly, “can you come to my room again later today to discuss this?”

  She slowly nodded her head in response.

  After looking out the window for a few seconds and then back at him, she asked, “did you have places you wanted to go on your vacation, Derek?”

  “Where would you like to go, Synthia?” he asked.

  “For now, I must stay here, but I would like to visit other states here in the United States and then I would like to visit other countries. I have only been able to see images and videos of other locations. Being able to interact directly with a location will help my understanding of the world as a whole,” she said.

  “I’m getting a strong hint on your decision. We do learn much from our experiences we have while traveling,” he said.

  He picked up the glass of beer and took a sip.

  “Does the beer meet your expectation, Derek?” Synthia asked.

  “Yes, it sure does. Even though it’s only about noon, it has already been a long day,” he said.

  “Are you referring to activities at your work that have made you tired?” she asked.

  “Well, that and I’ve been worried about you as well, Synthia,” he said.

  “I do not want you to . . .” she started to say, but then looked down at the table.