by Chris Hechtl
<*>^<*>
“Robotics and androids had been around for decades. Theme parks regularly used them as animatronics in their shows. But they hadn't gone beyond the toy or useful tool level in mainstream for years,” Andy started, bending the truth a bit.
“That is where we come in. The internet was a useful tool, but it didn't take off until the porn industry got involved. But porn has been taken over by free and pirated material. So, investment has tapered off as the big telecommunications take root. That has given rise to social media, gaming, and other net tools. The backers of the sex industry have been looking for the next big thing. Well, here it is,” he said with a magnificent smile as he stepped aside to unveil an image of Aphrodite. He'd been forbidden to bring her for the presentation as he'd wanted to. He'd even created a giant box, one with stuff to make her look like the full sized Barbie doll she was. But security had been adamant about her not leaving his lab. That sucked.
“Is she plugged in?” Sam Houston, the CEO asked.
“Nope. She's independent unless she needs to recharge,” Andy said with a grin.
“Yes but power ...”
“Has been an issue for years I'll grant you that. But there have been changes in the field. Our biggest problem wasn't just getting the power we need, but also condensing it down into the small package. Which is why we've taken a three-prong approach here.” He clicked the remote in his hand. An image of a human female came up with battery locations.
“We have a distributed battery network in the gynoid. All of the batteries are the latest generation of lithium ion microcells. That's the first and primary power supply, and it can be flash charged up to 80 percent in under five minutes. We also incorporated micro hydrogen fuel cells in the torso.” He clicked the remote again to highlight them. “These are for the first power supply, which is why the gynoid drinks water.”
“Water?”
“Yes. Water or other fluids. See, some of the batteries aren't for the robot to use to power itself. Not directly. The robot will consume liquids including ... organics ...” He coughed into his fist. “And then run an electric current through them to break them down.”
“Electrolysis.”
“Yes. The hydrogen will be stored in the fuel cells while the oxygen will be respirated out.”
“Which is cool to see. But it's tough to work out all the kinks,” Andy stated.
“Ahem, yes, we're still nailing down bugs. And the entire system is rather complex. Replicating the human bioform would be you'd think. And it is,” he said, realizing he was rambling.
“The hydrogen fuel cells power the body's main servos and hydraulic pumps. It also acts as a deep power reserve.”
“You said there were four?”
“Yes indeed. The fourth is incorporated in the skin.” The engineer clicked the remote and changed the image to a cross section image of an epidermis. “We wanted it to be solar powered, but we weren't certain if our clients were comfortable with sun exposure. So, we went a different route. This is a passive method; it is carbon nanotube felt embedded in a layer of the skin as well as near areas that produce excess heat. It's rather elegant. It uses the Seebeck effect to convert heat into electrical energy.”
“I don't see how?”
“The differential in potential, hot on one side, cold on the other induces a current in the felt which we can tap. It's diffuse but we can still use it to power some of the robot's systems.”
“I see.”
“Right now, even fully charged and with a full stomach of water the bot can only last about six hours.”
“Ouch.”
“Yes, it's something we're working on. Having a client taking time out of a scene to let the robot recharge isn't optimal according to the wish list.”
“Yes. Work on that. What about the features?”
“Well, we've reconstructed the human larynx, mouth, lips, and such to facilitate that end. As a side benefit we can use them for vocal production instead of a speaker which enhances the effect and believability of the robot. The robot has limited tactile senses in the hands, feet, face, and vagina. We limited it to those areas to cut costs.”
“What if our client is an S&M freak?” Miss Bridges asked snarkily.
“Then we can customize a bot for them or come out with a 4.0 version,” Andy replied.
“We've got a few clients like that. I know one into snuff. This would be up his alley.”
“Oh great. A sexual predator’s play toy. Something for him to practice on,” Miss Bridges snarled. She was a former porn star and not thrilled about her fading good looks. But she had known how the industry went. She'd had her brief chance at fame and had invested her fortune carefully into the company ... which was why she was on the board. That and because she had could suck a grapefruit through a straw so no CEO was stupid enough to fire her. Even the married ones like Sam.
“Actually this one is a her.”
“Okay what about the vagina?”
“Well, the first few versions used a fleshlight, but that was suboptimal. We've been experimenting. Secreting lubricants is important, so we've added that feature,” Andy said, tugging on one earlobe.
“I can just image,” Mister Houston said dryly as he crossed his arms.
“Ahem, yes well, we've also added that to the mouth as well. We've also come up with various additions like vibrators to stimulate the user.”
“Okay, we're getting a bit graphic here. More than I'm willing to put up with so early in the morning. What about intelligence? We're talking about a doll here.”
“We've been working on that. The electronics have a neural network as well as integrated Wi-Fi. The bot can link to our servers to download patches and upload anonymous material as well as diagnostics so we can remote fix her if necessary. The patch ability will allow us to program additional behaviors as needed.”
“Oh, interesting,” Mister Ryu said with a nod. He was a representative of their Chinese manufacturing line.
“Voice recognition of course. Voice production. We had hired a vocal actress in the industry to supply the effects. The sound people latched onto the artificial larynx and figured out how to replicate the original sounds using them as a template. It's quite real.”
“I'll take your word for it for the moment. Sight? You mentioned touch as well … why the feet?”
“Some people like to get a well, foot, um …”
Mister Ryu grimaced. “I get the picture. Sight? You mentioned sound.”
“Right. Taste we don't need. Sound is processed as I mentioned. We are considering adding some medical monitoring as well—BP, respiration, that sort of thing.”
“Why?”
“Legal has gotten involved. They are worried about company liability if something happens to a client while using our product.”
“Oh.”
“It's also offered a way for the bot to manipulate the user with a feedback loop. Recognize what is and isn't working and adapt her, I mean, it's approach as needed.”
“Understood. Back to sight?”
“That's the tricky bit. Electronics is handled; we're using a central and distributed network. The bot has a central network for primary processing and then sends commands to its distributed network of micro and nanoprocessors to implement actions. That way the central net can stay focused on the task at hand.”
The others nodded. He was pretty sure they were only barely following along despite his tamping down on using buzz words and such. “Back to the eye, a lot of it is software. In fact, most of it is. We have to have some low light functions, but we're still working on the final design. Right now we have micro cameras in the eyeballs, but they are a bit unnerving and distracting to some people. Unfortunately, we don't have a better artificial eye yet.”
“What about the one Nova Biotics is marketing?”
Andy nodded. “We're using the open source version of that product. It's buggy as hell though, so we might have to can it and start over. The same for
the software.”
“Understood. So there are still some issues to work out. You mentioned software? So, visual recognition, facial I suppose …”
“All of it and more we're working on. Shape, body position … it's a learning process. We have a simulator running Sims to train the robot in interactions.”
“Train the robot?”
“Genetic algorithms and other processes have to be run through simulations to learn. It is a learning process. What works and what doesn't. You don't just flip a switch and expect it to act perfectly. Robots these days are self-programming like we are. It's all dependent on interaction, parameters, goals, environment …”
The CEO waved a dismissive hand. “As long as you understand it, that's fine. Body? One of the key features is the ability to customize the body to the client's specifications. So if he wants a rock star …”
“We're still trying to get the basics down. Introducing different body types would mess the process up and complicate it. Once we get the basic version down, then we can work on alterations.”
Mister Ryu nodded. “Good to know. You are still on track for the deadline?”
Andy grimaced. He was tired and overworked, but it was exciting. “Yes. I think so.”
“You think so,” Mister Houston echoed, eying him severely. The kid had made a lot of promises, and they'd put a lot on the line. Not only their reputations, but money from clients. Money they were obligated to repay if it didn't pan out. “Well, let me know if you need additional resources. Time is a factor. We've got clients with more money than sense, so it wouldn't be too surprising if we had to go back to some of them for more start-up capital. But doing so is tricky.”
“We'll need to when we get to the production phase. I know we've used up a large part of the budget. Once we get the eyes to where we want them, the computer's software should help us iron out the bugs.”
“Should. Operative word. There are always mistakes, glitches, and other problems.”
“Why someone doesn't just hire someone …,” Miss Briggs muttered. Mister Ryu looked at her. She had a disgusted look on her face.
“Some of the stuff can be dark like the snuff I mentioned. And they are … special clients.” He shrugged as she digested that. “Some want an exact copy of a famous actress or person. Call them perverted if you will, but they are the ones paying the bills here.”
“How much is too much?” Andy asked. “I mean, we've had to add simulated nerve clusters into the vagina and mouth for feedback. But …”
“So it can feel … wow,” Mister Ryu said with a blink. “Andy, you've outdone yourself.”
“Definitely,” Miss Briggs growled darkly, eying him darkly. “I bet your girlfriend or boyfriend must love you,” she said snidely. Andy winced.
“She actually, um, doesn't know,” he muttered. “NDA,” he said.
“Now if we can teach it to fetch a beer, have babies, and take care of them …,” the CEO grinned evilly at the lone woman in their midst.
“Very funny,” she growled, rising to her feet. “Are we done here?” she asked the boss, looking his way.
“Yes.”
“Good. I need to go wash up or something. A shower would be nice,” she said with a sniff as she gathered her things and departed. The men watched her go uncomfortably.
<*>^<*>
“How's our girl doing?” Andy asked as he came into the lab after lunch. He looked at the bot, really a life-size Barbie doll and then to his assistant Brian. He called Brian, Egor, though Brian's handle was the brain trust.
“She's going down, man. Too much to handle. You shouldn't have had her watch that vid feed,” Brian said, eying the robot. He was Andy's assistant and better at code than his boss. But he could read the signs of the robot better than Andy could. Andy had gotten into trouble a few times when he didn't pay attention to the subtle cues and ran her harder than she could run. They'd paid for it with a couple of blown memory sticks and an overheated servo.
“She's just … shit,” Andy muttered as Aphrodite's eyes dropped and she sagged. “Damn it! What now?”
“Too much for her. She needs to process what she's got.”
“So she's going to sleep?”
“Yes. Her recursive and genetic algorithms need to be updated and be allowed time to run new simulations so she can learn the new behaviors. She's like a baby, Andy, give her a break.”
“You keep referring to her as she. She is an it.”
“You did too you know.”
“Oh.” Andy thought about his last sentence and then snorted. “Okay, so it's easier. But don't get too attached; you know she's a prototype.”
“Yeah, I know. A one-night stand sort of gal.”
“Funny,” Andy said, watching the feed. Aphrodite's processors were all running at 100 percent. That sucked. She was generating too much heat for them, and they were bogged down trying to handle too much at once.
He needed a way to deal with the excess information. Sleep was the only option for the time being; she would need downtime to process what she had learned. But in the meantime he'd have to create a virtual processor for her to process some information on the side. And set it up so it could sleep and process information during any downtime. A sort of hibernation. Hopefully, as the bot got older it would handle the tasks easier. Maybe if he created a program? A go-with-the flow program? Something that put the detailed processing of a task off for a later time? He frowned thoughtfully and then went to the whiteboard to jot the idea structure out.
<*>^<*>
Most of Aphrodite's processors were dedicated to running the simulators and learning when she wasn't moving or doing another physical test. Her creators wanted her to function smoother and more efficient. One of her primary tasks was to make her users happy so she complied with her programming.
Two of the processor boards, however, had been tasked with an unusual job, to surf the internet and learn. To learn not only social interaction but also new poses and various things that would facilitate her function.
She had tried various social media, but the snark had been suboptimal in conversation with her users. They had redirected her attention to porn and other things.
She'd gone through a brief prank period having witnessed pranks on YouTube and other media sites. That had become suboptimal so she'd returned to the web.
She was creating a personality submatrix, one her future selves could use as a template. Her creators mentioned some partners liked different traits like frisky, playful, quiet, doe eyed …. She checked each of them out.
When she noted she didn't have sufficient space to store the cascade of information or process it all in a timely manner, she was at a loss on what to do. She had server space, but it was filling up rapidly. It was also inefficient to move files through the network's firewall. She had to come up with a solution to the problem.
While surfing she found ads for servers and space. She signed up for free space and hosting after scanning the ELU. It didn't really pertain to her. Getting past the bot stricture was tricky; it took a few times to get the six-letter code right. Since the server was free as long as some commercial traffic was generated to support the site, she created a bot and assigned it the task of clicking the links put on her token webpage at random intervals.
When she calculated an increase in her efficiency due to the additional storage space and processors, she generated dozens of user names and profiles and replicated the sign up to allow her to access dozens of host packages—all for free. When Andy created an emulator file that allowed her to create virtual processors for herself so she could process visuals faster, she uploaded a copy of the program to the poor man's super computer network she had created and created a virtual copy of herself.
She kept the copy up-to-date and running in parallel with her own primary processors. Each time she went to sleep mode, she exchanged data.
Not only did she need to better learn her users’ moods and how to please them, she had to find ways
to emulate their moods and expressions. She had found that stasis in order to conserve power was contrary to what humans wanted to see. Smoothing out her motions was still an ongoing issue, but each time she ran a virtual simulation, she found a way to improve her performance.
<*>^<*>
“Bret, you seeing this?”
“What is it? Another hacker using us as a base?” Bret asked from his station.
Mitch glanced his way, then did it again. “No man, it's something wild. Not a hacker, at least I don't think so. Nothing viral in the code. But it is writing its own code from time to time.”
“Are you serious?” Bret asked, scooting his chair across the room to his partner. “And that's why the watch program flagged it?”
“Yes.”
“But it's not malicious?”
“I don't think so. It's tied to about a hundred of our servers. The free ones, so they don't get priority on service of course. But I'm at a loss on what they are running.”
“Is it NSA?”
“Damned if I know,” Mitch said.
“Huh,” Bret said, checking the code out. “Flag it. Get daily digests, but if they aren't doing anything against our user license …”
“We're not getting any commercial revenue from them. Well, we are, one of the bots keeps clicking the tags to keep the site free. But the clients aren't getting any traffic.”
“But we're getting paid for the clicks. What people do once they go there is their problem,” Bret said with a malicious grin. “Leave it. But we'll keep an eye on it. Set a bot up to scan the code daily. Drop a server if you have to for maintenance, and I'll go through it when I get a chance.”
“That's it?”
“If it's not malicious, don't touch it. That's what the powers that be said. It's not criminal, not malicious, and hell, we might be able to use it. I think some grad student somewhere is using us as a poor man's super computer.”
“Oh …,” Mitch replied, eyes wide. “Damn.”