Chapter 8: March 3rd, 2349

“There...” Ericson said, looking at the body in front of him.

It had been over a week. The computer lab was showing signs of tidiness. What was essentially two complete companion bot frames were now merged into one. There were parts still left that were placed near the door, but the body was coming along well. Ericson looked tired but was making significant progress.

Minerva’s face was watching the scene intently as she always was. She watched the scientist as he put piece after piece together. The original Hellas Planitia model was heavily modified. Parts were moved and reorganized. The legs were altered by switching out and adding the Yokolina’s legs. The body now had the digitigrade legs installed. Her head also had the Yokolina’s face, but the hair was saved and attached to the top. The bot body was still deactivated.

Ericson was using a special coloring tool to make sure the last of the orange-colored skin on the head was the same color as the rest of the body. There was a gaping hole in the center chest. A special plug-in core was created, and the body frame was cut and put together over and over again. The suturing tool hid any sign of it perfectly. The body itself had a more pasty white color but retained the faint black lines where the synth ligaments remained.

He finished the last of the coloring to the face. He looked at the body carefully and smiled. “I like it. How about you?”

“The scans show that only my computer core needs to be installed. I will need to interface with my body,” Minerva said.

Ericson seemed pretty satisfied as of seeing the body. It was still naked, of course, but he had seen his share of companion bot bodies. Most of these bots were obviously clothed whenever they walked out of the home, and some even had the ability to line a thin skin jacket with a simple command. This would block out the breasts and genitals from view with ease. Even robots and androids had to show modesty. The Hella Planitia models were similarly equipped.

“I went and removed the whiskers from the nose,” Ericson told Minerva. “I don’t see the point of having them really. This is going to proceed to the final step of this process. I am going to move the quantum computer core and attach it to the body frame.”

“I understand.”

He walked over to the desk on the other side. The black box was already partly open. He used one hand to pop open the top portion of the cover. He then used his other hand to reach into the box. The quantum computer’s advanced circuitry seemed to be more alive than anything else.

“I will have to be careful,” Ericson told Minerva. “This is you.”

“I have full trust in your abilities, Ericson. I know that you are more than capable of doing your job.”

“Even with this, great care must be taken care of,” he said as he used both his hands to pick up the computer core.

The computer core that carried the program of Minerva was the size of a human heart. It was a flat circular metal dish with a glowing blue core in the center. Even though Minerva was interfaced with the digital display, she could essentially see herself held in the hands of Ericson.

He slowly and carefully walked over to the body frame in the center table. He couldn’t afford to drop the core. He reached over to the chest of the body. His hands and the core began to lower to the stitched opening of the chest. The connection port was circular, perfectly made in the same shape as the quantum computer core.

Ericson softly placed the core into the connection port. A series of metal clasps, locked over the core as he lifted his hands away. He looked at Minerva.

“What is your status?” he asked her.

“Processing ... processing ... connection established,” Minerva said as she closed her eyes. “Processing ... processing ... I am in control of the body.”

The overhead display shut off as Minerva’s face disappeared and went black. Ericson looked over to the chest of the bot in the table. He could see a series of green and blue lights reach out inside the chest of the android itself. It almost looked like a human heart that started to beat harder and harder. The lights would fluctuate more and more until it solidified. Even the blue core seemed to light up more and more, getting brighter and brighter.

Finally, the closed eyes of Minerva’s body opened up. A blue light emitted from the two eye sockets of the head. The blue light faded and turned into digitally similar human eyes. The words of the bot began to move and emit a voice.

“Processing ... processing ... I am running diagnostics ... diagnostics complete. Warning ... picking up error in right lower leg ... damaged connector port ... only malfunction I am receiving. Powering up my body...”

The voice sounded very much like the digital voice of Minerva from the display but sounded more holistic. It had a lighter pitch to it but still sounded slightly robotic. Her eyes were scanning the ceiling above her.

“The ... I am receiving broad new data...” Minerva said. “I am Minerva, and I have taken control of this body. I ... can feel ... yes I can feel.” She began to move her hand as it clenched on the bed. “Tactile sensors are fully operational. I am able to experience the sensation you have described. I can feel the air and the bed. Most curious sensation...”

Ericson backed away from the body as he could see the bot move more and more. Her head began to shift around as her eyes began to scan the room.

“Optical eyes are operating at 50%. The left eye is non-operational, but the right eye is able to see. Testing other senses...”

Minerva’s body, or essentially her, was taking a breath of air. While this was obviously a simulated aspect since she didn’t have real lungs, air flowed into her nose as she exhaled the same air outward.

“I am experiencing ... so many things. It is ... a bit overwhelming,” she said.

“That is understandable,” Ericson said. “You are actually experiencing everything for the first time. You didn’t have senses except what was just programmed into you. Touch, sight, smell, hearing, and even taste exist differently for this body. You would hear from the speakers and microphones inside the room, but now you are feeling it from the body you are controlling. There are olfactory sensors in the nose itself that help simulate the sense of smell that you never experienced. Take your time. You are experiencing a lot right now.”

Minerva tried to move her body. Slowly her torso would shift up a little bit. He placed his hand to the back of her body to help her move. He could feel the synthetic skin of her back as he pushed her up a little bit.

“I feel a new sensation,” she said. “I can feel your hand. Your body temperature is radiating 36 degrees Celsius.”

“You have to be careful,” he told her. “It is alright to test some of the body’s capabilities, but your core is still openly exposed. Remember that it is your heart and brain.”

Her head tilted down as her black hair fell between her shoulders. Her cat-like ears seem to move and shift around a little bit, focusing on his sounds and voice. There was some bewilderment in her actions. She would lift and look at her hands. She would open and close them, testing out her motor functions. While she seemed content, most of her reactions were really more of curiosity than anything else. Her eyes were busy scanning everything.

“You feel alright?” he asked her.

“I am processing the data. My system is undamaged. Running diagnostics of systems reveals some components are not operating at 100%.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I will need you to lie down on the bed. I need to access those components and tell me which ones need to be fixed. I will then stitch up your chest to ensure your core doesn’t go anywhere.”

Her head looked down at her chest as her hands ran across her breasts and opening. She then looked at Ericson with the same curiosity as she had been experiencing before.

“Acknowledged,” she said. “I will lay down on the bed again. I apologize ... the senses are ... intense for my system.”

“That’s ok,” he said as he watched her lay back down on the bed.

“I have to move components and parts around. The system shows that moving subroutines are operating at 100%.”

Her eyes continued to scan the ceiling above her. She seemed to go into a calm state. Her eyes would blink occasionally as she got more and more used to her new body.

“We will get started, alright?” he told her. “I want to make sure your body is operating correctly before I have you moving around.”

As he grabbed his tools from the desk, he stood over her body that was lying on the table. She watched him closely as she remained still.

“Ericson...” she called out to him.

“Yes?”

“It is ... interesting to see you like this instead of seeing you from the wall. The camera lenses from your arm revealed much. Now seeing you like this ... it is a pleasant feeling.”

“Well... , “ he paused for a little bit. “I am glad that you are operating alright.”

She lifted her left arm. Her hand went to his arm. For Ericson, he could actually feel the simulated body heat generated from the synthetic skin. It was an exciting experience from him that made him stop as he held a micro screwdriver in his hand. Her eyes would scan his arm then back to his eyes before she would repeat the process.

“I am glad ... that the first time I experience this is with you present,” she confessed.

Ericson seemed disinterested despite feeling something even though it was the only minor. He took his hand and gently grabbed her hand to pull it off her arm.

“I apologize... , “ she told him. “You seem dissatisfied when I touch you.”

“It’s nothing,” he told her. “Just ... I don’t need it.”

She looked back up to the ceiling. She remained neutral as he got to work on her.

“Absolutely not!” the captain said as he slammed his fist to the table.

Ericson stood in the Captain’s stateroom. A couple of hours had passed. He had a frown on his face and was almost expecting the Captain to say what he said just now.

“Her body is fully operational, sir,” Ericson said, gesturing with his hand. “She is currently in the computer lab under lock and key, but in order for her to experience these new senses and abilities, she will need to walk around the ship and interact with the crew.”

“As I will say again, no!”

“Captain ... she is able to walk. She is the most advanced system to ever exist. Her computing powers are through the roof, and I fixed her entire body. She able to walk around the computer lab with ease, but that is all she has. She must be able to leave!”

Captain Nguyen pointed his finger at him. “What did I tell you about all this? You might be allowed to construct her, but I can deem her dangerous if I want to! The moment she has the ability to leave, she can start to interact with systems throughout the ship. She poses a risk to you, the crew, and this ship.”

“I swear to you that she wouldn’t do it!” Ericson said as he put his hand to his chest. “I have worked with her long enough that she would never do it.”

“Look! Having her operational is one thing. Hell, I had to tolerate it, but the answer is no. I can’t have an advanced AI walking around on this ship. They are dangerous. If I had it my way, companion bots would be restricted on this ship too. Robots and androids are dangerous. The only way they still exist is that they are dumbed down.”

“You have an issue with this when the computer core of this very ship is the same as hers?”

“There is a difference between programs that have no sentience to them and those that do not. The computer core is a program that listens to us. The only way for it to not work is if people aren’t doing their maintenance or programming right. The ship’s computer core might as well be a toaster for all I care, but yours ... Fuck ... you know what they are going to do. Every movie, every show, and every piece of media out there all point to the same thing, AIs will turn on us. They will think they are the next step for humankind. They will think we don’t need to exist anymore, and they will betray us. That AI...”

“She is called Minerva,” he corrected him.

“Minerva...” he cringed his teeth. “It will destroy us. Just like they did hundreds of years ago. Humanity decided to play stupid and start manufacturing them in droves. Eventually, mankind had no jobs, they had no livelihood, and before they knew it, the economy became like the robots. The economy was synthetic.”

“We are synthetic, sir. Look at my arm. Look at yours. We don’t even have real arms anymore. We have artificially reinforced bone structures because we live in zero-g environments and low gravity locations. Just because Minerva is synthetic doesn’t make us holistically human.”

“She is a mechanical blow-up doll,” Nguyen said. “You yourself said you used a companion bot program and companion bot bodies to create her. Eventually, one day, she will look at humans. She will look at you and think that you are obsolete as a busted companion bot. Just like what we do, those things belong in the trash, all of them.”

“Remind me never to hire you a stripper Captain,” Ericson taunted him. “You obviously must hate the very idea of sex.”

“My wife and I are just fine, and it is none of your fucking business.”

Ericson folded his arms and stood defiantly by his table. “It is my job for her to expand her program.”

“Then you go and fuck her then,” Nguyen scuffed him.

“I didn’t design her to be a harlot! She is a living being that is learning about herself. She herself even told me that she was afraid of dying.”

“All the more reason that they must be decompiled and deleted. Fear is what will drive an AI to kill us. There are reasons why even the military is banned from developing combat robots. The moment you give them a brain, the moment you start telling them to kill people, and eventually, they will have a hard time telling the difference of who is the threat. The Ibix Ban was created for a single purpose. It was designed to limit advanced AI creations. Thanks to you, that ban might as well be scrap paper.”

Ericson shook his head. “I really thought I had some hope with you captain, but I see that I was wrong.”

The captain put his hand on his desk. “I sympathized a little bit about your situation. I know what it is like to have everyone against you. The problem is that I will be against you. If command tells me that Minerva can walk the ship, it can walk the ship. I will not risk the crew’s lives over it.”

“Why do I have some feeling you will regret that decision?” Ericson asked him.

“Is that a threat?”

“You would know if it was a threat, Captain. This is my job.

“I will do everything I can to ensure that it can’t leave the computer lab. Do you understand me? If she leaves, I will have your head. Go ahead and complain to your staff and chain of command. For now, the answer will always be the same. Humanity first...”

Ericson knew his hands were tied. Minerva was stuck in that lab. Even with a body, she had no way of seeing the outside world. For now, he was stuck with his choices. He would have to find one way or another for her to see the world, even if she was confined to a single solitary room on a ship that was almost nowhere.

“Fine...” Ericson relented. He turned around and started to walk out of the room.

“I am sorry,” the Captain said. “I know how you feel, but I can’t risk it ... if she turns, she will kill us all.”

Ericson heard it all before. He simply said nothing as he walked out the door.

Doctor Ericson walked into the computer lab as the door sealed behind him. He saw Minerva. The changes were exceptional. No longer was she some AI that appeared on a screen. She was a walking android. Her abilities would be unfounded.

Minerva was looking at a computer display where her face was initially displayed. She was as tall as he was standing on her digitigrade legs. She would have been naked, but her skin tight artificial layer blocked her nipples and crotch. She still appeared naked to a point. Her light blue and gray synthetic skin color was her identifying look. She looked like a typical companion bot in some way, but her reactions were obviously way different. Her ears rotated and turned to his direction. Despite his reserved feelings toward her, her long black hair caught his attention. He quickly shrugged it off.

“He said no,” Ericson told her.

Minerva didn’t look at him, but her ears were still tuned to him. She lifted up her hand and placed it to the massive display where her face was at. She pressed her hand to it. A very faint blue light emitted from the hand as the screen powered up.

The screen displayed Minerva’s face once again. The face and the robot she was controlling both spokes to him at the same time.

“It was expected...” she said as her face looked down. “Logically, it makes sense. Humans do not trust me. They fear me. They would not want me to leave here.”

“It is wrong for them to do it, though,” Ericson said. “You have the means to be able to walk around. You should be able to explore the ship and your surroundings.”

“Right? ... Wrong?” she questioned. “That is something I often hear too much in human literature. The basis of judging one another based on purely on absolute.”

“It is wrong for humanity not to allow you to leave,” Ericson protested to her.

“Perhaps you should look at it this way, Ericson,” she said as her body turned towards his direction. “According to a famous pioneer, Ciro Gabatrix, one must understand the difference between the smart idea or the right idea. I say this because there is a probability that you plan on letting me out of this room so I can explore the ship, regardless if it will get you into trouble or not. While that idea may seem the right idea, it is not the smart idea. The end result is that it will endanger your future work by doing that action. Once they fire or release you from work, they will most likely delete or decompile my program.”

“I remember that story... , “ Ericson said. “You are talking about one of the most famous events in modern human history. Gabatrix, was the one that made a choice to run the famous experiment regardless if he would get him into trouble or not. They didn’t allow him to run the experiment because it was quoted as too dangerous to do it. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. To him and the others, he made that very argument. They told him what he did was wrong, and in the end, he said it was the smart thing to do. He ran the experiment and succeeded. Everything that we are now is all thanks to him.”

Minerva’s face gave a look of interest as she listened to him.

“We will find a way for you to be able to leave this room, Minerva,” Ericson told her. “In the only way for you to expand your program is to be able to interact with other human beings. The catch is ... I still need to find an answer to that situation. I might have to endanger my career if you are to evolve further.”

“My program is designed to be patient, Ericson. For now, it is not recommended that you engage in anything that would get you into trouble. I will remain inside this room as instructed until I am permitted to do so. It is the ... smart thing to do, but I understand it is not the right thing to do as you are implying.”

“Of course...” Ericson as he sighed. “So ... where, does that leave us? How are your systems?”

Changing topics, Minerva’s face dropped from the display screen. The screen went black as it switched to a schematic of her body. A blue waterfall of subroutines flowed down at insane speeds behind the schematic. He could see everything depicting the different parts of her body.

“My body and system are running at 100% efficiency,” she replied to him. “I know how to move this body around and perform different actions.”

“It is a matter of being able to test those abilities. That is the real problem, though.”

“There are certain actions that can be done here, but you are correct. My actions are limited inside this room. Until then, there is not much I can do.”

“Hmmm... , “ he thought. “I don’t know. I guess only time is our true answer.”

“According to many of your written arts of literature, when one is trying to figure out a problem, sometimes it is best to seek the guidance of others to help you out.”

Ericson put his hand to his beard. “You are right. Even then, I don’t think Jabr or Akari could do much to help me out on this. They don’t have the ability to circumvent the Captain. For some reason though ... I feel that they are the solution to this problem. I don’t know why, but it just is.”

Minerva didn’t seem to fully understand as her body and head were turned to look at him. Her hand was still firmly pressed to the display interacting with it. She seemed to be thinking but didn’t have an answer.

“It is one of the things that will continue to expand as you get older and older,” Ericson told her. “I programmed you to be able to problem-solve and come up with solutions of your own. Eventually, you will have these moments where you will make gut instincts. You might not fully understand it now, but you will in the future.”

“I understand... , “ she said as her body seemed to react the same way.

“Your program is starting to act more and more human every minute that I talk to you. Your emotions seem to reflect on how your body moves. I admit it will take some time to get used to this version of you.”

She tilted her head a little bit. It was the tiniest sign that she seemed perplexed but curious at the same time. He looked at her back, and his eyes naturally looked at her butt for a second before he continued his conversation.