HOME | DD

Description
“She’s an Android, isn’t she, professor?”

“That is correct, Jen. Can we hear your deduction, and any implications you may have found in your thoughts?”

The long-haired girl nodded, and turned to face her puzzled classmates. Unlike what the professor had hoped, no one else had figured it out. Although slightly disheartened, he did find a little glimmer of hope in Jen - who, he silently noted, should be the one to work with Aurora more.

“I first noticed that she was immobile. In a human, this can only be caused by some serious disease or disability. This posit was confirmed by her medical band, which has the full red ring to indicate an extremely high precedence if some sort of major accident was to occur.

“However, when a medical band is activated, it is supposed to display the medical information and identity of the wearer so that paramedics can properly assist them. There are a select few people who are given a ‘Protected Individual’” - she made finger-quotes in the air - “status that hide their identity. The paramedics would need to contact the doctor who granted them a Protected Medical Band to get their identity. Aurora had this special status - which is unusual in an of itself.

“But I noticed a certain oddity here. If Aurora was really such a special girl to deserve the Protected status, it would be very unlikely that Professor Stevenson would simply carry her onto campus and in here. I made the assumption that Aurora was using the hidden identity as a shield against something.

“I realized that a shield doesn’t always have to block an attack - it can also serve as a deterrent, so that if anyone questioned her identity, they would see that she has some importance and that they couldn’t question her further. Thus the assumption would be made that her identity was qualified.

“From there, of course, it wasn’t difficult to guess that the girl our Androidics professor brought in would be an Android.”

Stevenson nodded slowly along with Jen’s explanation, eyes closed in satisfaction. Once she had finished, he asked her once more: “So, from everything you can observe, what implications can you draw?”

Jen studied Aurora a little more closely, amidst the murmurs in the crowd. She looked up at the professor, and asked him instead, “What’s her story?”

Stevenson laughed, “Good question. That will be enough, Jen. You may return to your workspace.” He addressed the rest of the lab. “The key here is giving an Android a story. As long as that story remains constant, and normal people aren’t given a reason - or quite simply aren’t allowed - to question their identity, an Android can remain relatively hidden amongst humans without issue.

“The story of Aurora, so far, is as follows. She’s the daughter of a family friend, born with paralysis from neck down, and limited facial movement. This explains her medical band. She’s connected to some very important figure somehow, which is why her identity is Protected - level four, with Doctor Redmond as the reference. I’m a legal guardian of Aurora, so I have full clearance to bring her wherever I, or she, wants.

“Because she can only move her eyes, it is much more difficult for a layperson to notice any unexpected behaviors that may arise from poor neural networking or analytic recursive logic. And so, she is able to hide her true identity - a mechanical, digital, non-biological being.”

Jen raised her hand, from the very back of the room. “Professor - if you’ve solved the question of how to get an Android to meld with society already, then what is the point of all our work?”

Stevenson set Aurora down on a empty table nearby, and with a featherlight touch to her nose, made her close her eyes. “I have only succeeded in fooling simpletons, with an Android that is more puppet than robot. If someone were to pick at her skin, they would find it fake. If someone was to caress her hair, they would find it fake. Aurora looks real, but only with limitations. A full Android cannot be like this. Do you all understand what you must do, now?”

There was no answer necessary. The engine sparked once more, and got to work again.

—

“You’ve reached Doctor Redmond’s office. May I ask who is calling?”

“Good afternoon - this is Professor” he accentuated the word slightly - unwittingly, of course “Stevenson speaking.”

“Good afternoon, Professor. Unfortunately Doctor Redmond is not available at the current time-”

“This is urgent, sir.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do-”

“Sure there is. Patch me in. This won’t take but a second, and I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Professor - I can’t do that. I can take a message-”

“Is he performing a surgery right now? Seeing a patient?”

“Sir,” the secretary was sounding rightfully annoyed now, “that’s not information I can give to you.”

“Then give him this message immediately: ‘it worked’. Now. He needs to receive that message, and you’ll see just how quickly he demands to be connected.”

“... very well.”

A moment of silence, barely long enough to form a single coherent thought, passed.

“James?”

“It worked, Frank. Completely. I was carrying her, somebody called the cops on me, and the cop dismissed it completely. By golly, it works, man!”

“... alright. That’s all good news to hear. But remember your oath, James. My life over yours.”

“Without a doubt. That’s all, I just wanted to share the good news.”

There was obvious relief, compared to when Frank had first assented to the idea, in his voice. “You have my congratulations. Talk to you later.”

“Yup.”

Click. It was a resounding click, that sent chills down Stevenson’s spine. He had taken a firm first step into what would be the ultimate future of the human race - and the ground beneath his feet was strong. The second step would be coming soon - and he could already feel the glass poking into his flesh. One wrong move...

—

“Aurora.”

Her eyes fluttered open, the pupil dilating slightly. She held eye contact, blinking regularly. In the semi-lit office behind the lab where much noise could be heard, Aurora sat in near silence across from Stevenson, who was busy at his computer.

“How do you like Jen?”

A message appeared on Stevenson’s slate, which sat propped up to his right. She seems insightful. I was not threatened by her presence.

“I will ask her to mentor you further in the ways of speech.”

That would not be the best. Her mannerisms do not match yours.

“All the more reason. You’ll be living in their world, not mine, when you are completed. If you sound like I do, you would be very weird indeed.”

I understand. I shall pay additional attention to Jen.

“You ‘will’ pay additional attention, Aurora. ‘Shall’ is too old-fashioned for you to be using.”

I will pay additional attention to Jen.

“Very good.”

Professor. A question. The lady on the tram spoke of her son whom had a medical band. Am I, with my medical band, your daughter?

“You are not my daughter, Aurora. You certainly are of my creation, but as a non-biological being, I cannot consider you a daughter - in the traditional sense of the word.”

That is a strange reason to be restricted from a label.

“You have no idea, Aurora.”

Silently, he repeated to himself, you really have no idea how strange things are going to get in the next few months.

Aurora’s eyes seemed to register the extra emotion in Stevenson’s as he turned back towards his computer, and she remained silent for the rest of the day.

—

“You’ve reached Doctor Redmond’s office. May I ask who is calling?”

“This is the Livinston Police Department. I’d like to speak with Doctor Redmond.”

“I’m sorry, he’s not available at the moment. Can I take a message for him instead?”

“This is a matter of great urgency. If Doctor Redmond is not currently engaged in his work, I suggest you connect us immediately.”

“Please hold.”

The rookie officer who had escaped from the crime scene a few weeks ago tapped her fingers impatiently on her slate. She had taken a picture of the band’s reference, but forgot about the issue up until she was looking for old pictures of her cat and scrolled past the evidence.

The wait was nearly unbearable, and she had almost hung up when a tired voice sounded from the slate.

“You’re speaking with Doctor Redmond. How can I help-”

“This is the Livinston Police Department, Officer Maddie speaking. I request the identity of a Protected individual under your supervision.”

“What is their reference number, officer?”

“356.”

“What level clearance do you have, officer?”

“Excuse me?”

“Pardon, officer, but you’re attempting to access a Protected Identity. I need to know your level of clearance.”

“I... I’m level one.”

“I’m sorry, officer, but I cannot release the information to you.”

“What level is necessary, then?”

There was a pause, then with some indignation, “That is privileged information, officer. I cannot tell you. Is there anything else I may help you with?”

“There is not. Good day, Doctor.”

“Good day, officer.”

After the adrenaline had faded away, Maddie realized what she had just done. She had come face to face with a high-level clearance Protected individual. She had questioned their caretaker - rather rudely. She had called the most prestigious doctor within the city and demanded to speak to him, and requested two pieces of sensitive information as if they were nothing. And she was only a month into her job.

She could not help but feel uneasy that something was happening, and she may have touched it - barely.

Description
“She’s an Android, isn’t she, professor?”

“That is correct, Jen. Can we hear your deduction, and any implications you may have found in your thoughts?”

The long-haired girl nodded, and turned to face her puzzled classmates. Unlike what the professor had hoped, no one else had figured it out. Although slightly disheartened, he did find a little glimmer of hope in Jen - who, he silently noted, should be the one to work with Aurora more.

“I first noticed that she was immobile. In a human, this can only be caused by some serious disease or disability. This posit was confirmed by her medical band, which has the full red ring to indicate an extremely high precedence if some sort of major accident was to occur.

“However, when a medical band is activated, it is supposed to display the medical information and identity of the wearer so that paramedics can properly assist them. There are a select few people who are given a ‘Protected Individual’” - she made finger-quotes in the air - “status that hide their identity. The paramedics would need to contact the doctor who granted them a Protected Medical Band to get their identity. Aurora had this special status - which is unusual in an of itself.

“But I noticed a certain oddity here. If Aurora was really such a special girl to deserve the Protected status, it would be very unlikely that Professor Stevenson would simply carry her onto campus and in here. I made the assumption that Aurora was using the hidden identity as a shield against something.

“I realized that a shield doesn’t always have to block an attack - it can also serve as a deterrent, so that if anyone questioned her identity, they would see that she has some importance and that they couldn’t question her further. Thus the assumption would be made that her identity was qualified.

“From there, of course, it wasn’t difficult to guess that the girl our Androidics professor brought in would be an Android.”

Stevenson nodded slowly along with Jen’s explanation, eyes closed in satisfaction. Once she had finished, he asked her once more: “So, from everything you can observe, what implications can you draw?”

Jen studied Aurora a little more closely, amidst the murmurs in the crowd. She looked up at the professor, and asked him instead, “What’s her story?”

Stevenson laughed, “Good question. That will be enough, Jen. You may return to your workspace.” He addressed the rest of the lab. “The key here is giving an Android a story. As long as that story remains constant, and normal people aren’t given a reason - or quite simply aren’t allowed - to question their identity, an Android can remain relatively hidden amongst humans without issue.

“The story of Aurora, so far, is as follows. She’s the daughter of a family friend, born with paralysis from neck down, and limited facial movement. This explains her medical band. She’s connected to some very important figure somehow, which is why her identity is Protected - level four, with Doctor Redmond as the reference. I’m a legal guardian of Aurora, so I have full clearance to bring her wherever I, or she, wants.

“Because she can only move her eyes, it is much more difficult for a layperson to notice any unexpected behaviors that may arise from poor neural networking or analytic recursive logic. And so, she is able to hide her true identity - a mechanical, digital, non-biological being.”

Jen raised her hand, from the very back of the room. “Professor - if you’ve solved the question of how to get an Android to meld with society already, then what is the point of all our work?”

Stevenson set Aurora down on a empty table nearby, and with a featherlight touch to her nose, made her close her eyes. “I have only succeeded in fooling simpletons, with an Android that is more puppet than robot. If someone were to pick at her skin, they would find it fake. If someone was to caress her hair, they would find it fake. Aurora looks real, but only with limitations. A full Android cannot be like this. Do you all understand what you must do, now?”

There was no answer necessary. The engine sparked once more, and got to work again.

—

“You’ve reached Doctor Redmond’s office. May I ask who is calling?”

“Good afternoon - this is Professor” he accentuated the word slightly - unwittingly, of course “Stevenson speaking.”

“Good afternoon, Professor. Unfortunately Doctor Redmond is not available at the current time-”

“This is urgent, sir.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do-”

“Sure there is. Patch me in. This won’t take but a second, and I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Professor - I can’t do that. I can take a message-”

“Is he performing a surgery right now? Seeing a patient?”

“Sir,” the secretary was sounding rightfully annoyed now, “that’s not information I can give to you.”

“Then give him this message immediately: ‘it worked’. Now. He needs to receive that message, and you’ll see just how quickly he demands to be connected.”

“... very well.”

A moment of silence, barely long enough to form a single coherent thought, passed.

“James?”

“It worked, Frank. Completely. I was carrying her, somebody called the cops on me, and the cop dismissed it completely. By golly, it works, man!”

“... alright. That’s all good news to hear. But remember your oath, James. My life over yours.”

“Without a doubt. That’s all, I just wanted to share the good news.”

There was obvious relief, compared to when Frank had first assented to the idea, in his voice. “You have my congratulations. Talk to you later.”

“Yup.”

Click. It was a resounding click, that sent chills down Stevenson’s spine. He had taken a firm first step into what would be the ultimate future of the human race - and the ground beneath his feet was strong. The second step would be coming soon - and he could already feel the glass poking into his flesh. One wrong move...

—

“Aurora.”

Her eyes fluttered open, the pupil dilating slightly. She held eye contact, blinking regularly. In the semi-lit office behind the lab where much noise could be heard, Aurora sat in near silence across from Stevenson, who was busy at his computer.

“How do you like Jen?”

A message appeared on Stevenson’s slate, which sat propped up to his right. She seems insightful. I was not threatened by her presence.

“I will ask her to mentor you further in the ways of speech.”

That would not be the best. Her mannerisms do not match yours.

“All the more reason. You’ll be living in their world, not mine, when you are completed. If you sound like I do, you would be very weird indeed.”

I understand. I shall pay additional attention to Jen.

“You ‘will’ pay additional attention, Aurora. ‘Shall’ is too old-fashioned for you to be using.”

I will pay additional attention to Jen.

“Very good.”

Professor. A question. The lady on the tram spoke of her son whom had a medical band. Am I, with my medical band, your daughter?

“You are not my daughter, Aurora. You certainly are of my creation, but as a non-biological being, I cannot consider you a daughter - in the traditional sense of the word.”

That is a strange reason to be restricted from a label.

“You have no idea, Aurora.”

Silently, he repeated to himself, you really have no idea how strange things are going to get in the next few months.

Aurora’s eyes seemed to register the extra emotion in Stevenson’s as he turned back towards his computer, and she remained silent for the rest of the day.

—

“You’ve reached Doctor Redmond’s office. May I ask who is calling?”

“This is the Livinston Police Department. I’d like to speak with Doctor Redmond.”

“I’m sorry, he’s not available at the moment. Can I take a message for him instead?”

“This is a matter of great urgency. If Doctor Redmond is not currently engaged in his work, I suggest you connect us immediately.”

“Please hold.”

The rookie officer who had escaped from the crime scene a few weeks ago tapped her fingers impatiently on her slate. She had taken a picture of the band’s reference, but forgot about the issue up until she was looking for old pictures of her cat and scrolled past the evidence.

The wait was nearly unbearable, and she had almost hung up when a tired voice sounded from the slate.

“You’re speaking with Doctor Redmond. How can I help-”

“This is the Livinston Police Department, Officer Maddie speaking. I request the identity of a Protected individual under your supervision.”

“What is their reference number, officer?”

“356.”

“What level clearance do you have, officer?”

“Excuse me?”

“Pardon, officer, but you’re attempting to access a Protected Identity. I need to know your level of clearance.”

“I... I’m level one.”

“I’m sorry, officer, but I cannot release the information to you.”

“What level is necessary, then?”

There was a pause, then with some indignation, “That is privileged information, officer. I cannot tell you. Is there anything else I may help you with?”

“There is not. Good day, Doctor.”

“Good day, officer.”

After the adrenaline had faded away, Maddie realized what she had just done. She had come face to face with a high-level clearance Protected individual. She had questioned their caretaker - rather rudely. She had called the most prestigious doctor within the city and demanded to speak to him, and requested two pieces of sensitive information as if they were nothing. And she was only a month into her job.

She could not help but feel uneasy that something was happening, and she may have touched it - barely.