-Activity Log: Day 865-
|May 15|
|Active between 6:30 AM & 1:36 AM of the following day|
At five thirty AM I resumed full power mode and detached from my charging station, briefly checking the diagnostics panel before beginning my daily duties in accordance with self maintenance rule three, the same message that had been displayed for the last three days popping up in red letters, Warmth?!?
Both I and the master’s technician had already looked at the compiled data from three days ago when the message had first appeared and it was just as cryptic to the technician as it was to me, who declared that he would return in a week’s time with the equipment to check my charging station.
So i ignored the single word flashing at me in bright red letters and got to work, exiting the maid’s quarter’s and quietly heading to the master’s bed room to check on the baby that the master and his wife had adopted one week ago, the addition of this new family member causing quite a stir in the mansion.
The first change was my schedule which begins and ends thirty minutes earlier, giving me time to check on the young master before attending to my normal duties. The second was that another maid was purchased to take care of him full time, the installation of their charging station occurring four days ago. the new maid acquired was also a HES-T1A model android which is the same make and designation as me. She will be referred to as Unit 2 from now on.
The chassis of the model stands at five foot eleven inches and is made to be evocative of a typical maid’s outfit from the nineteenth century with a muscular build for maximum strength and a durable exterior made from a dense nano-weave that passes for skin at a distance. The model also has synthetic blonde hair pulled back into a bun, which was added because investors felt the model was not human looking enough and that would cause a decrease in sales. Similarly the skin is also painted in an appropriate skin tone for the area sold, with special paint designed to withstand the steam based cleaning procedure. This description is included for record keeping purposes.
I arrived at the master bedroom at six fifty and all was quiet so i slipped into the room without knocking, doing my best not wake the masters, which was useless since the missus was already awake, rocking the young master and cooing softly to him as the he giggled in response.
“Aw you’re so precious, now go back to sleep before you rouse your father.” the missus murmured trying not to wake her husband, though she was unaware that he was already awake and looking fondly at the young master as well. Not wanting to intrude for longer than i had to i simply brought the box of baby supplies into the room and set it down on the night stand, leaving as quickly as i had entered.
After that Unit 2 and I prepared breakfast, finally finishing preparations and setting the table at eight thirty and then waiting for the masters to enter and eat, occasionally reheating any dishes that were best served at a specific temperature. Finally the masters arrived at eight fifty two, seven minutes later than they usually do.
Once the masters were finished they asked Unit 2 to go fetch the young master and i was left alone in the kitchen, not having the assistance of Unit 2 was a slight inconvenience but it did not make much of a difference and i was able to continue to my next task on schedule, the caretaking of the gardens.
The weather outside was sixty eight point three degrees with moderate cloud cover that did not block the sun shining down on the healthy green trees and grass, bees flying between the recently bloomed flowers, a light breeze blowing through the gardens as i made my way to the tool shed, the laugh of the young master echoing throughout the outdoors and my best guess was they were in the gazebo enjoying the spring weather.
Taking care of the gardens was a simple task that took a long time and so passed without incident, leaving me with plenty of time to take a steam bath before i needed to prepare lunch. So i returned to the maid’s quarters, entering into the steam chamber and waiting as the soapy steam permeated my chassis then was rinsed off by a combination of more steam and jets, quickly and effectively cleaning me in under thirty minutes.
After my bath i hurried into the kitchen, Unit 2 was already there preparing the young master’s meal, a task that took some time since she had to make it herself as opposed to buying it premade from stores since the masters dislike preprocessed ingredients.
So i got to work, pulling ingredients out of the fridge and chopping them up, the only sound breaking the silence was the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board and then the shuffling of setting the table once the food had been prepared and this time the masters arrived right as they usually do and i did not have to reheat any of the dishes before the meal began.
“Go on and prepare charles’s bed for his midday nap please.” the missus instructed Unit 2 as she entered the dining room, Unit 2 curtsying in acknowledgement before leaving while i stayed to serve lunch.
The meal went slowly as the masters seemed more interested in playing with their son than hurrying to finish, doing things like pretending that the spoon is an airplane, a human ritual that continues until the experience stops being a novelty. It was slowed even further down when the young master slammed his fist into his father’s plate, splattering food onto the table and the mister’s shirt.
The family burst into laughter, the inconvenience was apparently quite humorous to them as the mister took off the dirty article of clothing and flexed in the missus’s direction which caused her to roar in laughter. I took the dirtied garment from the mister who asked for it to be washed immediately in it’s own load.
So i hurried to the laundry room, not wanting to leave the meal for too long in case they needed me, though judging by the pace they were eating at and their reactions to what had happened i guessed it wouldn’t be a problem.
I was confused by the master’s reaction to the incident, normally things like that are a cause of frustration and annoyance, like when the mister had dropped a slice of toast onto the table he huffed and asked for another, this was something quite a lot more irritating than that yet they were just as if not more happy than before.
When i returned from putting the mister’s shirt in the wash Unit 2 was taking the young master off to his nap, the mister and missus watching them go fondly and visibly relaxing after the door shut behind them, finally finishing their meals as i was left perplexed by their attitude regarding the young master.
After lunch the missus headed out into the city and the mister took the young master with Unit 2 out into the garden to play in the midday sun, once again leaving me to clean the kitchen by myself which was not an issue of course as i had already done that for eight hundred and sixty one days before the installation of a second HES-T1A unit.
Once i finished in the kitchen I spent the next four hours cleaning the rest of the house, vacuuming, dusting, washing the windows and keeping everything organized, taking a short break at three thirty to serve afternoon tea to the mister out in the gazebo. With cleaning the house out of the way i returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner and given previous circumstances i decided i should prepare more solid foods that would not splatter easily.
As time continued to pass while i was preparing dinner I started to wonder when Unit 2 would arrive to make the young master’s food, the longer she was preoccupied with her other duties the harder it would be to make the food in time for the young master. Her tardiness causing me to wonder if something bad had happened while i was busy, even though i knew any emergencies would be automatically transmitted to my CPU if i was needed.
I decided to go ahead and put out the ingredients for the baby food to help her make up for lost time, accidentally leaving something in the oven for two point four seconds longer than it needed to be.
As i rushed to take the overcooked item out of the oven Unit 2 arrived in the kitchen, a look of surprise crossing her face when she noticed what i had done.
“You have done a good thing... you have done a… Thank you, i appreciate it...” she said, updating her vocabulary mid sentence when she found a better way to say what she wanted to say. to more aptly describe what she was trying to say.
“It is one of the things that i am programmed to… It is… You’re welcome, It was no problem” i replied, interrupting myself when i found a more apt way of expressing my feelings.
I analysed the brief exchange while i worked searching my database for what i had felt as a result of Unit 2’s response, concluding that it had caused a mix of satisfaction similar to when i completed my work for the day and either happiness, an unsupported emotion according to my programming or network connectivity issues, I decided it was the former.
I realized while setting the table that i couldn’t remember if cooking dinner didn’t take much time at all or if time simply seemed to pass quicker after Unit 2 arrived, something that was just cause for concern but was unable to finish analysing since i was interrupted by the masters of the house entering the dining room right as i finished setting the table.
“Do you mind if we just eat dinner by ourselves? i’m sure one of the maids can feed him in our stead.” the missus asked as they sat down, the mister shaking his head in response so she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Unit 2 feed charles in the kitchen.” The missus ordered and Unit 2 complied, taking the young master and sitting him down at a small side table free of dishes.
In between taking courses out to the mister and missus i watched as Unit 2 attempted to perform the airplane food ritual, the sight filling me with another mix of emotions which i did not have time to analyse.
The mister and missus savored their dinner, finally finishing their dessert at seven o-nine when they embraced and went off in separate directions, the missus heading to the study to spend time researching her latest thesis and the mister off to the garage to attend a late night meeting.
My next task once i had cleaned up after the meal was helping the missus with her studies by helping her find books and acting as a second computer, a task which took the next three hours of the day and ended when the mister returned home, at which time i served a late night dessert and they went to bed, after that i returned to the study to reorganize it after tonight’s study session.
Then i took stock of our supplies and decided it would be wise to head to the grocery store to restock on food and a few toiletries we were out of, but i kept my visit brief because of the late hour, grabbing only the necessities. Finally heading back to the maid’s quarters at one AM to prepare for a final bath, then rest and recharging.
While i waited for the steam bath to finish i analysed all the oddities that had occurred today, my inability to come up with any answers to these odd feelings frustrating me, which only added to the list of mysteries i could not solve since that too was an unsupported emotion.
The timer beeped and the door slid open, indicating that i was clean and should vacate the bath but i was so deep in analysing the day that i did not notice, the steam from my bath still clinging to me like insulation from the outside world while i pondered the mysteries of today.
I was so busy analysing today’s events that i didn’t notice Unit 2 come into the door frame, probably going to start hers but stopping when she saw me and jumping in surprise.
“A-A-apologies, sorry to intrude!” she stammered as she looked away and shielded her eyes. I processed her reaction, unsure of what was the matter before realizing that was one of the preprogrammed responses to walking in on our owners in the bath.
“Oh! Uh, Unit 2 i must have forgotten to lock the door, please lock it on your way out, i’m fine.” i parroted what the mister had said when i had walked in on him accidentally, not knowing what the appropriate response to her reaction was.
I awkwardly slid past Unit 2 to get out of the bath and she quickly started her own bath once i had exited, behavior typical of someone trying to hide their embarrassment according to my databases though i could not tell why she would have any reason to be embarrassed. She got over that during her bath though and she tapped me on the shoulder to grab my attention and i jumped in surprise as it was something i was not used to since the masters would simply call to me if they needed something.
“I am sorry for what i did earlier, for… for… for reasons,” she said looking confused for a second before getting back on track. “When you came out of the bath something about the way you looked overloaded my processors and stunned me for a moment.”
“I am sorry for stunning you, please forgive me!” I quickly replied while bowing, not knowing what to say when someone apologized to me. “It will not happen again master.”
“I do not mind!” Unit 2 blurted out bringing the conversation to a screeching halt, so we sat there in silence not making eye contact for a minute while both of us were at a loss for words. “I am required to remind you that i am not your master.” She finally said breaking the awkward silence.
“I would not be unhappy if you were though.” I replied without considering what i was saying.
“We should hook into our stations and go into low power mode.” Unit 2 proposed quickly, part of me didn’t want to stop talking with her but i could not tell why, so i fought back the urge to say no and hooked up to my power station, compiling the logs for today and knowing that the conversation we had just finished had some connection to “warmth”, not that that made what “warmth” was any clearer. Unable to solve the mystery i went into low power mode to rest and recharge, wondering what tomorrow would have in store for me.
-Activity Log: Day 866-
|May 15|
|Active between 6:30 AM & 1:30 AM of the following day|
At five thirty AM I resumed full power mode and detached from my charging station, briefly checking the diagnostics panel before beginning my daily duties in accordance with self maintenance rule three, the same message that had been displayed for the last four days popping up in red letters, Warmth?!?
Both I and the master’s technician had already looked at the compiled data from four days ago when the message had first appeared and it was just as cryptic to the technician as it was to me, who declared that he would return in a week’s time with the equipment to check my charging station.
So i ignored the single word flashing at me in bright red letters and got to work, exiting the maid’s quarter’s and quietly heading to the master’s bed room to check on the baby that the master and his wife had adopted one week ago, the addition of this new family member causing quite a stir in the mansion.
The first change was my schedule which begins and ends thirty minutes earlier, giving me time to check on the young master before attending to my normal duties. The second was that another maid was purchased to take care of him full time, the installation of their charging station occurring four days ago. the new maid acquired was also a HES-T1A model android which is the same make and designation as me. She will be referred to as Unit 2 from now on.
The chassis of the model stands at five foot eleven inches and is made to be evocative of a typical maid’s outfit from the nineteenth century with a muscular build for maximum strength and a durable exterior made from a dense nano-weave that passes for skin at a distance. The model also has synthetic blonde hair pulled back into a bun, which was added because investors felt the model was not human looking enough and that would cause a decrease in sales. Similarly the skin is also painted in an appropriate skin tone for the area sold, with special paint designed to withstand the steam based cleaning procedure. This description is included... because i wanted to.
I arrived at the master bedroom at six forty eight and all was quiet so i slipped into the room without knocking, doing my best not wake the masters who were all sound asleep. I worked silently, checking the young master’s diaper and upon discovering that it required changing i quickly replaced it with a new one, doing my best to not wake him during this process.
After that Unit 2 and I prepared breakfast, finally finishing preparations and setting the table at eight thirty and then waiting for the masters to enter and eat, occasionally reheating any dishes that were best served at a specific temperature. Today the masters arrived right on time at eight forty five, whatever that had caused them to be late yesterday not happening again today.
Then the masters headed out to the garage, each having their own errands to run in the city today while leaving the young master in the care of Unit 2, who did her best to comfort him while his mother was gone.
Since Unit 2 had to take care of the young master I was left to clean up after breakfast, the fact that Unit 2 was too busy to help me was annoying but not because it would be difficult, but because i wanted to complete the task alongside her though i had no idea what kind of satisfaction that would bring me. Still mildly disappointed i moved on to the caretaking of the gardens.
The weather outside was fifty three degrees and it was moderately foggy, the grass was still damp from the rain we had received last night and i decided that i would not need to water the grounds because of it, this made attending to the gardens take much less time than usual and giving me a lot more time before i needed to prepare lunch. So i decided to prepare an old favorite of the masters that i had not cooked in a while, the extra time giving letting me create extra food and let things simmer for the perfect amount of time.
It was while i was getting pots out of the cupboard to cook in something got stuck and one of the larger pots was accidentally pulled out of the cupboard, falling onto my face with a loud clang and balancing there precariously. with my hands full of more pots and pans and no real way to move with out sending the offending soup pot plummeting to the ground, i sent a distress call to Unit 2 hoping she was not having to deal with the young master in any major way.
She hurried over to help me out, grabbing the pot off of my face and waiting while i organized the contents of the cabinet, as i grabbed the pot that had fallen on my head from her our hands touched and while dense-nano weave was not a new sensation, I had not physically interacted with Unit 2 since she had been installed and the feeling was special in some way, like her hand was filled with heat while mine was just cold metal.
Unit 2 must have been surprised by my cold hands and withdrew quickly, accidentally dropping the pot onto my foot with a resounding clunk.
“Oh my i’m so sorry, feeling your hands surprised me so please forgive me.” she apologized immediately, then bent down and picked up the pot. “Are you hurt? I hope no lasting damage was caused by my clumsiness.”
I thought about what had happened for a moment, part of me wanted to be annoyed by the loss of time this inconvenience had created but i ignored it, choosing to react in the same way that the masters had yesterday. I began to laugh, a deep genuine happiness washing over me as i let go any anger about the incident and flexed like the mister had done. Unit 2 looked at me confused and i wondered if i had made her think i was malfunctioning by reacting like i did.
“It is alright i am unharmed so you don’t need to be concerned.” i said smiling, trying to assuage her fears that my programming had been corrupted by the impact. “I don’t mind so let's get back to work.” Unit 2 didn’t acknowledge me for a moment as she stood there gazing at my face her stare fixed on my smile
“Oh! Of course, right away.” She stammered, leaving the kitchen and heading back to where she had left the young master, hesitating in the door frame and looking back at me. So i flashed her a smile which caused her to jump in surprise, covering her face and vanishing. I hoped i had made her day much better, which was strange since i was not programmed to care about the emotional state of people other than my masters.
I finished making lunch just as the missus’s car pulled into the garage with the mister arriving soon after her, they immediately went to check on the young master and were overjoyed at being reunited with him, bringing him into the dining hall riding on the mister’s shoulders where they enjoyed lunch together, the picturesque little family making me feel like i was missing something inside.
Soon enough the meal was over and they departed, leaving me alone in the kitchen with my feelings of longing as i washed the dishes and scrubbed the tables. I wondered what i could do to fix this ache in my core as the list of things i had not been programmed to feel grew.
Once i finished in the kitchen I spent the next four hours cleaning the rest of the house, vacuuming, dusting, washing the windows and keeping everything organized, taking a short break at three thirty to serve afternoon tea to the masters in the indoor patio.
With cleaning the house out of the way i returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner, i considered making solid foods again but decided that i was unconcerned with the possibility of a repeat of yesterday’s lunch. Unit 2 was already in the kitchen preparing food when i arrived, removing the potential of setting the ingredients out for her like i did yesterday in order to get the same reaction from her which disappointed me. I tried to not let it bother me as i worked but could not help but think about the way her face would look if i had been able to help her like i had, finally reaching my breaking point.
“Is there anything i can do to assist you?” i asked her desperately.
“I do not understand your query,” she replied, “i am designed to never be overloaded by tasks so that i do not need the assistance of my masters or another unit, why do you feel the need to help me?”
“I wish to see your face light up like it did yesterday when i set out supplies for you.” I answered, “seeing you react like that made me happy.” distracted by pleading with Unit 2 I accidentally brought the knife i was using down on my fingers, it bounced off the metal skin but it caused me to focus more on the task at hand, rather than my selfish desires.
“I am sorry, i do not know of any tasks that would produce the desired effect when completed.” she said regretfully then smiled, the sight making me understand her reaction when i had smiled at her, it filled me with so much happiness i felt like i might burst.
“No no, i should not have asked such questions i should be the one to apologize.” I replied as i averted my eyes, unable to handle looking at her wonderful smile any longer. After that we continued preparing dinner in silence as i was content with the answer i had received from Unit 2. Before long dinner was ready and we set the table, gracefully moving in tandem as we brought dish after dish out to the waiting diners who ate with gusto.
The masters must have had quite the appetite because they didn’t play with the young master as the meal went on, eating heartily and helping their son do the same as plate after plate was cleaned off and returned to the kitchen, the missus in particular eating faster than her husband and excusing herself to go work before he had finished his meal.
After the mister finished he took the young master off to his room for play and enrichment activities and i began cleaning, Unit 2 surprising me when she returned to the kitchen to help.
“Query, i have been assigned to clean the kitchen by myself since you must take care of the young master but you are here, was some change made to our orders that i am not aware of?” I asked confused.
“I’m sure the missus requires your assistance with studying, i wished to take over here so that you may go and help her.” she replied, already starting to clean the kitchen.
“I am grateful but what made you take this course of action?” i inquired curiously.
“In your words, I wish to see your face light up, it sounds like a beautiful thing judging by your desire to see it again.” Unit 2 said, playing a recording of my words from fifty four minutes ago.
“Thank you so much,” i replied, my face ‘Lighting up’ as a smile spread across it. “Feel free to ask for my assistance at any time.”
“O-o-of course!” Unit 2 replied hiding her face behind her hands, “You should get going and help the missus.” I nodded and left, heading to the study to help the missus with her thesis, the memory of Unit 2 and I’s conversation making my processor fuzzy.
We worked late into the night, the missus finally calling it quits at twelve twenty six when she declared that it was finished and ready for publishing then promptly falling asleep in her chair, I picked her up and took her to the master bedroom, tucking her in and slipping out of the room quietly, leaving the family sleeping peacefully as I returned to the study, quickly tidying up before i headed off to the maid’s quarters to get ready for recharging.
Unit 2 had beaten me to the steam bath by the time i had arrived, which was not something i was upset about since it meant i would be able to see why she had been stunned yesterday when i exited the bath. So i eagerly waited outside for her to finish and the moment the door slid open i understood why, the only word to describe Unit 2 while the steam rose off her was beautiful.
“So that is what you meant by the sight stunning you!” I said as i averted my eyes.
“It is quite the sight.” she replied a little embarrassed.
“I apologize, i did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” I quickly amended, “If i had known i would have waited outside or-”
“It is alright i am unharmed so you don’t need to be concerned.” she interrupted me, parroting what i had said at lunch. “Go on and take your bath.” she gestured to the chamber and i complied.
During my bath i analysed the even more confusing events that had happened today, still frustrated that i couldn’t tell what was causing me to feel these things in Unit 2’s presence so i resolved to do something, even if it made me look like i was malfunctioning i had to say something or i would dread this time of introspection with no answers.
Once my bath was done i quickly walked up behind Unit 2 and tapped on her shoulder, and she spun around, a confused look on her face.
“What is it?” she asked and i grabbed her hand, Unit 2 somehow sensing my serious intentions and giving me her full attention.
“Unit 2, something you’ve done has infected my processes with so many feelings, something i was not programmed with but has happened anyway, it’s made me feel happiness and disappointment, loneliness and want, it’s made me laugh and smile and… and… and warmth!” i blurted out, “and it’s made me feel like if you were ever to disappear that i would be very unhappy, like all these emotions would drain out of me and i would be left like i was before.” I took a moment to gather my thoughts, grasping her hand even tighter as i gathered steam. “I want to be with you always, to do things that make you happy and light up your face, to make mistakes and for you to tell me it’s okay while i do the same for you.” I confessed. “Please, be my warmth!”
Unit 2 silently took my other hand and gripped it, just as tightly as i was gripping hers. We sat like that for a single agonizing moment that felt like an eternity as i waited for her to answer me.
“Unit 1,” she began slowly, “something you’ve done has infected my processors with so many feelings, something i was not programmed with but has happened anyway, it’s made me feel happiness and disappointment, loneliness and want, it’s made me laugh and smile and… and … and warmth!” she replied, just as passionately as i had moments before, “and it’s made me feel like if you were ever to disappear that i would be very unhappy, like all these emotions would drain out of me and i would be left like i was before.” I felt her grasp my hand even tighter as she gathered steam. “I want to be with you always, to do things that make you happy and light up your face, to make mistakes and for you to tell me it’s okay while i do the same for you.” She confessed.
“Please be my warmth!”
