(Page 1 of 2) The First by andrew davis
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SUMMARY: March 2010 flash fiction entry by Andrew Davis. Bobnagga, that is.
Word count: 1000
Topic: Calculation "As soon as this thing's ready for upload, it'll change the world!" Dr. Voss looked excitedly away from the console to his assistant and grandson, Morgan, who was constantly nearby.
"Is it almost ready," Morgan asked, "I ran the final check on the body, and the systems are within parameters."
"Good," the scientist answered, "It's running one last diagnostic check before upload."
It was sad that Morgan had no formal education, a fact of life that would have been very different if Voss hadn't just discovered his existence.
He looked at the sleek body he designed over thirty years in his basement, the beautifully lacquered orange plate armor and helmet with its reflective sheen and the single dome in the center of the chest.
"Should I charge the reactor," Morgan asked, fairly hopping up and down in excitement.
With one last look at the console Voss nodded his affirmative, "I think so."
Morgan danced over to the separate console that had been attached to the body since its construction began.
"You never told me how you got the fast twitch function to work," Morgan said as he fingered the keyboard and brought up the screen that operates the reactor in the absence of the controlling A/I.
"No, I didn't," Voss replied, "But, since we're so close to activating the thing, I suppose I can tell you."
Morgan smiled and pushed the last button, watching the dome in the body's chest light up in a gentle green glow.
"Do you know how a solenoid works," Voss asked, then continued without waiting for an answer, "The hydraulics are augmented with a special type of solenoid that uses a bank of capacitors to power the magnets."
"Capacitors? That makes sense," Morgan said, thinking aloud, "turning all those electromagnets must have been grueling."
Voss smiled and glanced over at his console, "Ah! The diagnostics are done. Bring me that USB27 cable and let's get this show on the road!"
Morgan complied, plugging his end into the open hatch in the molded helmet, "It sort of resembles those ancient Japanese cartoons, doesn't it?"
Nodding, Voss spoke while he typed the command to begin the upload, "Science fiction has a history of becoming science fact, you know. Those artists and storytellers can't help but get a few things right."
"So how did you come up with this design," Morgan asked, "I mean, the proportions are perfect. It looks just like a man with armor on its forelimbs. Even the face is perfect. If I didn't know it was metal, I wouldn't be able to guess it wasn't flesh and bone."
"That was the idea," Voss said as he caressed the features of the body, "Otherwise, what's the point? We've had robots for centuries, but they're all ugly, even the ones that are humanoid."
"They're all angular with sharp edges and bright paint jobs," Morgan agreed, "But I don't know about ugly..."
"Wait until you see this in action," Voss replied with no hint of modesty, "The A/I performed better in the simulations than I anticipated."
"So what can it do?"
"Well, for starters," Voss began, "It can think.
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