[007 ☿] Dream a little dream

[waterfell]

[It's been a rainy dream, as Mizuno Ami (aged seven) walks home. Her backpack looks quite plump and full, probably due to the extra books she brings to have something to focus on during lunch

Comments

Late to the party?

[bot_builder]

[There's a tall gangly man all in black sitting on the swing next to you--was he there a moment ago?]

You have to put your whole body into it. Lean back when your legs go up, lean forward when your legs go down.

[bot_builder]

...

Sure! [He isn't the same little snot he was when he was a kid; maybe this would actually work out ok?]

You're lonely too? [The 'too' slips out before he thinks about it.] I thought most kids had tons of friends.

this thread... the cavities... XD

[waterfell]

[Ami smiles still, but it becomes quiet as she turns away as though she's focusing on swinging. It's a few more swings before she speaks again.]

I want to make some friends.

Hee XD

[bot_builder]

[He notices that silence. Great, no friends probably means you're as awkward as he was at your age. Funny, you seem normal...]

...

You ever thought about going into robotics? Bots make much better friends than people, I've found. And you can build as many as you want.

[waterfell]

[Well, they tend to find her a little too serious to approach to have fun with. And she tends to be too shy to approach them. She won't have any friends until she's fourteen, really.

Except now, because dreams are wonderful.]

Robotics? I like robot shows, but I never tried building one. [It might be a bit beyond even her, at this age.]

[bot_builder]

[Jack, on the other hand, was just a problem child. A truly wonderful mix of spiteful little bully and utter wimp, with megalomaniacal aspirations since the second grade. He didn't really have any friends until ...ever.]

[Her age is a consideration--it took Jack a while to get the hang of building something that would function, and he was much older when he started.]

Well, it's not exactly a quick fix... It takes a few years of experimentation to get working models, but the end result is worth it. They're useful for other things too, like housework and stuff. [He laughs again.] My life would probably be a mess without my bots. [Because it's totally not now.]

[waterfell]

I don't know if I could do it myself. [And Mama is usually busy at the hospital and Papa needs lots of time to paint.] But sometime, I can try to make one.

[bot_builder]

It'll take more than one try.

...Hey, maybe I could help! I already know how to build working bots, so it'd be a lot quicker than trying to figure out everything on your own.

[waterfell]

[Oh, you read her mind; or the dream did. One of the two. Because she'd been trying to get up the nerve to ask for help.]

Would you?

[Oh, Mama will be so proud if Ami can show off a bot she made. Not to mention it'll be amazingly fun.]

Is it really alright?

[bot_builder]

Yeah, sure. I don't have anyone to talk robots with, it'd be neat to be able to show someone how they work.

We should probably start with one of the simpler models, so you can follow more of how they go together. Hm... I could probably alter the alarm-bot a bit, take out the alarm functionality and expand on the AI... [He's excited about this, can you tell he's excited about this?]

[waterfell]

[Ami's looking pretty excited herself as she brings the swing to a stop. It might be good, or scary, to note she actually seems to understand what Jack means.

300 IQ, she has it.]

We could also use the alarm as a trigger for what we want it to do now.

[bot_builder]

[Jumps off the swing and lands neatly, before starting to pace in front of the swingset.]

What I was thinking--wait, no, that could work. What I was thinking was improving its ability to chat with you, and just generally be a little pal, but we could rework the alarm a bit and use it as a hibernate setting--so you don't have to turn it all the way off every time you need some time to yourself. Just have it hover in a corner, or a drawer, or something during school hours and stuff.

[waterfell]

Mm. Then it won't bother Mama on her days off, either.

[Ami jumps down off the swing once it comes to a full stop.]

Maybe when I'm at school it can even do some housework!

[bot_builder]

Hm. We'll have to use a different model if you want it to do housework--the alarm-bot's too small and doesn't have arms or anything... We could still use its alarm function for what we want, but we should probably use my basic Jack-bot model for everything else.

Do you have a favorite animal or anything you'd want it to look like?

[waterfell]

[Ami raises a finger as the idea hits her.]

A fish. I want a fish that swims in the air! [Jack has only himself to blame for mentioning making it hover.]

[bot_builder]

Oo, nifty! I'll finally get to reuse my koi-bot model! [He makes a little happy squeak. He never thought he'd use the koi-bot design again!]

Maybe it could have some kind of retractable arms, so it could help around the house better...