[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.

[waterfell]

[Unfortunately, Ami is a purist.]

Fish don't have arms.

[But then he did say retractable. And fish can't talk, either, but she's planning on this bot talking.]

But I think it's OK this time.

[bot_builder]

Well yeah, obviously they'd be hidden away most of the time. Since you wanted it to do housework while you're at school... Yeah! We could tie that to the alarm functionality! So that it would only use its arms when you're at school. If that would make it better.

[waterfell]

Then it'll be a fish whenever I see it.

[This bot is definitely getting rebuilt in reality when she wakes up, as her own awkward tribute to finding someone who understood her a little bit in dreams.]

[bot_builder]

[He bobs his head quickly.] Right, that's settled then.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, don't insult it. I haven't been able to figure out how to install obedience chips without removing the emotion chips, and you'll want the emotion chip if you're using it as a friend... It's not that hard, I mean I treat them well enough apparently, and I'm not the most user-friendly person around.

[And that would be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for him!]

[waterfell]

[Ami can be sweet when not totally chained to her issues. Really.]

I won't! I won't say anything mean to it. [It wouldn't be in her nature anyway.] We're supposed to get along well.

Will reply tomorrow :)

[bot_builder]

Good. They don't react very well to that. But yeah, as long as you treat them decently, bots make the best friends.

Tell you what, I'll sketch up some plans for you to go over while I get the tools and parts we'll need from my lai--lab.

kk! <3

[waterfell]

Alright! [Despite her precociousness, Ami won't end up being good for much more than acting like an assistant: bringing this or that, holding a critical piece in place, following instructions.] I'll read them all over.

[bot_builder]

[He leaves, and returns after a little while, followed by a hovering robot dragging a cart filled with bits of machinery and strange tools. He's carrying a large mechanical fish.]

I still had one of the old koi-bot chassis, so I figured we'd just start with it and make alterations as we go along.

[waterfell]

[Ami looks the bot over from several angles as though considering something rather profound. Finally, she makes her pronouncement.]

It's really nice. And we can do the rest together. Can we paint it blue?

[bot_builder]

[He beams. He rarely gets compliments on his bots.] Sure thing. We can do that last, so our working on it won't mess up the paint job.

[He lays the koi-bot on the ground and starts picking through the stuff his Jack-bot brought.] Let's see, we should... hmm. Brain first or body first?

[waterfell]

The brain is more important, so we should do that first.

[This is the sage wisdom of Mizuno Ami as she crouches carefully near the ground to look at the koi-bot more closely. Your bots are cool, Jack, so expect more compliments soon.]

[bot_builder]

[Someone else thinks his bots are cool! Glee! Back when he still hung out with people, he was always being told how stupid and useless everything he built was.]

Hm. [He nods.] It'll make the brain simpler to put together too. [He lays down a drop cloth and sets out the brain components.] Right. Let's see. We need the basic parts... motherboard, cpu... and then the brain half of the different functions... Hm. This is going to be the complicated part.

How about I put the brain together, and you take notes? I'll try to stay slow so you can see what I'm doing.

[waterfell]

I have paper and a pen. [Ami slips these out of her school backpack, closes it carefully afterward, and voila! She is ready to take notes.]

I'll write down everything you say.

[bot_builder]

You always start with the motherboard--that's what all the other parts of the brain plug into. [Then he starts showing you which parts plug in where, while explaining what he's doing. The little chips are all sorts of different colors too, to help tell them apart.]

[waterfell]

[Ami takes her notes in careful Japanese. She uses the lines of the paper to keep her printing neat and tidy, not allowing it to drift this time, and she makes a very serious face as she draws each line correctly.]