Page 3 of Fembot
Accessing Updates.
Updating…
Updating…
Power Interrupted.
Accessing Safe mode.
Safe mode compromised.
Accessing Mainframe.
Updating…
Updating…
Updating…
Update Complete.
Manual Input: Run diagnostic.
Scanning Systems.
All systems updated and running at 100% capacity.
0% Errors.
Manual Input: Power Off.
Power: On.
Mode: Standby
CHAPTER THREE_
THE GIFT
Winston Lowe was usedto his father bailing on him, and this was no different. Not only had he missed his high school graduation, he’d missed most of Winston’s college career. Now that he was entering his senior year, it shouldn’t have surprised him that his dad couldn’t pry himself away from running the company to make it to a simple birthday dinner.
He’d given up being disappointed a long time ago, and now he looked forward to seeing whatever it was his dad sent to try and buy his affections. To be fair, his dad didn’t miss every major event and holiday. Winston was sure his dad made it to Christmas dinner three—no, four—four years ago.
When he started college, his father, not wanting his son to be subject to something as unsavory as dorm living had bought him a modest house off-campus. It was Victorian in style, though not in age. The modern style might have moved on to all clean lines and boring little boxes, but Winston loved the charm and flair that people used to have. He missed the embellishments in architecture. In fashion. In just about everything now.
The off-campus house was more his home than the stark, palatial mansion he’d grown up in. His roommates, Lucky–hisbest friend–and Novak, were more of a family than the people he shared blood with.
He parked his car in the driveway and jogged up the steps and into the house. The chill of early November nipped at him, and he hurried inside.
“Hey, Win, get your ass in here. You’ve gotta see this,” Lucky called from the living room. The large space was furnished with a huge TV and several gaming consoles, and it was where everyone tended to gather when they were around.
Winston took his coat and shoes off and pocketed his keys as he strode into the living room. In the center of the room stood a box that was nearly as tall as Winston. Sleek and shiny, it dawned on him that it wasn’t a box at all.
“Holy fuck.”
“Daddy must be gearing up to miss the next few major milestones if he dropped a mint on one of these.” Lucky ran his hands over the outside of the box.
Not a box. Winston had been following the advances in cybernetics and artificial intelligence. The new wave of robots looked eerily human. They were built to be the perfect companion. Teachers. Butlers. Servants. Whatever you needed a robot for, they’d provide. The base of the box served as the uplink to the mainframe and would allow the robots to update as necessary.
