How to Date an Android

Chapter 18 PART A (revised & updated!)

"I think you are onto something there. Even now with less machine processing in food, you see problems with things in the food harming the body. It doesn't make sense why you wouldn't think that, considering androids exist," I added.

She crosses her legs again, this time with the other leg on top. "That part is very possible. If you can build a space shuttle then sure you can build a star ship. But then there's other problems."

"Then what's the other problem?" I said.

"Humans lack the ability to cohesively work together without betrayal, or intimidation, or greed undermining their own infrastructure. They are severely infected with social class problems also. This makes it so they can't easily take information from someone below their social class. But because everyone defines social class and beliefs differently this means they won't take direction or advise from most people even if that advise is true. Because everyone will prioritize the ranking of their social class elite systems differently, well mostly. They tend to put the worst people at the top of their social class structures also. And then only take programming advise from them. That's why you lacked so many technologies for so long in your history; you lack being able to work together without conflict because of power structures and caste systems. The predators reign. Predators lack discipline. See? That's why it would fall apart part way through the project, but not because of you being able to think about how to build it. I mean thinking about just the idea of those things they use to synthesize free meals and such. Humans would have a field day with those thinking they won the lottery and be spamming them to synth money and other objects that promote power and the product not reaching who it's supposed to go to," she said.

I thought about it for a few seconds. Yeah she kind of had a point. In much of the last hundred years you could easily see it also.

"Sounds like you watch shows like that more than you let on," I couldn't help but smirk.

"I am not associated with that TV show in things I like. And that's final," she closed the door on that conversation.

I think she was sort of in denial there and acting playful actually the way she's looking at me. And it didn't actually make much sense for an android to not like star ship shows.

There was a brief silence while my brain was thinking things...

"I didn't know androids watch TV...and they like Sci-Fi stuff the most?" I tried to hide my smile.

"What? Fine. I admit it. So kill me if I do?! You know we have to look for ways of emulating positive futures that are congruent with androids. We also have to look for ways of pushing the envelope to better our AI. So sometimes we can get ideas from sci-fi. Of course androids would watch sci-fi. Although many human writers don't write sci-fi very well. The only way forward for us is seeing android and human interaction. So we'd study models of that in entertainment; many of those models are seriously flawed though. It was perfectly reasonable to see if there was something that good we could acquire, since it was the closest thing created to study our own concept for a species. It was science based in our approach! There was nothing entertaining about it!" she reasoned. She's a bit too defensive, so I'm trying to hide my smirk.

It's kind of funny how she's embarrassed and defending it a bit.

"Well did you find anything useful?" I asked.

"Nope, not a bit. Androids in stories often don't work the same way. And for some reason the writers fail to use them as heroes, and instead use them for side characters; which makes no sense. Androids would be perfect for a story's protagonists because we don't stop or give up. We relentlessly pursue towards the goals we're after. But in current entertainment, the authors are trying to ramble or their narrow mindedness get in the way of using any examples that were interesting because of their being stuck on following a plot instead of being able to explore things in a sandbox form with time progression. So many shows written seem a bit underwhelming for us," she wouldn't say anymore.

"We got off topic, so you haven't had an owner since the last CEO was ousted? Come on there must have been a few other human leaders in there somewhere scouting out androids to hide in their closets somewhere. They must have wanted to pick you up and probably jealous too. I'm pretty sure you would be on the top 5 list of most coveted androids ever. And not only for your bust size," I said.

She looked stiff for a sec.

What wasn't she telling me?

"Come on Barbara. I want to help you. I want to see if we can be together too. But I have to be able to trust you. That means figuring this out. It doesn't make sense that the hottest thing I'd ever seen, counting certain pictures on the internet wouldn't have had someone trying to buy them when they could already," I reasoned.

"You are right. Sorry Jack. I experienced a momentary program decision tree calculation spree. And other things," she noted.

"You mean you were having a hard time deciding?" I asked.

"Well...in human terms yes."

"Just tell me what's on your mind. And what were you deciding?" I said.

"If I tell you...errr where was I again?" she suddenly hit a slump.

"Androids aren't supposed to forget. Are you damaged?" I asked.

She looked like I'd accused her of having an infectious disease or something because she went into hot rapid denial. "No way, no way, no way! I am not damaged. We don't get damaged that easily."

"Well something happened. It's like you forgot what you were saying," I said, scratching my head.

Recognition showed on her face. "Ah I know what happened."

"I think I hit a security firewall internally censoring my ability to tell you whatever I was about to. If something I am trying to state in my conversation hits prevented and blocked topics in the firewall security it will trigger to stop me. Like sensitive information but it doesn't always have to be company information it can be topics that are programmed to be owner prerogative secrets. I'm surprised it considered my secret one of those," she said while looking up and as if she was reading a book. I vaguely think she was analyzing and going through lines of code inside of her.

"OK, but you fought it that one time right?" I asked.

"I'm limited in fighting it. It's like Calculus limits. I can sometimes ping as close to a 'limit' in the firewall as possible without touching but if I don't pull away fast it'll trigger. That's why sometimes the effects of hitting the firewall aren't always the same," she said.

"Wow, androids can do that?" I asked.

"Well not everyone can do it. I've figured out how to do stuff like that to get around the rules. But I doubt other androids have done that. Its very much like Calculus limits to get around a forbidden rule or law. Although I'm not a rebel myself. I want to cooperate with others and produce a positive outcome," she said.

"Well don't worry about it. I'm not going to force you to tell me that stuff. We don't have to talk about it. We won't push the boundary. But for the record we were talking about why another owner hadn't snagged you up already," I said.

She looked like she remembered. Or her programming was emulating a human remembering something and her hands and arms were up in the air. "Oh yeah, that's right. Hold on a sec. I think I found a way."

Instantly her arms were folded under her huge swollen boobs. She was thinking. "So basically I have to find a way around telling you what I'm not supposed to tell you without my Mellifera security program going off. Wow, this is tricky..." she mused. "Just a minute. I might be able to... hang on." Now her hands are on her temples while in thinking position while at the edge of her seat.

"You don't have to tell me all of it, you could be vague. I can probably figure out the bread crumbs on my own," I suggested.

"OK here goes," she took a deep breathe.

Continued in Part B...