Samurai Squadron II: Spinward Fringe Broadcast 19 by Randolph Lalonde

Author:Randolph Lalonde [Lalonde, Randolph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Randolph Lalonde
Published: 2023-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

Required Rest

Eight hours was the common opinion on how much sleep Ayan should be getting as a newly pregnant person in a high-stress position. It felt like an unfair luxury. There was so much going on in the Rose System, at home and there was always little Laura. The baby was sleeping through the night, but Ayan still wanted to check in on her constantly.

Sleeping for that long seemed luxurious, even selfish, and she needed a sonic soother pattern playing to help her drift off. Even then, she woke up half an hour before her alarm and crept from her room to Laura’s, where Daisy was already checking on her. “Seven point five-five hours will have to do,” the kindly android said as she started to hand Laura to her.

The babe reached for Ayan, her dark eyes focused on her mother’s face. “I never realized how many people would have an opinion about my habits the moment I started growing a little one.”

“It’s so common for people to over-advise that you could call it a tradition,” Daisy said. “Speaking of suppositions and opinions about your well-being, you must be hungry. I have some good news to share while the Andos prepare your breakfast and get everything ready for today.”

Laura rested her head on Ayan’s shoulder, hiding her face in red curls. It was something she started doing recently and only with her mother. One Ando made his way into her room while another moved into the kitchen. They were older models with basic programming featuring so many safeties that they were incapable of doing many things that robots commonly did before The Fall. Piloting vehicles, opening main entrances to a home, and communicating with unvetted sources were only some examples. They were also unable to harm any living thing. Any interference with that restriction would corrupt their entire operating system, leaving them empty and forcing them to shut down. The best any of the new Andos could do to defend someone was to stand between their masters and whatever threatened them. Attempts to add complex software or to enhance them with emotional artificial intelligences would disable them as well. Millions of hours of simulated testing and thousands of using real installations led to their final, safe design. It wasn’t perfect by far.

Unexpected shutdowns were still a problem, and they were boring. Projections said they would be popular though, even if more refinement was needed. It felt like they were rolling the clock back centuries, especially since the new Ando models were plain, genderless, and their skin had just enough of a plastic sheen to clearly point out that they weren’t human. Daisy had two delivered overnight with her permission, and Ayan still wasn’t sure about them, but she knew that it was good for security. While no Ando Nineteen model android could perform as a soldier, everything they saw was uploaded to Ayan’s household computer systems, and anything suspicious would be announced.

The extra security was something Daisy suggested while Ayan was busy with the founding of a new company and the tense situation on Rodus.

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