ic Ain't No Cure for the Robot Blues

[Electra]

For a building that had only been around a decade, the pyramidal frustum of ArcheTech Headquarters occupied its spacious campus in Hanover with a stately grace that suggested much longer years. It certainly hadn't taken long for the distinctive shape of the building to make it a landmark, or for its lobby full of scientific displays and free-of-charge rotating presentations to make it a popular field trip destination. The campus hosted a 5k fun run in the springtime, an all-ages Halloween extravaganza, summer science camps, and Christmas decorations that could easily be seen across the river. Whether or not people used ArcheTech products (and many of them certainly did), the company was a fixture in the life of the city. Even natives of Freedom City who'd spent most of the decade away from home knew something about the super-tech company. 

 

Going on a field trip or attending a fun run, however, was not exactly the same as actually coming into the company for a job interview. By the time Alex was invited for an in-person interview at ArcheTech, she'd already survived the resume submission and the phone interview stage, but now this was the real thing. An in-person interview with the company's superhero CEO, Miss Americana. Not only did Miss Americana run ArcheTech, she was a super-scientist and engineer in her own right, with dozens of articles published about her work in biomechanics, robotics, and a handful of other fields. She also apparently took it upon herself to hand-pick any metahuman scientists coming to work for the company. 

 

The lobby itself was not too intimidating, since it was mostly filled with schoolchildren and their harried chaperones, racing from display to display while cheerful tour guides led them around. Employees with badges and some with uniforms threaded their way through the chaos with the ease of long practice. Here and there, security guards in blue kept an eye on things and helped wrangle the wayward children. At the farthest point of the lobby from the displays was a bank of elevators and a large, sleek white desk. When Alex approached the front desk, she could see a trio of extremely efficient-looking employees wearing Bluetooth headsets and typing with holographic touchpads onto transparent projected screens.

 

"May I help you?" asked the nearest receptionist, a young man with a polite smile and a small computer screen projected over one eye. 

[ayen]

"Yes," Alex cleared her throat. "My name is Alex - Alexandra Durham. I have an appointment with Miss Americana." She tried not to fidgit with the handle of her briefcase or her belt buckle. "Could you please tell her I've arrived?" She checked her watch. "I should be right on time, unless your clocks are fast."

 

Alex had done her best to look professional - pulling her hair back with a headband and washing all the grease out from under her fingernails, but she still felt out of place in the grand surroundings.

[Electra]

"Yes of course, one moment," The receptionist typed on air, then gave Alex another polite smile and a printed temporary badge on a lanyard. "Thank you Ms. Durham, Miss Americana is waiting for you in Robotics Lab 2 on Level 11. Please follow the arrows." As Alex watched, a series of glowing green arrows appeared on the wall, directing her to the second elevator in the bank. "Enjoy your day at ArcheTech!"

 

The elevator was fast and silent, whisking Alex up to the eleventh floor where another set of glowing arrows led her down a long corridor. This floor was much less busy than the lobby, and the people who walked past her in the corridors all wore ArcheTech security badges. Not all the people were actually people, either; she caught sight of several boxy little robots with extendable heads and arms, rolling around on sturdy treads and apparently intent on their own business. Each robot also had its own badge. After a minute or two of walking, the arrows petered out at a door that read "ROBOTICS LAB 2," under which someone had hand-lettered a sign reading "Caution: Rogue Robots." It was the first bit of whimsy Alex had seen in the whole place. 

 

The door slid open for her, very Star Trek, and allowed her into a lab that looked like a cross between NASA and a horror movie. It was full of computers and machining equipment, calibrating devices and racks of specialized tools, but there were also rows of heads, torsos, arms and legs hung up in corners or sitting on shelves, completely bloodless but still oddly macabre. One of the boxy little robots was in here as well; it spotted Alex and gave a shrill whistle, then rolled off into the jungle of equipment. 

[ayen]

"Run, little robot, run," muttered Alex. She stared around the room, eyes wide. She kept her mouth firmly shut so it wouldn't gape. She had never seen so many computers in one room. She longed to run to them and start playing, seeing what they could access and what they could do, but she knew that was a one-way ticket out of this interview, so she kept her hands firmly at her sides.

 

"Hello? Miss Americana?" Alex took a few steps in the direction the tiny robot had gone. "My name is Alex Durham. I have an appointment."

[Electra]

"Come on in!" a pleasant female voice called from around a bank of monitors. "Sorry, I meant to be ready for you, but I've got my hands a little full at the moment." As Alex rounded the monitors, she found Miss Americana wrist-deep in the chassis of a silver-colored humanoid robot, the lights sparking from within suggesting she was micro-soldering. Alex had seen the charismatic CEO on television before, hardly anybody in Freedom City had not, but her effect in person was much more pronounced. Even with a slightly-scorched white lab coat covering her clothes and wearing goggles that magnified her eyes several times, Miss A was strikingly beautiful, with a presence that seemed to fill the room. From the look of her, if any grease dared to creep under Miss A's fingernails, it would immediately slide back out again, ashamed of itself. 

 

"Come on," Miss A muttered at the circuit board she was working on, "now you're just being stubborn, give me a break..." A closer examination revealed that she didn't actually have a soldering iron in her hand, but instead appeared to be soldering with small, precise laser beams from her fingers. "Miss Dunham, or may I call you Alex? Would you mind digging a thermocouple out of that drawer behind you and helping me test this connection? I think the coolant system has an irregularity in the thermostat, but I haven't pinned it down yet." 

[ayen]

"Alex is just fine." Alex dug through the drawer until she found the small instrument. "And I'm happy to help." She brought the thermometer over and carefully dipped it into the cooling system. "What's the goal temperature? And for that matter, what's the purpose of this device?" Her eyes glinted with excitement. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a basic service robot, but it can't be that simple."

[Electra]

"Well, not everyone considers basic service robots simple," Miss A countered with a grin, leaning over to check the reading on the thermocouple. "In your average lab, just getting a humanoid robot up and running would be pretty good work. But you're right that this is supposed to be a little more than that. The kids down at the desk have been asking for a little technological backup for when things get busy, so they aren't directing traffic, answering phones and leading tour groups all at the same time. This guy here," she indicated the robot with her elbow, "is hopefully gonna hit that AI sweet spot where he's smart enough to give a tour to fifth graders, but not smart enough to go evil and try to take over the world." She chuckled, soldered one last connection, and pulled her hand out of the robot to offer it to Alex. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. I understand this is one of your specialty areas?" 

[ayen]

Alex shook Miss A's hand firmly. "It is. I mean, I love robots. I work with them all the time, at least at home. I actually brought one with to show you, if I may." She laid her briefcase on the ground and opened it. Out flies a small robot, about two palms wide, with a couple wiry appendages. "I call him my Door-Bot. For when I'm too busy in the shop to answer the door." The bot landed smoothly next to Alex, who picked it up and began pointing out details. "It has a camera so I can see who's there, carrying power of up to 75 pounds for bringing in packages, a signature stamp in case something needs to be signed for, and a taser for unwanted attention. I haven't used the taser yet, but it looks promising." She offered the bot to Miss A. "It's quite simple, but it was the most portable thing I could think of."

[Electra]

Miss A took the robot and held it with careful competence, turning it this way and that to examine its features. "Very elegant," she complimented, "not overly complex, but streamlined to do what it needs to with very little fuss or wasted energy." She picked up a blunt silicone probe and nudged the wheels, then the arms. "It looks like you custom made some of these parts. At the shop where you're working currently?" She set the robot down on the floor, in a relatively clear area. "Can I see him in action? Though not the taser, if you please." 

[ayen]

Without another word, Alex took back the robot. Placing it on the floor in front of her, she cleared her throat and said "Door-bot, see who's there." Instantly, the tiny robot took off on its wheels and heads for the door. When it got there, it began to whir and levitated up to the level of the handles. It pushed the door open and rotated left and right. Alex reached into her briefcase and pulled out an eight inch monitor that clearly showed the hallway where the bot was directing its attention. She handed the monitor to Miss A.

 

"All right Door-bot," she called. "Come back." She placed the briefcase on the ground. The Door-bot turned immediately and flew back to her, landing just a few feet in front of Alex. "Carry the briefcase 100 feet North." The Door-bot settled on the handle. Tiny pinchers extended and grasped the handle. It flew into the air with the briefcase, carried it precisely 100 feet north, and lowered it slowly to the ground. "Good Door-bot. Go home." The bot released the briefcase and settled itself on the highest shelf.

 

"It has memory capacity as well," Alex explained. "It knows regular delivery men and well as my co-workers. So I can tell it 'Bring this to Pedro' and it will go find Pedro. Come here, Door-bot." The Door-bot flew down from the shelf and landed in Alex's outstretched hands.

 

"I cobbled him together from some tin recycling and the wheels and motor of a toy helicopter. The arms are custom-made. And the voice control I programmed myself." She held the little bot tenderly. "Most of my work is like this. It serves a purpose."

[Electra]

"Very nicely done," Miss A said with a nod, keeping an eye on the robot as it settled itself into power-save mode on the shelf. "That's excellent work, especially for being done without specialized tools." She picked up a microfiber rag and wiped a few spots of grease off her hands, then set it aside and closed the front panel on the robot she'd been tinkering with. "What other sorts of projects have you worked on recently? And what are you interested in doing as a part of ArcheTech?" 

[ayen]

"Recently I've been working more on...personal projects. You see, my father isn't in the best of shape, but he still lives on his own. So I'm in the process of designing a butler/chef for him. It should be able to fetch the mail, make simple meals, tidy the house, go out on walks with him, tie shoelaces, that sort of thing. It..." Alex hesitated, but then plowed forward. "The best form I could think of to do all those things is a monkey. So it's a robotic monkey. In a tailcoat."

 

"As for ArcheTech, I'm looking for some support. You see, I've done a lot of engineering and tinkering, but I've done it all on my own. I have no mentor, I have no peers. I work alone. But I think I could do - and be - so much more if I had a community to help show me the ropes. Learn about what's been done before, what's going on in the field, and help me build on that to create a  better...something. A better everything." Alex shoved her hands in her pockets, looked at the floor, then back up at Miss A. "I hope that makes sense. It's difficult to say."

[Electra]

Miss A's lips quirked in a half-smile at the mention of the monkey butler. "You would, I think, have gotten along well with our founder before his unfortunate possession experience," she told Alex. "He had a robot gorilla butler in his home, one that spoke several languages, I believe. I'd love to take a look at your prototypes sometime." With an ease that belied what the torso alone must have weighed, she hefted the robot upright and pressed a button at the nape of its neck. It hummed to life and walked off to a phone booth-sized charging unit set into one wall. 

 

"Your reasons for wanting to work here make perfect sense," she continued, even as she began to methodically sort her tools back into a capacious and ruthlessly organized toolbox. "Mentorship and collaboration are an important focus here at ArcheTech, and most of our labs are shared for that reason. You'll also have access to cutting edge technology for both programming and manufacture, and a project budget to pursue your own interests besides any programs that you are assigned to. While you are working here, any inventions you develop in collaboration will be patented by ArcheTech and you will receive a percentage of whatever profits result. Inventions you develop on your own will be jointly managed between yourself and ArcheTech, which means you will have a substantial say in what happens to them, but not the only say. 

 

"The initial starting contract for an alternative program engineer, that's engineers who don't come to us through the usual educational or career paths, is for one year, so both sides have a chance to evaluate whether it's going to work out." Miss A named a salary that was more than Alex would've seen in three years in her current job.  "That also includes a competitive benefits package, three weeks paid vacation, a stipend for hero work that some of our alternative hires take advantage of, and discounts on ArcheTech products and services when ordered through the company. At the end of the year, there will be an evaluation process, and unless things have gone horribly wrong somewhere, or you decide you want nothing to do with us anymore, you'll be offered an ongoing contract with salary increase commensurate to you work. Are you interested?" 

 

The entire time she'd been rattling off information, Miss A was still putting her tools away, but now she looked up and studied Alex with great interest, waiting for her answer. 

[ayen]

"Yes!" Alex blurted out. She flushed a little and clasped her hands behind her back in a way that suggested her military training. "That is, I'd be glad to accept. How do I start?" She packed away the tiny Door-bot into her briefcase. "I assume there's paperwork to fill out. There always is." She smiled, grasping at what to say to this icon. "What are my hours? Do I work in my own workshop or do I come work in the labs here?"

Edited February 19, 2015 by ayen

[Electra]

"Lots of paperwork," Miss A confirmed with a smile. "Reams of it, it's really pretty daunting. We have a large legal department here, and I feel it's important to keep them busy and out of trouble. Luckily, after looking at your background check and your references, plus what I heard from the phone interview, I was pretty sure I was going to hire you, so it's all ready for you to get started on down in Human Resources. You'll work your starting date out with them," she continued easily, shucking her labcoat and checking her watch. Underneath the coat she wore a tailored business suit, designer and obviously expensive, in shades of burgundy and navy. 

 

"I've got a few minutes yet, I can show you to your lab space downstairs. You'll have your own office and storage area, and a lab you'll share with two other roboticists I just hired from MIT. If you prefer to work in your workshop, you can certainly do that, but if you're into the whole collaboration thing, you're probably going to want to work here most days. We don't count hours here, but we expect productivity. If you're working in the labs till 3am one night, I don't want you in at 9 the next morning unless the project is that hot." She gave Alex a conspiratorial grin. "I really haven't had any trouble getting engineers to work enough hours. Getting them to stop is usually the problem." 

[ayen]

"Oh! Um, yes please. That would be great, I can;t believe it," Alex grinned. "This is going to be great. Thank you so much. Tell me about the other two technicians I'll be working with. You said they just graduated from MIT. What are they like?"

 

Alex straightened her headband and tried to hold back the grin that was nearly overpowering her face. To be admitted to somewhere like ArcheTech! It was better than any college she could have imagined. Alex hadn't been this proud since her first promotion in the army. But working with other people, while something she wanted, wasn't something she was ever terribly good at.

Edited February 23, 2015 by ayen

[Electra]

"They've only been with the company a few weeks, so they won't have much of a seniority advantage on you," Miss A assured Alex as she walked to a hidden closet on one wall and pulled out a smart red blazer. She shrugged into it, then grabbed the briefcase Emerson brought over to her.

 

"Rachel is a specialist in biomechanics and prosthetics," Miss A began as she beckoned Alex into the hallway and back towards the elevator. "She hails from Wisconsin and this is her first time living in a big city and not in college, so that's exciting. Ben's from Scotland originally, he did his doctoral project on the integration of AI with adaptive robotics, so you'll probably have fun talking with him about your dad's monkey. They're nice, you'll like them," she assured the new hire breezily. "I like talented people, but I try not to hire too many jackasses. Bad for morale. Nine, please." 

 

The elevator chimed recognition of its mistress' voice and began moving downward, depositing them on a floor that was quite similar to the one they'd just left. "You'll have a few days to get settled in here before you're assigned to any teams. Any big plans for your first project?" 

[ayen]

Alex hesitated. "To be honest, I didn't think I'd get that much freedom. I was expecting it to be a little more like the army - you get an assignment, you do it. So you're saying I can make whatever I want? For whatever purpose?" Her eyes gleamed with excitement. "I'd like to make a handheld medical scanning device. Something that could do an x-ray, a MRI, or a CAT scan, but small. That way it could be used on the scene of an accident by EMTs instead of having to handle the patients and get them back to the hospital before diagnosis. A lot of time is lost that way that could be better spent if they knew what they were looking for."

 

She looked at Miss Americana. "Is ArcheTech already working on something like that? It wouldn't surprise me if you already had a prototype.; I could make something else."

 

She shoved her hands in her pockets to avoid playing with all the gadgets surrounding her. Something inside her briefcase thumped. She gave it a quick thump back and held it at her side as innocently as possible.

[Electra]

Miss A reached into... well, Alex couldn't really tell where she reached, because there didn't seem to be a lot of room for pockets in the tailored suit, but she pulled out a small device that looked a lot like a flip-open tricorder from Star Trek. "This is one of my useful little tools, but it's focused mostly on engineering, not on medicine." She passed it over so Alex could take a look at it. "Being able to do in-depth diagnosis would make it a lot more valuable. You're welcome to take it apart and have a look at it." 

 

She looked down at Alex's briefcase and raised an amused eyebrow. "Something in there not happy about traveling steerage?" she guessed. 

[ayen]

Alex gingerly took the device from Miss A. "Thank you. I'll take good care of it," she promised. Turning it over, she murmured, "It's similar, but not quite the same." She placed it carefully in a pocket of her coat. "I'll bring it back to you tomorrow."

 

The briefcase thumped again. Alex groaned and said, "I'm sorry,  but I'll never hear the end of it if I don't let him out." Alex set the briefcase on the ground, opened it, and pulled out what appeared to be a stuffed dog. The dog stood up, walked directly up to Miss A, and blinked glowing red eyes. "He's a guard dog," explained Alex. "I brought him with for good luck, but all the extra sensations to take in are driving him bonkers." Red light emerged from the dog's eyes and scanned Miss A up and down. The robotic dog barked once, then trotted back to Alex and sat down by her leg. She absently scratched his ear. "See, Barky? No problems here."
 

[Electra]

Miss A laughed. "Now there's a protective pet! And a lot fewer messes to clean up, I imagine." She crouched down, still very graceful despite her clothes, and took a closer look at the cybernetic canine without reaching out to touch. "And installed in the shell of something harmless to throw off any potential thief or attacker. Clever." She rose to her feet. "You remind me of myself when I was starting out in my home lab, building a little bit of everything. It's good experience. You could go far here," she decided, almost musingly. "Let's show you your office." 

 

Down at the end of the hall, Miss A had Alex lay her hand on a palm scanner, then typed in a long code of numbers to authorize her to open that lab. Beyond the door was a short hallway with four offices off it, two of which were obviously tenanted already, two of which were not. They were fairly standard small offices, no windows, but plenty of desk space and some very high end computer equipment just waiting to be put to use. "You can pick either office you like, and the lab's down here." The end of the hall opened onto a large laboratory area, not as big as what Miss A had been working in, but nothing to sneeze at, either. More computers in here, along with banks of diagnostic equipment, fabricating tools, a 3-D printer larger than anything Alex had seen in person before, and plenty of work space. "Looks like your colleagues aren't in right now, but you'll meet them later. Did you have any more questions before I send you down to Human Resources?" 

[ayen]

Alex looked around, wide-eyed. "No, this is great. This is perfect. Thank you so much." She turned back to Miss A and shook her hand enthusiastically. "Thank you for this opportunity. I won't let you down." She grinned, then realized what an idiot she was making of herself and simmered down. "I'll take the office on the left," she said smoothly. "It looks like it will work just fine for my purposes."
 
Alex said, "If you could just point me toward Human Resources, I'll get out of your hair. I'm sure you have lots of things to do this afternoon." She paused, then said, "Will we ever work together on projects or will it be me and these other two people?"

[Electra]

"I'll give you a little time to settle in," Miss A told her, "but then I'm definitely going to tap you for a couple of projects. I need someone with an intuitive talent for robotics backing me up on some of the ideas I've got cooking, somebody who can take a ball and run with it. Judging by the work of yours I've seen, you'll be able to do it, with a little time and training." She grinned, and it was a real grin, not an office-professional smile. "I'm not really difficult to work with, people just have to keep up! You go on down to the second floor and hang a right out of the elevator, and HR is the first set of double doors. " 

 

She extended a hand to Alex. "Welcome to ArcheTech." 

[ayen]

Alex shook Miss A's hand firmly, then straightened her shoulders and headed down the hall. It was a bold new day for her, a day full of ideas and excitement. And soon to be mountains of paperwork from HR. But even through the red tape, the W-2s, the two forms of ID, the next-of-kin, etc., Alex maintained her sense of delight. This whole place was one big toy box, waiting for her to play with it. And she couldn't wait to get started.