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The meeting that took place inside the Sterling headquarters in Budapest, went unnoticed by everyone, even by the workers of that place;
that night, no one besides those four diplomats knew what had been said, or what had happened during that heated meeting.
But it would be a secret that would not last long in silence, the two officials were not going to leave without consequences;
the next morning, the news of the Hungarian nation presented, before the first rays of the sun illuminated the sky,
the shocking news of an "embezzlement" by one of its most respected and recognized politicians.
The defendant was not long in appearing, with no sign of fear on his aging face, but well preserved, because for Sándor,
the people's annoyance was something he had dealt with before, and would do it again; he addressed his people and his collaborators on the platform of Parliament,
his experience and oratorical skill forged in his younger years allowed him to deliver a speech in favor of the promotion and acceptance of technological progress that he was so concerned that it could wipe out declining jobs, and the pride he felt for the efficiency in the pursuit of justice by his government, represented through Lakatos and Horthy;
assuring in passing that he would return every penny and that he would once again help each and every one of those affected, while imploring forgiveness as he addressed his former comrades, now his judges.
Someone who had given his people more goods than harm was asking for mercy, someone who provided jobs and aid to the less fortunate,
someone who knew how to act and how to move forward during difficult times, someone who had committed a terrible crime, who though it dwarfed his previous achievements at the time, it only gave a little shake to the enormous legacy he built over 10-plus years of hard work reflected in his proliferating economy and competent government.
That speech was more than enough for the hatred of the people and the national strikes to begin to dissipate, but even so, the law required that he have some kind of lesson;
if not a prison sentence, at least a sanction or restriction that would satisfy people's wishes that their taxes be safe, and not be used in that way again:
In the end, Armani Sándor was banned from holding public office permanently, and fined several million euros, however, he was allowed the results of the project he had financed to remain under his ownership, with adequate surveillance by a team of Sterling members and government members, so in fact, he had gotten away with it.
Those chosen to monitor Mr. Sándor and his next movements would be none other than Miss Lennox, and Mr. Moretti, at the personal request of Mr. Lakatos and Mr. Horthy,
the others selected for this task.
And later, shipped to where they would be trained, the two prototypes were already outside European jurisdiction,
to finally be conditioned in the American continent, and when they were ready, they would be forwarded to their rightful owner in the old world...
Four months later, at one of Sterling's many locations along the East Coast of the United States, Irma Lennox would finally pay these very particular robots a visit.
Irma had been very busy that month, as the date on which the latest generation nandroids would be officially launched on the market was approaching,
and in addition to her usual job, which was convincing various commercial stores to distribute the In addition to Sterling's own new product, she was also helping Moretti,
making sure that there was no problem with the shipments of the other pre-sale nandroids to the European continent, so he had no opportunity to follow the trail to Sándor's nandroids and their whereabouts; but Lakatos demanded a document every month to inform him about the current situation and the evolution of the automata, and already knowing the famous severity of the plump old man, there was no more time to lose, literally, she only had two days left to send the report.
She had gone to various offices before in search of information about Sándor's products, and had finally stumbled upon the place where they resided.
This was a building covered with gigantic tinted glass that, unlike the facilities in Europe, was a larger and more enormous place, and had many floors; It also had a couple of columns at the entrance,
which were smaller in scale compared to those in Budapest, which carried on them the large letters that made up the name of the company: "Sterling Inc. Robotics."
The building was not as imposing as others that boasted more elaborate and impressive designs, but at least it was easily identifiable, since there was no other larger skyscraper in sight.
"Leonny, sweetie, can I ask you a favor?"
Lennox flashed his badge to the guard, quickly entered the facility, and immediately set out to find the androids.
However, when she appeared, a strange feeling immediately took over her, a very uncomfortable silence devastated the place, not even the receptionist greeted her or spoke to her...
- Hi Albert!... hello Johanna... Louis?... Vicky?... Edgar?... -
But nobody answered her, nobody spoke to her or looked at her, Lennox was surprised by the bad gesture; definitely, it was a very strange thing since Irma, beyond the fact that she frecuently used several workers there as informants, also had friends with many others at that Sterling headquarters.
"Of course, Doctor! What can I do for you?"
She asked anyone who passed by her about Leonny, but no one gave her an answer, making her more and more upset; luckily, a rather nice doctor set out to lead her to the reason for her visit.
-You are saving my life, you don't know how much I appreciate it. Do you work with her? -
-I'm afraid not, I just came for some things from my mentor, I'm from another establishment. But I was able to see where they took her. I guess Leonny's the one with the big brown hair. -
-That same… -
"Can you clean that room? I'll be back later, but it's a mess and I need to spruce it up in there."
The doctor and the agent went through a series of corridors that led them to a set of stairs, which led to a large space decorated with a few chairs,
large lights in each corner that were very powerful, and several doors that were separated by a large distance between them because of how huge the rooms they led to were.
-Well, she's at that door over there, but I think we should wait, they're doing tests inside and it's better not to interrupt. -
-Don't worry, I'm not going to take much time, it might take me an hour or less. In any case,
I find it curious that you were better able to help me instead of the unfriendly mutes that hang around here. -
-Yes, it seems strange to me too... -
-A-anyway, thank you very much for your help, and I wish you have a good trip, doctor... ehm?… -
-Webb. Marcus Webb, I'm the assistant to Dr. Ron Bennett, at the building near Hawthorn Grove, in case you ever decide to stop by there.
I hope we can see each other again some other time. Well, see you later, and good luck. -
-Goodbye, Mr. Webb. -, the man left without further ado, and she entered through one of the doors to the evidence room.
It was a large chamber, which contained a hidden office from where the scene in which the robot was located could be observed.
Irma accessed from the door that led directly to that small observation room, in order to prevent the nandroid from getting distracted by something;
she did not detect the presence of Lennox, nor of the other subject who was watching her from the other side of the secret mirror.
- Azta! The doctor was right, this is a complete disaster... - the nandroid was surprised by the amount of disorder and dirt that was in that scenario, which had been adapted to make it look the same as a enormous kitchen:
The walls were painted yellow by some kind of mass that was slipping down the walls, the stove only needed a bug living inside it to make it look perfect as disgusting and moldy junk, the tables were sticky and covered by a green liquid that dripped on the floor, which also had traces of dirt, not to mention that these same tables loaded a somewhat exaggerated amount of junk and various utensils, all piled up and just as dirty as the rest of the kitchen.
- Well this is... Perfect. -
His astonished expression quickly changed to a tenacious and slightly malicious look, which added a smile that exposed his determination, but also a hidden arrogance and disdain.
Meanwhile, the little room that Irma entered contained various electronic devices with levers and lights quite similar to those usually used at Christmas, also the desk was infested with many buttons, a keyboard and a microphone;
and on the walls there were some television screens that, like the hidden glass itself, showed the scene, but from various angles;
and within this tight space was already an old acquaintance who, fortunately for her, still esteemed her.
-Hello Victor. -
-Irma! Nice to see you again. It's been so long. -
The man was a little smaller than her, dressed in light gray pants and a white coat, had a thin and trimmed white mustache, and already showed signs of baldness.
-I've been so busy as you have no idea, just today I had a free space to visit some acquaintances here, but, above all, I came to see her.–
Lennox pointed to the android from one of the screens. The nandroid had tied all her hair in a single ponytail, and began to avidly clean everything that crossed her path:
The tables were scrubbed hard with a sponge and a bucket, while the crockery, cutlery, glasses, pots, and other things that he saw, he would put them in the sink and soak them.
-You come to see Leonny, huh? I just got her in there to test her skills. Why? Do you plan to interview her? – said the doctor in a mocking tone.
-No, no. I'm not going to talk to her, I'm running out of time, and I just need someone to tell me how she's been doing with her activities and training.
Please help me with that. Nobody talks to me and nobody even dares to look at me, do you know why? –
- I think it's because of the rumors. But then I'll tell you about it, now tell me, what do you want to know about her? –
- Rumors? -, the girl was surprised to learn that she had rumors against her. -Well, give me a general summary about her. You know, tell me about her personality, her tastes, if she has had a mistake, if she came out defective, things like that. And let it be quick, now I'm more interested in those rumors of mine. –
-Hehehe… I already knew that you were going to want to put everything aside to focus first on the gossip.
Alright, let's start from the beginning. – Lennox sat on a padded bench near where his old friend was resting, and took out a notebook and a pen.
- Ready?, good. This robot, Leonny, arrived at this location four months ago, in a shipment from Central Europe. – The doctor began to narrate.
-I remember. – Lennox listened carefully.
-When they activated it, it did not present any problem in its boot system, but something was different in it, from the moment it opened its eyes, we knew that something was not normal. –
- What she did? –
-In general, all nandroids introduce themselves politely and with a bow the first time they have contact with a human, it is within their programming;
but she didn't, she just stood there, static, like a statue.
In the end, she did introduce himself to us, but she was very curt, very brief, as if she wanted to avoid prolonged contact with us,
then we discovered that his personality was shy and somewhat reserved. –
-A non-enthusiastic and completely introverted nandroid, I've seen some who are a bit more calm than others, but one who was shy from her first day, that's something new. –
-Yeah, we also thought so. - The doctor stopped his conversation to be able to take a sip from the container that he had collected under the desk.
-But as the weeks progressed, we could see that it was not what we expected, she adapted very well to the environment along with her "sisters",
and in doing so, she also showed us more of her character, now she is also quite tenacious, and kind, and although she doesn't show it much... - Víctor commented in a low voice: - She's also very proud. -
-Fast, immediate and variable development of personality. Fascinating. - Lennox muttered as he hurriedly wrote down. -Tell me more about her. -
-She likes the human history and exercise classes, and in the social interaction sessions she does wonderfully, she handles English and German very quickly,
she even plays a little with the language by mixing words from both languages, but curiously, she speaks Hungarian just as well.
She has also dedicated a lot to the hairstyling course, hehe, I think it's fun that she practices with her own hair, but the poor thing has to tie her hair up with whatever she has on hand,
I think she's wearing some office garters right now. –
- Really? - Lennox looked at her with pity, that nandroid had already arranged her hair around her neck like a big scarf, so that it wouldn't get in the way while she cleaned. - Well, it seems that she already has this problem under control... -
Possibly she would get him something better when possible, but this was not the moment to be distracted by irrelevant topics, it was a work visit, and she had to hurry.
-Well, now, the most important thing, what can you tell me about his performance? –
-It's unique. She's top of her class, she wants to learn as much as she can, and she hasn't just taken one or two extracurricular classes, she's already taken four, and she excels at all of them. -
-Hmph. You say that like it's a bad thing. - Lennox commented.
-Mmm, yes and no. Leonny is not competitive, but she wants to constantly improve herself;
I know that the System of Constant Learning and Adaptability that they have is good. Wow, what a long name;
but the point here is that she shouldn't move on and learn in such an accelerated way, it worries me, it's amazing, but it intrigues me a bit anyway. -
They both watched the android for a few seconds in silence, until their evaluator continued:
-Yes, it has left us astonished, but, even so, there is another detail: His enormous hair makes it difficult for her to perform his tasks properly, it tends to block his view and it takes a long time to tie it up.
We have come to theorize that this could be a future problem, and many believe that it should be seen by the technicians so that we can see how to proceed.
But I've avoided it until now, because with its hair defect and its suspicious operating system, you can only hope that the executives decide to dismantle it, or worse, send it to those damn "stress tests", I've heard horrible things about those places;
I have a friend who knows someone who works as a stress tester, what he does is test the resistance, and the response that the machines emit in a situation of pain or stress, but really that description hides up what they really do, there they will only massacre robots as if they were torture chambers, my colleague tells me that that poor man, I think his name was Augustus or something like that, has frequent sleep problems, and that the screams of his victims are so realistic, that they chase him and torment him during his dreams, there is not a night in which he is not overwhelmed by his own guilt. -
Victor Strauss was known within the company as a defender of the rights of machines, which had always been designed as man's slave labor and easily disposable,
regardless of whether these "unpaid workers" were possessors of intelligence advanced or not and despite the advances that were obtained in terms of dignified treatment of robots,
there were still acts that were not considered barbaric, or that were something that violated the little dignity that non-organics were recognized, Stress Tests they were the greatest example and controversy that the company exhibited without any kind of discomfort or remorse.
- Oh my God, no! No, t-that won't be necessary, we already imagined that she would have different problems than the other robo-nannies. - "Do sites like this really exist?"
She finished writing down, and put her pen and pad down on the desk.
- Why do you say that? – Víctor asked suspiciously, - What does she have that the other models don't? –
-It's good that you ask. - She got up from the seat and approached one of the televisions that projected Leonny on it.
-Let me presume that she was built with the best of the best, has been designed and decorated by hand by several master craftsmen, and is made with the best alloys and with the highest quality electronic gadgets available, she is the result of a parallel project to this new generation of nanadroids, which was developed in the heart of Europe. -
The doctor enjoyed the talks he had with Lennox, because she used to get excited when presenting anything as if it were an auction;
she was a passionate talker, but contrary to the idea that it was a nuisance, that quality of hers would brighten anyone's day.
- I have come to verify if our work is being a success or a failure. –
-So, the rumors are true… -
- What rumors are you talking about, Victor? - Lennox asked.
- Is she part of the project that was a scandal there in Hungary? Is it true that you and another guy were accomplices of this Sándor guy? Everyone now describes you as a greedy crook. –
- We have nothing to do with it! Ugh! Is that why everyone is avoiding me?! - It seems that what happened in Europe was quite public within the company, despite the fact that it remained "as a secret".
-Okay, I don't blame them, I think I should clarify that matter. Let me tell you what happened there and maybe that will fix my reputation, do you think? – Now ironically she was preparing to inform the doctor.
-I hear you. - Víctor leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for what the girl had to say.
-Hmm, where do I start…? -
Irma looked at Leonny, who kept scratching hard at the yellow mass on the walls with a small spatula, that singular machine had no idea what its creation and its mere existence had caused, on his face there was no concern, just there was peace and determination as he carried out his assignment.
Lennox couldn't blame her for the difficult times he was going through, although it was thanks to her that his job and status were at risk; she only had to vent to his confidant.
-It turns out that Mr. Sándor, the one who financed that project, used some government resources at his disposal to be able to create these nandroids, originally there were going to be five, but we were only able to manufacture two,
we had to stop the investigation thanks to the fact that a lot of information was leaked through the workers themselves, in the form of rumors, and yes, it sounds a bit exaggerated, but the straw that broke the camel's back was the case of Volkman's spy,
the guy tried to convince a worker to steal information related to Leonny, we denounced him and now he is in prison, that only showed us that both the confidentiality of the project and the maintenance of the factory were no longer viable.
Anyway, that money was acquired illegally, Sándor didn't have the funds to finance something like that, and as a last resort, he had to take out the capital in the form of loans.
But his plan went wrong, I think I don't need to tell you the ending, you'll already be aware of his trial. -
-Yes I know. What could have been the cause of his despair? - Víctor, as a good passionate about science, always questioned everything.
-With so much money that he will have collected being a politician, why not just wait to get yourself one of our other nandroids, instead of taking unnecessary risks? -
-In fact, there is a good gossip that explains it. You know that I don't like having incomplete information, this matter worried me as much as you, that's why, before I left Europe, I managed to get some of my contacts to give me an opportunity to speak with Mr. Sándor in private.
He was very attentive to me, we had some tea, and I asked him a series of questions, one of which was why he dedicated himself to creating these models. -
- And what did he answer? -
-He told me that this was possible thanks to his friendship with Mr. Sterling himself, he owed him a favor a long time ago and he decided to collect it with the creation of these robots.
This project actually had two goals: he wanted these androids to spearhead a campaign for a series of fully customized robots to suit everyone's taste,
but he also wanted them to make a good impression so his people would stop staring at them cast with a bad eye on advanced machines and begin to have a more comfortable life.
Of course, these products had to have the best quality and items that the market could offer, and the countries theme seemed like a good idea for the prototypes. -
-Okay. I see the point. It sounds like a noble goal, but the worst actions have also been done with the best of intentions.
Anyway, that doesn't answer why he decided to use money that wasn't from him. -
-The product wanted it to be in line with a date after the launch of the other commercial nandroids, but time was short, and the only option left was to speed up production with a larger investment. That is why he used money that was not for him to take. -
-And now the situation is worse. With a huge debt and the rejection of his own, but, Hey!, at least he will have his nandroids. - the doctor stressed severely.
-I know. But he asked for it. We accepted his money because we didn't know where he got it from either, we weren't going to check his bank history to see if it was clean money or not.
We are innocent, so please, if you could help me by explaining to others how things happened, I would be very grateful to you. -
-Relax Irma. I take care of clarifying everything. Only one question more. –
-Bring it on. –
- Why the long hair? That's not going to help her at all. –
-I think it's because it reminds him of his deceased wife, he showed me a photo of her, she had brown hair, very long and beautiful, like hers, I suppose Sándor saw the opportunity to remember in Leonny's image what he loved made happy. -
And so, the interview seemed to have ended, since Irma already had the report she needed, she was about to say goodbye when something interrupted Dr. Strauss' attention.
- Uff!, oké. That was… too easy. -
Leonny's clothing was completely dirty, but that was only a reflection of how well he had done his duty.
Her smile revealed that she was quite pleased with her own results:
The kitchen was immaculate, not a stain showing, the walls as white as carved ivory, the gleaming tables carrying only the cleaning utensils Leonny had used, and in the sink, dishes arranged so that they were ordered from largest to smallest, lay drying.
- It can't be! She already finished? - Victor exclaimed.
- Huh? What's going on? - Lennox asked confused.
A timer appeared the instant Victor pressed a button, a nearby television marked a specific time that was in the red.
-We do these tests for all the nandroids, to be able to evaluate if their training has served them to improve their skills in human care, today they had to represent a disaster in the kitchen of a mansion.
The other nandroids used to finish this challenge in 30-35 minutes, but Leonny just finished it in 23 minutes. Awesome! -
-As I said before, the best of the best. - Lennox affirmed that she was sure of what Leonny was capable of doing, but deep down, she was still astonished by the wonderful results that that nandroid had shown.
-And surpassed the record of the other. I guess Leonny's redheaded friend is Sándor's other nandroid, right Irma? -
- Her friend?... – Lennox didn't get the message until a few seconds after it had been processed in his mind.
- It's true! Gerthy! Im stupid! I forgot her! Tell me about her, quick! - The upset girl threw several things by aggressively taking out the notebook and pen from her bag.
-Don't worry dear, there isn't much difference between them, you know? Gerthy is curiously as skilled and efficient as Leonny, except that she's outshone by her, but she doesn't mind, on the contrary, she flatters her whenever she can, I don't think she matters to stand out, unlike Leonny. Gerthy completed this test in 27 minutes. - Víctor managed to reassure her with those words.
-I see… oh, good. I couldn't expect anything more and nothing less from Queen Magyar. -
- "Queen Magyar?" -
-That's what they called it back in Hungary. -
-You can tell they were fond of her. Here we call her the "Lioness of Debrecen". - Victor said it as a joke, but Lennox seemed to take it very seriously.
-It suits him very well. I saw how she battled against the dirt, she fought fiercely, just like a lioness; yes... they will be very good acquisitions that Mr. Sándor is going to receive. –
-Hey, if that guy, Sándor, doesn't want them anymore, do you think you can help me get one of them? –
-I can't guarantee anything. –
-These girls might be capable of serving a president, or even the Pope himself. - Lennox laughed a little at that comment, Victor rarely made her laugh like that.
-Don't let them find out that they are a prototype, there could be complaints about the favoritism of our girls and his quality, and take care of them for me until they are returned to their owner, okay? – Irma asked her old friend.
–I don't want them to end up being dismantled or moved to who knows where because of their Constant Learning and Adaptability System. Hey, you're right, it's a very long name, what a pain to mention it. –
- Do you have any better idea to name it? –
- Well, what do you think... "Systematic self-improvement"? –
- You know... I like it. –
END OF THE CHAPTER.
