Otaku's adventure - Chapter 3: First date (continued)

[Tringa]

CH3

“ER..ERROR!” A monotone voice bursts out of her mouth. And Faye starts to have a little spasm. I realize what could be happening and quickly grab her hands and shout aloud: “Faye, can you still hear me? Proceed to emergency shut down!” Seeing her malfunctioning, I feel quite worried, and weirdly, a bit excited.

Suddenly she comes back all normal and laughs hard, her laughter sounds like a summer wind sweeping through a string of silver bells hanging in the door way of a country hut. “Gotcha, again. Man, you’re so easily fooled.”
Embarrassed, I cried out: “Don’t do that any more, it’s not funny at all!”
“Oops, look at you, how cared about me you are!”
All I have to do is to ignore this and start a new topic of conversation. So I asked, out of true curiosity: “How come you can drink beer anyway?”
“There are much more you don’t know about me,” she winks and pulled me to her fridge: “here, I’ll show you what my daily diet is consisted of.”
My eyes are widened as she opens the fridge’s door: at the most conspicuous place of the top shelf, there’s a big brown jar with a label saying “EtOH (H2O free)”.

“This is what you usually...drink?”
And she nods. “So don’t ever think of getting me drunk. You can’t win, big boy.”
Gosh, this crazy boomer is not just drinker, she is literally alcoholic on pure ethanol!
“But, why?”
“I will have about 200ml of alcohol every time after I’ve swallowed some of these stuffs,” then she points to the second shelf, “just for cleaning up my guts.”
Following her direction I notice that the stacks what seems to be veggies in the fridge are actually plant specimens from our lab. What is going on here?
“So, you’re stealing Doc’s samples, uhh… for some special ingredient or energy that’s necessary for your body?” I formed my hypothesis, waiting her answer.
“Could you please view me in a good way? FYI, there is not yet any robotic technology that practically assimilate food items or use the chemical energy in them, this is simply not efficient, at least for the time when I was built!” And she obviously rejected my newly formed hypothesis.
“So, what are you doing with the specimens?” Now this is really interesting.

“Simply saying, I’m bringing some extra work home. I have a DNA analyzer inside of my body so you know I can do these time consuming sequencing tests while resting at home. And the ethanol is just used to avoid possibilities of cross contamination among samples. The used specimens are to be expelled via my waste disposal system. You know, like what a normal person does in the restroom.”
She is saying that as if it’s like some normal after-tea talk, but I am totally stunned. Although compared to centuries ago, DNA extraction, amplification and sequencing technique is now greatly improved: there’s no need of multiple times of tedious centrifuging, PCRing (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and electrophoresis, and desktop commercial DNA test units are common in every day life; but the existence of a DNA test unit compact enough to fit into Faye’s slender body is still something I would imagine in a science fiction movie!

“Wow, so all boomers of your kind are capable of doing this? What a horrible world!”
“Not exactly. I’m a Type IIS customized for the investigation department of the public security system. The S means special made android of Type II, and each Type IIS was built for a different purpose.”
“So, you are officially a property of the cops?” The military and police do have advanced technologies, I think.
“I was working at the Provincial Public Security Bureau for almost five years, serving as an agent who helps identifying the criminals or victims. You know, some of the first hand genetic clues were important evident of solving the most problematic cases. After I fulfilled all my duties, I was granted the new identity of a free android and can live whatever life I want as long as it’s legal.” Faye told her story calmly, with a hint of sadness: “And of course now they are using more advanced androids to replace me…”
“Then how come you decided to work as a lab assistant in some botany research?”
“I’m really disgusted by using my functions to examine traces like blood, hair, or sometimes even body parts. It feels like being a vampire or scavenger. So I prefer, you know, to be vegetarian. By the way I really love nature and would like to do something to help it.”
Now I understand why Doc’s lab have a reputation of publishing first-hand experimental results on field trips to the most remote mountain regions, where I would consider impossible to carry in all the necessary equipments.

“So you are a really sophisticated piece of scientific instrument! What higher functions do you have, like, em… have sex?” Well, though in a kidding mood, I want to know this for sure.
She blushs suddenly, but then quickly turns and points her finger at me: “I also can fire laser beams from my finger tips.”
“Hey! You can’t blame a guy for trying. But wow, that’s so cool!”
“Nah, just kidding… Gotha, again!” And she continues: ”But don’t you ever plot on anything improper on me!”
“Relax, I just really like you. No matter what you are, you are smart, attractive and warm-hearted. You must have same affections for me, too, or you would not let me to get this close to you. So please please just put away those human-boomer relationship concerns and…”
“So you are really, a freak.” She says so coldly, avoiding eye contact with me, and then there is long time of silence.

I think this awkward moment will pass finally when she faces me again and start to say something, but she is just asking me to leave.
“I need to recharge and do some routine maintenance, private time.”
“Maybe you would need a hand? I’m more than interested to be part of it.” I have to admit, this is arousal to me.
“I won’t let you see it.”
“Then I’ll just stick around and watch you power down.”
“Oh yeah? Just keep dreaming mister. Don’t forget I was once a cop and I have every means to force you out of the room.”
And that is the end of my first date. Before the door is shut, Faye hands me the bag of buns, saying: “Take those human feedstuff with you, I won’t need them anyway.”

[A.N.N.]

pretty cool story, do you plan to continue it?

[Tringa]

Thank you for your appreciation. It's really encouraging to know that there is people who wants to see the the continuing parts of the story. Yes, I do plan to finish it.
I was a little busy in the previous weeks so the updating was delayed, sorry for that.[/quote]