Growing AI (Coffee-Tastic and ZXMetalMonster)

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter was beginning to wish the android was at least a bit selfish and could think of his own happiness but there was something beautiful about the way he was now even if it still resembled apathy more than selflessness.

 

-"I would hate it if the program caused you harm for many reasons. Yes, it would be an expensive mistake, it would mean there are major errors in my code and... well... it would harm you." He paused, suspecting the other might tell him that being concerned for him is unnecessary or something similar. "Please, don't downplay the importance of that last reason." He asked of Sky, hoping that he understood at least partially why he was so important to him.

 

Remembering what they'd agreed on doing, Walter flipped through the channels but barely spared a glance to the quickly changing images on the TV. He liked talking to the android, discussing things with him, even if that wasn't what they'd planed to end up doing.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Sure Walter said not to downplay what he said, but he'd just give a bit of his own input, "Alright, he shrugged, leaning back, "Though let me just say that your last reason is rather odd to me, Walter. I do appreciate the concern. As soon as I can get real emotions, you'll get a more meaningful thank you from me, I assure you." Because right now, no, he couldn't grasp the importance. Walter was clearly showing that he cared about him and treated him like a person, not the soulless machine that he was.

 

It wasn't uncommon for Robot helpers and other models like himself to be treated more like people than what they really were. Those people were kind, yes, but observing in this situation, Walter was kind but also quite isolated. All the computer work and devices he saw, Sky didn't see him as the type to go out on a walk to take in the sunshine. Even his friends thought he was better off spending alone time with him rather than being with him here on his birthday. Sky was treated like a human because he looked like one and he was one of the most favorite things to Walter, which was technology.

 

Walter wasn't looking to the screen much, but Sky was. He raised an eyebrow and touched the man's shoulder, "I know for a fact you aren't going through those channels knowing what you want to put on, but just stop flipping them so fast and pick something please. The images changing so fast might make my vision glitch."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter stopped momentarily upon being warned and didn't even know what channel he'd ended up on until he finally diverted his attention from the android. It was only for a couple of seconds though and he looked at the machine again right after. "Sorry, I won't do it any more." He apologized and put down the remote.

 

-"I would appreciate a thank you but once you develop emotions I'll be overjoyed without it too." Walter said with a small laugh. "You said it would take hours to finish loading the chip and it will be night soon. Can you sleep... and do you want to? I Would like to keep an eye on you until this is finished but I'll drift off sooner or later." He explained and only now was beginning to understand they were going to be living together. Having either a humanoid machine or a fully intelligent android with him in his apartment was something he was going to have to get use to. On top of that he was unsure how much space he could provide to Sky that would be his own.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"Hm. Yes, I have a sleep mode," he gave a small nod as he spoke his words. Sleeping would make the loading go by faster, but Sky wasn't confident that it would finish even by the time the sun rose. "However the question of if its desired by me isn't quite valid, not yet that is. If your chip does properly work, then I'll let you know." Chuckling, his eyes closed and his chin lowered slightly, "Since you want to see progress, I'll sleep. I'll load just a little faster like that. I'm excited to know what becomes of me, Walter."

 

No, he wasn't exactly anxious of course. Being anxious wasn't something he was gifted with just yet. Until he started to feel things on his own, the claims of any emotions he has was just conversation and nothing more. "To wake me, just pretend I was someone who fell asleep here, say my name, shake me, make loud noise... I respond the same say as a person would."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

There were more things Walter would have liked to know about the androids sleep mode, like if the feature was only meant to help make him more human or if it had other functions and was necessary for the machine to function. He left those questions for another time though and nodded lightly to show he understood how he can wake he other up.

 

-"I'll come to see how much of the chip has loaded first thing in the morning. If something wakes you up before that though feel free to do whatever you want... or think is needed..." He tried to explain to the android that he shouldn't just sit and wait for him to come around and command him. "I'm guessing you'll be alright here." Was the last thing he asked as he turned of the TV and put the remote aside. He was sure Sky didn't have anything against sleeping on the couch now but was worried the machine would be unhappy about it upon waking up with more personality.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"I will. Goodnight, Walter." His voice started off normal, but so the coming sleep mode, it had gotten fainter by the time he said his owners name. Sky didn't feel the need to mention how he could sleep pretty much anywhere and be okay with it. Walter was trying really hard for him to accept that he had some range of free will... Sky saw what he was doing, except until the program was burned into him, no kind of kindness would be taken to heart.

 

In the darkness of his 'sleep', as Sky suspected, the loading wasn't going by that much faster compared to when he was awake. He stayed sitting there, unmoving as time went on, simply just watching the chip's progress because there was joint else for him to do... Time going on, however, the loading seemed to have stopped...? Everything became blank. Well. I guess it didn't work after all. Shame...

In the darkness of his sleep, Sky was actually starting to see a light come down from somewhere high above. It getting closer, it was just a...balloon? A blue balloon...What? Sky took the string attached to it, surprisingly seeing his arm while doing it. Looking down, he saw the rest of his body, still in his suit. This was definitely strange. The android looked around, but there was nothing around. It was still pitch black everywhere else. There was nothing he could explain this with and now instead of watching the loading, which was gone by now, Sky stood there, holding the balloon. There was noting he could do except wait for Walter to wake him. The Poor man would be disappointed to hear the load failed.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter lingered by the machine for a while longer after it grew silent and even glanced back at the android as he left the room. That night, he had nothing else on his mind but the project and the man he'd left in the other room. His thoughts kept him up for a long time and at one point he considered giving up on the idea of sleep completely and returning to keep an eye on how the chip was functioning as time passed. However, he staid in bed and eventually drifted off.

 

When he woke up it was still very dark outside and little light entered his room, it was very early in the morning, but Walter hurried to get up. He wasn't the least bit interested in going back to sleep, he didn't need any more rest and again like the previous night his head was flooded with thoughts of the android. It took him no more than ten minutes to put on some clothes and do what else he needed before he could go see the machine and he didn't even bother with breakfast.

 

He hurried through the hallway but once he was at the door of the living room, he slowed down and entered carefully, behaving the same as he would when coming to wake a human. He seated himself in the same place he'd occupied the previous day and placed a hand on the others shoulder, shaking him lightly, hoping this would be enough to call him back from his sleep mode.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Sky was unable to understand where the loading had gone and he had no idea why there was a balloon here... Nor where it came from... It made absolutely no sense. He touched it, it feeling rubbery like a balloon should. How was it even possible? He was in sleep mode. It wasn't real right? He was still standing there in the darkness when he was touched, the android coming out of that strange 'thing', he didn't know what it was, and opening his eyes. Sky's head lifted up and the blue of his eyes filled the milky surface it was void of. "Awake... Hello..." He muttered in a daze, as what normally was the case after getting out of sleep mode.

 

But after blinking, Sky frowned and stood up immediately, his head turning and looking for that balloon, "Walter, did your friends bring you anything else besides me? Did they give you any balloons? I saw one..." There weren't any around, he could clearly see that. And no, they didn't bring any balloons for him, the left after ringing the bell. Sky looked at Walter, not looking as calm and smooth as he was yesterday, "But there are none here... Sir. Walter, I mean. Something strange happened in my hibernation...I also have bad news I believe."

 

He was going to have to tell Walter that he couldn't find the data anymore. The loading stopped and then it was gone completely. It was as if there was no chip inside of him, yet he was still able to speak normally and function.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter smiled softly seeing the machine wake up but his expression soon turned into a mix of curiosity and concern while he listened to the android and watched him look for the balloon that was nowhere to be found in the apartment.

 

-"Are you just going to tell me the bad news or what happened as well? Are the two connected?" He asked and sounded calm and almost professional, though in reality he was afraid the android would tell him something had gone horribly wrong. The machine was still functioning at least, he reassured himself with that but that didn't help his nerves by much.

 

Walter began to consider and predict what the bad news might be, his mind racing even though he would find out in only a few seconds. He started thinking of what he can do if something isn't working and how he could fix various errors, hoping that he wouldn't have to rewrite big parts of his code or edit the android greatly now that he was developing some hints of a personality. All the while he thought of this his gaze was locked on the other man, willing him to speak.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Sky took a moment to collect himself, then took his seat again, looking at Walter as he spoke, "I don't know, but I'll just state what happened... The loading was going normal. It sped up slightly in sleep mode like I thought. But sometime last night, it stopped. Then I couldn't find the data anywhere. I still do not detect signs of it as of now..." Walter must have worked on that for a long time. All the data was incredible and lengthy. To hear that it was all gone, he might be devestated. Sky lowered his eyes and turned his head away, "It didn't work... I'm sorry..." He said, sounding and looking genuine. Sky was.

 

The android folded his his together and continued, "After it was gone, a ballon came to me. And I was also able to see my physical form as if I wasn't in sleep mode. But I was because it was dark. I don't understand why that happened. When you woke me, it was gone and there is no balloon... Again. I don't know if that's connected with the failure... If it is a failure. The data is lost, but if it was terminated, I would be functioning the same way I was before you gave me the chip."

 

The data being gone. Describing a dream. Showing that he felt bad? That wasn't normal now either, was it?

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Upon hearing what the issue was, Walter wasn't concerned the information was gone, he could clearly see what had loaded the previous night was still in effect and only from speaking to him for a few minutes he'd also seen the androids reactions had improved. He decided the chip must had stopped loading halfway and automatically started considering how to add what was lost, but then the machine started to explain what else had happened.

 

-"You can't keep track of the data any more... I didn't expect that, though I should have..." Walter muttered and changed his intonation as he spoke the last few words so they were even less understandable than the rest of his comment. It sounded like he was talking to himself or only saying his thoughts out loud.

What the android described to him made sense even if he hadn't predicted it. At some point, when enough of the chip had loaded, the machine started processing an amount of information far too great to consciously keep track of it the way it had before.

 

Remembering that Sky was concerned with this as well, Walter finally spoke clearly and explained what he understood and suspected.

-"I don't think it is a failure, I'll watch you to see how you behave from this point but I'm confident there were no big errors." He would have kept a careful eye on the machine either way, now he just had a more valid reason than curiosity to observe him. "Without you being able to monitor it, I can't tell if some of the data on the chip was lost and if it's still loading... but I'm already happy with the results."

[Coffee-Tastic]

"Is that so..." It didn't seem like a success. The load was gone and there was something wrong because of it that caused a malfunction inside of him to imagine a balloon. Well if the man really thinks so... Sky was just relieved that Walter wasn't distraught. The blue haired android sighed and managed to smile again and turn his head to face Walter once more, "If you say so. Then I am happy for you..." His specs looking towards a window, he could tell that it was very very early, his head slowly tilting to the side "... Walter, is it normal for you to be waking up this early in the day time? Healthy grown ups need at least seven to nine hours of sleep to function properly. Have you slept anywhere between that? If not, I recommend you going back to sleep. I will go back into sleep mode too just to make sure I stay in a fair stasis and not change my current level of being. If any changes were to occur, I would wake up and notify you." There he was, beginning to be formal and technical in the way he spoke again.

 

"Of course, if you would rather not, if you wish, I can make you a breakfast of whatever you'd like. And I do also recommend that you do eat. You look like the kind of man who might neglect a proper meal just for his work," Sky suddenly paused briefly and there was an glitchy quiver in his voice next, "You also look like the kind of man who would appreciate a balanced... balanced... balanced. Brrr---Breakfast." He covered his mouth again and a red tint appeared in his cheeks, "Excuse me again, Walter. My glitch slipped out a little again, haha!"

 

These glitches weren't harmful, just a small effect of the chip not being adjusted in him yet. Hearing his voice glitch like that made him feel funny inside. Not because the glitch came from somewhere, it was... like a fuzzy weird feeling? Embarrassing almost. Sky couldn't pin a word to it even though he was on the money with that.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Despite believing the chip was functioning properly, Walter was surprised to see the android blush, he hadn't thought it was possible for him to. His model seemed to be a much more precise copy of the human body than he'd expected, or perhaps it was just that Walter knew more about machines that had only features that helped them work, those were after all much more common.

 

-"Don't worry, those will stop after some time... well, at least I think so. They aren't much of an issue any way." Walter explained and offered the android a smile in the end to show that he didn't mind such small glitches.

 

-"I usually don't wake up this early but missing out on a few hours of sleep once wont be a problem, so we can make some breakfast... I'll help, I still don't feel very comfortable having you do things for me." As tempting as it was to let Sky take care of all the little things that distracted him from work he still wanted the android to develop his own interests.

 

-"Also, you're wearing some really nice clothes. Do you want to put something else on, so you don't get those dirty? I can buy you more things to wear too." Walter offered, keeping in mind how the machine had offered to cook and clean a few times already despite his efforts to let him do something different.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Again, the man kept insisting he didn't serve him directly in any way. It was kind, but Sky was meant to do all these things on his own and he was more than happy for it to only be him doing the tasks around here. It wasn't like he'd be doing anything else. Sky had no hobbies or no interests to be spending his time on. He was only properly functional for about two days. Day one being when he was first given away and day two being the moment the chip went into his board to this very moment. He hasn't had much of a life so far exactly.

 

"You should start easing yourself into the reality that I am still not human, nor will I ever be one. The purpose of all machines is to serve, Walter, I am no different from that," Sky rose up from the sofa again, his composure back to normal, "Hmm... As for my clothes, I do suppose it's a good idea to change them out. This was just made because it was your birthday, it doesn't belong in the kitchen with me potentially dirtying it," the suit did look suave on him, anyone would say that, but if it was on him 24/7, it would certainly loose it's charm. "You can buy me clothes if you'd like, but its not necessary. I could just wear yours everyday for all that I concern," laughing gently so he didn't glitch again, he started to loosen out the tie around his neck, smirking a little, "If anything, I'm sure you can get your friends you buy me clothes since they're the ones who got me. I won't judge you if you did that."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Despite wanting to be kind and friendly to the android, Walter gave him one of his odd, angry smiles and retaliated, though in a silly way, by flicking a finger against his skull.

 

-"Don't give me ideas like that!" He warned him, the tone of his voice much different than any time he'd spoken to the machine before, though he sounded annoyed, not angry. "And have at least some faith that this will work." He added more softly even though he agreed the other would never be human. What he wanted him to be was a person, to think and to feel, but that didn't mean much when Sky seemed convinced that he should just work.

 

Walter sighed as his small outburst passed and after a moment he felt guilty for being even this rough with the machine. He walked to the door but only to lean on the door frame and watch the other from there. "You can wear any of my clothes, just look through my things and take what you like... but keep in mind that I want to buy you things. " He explained, and hoped that Sky understood he meant he would get him whatever he needed.

[Coffee-Tastic]

He definitely could tell that he wasn't too happy, loosing half of the life to his smile by the time it was his turn to speak, simply nodding his head up and down, "Haha... Yes, of course! If that's what you want, that's perfectly fine... I appreciate your care," he walked off to the room, pulling off the tie completely and beginning to remove the buttons of the suit. This man just wants to see his program work. That's all. Yet Sky kept on going about how he doesn't care about anything since he's just an android. It was probably very frustrating for him, but he didn't know what else to feel right now. It wasn't his fault... Not that he thought of at least.

 

In the room, he stripped off everything else, making sure that it all was put away neatly. The clothes that were on him certainly made him look different than he was under them. He was a model made more cheaply than the others, which meant he wasn't very muscular in appearance, because more 'muscle' meant more materials were needed. More materials used meant more money. It showed even more when he put on the clothes of his owner. He didn't fit in them. What a big surprise... But he didn't care. Which also was a big surprise. "I made sure to not have on long sleeves. Long sleeves being worn in the kitchen when possibly dealing with the stove top isn't safe. And I'm not fire proof... So we can start making your breakfast."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter was take aback by such a lighthearted reaction, he felt like the android had just brushed him off though he knew that wasn't true. He hadn't planed to loose his nerve, but maybe even without realizing it, he was hoping the machine would be upset with him, at least annoyed if nothing else. The way he did react made Walter worried and convinced him to re think the signs of improvement he'd thought he'd noticed in Sky's behavior. He wasn't any less confident the project would show some results but being impatient, he was frustrated with all of the issues and resistance he was encountering along the way.

 

He waited for the android in the kitchen but was lost in thought, occupied with the machine and the chip he'd added to him, and didn't start to prepare anything until he arrived.

-"Better safe than sorry... but I'm hoping you're not clumsy enough to light yourself on fire." Walter commented but it was only a joke and a true smile returned to his face.

-"What can you make?" He asked curiously after a moment only then remembering he hadn't added knowledge on things like cooking to the android and that most probably all his previous skills were gone.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"I'll be the most careful thing you meet in your entire life, Walter," he smiled, appreciating the brighter look on the man's face. Sky wasn't completely sure if he was that careful, but he certainly wasn't about to light himself on fire because of a mistake. "As for what I can do... What do you want? Eggs? Pancakes? I'll make whatever you want." He was very confident in the fact that he could make whatever it was that he wanted.

 

If he wanted eggs, all he had to do was go in the fridge and take out the eggs and... Um.... No, forget about the eggs! If Walter wanted pancakes, he just had to get the pancake mix and... Um...

 

Sky's smile stayed on his face but the look in his eyes made it clear he was becoming clueless. He knew what the food was supposed to come out looking like, but it was true. He didn't have the knowledge of making any of it, he didn't know anything about cooking in general. "H-How about you make your own breakfast while I watch," he weakly laughed, "I'll be able to make it tomorrow instead."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Walter didn't want to mock the android but couldn't resist a small laugh. "Good thing I insisted on helping all along." He commented and wondered what the machine would have done if he'd left him alone to make breakfast. He was more seriously worried that besides basic things such as writing, Sky would have to learn everything, like a human child would. Walter had only been concerned with including knowledge necessary for communication when he was working on his project and as they both knew now, even with only that the amount of information on the chip turned out massive. He wasn't sure what the android had known when he was first activated but was sure that wasn't much either and it was gone now.

 

-"If there's anything you want to know you can always ask me, I don't mind explaining or showing you how things work." Walter informed the other man and was glad he'd asked to watch and try making breakfast on his own the next day without being told to pay attention and try to learn. Going with his suggestion, he started to gather things necessary for making some pancakes.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Sky kept to the sidelines, leaning on the counter and watching Walter with his eyes attentive. As he watched, he figured that if he wanted to help this man around so badly, he'd have to learn how to do things first. He just wanted to be of use. Sky couldn't just be his study subject... Walter was actually doing a good job showing that Sky wasn't just a test for his program, but the thought of just staying still or doing something on his own made him feel strange. He knew he wasn't supposed to be doing these things. He was a machine. He had to do something. Anything...

 

As he watched and didn't keep his eyes off, Sky pursed his lips and came a little closer, "You said that I can ask anything, right?" He shrugged a little and kept one of his shoulders up, half resting his cheek on it, "What do pancakes taste like? Can you describe it? As you can imagine. I can't quite taste things exactly..."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Like the previous day, Walter would from time to time glance at the android but now couldn't give him as much attention in fear of causing an accident and making a fool of himself after teasing the machine.

 

-"Well, I'm not sure I can describe it..." When he'd offered to help the other with whatever questions he had, Walter wasn't expecting anything like this. "Does it mean anything to you if I use words like sweet and bitter? I'm sure you have them as part of your vocabulary but if you don't have a taste to associate with them it's pointless. If you've never tasted anything then however I describe it it will seem abstract... like trying to describe a color." He explained and frowned a bit because he couldn't do this one thing the android asked of him. He also knew it was likely someone else would accomplish this with ease and that upset him as well.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"Oh..." He sighed and adverted his gaze away, "Yes, That makes sense... Anyways, continue." Questions regarding things he wouldn't describe the description of, he should probably keep silent on. Taste... What cold feels like. What warm feels like... What pain is like. Sky could go on about the things that couldn't be explained, basically anything relating to feeling something and any other kind of sensation. He put his hand on the counter and ran his finger over the surface as if drawing. He couldn't tell the texture of the surface or feel it's temperature, all he could do was be able to tell that it was solid... Sky never thought of it before, but thinking about that, it made him feel empty. All the things he would miss out on... It was a lot. It made him feel incredibly small.

 

Sky started biting his lip, trying not to show his dismay. All he had to do now was pay attention and learn how to make this breakfast for Walter for the future. He wasn't given an answer for his question, that was okay. He didn't need to think so deeply about anything. He failed to keep remembering that thinking deeply was exactly what Walter wanted him to be doing.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

What Sky felt didn't go unnoticed, it couldn't when Walter was still studying him with as much care as he could. It wasn't hard to guess what made him seem anxious for a moment.

Walter considered what he could do for the android, he knew it was possible for the machine to sense many things even though no one had thought it necessary when they'd designed him. The problem was that he didn't know enough to make such changes to him now, nor did he have enough money to get him all of the sensors he would need. At least for now, Walter would have to let go of the entire issue and leave the android to deal with it on his own.

 

-"Before I gave you a chip you had a good understanding of your body. Do you still know those things?" He asked, curious if that had vanished the same as the machine's ability to keep track of data being processed.

[Coffee-Tastic]

He wasn't paying attention to Walter as much as he should, blinking in confusion as he lifted his head and looked more alert, "Huh? What do you mean? Like what's inside of me?" Sky touched around his chest and tried to think. He felt the beating of his fake heart and his warmth, those were the two most important things that made him up. Besides his skin, but that was a given since nobody would want to see his endoskeleton while making love to an android, "Yes I do. Those kinds of things are basic things... It's standard so when there's something wrong with us, we can state it, then get fixed."

 

His structure was actually basic compared to other androids. The most complicated functions of his kind was most likely speech. His range of tones and volumes were a lot more various than any other bot, one could only imagine why... "Walter? What is your body made of? It must be a lot more complicated than mine..." And he hoped that this was a question that can receive and answer for.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

By now Walter was mostly done preparing the food and already started setting everything on the table. "I understand, I had to ask though, your model isn't created for the sorts of things I added to it so I'm not sure how everything will behave..." He admitted though he was sure Sky had already learned that he isn't all knowing and that there were many things uncertain about what he was doing.

 

-"It's been a while since I've studied anatomy... bones and muscle make up the structure, there's also the brain, groups of organs that supply it with oxygen and other things it needs to function... I remember it's all sorted neatly, in science I mean... but I can't remember how exactly." Walter tried to give the machine as complete an answer as he could this time, still he wasn't quite fond of or knowledgeable on organic things. "It is very complicated but that is good in some ways and bad in others..." He added as he sat himself down at the table.