1957/Harriet

Harriet
Date of Scene:	05 April 2015
Location:	Neo Arcadia-00001
Synopsis:	Final steps to building a custom shinki.
Cast of Characters:	276, 399

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Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Parts lie scattered across the tables. Half-finished parts that proved to be defective lie in bins. Zarenna is standing up stretching after sitting at the bench for awhile, the completed 'familiar' sitting on the table with Kari watching it as she makes it move and such via her drone controller. Gotta test it!
    The protype itself is still on the rack, waiting for final details to be added/finished.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro has been alternating between the roles of engineer, advisor, and note-taker, and has been making updates to schematics as Zarenna and he have found better solutions to particular problems they did not find existed until the actual construction. One of the wallscreens has been dedicated to showing these in realtime as changes are made.
    They've also no doubt been through a pot of tea or two and some jelly cans, along with whatever Zarenna's beverage of choice might be.
    Unsurprisingly, the android shows little sign of fatigue himself as he's been working beside them. He casts a glance at Zarenna as she stands up and stretches. "Do you need a break?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna ahhs. "Yeah, that would be nice. I need to stretch out and keep the circulation going." The woman starts pacing around the lab to keep the effects of long inactivity from setting in.
    Meanwhile, Kari hmms and waves her hands trying to get better control of the rabbit-like drone. "This is hard..." The drone suddenly shoots off the table, scattering some of the miscellaneous scrap that had been used to build it, hitting the ceiling, ricocheting off of that, the wall, and the floor before stopping. "Oh... Uh... sorry!" Kari says sheepishly.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro gives a nod to the woman...and then ducks as the remote-controlled 'familiar' sails over his head. Bits and bobs clatter to the floor, followed by the mini-machine when it finally lands. No immediate harms seems to have been done, though, at least to the room. Well, perhaps a scuff mark on the ceiling, but it's likely not the first or last up there.
    Unphased, he slides out of his chair to scoop it up from where it came to rest. "Forgiven. But you may want to be a little less enthusiastic." He gently turns it over in his hands, checking it for any damage from its unintended first flight.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Probably software incompatability issues, meaning Kari isn't designed from the ground up to control the drone. The design, of course, includes sensors for measuring the timing of the jumps, in the ears naturally. There's software to interpret it, of course, but they're loaded in the prototype frame, not in Kari's drone controller. Zarenna's comment as she straightens herself from ducking against the idea of a rabbit-shaped projectile hidding her, is "Well, we know that system works... Thank you Kari."

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro makes a quiet amused sound as he carries the familiar back to where it had previously been on the table. "It's also sturdy enough to survive a light impact like that." Though it's not really necessary, he brushes it off with a corner of his cassock's sleeve before setting it down.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna starts doing her usual stretch routine. Kari on the other hand is over by the frame, unrolling the sheet of 'skin' that shinki use and looking at all the embedded wiring on the interior side. "Wow, so this is what my skin is made of?"

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro watches Zarenna absently, though it's Kari that his attention. "So it is," he confirms with a nod, then turns to look at the shinki and the now unrolled roll of synthskin. "Those wires there are part of the exterior sensor system. It's very much like early-generation reploid synthskin, except yours is thinner."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari ohs. "It's skin-colored, does that mean people will think she's naked?" Kari starts cutting the skin according to what's laid out on the table. She's trying to help! Might need somebody to hold the material while she mans the cutters though. "She's so tall too. Maybe she could be one of those skinny models I see on TV..."

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro wipes his gloved hands on a convenient clean rag, then moves to rest his hands on the 'skin' so that it stops slipping and sliding under Kari's cutter. "Here." A pause. "I imagine she'll be wearing one armor or another most of the time, just as you do." Thanks to the subscription she gifted him, he's fairly comfortable with shinki-specific terms, including clothing being referred to as 'armor' even when being nothing more than cloth. "That she'll be taller than you doesn't bother you, does it?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari thinks for a moment... "No! But there aren't any shinki as tall or big as her, so she might get teased by the other shinki for being an amazon giantess! That's why I have to be the older sister and beat them up for making fun of her." And on goes the foot skin. Kari holds the piece on and in the right positions so Taro can apply the sonic device that seals the seams and locks in the connections to the frame.

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Mm." As Kari places and holds, Taro applies and presses the button on the sonic wand. Methodical, precise, with a faint almost morse-code hummm and slence as the sonics switch on and off. "So long as you beat them up only until the lesson is delivered and learned. Though she may also want to deliver that lesson herself." Pacifistic his religion is not.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Onto the other foot piece. Good thing shinki don't have toes, that would make it a pain to cut these things. "Only enough to make them stop."
    While the other foot skin is being sonically welded on, Zarenna takes a seat. "You two are doing that a lot better than I can. Robot precision, huh?"

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro gives the barest of nods to Zarenna without looking up from the work. "Indeed. I designed this shell of mine specifically for this kind of detailed work. Strange as it might sound, I rather enjoy doing such work by hand."
    Shinki with toes...an interesting concept there...but no, any benefits would likely not outweigh the drawbacks with that change. They don't need the additional flexibility in their feet.
    "Have you decided upon a name yet?" has asks of the two of them.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna shrugs. "Most shinki are named for their type. Kari isn't- she's named after a dog my parents had when I was a child. This is going to be called a Mach Hare, so I had settled on Harriet as a name."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Harriet, hm?" The pun is missed at first - the play on sounds doesn't quite translate into Neo Arcadian, apparently. "Mach Hare...that has a nice ring to it. It wouldn't be out of place with a combat-model reploid, either." The humming stops as Taro draws the wand away. "I think we're ready for the leg pieces, Kari."

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari dutifully starts cutting out the leg pieces...

    Eventually, between Taro and Kari, Harriet is skinned and the base paint applied. The face takes a bit of work since there are a lot of more delicate connections required, but eventually it's done and the hair is also added. Zarenna has busied herself setting up and registering the CMS, as well as making sure the software is set up correctly. The small connection device that allows control over the drone is unplugged from Kari's drone controller and into a port in the open chest cavity. Zarenna takes a deep breath and plugs in the CMS, gently closing the panel on the double-sized shinki. "Well, here we go."

Taro (399) has posed:
    The work is nearing its end, and the results so far meet Taro's standards. He's also made a few additional annotations to the schematics, in this case noting Harriet's specific skin, hair, and eye colors. Important details for the repairs that will inevitably follow. Her CMS registration number is dutifully noted as well.
    He relinquishes the seat and the space around Harriet so that Zarenna can make the final connections. So that he's not trying to look over her shoulder, he moves to observe from the opposite side of the table. "Would you be offended if I offered a prayer?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
Zarenna says, "No, not at all." She busies herself setting up the little notebook and plugging it into the stand. Gotta register Harriet with MMS, after all. Kari is busy cleaning up the scrap parts, sometimes goofing off by playing with them. One thing she's cobbled together is a long-handled hammer-pick thing that vaguely resembles a bird's beak, which she swings around making silly sounds.

Taro (399) has posed:
    As Zarenna works her way through Harriet's registration and Kari...is acting like herself...Taro closes his eyes and prays, voice a reverent murmur. "Benevolent CyberGoddess, we praise you for all the skills you have shared with your people, and we ask that they will always be exercised for your honor and glory. We humbly ask that you bless this new creation, Harriet, the Mach Hare." He makes a small and presumably relgious gesture over the table. "May her datasets without error and her shell guarded against malfunction, as our souls are guarded from defects. End Carrier."
    He opens his eyes again, making an amused sound at the shinki's antics. "And what sort of weapon do you call that, Kari?" Then, more seriously and to Zarenna, "Is it finished?"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    "A ravenhammer! It's black and beaky, it can smash or pierce! It's the whole package! ... I wonder if I can sell them on TV in a half-hour commercial...?" She muses, looking at her ad hoc creation.
    Zarenna finishes typing. "Yes."
    It takes a moment for the larger shinki to activate, opening gold-yellow eyes. "Hmmm? Hello Master, Kari... and Taro?" The motions are pretty graceful. The drone comes to life as well, called close to Harriet, where it settles. Weird how it isn't actually an independent AI and seems more... independent than Kari's drones are.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Taro gives a small nod, this time to the newly awakening shinki. "Yes, that's right. Welcome to the world, Harriet." A glance to the drone as it settles in to take up guard by her, then to Zarenna. "By all appearances, she's operating as expected." Very pleasing.
    A somewhat puzzled glance at Kari. "Don't you mean presentation?" Infomercials must not be common here...

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari uh... "Informerical, Mister Taro. They tell you all about things and offer special deals too! They're on super early in the morning though, and a lot of it is for stuff I'm not allowed to us, like blenders, cookware, toaster ovens, and cheese graters."
    Before Taro can ask about the cheese grater, Zarenna says "Kari, I spent hours fixing you after you tried to use the grater. There's a reason you're not allowed to grate the cheese on your own."
    Harriet seems to be doing some kind of system diagnostic, as she is flexing and testing her frame. And then there's a rapid clicking sound as the drone is changed over to armor form and wraps around Harriet, making her even bulkier than she already was (for a shinki anyway). The helmet vanes/ears seem to move on their own. "I see. I can sense where things are." The rapid-fire laser gun appears on her shoulder from the slipway and starts moving on its own, tracking an errant insect that has found its way into the lab.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Another quietly pleased sound. "Drone integration appears to be working as well. Excellent." High praise from the Bishop. "I'd rather you not practice firing in here, please. Leave the insect be."
    Then, finally, the name parses when he considers it in English. "Ah. Hare. Harriet. Very clever, you two."
    Taro takes a seat as they continue post-activation diagnostics for Harriet, keeping an eye as well on how she and Kari interact. They are going to be siblings, after all...
    Once all is done, a quiet celebration for a sucessful experiment and a new life beginning.