Gabatrix: Minerva

Chapter 8: March 3rd, 2349

"There....." Ericson said, looking at the body in front of him.

It had been over a week. The computer lab was showing signs of tidiness. What was essentially two complete companion bot frames were now merged into one. There were parts still left that were placed near the door, but the body was coming along well. Ericson looked tired but was making significant progress.

Minerva's face was watching the scene intently as she always was. She watched the scientist as he put piece after piece together. The original Hellas Planitia model was heavily modified. Parts were moved and reorganized. The legs were altered by switching out and adding the Yokolina's legs. The body now had the digitigrade legs installed. Her head also had the Yokolina's face, but the hair was saved and attached to the top. The bot body was still deactivated.

Ericson was using a special coloring tool to make sure the last of the orange-colored skin on the head was the same color as the rest of the body. There was a gaping hole in the center chest. A special plug-in core was created, and the body frame was cut and put together over and over again. The suturing tool hid any sign of it perfectly. The body itself had a more pasty white color but retained the faint black lines where the synth ligaments remained.

He finished the last of the coloring to the face. He looked at the body carefully and smiled. "I like it. How about you?"

"The scans show that only my computer core needs to be installed. I will need to interface with my body," Minerva said.

Ericson seemed pretty satisfied as of seeing the body. It was still naked, of course, but he had seen his share of companion bot bodies. Most of these bots were obviously clothed whenever they walked out of the home, and some even had the ability to line a thin skin jacket with a simple command. This would block out the breasts and genitals from view with ease. Even robots and androids had to show modesty. The Hella Planitia models were similarly equipped.

"I went and removed the whiskers from the nose," Ericson told Minerva. "I don't see the point of having them really. This is going to proceed to the final step of this process. I am going to move the quantum computer core and attach it to the body frame."

"I understand."

He walked over to the desk on the other side. The black box was already partly open. He used one hand to pop open the top portion of the cover. He then used his other hand to reach into the box. The quantum computer's advanced circuitry seemed to be more alive than anything else.

"I will have to be careful," Ericson told Minerva. "This is you."

"I have full trust in your abilities, Ericson. I know that you are more than capable of doing your job."

"Even with this, great care must be taken care of," he said as he used both his hands to pick up the computer core.

The computer core that carried the program of Minerva was the size of a human heart. It was a flat circular metal dish with a glowing blue core in the center. Even though Minerva was interfaced with the digital display, she could essentially see herself held in the hands of Ericson.

He slowly and carefully walked over to the body frame in the center table. He couldn't afford to drop the core. He reached over to the chest of the body. His hands and the core began to lower to the stitched opening of the chest. The connection port was circular, perfectly made in the same shape as the quantum computer core.

Ericson softly placed the core into the connection port. A series of metal clasps, locked over the core as he lifted his hands away. He looked at Minerva.

"What is your status?" he asked her.

"Processing......processing......connection established," Minerva said as she closed her eyes. "Processing.......processing.....I am in control of the body."