Dangerous by Default

2. The robot

Mina doesn't put her hair up

From the outside, one could be forgiven for seeing the hulking windowless building that occupied nearly a half-block in the heart of the Tenderloin and thinking it was just another abandoned jail, or a secret government facility, or a retired electrical substation. The many theories that floated among the neighborhood were colorful and varied, but they all shared a common detail: the building was used for things that were secretive, possibly dangerous, and best to be avoided. That was until a few years ago, when things started to change. It began with the larger-than-life murals of drag queens with names like Vicki Marlane and Donna Persona that began popping up on the walls. Then there were the purveyors of the sidewalk flea markets and residents of the tent encampments, who noticed they were no longer being shoo'd away by city officials. The building was still secretive and discreet, but, the neighborhood all agreed, it was no longer ominous.

Inside the inner sanctum of Dimensions' headquarters, the sour expression on Jeff's face had started to melt away. The building, which had indeed been a retired electrical substation that Mina had purchased from the city for a song, was now a gleaming state-of-the-art lab where hundreds of research scientists tinkered away at the future marvels of modern science. As his eyes scanned his surroundings, his face held a look that Mina had seen many times before. It was the rapture, as Mina jokingly referred to it. It meant that things were going well.

They walked a few yards in silence up to a vivid blue shape that rose balletically high into the air from its glass pedestal. It was the first stop on their tour. Mina took a deep breath, calmly drew her raven colored hair behind her ears, and repeated the speech that she had spoken to hundreds of enraptured faces before this one.

"Time for a history lesson" Mina said with a charming smile.

"This looks like a child's leg, but it's blue." Jeff observed.

"It belonged to my little brother, actually. He became an amputee when he was six. The problem was, he was growing. Every time he'd finally become adjusted to yet another leg, he'd have a growth spurt. - and he'd have to do it all over again."

"That sounds agonizing"

"It was difficult to watch. When I was 15, I decided enough's enough. I learned everything I could about 3D printing and made this for him. The material of the leg is a mesh I invented that expands slowly over time, so he could keep growing and the leg would grow with him. Problem solved!"

"Interesting. Inventing new polymers in High School when most other teenagers are smoking weed under the school bleachers. Everyone told me that you were a child genius, but the 'g' word gets thrown around a little too casually these days. In your case it seems to be a correct description."

"I wouldn't say I'm a genius, I just hated seeing my brother uncomfortable. I was motivated."

Jeff turned his attention to a 4-legged robot that was tapping its way down the hall, as if a golden retriever minding its business. After scanning their faces with its mute, organic muzzle, it promptly curled itself into a ball as cozily and naturally as if it was seeking a nap. Jeff clearly knew of the existence of this creature, and his hard outer shell cracked ever so slightly as the secret fan crush that he hidden so carefully came bursting to the surface.

"Ooh, I know about him! That's Artemis, isn't it?" While flattered that Jeff knew her work by name, Mina was amazed at how easily men seemed to assert their gender on any object under the sun, as if it was some ritual for claiming possession.

"Artemis isn't a him," she corrected, "Robots don't have a gender, so calling it 'him' is illogical. But yes, this is Artemis. My old friend. One of the first prototypes of our surgical robots."