Six hours is all it took. Six long hours to build the droid version of Maci Blackburn. Harriet and I moved to a seperate room so we could talk and work freely without any other work being suspicious. Harriet leans back in her chair and closes her eyes. She's relieved that we're finally done.
"We're missing one thing," I tell her. She groans like a child. I smile at her, I have a feeling we're going to be friends. "Don't worry, it's not that hard. We just need to mimic the movement of breathing."
"I didn't know they intended for her to be close enough to people for them to notice."
"I don't know if it will interact with other humans but better safe than sorry. Plus I learned how to do it years ago." I don't feel comfortable calling the droid a 'she'. It's an object not a living person. It's just a charade. I find the right motor and make sure it goes slow enough to mimic breathing. I position it in the open cavity in the stomach. I close the cavity and take a couple steps back. It blows my mind to think that it took only six hours to create something that is so close to a human.
"Well, what're you waiting for? Let's power her up!" Harriet stands up and walks in front of our fake Maci Blackburn. She reached behind its neck and clicks the button on. The droid whirrs to life, blinking, breathing, and moving as any human.
"That was almost too easy," I tell Harriet. She shrugs clearly ready to be done with this project. "Now her sensors will pick up our soundwaves and will respond accordingly. Let's test it out."
"Alright. Hey, Princess Maci, can I have a raise?" We both laugh, obviously reaching the point of sleep deprived. The droid turns its head to face Harriet. It smiles kindly as you would expect a dismissive princess to do. I stare at the humanoid figure with pride bursting in my chest. We did this. We made this from scrap.
"I'll look into that, Mrs.Braxton."
"Face sensor is working fine, so is the voice box."
"Yeah, and the accuracy is on point," Harriet comments. I give a small smile to her as I continue to study the mock princess.
"How long have you worked for the palace, Harriet?" She takes a long sigh. She rubs her forehead as she leans on the desk with her elbows.
"Twenty years give or take." I look at her agape. I could barely stand ten minutes with these people and she tolerated it for twenty years. I'm beyond impressed. My respect for her shot up majorly.
"Why did you stay that long?" She ponders my question carefully choosing her answer.
"We all have our reasons for sticking around," she tells me. I nod at her.
"Okay, we need to run a few tests and then she's ready to be released into the world."
"Sooner we get this done, the sooner we get a break. So let's get started."
~*~
Harriet, 'Maci', and I walk through the halls of the palace. No one pays us any mind. The only attention we get is either servants bowing to the droid or courtiers stopping to say that they're glad she's better. I suppose they blamed her absence on a sickness. Maybe there's some truth to that as well. Each time we're stopped I hold my breath, waiting for a malfunction. But each time I do, everything runs smoothly.
"Hey Gail!" Harriet calls. He turns to the sound of her voice and freezes. His face drains of color as the three of us approach. His eyes are locked on Maci. "Not bad, huh?"
"You can count me as... completely surprised. I honestly didn't think you could pull it off." At the last part he looks straight at me.
"You need to have more faith in our mechanics, Sir Gail Hugh." I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Harriet tries her best to cover her laugh but fails miserably. She mumbles a small, insincere apology to me. I sigh trying to calm myself down. The last thing we need is to be caught.
YOU ARE READING
Made For Gold
Science Fiction"My mom always told me that whenever I have a difficult decision I should flip a coin. She said that while the coin was in the air, I would know what I truly wanted."
