First Steps (Cale)

Q7P13 stops at the end of the corridor, hitting a button that causes the wall to slide away, revealing an alley. Stepping through the now revealed doorway, she looks around, taking in the new sights. Turning slightly, she pushes one of the bricks in the wall, watching as the wall slides back in place, concealing the entrance. She stares at the wall for a moment, making sure that the doorway wasn't visible anymore.

She steps out of the alley, staring at the people just walking by. Shifting her attention to the sky, her eyes follow a bird as it soars through the sky, watching it until it disappears around a building. She continues to stare at the spot it disappeared at for a minute before turning and walking down the street.

Q7P13 slowly makes her way through the city, stopping every so often to stare at something that interests her. As she passes in front of a shop, she pauses, turning to look. On multiple screens just inside the shop was someone who looked like her. She stares at the screens for a moment, then lifts her right arm, watching the her on the screens do the same thing. Q7P13 turns and catches the arm of someone passing by, getting their attention. She points at the screens. "Why can I see myself?"

The person gives her a long confused stare before finally pointing at where the camera is. "That's a camera, it's why you show up on the screen."

Q7P13 tilts her head slightly to the side, looking back at the screens. She processes the information she just got, then looks back up at the man. "Thank you." Q7P13 let's the man go, turning in place and continuing on her way. She gets a confused blink from the man. "It's...uh, it's no problem."

She walks to the end of the block, pausing to look at the other people just standing around, then takes a few steps forward, right into the path of a truck.

Her world was suddenly sent spinning from the impact, which sent her flying across the pavement. Rolling to a stop, she takes a moment to check to see if she had any major damage. Finding none, Q7P13 sits up, looking over at the panicking man. "None of my core components were damaged. I am fine."

Nightmare:

    That made the morning interesting. A nightmare like none other. How can you "feel" a nightmare. Cale's ankle was still sore, honestly if he hadn't had the blessing of his beloved companions and their abilities he'd still be gimping about the Lighthouse being the subject of jokes...until he punched them. The morning worked the same as it always did. N.O.S.T.R.O was working diligently at reading, Aegis had been playing chess with Bulwark until Bulwark noted the time and crawled up to Cale's hear and sounded off the alarm clock. It made Cale question his sanity when he gave his own cellphone sentience and the ability to move around. After general cleaning Cale went over his schedule with his companions as Bulwark jumped from a table and into the palm of his hand and then condensing back into it's cell-phone stare. Aegis on the other hand crawled up and crawled up his arm before finding it's usual resting spot. Cale opened his door before none other than "MT.QT" arrived, slipping in through the widow it's goggles fixating upon Nostro before looking to Cale and letting out a little "mew".

   Cale took his bottle of water and opened it as he took a good swig of it and set it down on the table next to the couch. He looked at MT.QT and then tapped Nostro on his mechanical "shoulder" to gain his attention. "QT. Be good for your brother. Nostro. Be good to your brother." He said before walking out. Nostro let out a little hum as he walked over to the couch and turned on the television. QT let out little rawr and a hiss at the History channel, though Nostro looked to the small little creature. "I am older than you and am seeking education. The rules dictate that I clearly have the right to the television." Nostro said very matter of fact to the little animal. The goggles lenses narrowed at Nostro before the little cat looked to the water bottle that Cale left opened.

   Cale on the other hand went throughout his day, a living Hell, thanks for asking. That aside he had been all over God's green earth today. He had to fly out to help prepare a barrier over a farmers house while other members of Seraphim took out a raging pyrokinetic on her period, then he had to stand guard over home base, and then he ended up getting groceries. Now he was FINALLY doing something he wanted to do. He was on his way to the junkyard. The exact same place where he found the scrap he made Nostro from. It was on his way there that he encountered a rather strange event. By that he means that the woman he was just walking next to decided to continue walking at the no-passing signal and stepped out right in front of a bleeding 18-wheeler! The screeching of the tires was met by a speeding small car turning to the side. Cale put his hand out and Aegis activated creating a barrier between the two cars keeping at least one member from the entire collision safe. He made a point to rush to the woman's aid when he noticed that she seemed...unharmed.

  "Oh Jesus are you okay!? That was...insane." Cale said, imediately chalking things up to her being a highly durable metahuman. Understandable in a world such as this one. He of course immediately changed that theory the second he heard her say about her "core somponents". Okay now she could be an alien that had a rough translation...or she could just be insane...or maybe the truck did more damage than he thought. Or...maybe, just maybe...she was a...a robot. Android actually at this rate. "Core components? Okay so... I'm going to make the wild guess you're not all human, are you?" Cale asked before looking around and hearing the horns honk. Okay, so the police weren't keen on metahumans, let alone robots and robot creators. The last thing Cale wanted was for this individual to fall prey to prying humans and their selfishness, and he of course didn't want this person to inadvertently cause any other deaths.

   "Okay, well if there's no damages to any of your primary functions how about a secondary scan. You looke perfectly intact but we shouldn't leave anything to chance, though ultimately it's on your own volition." He suggested, adding in the last part to ensure the individual knew he did not presume to have a command over her.

Q7P13 takes a look around before attempting to stand, checking to make sure there is no resistance in the movement of her limbs. She finally looks up at the man beside her. "That is correct. I am not human." She glances around at the gathering people, some of which have started to take photos, her gaze pausing a bit on the vehicles.

She looks back over at the man, staring at him for a moment before speaking again. "I do not have the ability to do a secondary scan. My design only allows me to monitor my core functions." Q7P13 starts to look at the skin on her arms, looking for any damage done to her skin. "I have minor damage to my outer covering. This does not hinder my function."

She continues to look at him for a moment before turning back to look at the mass of cars, most of them honking their horns now. Pointing at one of them that was close. "Why are they making that noise? Are they in some form of distress?"

"Yes. There was an accident. You stepping onto the streets caused a chain of events to occur. You stepping onto the street caused that truck to hit you. The driver of the truck tried to stop his vehicle in order to try and avoid hitting you. When he did this, other cars were unaware that the driver was attempting to stop, and they continued to drive on their designated route. This route was now obstructed by a car and a colission was bound to happen. I was here so I managed to put up a barrier, and prevent anyone from dying...but despite that humans are...fragile emotionally. The anxiety and stress of the event alongside with the impatience and rage of others makes them prone to distress. Or what they conveive to be distress." Cale explained to the robot. Of course it was a rather rushed explanation as he was trying to pull all attention off of her as best as possible. It had donned on him that she were not the most intellectually advanced intelligence she had seen, though he was able to rationalize that the "mistake" she made was akin to that of a child. Her saving grace being she is a syntehtic individual. Now he took that and paired it with the fac she didn't understand the cause for the "distress" of the humans with the horns, as well as her lack of zeal to vacate the area. When you add these together you have either a very stupid synthrtic, or a synthetic that wasnot properly educated and introduced into the world. The exact same as a human child with absolutely no introduction to the world.  

   "Alright then. Well I guess we'll have to take a chance now won't we? Tell me, you don't have much experience in this world do you? Everything you've probably got has been the equvilent of text book learning I'll wager..." Cale said still worried about staying in the area around them. But suddenly it were as if the light switch had turned on he let out a little sigh before a smile formed on his lips and he looked to the robot. "My name is Cale. What should I call you?" He asked, an idea hitting his mind. Who the hell said America wasn't the land of opportunity? A robot enthusiast just met a fully functional robot created by someone other than him. This was an opportunity for the both of them, and one that Cale intended to make aware to the robot...whenever he knew what to call her...or it.

Q7P13 stands there, silently processing the information that the man gave her. She looks back at the cars, staying silent as she thinks for a moment, then turns back to the man. "Thank you. That was informative."

She continues to stare at the cars around them, then turns and takes a few quick steps that places her back on the sidewalk, realizing that one should not be standing in the middle of the road while there is traffic. Switching her gaze on the people that are still gawking and taking photos, Q7P13 completely ignores the cars, now that she isn't in the road.

Switching her attention to Cale. "My designation is Q7P13. I have been active for eight hundred and sixteen days, fourteen hours, nine minutes and twenty-three seconds. Is there anything else you wish to know?" She pauses for a second, her unblinking gaze locked onto Cale's face. "Did I do something incorrect when I attempted to cross the road? My information states that it is allowed."

It was then that the sirens could be heard in the distance, steadily getting closer. The cops and other first responders heading to the scene to get everything back to how it should be. Q7P13 looks in the direction the sound is coming from for a second, before turning back to Cale. "What is that noise?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Unfortunately that sound is the police. It's something we should probably avoid for right now. Would you come with me and I'll explain as we walk? If we remain here the police will likely try to incarcerate you and I don't want them to do that. If we move now I can continue to explain things and we can improve your functionality in the world." Cale said as he started to walk, with a little haste but nothing too suspicious. He looked to Q7P13 in hopes that she would follow. If he knew anything about robots the promise of information always made you an asset to them. It was part of their charm actually. Soon enough the rest of them would develop though he was curious as to how she had been activated fo rover two years and somehow not entirely aware of the world around her. Such a diservice to confine such an amazing thing.

"I do have questions for you, but first I'd like to explain this..." Cale said as he pointed to the traffic lights. He explained how when the light is red the autombiles needed to stop and that was when it was safest to cross. He also told her all the other junk she needed to know about crossing the street and not becoming a crash-test dummy's test dummy. That quick explanation
aside they were now putting quite a bit of distance between them and the place of the accident. "So my first question. Where is your mother or father...or I summpose your creator would be a more familiar term?" Cale asked, genuinely intrigued by her creation and the process that went behind it. Though in truth Cale didn't want to selfishly hoard the knowledge she harbored or the revolutionary tech she perhaps had stowed away. All he cared about at the moment was how to keep this synthetic safe...which given her casing...that's not too much of an issue he wouldn't think.

Q7P13 continues to watch in the direction that the police were coming in for a moment, then turns and starts to follow Cale, lured by the promise of more information. Once she catches up to him, they stop at a crossing. Cale giving her a quick explanation about the rules of crossing the roads. She watches the lights as they flip through a couple times before looking back at Cale. "Thank you for the information." With that being said, she waits until it is safe before trying to cross this time, not making her look like a pancake again,

Still following Cale around almost like a lost puppy, Q7P13 goes through her memory, finding what happened to her creator. "Doctor Riley died six hundred and eighty-four days, six hours, nine minutes and twenty-three seconds ago."

Q7P13 suddenly stops, reaching her arm out and make sure Cale couldn't take another step forward, then points at the light in front of them. She looks over at him, staring for a moment. "Red means stop." With that, she turns and continues to watch the light intently, waiting for it to switch colors again.

"Yeah...that it does." Cale said as he took a moment to reflect on his own stupidity. He can honestly say that becoming this engrossed in conversation had never happened to him before. Seriously he just made the same mistake as the damn robot. He took comfort in the fact he knew Aegis would never let anything happen to her dear ol' dad, but he wasn't pleased with himself on the matter. He shook the shock value off and processed what she had said. So he somehow died and then she was activated... interesting. That was close to some research Cale actually perfected in theory and in practice on sma- he was ahead of himself yet again.

"Well. If you would find it easier for faster communication I'd like to refer to you as Q7... if you do not want this then I can continue to call you by your full name... " Cale said, giving the robot the ability to influence what he called her from this point out. Many did not see these individuals as Cale did. In fact he was the only person he knew, aside from Lucifer, who say robots as "individuals" at all. The light turned green and with "permission" of Q7 he would continue to walk wit her, still going farther and farther form the scene of the initial accident.

Q7P13 looks away from the light, locking her gaze on Cale's face. She tilts her head a little, looking back at the light, not speaking. It changes to green and they cross the road, getting to the other side before she speaks. "Q7 would be acceptable."

They travel for another block or so before she stops, hearing music. Turning her head slightly, she spots a man that was busking with a guitar. The promise with Cale for information all but forgotten, Q7 starts to head towards the busker, pausing on the outside of the ring of people also listening, just staring at him.

It took a moment before she realized she just left Cale, turning to look for him. Spotting him instantly, she moves over and rejoins him and points over at the busker. "What is he doing with that? Why is there such an interesting sound coming from it? Can everyone make sounds like that?" Q7 almost sounds eager, like she hasn't heard music before. She turns back and continues to stare at the man, not moving at all.

"What? Oh. Actually no. Not all people can make that noise. The noise is what we call "music" and he had to learn how to play that instrument in order to make music with it. That instrument is called a guitar. If you want I could teach you how to use one." Cale said, actually excited that someone might be interested in learning how to play the guitar, especially a robot. Nostro just hissed at it and claimed it to be an evil device that wanted nothing more than to destroy his auditory sensors. Cale checked the sensors eighty five bloody times and there was nothing wrong with them or anything damaged about them, it was just the robot being a big baby and not liking the style of music.

  Cale observed the man to be a rather unkempt person, like one might expect if they see if they stereotyped. Though he didn't look unhappy. His clothes were clean and he just resided there as he played his music, watching the world from behind his sunglasses and a little smile. If only someone could make a job out of that, Cale would've done it long ago. Sadly one can't support themselves off tips let alone funding highly technological robotics. Cale couldn't lie, he was suspicious of suddenly stumbling upon a robot like this but if may very well have been a blessing in disguise. The last "robots" he encountered that weren't his were the kind Lucifer's dad made. Those bastards were beyond technology, they were almost magic. Well they were magic, but it's not like Cale actually knew that. Guilty Spark was not a good encounter or a good representation of robot kind. It was almost a shame it needed to be detained though. Sophisticated things like him were a treat to observe.

  "So Q7, what do you want to learn about first?" Cale asked, anxious to help this individual in any way he could.

Q7 only looks over at Cale for a moment, more of an automatic response to him talking then anything else, before locking her eyes back onto the man playing the guitar. "So this is music. It is interesting." She just stands there as the man finishes playing his guitar, putting it down while he takes a break to relax his fingers and drink some water.

It was then that Q7 finally snapped out of her fixation, though she does stare at the man for another moment before turning her gaze on Cale. "Is that all of the music? It was very interesting." Q7 stands there for a moment, clearly thinking about something, before finally reaching a decision. "I am going to go find more music. Thank you for your help and for the information."

With that being said, Q7 turns on her heel and starts down the street, looking for any hint of music in the city around her, not even slightly distracted by any new sights around her, focused on her new goal.

"That is not all of the music out there. Not by a long shot. There's more music out there then any human being could fathom. Music is as old as human civilization...probably even older." Cale chuckled, seeing the robot find such an interest in music made him curious as to if she found her calling, her own "spark", her "soul" or her muse even.  She then informed him that she was going to find more music. Then she thanked him and turned on her heel to a new objective. Cale smiled and rolled his eyes. So he was going to let her go on her merry way to a music store...unattended.

 Not no, but HELL NO!

  "Do you even know where more music is? A music store is a good bet but tell me; what do you intend to do when you get there?" Cale asked, revealing that he tagged along behind her before shaking his head. She probably had no concept of money, or any concept of social graces. The kid couldn't even walk the streets alone. He sighed as he realized that he wasn't even sure if she knew what a CD looked like or what it did. Sadly since she was a robot his canoe was officially attached to hers. Wherever she went, he was probably not going to be far behind.

Q7 could actually move fast when she wanted to, having already gotten a small lead, forcing Cale to jog to catch up to her. She glances over at him when he caught up, but doesn't slow down in the slightest, only have listening to him as she continued her search for music. That's why she didn't respond right away, at least not until they reached the end of the block. Finally making the connection, Q7 Turns and looks at Cale, staring intently at him.

"Music are in stores?" She begins to reassess her original plan. Once she has everything figured out again, she finally speaks. "You are familiar with this city. You will take me to the music store so I may acquire music for myself." Q7's lack of polite speech clearly stating how fixed she is on gaining more music to listen to.

She doesn't actually know why she is so fixed on acquiring more herself, just that she needs to. She turns her head back towards where the cops are, creating a secondary plan should Cale refuse to lead her towards the music shop, figuring that the police would be able to help, her data indicating that it was part of their job.

"Okay, but I can only take you if you pay special attention to what I tell you on the way there. Because there's a test when we get there." Cale said. He had his fair share of dealing with robots, you had to teach them manners it wasn't something you programed. Well it was, but programming was so impersonal... and it wasn't like she wanted him to upload it. If she even knew it was an option or not was unknown to him currently, and it wasn't something he was going to share at the moment. He began leading her to the music store. Not just ANY music store but the music store where he went to. They had just about anything you could want. Granted the quantity of rock, metal and all variants of those with symphonic and melodic genre's was far beyond that of other types. But it would serve as an excellent starting point to take her. However on their way he was sure to tell her what there would be a "quiz" on.

"When you want someone to do something you need to make sure you say please, otherwise they'll get upset at you and be less likely to comply with you. So rather than "you will take me to the music store" you would day "Will you please take me to the music store?". Another way to phrase it would be to make it more of a request than a command. Humans don't respond well to commands, we respond better to social stimuli when requested or petitioned. When someone answers your question successfully, or they agree to help you we say "thank you". We'll discuss later what happens when someone says "no" but for now we should be okay. Now keep in mind, when we get there you're going to have someone greet you. It's considered polite to greet them back or acknowledge them in some way. Then they'll ask if they can help you, or if they can help you find anything. You can tell them what you're looking for and they'll tell you if they have it or not. IF they don't have it we can go other places to find it. If they do have it, you need to purchase the item before leaving with it. We'll go over purchasing when we get there. This first quiz is being polite and basic social interactions; Got it?" Cale asked as he looked to her He really hoped that none of this overwhelmed her, she seemed rather advanced. Though he figured he might as well give her some incentive, and so he told her that if she could prove she could be polite and basics to manners he would make sure she got what she was looking for in the music. Yeah he didn't cover it all, but for now that would suffice to see if she were really interested in learning.

They entered the music store the entire place was well decorated, what one might expect of the musical oriented establishment. Cale stepped through as he held the door open for Q7, immediately he saw the young man behind the counter who furrowed his brows curiously at Cale and waved. "Hey! How's our best customeeer...s?" He said, drawing out his word and slightly adapting it when he was obviously shocked to see Cale with someone else. Looking from Q7 to Cale with a slightly cocked head. Cale shook his head and the young man chuckled before shaking his head. "I didn't figure. So how can I help you guys?" He asked as he leaned over the counter, looking to Q7 after being directed to look there by Cale who pointed to Q7.

Q7 tilts her head to the side, unsure what Cale means by test. However, before she could ask what exactly he meant by test, they were off, Cale explaining things to her, which she greedily listened to in silence. Information is important after all. Not that Q7 minded at all, Cale had been very helpful, so she had no complaints about being led around again. Q7 does trust Cale to take her to where she can find more music after all.

She listens to what he was saying intently, making sure to memorize all of it for the test that was going to be given to her. It wasn't long before they finally got to the store that Cale had spoken of, with both of them stepping inside. Q7's glances around the store, but the main thing that instantly catches her attention is that she doesn't hear anything. Nothing at all, not even the tiniest note that could be music.

Q7 rapidly becomes impatient with what seems to be needless distractions that are sidetracking her from her goal. She turns her gaze onto Cale, all but glaring at him. "You said that you would give me more music. I do not see any music here. I do not have time to play games with you. I need more music." The last sentence was more pleading then anything else. Q7 then turns and goes out the front door, pausing outside to get her bearings again before doing anything else, trying to figure out a plan so that she could find the music she needs.