20XX. It is a world of robots. Robots that can do any task in nearly any environment including outer space. They are more than just useful; they serve as friends, companions, performers, and some owners even treat them like family. At the head of this robotic world is the kind and well-meaning Doctor Thomas Light with Light Labs, the industry leader in robot design and the father of the Robot Master, a supervisor class of robot with better A.I., more power, a more human personality, and designed to require minimal human supervision. Once they had a task and a team at their disposal, they were some of the most efficient workers on the planet.
Every industry, except for perhaps medical, made use of robot masters; especially the entertainment industry. There were mascots, camera crew, announcers, performers, reporters, and even occasionally actors.
Oddly enough, the video game industry was slow to jump on the bandwagon. It was understandable since some icons wouldn't translate well to a robot master, not to mention it was cheaper to just hire actors as needed instead. This was so for the human characters, but for cartoony animal characters the idea was more feasible and even preferable. Having a robot master mascot always increased popularity and therefore revenue.
Which was exactly the reason SEGA Enterprises, Ltd. decided to commission Dr. Light himself for an ambitious robot master of their own: a robotic version of longtime video game icon Sonic the Hedgehog. They wanted him capable of the character's full speed, needed to have them as identical as possible in both look and personality, and had to have him capable of seamlessly transitioning between eastern and western audiences.
Within a few months' time Dr. Light invited a few of SEGA's representatives, a mix of Sonic Team and the American branch marketing team, out to his property for a filmed field test of their new Robot Master.
In the lab, Rock and Roll hovered over the newly activated one meter tall robotic hedgehog, double checking his systems and making sure his armor fit right. Dr. Light couldn't build the mascot to achieve supersonic speed without some kind of protection, and luckily the video game company was on board with the idea: it enabled the public to be reminded that their robot was still just a robot.
"Gah, Roll, I'm fine," groused the infant robot master, shaking his arm free of her grip. He smiled to tell her he wasn't really irritated.
"Hold still," Roll scolded, "It still isn't fitting right like before! If you go full speed it'll come loose and you'll shake yourself apart!"
"Has it ever occurred to you that I can slow down before that happens," he retorted smartly with a smirk. Rock snickered.
"He has a point, sis." Roll merely rolled her green eyes and threw her hands up in the air. Rock tried not to laugh at the gesture, instead giving his twin a sympathetic smile, but when the new robot master fixed the ill fit himself the boy-robot hero couldn't help a small giggle.
The three all walked out the back door and strode towards where Dr. Light and Auto currently set up the high speed camera, the group from SEGA all staring at the latest engineering marvel. The new robot master's full name was Sonic Boom Man. His all-metal blue and tan body was covered in a protective suit of armor the same bold blue color with a black undersuit for insulation and cooling. He also wore a thin visor the same emerald green color of his eyes that connected to two "headphones" which wrapped around the top of his head behind his ears. Dr. Light hadn't been too sure if he nailed the "cool" factor he had gone for, but the finished robot master rocked the look. The man eventually planned on giving Sonic Boom Man some synthetic fur to make him look even more like the character he was built to emulate, but he would discuss that with the reps after the initial test.
"G'morning, fellas," greeted Sonic Boom first, chuckling to himself when the group only stared. He didn't want them too uncomfortable, so he added, "Too much? I mean, I'm programmed to sound like Roger's Sonic when I speak English, so..."
"Oh! No, no, you're fine, Sonic," one of the American branch reps replied, blinking when he realized his mistake. Dr. Light chuckled lightly while his latest creation gave a happy thumbs up.
"Cool! Just make sure you remember I'm actually Sonic Boom Man. We all know the actual Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't require a suit to run faster than the speed of sound."
"Which all of you will see for yourselves shortly," announced Dr. Light. "We've run tests in the lab and thus far the results are good. Now, we get to have a proper field test. Auto, is everything ready?"
"Yes sir," replied the rotund green and yellow robot assistant with a salute. Sonic Boom Man took a steeling breath despite not needing to breathe at all, giving Rock a smile when the robot boy squeezed his shoulder.
The reps were in awe already. Not only did the robot master sound and move like the real Sonic, he even behaved like a living being. It was obvious a great deal of work went into his design, especially in the details. If the robotic entertainer had fur and took off the suit no one would be able to tell unless they were told beforehand.
The new robot master took his place at the starting point Dr. Light marked already in the grass while Auto ran the camera at normal speed for the moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Dr. Light began, "I present to you my latest design and commission, Sonic Boom Man. He is a Robot Master built for speed and agility, his frame constructed with the lightest metals in production right now without sacrificing too much durability. He can take a fair beating in case of any stunts gone wrong, and without his armor he can reach Mach 0.5. Unfortunately, I couldn't build him to reach beyond Mach 1 without his body shaking itself apart. That is what his armor is for, to reinforce his frame. His visor assists in his vision so he doesn't run into or through everything in his path.
"Today, June 23rd, is the Mach 1 field test. His capability has already been tested in the lab that Boeing so graciously lent to me. Sonic Boom Man will make a few laps one mile each until he surpasses the speed of sound and maintains it for 30 seconds. Accounting for air resistance and winds, he should hold up." The kindly man turned to Sonic. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, Doc," Sonic answered, "Rock, you got your channel open?"
"Sure do," Rock replied.
"Okay. Go," Dr. Light called, hopping out of the way as Sonic Boom Man took off with a whoosh. He reached 60 miles per hour faster than any formula one racecar, reaching double that as he completed the first lap with a loud whoop. The robotic hedgehog loved the feel of the actual air of the world whizzing by his ears. It brought other sounds, smells, and a dynamic resistance not reproducible in the lab. He could already feel small pockets of least resistance and adjusted his body without taking away too much from his trajectory, letting his visor assist as he steadily ran faster and faster. He smirked triumphantly at the subtle boost he was given and lowered his head, laying his ears flatter for better aerodynamics.
Everyone watching looked on in awe as the metal hedgehog passed by faster and faster, becoming a literal blue blur. Even Rock and Roll had trouble keeping up. A moment later Rock heard his radio crackle to life.
"Have everyone stand farther back," Sonic warned, "This shockwave is going to be rough!"
"Got it," Rock replied. "Everyone please stand farther back! Sonic's almost at Mach 1, he doesn't want us hurt by the shockwave!"
Everyone present obeyed, Auto somehow managing to keep the camera steady as it filmed at max speed. On the far end of the predetermined lap a near-deafening BOOM threw a shockwave in all directions. The audience had to brace against each other to keep from falling over for a few seconds. When they looked again, it was like a continuous streak of blue rushed by only to reform on itself at different points as Sonic repeatedly caught up with his own afterimage. As if that wasn't enough, the sounds of him passing were completely out of sync with what everyone saw.
As soon as 30 seconds passed Sonic Boom Man came to a complete stop using his armored boots, small waves of heat from the friction radiating off his body. He took in a few gulps of air to assist his cooling system, then turned to everyone else with a grin that stretched across his muzzle and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"All green, Doc," he announced.
"Yay, it worked," Rock cheered with a grin and small hop.
"Oh my goodness, this is better than we could have hoped for," one of the reps noted. She turned to Dr. Light and asked, "What about his fur? Will his appearance be eventually upgraded to have that?"
"I can give him an economic, ergonomic fur coat," replied the scientist, "but that will take another week."
"We can afford the extra week," one of the reps from the Japanese branch said. He turned to the new robot master and added, "Apologies, Sonikku, but you'll have to wait a little more before coming home."
"No problem. I think the fur would serve me better anyway," Sonic Boom Man responded as he walked over. "All metal is a little too heat conductive at high speeds." The robotic hedgehog's smile softened as he looked everyone over, glad they were all okay.
June 23rd, 20XX
My word. As a scientist and acclaimed roboticist, I couldn't be more proud. Today the field test for Sonic Boom Man went so well I was able to gain a little more time to implement some features I hadn't been able to get to yet. DLN-091 "Sonic Boom Man" breached the speed of sound and maintained that speed with no loss of structural integrity with the armor suit on. I realize I probably didn't have to create a robot master capable of such a feat, but SEGA was very specific in what they wanted out of the build.
He is programmed with the sharpest A.I. and fastest reaction time known to man thus far, a must if you're a blue speedster and need to make quick on the fly judgements. Intelligent, compassionate, adventurous, fun-loving, friendly, all the biggest personality traits of the actual Blue Blur himself are all present and accounted for. All those hours playing through most of the Sonic games were well worth it. It's a shame he won't be used for much outside entertainment purposes such as promos and special appearances.
During his time awake Sonic and Rock became fast friends, doing what boys do and get into a little bit of trouble. I don't have the heart to scold either of them. Let's face it, some of those shenanigans were pretty funny and definitely something I would have done at their age.
As a father, I worry. In my zeal to build a robot as close to the real article as possible, I think I might have given Sonic a little too much. As his builder I will be responsible for his regular maintenance; I'll have to make sure he's holding up all right psychologically as well as physically. I have no doubt he'll do well and like his job. I only hope he makes plenty of good and true friends along the way.
-Thomas Light