It is often thought that there were two sides to the Zero Reverse phenomenon.
...
Two scientists stood over their work, the result of many days, hours, weeks even, of hard work. Wires were still visible; some because the last procedures hadn't yet been completed and the 'skin' not yet grafted on. Yet the systems all seemed to be in order; the illusion of a heartbeat could be created, if necessary. A ventilation system had been worked in from the most recent upgrades to the commercial bots. Other aspects were from upgrades that hadn't even reached the public models yet.
A spare few wires were still attached to the surrounding computers, sending data back and forth. Tense smiles, short moments, one hand touching another for just a moment.
"Almost done," one would say. "Almost ready."
Just a few more days.
Just a few days, and the skin was grafted on, the last few touches given to the still-lifeless eyes. Blue, they'd decided. The eyes would be blue.
They gave the bot two more days to become accustomed to the skin grafts and the programmed codes which would denote 'cold' and 'warm', 'soft' and 'hard'.
The day after, they attached the rest of the scalp, with the hair pre-designed and due to start growing at a slightly more-than-human rate until it reached a natural, if planned for, length and style.
"He'll have to wake up, soon," they were now saying. "Or we won't know if any of it works."
All of the tests ran back positively. Nothing was wrong. Randomisation was allowed, and variables were given. As was leniency in 'thought', regardless of what that might be to a bot.
One by one, all of the wires were removed apart from two or three, just enough to make sure that things were running smoothly, and both read the data to make sure of it and also be able to draw a halt to all proceedings should the need arise.
The Westworld built just out there, right on their doorstep, might have many androids and robots, ready for use by the public, ready to play out their parts day in and day out. A theme park for those who wanted full immersion into the past, a fantasy, the future.
But the Doctors Fudo, unable to have children of their own, had long since seen the possibility for something else, something more.
"Systems online," were the words spoken, and they could hardly keep the nervous tension out of their voices, hands trembling.
Eyelids fluttered, which had been in place since the skin graft, and opened to show eyes, those blue eyes, wide and full of - dare they say it? - life.
So far, they were just staring, straight ahead, which was normal. "Look left," and he did. "Look right," and he did.
"What do you see?"
He proceeded to name the objects in the room. Simple, childish words that all the same were pleasing to hear - his first word, they would write down in a small logbook, was 'man'.
Then they told him to describe. Could he do that? Describe?
He did so. Using small words still, but the tables were white, the chairs rotated, there were things on the tables and computers that were attached to him and the wires were long and snake-like. The light was bright. Simple things, but each made the doctors smile.
"The man is taller than the woman. He has dark hair. They both wear white coats. The woman has light brown hair. She is smiling."
Recognition of facial expressions was fully realised, then. Good. That was good.
"Can you sit up?"
He did so, with little difficulty. Limbs moved properly, and 'muscle' mass moved accordingly, and unless one touched him, they would not know that he wasn't human. Even then, there was a temperature regulator built in so that he wasn't cold to touch, unless his internal systems needed a reminder in order to be warmed up themselves.
It would, in that case, be the robotics version of hypothermia. But unlike the human version, it would be easily rectified and fixed.
"Can you stand?"
Legs swung over the edge of the table, one after the other. arms on either side of his body, holding him steady. The doctors each stood either side of him as well, out of concern and out of the possibility that he would find the first attempt difficult, have trouble finding his balance, and fall.
He levered himself off of the table, one foot touching the floor and then the other, arms still holding on.
"We've got you. We're here. Hold onto us if you're ready to let go."
He hesitated, at first. But then one hand shot out, reaching for the woman, and she caught him, surprised but elated. The second shot out and the man caught him then, and they shared a look as the 'boy' wobbled slightly.
"Good, good. You're doing well. Now, how about some steps?"
He would continue to wobble, but they were there for him. It would take several more days, in between their research in the main facility, for them to teach him how to walk without doing so. In that time, he began to show facial expressions of his own, copied from the only two humans he had so far come into contact with.
His hair began to grow through more and more each day, too. It wouldn't be long until he could pass as 'normal', in the street. If a little strange, at first.
They soon progressed from walking to jumping, to running on the spot - there wasn't much room for anything else in the lab. He excelled at all, with the understanding of a little leeway in the first few hours for mistakes.
Describing his surroundings turned into reading, and then to writing, and he quickly showed natural aptitude for arithmatic.
Curiosity was a given from the moment when the male Dr. Fudo had dropped a card, and the boy had picked it up, held it out, and not only offered it back but asked what it was.
"A Duel Monsters card," the Doctor had said, pleased at the new development. "It's a game. One that bonds people together, that they can hav fun with. This one here, is part of my current research. 'Stardust Dragon'."
"...Ah. I see."
The woman had smiled and rolled her eyes, amused by how from then on, the teaching of 'Duel Monsters' had been added to the list.
All in all, things were developing at a natural pace of progression, and things were, if the doctors were to hazard a word, idyllic.
"You have names," the boy had mentioned at one point. "I have heard them spoken. Seen them written."
The doctors looked between each other, having prepared for the moment but not having expected it to have come so soon, or from the boy's own mouth.
"We do."
"I have never seen or heard one of my own."
"We could give one to you, if you'd like."
Again, it was hard to keep a professional face on in the light of what was happening.
"I would... like that."
Expression of own wants and dislikes.
"Yuusei." They'd decided together, but it was she who said it first in front of him. "Fudo Yuusei."
"I have the same name as you do?"
Inflection. Curiosity. Confusion. He had seen other names, and not all were the same.
"You do. You-" her voice cracked, and she no longer bothered with the idea of keeping a neutral expression herself, or tone. "You are our son."
'Yuusei' stared at them, wide eyes taking them in again, and then eyelids fluttered down for a minute, as though contemplating something.
"Good. That is good."