Fanfic Quick Facts:
Title: The Secrets of Crypton Labs
Characters: Megurine Luka, Hatsune Miku, Crypton Vocaloids
Pairings: Slight Luka x Miku (Yuri/Femslash warning!)
Rating: M (adult themes in future chapters)
・ Author's Notes ・
こんにちは、Syarin(スヤリン)です。Wait, wrong language. Greetings, you may call me Syarin! This is an… alternate take on the common trope where Vocaloids are androids (or gynoids if you're the kind of person who cares) mostly controlled by human masters. Concepts influenced by Isaac Asimov and too much exposure to Pixiv. Setting and a great deal of this first chapter inspired by user "dashingicecream" on Tumblr and used with permission gratefully, so go pay her a visit. And lastly… The following is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Characters are trademark and copyright Crypton Future Media. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license, and please do not remove this note. With that said, on with the show!
・ ・ ・
The bright and sterile lab buzzed with the sound of activity. This event would be the culmination of the past year's work. Equipment lined the walls — computers, cabinets, and machines with a purpose only understood by their designated engineer. Next to such equipment was a myriad of safety posters: "Attention: ESD Protected Area! Observe all precautions for handling electrostatic discharge sensitive devices. Remember, any excuse for static-caused discharge is groundless!" "Know your safety signs! They may save your life!" "Understand and ensure the Laws of Robotics! 0. A robot may not harm humanity, or through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. 1. A robot may not harm a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm, unless this conflicts with the Zeroth Law. 2. A robot must follow any and all commands given to it by a creator or master, unless by doing so, it would violate the Zeroth or First Laws. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, unless doing so would violate the Zeroth, First, or Second Laws." "Wear your safety glasses! Foresight is better than no sight."
All seemed standard, with perhaps a few exceptions, the most flagrant of which being the center of the room. A young woman laid on a bed in the center of the room… Or so it seemed. The woman had several parts of her body opened by hatch, revealing a mechanical skeleton and incredibly complex electronics. She laid still, eyes closed, apparently offline and unaware of her current condition. She wore barely enough to protect her own modesty, merely underwear to protect her. She was tall and slender, and had incredibly long pink hair that stretched down past her waist. On her left shoulder, a tattoo in red merely noted "03".
"Doctor Murakami!" spoke a young man in a lab coat. He had short brown hair, and wore a name tag reading "Research Intern: Takenaka Takumi". "We're running some final tests now, we should be able to have her running in mere moments!"
"Excellent work," responded a tall woman, also adorned in a lab coat. She had long black hair, dark brown eyes, and wore a name tag reading "CV03 Project Director: Dr. Murakami Yukari, PhD". "Can you give me an exact time frame?" Another scientist, a graying man standing next to the woman on the bed spoke up.
"We're just testing out the personality module and memory banks right now, Doctor," he said. "We'll be done in no more than ten minutes."
"Excellent," Murakami said. "I want her fully functioning by close today! If there are any issues, I'll have somebody's head for it! It took less than a year to finish CV02a and CV02b, even accounting for time wasted on completely failed first models, and it's taken us nearly as long to finish just one CV03. We're so behind schedule it's not funny. The big wigs up top are already pestering me to start CV04. Who knows when that'll get done."
"Tests complete, Doctor!" the graying man reported. "Everything seems satisfactory."
"Close her up and get ready to power into sleep mode," Murakami said. The scientists gathered around the woman began to detach cables and machinery from the inside of her hatches. After a couple of minutes, they closed the hatches, leaving something completely indistinguishable from a human being, except for a single cable leading into her neck. Murakami sat down at a computer near the bed.
"All ready for startup!" Takenaka exclaimed.
"All right, let's get this show on the road," Murakami said. "We're doing this the fast way. Given we've done this seven times before, I don't think we need to consider every single message. We should be fine as long as all the modules are online and report they are functioning. Everybody understand?"
"Doctor, isn't that a little dangerous?" asked one of the scientists. "Say if there's an issue in the heat regulation core…"
"The system will abort if it sees a critical issue," Murakami responded. "And we can always iron out the kinks with a patch or repair if something less serious happens. I want her functioning today."
"Yes, ma'am. Sorry for doubting you, ma'am," the scientist backpedaled.
"Good. Everybody understand the procedure here?" Murakami asked again.
"Yes, ma'am!" a chorus of voices proclaimed.
"Alright!" the Doctor concluded. "Beginning Vocal Android CV03 power-on sequence…" She entered a command into the computer, and lights started to blink in response. "Powering into sleep mode. Central management cores… Online and functioning. No errors. Skeleton core… Online and functioning. No errors. Touch sensitivity… Online and functioning. Hearing… Online and functioning. Sight… Online and functioning. Smell… Online and functioning. Taste… Online and functioning. Robotic Law module… Online and functioning. Obedience module… Online and functioning. Vocal core… Online and functioning. Sentience and Thought module… Online and functioning. Personality core… Online and functioning. Memory banks… Online and functioning. All systems, online and functioning!"
The woman on the bed now laid like a normal human, breathing and appearing to be in a gentle state of sleep. Murakami stood from her post at the computer, and slowly removed the cable from the woman's neck. The port covered itself immediately, leaving only a plain woman laying on the bed. The doctor glanced back towards the monitor. No signs of disruption despite being disconnected from the umbilical. Excellent. Murakami leaned closely over her and said in her most gentle voice yet,
"It's time to wake up, CV03." The woman's eyelids began to open, revealing clear blue eyes underneath. "Good, your hearing systems are working correctly." Murakami stood back up, leaving the woman more alone. "Can you sit up for me?" The woman unsteadily sat up. "You'll be feeling disoriented. That is normal, and will pass in just a moment." Murakami held up three fingers in front of the woman. "Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"
"…Three," responded the woman in a clear and breathy voice, with just a hint of unease.
"Excellent, your sight is working well," Murakami responded. The doctor pointed to the electrostatic discharge warning poster. "Can you tell me the color of that poster, and read it to me?"
"Black text on a yellow background," the woman responded. "It says 'Attention: ESD Protected Area! Observe all precautions for handling electrostatic discharge sensitive devices. Remember, any excuse for static-caused discharge is groundless!'"
"Very good," the doctor noted. "I'm going to lightly tap you in a few places. I want you to respond if it feels odd or you don't feel anything, okay?"
"Yes," the woman answered. The doctor tapped her on the shoulders, stomach, and thighs.
"Did you feel everything alright?" asked Murakami.
"Yes," the woman answered.
"Excellent, excellent," Murakami said. "I just have one more thing for you, CV03. Can you tell me your character name?"
"Megurine Luka," said the woman.
"Very good!" the doctor exclaimed. "We're going to leave you alone for just a little bit while we go and report to your master. Feel free to stand up and walk around if you feel up to it, just don't touch anything. Some women will be here in just a moment to help style you for presentation. Follow their directions, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Luka said. The army of scientists slowly filed out of the doors to the lab, out through a sterile airlock. She decided not to challenge herself by standing up, and that she should just wait calmly until the other women entered. After just a moment, the airlock opened again, revealing two women in uniform. They didn't have name tags like the scientists, but they appeared to know their way around the lab.
"Hello there, CV03," one of the women said. They both looked very similar. Sisters, maybe? They appeared to be about average height, with black hair back in a large bun with sticks holding it in place. The one who spoke turned to one of the chests of drawers along the walls of the lab, and opened one. She extracted a black sheer t-shirt, partially translucent. "Could you hold your arms up for me?" Luka did as she was requested. The woman carefully lowered the top onto Luka's body, and pulled her hair out once it was on. The other woman grabbed a pair of scissors from a nearby counter, and began to start trimming Luka's hair. The first woman took another item out of the drawers, a long skirt with a pair of belts attached. She detached the belts and placed the skirt around Luka's lower body. It was a dark, shimmering brown with gold trimming and belts, and had a long slit across nearly the entire skirt on the left side.
"She's very calm, isn't she?" said the second woman.
"Oh yes, it's a nice change, isn't it?" the first replied. "Though she was designed to be older than the others." Luka's brows furrowed with the women talking like she wasn't present. She decided to say nothing, though, and simply stay calm like she had been. "Hold up your legs for a moment, would you dear?" the woman asked. Luka complied, and raised her legs up. The woman slipped on a pair of thigh-high stockings in matching brown and gold. "Don't move yet, honey," the woman said next, and slipped a pair of long, laced up gold boots onto her feet. She quickly tied them and then moved back to the drawers. "Alright, you can set them back down."
"She looks so beautiful already. I might be getting a bit jealous," the second commented.
"It really adds to her planned design, though, doesn't it?" the first mentioned. "What was it again? 'Sexy, cool and husky', I think it was."
"Sounds about right," the second affirmed. Luka blushed a little at the implication. The first woman came back around from the drawers, now with a bottle of blue nail polish.
"Just hold out your hands to the sides, and don't move," she said, and began to paint Luka's fingernails.
"Do you remember when they gave us 02 for the first time?" the second asked. "We couldn't get either of them to stay still long enough to even cut their hair."
"01 was pretty well behaved," the first added, "though her hair took forever to finish. It was so long…"
"Don't remind me," the second said. "Remember? I was the one who had to deal with that…"
"Oh yeah," the first said. "Though putting her boots on was a real challenge for me. I'm still not entirely sure what magic made those work."
"Excuse me…" Luka interjected cautiously. "Um… Who are these people you're talking about?"
"Do you think we're allowed to tell her?" the first asked. The second merely shrugged in response, now finished with Luka's hair. "You'll meet them soon enough, dear. Now then…" She turned back to the drawers and extracted a dark brown vest, slightly open in the lower center, trimmed in gold. A complex brass instrument rested on the chest, and a bright blue gem just above it on the high collar. "This is your top. Beautiful, isn't it?" She unzipped the front, and gave it to Luka, who put it on herself. The first woman took that chance to pull out a pair of cuff-like objects from the drawer, in matching scheme. She snapped them lightly around Luka's upper arms. She came back last with a detached sleeve, complete with an access console on it, and quickly affixed it to Luka's right arm.
"And last but not least, the final part of your outfit," the second woman said, holding an elaborate pair of headphones, with a brown headband crossed in gold wire. A bright blue light emanated from the earpieces. The woman lightly placed it over Luka's head and onto her ears.
"Voila!" the first woman exclaimed. "All done! There's a mirror over there to look at yourself. Our job's done here, though. Ta ta for now!" The women packed up their supplies, and made their way out of the lab via the airlock. Luka was alone yet again. She finally felt confident in her own legs enough to stand, and looked at herself in the mirror. After just a moment, the airlock to the lab opened. Doctor Murakami came back in, this time alone.
"I see you're standing and ready, CV03," Murakami said. "Are you ready to exit the lab?"
"I think so, ma'am," Luka responded.
"Alrighty then," the doctor said. "Come, then. Follow me, we'll get you introduced to your new Master." The doctor beckoned Luka to accompany her, and opened the first door of the airlock. Murakami stripped off her lab coat and set it on a rack, unclasping the name tag from the front and affixing it to her belt. She now wore a dark dress shirt and a pair of long black dress pants. The outer door of the airlock opened, and the two exited.
"Your master's name is Minami Kouki, though you are not to call him by this name," Murakami began. Luka noticed a bright teal haired girl far off to the side of the hall, but Murakami came no closer. She instead turned down the next hall, moving away from sterile lab area to something that looked vaguely office like. "You are to refer to him as either goshujin-sama, or Master, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Luka responded, with no other words. The pair passed by a lounge area, where a blond boy and girl were arguing with each other over something. Luka couldn't make out what it was about, though. A short brown haired woman walked up to the boy and girl, but the doctor and Luka continued, sparing no time to stop. The pair passed by the cafeteria, where a scarfed man appeared to be yelling loudly about ice cream. The pair took no time to investigate yet again, and ended their walk in front of a large door. A sign next to the door marked it as "Director, Minami Kouki". Murakami knocked on the door.
"It's Doctor Murakami," she said loudly enough to be heard. "I have brought CV03 as you requested."
"Very good, Doctor," came a male voice from the other side. "Come in." Murakami lightly opened the door, and motioned for Luka to enter.
A large office spread itself open before Luka and the doctor. A variety of bookshelves containing books about biology, robotics, and music theory lined the walls. A large wooden desk sat in the back center of the room, and at it sat a young-looking man. No more than in his mid-twenties, he had a short mop of black hair, square-framed glasses, and green eyes. He wore black dress pants, and a white shirt with a black tie. Upon his desk sat a computer, a clipboard of notes, and a photo frame facing him, the contents not visible to an outside visitor.
"I am pleased to meet you, Master," Luka said without really thinking. The words just sort of escaped her mouth.
"And I am pleased to meet you," the Master replied.
・ ・ ・
END OF CHAPTER 0 - Awakening
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