Since the loss of his most recent assistant, Caesar had not been seen for the next week or so much to the concern of his mother, Violeta. During his time cooped up in one of the laboratories by himself, she had wanted to check up on him, frequently, but Rafael had convinced her that he was probably just busily working away on whatever new machine he came up with and that they should give him space. The young Salazar was best known for thinking up spontaneous inventions and being able to perform a hundred tasks in short intervals of times, so the only concern from his co-workers was over what new world-ending device he's come up with now.
Violeta's more logical side reassured her that this behavior was not abnormal for her son, but her motherly instincts couldn't help but hover as sometimes Caesar's obsessions with his work could rival his father's, a statement that put her at unease.
Though eventually, the concerned mother managed to convince her husband to come with her to force their son to take a break. Rafael, though reluctant as he wasn't as perturbed by this behavior, did so if just to put his wife at ease.
When they did arrive, the parents gave a cautious scan around the room the moment in apprehension for something jumping at them at any moment. It would not be the first time they'd walk in, and a man-eating plant would try to attack them. Other than that, they were correct in their expectancy to see their eldest son typing away at a computer with a familiar immersed look in his eyes, unaware of the world around him.
Violeta approached him and reached out to tap his shoulder, "Caesar?"
"Just a second…" Not pulling himself away for a moment, the younger scientist barely acknowledged his mother's presence. Rafael cringed.
Violeta scowled as she debated between yanking her son from what he was doing or patiently waiting for him to finish, but he was already reluctantly turning away from his screen before she could make a decision. It took a couple of seconds of him staring at her to comprehend who was in front of him as a look of realization hit him, "Oh! What are you doing here?"
The older Salazar settled with giving him a well-natured smile, "Caesar, you've been stuck in this lab for days. It's time to take a break."
"Well actually, I-" standing abruptly, Caesar had to pause as a wave of dizziness hit him.
Before his parents could say anything, a mechanical voice echoed throughout the room, " Dr. Salazar, your hydration levels are low. It has been one hour and 3 minutes since your last refill. Do you require-"
The young scientist gave an ambiguous shake/nod of his head before continuing, "I'm alright. Maybe later, IRA."
As the younger scientist regained his composure, his parents gave the room similar looks of fascination. Violeta, momentarily forgetting about her initial purpose of seeing her son, felt enthusiasm creep into her as her mind began swarming with questions and ideas, "IRA? Caesar, did you build an AI into the lab? That must be what you have been doing this past week, right? Is it finished, or are you still working a few kinks out because a week is still a short interval of time to be able to install and code the proper programs into the entire lab? Actually, is your AI just part of this lab that you can communicate with from different locations, or is it coded into a more mobile device that can connect with the systems around you? While that is more work, especially within just several days, it would definitely prove to be more efficient, then again-"
"Violeta, cariña, let him answer," Rafael interrupted with haste, just as curious as his wife, struggling to hold back his childish excitement, "Mijo, go on."
Caesar beamed, "Sí, well, you are correct about IRA being an AI. It stands for Independent Robotic Assistant; I immediately began working on the idea of a more computerized and mechanical lab assistant since my last one left, and while at first, I planned on going with a simple mechanism that responded to basic commands like fetching me my tools and reporting the status on many of the machines and computers here, but as I continued, I figured why not go further by increasing response-time and complexity? For example, as you just saw, IRA is capable of analyzing not just mechanical but also organic beings and measure their temperature, blood pressure, hydration levels, among other things. For now, IRA is to remain here in this lab until I perform my final tests on its efficiency and maybe add a couple more features. After that, I plan on transferring the program onto probably a more mechanical form to help me with heavy lifting and such."
As Caesar proceeded to explain and demonstrate IRA's abilities, Violeta and Rafael eagerly remained attentive, only stopping to ask questions about the program's functions. It wasn't until Violeta asked how and why their son came up with IRA in the first place that they realized something.
"Well, it was shortly after my last assistant quit," Caesar looked thoughtful as he recalled the moment of his inspiration, "Remember when you and Papí talked to me about how machines were more superior than humans when it came to the laboratory setting?"
"Uh, no, we were talking about how people are not as durable as machines, so you should be more careful." Violeta sounded wary as she could already tell this was not going somewhere good.
"Yes that, so after the two of you left, I came up with the idea of, instead of hiring another assistant who's just going to quit, get fired, or hospitalized, I should just build an assistant!"
Violeta gave a concerned glance to her husband who, despite his strong interest in his son's accomplishment, could sense her unease and why. Rafael gave only the slightest hesitation before speaking, "Well, mijo, as proud as we are of your achievement with IRA, don't think this almost goes against what our entire was about?"
"Not at all," the younger Salazar responded without a second thought, "If anything, I've taken what you've said. By creating IRA, I'm saving everyone the trouble of finding me just another expendable person who won't be able to keep up or even understand what I want from them, unlike IRA whose whole purpose is to do just that! Machines know how to follow orders and do them exactly right, which is why I was always against having a human assistant in the first place."
"I see your point-"
"Raf, no!" Violeta interrupted before turning her attention to her son, "Caesar, IRA is amazing, yes, but you can't just be replacing any person you don't like with a machine."
"Violeta, I don't really see the problem, "surprising his wife, Rafael anticipated the accusatory look she'd give him before he continued, "This is probably better for him. The whole problem was him abusing his poor assistants, but with IRA, we don't have to worry about lawsuits, getting fired, or just anyone getting hurt overall. It's not like he's replacing Rex with a computer brother or anything. I believe this will really make things easier for everybody… so long as he refrains from excessive explosions throughout the building and the man-eating plants."
"That really got out of hand, but I am certain, well not certain," Caesar, thankful for his father's support, sheepishly grinned as he rubbed the back of his head, "but I am quite sure it won't happen again."
"But Raf, don't you see the implications this has? Today, it's just a mechanical assistant, but human interaction is significant, especially in this type of-"
"I understand, Hermosa, pero I think you're overthinking this," pausing, he leaned away from their son to whisper, so he couldn't hear, "We've had this conversation many times before, but he's fine, and he's going to keep being fine."
Despite her husband's reassurances, she hissed back, "That's because you two are too similar with this type of thing! I'm just… worried. I've always been…"
"Well, I turned out fine, right?"
Caesar, meanwhile, allowed his parents to argue as he returned to his work and resumed coding, oblivious that they were heatedly talking about him. Violeta looked at him, sadly, as she recalled the previous discussions she and Rafael have had about their son's obsessive behavior with machines and his inventions plus his asocial habits throughout childhood. It's not as if he's suffered miserably because of his lack of socialization, but from the way he disregards others' well-being for the sake of his work had always concerned his mother. She wasn't going to be able to be there for him forever, so what kind of person will he become without somebody to keep him grounded like this family has been doing for each other? Will he forget about his family: Rex, Abuela, her, Rafael, Gabriel, and everyone else? The idea of her son becoming like his machines terrified her.
Rafael, on the other hand, wasn't as anxious, but he understood his wife's worries. He used to be -he may still be- like Caesar who preferred the lab over what the social world had to offer if it wasn't to sate his curiosity's never-ending hunger. Perhaps combined with Violeta's stubborn and passionate nature, it had intensified these feelings for Caesar, which Raf acknowledges, but he was confident that he wouldn't let his son lose himself in this mechanical, cold world for as long as he was around.
It's not necessarily that they hated their son's eccentricities, but their co-workers, Caesar's past classmates and teachers, former neighbors, and even strangers were not as tolerant, which was the parents' main concern. For his quirks may make him differ from others, they just didn't want people to want to take matters into their own hands as they've witnessed in the past, especially during this project the three of them were working on.
Violeta scowled once more before leaving the lab without another word. Rafael called after her but went ignored. Giving his son one last look while the young scientist commanded IRA for a systems update, Raf went after his wife and left; Caesar remained unaware.
"Dr. Salazar, Dr. Salazar and Dr. Salazar have removed themselves from the lab." IRA, once having given its update, informed Caesar of his parents' departure.
Pausing his typing, he looked around his lab to find he was the only one there, but he shrugged, nonchalantly and resumed his work until IRA spoke up, again, " Dr. Salazar."
"Yes, IRA?" Despite his AI initiating conversation, he continued his work without a glance.
"Dr. Salazar seems to express concern over your decision over my assembly. Is there an unknown caution I am unaware of, regarding my creation?"
"No, it's nothing, really. Don't trouble yourself, IRA."
"Am I to dismiss Dr. Salazar's concerns?"
"Yes, she just worries about me, even when she doesn't have to."
"Is there a previous injury or illness I am uninformed of? May I take another body scan to reconfirm, Dr. Salazar?"
"No, there isn't anything…" Caesar paused before a small smile graced his features, "She's just doing what mothers do."
"What do mothers do? You are referring to their responsibilities?"
"Uh, they make sure their kids are okay all the time and want to take care of them like making sure they ate and had enough sleep," the young scientist recalled all the times his mother barged in his lab before to drag him to lunch or to go home and rest, "even when it's not that necessary for them to check in."
"Informative. Is this similar to fathers' responsibilities?"
"More or less, I suppose."
"Is there a reason to Dr. Salazar's, your father, lack of check-ins in comparison to Dr. Salazar, your mother? Is this one of the indicators of differences between a mother and father's responsibilities?"
"Not really at all. That has more to do with mom and dad's personalities and thought processes. Papí worries too, but not in the way Mamá does," Caesar let his mind momentarily wander off to the times his father ruffled his son's hair or they went to the junkyard to gather spare parts for an invention Caesar wanted to build for the science fair, "She's said that he expresses his feelings usually through his actions more than his words like she does."
"Fascinating."
Caesar stopped typing but didn't turn, for their wasn't a face to look at anyway, "You think so?"
"Yes, the complex relationships human parents have with their creations is very compassionate, even if redundant or extraneous."
"You're showing genuine interest in something…" the scientist looked intrigued, "I think that's fascinating. Is there anything else you're curious about, IRA?"
There was a beat as IRA processed, "...Dr. Salazar and Dr. Salazar are your creators, correct?"
"Well, 'parents' is the more common term, but yes… why do you ask?"
"Dr. Salazar, what would you classify as a standard parent-child relationship? The definition of 'parent' is 'a man or woman in relation to his or her natural child or children', and a 'child' can be defined as 'one in relation to either or both of their parents'. Is it dependent on one's relation with the other then? Is direct blood connection required, or is it some other bond that does not mandate genetics?"
"Well, when you take step-families and adoption into account, blood relation doesn't really matter. Logically, families are usually referring to genetics, but…" that seemed like the correct response, but then, Caesar remembered Abuela and the people at the village, and the big dinners every night and watching Rex pretend to be wrestlers with Federico, "I wouldn't say that was entirely accurate."
"I see."
"Why are you so curious about parents and families, IRA?" Caesar chanced a glance at the ceiling where the voice resonated the most.
"The relationship you and your parents have lacked much logic, and initially, I believed it to be a flaw in human creation, but with the data you have given me, I stand corrected that this flaw is essential for your species' existence."
"Hm, you were just checking for sort of errors in us. Similar to how you check the computer's system for bugs?"
"That is correct."
Caesar hummed and went back to work as he realized that this curiosity was simply IRA following its directive rather than self-awareness or desire. Maybe when it learns more, it will develop something beyond its programming? That will be interesting.
"Dr. Salazar."
"Yes?"
"Am I correct to confirm that you are not my father?"
"...No, I don't think so. You're machine, not human, IRA."
Okay, this chapter kinda is sad. Just a little bit. Violeta is worried, Rafael isn't worried enough, and Caesar just seems so... cold at times, but his conversation with IRA may help disprove that, maybe. I kinda am dissatisfied with the way I wrote the characters here, but it's not that bad. I hope you guys like IRA, so far. It was actually more difficult than I thought to write like an AI computer personality.
Anyways, I appreciate the reviews, and please, leave more, what you liked or disliked, constructive criticism, whatevs!
