Author's Note: Yup, I'm back in the game with this fic!
Also, I will be partially rewriting the previous chapters to include some minor updates that reflects the current time as we speak (mainly technology i.e. smartphones and people such as politicians, key figures, etc.)
Please don't forget to review!
"No kidding about the lab part, Doc…" Cameron let out a low whistle as he, Nate, and Judy tried to digest in their surroundings once again, never knowing that such a place would be inside what appeared to be a typical Southern California foothill estate. After all, they were several feet under the Santa Susana Mountains. "Nice digs you got here. It feels more like an airport hangar."
"Uh, yeah… what Cameron just said," Nate let out a quick chuckle before everyone else followed suit.
"Hahaha, thank you very much!" a hearty but gentle laugh emitted from the doctor as he set his welding mask and torch on the nearby stainless steel table with his other tools. "Well, my work is not just limited back on the UCLA campus. Plus, it can be very cumbersome to drive over the hill from Chatsworth to Westwood and back, so my home lab will do just fine," the elderly gentleman referenced the trek through the Sepulveda Pass one must make from the San Fernando Valley to the Los Angeles Westside.
"Right…" Judy answered for the trio as everyone began to gaze awkwardly at different places as a bit of silence began to dominate the room, despite the busy activity inside the underground laboratory.
"Say, Doctor Light…" Nate broke the stillness in the room as he began slowly approach at the unfinished and somewhat sizable metallic contraption resting on top of the stainless steel counter. The brunette noticed an animalistic feature to the object as well, including what appeared to be the letter P. "What is it that you're building right here? Looks like some sort of animal."
"Yeah dude, kinda like a dog…" Cameron also picked up on brunette's intuition.
"Will it be some sort of rescue canine or anything pertaining to that nature?" Judy also inquired.
"Well everyone…" the aged scientist couldn't help but to beam off a smile at the curiosity and fascination that lay before him. Those were some of the definite characteristics of science that got him into the field. "I'm truly glad that you all have raised such great questions." He began to take off the yellow welding gloves and vest before he continued to answer their questions. "I present to you: Project Rho."
"Project Rho?" Cameron repeated the remark.
"That's correct, Cameron," Doctor Light began to saunter over to the nearby utility sink to wash his hands, eradicating the annoying scent of rubber and leather from the amount of time his hands were concealed by the gloves.
"Rho?" Nate began to brush his brunette bangs to expose a bit of his right eye concealed by them, realizing that it was not the Latin letter P but of another alphabet. "Like the Greek letter?"
"You got it, Nate," the scientist nodded in the affirmative. "The reason why I chose the letter rho is because I'm intending the final name of the completed project to begin with the letter R."
"We were thinking maybe naming it Rush," Rock entered into the discussion.
"Yeah, seriously, like Rush is totally like, y'know, a rad name, y'know," Roll added in her two cents.
"It's a possibility, my child," a chuckle emitted from Dr. Light as Roll gave a snooty harrumph in reply.
"So, what is Project Rho all about, Doctor?" Judy asked with much curiosity.
"Would it be in line with… like… being an assistant dog or maybe canine units for the local police, such as the LAPD?" Nate made the attempt to formulate an educated guess.
"Excellent deduction, Nate!" Doctor Light praised the brunette, who in return smiled and discretely stuck his tongue out to his two friends, earning two sarcastic glares in return. "Those qualities you've just described were indeed part of the thought process when I planned this project into reality. But before I can further elaborate..." the elderly figure turned his attention towards one of the rooms nearby the area they were situated in. "Elec Man?"
"Yes, Doctor Light?" a male's voice emitted from one of the rooms.
"Could you please bring out my iPad please? The one that contains the information for Project Rho."
"Coming right up, Doctor."
Not a moment too soon, a tall, blue eyed android with an iPad in hand emerged from one of the rooms nearby. Cladded in red, black, and yellow, distinguishable features of the robot included a yellow lightning bolt pictogram proudly affixed on the armored chest, and the yellow, masquerade-ish visor mask that surrounded the droid's eyes. His posture also gave a sense that the robot was proud, strong, and a leader, akin to Alpha characteristics.
"Thank you, Elec Man," Dr. Light smiled as he took the iPad from the robot before directing the droid's attention to the visitors of the estate. "I'd like you to meet my guests of honor: Nate, Cameron, and Judy. All are from nearby Encino."
"Pleasure to meet you all," Elec Man nodded to the three teenagers in acknowledgement, giving off a small and polite smile of welcome. His tone of voice gave off a strong sense of formality.
I'm going to guess that he's the leader of all of the robots that Doctor Light has created.
Nate continued to muse for a bit as he tried to deduce a word that described the android standing before them.
Stately and illustrious, Elec Man is….
"What were you designed for, Elec Man?" Judy politely inquired as she continued to gaze at said robot with admiration.
"Doctor Light designed me principally for power management with the power plants owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, or the LADWP, as most Los Angelinos call it," Elec Man replied in a very proud and somewhat smug tone of voice, although he really tried to stay polite to the three human guests. "I also lend assistance to San Diego Gas and Electric and to Southern California Edison, especially with the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant down the coast at the border of Orange and San Diego County."
"Dude, nuclear? Sounds dangerous, brah..." Cameron scratched his head, reflecting on Elec Man's duties.
"It is, indeed…" the black, yellow, and red cladded chuckled, giving off a superior smirk of sorts. "But hey, someone's gotta do it, right? And these tasks are simply too dangerous for a human being to handle. Radiation exposure and all…"
"Thus, it's an advantage of having robots within our society," Nate made the connection, beaming off a grin.
"Precisely!" Dr. Light clapped his hands in excitement
"Which is why it's important that we educate the public about the positive effects of having robots integrated within our society and not be taken in by the fear mongering that's been going on lately with robots," the Wu had to be sure she got her point across.
"Uh… exactly!" Cameron gave off a fist pump, causing everyone in the room to laugh.
"Dr. Light, I'll go ahead and check in with the LADWP to ensure everything with the San Francisquito Plant is alright," Elec Man began to walk towards another part of the lab, but not before excusing himself from the three human guests. "It was great meeting you Nate, Cameron, and Judy."
"Nice meeting you too, Elec Man," the three best friends replied in unison, which was strangely android-like, causing Rock and Roll to chortle.
"And I thought we were the robots here," Rock radiated a huge grin.
"Like, totally!" Roll added her two-cents in.
Nate couldn't help but to roll his eyes, joining in the laughter as well. "I guess that's one of the effects of being best friends for all these years."
"Dude, of course!" Cameron put an arm around the back of the brunette next to him.
"You said it, Nate!" Judy also joined in as well.
After getting the laughter out of their systems, they all decided to focus back on the original topic at hand: Project Rho.
"So Doctor Light," Judy started off the question period as they all began to take a seat on the nearest chairs they could, seemingly stand around for the longest time. "What can you tell us more about Project Rho?"
"Well Judy," the expert in the room began to tap on the screen of the table in his hand several times before facing it towards his guests. Currently displayed for them was the schematic of the robotic canine. "As you stated earlier, Project Rho has the primary goal of assisting law enforcement with solving crime and providing assistance."
"Could you elaborate on some of the features that would aid the LAPD, for example?" Nate tossed his question into the pile.
"Sure thing," Doctor Light tapped the screen on his iPad once again. Several animations began to play out, demonstrating the features of the project at hand. "I am currently working on features that include enhanced hearing and sniffing, the ability of using its back as a coil trampoline, and of course, aiding of transportation."
"Aiding of transportation?" Cameron donned on a confused but anxious look. "Like a skateboard?"
"Not quite a skateboard…" the scientist tapped the screen once again, showing what he meant by transportation aid. "More like a hover jet, mini-submarine, and a motorcycle."
"Dude, that's sooo awesome!" the De La Loire began to drool at the animations being displayed.
"That's totally impressive!" Judy looked on in awe on the capabilities of what a robotic canine companion can do once completed.
"Docious!" the Figueroa added in, equally impressed as everyone else in the room.
"I'm excited to try it out once completed, doc," Rock added in.
"Like, totally!" Roll once again felt the need to be included.
"We still have a long way to go, but we're getting there," Doctor Light once again added in. "In the meantime, I've been working on these as precursors to Project Rho." The tablet displayed the schematics of the three different objects with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on them.
"What are these, doctor?" the brunette felt compelled to ask for himself and his friends.
"They are transportation aids. I've just dubbed them item 1, item 2, and item 3 respectively."
"What does each one do particularly?" the Wu inquired.
"Well item 1 is a levitating platform, which can aid in reaching high places where a rope may not be suitable to be used. Item 2 is a mini-jet of sorts that can go a short distance to help one get across a hole, like a large sinkhole or a small chasm. And item 3 is an elevator of sorts. It's similar to item 1 but this needs to be affixed to a wall for it to function properly."
"These can be really helpful, like for cops or geologists or something like that…" the French blonde rubbed his chin gingerly.
"Great inference there, Cameron!" Doctor Light smiled as he put the iPad down. "And now, if you follow me, I'll give you the tour of the rest of the lab here."
"Sweet!" Cameron began to immediately follow the owner.
"Wait for me!" Judy began to scuffle after the rest of the group.
Nate was the last one left in the room. He began to follow everyone else when he noticed a particular CAD drawing and document on his way out.
"Project Chi… or is it X?" Nate said softly as he saw the letter X on the schematic, not certain if it's the Latin or Greek letter. He then began to scrutinize the schematic next to the letter. "This looks a lot like that Mega Man dude… except this robot looks a lot bigger, has sharper features, and there's a red gem on the center of the helmet."
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Thank you!