Teaching a Robot to Love

-Notes-

X6-88 is so protective of you he literally threatens almost all of the companions if they don't keep you safe. It's so cute haha. Lot of dialogue this time. I wasn't sure if Volkert would've been better for the job than Binet but the reason I chose the latter was because he talks about REM sleep in synths and mentions maintenance which is I guess equivalent to "robot doctor." Being a psych major this chapter was fun for me to write because I LOVE brains.

Chapter 6: Heartbeat

It was an unusually warm day for almost being winter. Still crisp and dry, but the sun sweltered. December was just around the corner and Sole was absolutely crushed to find out that it no longer snowed in the Commonwealth. Apparently nuclear explosions are not so good for the environment, obliterating ice caps and such.

X6-88 and Sole trudged back to Sanctuary Hills exhausted. Their last mission with Sutton and Warwick did not end on such a cheery note as she had to convince the former to literally not blow the latter's brains out in front of his children. Bill probably wouldn't be seeing very many more paying days at Warwick. Nevertheless, X6 seemed pleased with the outcome of the mission.

"I need to go check in with the SRB for our monthly reports" X6 informed her as they approached the main house.

He had only gone back a few times, twice accompanying Sole. She decided it would be better to just let him go do his thing. It still felt weird in the Institute; everything was too perfect, too clean. It reminded her of all her imperfections and short-comings.

Sole smiled at him, "That's okay, I found a General Atomics place a while back and was thinking of taking Codsworth to check it out with me. Just meet me back here when you're done."

"Affirmative."

With the most perfect timing, Codsworth came wheeling around the bend of the street towards them. Apparently word had gotten out that they were back.

"Miss Sole, I am delighted to see that you have returned safely from your traveling endeavors. Might we go to that General Atomics place you mentioned before?"

"Of course Codsworth! Give me a day to rest and we'll head right back out!" Sole promised.

"Of course mum!" he piped cheerfully. Sole started to walk into the house in pursuit of a soft bed to nap on when she noticed X6 hadn't moved from his spot. Turning her head around she saw his head was still trained on Codsworth.

"If you fail in this assignment, Codsworth, I will personally make sure that you are dismantled and then melted down," X6 threatened. Oh good lord.

Codsworth whirred fearfully. His cute little bowler hat Sole had gifted him slid forward a bit down his sphere.

"Hey! Stop scaring my friends!" Sole retaliated but was ignored. The more they traveled together, the more protective he had gotten over her. Figuring he was the most suitable for the job, he took to terrorizing her other traveling companions if she so much as had a scratch on her when they came back.

Thankfully, Codsworth was still as chipper as ever. "You have nothing to fear, Mister X. I am well aware of my duties," he asserted proudly putting a metallic arm to his body.

X6 didn't say anything more but held his gaze warningly until the second he was teleported out to emphasize his point. Sole sighed. This is why no one wanted to be his friend.

Synth Retention Bureau was his destination as X6 stood, hands folded behind his back, while the cylindrical glass elevator lowered him to the Institute common room. Out in the Commonwealth where everything was just a shot away from death, he had to watch not only his back but Sole's too. Here in the Institute, there was no real danger. Everything was safe and secure. This truly was to be the future of the world. Everything they had accomplished down here further proved it.

When the glass doors silently slid open, X6 marched out to follow the path of black lines, indicated for coursers, to the white SRB. No one even glanced at him as he passed the many workers in different colored lab coats. It was not customary in the Institute to greet synths unlike in the Commonwealth. He was here for business.

Boots clicked to a stop as he pressed his thumb on the security scanner. The familiar beep of recognition accompanied the obliged opening of the doors. During his adventures in the Commonwealth, X6 would record frequent reports on his watch, which were all sent back to the SRB and transposed into a report. Grabbing the clipboard readied for him, he entered the meeting room. X9-27 and X4-18 were already seated at the table as X6-88 walked in. Much like the rest of the Institute, the SRB kept its temperature at a low 67 degrees Fahrenheit. He sat down wordlessly at the sterile silver table. Ayo was not there yet.

"X6, the first courser assigned as a bodyguard, how fairs the Commonwealth?" X9-27 asked wryly, turning his pristine hair and sharp features towards him. Even though it was asked as a normal question, it was meant as an underhanded insult. Coursers were trained in psychology; they knew how to get under skin. X6 knew why. When the announcement was made that he would be the courser chosen to take care of Father's most important person, X6 felt the unrest that surfaced amongst his comrades. While yes, he was a courser trained for high risk-assault and retrieval, he was assigned the role of a mere bodyguard. But out of all of them, he was the one chosen. It was the utmost honor to have ever been bestowed to a synth in the history of the Institute. The hate was almost refreshing.

"Dismal as ever," X6 quipped, the corner of his mouth tweaking into a half-smile. Just then, Justin Ayo walked into the room and took his seat at the end of the table. He sighed as he shuffled his clipboard and papers together. Ayo hated these meetings and made no attempt to hide it. He expressed such a dislike for synths despite them being his profession.

"Alright let's get started. X4-18, how many synths did you retrieve in the past month?"

"Eight sir" X4-18 replied.

"Good. X9-27 you were assigned to intercept a Railroad mission. How did that go?"

"I am still working to understand the workings of their communication" X9-27 responded.

Ayo furrowed his brow clearly displeased, "Well you might want to hurry up on that. We can't be losing our technology to those annoyances. Please be more detailed in your further reports."

"Yes sir." X9-27 bowed his head.

Then Ayo turned his attention to X6, "Ah, the star of the show so to speak. X6-88 you were recently dispatched to Libertalia earlier this month and continued to travel with Miss Sole for the duration of November, correct? Your report was very interesting…" Ayo flipped through his papers, scrutinizing it, "In it, you make mention of Miss Sole's skill in combat."

"Yes." X6-88 confirmed. "While I have yet to make up my mind about her, her combat abilities are something to be lauded. We did have some setbacks in the beginning, but our total mission lapsed time at Libertalia was only 53 minutes and 42 seconds; a record time for a newbie."

"Yes that certainly is… peculiar" Ayo trailed off dryly.

"I do not think I've ever heard you praise anyone X6, she must be pretty extraordinary" X4-18 commented nodding his head in admiration. "Tell us more." X4 had always been more congenial towards him than X9, but was still as equally as cold towards him after X6 had gotten his position.

X6 obliged, "Not only does she possess a great deal of accuracy, she also is skilled at hacking and persuasion. Raiders, turrets, hell, even mirelurk queens don't pose problems for her. If she were a synth I have absolutely no doubts that she would be singled out for courser training-" then he stopped. What was he doing? He was surprised at how amazed he sounded. X4 was right; he had never complimented someone this much before! He thought back to Libertalia and the sight of Sole's serious face as the bullets from her rifle landed square in the heads of their enemies. She was so focused, so determined. Her regal posture as she dashed across the boards of the-

Ayo's unwavering suspicious look snapped him out of his daydream. He cleared his throat.

"Yes… well, that certainly is something. I guess that concludes our meeting. I want all of you to have a nice, long recharge. You've earned it. I will have your further orders transmitted to your watches. That is all."

With that the meeting concluded. X6 noted the dark look X9 gave him when their eyes met. If this wasn't a professional atmosphere, X6 would have been openly proud at his envy. However, he was still left with the puzzling conundrum of why he was still thinking about Sole. This had happened once before as he recalled, back when they rescued Mrs. Abernathy from Backstreet Apparel near Diamond City.

X6 took a deep breath. Now was as good a time as ever to look into his concerns now that he was back. Time to head over to his least favorite place in the Institute: Robotics.

Although Robotics was disputably one of the most important places in the Institute for reasons such as synth creation, development, and maintenance, it was degrading whenever a synth had to go in because something was wrong, let alone a courser.

Making sure he was out of sight from any other coursers, X6 slipped in through the red-lined doors of the Robotics lab. The smell of iron filled the air as a finished synth stepped out of the creation pool. Another layout for a synth was already prepped for the goliath machine to start working on. Out of all the labs in the Institute, this one was the loudest. Machines whirred and buzzed, filling the air with an unpleasant noise. The scientists stared at him as he strode by, making a beeline towards Alan Binet, who was furiously scribbling something on his clipboard.

"Binet. I have a matter of importance I need to discuss with you in private." X6 coolly stated, apparently startling Binet, whose pencil clattered to the desk.

Alan Binet cast a look of utter confusion to X6, "I don't see what you would need with me, but okay."

Guiding him to a secluded corner of the room, X6 wheeled around to face Binet who crossed the red sleeves of his arms, still wondering what business a courser could possibly have with him.

X6 dropped his voice a decibel, just to ensure no one could hear their conversation, "I believe I have contracted a condition up on the surface. Either that, or there is a minor error in my programming."

Binet scoffed, "that's doubtful, our newest model gen-3s such as yourself are highly resistant to virile strains of surface diseases. As for a programming error, you would notice motor dysregulation or thought disturbances."

"Yes… I am not sure. Perhaps I have contracted a mutated strain."

"Hmm. Okay, describe to me your symptoms then X6-88."

X6 thought back to his times in the Commonwealth. The times when Sole stood a little too close to him. The times when they were shooting at enemies side-by-side. When her eyes bore into his through the wall of his glasses.

"There is an irregularity with my heartbeat, suggesting arrhythmia or inconsistent blood flow. My face seems to heat up without any prior engagement in strenuous exercise. Rarely even, my palms will sweat. These symptoms seem to randomly appear and have been occurring in greater frequency the more time I spend out on the surface."

Binet scratched his head, racking his brain, looking completely bewildered. "That IS odd" he contemplated. "Anything else?"

X6 paused, calling to mind what happened during his SRB meeting. He adjusted his glasses, oddly nervous, before adding, "There is... one other thing. In addition to this aberration of my blood flow, my cognitive functioning also seems to be impaired. There are times when I focus on…something, for an exorbitant amount of time, impairing my ability to efficiently monitor my surroundings."

Binet frowned. "Follow me" he said as he led X6 over to his table and grabbed his clipboard once more. Papers were scattered haphazardly. This man could definitely fool you. While he was the mind that had come up with many of the new synth innovations and features, his lack of organization left something to be desired. Alan slumped down at his table, scribbling something.

"Well since you frequent the surface you might have sustained some brain damage from combat, which could potentially affect your other bodily functions. If we had the time, I would take a brain scan. My guess? The problem is in your telencephalon. However, ever since the inevitable death of Z2-47 at the hands of that insufferable woman, you coursers have been so overworked lately. Too bad, I do quite enjoy a challenge." Binet was also one of the scientists who had doubts about Sole.

Then, as if an idea popped into his head, Binet jumped out of his seat and rushed over to the back storage case. X6 watched him grab an applicator and rush back over, producing it happily.

"Now I can't do anything if there is a programming error residing in your brain, which can be fixed if we had more time, but here is an ingestible to remedy your heart palpitations. I didn't think of this before because it is used for humans, but I'd be curious to see how it affects synths. Probably the same I would assume."

Grabbing the applicator, X6 nodded and thanked him as he stood up to leave. He was relieved that he had come here for he did not think it was going to be that easy. Just as the doors opened, Binet called to him over his shoulder.

"X6-88! I forgot, be wary for the side effects can produce increased oxytocin in your blood. It might feel strange but you should be fine! Remember your training!"

His training was his life. He did not need some scientist telling him to remember. However, X6 just nodded as he left the lab and went to return to the charging station. Every once in a while, synths would need to be recharged in order to ensure glitches in their programming matrices didn't occur. It was suspected that lack of charging was in part the reason why synths rebelled. It was akin to human sleeping.

X6 looked down at his applicator. Even though had received the elite training in all subjects including anatomy and chemistry, he was never taught the specifications of medicine or neurotransmitters. He knew though that the Institute had some of the most brilliant minds in the world so he trusted them. Shoving the applicator it into his pocket, he entered the small room where X4 and X9 were already asleep. Oxytocin huh? He pushed the question away as he climbed into his charging bunk. It didn't matter. Soon he would be in optimal condition to return to Sole.

Soon.

-End Notes-

Fun Brain Facts:

Telencephalon: cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala

Amygdala: seat of the emotions, particularly negative ones, and also involved in emotional memory, and fight-or-flight responses.

Right hemisphere damage is associated with difficulty perceiving other's emotions, failure to understand humor/sarcasm, and a monotone voice (hint hint), while left hemisphere damage is more associated with difficulty in accurately judging/perceiving emotion.

Oxytocin: hehe look it up

Sorry I updated this chapter like a million times because freaking fanfiction won't save my hyphens! The scenes all mesh together because the dividers are missing so I had to try something else.