A.S.T.R.O.
5. ASTRO not Tobio
ASTRO was strapped to the exam board next to the equipment rack. He stood there wearing only his red boots and a pair of black pants with a wide green band. His chest panel was open and a several heavy cables connected his inside circuits to the computer equipment. Although his eyes were closed he was aware of his surroundings.
Dr. O'Shay held a clipboard as he examined the computer readouts. Yuko Kisagar walked into the laboratory and looked over his shoulders.
"How is our prototype?" She asked. "Any worse for the wear?"
"Absolutely fascinating." O'Shay replied. "The number of new neural pathways that have opened up in his AI is incredible. You know, we've been trying to develop robots with the ability to learn from their surroundings for quite some time. It's easy to download new knowledge into a robotic AI, but quite difficult to program a machine to actually learn from its experiences. Dr. Tenma programed a version of ASTRO's AI to have the memories of his late son, and also some of the boys Kokoro. During the week that our prototype was loose in the world as Tobio, it has managed to absorb more information on its own than during all of our efforts over the past six months since it was first activated."
"I can't wait to hear what Dr. Pavilion will say about that." Yuko said.
"Knowing him, I'm sure he won't be impressed at all." O'Shay sighed.
"What won't I be impressed with?"
Yuko and Dr. O'Shay turned to see that their colleague and supervisor had just entered the room.
"I guess I am impressed that you managed to recover our missing prototype." Pavilion said. "But I'm afraid that it may be a bit too late."
"What do you mean by that?" O'Shay asked.
"Well the military brass that are funding our project were never too keen on the idea of building the prototype in the form of a child." Pavilion said. "They did go along with your suggestion that it could be a short cut to developing the kind of systems that they were looking for, but after Tenma ran off with it and it was missing for over a week they have indicated to me that they'd like us to move along and start work on the full up model."
"Well that's good." O'Shay replied. "It means that we'll have the funding to continue the project. I can use ASTRO here as a control element to insure that the full up prototype is correctly brought on line."
"That isn't what our superiors want." Pavilion replied. "You will have two days to download whatever you can from ASTRO, and then you are to dismantle it. We will use some of its parts in the full up model. Its AI core is to be wiped and destroyed."
"WHAT!" O'Shay cried out. "That's Murder!"
"Murder?" Pavilion asked. "It's only a robot, not a living thing."
"I'm not so sure of that." O'Shay said. "You haven't looked at the data I've already recovered from him. It's incredible. Tobio has the soul of a real little boy."
"Tobio?" Pavilion laughed. "Don't tell me that Tenma's illness has infected you?"
"I'm going to need more time!" O'Shay pleaded. "There is much valuable data that I want to retrieve from ASTRO, two days won't be enough!"
"General Hayes will be here by the end of the week to inspect our progress." Pavilion said curtly. "I expect that robot to be in pieces by the time he arrives."
Dr. Pavilion walked out and slammed the door behind him.
"That stupid bastard!" O'Shay muffed. He pulled out his Blackberry phone and flipped through the electronic notebook, and then jotted some information onto a post it note which he handed to his assistant. "Yuko, would you contact the Richardson's. I'd like to invite them here for a visit."
"You want to bring civilians into this complex?"
"My position here gives me the right to invite anyone I want into this facility, so long as I escort them." O'Shay replied.
"Very well." Yuko smiled.
The olive drab limo rolled over the George Washington Bridge and onto the NJTP. Robert and Ellen Richardson sat together holding hands. In the seat behind them were Tommy, Reno, and Turtle. Tommy insisted that his friend come along when they got the phone call from Yuko inviting them to visit with Tobio.
The Army VIP vehicle entered through the front gate of the complex without stopping, as the guard at the entrance opened it as soon as he saw the limo with the flags mounted on the fenders approaching. It entered an underground garage and two MP's escorted the five guests to the main lobby where Dr. O'Shay and Yuko Kisagar were waiting for them.
"What is this place?" Tommy asked.
"This is a research facility." O'Shay explained as they entered the main hallway. "Here we develop advanced cybernetic systems and do research in advanced computer artificial intelligence.
"You mean robots?" Reno asked.
"Yes, though most of our research doesn't involve actual androids." Yuko smiled.
"So where is Tobio?" Turtle asked.
"I'm right here!" a voice echoed over the intercom.
"Follow me." Dr. O'Shay told them. He led them into a large computer center. The room had a raised floor upon which sat a large complex of mainframe computer hardware. Disk drives, memory cabinets, and multiple processor racks filled the room.
"Tobio isn't really completely human." Dr. O'Shay explained. The voice you heard is his, he's currently inside of this mainframe computer where I've uploaded his A.I. for examination.
"What?" Reno asked.
"Here, let me show you." Dr. O'Shay said.
He led them towards the far wall which was actually a window looking down into a lower level room. The boy they had known as Tobio was now strapped onto an examination table connected up to a large mini computer by a half dozen thick cables.
"Hi Tommy!" Tobio's voice came from a computer terminal along the wall.
"Here, you can talk to him from the keyboard." Dr. O'Shay explained.
Reno placed his fingers on the keyboard and typed "Hello Tobio, is that you down there?"
"Hi Reno!" Tobio's voice came from the speakers and his words typed onto the screen. "Thanks for coming to visit me. I missed you guys."
"What is he?" Mr. Richardson asked.
"The boy you see down there in the laboratory is really an advanced android, a robot." Dr. O'Shay replied. You knew him as Tobio, but his real name is Astro, or actually A.S.T.R.O." He pointed to the sign that was attached to one of the computer mainframes that had that very name in big black letters.
"It stands for Autonomous Sentient Tactical Robotic Ordnance," he explained.
"That make him sound like some kind of weapon!" Mr. Richardson said.
"Yes, I suppose it does." Dr. O'Shay explained. "ASTRO was the prototype for a future robotic super soldier. The idea was to make a humanoid system that could operate any of our armed forces weapons systems that are currently configured to be maned by human soldiers. The Army wants to replace front line combat tropes with robots, taking our men out of the riskiest jobs."
Dr. O'Shay picked up the intercom phone and spoke briefly to the technicians in the room below them. He then motioned for their guests to follow them as they walked downstairs. They entered the room that they had just seen from the window. Tobio was now disconnected from the computers and was sitting at a table playing with a Rubik's cube puzzle. Tommy reached over to touch his friend who smiled at him.
"Are you OK, Tobio?" Tommy asked.
"I'm fine, but as you now know my real name is Astro." he said.
"Didn't you know you were a robot?" Reno asked.
"I guess I had lost some of my memory when I was staying with you." Astro said.
"What about your dad?" Mr. Richardson asked. "Was that just a lie?"
"No, Dr. Tenma was really my dad, in a way." Astro explained. "He and Dr. O'Shay built me so both of them are really my fathers. Dr. Tenma really did have a son named Tobio, and I have his memories. I still feel like I am Tobio because I remember everything that he did."
"You see," Dr. O'Shay explained, "The human senses are the most powerful input device that can be connected to a robotic AI. When Dr. Tenma added his late son's Kokoro to ASTROs programming, he enabled him to see the world as a human boy would. He's learned about his surroundings so fast that we hoped we could use that ability to help us program future robots that need to perform human tasks. Tenma accidentally created something here that we don't yet fully understand. Unfortunately, I don't think the military brass that are funding this project appreciate that discovery." He kept the rest of his train of thought to himself as Yuko elbowed him and gave him a look that said 'Shut Up!'.
The Richardsons and Turtle spent a few hours visiting with Tobio and were then escorted out of the facility into the limo that was waiting to take them back home. Dr. O'Shay and Astro watched the vehicle disappear down the main road and returned into the complex. Astro returned to the laboratory where he was reconnected to the mainframe computers to continue the upload of his memory store, Dr. O'Shay and Yuko watched from outside the room though a one way mirror.
"What were you thinking?" Yuko asked. "I had to stop you or you would have told them that their foster son was scheduled to be dismantled."
"I don't know," O'Shay said, "But I thought they should know. Maybe they might complain to their congressman or something. We've got to figure out a way to save him, he's not just a machine anymore, I think Astro is actually a living thing now. Once you can't tell the difference, what difference is there?