Chapter 05.
M3GAN
That following Friday, Gemma was ready for her presentation very early in the morning. Preparing the model for their project had been an exhausting week for her and her team, but the work had paid off.
The software and hardware worked, and the pilot tests were successful… Of course, they would have to do many more in the future, as they had substantially reduced their testing period to have it ready on time. But the first thing was to make it through that next presentation alive; they would figure out the rest later.
However, one small element was missing from her presentation, and David needed to see firsthand the full potential of her project. Luckily, she had that ideal element right there in her home.
Gemma carefully opened the door to Esther's room and peered inside. She immediately spotted the little girl lying on her right side, peacefully asleep. She tiptoed toward the bed, squatted beside it, and reached to touch the girl's shoulder.
Before doing so, however, she paused for a moment as the light coming through the door lightly touched the girl's neck, illuminating the clearly visible marks on her skin. Gemma already knew they were there, but seeing them so directly made them much more real…
Someone had truly hurt her in such a horrific way. Why do that to such a small, innocent girl? Gemma would never understand… And on top of everything, going through that and then losing your entire family.
It took her a moment to get over the shock and continue with what she had come to do.
"Hey, hey, Esther," she whispered softly as she gently shook her by her shoulder. "Wake up, little one."
Esther stirred slightly, let out a moan, and rolled onto her back. She slowly opened her eyes and slowly focused them on her aunt.
"What? What's going on?" she mumbled sleepily, followed by a long yawn.
Suddenly, something seemed to run through her entire body from end to end, like an electric shock. Her eyes opened wide, and the drowsiness was banished entirely from her face.
She raised her right hand and quickly moved it to her own neck, instinctively searching for her ribbon choker, which clearly wasn't there. Not only that, but as she raised her hand like that, she revealed her wrist, which also bore marks very similar to the one on her neck. This also caused a small shock in her aunt.
"Don't look at me!" Esther suddenly shouted, sounding furious. She quickly reached for the nightstand beside her, desperately searching for her choker and bracelets.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Gemma said, embarrassed and a little scared. She quickly backed away, turning around so that her back was facing her.
"Don't come into my room like that!"
"Okay, I understand. I promise not to do it again. Forgive me."
A silence followed. Gemma continued without looking, but she guessed she was quickly putting on her ribbons, trying to cover herself as soon as possible.
"You can look now," Esther instructed after a while. Turning around again, Gemma saw her already standing at the side of the bed, her neck and wrists hidden once more. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," the girl said, lowering her head in shame.
"Don't worry," Gemma quickly replied. "But, Esther... those scars..."
"I don't want to talk about that," Esther quickly exclaimed sharply, once again revealing a hint of anger.
"I understand; it's okay," Gemma replied, then flashed a carefree smile, though she wasn't sure if it was right for her to smile.
This was the first time she'd seen her react so adversely. The first time Gemma'd seen with her own eyes that Esther wasn't as "fine" as she'd told Lydia after her visit. The first time she'd gotten a glimpse into what Esther had experienced during her four years of kidnapping, something she still wasn't willing to talk about…
But things would improve for her from that day on. Her project would make little Esther's life better. That was something she could do for her.
"Sorry to wake you up so early," Gemma muttered, trying to put the scars issue to rest. "But I have a surprise for you."
Esther's face reflected genuine interest.
"What surprise?"
"Get dressed quickly," Gemma instructed. "You'll be accompanying me to work today."
"Is that the surprise?"
"No, I'll show you the surprise there. Come on, I promise you'll like it."
Esther seemed suspicious but did as she was told in the end.
Gemma left her alone in the room to change and get ready. She waited patiently in the living room until the little girl came out, already wearing a pretty green dress, a white sweater over it, black tights, and her hair loose, adorned only with a headband. And, of course, the ever-present ribbons around her neck and wrists.
"Ready?" Gemma asked, to which the girl responded by nodding her head and giving a small smile.
It seemed that the incident from earlier was behind them, much to Gemma's relief.
Funki's headquarters was in Seattle's business district. It was a tall building with a rather plain facade, so anyone who saw it wouldn't guess at first glance that it was a toy company. But the feeling changed as soon as you walked through the doors of the main lobby and found yourself confronted by the colorful decor, images, and models of the different products displayed in their windows and on screens, and even a few children and adults too, playing and trying out the new toys.
"Is this where you work?" Esther asked curiously, looking around carefully as they walked toward the elevators.
"Not this specific area, but yes," Gemma replied. "It's great, right? But now we're going somewhere even greater."
That statement didn't entirely convince her little companion. At least on the first floor, things seemed much more relaxed and festive. But on the upper floors, everything was certainly more boring and drab.
The presence of the PurrPetual Petz was a constant feature everywhere you looked; on screens, flyers, posters, and even oversized statues of the curious pets. It was clear what their star product was at the time. But that was about to change.
Gemma and Esther went upstairs and down a hallway lined with red carpet and upholstery. They passed through a series of doors until they reached a specific one, where they paused for a moment while Gemma made a quick call.
"Yes, we're here... Okay, let me know when David is there..."
With that, they both waited just a couple of minutes before Gemma received a confirmation message on her phone.
"It's time, little one," she told her niece, flashing a broad, confident smile that made Esther a little flustered. What exactly was she up to?
Gemma opened the door with her key card and entered, followed by her niece. However, Esther stopped abruptly as soon as she set foot inside the room, staring almost in horror at the almost claustrophobic space. It was an irregularly shaped room with essentially white walls and floors, despite a few colorful details that didn't overshadow the intense whiteness. There were some colorful children's tables, toys, and a couple of friendly decorations. Everything was very pretty overall...
But they barely managed to hide the fact that this was, by all accounts, an observation room... similar to that of a psychiatric hospital. Even to one side was the very recognizable two-way mirror, spanning almost the entire wall.
That clearly triggered something in Esther.
"What's this…?" she asked anxiously, instinctively backing away, pressing her back against the door that had just closed.
"Hey, don't be afraid," Gemma said quickly, her voice soft, crouching down beside her to look her in the eye. "It's just a testing room where kids can try out new toys. There's nothing to be afraid of; I'm here with you."
Esther watched her, still feeling a little nervous. She slowly shifted her gaze from her aunt to the two-way mirror on the wall.
"Are there people watching us?" she asked earnestly.
"Just Cole, Tess, and my boss, David. No one else."
With a bit more confidence, Esther slowly turned to look at the rest of the room, scanning every object that stood out against the white walls. It didn't take long for her to spot something at the other end of the room, something she hadn't noticed due to her first impression. There was someone else there, sitting in a green, round-cushioned chair. It appeared to be a girl with wavy, light brown, almost blonde hair and a beige dress. She was currently facing away from them.
"And who is she?" she asked, pointing her face in her direction.
Gemma smiled again, with much more (suspicious) intensity.
"I'm glad you asked."
Without giving her any further explanation, she stood up and took her hand, carefully guiding her towards the other girl.
"Remember the conversation we had the other night? About whether there could be a toy that could actually understand you and engage in conversation with you?"
"Yes," Esther replied, a little unsure.
"Well, I want to introduce you to someone."
They both walked forward until they stood right in front of the other girl. And as soon as Esther managed to see her face, she realized she wasn't exactly a girl as she had thought. She was the size of a girl, but her face was clearly not that of a person. It was completely expressionless, with smooth skin that looked like some kind of mask or mannequin and large, crystal-clear eyes of a very light blue. Her head was tilted forward, her light hair falling down the sides.
"Is it a doll?" Esther asked curiously, tilting her head slightly to one side.
"It's more than that," Gemma replied.
Her aunt then extended a hand toward the strange figure sitting before them, pushing her way through her hair to the neck. She apparently pressed something there, which let out a small digital beep.
"Put your fingers here," she instructed her niece, taking the doll's right hand by the wrist and extending it to her. Still a little reluctant, Esther did as she instructed, pressing the index and middle fingers of her left hand against the smooth palm of the doll. It beeped again as if a computer were booting up. "With this, she'll pair with you and recognize you as her primary user. That means she'll be yours, and yours alone, from now on."
"What are you talking about?" Esther asked, clearly confused.
"You'll see. Keep your fingers there, and tell her your name."
Esther narrowed her eyes and looked at the doll's expressionless face with some distrust. Once again, she wondered what Gemma was up to with all this, although she had to admit she was also a little curious.
"Esther Albright," she said loud and clear.
Suddenly, in immediate response to her name, the doll raised her face in her direction, fixing those blue eyes right on her. She blinked once, and her lips stretched in a vague attempt at a smile. Then her mouth opened, and a sweet, though clearly electronic, voice emerged.
"Hello, Esther. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Esther's eyes widened in shock, and her immediate reaction was to pull her fingers away from the doll's hand and take several steps back.
"What the...?!" she blurted out purely out of reflex, though she stopped herself at the last moment before saying more. "I mean... What...?"
The doll blinked mechanically again and tilted its head to one side. Its eyes glittered slightly as they continued to stare at her very, very intently.
"I love your dress," she said suddenly with a cheerful tone. "Where's it from?"
Esther remained still and silent in her place. She glanced discreetly toward her aunt, perhaps seeking some kind of advice.
"Answer her, don't be afraid," Gemma told her in a calm voice.
Esther looked at the doll again and answered.
"From the mall, I think…"
"It looks great on you. It goes perfectly with your body type and hairstyle."
"Thank you...?" Esther muttered hesitantly. "Is it a robot?" she asked, turning back to Gemma. Gemma opened her mouth to answer, but the doll got in first.
"The term is technically correct, but it's a broad generalization. A robot is a programmable machine designed to perform various mechanical tasks automatically or semi-automatically. It would be more accurate to say that I'm an android, a type of robot created to resemble the appearance and behavior of a human being."
She then stood up, and Esther had a momentary reflex to step back even further, but she restrained herself.
"In other words," the doll continued, "all androids are robots, but not all robots are androids. That's where part of my name comes from: Model 3 Generative Android; M3GAN for simplicity, and for commercial use.
"Megan?" Esther murmured curiously.
"It's pronounced the same as the proper name, but it's spelled with a 3 instead of the e. Cool, right?"
"Yes, of course…" Esther replied, not really looking entirely convinced. She then cautiously moved to the side, and M3GAN's face moved with her, following her. Then she retraced her steps the same way, and the robot (or android) continued to pay attention to her the whole time. "Do you really understand what I'm saying? Or are you like those other virtual pets?"
"Interesting question," M3GAN pointed with an intrigued voice. "I can tell you that, unlike the pets you speak of, I have a high-performance, state-of-the-art processor and an advanced algorithm that uses probabilistic inference to interpret your words and actions, based on a complex and extensive memory database, as well as an analysis of your natural language and the context of the conversation we are having. All of this combined makes the way I process your feedback as close to how another human being would do it."
Esther stared at her silently as if waiting for her to add something to the explanation. After a few seconds, it was clear she wouldn't.
"Is that a yes…?" she asked, sounding perhaps a little hostile as she did so.
M3GAN blinked once and was silent for a few seconds, perhaps somehow pondering how to respond.
"That's a yes," she said after a while without further hesitation. "Of course, this explanation is quite simplified, but I don't want to bore you with the more complex details. Let's do something more fun instead."
"Something like what?"
"What do you like to do?"
"Well..." Esther hesitated for a moment before answering. "I play the piano and paint..."
"Amazing," M3GAN exclaimed, sounding genuinely excited as she did so… or at least simulated it pretty well. "You clearly have a well-developed artistic skill set."
M3GAN turned her head from side to side, scanning the room with her blue eyes.
"There doesn't seem to be a piano here, but we can draw something if you want," she suggested, pointing with one hand toward one of the children's tables.
Esther turned to look at her aunt, questioning with her eyes what she was supposed to do. Gemma just smiled at her, and with a gesture of her mouth and hand, she made her answer clear: "Do whatever you want."
"Sure," the girl replied, shrugging her shoulders.
M3GAN began to advance carefully toward the table. Her movement was loose and confident but still felt a bit unnatural and clumsy, revealing her true nature, even though her appearance could at least pass for that of a real child. Esther followed a few steps behind her. The android stood at one side of the table and crouched down, kneeling in front of it. Esther sat on a stool on the opposite side.
"Can you really draw?" she asked skeptically.
"I can do something very similar," M3GAN replied, even sounding defiant as she did so.
She then placed a blank sheet of paper on the table in front of her. She reached for some of the markers lying next to her and began to make different strokes on the paper… or at least pretend to, since, from Esther's perspective, she wasn't really doing anything. It seemed more like she was just randomly moving her hand with the marker, but nothing was left on the paper. After a while, M3GAN took another marker, did the same thing, and then again with a third.
Esther looked over her shoulder at her aunt, but she remained calm from a distance.
Once she finished whatever she was doing, M3GAN put the markers back in their places and spread the sheet of paper on the table in Esther's direction. Just as she expected, the paper was completely blank.
"You didn't draw anything," Esther muttered with slight recrimination.
M3GAN blinked once, then looked down, a trace of surprise showing on her artificial face.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, her hand reaching out in front of her, apparently intending to pick up the drawing again. Instead, her hand accidentally knocked over a glass of water for the brushes they had standing there, knocking it over and spilling its contents all over the table, especially the paper.
Esther jumped out of her seat as soon as the water fell.
"Look what you...!" she began to reproach her with annoyance, but her complaint was cut short as soon as her vision detected something.
As the water soaked into the paper, something began to form on its surface. Colored flecks started to emerge from the white, creating an image: a portrait of a girl with black hair and freckles, wearing a green dress and a white sweater… A beautifully colored portrait of her, almost like a photograph.
Esther quickly took the damp paper in her hands to examine it closely and ensure she saw it correctly. And indeed, it was… It couldn't have been something planned since it had the exact clothes she was wearing at that moment, and she herself didn't know until this morning that she would be wearing them. How could she have…?
"Do you like it?" she heard M3GAN ask, which made her tear her attention away from the drawing and look back at her. M3GAN was smiling at her, or something close to it, apparently expecting her answer. However, Esther was so impressed that she wasn't able to answer.
A red light above the mirror flickered on and off repeatedly at that moment, catching Gemma's attention. That was her cue to step outside and face what was waiting for her in the other room.
"I'll be right back," she informed them as she walked toward the same door they'd come through. "I'll be on the other side of the glass, okay? Keep getting to know each other."
If Esther had intended to say something to keep her from leaving, it didn't seem like it. She remained more absorbed in the drawing in her hands and in the curious talking doll in front of her.
Once Gemma left the room, Esther sat back on the stool and placed the drawing on the table.
"How did you do that?" she asked, intrigued, pointing at the portrait with a finger.
"With magic," was M3GAN's immediate response, though she almost immediately let out a mocking chuckle. "No, it's actually a very simple chemical process. Do you want me to explain it to you?"
"No, that's fine…"
They both remained silent for a moment. Esther looked at the mirror, wondering what they were arguing about right now, and exactly what the point of it all was. Was she a test guinea pig? Was that doll some kind of new toy? Well, it was more impressive than the ugly furry pets, that was for sure.
When she looked back at M3GAN, she was still completely focused on her, as she had been practically from the moment she started speaking.
"Why are you staring at me so much?" Esther asked rudely.
M3GAN didn't answer her, at least not immediately. She continued to watch her for a few more seconds, and only she would know what was going through her brain of connectors and microchips. But whatever it was, it immediately led her to ask a strange question, which changed the air in the room:
"Is there something bothering you, Esther?"
The girl jumped, a little disconcerted by this.
"Not at all," she replied quickly, shaking her head.
"Are you sure?" the android insisted. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No," Esther declared gleefully, even flashing one of her sweetest smiles that came so well. "Why do you ask?"
There was silence again. M3GAN's eyes never left her for a moment. And what she said immediately after that pause was even worse...
"Are you lying to me, Esther…?"
That made her totally tense from one second to the next, so much so that it was impossible for her to keep the smile on her lips.
Esther glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder at the mirror, wondering again who was watching her and how much attention they were paying to this conversation—if talking to a coffee maker with legs and a wig could even be a conversation.
Slowly, she slid a hand across the table, her eyes not following the movement, and tightly gripped a pair of scissors that were there, just sharp enough.
"What makes you think that…?" Esther asked in a calm voice, her fingers gripping the scissors so tightly they almost turned white.
Once again, silence, and at this point, it was far more stressful than words. Esther began to seriously consider what to do next, which essentially came down to two options: stick those scissors in one of that robot's pretty eyes so it would stop staring at her as intently as it was… or hurt herself and claim M3GAN did it, thus having to be dismantled. The latter seemed like the better option.
She was still debating which way to go when suddenly M3GAN let out a strangely amused chuckle as if she had just been told a joke, although not a particularly funny one.
"No, nothing," she commented after stopping laughing, sounding much happier and more carefree. "It's obvious I still need to fine-tune my understanding of your needs, tastes, and personality. But don't worry; that will be fixed in time. After all, I'm designed to be in a constant pursuit of self-improvement. And the more time we spend together, the better I'll get to know you, and the more I'll adapt to your particular needs."
This caused a strange mix of emotions to surface in Esther's chest. On the one hand, it calmed her enough for her fingers to slowly release the scissors and for the blood to flow through them normally again. But on the other hand, she felt even more confused by several of the things she had just heard.
"What do you mean by spending more time together?" she asked quietly, narrowing her eyes in doubt.
"From now on, we'll spend a lot of time together," M3GAN emphasized. "As much time as possible, actually. All the time."
"All the time?" Esther exclaimed, turning almost pale instantly.
"Of course," M3GAN said in a festive tone. "From now on, you and I will be best friends forever."
Esther felt her body go numb as if ice water had been thrown over her, and she was exposed to everyone.
"Great..." she gasped slowly, forcing a small smile as best she could. But, of course, that was far from what she really thought...
"Damn, damn, damn, damn!"