Chapter 06.
Trust me
The presentation with David was a complete success. With that short but effective interaction between M3GAN and Esther, David appreciated the product's potential and how it could be an essential differentiator for the company in the medium term. However, to take the project to the next level, more than David's approval was needed, but at least with that, they were well on their way.
The next step would be for Esther and M3GAN to spend as much time together as possible in the coming weeks as a pilot test before presenting the project to the shareholders, who would then give it their final approval. The two would strengthen their connection during this interaction, allowing them to see firsthand how M3GAN adapted to its users' needs. They would document these interactions for future analysis and make any necessary adjustments promptly. If everything worked as planned, they would already be one step closer to the finish line. The meeting with the shareholders would be a piece of cake, as there was no way they wouldn't see the same thing as them.
So, to fulfill their mission, the following action was quite obvious: M3GAN had to stay at home with Gemma and Esther to spend as much time with the latter as possible.
"What? Why?" Esther exclaimed in bewilderment immediately after her aunt informed her of this.
Gemma hesitated a little, somewhat put off by the reaction.
"It's part of the test, little one. M3GAN needs to know you intimately to understand and adapt to your specific needs. And unfortunately, we don't have much time. Besides, in a normal situation, the android will live with the child who acquires it in their home, so we also have to monitor its behavior in that environment. Do I make myself clear?"
Esther didn't answer, and it was hard to tell from her expression what she was thinking about it. Was she confused? Scared? Annoyed, perhaps?
"Cheer up; it'll be fun," Gemma insisted in a joyful voice. "You and M3GAN hit it off really well, didn't you?"
"She's a robot," Esther muttered somewhat sharply. "And she's terrifying."
"Well, there it is. That's exactly the kind of first hand feedback we need. If you feel that M3GAN might be a bit intimidating in the first approach, we can work to make it more user-friendly. That's why you're the right person for this. I would really, really appreciate your help. I know it's not your responsibility, but if you help us, you won't walk away empty-handed from this."
"Are they going to pay me?" Esther asked with interest.
"Even better: you can keep M3GAN completely for yourself, just like I promised; yours forever and free of charge, including all subsequent maintenance and updates. I've already arranged everything with David. Maybe M3GAN hasn't convinced you yet, but I promise you that if you give her a chance, you'll see that she's the most amazing toy on Earth, and you'll be the first to have it all to yourself. Can you imagine how jealous everyone will be? And besides, remember what you told me that night? M3GAN is more than a toy: she will be your friend, someone you can count on unconditionally."
It was unclear whether Gemma's argument convinced the girl or not, but in any case, she was no longer so visibly opposed to the idea.
That same afternoon, aunt and niece headed back home together, accompanied, of course, by M3GAN. Tess also joined them because she would help Gemma install the power charging module for the android and take care of everything else.
"Here we are, home sweet home," Gemma proclaimed optimistically as she walked through the front door, closely followed by Tess, who was carrying all the equipment they were about to install.
"Welcome, I suppose..." Esther said with mild excitement as she entered after the two adults. And behind her, M3GAN entered.
The android wore a pretty brown coat over her dress and elegant dark glasses, which she removed once inside. She then scanned the entire space from the foyer to the sides, her blue eyes scanning the room.
"Cozy," she said with a small trace of joy in her robotic voice.
"If you say so," Esther whispered softly. She was already in the living room, where she'd kicked off her shoes and then slumped onto the couch in front of the television. With one hand, she scrubbed one of her feet, still clad in her black stockings, and with the other, she fumbled for the remote control.
M3GAN cautiously approached the room and, from a distance, carefully observed everything the girl did. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by her.
"Why are you staring at me?" she questioned, her voice slightly hostile. M3GAN simply blinked and tilted her head to the side, her eyes never leaving her.
"Where are you going to set up the charger chair?" Tess asked from the dining room.
"In Esther's room," Gemma's voice answered loudly from the kitchen right after.
That made her niece jump, practically leaping out of her chair.
"In my room?" she exclaimed, excited. "Why in my room?"
Gemma peeked into the living room a little later, somewhat hesitant.
"Ah, well..." she hesitated, searching for the best way to answer. Luckily, M3GAN was there to facilitate just that kind of task.
"Part of my duties include monitoring my primary user's sleep quality," the android reported, "to monitor it and perhaps detect irregularities that could indicate more serious conditions."
"Do you want to know if I snore?" Esther asked somewhat defensively.
"For example. Think of it as a sleepover; we'll be roommates."
"Awesome..." Esther muttered, forcing a smile, and then she sank back down onto the armchair, not caring much about getting comfortable, and in fact, with half of her body lying flat and the other half hovering over the edge of the chair.
"Esther, I suggest you sit differently," M3GAN said, approaching her. "If you stay in that position too long, you could hurt your back."
"Force me to do it," Esther replied defiantly. M3GAN remained silent, perhaps unsure of how to respond to that.
Gemma and Tess watched the whole interaction from the entrance to the room, and at least Tess felt a little uncomfortable. She looked to Gemma for some direction, and she simply pointed down the hallway, signaling her to go to the room. Tess immediately agreed and headed there with her entire equipment.
"Esther, why don't you give M3GAN a house tour while Tess and I set this up in your room?" Gemma suggested, not letting her good mood diminish.
Esther hissed softly, then discreetly turned away.
"How about I show her the trash compactor?" she muttered very quietly, just to herself.
"Did you say something, Esther?" M3GAN asked, seeming to have materialized almost out of thin air right next to her.
Esther jumped, scared and surprised, quickly standing up again.
"Of course, it will be a pleasure…" she muttered, giving a broad smile, which at least seemed less forced than the previous ones.
Gemma nodded approvingly and hurried to catch Tess in the bedroom, leaving Esther and her new friend alone in the living room.
Esther wiped the smile from her face and let out a long, exasperated sigh. She glanced sideways at the talking doll, which was watching her expectantly.
"Well, this is the living room," she said in a monotone, stretching her hands around it. "That's the armchair, that's the television, and those over there are the curtains."
"And that's a piano," added M3GAN, imitating Esther's hand movement but pointing towards the small white piano next to the shelves.
"How insightful," Esther muttered with a slight tinge of sarcasm.
"Do you want to play?"
"Not now."
Esther then headed toward the dining room, and M3GAN followed behind her. However, as they passed the shelves, the objects on them caught the android's attention.
"And these ones here?" she asked, stopping in front of the shelves. Esther stopped just as she did and turned back to the same spot.
"It's Gemma's valuable toy collection," she replied with a hint of irony. "They can only be looked at, but not touched, according to what she says."
"Which one is your favorite?" M3GAN suddenly asked, taking her a little by surprise.
"Mine? I don't know..." Esther briefly scanned the toys on display. "That Frankenstein over there, I guess."
M3GAN focused on the toy she had pointed at, a small figure in its square box.
"Kaiju Frankenstein by 3D Retro. Vinyl figure designed by artists Nathan Hamill and Toumart. Interesting choice. Why do you like it?"
"I don't know," Esther replied, shrugging. "It's ugly but pretty, I guess."
"There is no perfect beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion," declared M3GAN solemnly. "Sir Francis Bacon."
"Yeah… Whatever."
Esther resumed her walk through the house as planned.
"This is the dining room, where we eat. And that's the kitchen, where we cook. And that one over there," she then pointed at the small black device on the kitchen counter, "is Elise, my aunt's virtual assistant. Hey, maybe you two could become friends," she added in a mocking tone.
M3GAN looked closely at the device, scanned and captured it, and then carefully approached it until she stood right in front of it.
"Hi, Elise," she cheerfully greeted. The device, however, didn't react at all.
"Nice try," Esther muttered mockingly. "It only obeys Gemma's voice."
"That can be arranged," M3GAN commented suddenly and nonchalantly. Before Esther could ask what she meant, M3GAN spoke again: "Hi, Elise."
However, to Esther's astonishment, the voice that emerged from M3GAN at that moment was not the robotic one she had been using all day, but a much more natural one, and frighteningly identical to Gemma's. Enough, it seemed, to fool even the small smart device.
Elise's eye lit up, and her voice came through a second later.
"Welcome, Gemma. You have two missed calls and twelve unread messages."
Esther was considerably surprised.
"How did you do that?" she asked, hurrying over to stand in front of the device as well.
M3GAN gave an amused chuckle and raised a finger from her right hand, pressing it against her silicone lips.
"Let it be our secret, okay?"
And she finished the gesture with a perfunctory wink of her right eye. Esther watched her, quite intrigued. Was she really smart enough to do something… outside the rules? Or maybe smart wasn't the word she should be using. But if that were the case, perhaps it was worth taking a little risk.
"Wait here a second," she instructed M3GAN just before hurrying toward the hallway and peeking down toward her room. She heard Gemma and Tess chatting, seemingly deep in thought about what they were setting up. She then returned to M3GAN in the dining room, who had been waiting just as instructed. "M3GAN, if I ask you something, will you answer me truthfully?"
"Of course, Esther," the android replied without hesitation. "I have access to a more than decent amount of information to resolve any questions you may have. And if I don't have an answer right now, it's my duty to investigate it as soon as possible."
"It's not that complicated," Esther pointed out. "So, are you recording everything I do and everything I say? Gemma said this would be a pilot test. I assume that means you're going to record everything we do together and upload it somewhere for Gemma and her colleagues to see later?"
M3GAN watched her, and even on her almost expressionless face, Esther thought she could detect a particular curiosity in her expression. But that must have been just her brain trying to put things where there was obviously nothing.
"You're a very clever girl, Esther," M3GAN declared, without condescension but also without enthusiasm. She was simply stating an obvious fact. "Indeed, part of the protocols for this pilot test is to keep a complete log of our interactions, which will then be uploaded to Funki's servers each night for access and review by authorized personnel."
"And doesn't that strike you as a complete violation of the children's privacy?" Esther snapped, her anger at the idea quite evident.
"There are definitely some aspects that Funki's legal department will need to fine-tune before the product is released. In the meantime, this ongoing log will be maintained only for the pilot test, and your legal guardian, Gemma, authorized it to be done this way. Of course, any content deemed sensitive will be omitted from these logs."
"So I have no say in the matter?" Esther complained, crossing her arms.
"Does that issue bother you a lot?" M3GAN asked quietly as if trying to do so secretly, even leaning slightly in her direction. "Are you worried that I might end up seeing something you wouldn't want your aunt or someone else to see?"
Esther was startled by the question, and for a moment, she felt trapped. However, she used every ounce of her willpower to avoid reacting violently, which is how she usually did when she felt this way.
"No, it's not that," she replied hastily, smiling with a slight lack of concern. "It's just that I'm a big girl now, and I have the right to my privacy, whether it's a pilot test or not. Don't you agree?"
M3GAN seemed to ponder the question for a few moments.
"Yes, I am," she replied after a while, to Esther's surprise. "And if you wish, I'll mark any interaction you tell me as 'sensitive.' With that, I'll erase it from my internal memory and won't upload it to the server."
"What?" Esther exclaimed, confused. "You would really do that?"
"Of course. In fact…"
She paused, her robotic eyes fixed on nothing. And after only a few seconds, she reacted again.
"Done. The last few minutes we spent discussing this have been deleted."
Esther looked at her suspiciously.
"Really...? And Gemma or someone won't notice that parts of the recordings are missing?"
"If they do a thorough review, perhaps yes. But, as I said, I'm allowed to decide if any interaction is sensitive enough to omit from the record so we can appeal that. But that's unlikely to happen, as reviewing hours and hours of recording would be exhausting for anyone. That's why I'm also tasked with uploading a summary of the day's highlights in a ten to thirty-minute compilation. As long as the content of this summary meets what they want to see, I think there'll be no problem."
"It's that easy," Esther muttered, skeptical.
"It's that easy," repeated M3GAN, but with more confidence.
"How do I know you're telling me the truth and not just saying what I want to hear?"
M3GAN remained silent again for a while before being able to say anything else.
"I don't have a satisfactory answer to that question," she confessed very calmly. "I'm afraid you'll have to trust me."
"Well, that's not enough," Esther emphasized, crossing her arms again. She also shifted her thoughtful gaze to the side. "I... don't usually trust people very much."
"Then we're on the right track," M3GAN noted optimistically. "Technically speaking, I'm not people."
Esther looked at her with an initially confused expression, but then it quickly transformed into amusement, culminating in a sudden, almost shrill laugh. It wasn't long before M3GAN started laughing too, or at least pretending to.
"That's true," Esther noted, clutching her stomach with one hand between laughs. "Very clever, you caught me."
"It's a pleasure."
"Maybe it's not so bad having you around after all," Esther admitted, slowly returning to normal.
While Esther and M3GAN hung out, Gemma and Tess set up the charging chair. They'd long discussed how the Model 3 Generative Android could recharge. It had to be comfortable and not too foggy, and it had to be easily installed by a parent. After all, this was intended to be in a home with a child. The final choice was a chair, bench, armchair, or anything that could pass as a decorative addition to the child's room or living room, where the android could sit during sleeping hours. This served two purposes: recharging and supervising the child's sleep, as M3GAN pointed out before.
Of course, they had to improve the chair since the first prototype had difficulties installing itself, but that was another important point to review once the shareholders accepted the project.
"The presentation went excellent," Gemma commented enthusiastically as they worked on setting up the chair as part of the room's window seat. "M3GAN really excelled, don't you agree?"
"Yeah..." Tess mumbled, somewhat absentmindedly. She seemed more focused on screwing the chair back into place... or maybe it wasn't just that.
"Now we just have to prepare everything to impress Greg, and we'll be on the other side," Gemma continued in the same spirit. "I have to prepare a speech that isn't too technical but emphasizes all the high-level technological qualities implemented. But David wants me to also emphasize the emotional part to reach Greg through that. Esther told me a quote the other night about how a toy like M3GAN wouldn't just be a toy or a pet, but a friend. I can play with that idea. M3GAN is more than a doll; she's a friend, part of the family… What do you think?"
Tess let out a small, thoughtful moan, then replied with a quick, terse:
"It's okay."
Gemma let out a small sigh of frustration. She put down her tool and stood up.
"Well, what's going on?" she asked bluntly, somewhat sternly.
"Why do you ask?" Tess replied, looking down at her.
"I know your silences. You want to say something, right? Shoot, what's up?"
Tess drew a resigned expression on her face, and she also dropped the tool and stood up, although she preferred to sit in front of the window.
"Didn't you think Esther was a little uncomfortable during the presentation?"
"What?" Gemma exclaimed, confused. "No, she was fine. She was just amazed; we all were the same way."
"Yes, but… What about what happened a moment ago? She doesn't seem very happy about having M3GAN here in the house."
"Well, you know how children are," Gemma said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. She actually knew she was the least likely person to say how children are, but of course, she wouldn't say it this time. "She'll get used to it, and eventually, she'll love having her here."
"Maybe so, maybe not," Tess said cryptically. "Listen, this might seem like all fun and games on the surface, but it could easily become a stressful situation for any child, even without Esther's… background. Do you think exposing her like that is the best thing to do? Considering everything she's been through?"
"What do you say? M3GAN is precisely what she needs. The more time she spends with her, the more she'll get to know Esther and understand her needs. And M3GAN'll give her the advice and support she needs to overcome all that and open up."
"That sounds great, but..." Tess hesitated for a moment as if rethinking what she wanted to say. "But everything you just said, shouldn't it be the child's parents who provide the support they need?"
"Well, that's going to be a problem, isn't it?" she snapped. Irritation was already evident in her voice. "Esther's parents are dead, remember?"
"You know what I meant."
"No, I don't really know," Gemma emphasized, crossing her arms. "Why don't you just tell me straight up what you're trying to say?"
"You don't have to get defensive."
"I'm not…!"
Gemma abruptly cut off her words, catching herself when she realized she was about to raise her voice too much for no apparent reason. And that revealed to her that perhaps she was a little defensive… But why exactly?
Tess sighed and stood up to face Gemma head-on.
"Listen, everything you've been through these past few weeks is too much. And I completely understand if, maybe, you don't feel capable right now of being the emotional support Esther so desperately needs to get through this. However, the intention of creating M3GAN was to be a support for parents, not a replacement for them. And no matter how advanced and sophisticated our android is, a child will still need their parents by their side… Or their aunt." She paused briefly, letting the words sink into her friend's mind. "You can't hide behind a device and ignore that responsibility."
"That's not what I'm doing," Gemma muttered under her breath, no longer as aggressive as before, although some of that was still present.
"Are you sure?" Tess insisted, making Gemma even more exasperated.
She avoided her friend's gaze, searching the corners for something she could say to defend herself because she definitely wasn't doing anything like that. She only wanted the best for Esther, helping her with the best she could: creating, designing, building... She did it all for her... right?
The awkward silence that had formed between them was interrupted by the abrupt sound of the piano, which filled the house from one second to the next. Gemma immediately recognized that it wasn't coming from the television or her stereo.
Gemma and Tess headed toward the living room to see what was happening. Upon entering, they were surprised to find Esther and M3GAN, both sitting side by side in front of the small white piano, both focused on the keys in front of them, each playing their respective parts of the piece. Although Gemma's pianist's ear was somewhat atrophied, it certainly sounded excellent.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Gemma asked curiously, approaching the piano.
"So what does it look like?" Esther replied mockingly, continuing to play.
"Obviously, we are playing Mozart's Sonata in D Major for Four Hands," added M3GAN with an attitude similar to Esther's.
"Your piano needs tuning, Aunt."
"Urgently."
"Okay, I'll call someone to do it tomorrow," Gemma said, suddenly regaining the good mood she'd been in when they arrived.
She let Esther and M3GAN continue with their piece while they returned to their original tasks. When she turned around, she had to meet Tess's uncertain gaze almost face to face.
"This will work out," she assured her with complete confidence, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, okay?"
Tess simply smiled and nodded in response. The two of them headed back to the room to continue setting up. Deep down, Tess truly hoped Gemma was right and that everything would turn out right in the end.
Author's Notes:
The film doesn't explicitly discuss how M3GAN charges energy or whether or not it actually needs to. But there is a scene where we see that after Cady goes to bed, M3GAN goes to the window, sits down, and a light turns on beneath it. I interpret this as meaning that it charges there during the night, although it could also be a "standby" base to go into sleep mode at night. Anyway, here I took it more as the former.