by Amwhere » Wed Sep 21, 2005 5:12 am
AW 1278, City of Techna, Palma<p>Miun emerged from her room wearing a long black dress that framed her athletic build quite nicely.<p>Mieu looked up from the book she was buried in. "How much did that cost, sis?"<p>"Too much." Miun answered.<p>There was a knock on the door. "Coming," she called out, adding under her breath, "He's two seconds late!"<p>Mieu giggled. "Have fun."<p>The chauffeur, unlike the one Jager had hired, was human. "Good evening, ma'am," his voice was impeccable, "If you will follow me?"<p>Miun followed the white haired driver down the stairs to the waiting hover car. Akar spared no expense, she thought to herself as she sat down on the luxurious back seat, But when you're the sixth richest man on Palma, I guess you can do that.<p>After a perfectly smooth ride, they arrived at the restaurant. The building was of the blue dome style favored in Camineet, and it looked completely out of place in amongst Techna's grey, block like structures.<p>The chauffeur lead her to the front door, and the head waiter opened it for her. "You're Miss Rydori, yes?" The waiter spoke with a strong Camineet accent, "Mister Sa Rilk is waiting for you." The waiter took Miun through the dining room into a small back room. Miun detected the unmistakable presence of a sound suppressing field.<p>"Mister Sa Rilk is in the bathroom, and will be with you in a moment," the waiter said, pulling out the finely crafted wooden chair, "Please have a seat."<p>Shortly after Miun sat, Akar entered the room. "Miun! It's nice to see you again."<p>"Likewise."<p>"I'd like to thank you for that dance we had."<p>That's it? Miun thought to herself. "Of course."<p>"I did a little digging," Akar said abruptly.<p>Here it comes, Miun said to herself.<p>"And I've found out what you are, Miun."<p>"Huh?" Miun acted confused, "I'm a colonel in the military. Anyone can find that out."<p>"That's not what I'm talking about, Miun. It took a call to a high place to find this out."<p>"General Pyre?" Miun asked, hoping.<p>"The one and only."<p>"Then you know that..."<p>Akar interrupted her. "That my date is a highly illegal uncontrolled sentient android? Yes, I do."<p>Miun nodded.<p>"I found out that you were created by someone in my company. Who is secret information, hidden even from me. Do you anything about who created you?"<p>Miun shook her head. "No. When I was activated for the first time, there was a Doctor Lenz there. He said that he wasn't my creator, though."<p>Akar nodded. "I can believe that. Lenz is a fine scientist, but there's no way he could have created something... someone as extraordinary as yourself. What happened after you were activated? I know some things, but not all of it."<p>Miun hesitated for a moment, unsure on whether or not to answer. If Pyre told him about me, I don't think withholding how I was trained really matters. "I was put through a long series of tests just after I was activated to make sure I was functioning properly."<p>"All of our products go through that..." He stopped and shook his head. "No offense, Miun. You have no right to be called a product."<p>"None taken, Akar."<p>Akar nodded. "Thank you. Please go on."<p>"After the tests I was trained."<p>"Why? You're a robot, Miun. Why couldn't you just be programmed with the knowledge you need?"<p>"I was born knowing a lot of things," answered Miun, "but I had no experience, and experience trumps knowledge any day."<p>"True. How long did your training last?" <p>To Miun, it almost seemed like Akar was disinterested in what she was saying. "Twenty hours a day for four straight years."<p>Akar whistled. "Only an android could do that. Why didn't you train the entire day?"<p>"The other four hours were our own time. Most of us used it as a change to gain social experience, which you can't really train for. Some of my sisters took things a bit too far, though, but none of us ratted them out."<p>"A little too far? It's not important. What did your training consist of?"<p>"A lot of things: Combat, demolitions, hacking, forensics, forging... if it could have any use to us, they made us experts in it. Now," Miun leaned forward in her chair and cupped her chin in her hand, "android or not, I am your date tonight. Are you going to show me a good time, or are you going to break out the toolkit and take me apart?"<p>Akar blushed. "I'm sorry, Miun. I forgot myself." He pressed the button on the table and the head waiter immediately stepped into the room. "What do you want, Miun?" Akar asked her.<p>"Whatever you're having is fine."<p>"We'll both have the stuffed chripper." Akar said to the waiter, "and a bottle of your finest."<p>The waiter nodded. "Very good, sir." He exited the room.<p>"I don't really like wine," Miun said.<p>"Neither do I. Oh well, I'll just have to buy the restaurant so I don't have to pay the check."<p>Miun laughed.<p>The food was delivered, and the pair found it to be bland and rather uninspired. "For this price," Akar said, "I'd expect food better than what I could make at home."<p>"No kidding," Miun said.