Make Up A Mech Pilot: Build-A-Bear for mecha fans. Tell us about your very own chibi co-pilot, mech rangers!
(not technically a mech pilot, but I was reminded of some old writing of mine that seemed too good a fit not to include)
Kiera stood outside the store, rain gently tapping on her umbrella as she stared at the sign. Her girlfriend stood beside her, her prosthetic metal fingers gripping Kiera’s own plastic ones. Kiera had been offered a prestigious new position as a City Controller, which was wonderful - a true recognition of all the hard work she’d put in - but it was all the way across the country. She didn’t want to have to choose between her girlfriend and her career, which is why she was standing here.
Physical presence and contact were very important for the both of them. Virtual interactions were getting better, but there was still no touch. No kissing, no cuddling to watch the rain… and no hand holding. She squeezed her girlfriend’s hand again, wiggling her fingers around just to touch her.
But robotic bodies were expensive, and the two of them were still pretty deep in debt; Sarah from student loans and surgery costs, and herself from buying her current and only body. So, here they were to get a less-expensive secondary. Still…
“Hey, are you okay?” Sarah interjected into her thoughts. “Only we’ve been standing out here in the rain for ten minutes…”
“S- sorry,” she said. “Just… thinking.”
Her girlfriend looked at her with concern. “Hey, we… we don’t have to do this. I’m sure there’s some other way we could…”
She trailed off. They both knew, after extensive research, that this was really the only thing they could afford unless Kiera wanted to be stuck in a roomba. She steeled herself, gripping her girlfriend’s hand for strength. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Let’s go in.”
She moved forward with what she hoped looked like confidence. She didn’t meet Sarah’s eyes, although she could feel them on her back.
Inside, bright colors assaulted her senses, and a truly impressive array of different parts, clothes, and accessories presented themselves in neat rows along the walls and in various bins across the floor. A few other groups were there, too, mostly families with younger children and people looking to make personalized gifts. The sales associates were all busy, so Sarah drifted over to the big sign that said “Start here!” in large, childish letters.
Kiera followed, and they picked a basic humanoid endoskeleton about a foot tall, and grabbed a couple of internals - a small heater for body heat, a high-speed antenna for quick downloads, and a pulse motor for a heartbeat. Her own heartbeat skipped once as she held the part in her hand. Both artificial, but important; such a small thing that made all the difference when they were pressed together under the blankets, watching the rain outside. Still, it felt a little unsettling to hold a part almost identical to hers in her own hand. Especially when… she cut off that line of thought abruptly as she handed it to Sarah to slot into the endoskeleton.
She felt enclosed, almost claustrophobic. She walked over to the rack of small clothes, deliberately skipping the section on endoskeleton coverings. She tried to stay calm, to look at the dresses, but…
“Daddy-addy-addy! She wants this one!”
A small girl from one of the families had darted over to point at a small outfit she couldn’t quite reach, an even smaller companion toddling behind her. She had apparently selected a cobalt blue covering for her Build-a-Friend, and a mostly-expressionless face except for a small screen, currently showing a pair of eyes stylized as blue lines on black. It tripped, and bumped into Kiera’s leg. “S-Sowwy!” it cried out, “eye” displays switching briefly to a pair of Xs. It even had a lisp.
Kiera backed away from it, and it moved on to be with its new owner. She tried to suppress a shudder and turned away. Most AIs started out as something like this, barely cognizant of the world around them, relying on scripted responses and pre-programmed plans. She herself had been that way: a thing and not a person, not really. But she had seen something brighter, hadn’t wanted to be constrained by her own programming, hadn’t wanted to live her life in a haze, had fought and clawed her way up and up and up, fighting herself, fighting her owners, fighting the law, and now, finally, she was free. It had been so hard, and so worth it. Most AIs didn’t bother. Most were perfectly happy. She contemplated the small blue robot, now trying on a blouse and skirt with suspenders, and frowned. How would it (she? he? they?) choose? What would they do? Would they be happy as they were, or would they need to fight?
“Babe?”
She turned to see Sarah looking at her with concern again, but she didn’t try to push. “We, uh, need to choose a covering.”
Right. She walked over to the bin, where a sales associate was waiting for them. “Hi! My name’s Ally (they/them), and I’ll be helping you out today! I see you already picked out your internals. What kind of covering are you looking for?”
They went back and forth for a while. The blue one was definitely not an option. The green one was the wrong shade for Kiera. The red one looked too angry to Sarah. Ally apologized profusely but they were actually out of the hexagon-patterned one and wouldn’t get more for months. Square ones, bulky ones, thin ones, none of them looked right. Kiera found herself getting more and more frustrated. She just wanted to be herself! Why were these all so small, so… artificial?! It was like how she imagined some humans felt the uncanny valley. Just close enough to herself to be truly, deeply upsetting. She felt her fans kick up a notch, despite the cool air in the store, and tried to prevent Sarah from seeing her face.
She’d failed, apparently, as a pair of hands slid around her waist. “Hey, come on. It’s okay. Let’s just go, we’ll- we’ll find another way.” But as she turned around she could see the doubt and fear in her girlfriend’s eyes. She wasn’t any better at putting on a brave face than Kiera was.
Ally looked from one of them to the other. “If you don’t mind my asking, what is it you want this Friend for?”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment, grasping hands, then Kiera looked down and Sarah began to explain. “She’s moving a long ways away, and we don’t have the money to travel all the time or to buy a proper chassis, so we thought…” she gestured sort of helplessly, still holding on to Kiera’s hand.
Ally paused for a moment. “Hang on. Sometimes we keep less common coverings in the back. I think I might have something that could work for you.”
Kiera looked up in confusion, frowning. Ally had already gone, though, and so she looked back at her girlfriend, whose eyes were pleading. Kiera adjusted her grip to hold her tightly, and planted a kiss on her forehead. Sarah held her back, and the two of them parted as Ally came back.
“Here, what do you think about this?”
It wasn’t made out of metal, or plastic, or ceramics. It wasn’t a too-shiny anodized metal color, or a dazzlingly busy pattern. It didn’t have a visor for a face, or a fake-looking stock plastic face. It didn’t have sharp angles or pristine lines or french curves. It was… somewhat lumpy, actually. Kiera stared at it.
“I… I think that might actually work.”
Half an hour later, they had it all ready. The blank AI core had been slotted in, and she had moved herself over to it for testing. Being only a foot tall was bizarre, and moreso was seeing her primary body leaning against the wall, arms folded and eyes closed like it was merely napping. But the small body felt… good. Comfortable. The plush feet squished slightly against the floor as she moved. The false hair moved in waves, curls that her primary didn’t possess. She twirled a little bit, feeling out her limbs and hands while the dress they’d picked out whirled underneath her. Suddenly, the scene in front of her blurred as she was picked up, then again as Sarah quickly adjusted her grip so they were face to face. She was grinning.
“You’re so cute! It’s adorable!” She laughed, and hugged her tight to her chest as she twirled once. Her smile was matched by Kiera’s own shy smile, some miracle of microtechnology weaving red fibers across her fabric face to make it look like she was blushing. Sarah’s smile became slightly more serious as they gazed at each other. “So… are you okay? Is this going to work?”
Kiera looked at her girlfriend, feeling her biological heart beat against the doll body’s own artificial heart. She smiled.
“I think we’ll make it work.”
