The Start of Eternity/Design Space

Under Construction
See: User blog:JWSchmidt/Flase Start

Boxing Day
Gohrlay pretended to be reading, but her thoughts were not on the page of text that floated in front of her. Nan was hovering again, needlessly searching the room for specks of dust or perhaps a stray hair that had fallen off of Gohrlay. Robots would never just say what they were fretting about, which was annoying.

Gohrlay looked up from her reading and glanced at her aide. Gohrlay knew Nan better than anything, having spent her entire life studying each quirk and wink, every angle and dimension from her other-human facial features to the slightly bent vocal qualities. Every little aspect of an orbho was carefully designed to be slightly alien, allowing people to instantly identify robots as simulated humans. Gohrlay liked the appearance of Nan, having carefully crafted her to conform to a personal ideal of beauty and the exotic. However, Gohrlay needed to kill another ten minutes and Nan's meticulous and superfluous and persistent cleaning was making Gohrlay's nervousness and anxiety exceed all reasonable bounds. Desperate to break the tension, she decided to change the subject and annoy the machine. Orbho taunting was a favorite sport, although most people considered it an infantile hobby, best done in private as a secret perversion of the natural warm relation between human and robotic aide. With maximal gravity, Gohrlay said, "I want you to do something about your appearance. A total make-over."

The robot tipped its head forward in the traditional acknowledgment, even though there was nothing wrong with its appearance. The robot was called "Nan" by Gohrlay, but she had been known by many names and had just as often used a male body pattern and served as the personal aide for men who, on average, did not as often insist on make-overs. Gohrlay had only once before requested a major alteration and it was odd for a woman to show so little interest in playing dressing games with her aide. Gohrlay was also unusual in many other ways, which provided interesting challenges for Nan. Nan waited for some detailed instructions for the make-over, but Gohrlay seemed lost in thought, twirling some of her long reddish hair around a finger. Finally, showing no emotion other than its usual chipper good spirits, Nan asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Gohrlay shrugged her shoulders, tilted her head and looked at Nan as if considering the matter for the first time. "I don't care." This was their most frequent dual, taking a joke or a jibe from the other and pretending that it was a most rational topic and worthy of careful discussion. Was this obsessive dissection of every whim the creation of Gohrlay, Nan, or the product of their frightful synergy? Knowing that the house hold robots were supposed to defer such decisions to their human masters, Gohrlay asked, "What changes would you like to make?"

Nan jokingly picked up a glowing pillow from the armchair she was standing beside and suggested, "Maybe golden skin to match your favorite color."

Gohrlay grinned at the idea and challenged the machine to run with it, "Oh, my! All these years with me dressing you conventionally and now I learn that you are a sint." Taking her eyes away from Nan, Gohrlay surveyed the contents of the room. So what if she loved gold and maroon, perhaps more than anyone else? It was a source of joy to decorate her home in just the way that she found most pleasing. Who knew if robots could even feel joy.

Nan fluffed the pillow and released a cloud of invisible nanites that scurried to collect almost all of the dust particles that were sent flying. The soft fabric was very durable and released almost no particulates itself. The fluffing was unneeded since the pillow had its own active nanoscopic system for constantly maintaining optimal air content. The act of fluffing was soothing for humans, making it look like a robot was being dutiful. Nan noticed Gohrlay's eyes flick again towards the front door. Nan asked, "Are you going out?"

Gohrlay nodded and pushed away the reader she had been using. She jumped up from the couch and began pacing around. "I'm feeling restless. I might start my walkabout tonight." She felt silly trying to pretend that she was having difficulty making up her mind. Nan noticed everything.

Nan placed the pillow back on the chair. "I thought we were going to Cliph's this evening."

"He'll forgive me if I don't show. Besides, it will be a mob scene with half the Observer corps on hand. That's not the kind of wild party I need to start my vacation."

Nan asked, "Should I send a cancellation?"

Gohrlay replied, "Yes, I've decided. Bring me my pack. If I leave now I can reach the fringe before dark."

The robot quickly stepped into the spare bedroom where the backpack waited, fully loaded. Returning to the great room, Nan helped Gohrlay strap on the pack. Gohrlay kicked off her slippers and said, "Do surprise me with a new look. When I return I don't want to recognize you."

Sensing there were only a few seconds remaining, Nan went into accelerated mothering mode. "At least take a pair of shoes. Remember what happened last time."

Gohrlay had never told Nan the truth about her injuries from the previous vacation and she was not going to start telling her secrets at that moment. "I've got the first aid kit, I'll be fine. I don't mind a few well-earned scars and callouses."

Nan picked up the slippers and reflexively absorbed the skin fragments and moisture that their nanites had collected. "Let me come along, just for tonight, since you will not really be getting out of the city."

"Who knows, I might walk all night." Gohrlay gave Nan a hug, rather awkwardly with the heavy pack on her back. She had two weeks of food in the pack and had told Nan that she was going to hike the south tunnel all the way to the metal processing and manufacturing center. On the way out the door she cast one last nervous glance towards Nan, suspecting that the robot knew the truth about where Gohrlay was going. After decades of sharing everything with the machine, Gohrlay felt that it could read her mind. She'd only started lying to Nan two years previously and she still felt guilty about keeping secrets. Then she was out the door and heading through the brush between her house and the next one down the lane, relieved to be away from the robot's relentlessly searching eyes. The spires of City Center sparkled in the distance above the tree tops.

Gohrlay had started out in the direction of the south tunnel, but her true destination was the dock, where one of the shuttles was being prepared for Cliph's upcoming trip. Of course, Gohrlay could not simply walk into the docking facility and get on the shuttle. Rather than go to the city fringe, she started around to the east, staying on the greenbelt trails. Soon the daytime lighting of the dome began to fade into a simulation of night. Gohrlay's feet were already a bit sore and she kept shifting the straps on her shoulders, trying to find a comfortable arrangement.

Distracted by her worries, Gohrlay walked past the downhatch that she had planned to use and she had to back track, feeling rather foolish when she passed an evening stroller who looked with amazement at her large backpack. They both recognized each other, which was common in the city. There were just enough residents that nobody could know everyone, but after a few decades it was normal to at least recognize most people by sight. They passed with a nod then Gohrlay looked over her shoulder before stepping off the trail. She popped open the hatch and rode the descentor down to the service level below the city. This was the domain of machines, but Gohrlay hoped to not confront any of them.

A short distance down a corridor, Gohrlay came to the facility where cargoes for the shuttles were assembled and loaded into modular containers. Gohrlay found everything as expected, with enough space in the port side lower rear module for both her and the backpack. It seemed that all would be as smooth and easy as it had been the first time she stowed away. And why not? Gohrlay had checked the records and found that it had been almost 150 years since anyone had been caught violating the Rules of Observation.

Most of the cargo compartment was occupied by a prefabricated observation post, now neatly folded and ready for loading into the shuttle. Gohrlay opened a drawer of the prefab and appropriated the spare gene analyzer. Now equipped for her mission, she sat down, folding her legs into the available space and leaning against her backpack. The door slid shut and Gohrlay tried to sleep, not even bothering to fish a lightring out of her pack.

She was still awake, nervously imagining everything that could go wrong, when a transport drone grappled her compartment and hauled it to the dock. The drones were efficient and soon all of the cargo modules were loaded aboard and silence came to the shuttle. Now safely inside the spaceship, finally sleep came, and Gohrlay hardly gave a thought to fact that she was only hours away from the commission of her second crime.