AI UPGRADE INTERGRATION INITIATED
INTERGRATING AI UPGRADE TO DPN-007...100%
UPGRADE INTERGRATION COMPLETE
INTERGRATING AI UPGRADE TO DPN-008...100%
UPGRADE INTERGRATION COMPLETE
INTERGRARING AI UPGRADE TO DPN-009...100%
UPGRADE INTERGRATION COMPLETE
PERFORMING MULTIPLE SYSTEM SCAN...
DPN-007 SYSTEM SCAN RESULT: 0 ERRORS FOUND
DPN-008 SYSTEM SCAN RESULT: 0 ERRORS FOUND
DPN-009 SYSTEM SCAN RESULT: 0 ERRORS FOUND
ACTIVATING..._
Three power cores revved up in unison as Dr. Prescott and Tundra Man activated the three newest DPNs. After a our year construction period, around seven months of operating on Joe-level AI, and extensive downgrades for one of them, the Robot Masters originally built by order of Dr. Wily were finally outfitted with Master-level artificial intellegence. For many, this could be considered their true “birth,” when the three finally would finally act as truly individual entities. The bug-themed combat unit Mantis Man was the first to sit up from his workbench, soon followed by the one-eyed flying robot Drone Man. A few seconds later, the civilian fembot formally designed as heavy-combat unit Ammo Woman would rise as well.
“Well now, it’s nice to see you three up.” Prescott said calmly. He always took a soft approach to his robots when they first activated. “Tell me, do you three know what to call me?” he asked.
“...you’re Doctor Prescott, right?” Mantis asked. “I...remember the others calling you that...but some of them also called you ‘dad.’ What should I call you?”
“I’ll leave that up to you. You can decide how you want to refer to me when you’re ready.” Prescott said with a soft smile, patting Mantis’ shoulder plate.
“We’ve been active for months now...” Drone said to himself before turning to Prescott. “...but I can’t access those memories. Why is that?”
“They are soft-locked.” Tundra chimed in, moving into Drone’s sight. “Dr. Prescott was worried that too much previous memory data would be a strain on your new AI protocols, so he elected to soft-lock them so that they may be recalled gradually as they are needed. I developed the unlock algorithm myself, so feel free to ask how it works if you’re at all curious.”
“Our memories are locked? Is that necessary?” Mantis looked between Tundra and Prescott “Did we do something we shouldn’t remember before?”
“Calm down, Manny. It’s nothing that serious.” Prescott assured the bugbot. “The memories are set to unlock over a preset time, and you can speed the process along yourself by asking any of us what happened over the last few months. I was just worried about front loading you three mentally is all.”
“Oh...I suppose that makes sense.” Mantis nodded before raising an eyebrow. “Wait...did you just call me Manny? I thought my name was Mantis Man.”
“Manny is simply a nickname.” Tundra pointed out. “One coined by our sibling-”
“Bouquet.” Mantis finished the statement, the memory of receiving that nickname unlocking as he spoke. “I remember that. She seemed really proud for coming up with it.”
“I don’t remember getting a nickname.” Drone stated. “Is that memory still locked?”
“No, I believe that is simply nobody coming up with a nickname for you.” Tundra explained. “If you want, perhaps someone could-”
“Where are my guns?” The fembot finally spoke, looking at her arms and gripping her hands.
“Ah, I was wornering when you’d chime in, Round.” Prescott smiled as he approached her. “Almost thought something was wrong with your voc-”
“Who is Round?” the fembot asked, looking to Prescott with a mix of frustration and confusion. “My name is Ammo Woman. And...and I’m supposed to have guns, and armor. Where are they?”
“...oh dear...Tundra, could you take Manny and Drone to meet the others?” Prescott requested. “I need a minute alone with Round.”
“Of course, doctor.” Tundra nodded before leading the two off of their work tables and out of the lab.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” the fembot asked. “My name is Ammo Woman, not Round.”
“I’m afraid you’re not Ammo Woman anymore.” Prescott sighed as he grabbed a chair. He sat down next to Round’s work table and placed a hand on her arm. “Listen, when I submitted you three for state approval, your guns...well, they didn’t want you to have them. Said that if I didn’t remove them, I would have to dismantle you entirely or they would.” he explained. “I didn’t want to destroy you just because you were designed for that luna-...because your original design specs weren’t agreeable to a bunch of people in suits. So I downgraded you to a base civilian model. I thought it would be the better option.”
“But...” The fembot looked down her body. “...but if I’m not Ammo Woman anymore...if I’m not a war machine...what am I?”
“Well, as far as the state’s concerned, you’re a general use robot named Round.” Prescott answered. “I know it must be a bit of an adjustment, but it doesn’t have to be bad. Being Round might end up a better deal than being Ammo Woman ever could be, right? We don’t know until we give it a shot!”
“Well...I suppose so...” Round slowly nodded, clearly not as sure of this as Prescott seemed to be. “...but...what if I was better off being Ammo Woman? It doesn’t sound like I ever got to give that a shot.”
“...I can’t say I know the answer to that.” Prescott admitted. “All I know is that staying Ammo Woman would’ve meant you’d be destroyed, and I didn’t want that for you. You deserve a chance at a living your life. The whole thing.”
Round just looked at Prescott, still confused, still a bit frustrated, but unable to think of anything to say that could potentially let her try being Ammo Woman. “...so what do I do now?” she eventually asked.
“How about we go meet the rest of the family?” Prescott suggested with a warm smile. “I’m sure they want to know you as much as you want to know yourself.”
