《Artificial Mind[Old]》Chapter 374: Push
Advertisement
The automaton wasn't looking as fine as before, the skin around the stomach having been cut up and sewed back together in a more grotesque fashion. Especially on the sides, there were folds here and there, clearly not meant as anything that came close to healthy. While there was no blood or guts floating around on the outside, Cassandra couldn't help but stop in her step after getting back into the courtyard.
“You have not been called for yet,” the automation standing beside Jules said, looking at the woman impassively.
“You were about to do it a second ago, so I don’t think that anybody needs to get in a hissy fit over it,” Jules replied before Cassandra had any chance to. “Were you bored waiting, dear? The car must have been the most relaxing place to sleep.”
“I did not sleep in the car. I merely waited,” Cassandra corrected, getting closer so she could see the reparations close up. The sewing was not up to her personal standards but they were clearly made to last. The material as well, the thread being nothing like Cassandra had ever seen. Though, the woman wasn't truly surprised about that fact, constructs likely using a different resource kit entirely when it came to operations on the field.
“Well, the hour-long wait must not have been fun when all you had to do was stare into the windshield. You didn't even look on the net or anything!” Jules stated, sounding disgusted with its own words. Though… that left one question needing to be answered.
“How do you know what I did during the wait? From what I have been led to believe, you were too damaged to connect,” Cassandra said, finally checking the time herself. And, lo and behold, more than a full hour had passed since she first left through the main entrance. It was getting closer and closer to later in the day, yet the woman had barely noticed the time passing. How concerning an event.
“A certain someone,” Jules said, smacking the automation beside it on the shoulder, “gave me constant updates on your whereabouts. I had a slight fear of you going off and trying to figure out where the mystery happened to run to.”
The automation had seemingly gone into explaining mode before Cassandra could even demand more details, the construct having grown used to the treatment need to stop the woman’s anger. It might also have been due to her having troubles about her movements being watched again, the woman previously being of the belief that she had been freed from such a thing.
Advertisement
“Do you know what restraints you are under with the new additions?” Cassandra asked, still on her knees next to the automation. Her hands were on the stomach, putting a mild pressure around the tissue that had been sewed. There was a hardness below those areas as if some form of metal or plastic had been put there. It might have been a natural dissolvent but it would likely remain there for either a few hours or a few days. Certainly too long no matter what to make it possible for the regular amount of backflips. Could it even bend down without there being a danger of seams unintentionally bursting?
“There are some issues with lifting anything too heavy, but I believe we will manage somehow,” Jules said in earnest, scratching its cheek in response to the woman’s constant touch. The other automation beside them only watched on, likely trying to figure out the need for repetitive inspections. Cassandra didn't truly care, making sure that the work was truly as fine as put out before. “It’s not like I will be expected to lift any cars in the next days.”
“Be more exact on the limits. Are you allowed to lift ten kilos or a hundred kilos?” Cassandra questioned, getting up from her position. Her knees popped at the sudden lift, the previous pressure on them not doing them any good. Not that the woman paid attention, only moving over to another part of the courtyard to grab her jacket. There was no small amount of happiness related to the fact that there weren't any blood-stains on it. That would have required way too much time to clean properly.
“It’s closer to two hundred kilos if you really want to be exact about it,” Jules said, to which the woman immediately turned her eyes back on the automation. “Oh, don’t give me that look. It’s not like I'm proud of this weakness either. Sorry that I can't throw a tank like I usually can. Most people get issues like this after a bit of time. It’s called naturally ageing, okay?”
Ignoring what was likely inane comments made from a deprived algorithm, Cassandra couldn't help but be yet again surprised at just how much that thing could lift. Two hundred kilos was seen as weak? The woman could barely do the same comfortably, and she was likely in the top one per cent of the world. If the automation could do that much while weakened… it made a little more sense why the other construct in the room had been so upfront about the true limits being classified.
Advertisement
“I believe we won’t have a problem with that,” Cassandra said. While there might have been some usefulness in having Jules help with covering the last windows, that part had already been completed by a certain other automation. Which left the three entities without to do but sit and talk. Not that the woman even thought about doing such a lazy thing, even if it would provide more time for talking. “When is the full recovery estimated to have been completed?”
“Blood packets need time to get back in working order, you know. Just pushing more in won’t do more than making it hard for everything involved,” Jules said, pushing hands down in an air motion. When that explanation seemed to have satisfied the woman in no way at all, however, the construct continued with its words. “There is a continuous system of the liquid being transferred through my body. With that system having been disrupted very heavily, some stability will be needed before there is any chance that transferring more inside would cause me extreme harm. It’s hard to truly fathom how this actually works, I will actually need you to trust me on this because there is no way-”
“Sure,” Cassandra said, not wanting to hear it all. She knew there was an explanation for it, and she knew that the automation could give it if she so desired. Since there was no reason to be angry or paranoid, the woman just left it at that. “We have other tasks at hand, so it might be best to get back to the street from before. Grunwald needs to be replaced.”
“Oh, sure, I’ll just run up there and-” Jules began to say again, but the woman cut it off before it even had a chance.”
“You will be driving with me in the car. Grunwald’s automation, however, will be running at a higher speed to let the man get back to his position in a timely manner. In fact, nobody would be annoyed if that automation were to begin this task immediately,” Cassandra said, putting strain on the last sentence while staring directly at the automation mentioned. The automation in question started right back before getting a small glance from the other construct. Maybe that was where the message got into its head since it began running on the spot, out of the door before Cassandra had time to send a sigh in its direction. “It is not the smartest of the bunch.”
“I would call all of us average since we all have the same intelligence,” Jules corrected, talking more along the lines of the automations as a whole instead of just the group that the construct was in personally. “Though… some of us might use it for less efficient subjects. I use it to be the charming bastard that we all know and love, while my counterpart uses it to constantly review every single rule ever made in the history of this country’s reign. If it wasn't for a max quote on outset messages, that bastard alone would have crashed the national history museum. Oh, the things the idiot has sent as questions before. Almost makes me faint in embarrassment.”
“If you are going to faint, please do it in the car,” Cassandra said, hurrying the automation along with a push. It was a very strong push, more than enough to have crushed most adults to the bone, yet the automation just laughed it off like it was nothing. “I am being serious. Don’t you dare faint in a place where I can’t transport you?”
“Of course dear. It would be much too embarrassing for a high and mighty woman like you to request assistance another time within two hours. What would the powerful press think about such a scandal,” the automation said, clearly in need of a kick between the legs. Not that it would do anything, pain clearly not in the constructed repertoire, lest it would have howled from the grip the woman had on its arm.
Cassandra had taken the warning about the fainting seriously, after all. While she might not have been able to catch the automation completely if it came to something like that, the woman was more than sure of her ability to slow the descent, if she acted fast enough. And with the preparations put out, she was sure that she could turn a cracked skull into a mild concussion.
“Just move it.”
“Alright, alright. No need to push that much.”
Advertisement
- In Serial33 Chapters
Piper
"It was one thing to find a harbor in a storm, and a complete other to expect that harbor to be safe." Piper Hayes has made it through three years of college at the University of Rhode Island basically unscathed - until the day her best friend, Molly, disappears from a job meant for Piper. Distraught, Piper lets herself fall into the company of a basically-unknown acquaintance, the impressive and charming Bash Rivera. Turns out, Molly's situation is the least of Piper's worries, and Bash doesn't quite manage to keep up his suave and sophisticated facade when events turn difficult. Mostly because, while he is trying to save her life, she spends all of her time afraid of him. Once Piper realizes her real enemy, she might find herself alone in her fight. If she manages to survive, just maybe she can graduate on time; more importantly, maybe she won't have driven away the one person who cares about her the way she cares about everyone else. IF YOU LIKE PIPER, READ THE OTHER FINISHED BOOKS IN THE EPIPHANIES SERIES: MARISSA AND AYLEE. OR COME READ THE COUNTERSIGN SERIES: NIGHTENGALE, [email protected], AND ALTAR EGO. PLEASE REVIEW - I VALUE YOUR INPUT!
8 73 - In Serial89 Chapters
Montgomery and Carano
A modern take on Romeo and Juliet. Jenna Carano is a badass demon hunter, hot headed and passionate, while Professor Robert Montgomery is the exact opposite: always calm and disciplined. They were raised to hate each other but when someone much worse than they are gets loose on the streets of London, they must join forces to protect the city and the people they love.
8 137 - In Serial30 Chapters
Kalar's Continent
Magic is a fickle thing, hard to grasp and even harder to truly master. Mana flows through everything in the world, every rock, plant, and human. They all breath, grow and influence their surroundings in their own right.Join Teo, a bright young boy with a gift for Arcane Magic, through his journey to tackle the Elements, master his Craft and climb to the very peak of magic itself.Who will he meet, friends or foes? Trusted companions or bitter rivals? Will he be able to find his answer and get to the real meaning of magic, all while wrestling with the complex laws of nature and his own unripe emotions?There is only one way to find out.The story will start with a few chapters of introductions in volume 1 to establish the characteristics and the nature of the world the characters live in. After that, it will probably become a lot more fast-paced and incorporate real story progression. My goal is to fuse the common magic advancement system in a weak-to-strong fashion, together with elements of naturalism, magic combat action and little bits and pieces of science, wherever necessary, to form a bright and interesting story about a boy chasing his dreams about magic. Please consider supporting me on Patreon.
8 131 - In Serial9 Chapters
Daylily
This is the tale of two sisters, Lis and Rafflesia, whose lives are tainted by obsession and the sin of charisma. Lis is known as the "Daylily", a courtesan of love for just a single day. Her sister Rafflesia is a girl with a dark secret. Their daily life slowly spirals out of control and reaches an unknown frontier of the forbidden unseen world. What is freedom without love? What is love without freedom?
8 94 - In Serial18 Chapters
Human Crisis
The fictional setting of Felarya, a dimension where larger people eat smaller people alive, is turned on its head when one of its most notorious predators ends up as a mere human. Note: Felarya and Crisis along with some other characters belong to Karbo, other characters belong to FrenchSnack, and a few characters are mine. The creators of each character will be credited at the end of each chapter in which the character appears.
8 232 - In Serial23 Chapters
Cute but Psycho (Emmett Cullen)
Piper Swan is the older sister of Isabella Swan. Piper is quite outgoing and funny when she wants to be. She's overprotective of her little sister, especially since Bella was so introverted and shy. When the Swan sisters come back to Forks, Washington to live with their father, Bella starts her junior year of high school, whilst Piper starts her senior year. There's many secrets the girls have to find out while going through high school, and there's a few secrets the girls have to keep as well. Piper never believed in true love, since every boyfriend or girlfriend she ever had ruined their relationship by cheating or simply dumping the girl when they were no longer satisfied with their relationship. After meeting a certain Cullen, will her outlook on true love change, or will she forever hate the idea of true love?
8 133

