snippit of A.I.A.D.

Like all great mad scientists, Richard, a 17 year old prodigal genius, worked diligently in his family’s dark basement. With minimal light leaking in thru the slender windows high above his head and the various light bulbs dangling on a single cord that swayed slightly as he moved about the room. The basement had never been finished and Richards father, a garbage man, lacked the necessary skills and motivation to finish it. Richard only lacked the former. Richard’s face was covered in acne and long lanky frame bore a white lab coat, a long since faded ACDC t-shirt and jeans far too big for him cinched in with a black leather belt. His hair had grown long over the last several months but his face remained clean shaven. A daily routine he refused to shake himself of regardless of how anxious he felt.

He had finished the walls with the drywall he found and some he had procured with money from his part time job tutoring fellow students and selling the tiny robots he built. It was clumsily done but it did the job. A small space heater for the cold winter nights and an air purifier to keep his asthma at bay was all he needed. Over time he had added a small fridge, a hot plate and a toaster over as his days ‘outside’ grew shorter and shorter. While concerned for his overall health, his parents were quite proud of their son’s achievements so far and knew that his intelligence was a force neither they nor even Richard, could reckon with. Once he had his mind set on something he could not rest until it was complete. At least, this time, he was still attending school.

Ironically, his attendance to school is the only thing that kept his appearance from going downhill. But not for a girl or the sake of others. He was a loner. But a popular loner. He was as attractive as he was intelligent. Only he neither knew nor cared. Girls would throw themselves at him constantly at school but he paid them no mind. Which made him a god amongst his fellow scholastic brethren. His robot gadgets were popular thru out the whole school, the whole town in fact and kept the money rolling in. Some of which went to his parents. Which they would find sitting in an envelope on the kitchen table almost weekly. The rest would go to funding his project and his ability to function in the basement uninterrupted.

His attendance at school, ironically enough, was for use of the computers. His school, despite being in a incredibly underpopulated area of the world, was home to one of the biggest and most powerful super computers in the world. The computer science instructor was none other than Dr. Lawrence Howell. Creator of the worlds first servant robot, the ’T-Law’, whom could take instructions quickly and deliver a series of domestic actions. Within the first year after its creation this robot became a household staple. It took the burden off of the stay at home house wife and allowed her the freedom to do as she choose. Whether it be work or enjoyment. The T-Law was programmed to perform all household and domestic applications possible. It could clean, fetch groceries, cook, do laundry and even mind the children. Later versions would give it the capability to look after babies as the animatronics were modified to allow for more delicate handling.

Dr. Howell had been born and raised in the same town as Richard when he had developed the T-Law at the tender age of 20 in his fathers garage. He had been assisted by two classmates at the time and when the T-Law was bought by the US government Dr. Howell brought those classmates and several others along, creating T-Law Robotics. While scientists came and went, and his success made him wildly rich, Dr. Howell maintained a minimum 80% of his staff compliment to be from his hometown and the headquarters as well, remained in his hometown. As he got older, Dr. Howell created the robotics computer science course at all the high schools in town and once a week taught at them. Thus giving him the opportunity of fine tuning minds that would become future employees of his organization as well as a three year ‘interview’ to help him weed out the bad candidates.

Before Richard had even started high school, Dr. Howell had sought him out. In middle school the level of proficiency he had shown in his understanding of robotics was astounding. At the age of 10 years Richard was already succeeding where Dr. Howell had been at 20. He created robots at a speed that was inhuman and yet each generation improved upon the last with alarming rate. Dr. Howell met Richard at a local science fair where he was a judge. He had been floored by Richards robot that could perform magic tricks. Not because of its accuracy, but its ability to read the audience and decide how to ‘react’ based on the audiences reactions, nuances and facial ticks. The level of programming that would have gone into it was mind boggling. He had created a robot that could learn in a way Dr. Howell never thought possible in his lifetime.

He knew that he had to have Richard on his team as soon as humanly possible. Richard, at that time, was only 11 years of age. Richard won first place in the fair and a free dinner for his family with Dr. Howell. At the dinner Dr. Howell expressed his intentions to Richards parents. They agreed to move to the other side of town so Richard could easily attend the newer middle school and then high school there which boasted top of the line computers and classes more geared towards the robotic computer science field. Richard would also have a job once he was finished high school, if not sooner. While his parents were hesitant at the change, Richard immediately agreed and signed his first contract of many.

His parents moved into a semi unfinished house (the basement) and while they did not live a life of luxury they were never uncomfortable. Dr. Howell made sure that Richards needs were all met and Richard, thru his work, made sure his parents were always comfortable.

The super computers were the pride of the both the middle school and high school. Only students registered in the robot computer science program were allowed to apply for super computer use. Application required a full project thesis and fully drawn out details outlining the purpose and expectations of the project that required the computers use. Very few students were allowed to use the computers but those who were were usually left to their own accord. Richard had had access to one since he was 13 years old. His projects had ranged from robotic mind re-programming where he had developed a program that would, once installed, would rewrite over the existing program completely, byte by byte, and erase any damage while upgrading the robot at the same time. The difference between what was currently done and his program was that his program could be installed and completed within 24 hours while current upgrades took up to a week and the current programs only added to the original programs. They didn’t rewrite over top. As a result, the current upgrades would often result in laggy programs and occasional glitches that would require a programmer to search thru the original program, find the errors and correct them manually. This program would eliminate the issue entirely.

When Richard finished this program he gave it to Dr. Howell for free. When Dr. Howell tried to pay him Richard insisted that it was payment for the house he lived in and the enrolment fees to high school. Both his parents and the doctor were impressed and awed at his decision but said no more.

Over the years Richard gained full access to the super computer without needing to apply nor explain his current project. Which worked in his favour for what he was currently working on. He often worked on the programming during the day, while at school. He attended all of his mandatory classes, english, social studies, and gym. He was fully aware of his social and physical limitations. He did not want to lose any muscle mass to the hours of physical inactivity that he constantly endured and while a ‘nerd’ to the jocks, they respected him greatly and led him thru a rigorous work out routine that kept him wiry but fit. A strength he would soon be grateful for as his work would soon required the same physical strength as a metal worker. Robotics unfortunately had not yet come up with a light weight material to make robots out of and as a result they often weighed up the same as a small car. This was something Richard hoped to address himself in the near future.

English and social studies kept him appraised of the worlds current situation as well as the current needs of his fellow students and the language that they preferred. How they talked to each other, what they felt comfortable with, what brought them to attention. These were all features that were instrumental in his current project. They as well, let him sit behind Jayne.

Jayne was tall, slender and a gymnastic. She performed at competitions on a world level. At school her hair was let down and flowed as far down as her knees. It was thick, wavy and smelled of roses and honey. She wore it with a comb pulling the sides up. A comb that he had secretly left in her desk one day. When she had found it she immediately stopped the class to inquire as to whom had given it to her. Richard had buried his nose further in the book that they were reading at the moment and the entire class was silent. Dissatisfied she could do nothing more than thank whomever had given it to her and from that day forth she wore it in her hair. Richard would stare at her hair for hours on end and that comb.

Aside from seeing Jayne in English class, he also tutored her in study period and after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She was the only student that he tutored for free. It was quite apparent to everyone in the entire school that he was madly in love with her. To everyone except Jayne herself. But that was perhaps because Jayne herself was too focused on Richard himself to even consider him liking her back. She had fallen for him back in middle school when he had helped her create an active volcano weather system model for her science fair project. Since then, she had always held him up onto a pedestal admiring him from afar. When he had started tutoring in high school she begged her best friend for copies of notes and to borrow her textbook for a class she wasn’t even taking just to have Richard tutor her in it. It was the classic case of two lovesick teenagers too absorbed in their own feelings to see anything else.

On this particular Tuesday, Jayne found Richard in the super computer room, diligently programming. She grabbed a chair and slid it beside him. She set her book bag down beside the chair and leaned over his shoulder casually.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked him softly. She asked this every time she found him in here. He would always smile and say “The same thing I do every day, try to take over the world.” It had taken her months to find the reference he was making. An old cartoon from their great grandparents generation. She had never responded to his reply but today she put a hand on his shoulder, leaned in close and asked him, “does my buck tooth really show that badly?”

He immediately stopped typing and turned to face her. His face frozen in an odd grin. They stared at each other for a moment before he burst out laughing. His laughter filled the room. Other students stopped to look over, surprised by the loudness and honesty behind the laughter. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes then spilled over, cascading down. Snot bubbled out of his nose and he hunched over, clutching his stomach. He tried to talk but his words came out in broken gasps between the laughter. Jayne, surprised at his reaction, leaned down and asked if he was alright. He nodded and sat upright, wiping the tears from his eyes. She giggled at the sight of his face and produced a makeup napkin from her bag. She wiped his face clean and smiled softly at him. His laughter subsiding the other students went back to their work.

Jayne resumed cleaning his face as Richard sat there motionless, caught up in the moment. Jayne too was lost in the moment, his face having been clean for some time now and her ‘grooming’ him was simply an excuse to touch him. Abruptly he grabbed her wrist. They locked eyes together briefly before he broke away and kissed the inside of her wrist gently.

He looked up her again, his eyes fierce with determination. “I will make you my wife.” He said softly.

Her eyes melted but her lips turned up coyly. “Have a successful job that you can support me with once my career is over and invent something mind blowing and I will be your wife.” She said with a dance on her lips.

Without faltering or hesitating Richard simply replied, “I start at T-Law Robotics in two weeks after graduation and then, on my first day there, I will reveal the greatest thing known to mankind since sliced bread.” He smiled as her jaw went slack and her eyes grew wide. He turned back to the super computer and resumed his programming. The rest of the students began to whisper amongst each other, wondering what he had made.