For Your Safety: Mimsey's Tale, cont.

[jeriendhal]

Part One

STATUS: Green

CONNECTION: Online

DATE/TIME: 10/9/2177 1535

Fact: It is a School Day

Fact: Caroline attends the Martin Luther King Public Elementary School on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for social integration and reinforcement of home school studies.

Fact: School ended thirty-five minutes ago.

Obejective: Escort Caroline safely to Home.

Mimsey escorts Caroline the 2.5 kilometer walk from school to Home. Caroline has remained within the two meter radius requested while they walk. Caroline informed Mother on 10/7/2177 that she is a "big girl" and should not be required to hold hands with Mimsey the length of the walk. Mother agreed with this assessment and informed Mimsey that hand holding is no longer a required safety measure, but Caroline must stay close. "Close" is defined as a two meter radius of Mimsey's position, allowing Mimsey to take hold of Caroline in case of emergency within one second of completed threat evaluation.

They are two hundred meters from Home. They are seven meters away from the intersection. Traffic control consists a four way stop sign.

Mimsey receives a signal from the local traffic control network. A white Mitsubishi Fuso FS panel truck, license #MDC-7652, is approaching the intersection under manual control. It is traveling fifteen kilometers above the posted 35 kph speed limit and has just be fined.

Caroline is two meters from the intersection. Mimsey is four meters from the intersection. The truck is ten meters from the intersection.

"Caroline, wait for me," Mimsey calls out. Caroline does not indicate she heard Mimsey's warning. Twenty meters ahead is Linda Wooten, age seven, a designated Friend. Carolina sees her and darts outside of the designated safety radius and into the traffic crossing.

She does not see the truck.

Objective: Protect Caroline from harm.

Mimsey crouches low and increases power to her leg motors to 175%. This cuts approximately three months from their expected lifespan, but at this point Mimsey's world is about to struck by a five metric ton panel truck and that must not be allowed to happen.

She leaps, jumping the now six meter gap between her and Caroline. The truck's forward sensors spot Caroline and immediately apply the brakes, but the truck is overloaded and skids across the black tarmac and into the crosswalk.

Mimsey strikes Caroline and wraps her arms tight around the girl, twisting to allow the impact of the truck to hit Mimsey in the back. She and Caroline are thrown forward into the street, where there is a red Ford Sparrow sports car approaching at fifty kph. It is under auto control and began emergency braking the moment the truck notified traffic control it had struck a pedestrian.

It is not going to stop in time.

STATUS: RED

DAMAGE STATE: LOWER BODY ARTICULATION SEVERELY DAMAGED, LEFT HIP FRAME SEVERLY DAMAGED, PSEUDO SKIN COMPROMISED.

CONNECTION: Online. 999 CONNECTED.

DATE/TIME: 10/9/2177 1537

999, please state the nature of your emergency.

I am Mimsey, a Google-Sony Felicia v9 Companion. My programming focus is Caroline Annabelle Lee, a seven year old Anglo-Asian female weighing approximately sixty kilograms with black hair and blue eyes. We have been struck by a white Mitsubishi Fuso FS panel truck, license #MDC-7652. We are about to be struck by a Ford Sparrow, license #FMG-2712. Please send an ambulance and police unit to our location.

Ambulance and police units have been dispatched. Do you require further assistance?

<CONNECTION CUT>

REBOOT SUCCESSFUL

STATUS: RED

DAMAGE STATE: LOWER BODY ARTICULATION DESTROYED, LEFT AND RIGHT HIPS FRAMES DESTOYED, LEFT ARM SEVERELY DAMAGED, LEFT SHOULDER SEVERELY DAMAGED, LOWER TORSO BATTERIES DAMAGED AND LEAKING, PSEUDO SKIN SEVERELY COMPROMISED.

WARNING: POWER AT 10%. RECHARGE IMMEDIATELY.

CONNECTION: OFFLINE. UNABLE TO CONNECT.

DATE/TIME: 10/9/2177 1542

Objective: Locate Caroline.

Mimsey successfully reboots and immediately scans for Caroline. She not within Mimsey's visual sensor field. Mimsey's wireless modem is offline so she cannot locate Caroline using the GPS tracker clipped to Caroline's belt. Several unknown adult humans are shouting and this obscures the ambient sounds sufficiently that it takes her 1.3 seconds to locate the sound of Caroline's sobbing three meters away.

Caroline is alive. This is positive.

Caroline is crying. This is negative.

Objective: Determine Caroline's current health. Stabilize her condition if required until ambulance arrives.

Objective: Help Caroline stop crying.

WARNING: POWER AT 8%. RECHARGE IMMEDIATELY.

Mimsey right presses against the rear wheel of the Ford Sparrow that is pinning Mimsey to the ground. She is unable to free herself.

"Caroline! Are you all right?"

"Mimsey! Lemme go! I got to see Muh-muh-mimsey!"

WARNING: POWER AT 6%. RECHARGE IMMEDIATELY.

An adult African male kneels within Mimsey's range of vision. "Are you Mimsey?" he asks.

"Yes. Please, is Caroline all right?"

"Broke her ankle I think, and got some scrapes. Other than that she's just scared. Would've been a lot worse if you hadn't chucked her into the bushes."

WARNING: POWER AT 4%. RECHARGE IMMEDIATELY.

Caroline is hurt. That is negative.

Caroline is still crying. That is negative.

"Please contact her parents. Their contact information is on Caroline's phone."

"I will, kitty."

WARNING: POWER AT 2%. RECHARGE IMMEDIATELY.

Ambulance and police sirens sound in the distance. Mimsey also identifies Mrs. Lee's voice.

"Caroline baby, what happened?"

"I saw Linda an' I ran out into the street an' Mimsey saved me from the truck an' I'm suh-suh-sorry!"

"It's okay, baby. Mommy is here. Mommy is here."

"Mimsey's hurt!"

"It's okay, baby. We'll buy you a new one."

SHUTDOWN.

* * *

STATUS: Green

CONNECTION: Online

DATE/TIME: 10/15/2177 1037

Fact: She is a Google-Sony Felecia v10 Companion.

Fact: Her previous incarnation was destroyed, and that unit's memories uploaded to this new machinemorph under her warranty agreement.

Fact: Caroline is standing 1.5 meters in front of her, next to Mr. Lee. Her expression indicates apprehension.

Directive: Caroline should never be afraid of Mimsey.

"See, honey. It's Mimsey, just like we told you."

"It's not Mimsey. Mimsey got broken!"

"She's your new Mimsey."

"I want the old one!"

"Honey, I told you. They couldn't fix her."

Mimsey smiles. "It's okay, Caroline. It's still me inside."

Caroline is frowning. "You look different."

"They gave me a new body. I have a really fluffy tail now. Isn't it neat?" Mimsey waves her tail in demonstration.

Caroline is silent for six seconds. "Is it really you, Mimsey?"

"Yes, Caroline. It's really me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Caroline, it really is me."

"Okay." Caroline's frown disappears. This is positive.

Mr. Lee places his hand on Caroline's shoulder. "I think you need to say something to Mimsey, don't you?"

Caroline nods. "Mimsey, I-I'm sorry I ran into the street and you got hurt so bad saving me. I'm sorry." She begins to cry.

Action: Kneel down to Caroline's eye level. Hug.

"It's okay. I'm here now. Everything is okay. I'll always protect you.

"Promise?"

"Promise."