Chapter 2
Arrival
Seymour appeared in the doorway and slipped past Jane’s legs onto the porch. He approached the crate cautiously and sniffed it.
Jane looked down at the crate. “…Okay.”
She went into the garage and returned with a small pry bar. Kneeling beside the crate, she wedged it beneath the lid and pushed.
The wood groaned.
A nail popped free, then another.
Jane grabbed the edge with both hands and pulled.
CRACK.
The remaining nails tore loose, and the lid came free.
Inside were layers of plastic and Styrofoam, packed thickly around whatever the crate contained.
On top sat an envelope.
Plain. Centered. Deliberate.
READ THIS FIRST.
Jane picked up the envelope, glanced at it, then looked back into the crate.
“…Nope. Let’s see what this is first.”
She set the envelope aside on the porch.
She knelt beside the crate again and pulled back the plastic. It crinkled loudly in the quiet morning as she worked through layer after layer. Pieces of Styrofoam were packed tightly around something solid.
Jane peeled away the final sheet and froze.
A face.
Smooth. Pale. Still.
“What the—”
She jerked backward, and the sheet of plastic slipped from her hands.
“What the hell is this?”
Jane leaned forward again, moving more slowly this time, and pulled away the rest of the packing.
Arms. Torso. Legs.
All of it tucked neatly into the crate as though it belonged there.
A robot.
Jane stepped back, one hand rising to her mouth. “Oh my God…”
Then she remembered.
“The beta test thing.”
She laughed, half in disbelief. “It’s a robot? An actual freaking robot?”
Jane circled the crate once, her eyes wide now. “Wow. Holy crap… this is amazing!”
She pointed toward it and glanced at Seymour. “Look at this thing. Maybe we can teach it to feed you dinner.”
Seymour didn’t move. He sat a few feet away, staring at the robot with open suspicion, his tail wrapped tightly around his paws.
Judging.
Jane laughed again. “Okay, yeah… you’re not impressed.”
She bent down and picked up the envelope. “All right. I guess I should figure out how to turn this thing on.”
Jane turned it over in her hands and hesitated for just a second before sliding her finger beneath the flap.
Inside was a thick, neatly folded packet. Clean. White. Minimal.
At the top, it read:
RCAM SYSTEMS Robotic Creations, AI and Movement
USER INITIALIZATION GUIDE — BETA PROGRAM
“…Wow,” Jane muttered. “That sounds official.”
She opened the packet.
Congratulations, Jane.
You have been selected to participate in the RCAM Systems Robotics Beta Program.