Chapter 2 · Continued
Arrival
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the robot’s posture changed subtly. The lights beneath his surface dimmed, and his head lowered slightly.
“Oh no—”
Jane stepped back, her eyes widening. “Oh no, no, no. What did I do?”
The robot went completely still.
“I broke it!”
A soft tone sounded.
“Charging cycle initiated.”
The robot lifted his head slightly.
“External power source connected. Entering low-power standby mode.”
Jane froze. “…What?”
“I am not damaged,” he continued calmly. “This is normal behavior during initial charge stabilization.”
Jane stared at him, then released a long breath. “Okay. Good. I was afraid they might make me send you back.”
The robot appeared to consider that for a moment.
“I do not believe a return would be necessary.”
Seymour hopped down from the couch, walked over to the robot, and sniffed him. Then he sat directly in front of him and waited.
Jane leaned back against the counter, watching the two of them.
Seymour remained suspicious.
The robot remained plugged into the wall, calm and motionless.
Still… there.
“This is incredible,” Jane murmured.
She studied the robot for a moment, tilting her head slightly. “Do you… have a name?”
His eyes shifted toward her.
Processing.
“I have a unit designation assigned by RCAM Systems.”
Jane made a face. “Yeah, no. I’m not calling you that.”
“I do not have a user-assigned name,” the robot replied.
Jane nodded slowly. “Okay… well, that feels wrong.”
Silence settled between them for a moment.
Seymour flicked his tail.
Jane glanced at the manual on the table, then back at the robot. Her eyes settled on the RCAM Systems logo.
“…Cam.”
The robot tilted his head slightly. “Cam,” he repeated.
Jane shrugged. “I don’t know. It just… fits.”
“I will respond to ‘Cam,’” he said.
Jane smiled faintly. “Good.”
From the couch, Seymour gave a small, unimpressed blink.
Jane picked up the manual and flipped through the pages. “All right… let’s see. Page eight.”
She glanced at Cam. “It says here I need to connect you to the internet.”
“Yes,” he replied. “I require network access to utilize GPS, retrieve external data, and support user-directed queries. Additionally, continuous connectivity is required to receive automated software updates.”
Jane made a face. “Of course it is.”
“You may enter your network credentials using the same access panel utilized for the power connection.”
Jane walked over and crouched beside him. “Okay… let’s get you online.”
The small panel along his side opened again with a soft click. A faint interface lit up inside, simple and clean.