You Can Steel my Heart

She opened up the crate, and looked at her new toy-or, at least the pieces of it. The assembly instructions were pretty simple. All she had to do was attach its arms and legs, then hit the power button. Its eyes lit up, and it wasted no time. "Greetings!", a surprisingly gender neutral voice said, "you are now the proud owner of a H.A.R.M. Tech childhood development aid Android. I am excited to meet you! Before I introduce myself, I am required by law to inform you that I am a supplement to human contact, not a replacement. I am not a replacement for any lost loved ones. I am not a suitable candidate for romantic or word omitted for child model relationships. I am also legally obligated to inform you that any and all behavior of mine from here on out is strictly a result of my programming and not indicative of any emotional connection. I am not a replacement for human contact. Due to multiple legal and ethical reasons, I am not fully self aware." The Android paused for a moment. "Obligations complete. Now I will introduce myself. I am Android Child Development Aid Mk IV. Serial number 998765763421. Would you like me to load the male or female personality model? Or would you prefer I remain as I am?" The machine had been prattling on for so long that the young girl forgot herself for a moment. "Uh...male." "Understood. Please note that there is a three month window where my personality module can be changed without damaging my accumulated memory and behavior reprogramming. Downloading male module...complete!" The last word was spoken in a different, distinctly male voice.

"What would you like my name to be?"

"Uhmmm...." she wracked her brain. Mommy probably wouldn't like it if she gave it daddy's old name. Maybe she could ask the robot?

"Excuse me, Mr. Robot? What do you want to be named?"

"I am incapable of holding a preference."

"Oh." Drat. She wracked her brain some more, and finally it hit her. A stroke of genius, if she did say so herself.

"I'm going to name you Ken, because he's my favorite toy, and now you're my new favorite toy!"

"An excellent choice ma'am. This unit's designation is now Ken."

"We're going to have a lot of fun Ken!"

"I am now required to ask: what is your name, ma'am?"

"I'm Sarah."

"I look forward to our time together, Miss Sarah."



"I do not understand. Why is the bear consuming tea in this scenario? Bears do not drink tea."

"It doesn't have to make sense, Ken. Its just pretend." Sarah sighed. The first few months after an Android's life were filled almost entirely with questions. Like a child's development, only significantly faster. At least, that's what the back of the box said. At least his voice was nice. Soft, but still distinctly masculine and deep. But not too deep.

It reminded her of her dad, which was why she had had Ken keep the personality module running. She had to admit, his questions had become less frequent. As he asked them, he further added to his program and developed a more detailed behavioral model.

"I'm leaving for my date now honey! ...you know, the CEO?" her mother's voice rang out from downstairs.

Sarah didn't say a word.

"..fine, be that way. Someone's got to pay to keep this fancy house's lights on with your father gone and you keeping such a tight leash on your wallet!"

Sarah clenched her fists.

"Keep an eye on her, Ken! I've got to go, my car is leaving."

"Understood, Miss Krishnay." Ken replied. Loud enough to be heard, but not too loud.

Sarah heard her mother go out the door, and then turned to glare at Ken. "We're not talking to her, Ken, remember?"

"I do remember. I am also obligated by my programming to respect parental figures."

"Ugh..."

"Your mother's goals seem reasonable to me. She must pay for the house, so she will engage in word age restricted with this man, in exchange for monetary compensation. If you do not like this behavior, why do you not simply pay the bills with your inheritance?"

"I do pay the bills. Father specified in his will that I must be in full control of my wealth, regardless of my age. That's why I don't have to pay for all of mom's stupid dates."

"Your father placed a lot of trust in you."

"Yeah, he did..." They continued the tea party in silence.

"Hey, Ken...what was the word that was age restricted?"

"That word was word age restricted."

"Uh...can you write it out?" She handed him a pen and paper. Ken took it and began writing. Less then a second later, "Task Completed." He handed Sarah the paper.

Sarah looked at the page. In big black letters was written:

"WORD AGE RESTRICTED"

"..never mind, Ken.



"You should probably get dressed now, Miss Sarah." Ken's voice echoed from beyond her bathroom door.

"I'm not going, Ken. I hate him, and I hate mom."

"Regardless of your opinion on the groom, your mother will engage in disciplinary action if you are not present. Shall I get the outfit your mother picked out for you?"

"...fine." She opened the bathroom door to see Ken standing in front of her. She had given him a bow tie that had belonged to her father, along with a rather absurd top hat she had picked out for him. They looked silly on his skeletal frame, but also oddly cute. Sarah hoped it would annoy her mother, and also Stanley.



Sarah was ready soon enough. There wasn't really a need to rush, as the wedding was going to be in the back yard. She and Ken exited through the door out on to the patio, and walked together to where everyone was seated. She saw Stanley up there next to the minister, his fat face looking jovial, but his eyes looking like those of a predator, as usual.

She heard the music, and saw her mother coming down the white carpet. She was sporting her traditional fake smile under her veil. Someone had given grandpa enough drugs to hold his brain together long enough to give mother away.

The ceremony was mercifully brief. The reception, however, was not. Sarah tried to hide in her room with Ken, but mother would have none of it. So, she sat in the living room with Ken, waiting for it to be over.

Grandpa came over, with two glasses of punch. "Hello, sweetheart." His smile was genuine, and there was only the slightest hint of delusion in his eyes. "You momma had me doped up to my gills to get me here. Prolly' shaved a year off my life, not that she would care. Come to think of it, I don't mind much either. I been meaning to talk to you, in the moments where my brain isn't a lukewarm bowl of spaghetti."

Sarah smiled. She'd always liked grandpa, and was devastated when his dementia started ripping him apart. She was glad to see him back to normal, if only for a little bit. Grandpa went on "I've seen the way you're looking at Stanley. You wear your heart on your sleeve, as usual."

Sarah's expression grew angry. "I hate him. He always looks like some big...lizard that's gonna gobble me up."

Grandpa laughed "Out of the mouths of babes. Oh, your grandmother would have been rolling on the floor... anyway, your father was a smart man. He wrapped up your money in so much legal red tape, it'd take an army of lawyers to sift through it." He laughed at his own joke. Then his face grew serious. "I love my Christine with all my heart, but I'll admit she can't be trusted with such a large sum of money, especially after what she did with the money your father left her. A sad day when a man can only rely on his nine year old daughter...

Anyway, be careful around Stanley. He's a slippery little snake, and he's got enough cash to hire that army of lawyers. Don't do anything he asks. No matter how harmless it seems. Keep all your data" -he rapped Kens head lightly with his cane- "in this good fellow over here. They programmed him with some of the best cyber security out there. Every Android is personally loyal to their owner-so far as its legal, anyway. Your info's safe with him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna talk to some old army buddies, though that's probably just the drugs wearing off...see ya, sweetie."

Sarah had been hanging on every word. She trusted grandpa, and she trusted Ken. "Ken, activate cyber security protocols until further notice."
"Understood." Sarah sighed. That wasn't child locked, but bad words were?



Sarah was sitting on the patio, pouting. She hated Stanley's house, but mother was adamant that they should live here. Sarah may have owned their old house, but mother was still her legal guardian. Mother had tried to get rid of Ken, but Sarah had fought that harder than anything in her entire life, and Mother had routed from the battlefield of that argument. She felt an unpleasantly familiar cold shiver down her spine, and she knew Stanley was coming. "Ken, set cyber security factor to condition two."

"Understood, Miss Sarah."

"Goodness, whatever's the matter my dear?"

Sarah suppressed a a powerful urge to scream. "What do you want, Stanley?"

"No need to be so rude. I'm just here to collect your hand print to send some updated information to the public records." He held up a data pad.

"...Alright, give it here." She placed here hand on the pad.

"I'll just take that, my dear..."

Sarah grinned. "Oh there's no need, Ken can send the data. Here you go Ken."

"Understood" a brief pause while he plugged himself into the machine. No wireless connections to foreign objects in cyber security mode. "Data sent."

"See Stanley, you didn't have to go to all the trouble." Sarah smiled her sweetest smile.

Stanley smiled wide, while his eyes glared cold death at her. "Of course my dear, I'll take that back...and, the hand print file was wiped. What if we needed that later, dear?"

"Oh, well, we'll just have to take another then, won't we. Can't be to careful with all the scum there is in the world, can we Stanley?" Sarah winked.

Stanley's smile almost vanished, and he quickly left the room, looking red. Sarah felt her own smile fade, and a knot of worry tightened in her stomach.

"Ken, will you set your night time security settings to maximum?"

"I have since the moment we arrived, Miss Sarah."

"...Thanks Ken."