Debbi's Diary Chapter 20: Shopping

[Murotsu]

Chapter 20: Shopping

“Hey, you’re acting like Marvin from Hitchhiker’s” Brad said, rubbing my shoulders.

“Reference not found” I robotically growled back.

“It’s a… Never mind.” Brad sat down beside me. “Deb, you need to cheer up. It’s hard on me too, you being all depressed and glum.”

“Sorry Master. It is Zoe disappearing, all the hassles I get for being robotic, it… It hurts!” I started crying.


That weekend Britany showed up. “Hey Deb, Brad told me you were really depressed. I thought I’d come by and cheer you up. How about we go shopping? That always cheers me up.”

“I cannot go beyond five kilometers of this location without Brad accompanying me. There are few good stores nearby.”

“That’s okay. You’ll be with me and Brad gave his permission for me to use you for shopping. Problem solved. That way you don’t get hassled. Didn’t you B_r_a_d?”
“Besides, shopping is something we girls do. Making Brad tag along would be totally annoying. It’ll be great!”

“I do have extensive shopping programs installed” I replied, looking up at her with a smile. “I do not get to use them all that often.”

“Cool! I bet you’re like a super shopper or something. I’ve never shopped with a girlbot before. Let’s get changed and we’ll head out. Wear something you can get into and out of easily so we can try on clothes!”

“Hey Deb, you do have money don’t you? If not I’ll beat Brad up for you and make him give you some.”

We headed into my bedroom to change. “Brad lets me keep fifty percent of what I make on my lease. The rest goes to pay rent and my electricity bill. I use more power than any other appliance in our apartment. I have six thousand one hundred and seven dollars currently available.”

Britany started laughing. “You’re not an ATM, you know?”

I put on white tights with a blue and pink geometric pattern on them, a denim mini, and a spring yellow T-top with a “Danger High Voltage” warning and triangle on the front. I had on short fur lined boots.

“You look great!” Britany said. “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor.” She pointed at my top.

“Yes you did” I replied. “I have told jokes before.”

“Deb, I noticed you don’t have body hair or a belly button” she replied. “That is normal for girlbots?”

“Many of us do not even have lady parts.” I replied. “But, I do, and Brad knows all about them.” I gave her a huge grin.

“You naughty little girlbot! You’ve been banging my brother?”

“No, he bangs me. I gave him full access. Males are output, females are input.” I made myself sound robotic saying that.

“You need a coat?” Britany was putting hers on, still laughing.

“Not required. The temperature outside is within my operating parameters. I can wear one if it will make me fit in better.”

“One second human, the next machine, that’s what makes you so cool. Come on, let’s go.”

“Understood. Coming Mistress.”

“What? You are not calling me mistress! You can pull that crap on my retard brother but I’m your friend and…”

Brad was sitting at the dinner table listening to us argue. He started laughing. “Told you she’s a handful! Oh, make sure you take a USB cord and your tablet to make full use of Deb.”

When we got to the first store, there were those awful detector things at the entrance. At least the store did not ban robots.

“Britany, wait.” I was opening a small panel on my left forearm.

She looked over to see what I was doing. “What’s that? Some secret robot thing?”

“No silly. It is my degaussing system switch. Brad had this installed for me but the on-off control is manual.”

“Degaussing system? What’s that for?”

I pointed at the detectors. “Those. Those things are horrible. My degaussing system blocks the signal. Once I am through I can turn it off. I cannot understand why Humans even allow them.”

Britany laughed. “It’s so weird some of the things you have to put up with.”

I gave her an evil eye and stuck out my tongue at her. “I was computing the same thing about you.”

Inside the store I instantly knew they used RFID tags on all the products. “I have to be careful talking to the products” I said.

Britany gave me the weirdest look. “What?”

“This store uses electronic price tags on everything. All I have to do is ask a product what its price is or for other information and I can know all about it. I can find anything they carry at the best price in an instant. It is so annoying when I have to shop like a… like a human.”

Britany got a big smile. “You can really do that? That is totally awesome! I’ve been wanting an embroidered top in purple size nine or a medium, but never could find one I liked.”

I stood motionless for three point six one seconds. “There are twelve tops in this store matching your description.”

Britany grabbed my hand. “Cool! What are you waiting for? Show me where they are!”

“Understood, Britany.”


We spent the whole day shopping. Britany found a top she liked with my help.

“Britany, I need to recharge” I told her as we left another store. “I have one hour sixteen minutes of battery power left.”

“Then we should head home” she replied.

“I compute it will take us approximately one hour thirty seven minutes to make the trip. I cannot make it without recharging.”

“So, what do we do?” I could tell Britany was worried.

“The nearest robot charging station is two blocks from here.” I pointed in its direction. “I will need about thirty minutes of charging to safely get back home. But, Brad does not allow me to use a public station like that one unless he stays with me. You will have to stay there and protect me while I charge.”

On the way she got a sandwich and a drink.

We entered the station. There were a dozen other robots, mostly female models, in charging stands like the one I had at home. The place had a foul odor and the lighting was harsh. At the entrance a human male sat behind a small counter. His chin rested on his hand and he was using a tablet. He didn’t look up at us. “Put your ‘bot in six.” He pointed in that direction. “Pay at the end.”

“How long would it take you to fully charge up?” Britany asked as I got myself hooked up.

“Ninety six minutes” I replied. “That would cost ten dollars.”

Britany looked at her watch. “Charge yourself to a hundred percent, okay? That’s no longer than I sit at the laundromat and you’re way more important than washing clothes.”

I smiled back, giving her a hug. “Understood, thank you.”