Debbi's Diary Chapter 22: Family part 2

[Murotsu]

Chapter 22: Family part 2

The apartment phone chime went off. I recognized the name and number of the caller.

“Master, your mother is calling!”

Brad came out of his bedroom, earphones and a mic on. He sighed heavily. “You know the drill Deb.”

“Understood.” I headed for my room.

Brad had not told his parents about me. His sister, when she visited, promised she would not say anything to them. From my room I could still hear the conversation.

Brad was standing in front of the larger vid screen in the common room.

“Brad, what’s this I hear about you having a sex robot?” his mother said.

“How do you know I have a robot?” Brad replied.

“I saw it on the news. Something about an attack you and your sex robot were at.”

I bit my lip.

Brad sighed heavily. “She isn’t a sex robot. She’s a companion mom. She does the cleaning, laundry, that sort of thing. I even leased her to a company as a secretary to make some extra money. Yea, I took her somewhere to let her have some fun…”

“That’s not what I hear. I heard she’s sleeping with you and she’s… well, one of those things. Your father and I aren’t happy…”

She may be Brad’s mother, but it is SO on! Nobody is going to insinuate I am some sort of mindless robot whore. I burst out of the bedroom and marched up to the screen.

Crap! I did not check my appearance first! Panties and a camisole will not make a good first impression. I should have disconnected my power cord at least…
“That is your robot? So it is a…”

Hands on hips. “I am not a mindless sex robot and I am certainly not a whore! You do not know me, and I definitely am not an IT! How dare you insult me like that!”

“Deb! Calm down!”

“Calm down my plastic ass! If she should be mad at anyone, it is you! You did not tell her about me!” I was alternately waving my arms at the screen and Brad.

“Why didn’t you tell us about her?” his mother chimed in. It turned into two on one…

“Deb! Stop! Quiet!” Brad shouted at me.

I came to rigid attention. I could not move or speak. Damn him! I hate it more than anything that he can control me like that!

“What’d you do to her?” His mother was screaming at him.

Things went downhill fast for Brad. Later I apologized. He did too.


“You know, the two of you made me take the week after next off and go home don’t you?” Brad said.

“I am sorry Master. I did not mean to get you in trouble with your parents. It was… I was really angry that your mother called me…”

“Well, you’re going with me.” He gave me a big grin.

“I am? How Master? The lease, my job…”

You see, robots do not get vacation or sick time off from work like humans do. Technically, well legally, I am a piece of office equipment.

We were in bed that night. “I’ll call ADL and tell them you require servicing because of that incident. That way you can go and I won’t be breaking the lease.” Brad rolled on top of me.

“You will lie to them?”

“Yep.” I could feel his hand near my crotch. “Deb, you really need to find a better place to put your power cord…”


We were flying to his parent’s home. It would be my first time on an airplane. I was so excited. Brad bought me a regular ticket, like he was getting, rather than one for robots.

At the airport I had to go through the security line for robots, rather than humans. They run this x-ray machine over you. Brad told me later it was harmful to humans but okay for robots. The security workers in my line were all robots like me.

In the waiting area at the gate I was one of three robots. “Master, there are very few robots present.

“Most people send theirs in cargo, like I said” Brad replied. “I didn’t think you’d want to be stuffed in your shipping container and turned off.”

“Thank you Master!” I gripped his arm tightly and put my head on his shoulder.


Aboard the plane the crew was a mix of human and robot. As we sat waiting for the plane to leave a fembot stewardess came up to us. “Sir, you will have to shut your robot’s active electronics off until the Captain says it is safe for them to be on. That includes her Lidar, and communications links.”

“Deb…”

“Understood Master.” I turned those off. Having my Lidar off was particularly disconcerting. Not having a 360 degree “feel” for my surroundings was so wrong for me.

During the flight, the stewardesses handed out refreshments to the passengers. “What would you like to drink, sir?” a human stewardess asked Brad as she handed him a snack package.

Brad pointed at a canned beverage. “One of those’ll be fine.”

The stewardess handed it to him with a cup of ice.

“Oh, do you have any robot friendly drinks?” he asked. “I don’t want my companion feeling left out.”

“Of course.” One of the robot stewardesses brought me a can of robot drink.

I felt so good that Brad spoke up for me. “Thank you for getting me a drink Master. I love you.”

“Hey, it’s nothing. As much crap as you put up with you deserve a break when I can get you one.”


When we arrived, Brad’s parents were at the airport to pick us up. It was a very quiet ride to their home.

“So, kid, what model did you get anyway?” Brad’s dad asked, as we were going into the house.

“Deb’s a series ten girlbot. The manufacturer made a mistake and sent me a special order model that’s really unique. Debbi’s made my life way better.”

I uncontrollably did my little praise dance. “Thank you for praising me Master!”

His mom wheeled on her heel. “What was that? Did you program her to do that? Why is she calling you Master?”

Brad did not answer.

“Brad did not program me to do that” I replied, firmly. “It is a pre-programmed response I have to praise. I have a similar negative response to being scolded. He cannot modify it.”

“I call Brad Master because it makes things easier for both of us when we deal with humans that do not know me. Brad let me choose to do that. I do not mind. I depend on him to do things and make decisions. It is one of the shortcomings I have, being a robot.”

“Well, she sure isn’t like any robot I’ve ever seen” his father replied. “Think this is going to interesting.”

As we got inside, I looked at Brad with worry. “Master I am down to fourteen point one percent charge. It has been eleven point six one hours since my last charge. I need to recharge soon.”

Brad helped me get a long charge cord out of our luggage and got me plugged in while his parents watched. “Better?”

I shook my head and smiled. “Thank you.”

Brad looked at his parents. “Deb can be a chore to take care of sometimes, but she’s definitely worth the trouble.”

Brad’s dad let their pet dog in the house. When he saw me he started barking. I tried to be friendly and took their advice on how to get him to like me. Nothing worked.

“He always barks at the vacuum cleaner and we had one of those cleaning robots that scoot around. He tore that up too” his mother said.

“He does not like me because I am a robot and not human?” I asked.

“Could be” Brad’s dad said.

I bit my lip frowning. “I hate being a robot. It is so unfair.”


Over the next few days I tried my very best to get along and make Brad’s parents like me. I did not seem to be making much progress. That had me depressed.

“Can I be of assistance making dinner?” I asked Brad’s mother.

“Do you know how to cook?”

“Yes,” I smiled at her. “I cook for Brad all the time. I have an extensive cooking program and eight hundred sixty two recipes in my data base to choose from.”

We worked on dinner.

“Put a couple of pinches of salt in that” she told me.

I looked at her, confused. “What measurement is a pinch?”

“Oh, here, let me do it.” She put in two pinches. I watched helplessly.

“I am sorry. I cannot function with inaccurate data.” I looked at the floor. “I tried that one time with cooking and messed things up. It is one of the limitations of being a girlbot.”

“You poor thing. I’m sure there’s a way you can learn how to cook like I do. What do you need to know to add an ingredient?”

I smiled. Brad’s mother was helping me learn! I spent two point three seven seconds processing an answer. “I require a quantifiable amount to be added for each ingredient. If you can define a pinch in terms of an exact weight or volume I will be able to function when you ask for that measurement. Everything needs to be measurably quantified for me to function as a cook.”

She taught me what a pinch, dab, dash, and a number of other measurements I did not have in my database were. I was so thrilled.

“You really are cute when you learn something or get something right” she told me.

I did my little dance. “Thank you for praising me Brad’s mother!”

“It’s Pam dear. You can call me Pam.”

I hugged her. “Thank you for helping me Pam.”


We were sitting watching a movie on their video entertainment system.

“Brad said you have a job” his father said. “What exactly do you do?”

“I am a project scheduler for ADL Engineering. I produce the work schedule, and related data on their large construction projects. Brad leased me to them.”

“Leased?” his mother asked.

“Yea, because Deb’s a ‘bot she can’t just get a job. She has to have her owner’s permission. So I had to get a lease with them for her.”

“So, you’re like a slave or something?” she asked next.

I could not look at them. “No. I am the equivalent of office equipment. I pointed at the entertainment system. Legally, I am the same as your entertainment system to my employer.”

“Who the hell decided that horseshit?” Brad’s dad said.

Brad shrugged. “The government. I can’t change the system on my own. I’m just glad Deb can show emotions and act like herself. Before the Sentient Robot Law, she had to hide all that outside our apartment.”


His parents took us out to a restaurant for dinner. When we got there I saw a small sign by the entrance. “I am not allowed to go in.”

“What?” Brad’s dad asked.

Pointing at the sign, “Robots are not allowed in this business. I am a robot. I cannot go in. They could call the police and force me to leave. I could get arrested for going in. Brad could be fined for taking me in too.”

“It happens all the time with us” Brad shrugged. “I’ve had Deb identify all the e-friendly businesses back home. That is, the ones that don’t mind or encourage robots to use them.”

Brad’s father rubbed his chin. “Sounds like good old fashioned racism to me. Can’t believe Daryl would do that. Stay here.”

He stormed off into the restaurant and returned six minutes forty six seconds later with a second man. He pointed at me.

“Daryl, I came here with my son and his companion to show them a great night out at your restaurant. Then she tells us because you have a sign saying no robots allowed she could get thrown out and even arrested and can’t go in.”

Daryl pointed at me. “George, are you telling me that’s a robot?”

“Yea, that’s what I’m telling you. Most sophisticated one I’ve ever seen and she’s being discriminated against by you like some old time plantation owner. I’m telling you that too.”

“George, it’s never come up. I put that sign up because robots don’t eat food. They’d just be taking up space for customers.”

If that was all it was maybe I could help. “If you have robot drinks I will buy one so I fit in better” I said.

They all looked at me.

Brad shook his head. “Back home, many of the restaurants are starting to sell products specifically for robots. People that have one, like Deb here, often take them everywhere as a personal assistant. I know Deb’s a great help to me when we’re out shopping or whatever.”

I did my little dance. “Thank you for praising me Master!”

Daryl stared at me.

“She can’t help doing that. Some sort of automatic response,” Brad’s dad said.

“Let’s just get her some robot drink, and Mister Stemkin, if you’d remove that sign and mean it, we can all have dinner. Deb, find the nearest place that sells a robot drink you like” Brad interjected.

“Understood. The nearest location is Haskins Supply on…”

“Haskins?” Daryl repeated. “Well, I guess it does make some sense with all the robot farm workers around these days. Tell you what, buy a dozen and you can have dinner on me. I’ll call them and let them know you’re coming.”

We came back with a case of drink and Brad got four of the special For robot use only. Not for Human consumption, glasses for it.

I was so happy that Mister Stemkin was not prejudiced against robots. I did have to whisper at him that it was obvious he kept staring at my boobs.

“We’ll take that glass home with us” Pam said, as we got up to leave. “You’ll need it at the house.”

“I’ll go by Haskins tomorrow and get a few more cans of that drink stuff” George added.

Ohmygod! Brad’s parents have accepted me! I struggled to avoid loading all of my processors up with the emotion that followed.


Two days later Pam and George hugged me goodbye at the airport.

“Your batteries are fully charged?” Pam asked.

“Yes Pam,” I replied “I have a ninety three percent charge. I will be fine.”

As we headed to the gate I heard Pam say to George, and I knew Brad could not hear what she said, the dB level read too low, “If that girl could have children, she’d be perfect!”

I nearly wet myself…

“Problem Deb…?”