People Aren't Built for These Lonely Times

"You are NOT. Building. Another. Robot. "

Hiro kept his mouth tight shut.

"Damn, Hiro, can't you just pick one at the e-market like normal people do? This space-van is small enough without you cramming it with extra crap."

Nanako was seriously pissed. In the year they've been living together, Hiro's pile of metal and computer junk has grown so big it seems to be leaving her no room for air.

They moved in together after Hiro lost his job at 731Robotics for cutbacks and Nanako scored a freelance job as a traveling mechanic for a group of small spaceship stations. The van they received was small, but they got by since she sometimes had to spend over a week on her station route.

But now it's been awhile since she went for over a day's work, and Hiro's dream of building the most realistic android to date the dream she used to be so excited and hopeful about turned into no more than a collection of waste and a silent man sitting constantly in front of his computer. Hanging in the constant thick darkness, the small vehicle was closing in on her. She felt grateful that tomorrow she'll be leaving for two weeks, covering for a friend.

"Nana", he said later that night, "It's going to happen. I can feel it". "You know my bot will be nothing like the moronic plastic trash they sell on Emart. It's going to be better than the real thing". Hiro's voice always deepened when he talked about his inventions. "I just need more time."

Nanako couldn't stand to hear those words again. "You know, it's one thing to come back from a week of work to find my home's been taken over by scraps" her voice was raising, "but how do you explain the fact that your home page is money-casino.com when it used to be the Science Daily?" He looked away. "Hiro, you're too young to fade out like this. Someone needs to kick your ass back to reality, and unfortunately for me, I got the job. And speaking of, get one before I get back!"

These were the most frantic two weeks in Hiro's life. He never stopped trying to realize his dream, but Nanako's threat woke him up abruptly. He had no place else to go, and he really did love her and loved being with her. He worked liked a maniac and he knew that was it. The cerebral chip he's been developing all along went inside, and it was a boy.

He named it Ichiban. As a prototype and ancestor, Ichiban was built as a truly fine specimen of his kind. Much like how ancient tribes fashioned their

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