Robots
Title Robots [1/?]
Pairing Frank/Gerard
Rating R
Summary In the not so distant future, robots created to look and operate as humans have replaced human labor. Some people like it, others hate it. Frank, a musician adamantly against the advancement of "Human Helpers" discovers they're not so bad when he ends up owning one.
Warnings Sex, swearing, probably drugs and drinking
A/N I'm getting back on the wagon and writing again. This will remain in my personal journal until complete, then will be transfered to MSC, hope you enjoy. I intend for this to be rather short, less than 10 chapers.
“Would you like a refill, sir?”
Frank looked up, startled to hear anyone with manners in a grimey diner. The waitress was standing over him, she was pretty cute, curly red hair and the figure of a super model. He was about to say something and start flirting with her when he noticed the line on her neck then sighed.
“No,” he said lamely, “I’m fine.”
The girl smiled brightly and turned on heel to walk to the next table. Frank starred at her as the guys at the next table started flirting. He wondered if they saw the seam or if maybe they just didn’t care.
Frank remembered when he was little and they first started to sell “human helpers”, basically robots which could walk around and do simple chores. Back when he was little they were just metal and only vaguely resembled people. And now... Now they came made in a material that was almost exactly like skin. Now they blinked and breathed and had manners and all sorts of different personalities. Now they had the ability to learn. The only thing that gave away Human Helpers from regular humans was the little seam stitched into their throats to access the power switch.
It never bothered Frank before. When the newest line of Human Helpers came into the market he thought it was a pretty good idea. They could learn and become more efficient and now they looked just like people so they weren’t so scary looking any more. But, after a while, the novelty of it had worn off (for Frank at least). It was nearly impossible to find a decent job, the only places that didn’t run on Human Helpers were the crummy ones that couldn’t afford them and couldn’t afford to pay too well either.
Maybe, Frank could live with Human Helpers taking over jobs, there still weren’t any in the music business, for all their learning ability, they couldn’t create. Frank never had to worry about a robot writing a better song than him. So, maybe that wasn’t what bothered him. Maybe what he hated was that people were starting to date Human Helpers. He’d been dumped by his own girlfriend a few weeks back because her robot was always there for her. Of course it was! She had programmed it to be compassionate, that didn’t mean it loved her. Whatever.
Frank finished his food then tossed some wadded up dollar bills on his sticky table and left. The cute red-headed Human Helper gave him a cheery wave as some guy pulled her into his lap, proclaiming: “She’s a laptop, this one!” The door chimed when Frank opened it and he thought he was going to be sick.
***
“Absolutely no fucking way!” Frank yelled.
Ray looked taken aback but continued trying to reason anyways. “Look, man, it’s not that big of a deal. We already have all the parts written out, we just need someone to play them, why not just teach it to a Human Helper?”
“No.” Frank stated again.
“Frank’s right,” Matt said, “we can’t afford one.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Frank started then groaned in frustration. “Even if we had enough money to be set for life, I wouldn’t buy a fucking robot.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t have the money for one,” Ray said blandly then went back to tuning his guitar.
Frank stared at his friend in disbelief then shook his head angrily. Music was the only thing Human Helpers couldn’t take from people, and he damn sure wasn’t going to be the one to give it to them. “Fuck you guys, I’m out of here,” he grumbled bitterly.
“See you tomorrow, man!”
***
Frank’s parents had a Human Helper they’d taught to cook and clean. Frank didn’t mind it, but he still didn’t like it very much. It was dark skinned with big blue eyes and red lips. If it’d been a person, he would’ve been all over that.
“So have you thought about college?” The robot asked as it set down a tray with coffee cups and sugar cookies on the small table between Frank and his parents. It always irritated him that his family would use the robot to start conversations that they didn’t want to begin. That’s another reason why he hated Human Helpers, they were fucking scapegoats.
“College would just be a waste of money, I can’t get a job anywhere after graduation.”
“Well maybe if you hadn’t ruined your body,” Mrs. Iero said while crinkling up her nose over a cup of steaming coffee.
Mr. Iero, who was previously eating the sugar cookies two at a time, nodded in agreement with his wife then gave Frank a little wink to secure that he wasn’t really upset with the tattoos and piercings and dyed hair. “Now, now, I know what Frank means, it’s difficult to get into the job market as it is right now. But son, you could major in economics and make money through the stock market.”
Frank shook his head. “What would I invest in,” he asked, “Human Helpers?”
“Well it would probably be a smart investment,” Mrs. Iero snapped.
“Fuck that,” Frank muttered then crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch. “The band will pick up and I’ll start making money off of that, then I wont need to go to college and I’ll still be successful.”
“If you call that success,” Mrs. Iero said under her breath.
Without a word, Frank stood and walked past his parents and onto the front porch. He sat on the steps and lit up a cigarette, knowing that it pissed his mom off to see him smoking but not really caring.
“She’s just worried about you.”
Frank turned and looked at his parents’ dark Human Helper leaning against the door way.
“She talks about you all the time to her friends, she just wants to make sure you’re happy.”
Frank scoffed, faced forward again, and took a deep drag off his Camel Light. “And what would you know about being happy?”
The robot pulled a thoughtful face for a moment. “I know I’m happy to work for humans who treat me like I’m one of them.” It’s voice sounded like something foreign, maybe from the mediteranean and when it sat down, Frank noticed that it smelled like spices.
“That’s just the thing,” Frank said, “you’re not really happy, you’re just programmed by some guy to think like that.”
“Aren’t you just programmed by some Guy?” The robot asked.
Frank started to argue then caught himself and stubbed out his cigarette on the steps. “That’s different,” he said shortly and tried to leave it as that.
“Frank,” the robot said gently, “the best of us think and feel just like humans do, there are only a few Human Helpers left that don’t have artificial intelligence.”
“That’s just it!” Frank said, “it’s artificial, it’s not real.”
The robot looked thoughtful again. “I’d like to think that in this case, artificial just means manufactured, not fake.”
Shaking his head, Frank stood. “I’m out of here, tell mom and dad that I said bye.”
The robot nodded sadly and went back inside.
Pairing Frank/Gerard
Rating R
Summary In the not so distant future, robots created to look and operate as humans have replaced human labor. Some people like it, others hate it. Frank, a musician adamantly against the advancement of "Human Helpers" discovers they're not so bad when he ends up owning one.
Warnings Sex, swearing, probably drugs and drinking
A/N I'm getting back on the wagon and writing again. This will remain in my personal journal until complete, then will be transfered to MSC, hope you enjoy. I intend for this to be rather short, less than 10 chapers.
“Would you like a refill, sir?”
Frank looked up, startled to hear anyone with manners in a grimey diner. The waitress was standing over him, she was pretty cute, curly red hair and the figure of a super model. He was about to say something and start flirting with her when he noticed the line on her neck then sighed.
“No,” he said lamely, “I’m fine.”
The girl smiled brightly and turned on heel to walk to the next table. Frank starred at her as the guys at the next table started flirting. He wondered if they saw the seam or if maybe they just didn’t care.
Frank remembered when he was little and they first started to sell “human helpers”, basically robots which could walk around and do simple chores. Back when he was little they were just metal and only vaguely resembled people. And now... Now they came made in a material that was almost exactly like skin. Now they blinked and breathed and had manners and all sorts of different personalities. Now they had the ability to learn. The only thing that gave away Human Helpers from regular humans was the little seam stitched into their throats to access the power switch.
It never bothered Frank before. When the newest line of Human Helpers came into the market he thought it was a pretty good idea. They could learn and become more efficient and now they looked just like people so they weren’t so scary looking any more. But, after a while, the novelty of it had worn off (for Frank at least). It was nearly impossible to find a decent job, the only places that didn’t run on Human Helpers were the crummy ones that couldn’t afford them and couldn’t afford to pay too well either.
Maybe, Frank could live with Human Helpers taking over jobs, there still weren’t any in the music business, for all their learning ability, they couldn’t create. Frank never had to worry about a robot writing a better song than him. So, maybe that wasn’t what bothered him. Maybe what he hated was that people were starting to date Human Helpers. He’d been dumped by his own girlfriend a few weeks back because her robot was always there for her. Of course it was! She had programmed it to be compassionate, that didn’t mean it loved her. Whatever.
Frank finished his food then tossed some wadded up dollar bills on his sticky table and left. The cute red-headed Human Helper gave him a cheery wave as some guy pulled her into his lap, proclaiming: “She’s a laptop, this one!” The door chimed when Frank opened it and he thought he was going to be sick.
***
“Absolutely no fucking way!” Frank yelled.
Ray looked taken aback but continued trying to reason anyways. “Look, man, it’s not that big of a deal. We already have all the parts written out, we just need someone to play them, why not just teach it to a Human Helper?”
“No.” Frank stated again.
“Frank’s right,” Matt said, “we can’t afford one.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Frank started then groaned in frustration. “Even if we had enough money to be set for life, I wouldn’t buy a fucking robot.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t have the money for one,” Ray said blandly then went back to tuning his guitar.
Frank stared at his friend in disbelief then shook his head angrily. Music was the only thing Human Helpers couldn’t take from people, and he damn sure wasn’t going to be the one to give it to them. “Fuck you guys, I’m out of here,” he grumbled bitterly.
“See you tomorrow, man!”
***
Frank’s parents had a Human Helper they’d taught to cook and clean. Frank didn’t mind it, but he still didn’t like it very much. It was dark skinned with big blue eyes and red lips. If it’d been a person, he would’ve been all over that.
“So have you thought about college?” The robot asked as it set down a tray with coffee cups and sugar cookies on the small table between Frank and his parents. It always irritated him that his family would use the robot to start conversations that they didn’t want to begin. That’s another reason why he hated Human Helpers, they were fucking scapegoats.
“College would just be a waste of money, I can’t get a job anywhere after graduation.”
“Well maybe if you hadn’t ruined your body,” Mrs. Iero said while crinkling up her nose over a cup of steaming coffee.
Mr. Iero, who was previously eating the sugar cookies two at a time, nodded in agreement with his wife then gave Frank a little wink to secure that he wasn’t really upset with the tattoos and piercings and dyed hair. “Now, now, I know what Frank means, it’s difficult to get into the job market as it is right now. But son, you could major in economics and make money through the stock market.”
Frank shook his head. “What would I invest in,” he asked, “Human Helpers?”
“Well it would probably be a smart investment,” Mrs. Iero snapped.
“Fuck that,” Frank muttered then crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch. “The band will pick up and I’ll start making money off of that, then I wont need to go to college and I’ll still be successful.”
“If you call that success,” Mrs. Iero said under her breath.
Without a word, Frank stood and walked past his parents and onto the front porch. He sat on the steps and lit up a cigarette, knowing that it pissed his mom off to see him smoking but not really caring.
“She’s just worried about you.”
Frank turned and looked at his parents’ dark Human Helper leaning against the door way.
“She talks about you all the time to her friends, she just wants to make sure you’re happy.”
Frank scoffed, faced forward again, and took a deep drag off his Camel Light. “And what would you know about being happy?”
The robot pulled a thoughtful face for a moment. “I know I’m happy to work for humans who treat me like I’m one of them.” It’s voice sounded like something foreign, maybe from the mediteranean and when it sat down, Frank noticed that it smelled like spices.
“That’s just the thing,” Frank said, “you’re not really happy, you’re just programmed by some guy to think like that.”
“Aren’t you just programmed by some Guy?” The robot asked.
Frank started to argue then caught himself and stubbed out his cigarette on the steps. “That’s different,” he said shortly and tried to leave it as that.
“Frank,” the robot said gently, “the best of us think and feel just like humans do, there are only a few Human Helpers left that don’t have artificial intelligence.”
“That’s just it!” Frank said, “it’s artificial, it’s not real.”
The robot looked thoughtful again. “I’d like to think that in this case, artificial just means manufactured, not fake.”
Shaking his head, Frank stood. “I’m out of here, tell mom and dad that I said bye.”
The robot nodded sadly and went back inside.