Ray saw Bridge before it really registered what he was doing, and he was about to call out a greeting when he got a good look at what Bridge was kneeling in front of. He gaped, cigarette hanging dangerously loosely from his lips, which he plucked up with two fingers just in time to prevent it from falling to the ground. "Is that a robot dog?"
Bridge looked up with a broad smile, and Ric cocked his head to the side, display lights shifting their pattern as he inputted Ray's image. "It's Ric! He's a robotic interactive canine. So, yes! Doesn't he look great?"
"He looks...amazing!" Ray gushed, stubbing out his cigarette before he crouched next to Bridge in case the smoke was harmful. "The technology that must be involved in this is incredible!"
"Yeah," Bridge agreed, in a way that said of course without being derisive. "Weapons, surveillance, tracking, CD/DVD player, projector, refrigerator, plus all the canine subroutines to make him every bit a dog."
Beat'd noticed Bridge first - him runnin' to something was kinda hard to miss. Then he looked down, an' all he saw was some kinda machine lookin' thing. It was enough to make him walk over to see what was goin' on.
"Yo," he greeted, though he was lookin' at the thing he was pettin'. "Uh...what's that thing?"
"This is Ric," Bridge answered promptly, giving the dog a pat between the ears as he stood up. "Ric, this is Beat. He looks a lot like Ryan, but he's not. He's Beat. Go on, go say hi."
Ric cocked his head up at his master, then dropped the ball from his mouth. His tail wagged in a jointed, mechanical fashion as he stepped towards Beat, emitting friendly panting noises from his mouth speakers. "You're okay with dogs, aren't you?"
"Yup, he got sensors worked into his exoskeleton." Almost proving Bridge's point, Ric nuzzled up into Beat's touch, looking very happy. "He's just like a real dog, only without the fur, skin, bones, muscles, nerves, blood, vital organs and tissues, and with a CD/DVD player, refrigerator, tracking software, weapons systems, surveillance capabilities and titanium shell."
Ryan stopped when he heard the shout, arching an eyebrow Bridge's way before he started walking toward him. It took a few moments before he got a clear look, though, at the thing that had caused Bridge's excitement. It took a little longer still for him to process that it was wagging its tail.
"Yup. And you're a good dog, aren't you Ric?" Ric's tail wagged back and forth, and he emitted a barking noise before dropping the ball into Bridge's hand. Grinning, Bridge scrambled to his feet.
"Ryan, this is Ric. Ric, this is Ryan. He looks a lot like Beat, but he's not. He's Ryan. He's a friend, so say hi." Happy to obey, Ric stepped towards Ryan, tail still wagging and red display lights shifting in, well, a happy way. "Oh, you're okay with dogs, right?" Bridge asked.
"Yeah," Ryan said, nodding, brow still raised, "yeah, just... never met a robot one before."
Slowly, he crouched down to get a closer look at the thing. Mechanical though it obviously was, it was almost absurdly canine in its behavior. Reaching out to pet it, he made a small 'huh' sound under his breath. "Hey, Ric."
Ric barked in reply, nuzzling up to Ryan's hand. "Well, now you have," Bridge announced proudly. "He's a lot better than normal dogs in a lot of ways. His surveillance and weapons systems are off the chain, but he can be harder to clean up after."
It was the barking that caught Wanda's attention. Not that barking was all that unusual in and of itself, it seemed like half the island had a dog of some kind, it just didn't usually sound quite so... electronic.
"Oh, that's cute," she said, only slightly incredulous as she spotted the source of the small commotion. "What did you call it?"
"Ric," Bridge replied, giving Wanda a smile. Or sharing with her the smile he had for Ric's arrival. "That's his name. But it also stands for robotic interactive canine. Do you like dogs?" he asked, Ric's display already refocusing on Wanda. "He won't bite. Not if you're not doing evil."
"Well, I tend to keep my evil doings to a minimum, so I think I'm good," Wanda chuckled, crouching down to get a better look at the thing. "And I don't dislike dogs," she said honestly, trying to figure out if a robot really counted as one. "Did you make him or something?"
"No, but Boom and I did upgrade him back home." While Bridge spoke, Ric's display lights changed patterns and he moved closer to Wanda, ball still in his mouth and tail wagging. "He was really run down and starting to get buggy. Most of his parts weren't even made anymore, so Cruger was going to..."
Bridge trailed off, glancing worriedly at Ric and then up to Wanda before drawing a line across his own throat with his finger and jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He'd just hurt Ric's feelings if he mentioned his potential demise out loud.
"Now, that," Buck announces as he narrows his eyes and gives a bemused scoff and a grin, "is something you don't see everyday." Not that he's saying it's strange. It's something out of science-fiction, like you might imagine would happen fifty years in the future. "...he do tricks?"
"He's very well trained," Bridge replied. Interest in Ric wasn't anything new, just the setting of the interest was. And Bridge was like any proud dog owner: happy to share and make friends. "It's part of his programming. Along with surveillance, tracking software and weaponry."
Buck's still sitting there in amazement, laughing like it's the best joke he's ever come across. "He kick his legs if you rub him on that mechanical stomach?" he asks, really not able to get over how absolutely incredible the future is about certain things; like this.
"If you rub his sweet spot, yeah," Bridge answered, still grinning.
"How 'bout it, Ric?" he asked, looking to the dog. "You been a good boy? C'mon, roll over. Gooood boy, that's a good boy." The dog rolled onto his back with surprising spryness, the ball still in his mouth as Bridge rubbed at a spot on his stomach a little down on his right side. Ric's left back leg started kicking steadily.
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He paused for emphasis. "Ric's awesome."
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"Yo," he greeted, though he was lookin' at the thing he was pettin'. "Uh...what's that thing?"
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Ric cocked his head up at his master, then dropped the ball from his mouth. His tail wagged in a jointed, mechanical fashion as he stepped towards Beat, emitting friendly panting noises from his mouth speakers. "You're okay with dogs, aren't you?"
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"Uh, naw, I ain't got a problem," he said, leanin' down to pet its head, though he felt kinda weird doin' it. "So it's feelin' me doin' this?"
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"...is that a dog?"
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"Ryan, this is Ric. Ric, this is Ryan. He looks a lot like Beat, but he's not. He's Ryan. He's a friend, so say hi." Happy to obey, Ric stepped towards Ryan, tail still wagging and red display lights shifting in, well, a happy way. "Oh, you're okay with dogs, right?" Bridge asked.
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Slowly, he crouched down to get a closer look at the thing. Mechanical though it obviously was, it was almost absurdly canine in its behavior. Reaching out to pet it, he made a small 'huh' sound under his breath. "Hey, Ric."
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"Oh, that's cute," she said, only slightly incredulous as she spotted the source of the small commotion. "What did you call it?"
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Bridge trailed off, glancing worriedly at Ric and then up to Wanda before drawing a line across his own throat with his finger and jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He'd just hurt Ric's feelings if he mentioned his potential demise out loud.
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"How 'bout it, Ric?" he asked, looking to the dog. "You been a good boy? C'mon, roll over. Gooood boy, that's a good boy." The dog rolled onto his back with surprising spryness, the ball still in his mouth as Bridge rubbed at a spot on his stomach a little down on his right side. Ric's left back leg started kicking steadily.
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