The Blue Book

“The Blue Book”

It had been six months since Andy had been built. He hated it when people used that term but it was an accurate way to describe his situation. After four years of secret research and experiments a small, privately-owned medical research lab called Life Tech had created a human-like android. Andy’s formal name was Andrew and it seemed strange to him that the brilliant people who’d built him couldn’t come up with a more creative name than Andrew the android. But he had more important things to deal with. He was setting out on a journey beyond his control. In fact, every step of his journey would be guided by the Blue Book, an extensive and highly detailed volume that one of the Life Tech scientists had nicknamed the Owner’s Manual. Andy was still learning about humor and didn’t yet understand why the scientists laughed at that.

He had been built to be a lifelike, exact replication of a human being. His outward appearance was so perfectly created that, so far, no one he’d encountered during his operational testing noticed anything unusual about him. Physically he looked like a handsome thirty-year old man, six feet tall with wavy, brown hair and blue eyes. He had a soft voice and a nice smile. But the scientists knew that Andy was only half finished. His central processor had been programmed with the data needed for him to walk, talk and use his body like a human did. His personality and self-awareness were still missing. That was why they’d written the Blue Book. In addition to the technical information on how his brain and body worked, it was all of the programming and training information he’d need to begin acting human. It contained his backstory, an outline for forming his personality and recommendations on how to deal with human beings. Who Andy would become was in those three-hundred and sixty-seven pages and in the human interaction that laid ahead of him.

So far he’d studied and memorized the first three sections. The book said that that he was born and raised in Indianapolis to John and Sandra Newman. He had a younger sister Jennifer and he’d graduated from Marian University with a Liberal Arts degree. He’d worked for several large companies mostly in staff support roles. So far he didn’t have much of a resume.

Much of what Andy needed to learn couldn’t come from the book. Some things required life experience. He’d spent a month watching television to observe people in every kind of circumstance. What made them laugh or cry? What made them angry? How did they deal with stress and how did they solve problems? The nightly news shows gave him a taste of what was going on around him. He mimicked the subtle ways people’s voices differed until he created a sound of his own. There were hours of listening to music to understand how it affected people and he’d been taught to play the guitar before he’d left the lab. They’d even taught him to drive a car and helped him get a license.

Now, after six months, the people at Life Tech told him he was ready for the next step on his journey. With the sensors installed in his eyes and ears they could see and hear what Andy did. They’d done everything needed to continue the project. The small apartment he’d been given was furnished and equipped the way a young, single man would do it. His car was a three year old Honda. His wardrobe included sportswear, casual and business attire. Dr. Maurice Weller was the lead scientist on developing Andy and had taken on a fatherly view of his project. Under his watchful eye Andy Newman was ready to make his debut.

Thanks to Dr. Weller a job was waiting for Andy at the local branch of Midwest Logistics. He’d be working on the floor documenting everything that came in and went out on all of the trucks. It wasn’t a challenging job for the average person but then there was nothing average about Andy. On Monday morning at 8:00 AM he walked into the Owner’s office to start his first day as a working man.

“Good morning, I’m Andrew Newman. I have an appointment with John Copek.”

A pleasant looking woman looked up, smiled and said, “Oh, yes, he’s been expecting you.” She led him into a large, wood paneled office. “John, this is Andrew Newman.”

The large, bearded man behind the desk stood up an offered his hand to Andy. “It’s nice to meet you. Thanks for being on time, Andy, may I call you Andy?” They shook hands and Copek said, “Well, that’s a hell of a firm handshake you’ve got there.”

Andy mentally referenced what he’d read in Section 2, Item 7 of the Blue Book, “When shaking hands, open your right hand fully and grasp the person’s right hand, wrapping your fingers around it at the palm. Apply medium pressure only.” He looked confused. “Oh, I’m sorry if I applied more than medium pressure.”

“Uh…no, it’s okay. Here, have a seat.”

Andy sat down and tried to read Copek’s expression. He decided it was welcoming. “I brought my resume with me in case Dr. Weller didn’t send you one.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Mo said you’re a sharp young man and that’s good enough for me.”

“Who is Mo?”

Copek smiled. “Mo is Maurice’s nickname. He and I go back a long way.”

Andy smiled in return because Section 1, Item 11 read, “Facial expression is the first visual indicator of a person’s emotions and mood.”

Copek handed him a small stack of papers. “Here’s the job description and the expected shipping and receiving schedule for the month. You’ll be responsible for logging in the shipments both coming and going and entering it all in the data base.”

Andy nodded and matched his expression to Copek’s.

“I’m sure you’ll have questions and for the first few days I’ll have Tom Harris show you the ropes.”

“Ropes? There are ropes involved?”

Copek stared blankly at Andy, unsure of how to respond. “No, Andy, that’s just an expression. Tom will show you what to do on the job.” He paused for a moment then said, “Come on, let’s go out on the floor and Tom can show you around.”

As they walked through the huge array of interconnected warehouses and loading docks Copek explained how materials flowed through the complex. Forklifts and palette carriers moved everywhere as if they were choreographed. Andy watched, listened and nodded repeatedly but said nothing. It was the first time he’d been anywhere other than the lab and his apartment. The scale of the building was overwhelming to him. When they reached the intersection of four wide aisles he saw a small cluster of men standing behind a counter.

Copek motioned toward it. “This will be where you’ll spend most of your time.” He waved at a slender man in a denim shirt and called, “Hey, Tom, got a minute?”

The man walked over to Andy, extended his hand and said, “Welcome, Andy. We’ve been expecting you.”

Andy warily grabbed Harris’s hand and shook it. “Am I applying too much pressure?”

Harris tilted his head and looked over at Copek then back at Andy. “No, it’s, uh, okay.”

“Andy, Tom’s going to walk you through the check-in and inventory processes, kind of like a dry run. We’ll start you off slowly at first but you’ll be flying solo in a few days.”

“Flying?”

Copek wrinkled his brow and said, “That’s just another expression.”

Andy wrinkled his brow and replied, “Oh, okay.”

For the rest of the morning Harris concentrated on showing Andy how the receiving and storage process worked and how to enter bills of lading into the main computer. It was a fairly simple task but Andy gave it laser-like focus. Just before noon they stopped and Harris asked him “How about we go to the employee lounge and have lunch?”

Andy again mentally consulted the Blue Book. Section 3 Item 3 read, “Since you are not capable of ingesting food or liquids you should avoid situations where eating and drinking are involved. Use an excuse such as saying that you ate a large breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack to give the appearance of having no appetite.”  He replied, “No thank you, I ate a very large breakfast but I will enjoy sitting with you while you eat.”

The afternoon was spent learning the shipping side of the business. Around three o’clock Harris said, “I have to take a leak. If you need to go, the restrooms are right over there by the back door.

Andy hesitated while he quickly referenced the book again. Section 3 Item 14 read, “Since you do not take in outside sustenance you have no need to urinate or defecate. In order to appear human you should take periodic trips to a restroom where you will enter a stall, close the door and wait several minutes. Flush the fixture and exit the stall. Go to a sink and wash your hands.” He nodded. “Okay, I believe I will.”

The rest of the day went by quickly and at five-thirty Andy said goodbye to the few people he’d met. It had been a very real learning experience and he knew that when he got back to his apartment he’d submit the required electronic daily log back to the lab. He watched several hours of television and found that what was called Reality TV seemed to lack any purpose or value. When he checked his email the lone message was from Dr. Weller. It read, “I enjoyed watching you on your first day out in the world. You did a good job and I’m proud of you. Keep up the good work.” Andy knew the definition of the word proud and for the first time he could feel the meaning as well. That feeling encouraged him to read two more sections of the Blue Book.

Even though he required no sleep the book had a guideline for it. Section 3 Item 29 read, “In order to understand the human sleep cycle you should allow several hours each night when you have no physical activity. After connecting your charger you should recline on a bed with your eyes closed. This time can be used to recall events of the day and what you might have learned from them.”

Andy changed into pajamas and sat on the edge of the bed. He carefully plugged the tip of his energy charger into what passed for his navel and then laid down. He found that his thoughts included not only the basic learning of new tasks but also a faint sense of what he could only guess was human emotion.

Every day at Midwest Logistics added another layer of humanity to Andy’s personality. The specific requirements of his job taught him to follow a process from beginning to end. His interactions with his coworkers helped him learn patience, socialization skills and respect. He’d even formed a sense of humor, albeit a rudimentary one. And just as Dr. Weller had predicted he’d found that he was consulting the book less frequently. His daily messages from the lab were encouraging and he could tell that he was feeling things more intensely, not just going through the motions. Andy was changing.

It was a Tuesday morning, three months into his job, when his newly found comfort zone hit a bump. It was more like a speed bump. A new employee, Darcie Hammond, started working in the IT Department. She was highly skilled in all aspects of the computer system, very personable and beautiful. At least beautiful according to Andy’s understanding of the word. From the moment they had been introduced she’d been a distraction.

Andy’s responsibility for entering the bills of lading into the system was fairly simple but a change in the software had created some confusion. He found himself sitting beside her at her computer monitor near the end of that Tuesday.

“Darcie, I apologize for my confusion but this software upgrade really has me stumped.” He found himself staring at her as he spoke.

“That’s okay, you’re not the only one who’s having trouble with it.” Her voice was soft and her smile was mesmerizing to him. “Here, let me walk you through it.”

They sat in front of the screen for half an hour and even after he’d learned the software changes he let her continue her explanation. He felt good being with her. When five o’clock came he thought of asking her to join him at Happy Hour like all of the other employees did but that wasn’t an option for a man who couldn’t drink. All he knew was that he wanted to see her outside of the office. There was almost nothing in the Blue Book about dealing with the opposite sex but he promised himself he’d read whatever was in that section when he got home.

That night at home he tried to go about his normal routine but found it hard to concentrate. An email message from Dr. Weller didn’t make things any easier for him. It read, “Andy, I’ve heard that you’re doing very well at your job. Keep it up! I also know that you’re dealing with your first exposure to a female. You will no doubt find that a challenge as do all males but it is an important part of your learning. Good luck.” He read the message a second time and then consulted the book. Section 4 Item 2 simply read, “Dealings with the opposite gender should be conducted slowly and carefully. The physical and psychological differences can, at times, be problematic but are worth exploring. Patience is recommended.” That was all it said. That was everything the book could provide in terms of advice or guidance. Further learning about dealing with Darcie would have to be trial and error.

Another month had gone by and Andy had learned his job well enough to be bored with it. His life had been a constant learning effort, an effort to become more humanlike. Boredom was not something he’d expected. Neither were his new-found feelings for Darcie. Their interaction at work made his days more enjoyable but he knew there had to be a way to see her outside of their working world. Anything that involved eating or drinking was out of the question, but unfortunately that was what humans did in social settings. He’d gone back to the book and reread his technical specifications but found nothing that gave him hope. He had a mouth, tongue and teeth and even a windpipe for speaking, but any attempt at swallowing anything would lead to major damage to his systems.

With every day of seeing Darcie, talking with her and just being around her his hopelessness grew. He wondered if she wanted him to ask her out. He wondered if she thought about him as often as he thought about her. He wished he could turn of the observation sensors in his eyes and ears so that Dr. Weller wouldn’t be able to tune in to his frustrations.

It was a Friday at five-thirty as he was walking toward the parking lot when Darcie hurried to catch up with him. He was nervous about what she might say but she surprised him. She asked him if he could come to her apartment on Saturday to help her rearrange the furniture in her living room. It seemed like a safe request that wouldn’t require him to do anything beyond his android capabilities so he told her he’d be glad to help her.

That night he realized that his inability to sleep didn’t matter because his constant thoughts of Darcie would have kept him awake even if he were human. On Saturday afternoon, full of emotions he couldn’t totally understand, he rang her doorbell.

When she opened the door he just looked at her for a moment before he said, “Hi.”

“Hi yourself. Thanks so much for doing this.”

She showed him into the living room and explained what she wanted moved and where. He was standing next to a large bookcase and asked her, “What about all of the books?”

“Oh, the bookcase stays there. That will save us a lot of work.” She looked around the room and said, “I have a couple of things in my spare room that I want to hang on the wall. I’ll be right back.”

She walked down the hallway and Andy stood there scanning the books in her collection. He froze when he saw the spine of a familiar book with a blue cover. He glanced down the hallway to make sure she wasn’t coming and pulled the book from the shelf. He felt numb as he paged through it, the same Blue Book that had guided his entire android life.

He heard Darcie enter the room and when he turned toward her he saw the shock on her face. “Oh, my God!” was all she could get out. He stared at her and she stared back. He closed the book but held on to it and took a few steps toward her.

There was a long silence and then he asked, “So, are you like me?”

She looked confused. “What do you mean like you?”

“I mean this big blue book isn’t the kind of reading you find in most people’s homes. In fact in anyone’s home but yours, mine and a man named Maurice Weller.”

She shook her head, trying to grasp the situation. “So, you’re…you’re like me?”

He wasn’t sure how to feel. He walked over to the sofa and sat down. “Come on,” he said, “have a seat. We have a lot to talk about.”