Akane and Ukyo stared, their experience with Hotaru preparing them and aware more than Ranma had been of what they were looking at.
The lifelike mannequins in uniforms ranging from paramilitary to the crisp whites of a nurse.
The dogs in the back that could have been from some dog show, except that the two Japanese girls knew quite well that they lacked pedigrees.
The happily beeping automated vaccuum cleaner as it declared war on dust bunnies and attacked dirt and grime with singleminded determination.
"These are all androids?" Akane asked.
"Yes, indeed they are, Miss Tendo is it?" The clerk looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry. Did I startle you?"
"Not at all," Akane assured the store clerk. "I'm just checking from a different vantage point."
Ukyo slowly put her spatula away, not willing to admit she'd been startled either.
"So, ah," said Akane, dropping to the floor. "She seems pretty real..."
"Yes, the original Hotaru was pretty adamant about the conditions in which she could be reproduced, and a faithful duplication was one such condition," admitted the clerk.
"I see," said Akane, who didn't really understand such a strange comment but felt that some sort of reply was required. "Don't you think there's something wrong about selling people?"
"Why?" The clerk cocked her head and regarded Akane briefly. "It's wrong to sell or own human beings, of course. Human psychology and history paint a poor picture of such practices, though there are individuals who might argue otherwise. I've heard the same argument made regarding animals kept as pets and it didn't make any sense to me either. It's not as if you're taking a creature perfectly suited to survive in an environment into another environment where it is unable to adapt. In the case of our products, your purchase of a model allows for other models to be built and researched. The contracts involved allow for retrieval of mishandled or abused units, and most of our models are quite capable of defending themselves."
"What the heck are these?" Ukyo pointed down into a showcase.
"Laptops," said the clerk. "Doll sized units capable of many functions that can be carried in a purse or backpack. When a full sized unit might be too much, such as a one-room apartment, a laptop such as Plum there might suit the needs of the customer better."
Akane glanced over at the Cute & Fuzzy Mascot subsection of the Laptops area and shuddered. Some things were too frightening. "So you're saying that Hotaru isn't human and therefore it's all right to sell her?"
"Hotaru is very human, but there are some differences," argued the clerk. "While she's 99% human, she knows that she is an android replica created for a singular purpose. Planetary defense."
"So she's an android superhero?" Ukyo asked, having a sudden vision of herself as Spatgirl. Wearing a purple skintight outfit with a yellow cape and utility belt, swinging across Nerima on her spatline and fighting injustice. It was oddly familiar because she'd fantasized a few times about doing just such a thing during her vengeance quest, probably the effect of Western comics and spending way too many sleepless nights hunting for Ranma. "You've got laptops and android maids and nurses and such, I'd think superhero types would be too specific a market."
"Yes, well, we also do bodyguard models, and our founder was fond of the concept of android superheroines," the clerk said with a shrug. "Once we determine there's a need for such, we go ahead and put out a few. So far Hotaru's the only one we placed. Pity."
"Can we get back to the immorality of slave trading?" Akane asked.
Ranma had tuned out all the talking. Akane was off on her own tangent. Ukyo was pretty much the same. On the other hand, maybe he could get enough for a robot dog? He'd been over to Hiroshi's once and seen that 'Samurai Showdown' thing, and he'd heard of some martial artists who trained their dog to help 'em in fights. (That he could have a doggie run off evil nasty teeth/claw/glowing eyes nasty bad c-c-c-c-cats never really occurred to him. Really. Honest.)
That he'd then have someone who actually listened to him - nah - he'd never think about that.
The display area quickly had five times the previous number of doggies as various pooches discovered someone was looking over that section and came rushing out to see if maybe, finally, someone was for THEM!
Ranma had a faint unfamiliar smile on his face as he looked them over. He could have a puppy and this time his stupid oyaji wouldn't roast him over a fire and have him for lunch.
There were Scottish terriers and black labs and big old Akita and German Shepherds and pikachus (he'd snuck over while on break) and other breeds Ranma couldn't name.
"Hey there, fella," said Ranma, finally focussing on one. "What's your name?"
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(Posted Sat, 24 May 2003 13:35)
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