Arc: NJRS - #006
Title:Aurora Reborn

The race in Nokav Vertigo was a mix of feelings for the Jennter team. Initially the improved JAG-F12.212/5b craft seemed to outperform its previous iteration. However, a system malfunction caused by a power surge stalled the craft of Aurora again, fortunatly this time without disabling all safety systems.

Jennter Enterprises HQ, Düsseldorf, Germany
Tuesday, 20th February 2215
10:12.44

Linda and Nico were discussing the next race together with Patrick and Aurora.
"The craft felt great...until it gave up." reported Aurora her own experience with the new ship.
Linda looked through a window, avoiding the other faces "This concept works better, no doubt."
"Our shields are bad enough, but being unreliable is a death sentence in AG racing. Literally." Patrick commented "But I've talked about it with Aurora."
"It felt great. If you can fix the reliability problem-" Aurora added to that.

"Shut up, tin can." Linda threw at her without batting an eye "It is only natural that a rushed prototype won't last a race. That's why something spareable had to pilot it."
Aurora stood in the room in silence. Her facial expression didn't change.
"Hey! She didn't attack you!" Patrick broke the silence "So why are you having a go at her?"
Linda turned away from the window to glare at him "I didn't graduate in Gravity Vehicular Engineering to hear a machine complaining at me."
"I may leave the room, I sense your blood pressure increasing." the android noted, ready to leave.
"Huh?" came from Nico, almost unnoticed by the others.

Linda sighed "Whatever, I'll optimise the manufacturing process for the craft. And I'll refine the performance of the test craft."
The engineer went past Aurora, who ended up staying in the room.

"Don't think too much about it, Aurora" Nico tried to cheer her up.
"Unlike...mother, I understand my existence as an object." she merely commented "Linda thinks very high of herself - I think so too about her."
Nico nodded understandingly "Also, you started to discover the functions of your sensores, it seems."
"Indeed. Though their purpose seems odd to me." Aurora agreed "Whatever you have in mind, master."

Saturday, 24th February 2215
19:44.21

Aurora had her own room in the Jennter headquaters, as she was seen as the 'child' of the company.
Someone knocked on her door, it appeared to be physically weak.
"It's Linda." a voice came through the wood of the slideable door.

Aurora was surprised, Linda never visited her and mostly ignored her existence. However, she let her in "Door, open."
"Do you have feelings?" she asked bluntly, sitting down in a chair frontal to the couch Aurora was occupying all the while.
"I have thoughts. However, my internals are not cramping up when they are complicated for me." she answered.
"What is your physical composition?" Linda asked next. Her voice was growing in curiousity.
"For packaging reasons I possess the same phyical performance of a trained male adult." the android explained "I don't have any organs, therefore I don't have to eat food."
Linda was mustering her "That's some nice packaging then..."
"Of course I perform better than a woman of my dimensions. But that's more than enough for AG racing."
Linda frowned "That was...a joke..."
"Oh, I see!" Aurora was surprised "I did not expect you to joke around with me. So I suppressed my sense for humour."
"You have that?" Linda was wondering "Anyway, what about your senses?"
As per order Aurora continued "My eyes are high definition cameras. I can move them individually, but usually don't do that, to not make people feel uncomfortable."
"You are quite sensible" the engineer commented.
Aurora smiled "I considered the benefits of staying on good terms with the people I have to work with."
"Right, so your ears are microphones?" Linda asked next.
"Indeed. Just plain microphones, they don't mimic the functionality of a human eardrum. Same for my eyes. However, my voice is generated through actual vocal cords."
"What, how and why?"
Aurora smiled about it "Simply to make my expressions appear natural. This also allows me to whistle and so on. And I have to drink water regularly, to generate saliva for the proper functionality of my lips. I can even spit!"
Linda was looking confused at the proud expression Aurora made for this statement, but she stayed curious "So are you also able to taste and smell?"
"Both yes. My tongue works similar to a human tongue, same for my nose. Master Bovier thought it would be useful if I had these abilities."
"Yeah, I can see that." Linda nodded "Wait, Bovier developed you then?"
Aurora shock her head "No, but he worked out my functionality. The actual programming and assembly was carried out by other people working for Jennter."