The Wind-Up Doll (Effervescent x SR388)

[SR388]

DOLLs are the new rage! They are Dynamic Organic Living Lifeforms, but the general public isn't privy to that information, in fact, they aren't even available to the general public, but mostly to the rich and the military. Unfortunately the delivery man made a mistake and dropped off an ordering magazine to one or two houses that shouldn't have one. Luckily though, in the case of this event, the magazine seems like any other one, and makes the DOLL look exactly like that, a doll. It contains information on what the doll is, 'a mechanized partner in crime.'


Should it be ordered, it would arrive in a cardboard box, which would say fragile and have the usual keep this box right side up and open from this end symbols on it. Inside would be instructions, further encoded should the DOLL fall into the wrong hands. These instructions would read as follows:


To start up the doll, blow gently into the oral orifice. Make sure to give it a minute to start up. Enjoy your new doll!


Care procedures: Do not get water inside the doll, which includes spilling water on the doll, or attempting to let it drink. Water WILL damage it's insides.


The little care part was just to keep people from starting up the DOLL. Water will actually allow certain inside systems to grow, making it ever more human like. This particular DOLL doesn't come with a name, and has very little knowledge about human interaction, though it's surprisingly smart when it comes to electronics. When changed from a doll to a DOLL, it will have all the basic needs of a human. It will need to eat, sleep, bathe, and have human interaction. Though it inherently knows how to eat, sleep and go to the bathroom, the rest will need to be taught, which it will most likely learn through watching.


The DOLL that'll be ending up here in the story will be a 6'0", 165 lb light skinned male. He'll have short and thick dark brown hair, matching his slightly thinner than average eyebrows. He's designed with smooth skin, because who wants a doll with acne? Anyways, our story begins when one person receives a package containing order information that they shouldn't. And to make things even worse, DOLLs are free to order since they are expected to go to certain people.

 

[Effervescent]

Nora peered hesitantly at the large box sitting just outside her apartment. It took up a rather sizable space in the quiet interior hallway, and she knew if she didn't get it inside she'll be fined. Why the deliverer didn't just leave it for her at the front desk perplexed her, though why she was even receiving a package was all the more confusing to the brunette.


Tucking her hair behind her ear and wisping her feathered bangs aside, Nora took to examining the box for clues as to what it could be, or perhaps even an address to check. The possibility of it being someone else's was rather high, for she hadn't ordered anything and her parents weren't ones for gifting randomly. Bright grey eyes slowly scanned over each label. This side up. Open here. Fragile. But no receiving or return addresses.


One of her neighbors passed by, making it a point to theatrics as she needlessly sidestepped around the box. The neighbor eyed Nora and the box, her thin lips pursed and her eyes that of silent judgement. Nora didn't know her name, but she feared her neighbor would complain once she got down to the front desk. She then made it a point to quickly open her door to apartment 5216 and shove the box in through the front before the woman could enter the elevator. It took quite a bit of effort, for the package was far heavier than anything the small girl had ever handled.


Perhaps opening the box would reveal more about her mysterious package. Nora quickly retrieved a knife from the kitchen to cut through the tape, and as the cardboard flaps fell, she gasped in awe. Neatly secured and standing upright was a man, or rather, upon closer examination, a doll. She hesitantly plucked the instructions from where they were secured and read through it, her well shaped brows knitting together on her pale face. She flipped over the instructions to try and find a number or manufacturing information, but to no avail.


Her only option was either to pack it all up again and lug the hefty package somehow to the elevator and down to the front desk, or to activate the DOLL. Surely it would have been programmed with knowledge of its manufacturer. It was worth a try regardless.


Hesitantly, Nora placed her hands on his chest to lean in. She softly blew onto his lips and took a step back in waiting.

 

[SR388]

There was no recollection of his time before activation. No ride to the apartment, no trip through the building, no first light when the box was opened, or sound of a gasp. His thoughts weren't active, just a calm and serene sleep of sorts. As Nora breathed life into this DOLL, a few whirring noises, some clinks and clanks, and the opening of his eyes. A few seconds pass before movement as he moved his eyes back and forth to take in his surroundings. He swung his head left and right in a smooth movement to look further beyond his enclosure, his movements always clearly robotic.


His mouth opened and out came, "Hello, I am DOLL XB372. Thank you for activating me, may I leave this box? And is there something I can help you with?" The DOLL was wearing a dull red t-shirt and black khaki shorts, but no shoes. There was no movement of his chest, should anyone care to pay attention, for he doesn't have to breathe, yet. He was still a blank slate, waiting to be molded into whatever type of person he was needed to be. His creators wanted a versatile machine to be able to help out in any number of positions for jobs around the world, though he wasn't designed to be a companion for people, he is certainly capable of doing that as well.

 

[Effervescent]

Nora found herself pushed up against the wall across from DOLL XB372, bright eyes wide and mouth hung slightly agape. She hadn't expected it to appear and move so near realistic. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts into words, and when she finally spoke her uncertainty was apparent. Had she made the right decision in activating the DOLL?


"Um... Who is your manufacturer?" she asked, and then pushed herself away from the wall. Slowly, she approached the DOLL, fingers lacing together before her in nervousness. "Or do you know who you were supposed to be sent to?" Her eyes trailed over his appearance. He looked to be for some domestic use. Perhaps XB372 was meant to be someone's companion, and that someone is waiting longingly for the DOLL to save them from their loneliness. "You see, you were brought here by mistake. I need to get you back to where you belong."

 

[SR388]

The DOLL opened his mouth to reply, "I was created by," What followed was a weirdly encoded name, almost sounding alien like with an echo. "I am sorry, but I can not decode this message." It's one of the many safety features to safeguard against any would be foreign enemies. "I am here, and so are you. It doesn't seem to be a mistake to me." Slightly confused, the DOLL stayed inside his box, not having been given permission to leave.


He noticed a window on the wall left of the girl. He looked out for a moment to see a bird flying and wondered if he could fly too, but only briefly. For such a thing to happen, he would need wings, so he reached towards his back to feel no such contraptions. Having given up the thought, he looked back at Nora and waited further for permission to leave his tiny home.

 

[Effervescent]

She jumped back as the DOLL's arm swooped up, afraid of what he could do or even would do. Though she anticipated a hit, he instead reached for his back. Her eyes cautiously followed where he stared to watch the bird flutter away. She had a beautiful view of the city up on the twenty-sixth floor of her apartment building. It was a prime location, fit for the well-off in need of a home close to the business district. She was lucky enough to have snagged an apartment that had most of the view looking out on one of the best parks in the city, and sometimes when she opened up the windows and let the world into her home, it didn't sound too much like car horns and the fake sounds of electric engines.


By the time she looked back at the DOLL, he was looking at her once again. She fidgeted further and bit at her lower lip. What was she going to do? Was there an off switch? In two steps, she was close to him once again, her hands trailing over him to insure there were no safety contraptions still strapped to him. She released one about his waist and then began to remove the frame around him.


"I guess until we can figure out who you're supposed to be with," she began as she took a step back from him, "you could make yourself comfortable?" She motioned over to her living room with a small swoop of her hand. It was modest, clean, and carried a singular quaint neo-Victorian couch opposite of a wide TV screen panel mounted on her wall. It was likely at some point the intended addressee would come looking for his or her misplaced package. She had no other idea as to how to wait it out but to do what she normally did when waiting; nothing.

 

[SR388]

At the offer to make himself comfortable, he did just that. How did he do that? By doing nothing. He was perfectly comfortable standing right outside his box. "Thank you, I'm comfortable standing here." With the box now torn down, he was able to see all around him now, the furniture, the walls and carpeting, and he was taking it all in. "Do you mind if I explore?" Having not been given a prerogative, he was feeling curious, as was only natural of someone who knew very little, you always want to know more.


The carpet was an off white, with a visible stain near on of the end tables. Though an obvious spill or slip, the different color in that one spot perplexed the DOLL, and he wanted to further investigate the wall clock. Why was this little contraption making ticking noises? And what do those hands and numbers mean? The DOLL had a concept of time, and knew very well what it was, and even knew what clocks were, but this one was slightly odd. It had floral designs around it and a vivid garden background, and didn't look like a normal clock, at least to him. He continued to gaze about, waiting for permission to explore, or an assignment to be given.

 

[Effervescent]

She had to remind herself this man before her was a machine. Whoever created him did a magnificent job at making him look so human. Nora looked around her apartment hesitantly as the DOLL asked to explore. The small apartment of 5216 was a one bedroom, single living home. It was quaint and decorated in antiques she had collected on business trips. In such an era where everything is digital and sleek and typically silent, she found an odd beauty in the old clunky objects and furniture left behind by their ancestors. She felt they were forgotten, and it made her sad. She'd often find herself roaming antique shops looking for the one object that made her feel the most sad. Giving the forgotten a home was an unconscious hobby of hers, and likely one she was already starting to adapt with XB372.


"Have at it," she said with a shrug and motioned about her house. She watched him curiously, still in awe with how he functioned as a person, yet not entirely so. He seemed quite handsome as well for a robot of sorts. "Do you have a name? Something other than XB372?"

 

[SR388]

At the motion he was off, the DOLL was eager to explore, eager to learn. He was crouching as the question left the girl. "No name, though you can give me one if you want, and what shall I call you?" The mechanical humanoid never looked towards the girl, instead moving from the stain to the clock. He poked the clock and it rocked back and forth. He poked it a second time and it came crashing to the ground, luckily still seemingly intact. The DOLL made no sign he was surprised, as reactions like flinching weren't programmed at this stage, as well as not having the thought to apologize or even pick it up, instead moving on to the next item. Questions began to build, though he would save them for when he was done learning on his own.

 

[Effervescent]

"Nora," she responded, jumping as the clock fell to the ground. She gasped and quickly moved to pick it up and inspect it. The clock clicked and whirred and she checked her phone to insure it was still telling time correctly before placing it back up on its mount. "Ah, I think you should give yourself a name."


Her brow furrowed as she followed his curious movements. He was literally exploring, but with all the antiques in her home he was sure to damage something irreparably. Many of these findings of hers were so dated that no one knew how to fix it should something go awry. "You should probably not touch anything, please?" she pleaded. "If you'd like to see something, I can show it to you. These things are very old." She scuttled behind the DOLL nervously, concerned for what he might almost break next.

 

[SR388]

At the request to name himself the DOLL gave a second to think, standing and staring blankly at the wall. "Well, how about Meki, is that name suitable?" The DOLL had chosen the name semi randomly. He had plugged in robot, machine, mechanical, and a few other key words, the through a method too complicated to explain, Meki was the first name on his list.


Being asked not to touch anything, the DOLL had stopped touching things. Instead, he now pointed, as asked, to a weird device. It was a bug, more specifically a spider, crawling across the table that held the television. "Can you show me that?" The DOLL had taken the time to look Nora in the eyes this time, his expression one off innocent curiosity.

 

[Effervescent]

"Meki it is," she said and clasped her hands together in a small clap. Her brow raised as he asked to be shown something, and she looked to where he pointed. At a distance it just looked like a spot on her mahogany piece, so she took a few steps towards it. "Oh!" she said as she realized what Meki's interest was in. Carefully, she placed her hand where the spider could crawl onto it, and she held it up at eye level for him.


"It's a spider," she explained. "It's a living, breathing organism that creates sticky strings from that thing on its back-" She pointed to the spider's abdomen. "-and then weaves those strings together to create a web, or a net of sorts to trap their prey. They feed off of other bugs." After the lesson, Nora took the spider over to the balcony, opening the sliding door and placing the spider carefully on the banister before retreating back into her home.