Robot Girl Read online

  First published in 2015 in Great Britain by

  Barrington Stoke Ltd

  18 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7LP

  This ebook edition first published in 2020

  www.barringtonstoke.co.uk

  Text © 2015 Oneta Malorie Blackman

  Illustrations © 2015 Matthew Griffin

  The moral right of Oneta Malorie Blackman and Matthew Griffin to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in any part in any form without the written permission of the publisher

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request

  ISBN: 978-1-80090-025-7

  To Neil and Lizzy

  With love

  As always

  CONTENTS

  1. Data

  2. Stuck-up

  3. Sister

  4. Project

  5. Different

  6. Control

  7. Nightmare

  8. Alone

  9. Choice

  10. Father

  11. Fire

  12. Dreams

  CHAPTER 1

  DATA

  “Come on, Mum, you must know.”

  Mum groaned. “Claire, how many more times must I tell you?” she said. “I don’t know what your dad is working on. You know he doesn’t like to show us a project until it’s finished and he’s happy with it. It has to be perfect before he’ll let anyone else in the lab.”

  “But what d’you think it might be?” I asked. “I mean, why did he need all that data about me? Like how long my fingers are and how far I can see and how tall I am and all that? And why did he scan my mind for my brain patterns? What’s that got to do with …?”

  “Claire, read my lips – I don’t know.” Mum raised a hand to swot away a fly that was buzzing around her. She made contact and it fell dead at her feet.

  I decided not to push my luck. It was clear that Mum was getting more than a little annoyed. She almost had sparks flying out of her eyes.

  “Look, Claire,” Mum said, “your dad said he’d show us his project later today and he will. Until then you’ll just have to wait.” She seemed a bit calmer now. She picked up the fly and dropped it into the bin by her chair.

  I stood up.

  “Where are you going?” Mum asked.

  “To do my homework.”

  “To do your homework or to play on the net?” Mum asked.

  “I don’t play on the net,” I told her. “I work, I study, I gather data, I support my learning …”

  “But most of the time you play!” Mum said with a laugh.

  I had to laugh too – because it was true!

  “Well, I’m not going to play now,” I said. “I’m going to talk to my pen pal.”

  “You’ve found one at last, have you?” Mum asked.

  “Mum, where’ve you been?” I said. “I’ve had a pen pal for three weeks now. Her name is Maisie. And we’ve got so many things in common. It’s amazing.”

  “What about all the other people who messaged you?” Mum asked.

  “It’s all right,” I said. “I told them that I’ve found a pen pal and I only want one for the time being.”

  “I hope you were polite,” Mum said.

  “Always!” I said. “You know me!”

  CHAPTER 2

  STUCK-UP

  I tried to ignore Mum’s snort of laughter behind me as I ran up to my room.

  I couldn’t wait to talk to Maisie again. To tell the truth, I don’t have many friends.

  Most of the kids in my class think I’m a bit stuck-up. They think I fancy myself. I don’t. I promise I don’t. I’m just a bit shy. And sometimes that makes me appear rude. But everyone has heard of my dad. He’s famous. And so they think that I think I’m too good for them. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but no one in my class has spent enough time with me to find out.

  I mean, I’m proud of my dad, of course I am. It’s just that he cares more about his work than he does about Mum and me. Mum says that’s normal and I’ll understand when I grow up. Somehow I don’t think so.

  Dad’s away in his lab as often as he can manage it. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard Mum and Dad discuss it. They’re so polite. I wish they’d have a shouting, screaming argument. At least that would be more real. But they say shouting and screaming and nonsense like that is for children, not adults. And then they say, “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

  To be honest, I’m not sure I want to.

  I needed to talk to someone about it all.

  I needed to talk to Maisie.

  CHAPTER 3

  SISTER

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Hi Maisie

  How are you?

  Dad still hasn’t told us what he’s working on. The minute I know, I’ll message you! Dad always swears Mum and me to secrecy, but you’re almost like my sister, so I can tell you. I know you won’t tell anyone else. Dad’s company are so excited about this new project – at least that’s what Dad says. I’m not surprised you’ve heard of my dad. He’s a technology genius – at least, that’s what they call him on the news.

  Dad says this thing he’s working on will make the kit we use now seem like “stone age tools” – his words, not mine.

  I hope your dad spends more time with you than mine does with me.

  Get texting. I’m waiting.

  Your friend

  Claire

  And then the message was gone. I hoped Maisie would be online so that I’d get a message straight back. I was in luck. I didn’t have long to wait.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Hi Claire

  It’s great to hear from you again. I’m glad you said what you did. To tell the truth, I think of you as a sister too.

  You talk about your father as if you don’t like him very much, but I envy you. I’d love a family, a real family, any kind of family. That’s why it’s wonderful that you want us to be as close as sisters.

  I live in one room that I’m meant to call home, but it isn’t – not a proper home. My father looks after me but he doesn’t care about me – not about who I am inside. He just looks after me because he hopes that some day I’ll make him rich. I’ve heard him talking to his friends about me. They all talk in front of me as if I’m deaf. I bet your father isn’t like that. Write soon.

  Love

  Maisie

  I frowned at the screen as I read Maisie’s message again. I was just about to reply when Mum called me from the kitchen.

  “Claire, your dad just called,” she yelled. “He’s at the lab and he wants us to come over as soon as we can. He’s ready to show us his project.”

  I ran out of my bedroom. Maisie was forgotten.

  “You mean we’re going to see at last what he’s been doing for the past year?” I said. I couldn’t believe my ears. And it was odd, but even though I resented all the time Dad had spent away from us while he worked on his new project, I still couldn’t wait to see it.

  Mum clapped her hands. “Get your things,” she said. “And remember to look impressed.”

  CHAPTER 4

  PROJECT

  “May I present AI-E, the future of technology,” Dad announced. “Come on out, AI-E!”

  The thing walked into the room and stood next to Dad.

  “Well? What do you think?” Dad asked, with an eager grin.

  I stared at Dad’s latest project and felt horror bloom inside me. I couldn’t help it.
It was horrific. Like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was shorter than me and rounder – if it had had two more arms it could have been some kind of nasty, giant insect.

  “What’s wrong?” The smile on Dad’s face vanished, like a torch that had been switched off.

  I looked at Mum. She frowned at me.

  “I … nothing,” I said.

  But it was too late. Dad had read my face.

  “Come on, Claire. Tell me what’s wrong with it.” Dad’s voice was cold, angry.

  “Why does it look like that?” I asked.

  “Like what?” he snapped.

  “So … so strange,” I said. “It looks … I don’t know. Round. And soft. And squashed.”

  “Ah! Now that’s interesting,” Dad said. He rubbed his hands together with glee. “My co-workers and I believe that technology in its current form has gone as far as it can. We need a brand-new way of working, and so we asked permission to experiment on some DNA from the Natural History Museum. We got hold of some DNA samples that were over 4,000 years old. Imagine that! 4,000 years old! We had a few false starts, but in the end we rebuilt the DNA. And that is how we developed what you see here.”

  Dad did everything but bow when he’d finished his speech. He reminded me of a proud peacock. I walked up to his project and prodded it with my finger. It felt like nothing I’d ever touched before.

  “Why does it look so … so horrible?” I couldn’t help it. I had to say the word.

  “What do you mean?” Dad said. “It’s meant to be you!” Dad grinned. “I modelled her face on yours.”

  I stared at him. He must have lost his mind. This … this thing was meant to be me? What an insult!

  “Of course she’s not an exact copy of you, but she’s based on you,” he said.

  “I don’t understand,” I said. I wasn’t sure I wanted to understand.

  “I scanned your brain patterns to create her mind,” Dad told me. “I wanted her to be able to reason things out for herself. So I decided to imprint your brain patterns into her processor. And it worked. She has a mind of her own.”

  My head was fizzing. “You used my brain patterns to create this?” I was appalled.

  “Yes, of course,” Dad said. “Remember a couple of months ago when I recorded your memories on the cogno-chip? Well, I used the data from that chip to create AI-E.”

  This was getting worse. AI-E stood in front of me, and its lips turned up in what I can only assume was a smile.

  “Mark, Claire is right. Why does it look so … so odd?” Mum asked Dad.

  “Well, she’s made of a new kind of material – like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” Dad said. “And I found that the more she learned and thought, the more her processor grew. Imagine that! It got bigger and heavier. I didn’t expect that at all. The material the processor is made of grows with it too.”

  Dad paused, like a teacher who wanted to check that his students were keeping up.

  “Her processor is a brand-new design,” he went on. “It’s like nothing anyone’s ever seen before. It’s not like ours – it sends electrical and chemical signals. Isn’t that fantastic? I never thought she could be this good, not even in my wildest dreams.”

  CHAPTER 5

  DIFFERENT

  I faded out as Dad droned on. I just stood and stared at AI-E. It stared back at me.

  “So, Claire, what d’you think now?”

  I faded in again as Dad said my name.

  Dad had well and truly lost his mind. He’d gone too far this time. How could he? And he didn’t ask my permission. How could he?

  “That thing has really got my memories?” I asked.

  “Only up until three months ago,” Dad said. “The two of you have your own memories from that point on.” He sounded cold and defensive again. “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  We both knew that was a lie. He knew how I’d feel, but he’d decided to go ahead anyway. And now it was done, there wasn’t anything I could do about it, and he knew it. The same old story. It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last.

  “Is that all I am to you?” I asked. “A source of data for your projects?”

  Dad didn’t even bother to deny it. He just brushed my hurt aside. “Now, Claire, you’re behaving like a child again,” he said.

  “I am a child – remember?” I told him.

  “Well, thank goodness AI-E is more level-headed than you,” Dad said. His voice had a sharp edge. He turned to the thing. “AI-E, say hello to my daughter Claire.”

  “Hello, Claire.” Even AI-E’s voice sounded strange. It wasn’t like a normal voice at all. It was full of breath sounds and echoes. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” it said.

  I still couldn’t believe it. Dad had built a walking, talking computer with my brain patterns and what was meant to be my face. If I looked like AI-E, I’d walk around with a paper bag on my head.

  “I don’t like it, Dad,” I said. “When are you going to shut it down?”

  “Shut down AI-E?” Dad was stunned. “I’ve worked for years to perfect her and you want me to destroy her?”

  “Dad, it’s not real,” I said.

  “Not real?” he spluttered. “She’s as real as you or me, Claire. And she’s a ‘she’, not an ‘it’!” He was shouting at me now. “AI-E can think for herself,” he yelled. “I don’t mean that she can follow patterns laid out in a program. I mean she can really think for herself. Analyse, reason, learn. I’ve even set up her room with access to the net so that she can watch and listen and learn about our world – and she’s ahead of us already.”

  “Mum, do something,” I begged. “Make him shut it down. Make him get rid of it.”

  Mum just stared at AI-E and shook her head.

  Dad took a deep breath. “Claire, I really don’t know what your problem is.” He glared at me.

  I didn’t care.

  He was acting as if I’d asked him to get rid of … well, get rid of me.

  No, I take that back. He wouldn’t have made as much fuss if it was me he had to get rid of. Dad was given me. But he had made AI-E himself.

  AI-E smiled at me. “Please, Claire,” it said. “I am your friend. And you will always come first with Mark.”

  “Don’t call my dad that,” I said.

  Dad sprang to AI-E’s defence. “I told her to call me Mark,” he said. “What else is she going to call me? Now if you can’t be happy for me, Claire, you can leave. Go on. And I’ll tell you something else. If AI-E were in your place, she wouldn’t make all this fuss.”

  I couldn’t take it any more. I just couldn’t.

  I dragged up the filthiest look I could and sent it towards Dad like a poison arrow.

  Then I ran out of the lab.

  CHAPTER 6

  CONTROL

  I sat in the car outside the lab and burned with a strange mix of envy and fear.

  After a while, Mum joined me. She drove us home. We both sat in stony silence. As soon as we got home, I tried to run up to my room but Mum stopped me.

  “Claire, I want to talk to you,” she said.

  “I don’t want to talk to you or anyone else,” I said.

  “Tough!” Mum pulled then pushed me into the living room. “Sit down.”

  I sat down. All of a sudden I felt very tired and sad.

  Mum put her arm around me and sighed.

  “Claire, you’re not as tough as you like to think you are,” she said. “And I know your father can be a bit thoughtless sometimes. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be that way too.”

  “What do you mean?” I sniffed.

  “You were a bit … blunt.” Mum chose her words with care. “I know it was hard to hide what you felt when that … thing was presented to us out of the blue like that. But you have to learn to keep quiet until you can control what you want to say and how you’re going to say it.”

  “Like you do?” I asked.

  “Like I do,” Mum said, with another
sigh. “I had to learn and so will you. That’s what sets us apart from any other creatures. We can think without our feelings getting in the way. When you’ve learned to control what you do and say, then you’re an adult. You have to learn to control your feelings until you no longer have them.”

  “Don’t you have any feelings at all?” I asked.

  Mum shook her head.

  “Not even for me?” I wanted to ask, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “Will I be like you one day?” I asked instead.

  “Of course!” she said.

  “What about … what about if you have other children?” I whispered.

  “You’re my daughter, Claire,” Mum said. “Nothing will change that.”

  That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but it would have to do.

  “For now, you have to remember that you’re Mark’s daughter as well,” Mum went on. “You must treat him with the proper respect.”

  “But why?” I demanded. “Why can’t I tell Dad how I feel? He had no right to use me for his project.”

  “I agree,” Mum said. “But there are ways to help him see that.” She smiled. “There’s an old saying – ‘You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’.”

  CHAPTER 7

  NIGHTMARE

  I went up to my room to think about what Mum had said. I wanted to chat to Maisie about it. I knew Mum was right, but I still couldn’t calm down. There was a strange kind of anger inside me, not hot, but cold. It burned its way through my body like ice.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Hello Maisie

  I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your last message right away but something came up. My dad – the so-called genius – has invented what he calls “the future”. He’s built a walking, talking computer that can think for itself.

  But my dad’s a liar. All he did was copy my brain patterns into the thing and use my mind as the basis for its thoughts. Mum and I went to see it today. It was horrible. It had two legs and two arms like we do, but it’s made of this weird springy, squashy material. Its eyes are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Those eyes would give you nightmares for a month. And Dad had the cheek to say it was modelled on me. I hate it.