//------------------------------// // Weird Fishes, Part 1 // Story: Passing Familiarity // by The Hat Man //------------------------------// Gadget’s eyes fluttered open as she turned over in her bed. She looked up and saw Turing Test standing over her. “Ah, good,” Turing said with a smile, “you’re awake. And just in time too: breakfast is almost ready.” Gadget blinked. “Breakfast?” she asked. She sat up and wiped her eyes before fumbling around for her glasses. “But I… the machine…” “I moved your chain-reaction device’s components out of the way so I could access your kitchen area downstairs,” Turing replied. “But I was careful not to displace anything and can easily put it back exactly as you had it, if you wish.” Gadget was still blinking at her, and Turing surmised that she hadn’t fully awakened yet. “Did you not want breakfast?” Turing asked slowly. “Or… or did you not wish for me to make breakfast?” Comprehension finally returned to Gadget and she adjusted her glasses, sliding them up her muzzle. “No, uh… no, that’s fine,” she replied, smiling back at her at last. “I just didn’t expect that. But thank you!” Turing nodded. “I will be downstairs. Your meal should be ready momentarily, so please join me soon.” Turing left the room and trotted back down through the layers of walkways to a small space on the ground floor where Gadget had set up her “kitchen,” which was mainly a collection of appliances arranged in a rectangular area, despite there being no walls to designate it as a separate room. A table with a singular chair was at the center of it all, and it was on this table that Turing Test began to place the dishes. Gadget arrived a few moments later. Turing noted that she did not have her mechanical arms equipped, which gave her an altogether different appearance. Last night, she’d seemed fluid and dynamic in her motions with the way her arms and hands were in constant motion. Even when she’d spoken, her mechanical hands weaved and bobbed in time with her voice’s cadence. Without them, she looked… smaller, and almost as if she were a different pony entirely. “So, what are we having?” Gadget asked. “I examined the contents of your refrigerator and pantry,” Turing said as she jostled a skillet on the stove, “and made a determination of your most commonly consumed items. I also guessed from your explanation of your Gold Brick machine’s mishaps that you like eggs. I hope they are to your liking.” Turing brought the pan over to Gadget’s plate and let a pair of golden-yolked eggs, fried sunny-side up, slide onto her plate. She then returned with a smaller plate with toasted sourdough bread slathered with butter and marmalade, half of a grapefruit dusted with a bit of salt and sugar, and a steaming mug of black coffee. Gadget’s eyes widened. “Wow,” she breathed. “I do like all these things, though I usually eat them separately.” “Oh!” Turing exclaimed. “Is it too much? You may eat what you like, of course—” Gadget shook her head and snatched up a slice of toast. “No, no, I actually could use the extra energy today,” she said. “After all—” she took a bite of toast “—I gogga log ob worb ta do.” Turing smiled and, in the absence of another chair, pulled up a stool from one of the nearby workstations to take a seat across from Gadget at the table. “If you require assistance,” Turing said, “I would be glad to assist you.” Gadget swallowed, washing down the first bites of breakfast with her coffee. “Well, you seem pretty chipper today,” she said, smiling back at her. “Last night you, uh… well, never mind.” “I suppose,” Turing said, “that I simply enjoyed making breakfast for somepony else. Obviously, I do not need to eat, and other ponies have their own familiars or automated kitchens. So this is the first occasion in a fairly long time that I have been able to make breakfast for another. I used to do it every day…”  Her smile faded slightly. “...for Maud Pie.” Gadget paused mid-bite. “Well… thank you, Turing Test,” she said. “I really do appreciate it.” Turing nodded. “You are welcome, Gadget,” she said. “So, what work will you be doing today?” Gadget wiped the crumbs from her mouth, glancing back out at the floor of the factory. “I… well, y’know, maybe I should put all that aside.” Turing tilted her head to the side. “What for? It seemed like you had plans for today.” “I did, I did,” Gadget said, nodding, but then she leaned forward, placing her hooves on the table. “But, honestly, I feel like I ought to try to do something with you instead.” Turing blinked. “I have no plans, Gadget,” she said. “So there is no need to worry.” “Well, what I mean is that… well, I feel like I’m the one who should be helping you,” she said. “After what you told me last night, I really do feel like I should do whatever I can to make you feel better. So what do you do for fun?” Turing Test considered the question for a moment. “If you are asking what I have been doing to occupy my time,” she began, “then the answer is a variety of things. I have attempted to join the Eternal Carnival through activities including but not limited to dancing, cinema, art, gambling, sports, and sexual promiscuity.” Gadget blushed. “W-wait, what?” Turing asked, “You wish me to repeat that list of activities?” Gadget shook her head. “No, no, just… that last one caught me off guard.” She forced a weak smile. “I kinda thought you guys… I mean robots… I mean Familiars didn’t…” Turing nodded slowly. “I see,” she said. “It is not a topic mentioned often, but some of us are physically capable of such intimacy. Though my original form was not, my current form since becoming a freemare is. And many other Familiars are capable in their original state. In such a state, I am capable of experiencing the same physical sensations as an organic lifeform.” Turing paused, noting that Gadget’s blush had deepened, but she was still listening attentively, so Turing continued: “However, we lack the biological urge to reproduce, and the hormonal rush that accompanies such an action. Thus, most of us simply don’t care for it. My own experiments thus far have proven unsatisfying, in fact. For both myself and my partners.” Gadget squirmed. “You’re surprisingly up-front about this,” she muttered, taking a bite of her egg. Turing said nothing for a moment as she observed Gadget’s reaction. Given her youth, her lifestyle, and her almost prudish reactions, there was a distinct possibility: “Ah. Would I be correct in assuming that you are a virgin, then?” Gadget nearly choked on her egg, her blush spreading to her whole face. “Th-that’s nopony’s business but my own!” she sputtered, slamming her hoof on the table. “Anyway, why are we even talking about this?!” Turing smirked. “Because you broached the topic,” she replied. “Do you wish to change the subject?” “Yes!” Gadget snapped. Then she shook her head. “I mean, no! No, I want to go back to what we were actually talking about: what you do for fun!” “Not other ponies, apparently,” Turing quipped, drawing a glare from Gadget. “But to complete my answer: I do not, in fact, find any of those activities ‘fun.’ That is my problem: nothing is fun.” Gadget sank in her seat, her ears drooping as her anger faded. “Nothing?” she asked. “Nothing at all?” Turing nodded. “I do enjoy music,” she said with a shrug. “But I cannot simply listen to music for all of my free time. In truth, cooking this breakfast for you and seeing your enjoyment of it has been the most satisfying thing I have done recently. I suppose it is just part of who I am: as a Familiar, I am programmed to find satisfaction in serving a master.” Gadget’s expression soured. “Please don’t call me that,” she said. Turing held up a hoof. “I did not mean that you are my master,” she said. “But rather that all organic ponies are our masters—” “Just go with ‘organic ponies,’” Gadget said, cutting her off. “Or ‘organics.’ But please, don’t use that word. Especially not with me. There are no ‘masters’ here, Turing. You’re your own pony, and you’re free to do what you want.” “Would that not mean that I am free to use any terminology I wish?” Turing asked, giving her another smirk. Gadget rolled her eyes. “Well, if it disturbs you,” Turing continued, “then I will cease to use the term. And perhaps you are right… perhaps it will improve my mindset to change my way of thinking about myself in relation to… ‘organics.’” Gadget smiled. “Glad that’s settled,” she said. “But to carry on our conversation,” Turing said, “since nothing seems to have brought me satisfaction thus far, I thought I would instead observe you and your activities. After all, your lifestyle seems to deviate from the norms of society, so perhaps I can gain some insight from joining you. And, as stated, I do enjoy assisting others. “So, please, continue with your plans for today. I wish to join you and learn more about you. For now, that is what I would enjoy. What I would find ‘fun.’” Gadget grinned, then began to eat with gusto. “Well, in that -nomf- case,” she mumbled, “let’s get started!” As it turned out, the work Gadget had in mind was working more on the strange hovercraft she’d shown Turing Test the previous day, the so-called “Blues Drive Monster.” The craft was apparently close to completion, and it was Gadget’s intent to install a few final components and test a few things before actually flying it herself in a real competition. Of course, Turing had asked what competition she had in mind, and Gadget’s response had surprised her: “The big race tomorrow!” Turing had stared back at her for a few moments. “You intend to race this tomorrow?” she asked. “Should you not do more extensive testing on it?” Gadget had hauled herself up onto the top of the machine with her mechanical limbs - now attached - and she was now looking at some of the circuitry and tubing beneath the top panels of the machine. “I’ve actually raced with it a time or two before,” Gadget said. “But it didn’t do as well as expected. I already know most of its capabilities, so now I just need to test how the new components integrate into it.” “What sort of components?” Turing asked. “A new P-Fusion engine with 25% more output, for one,” she replied, tightening a bolt with one mechanical hand while testing the conductivity of another component with a multimeter with another hand. “And an additional thaumatrium injector in case I need a boost of speed on a straightaway for another. Not to mention some of the new neural interfaces to cut down on response time by a few extra nanoseconds.” The Blues Drive Monster was vaguely squid-shaped. The forward-pointing cockpit was narrow and cone-like. The middle section contained most of the machinery in a ring-like structure which included the fuel, the engine, and the various other parts that would keep it aloft. At the back of it were four long, slender fins that could each move independently of the others. These fins were the main propulsion for the craft and fired energized blasts of plasma along their length to both achieve incredible speed and maintain control even in tight turns. And, of course, the undercarriage was lined with circular hover pads that would keep it aloft. “Toss me that soldering iron, would you?” Gadget called down to Turing. Turing found the tool and tossed it up. Gadget caught it without hardly a glance. Those mechanical limbs of hers were incredibly responsive, which was all the more surprising given that they were custom-made.  To Turing’s surprise, the limbs were connected to a central unit that was vaguely shaped like a backpack (or perhaps a saddle) which actually connected into her nervous system through tiny nodes that Gadget had implanted into her own torso. The arms slid easily through slits Gadget had made in her jacket. Gadget had actually seemed a bit embarrassed when Turing Test had watched her remove her jacket that morning to put the device on, and even more so when Turing had examined one of the arms with her hoof. “H-hey, easy there!” Gadget had exclaimed as Turing had slid her hoof down the limb. “Oh,” Turing said, dropping it immediately. “My apologies. I assure you that I was handling it with care.” “No, it’s just… see, in addition to the neural interfaces, I installed a converter that taps into my earth pony magic. It allows me to feel things through the arms as if they were an extension of my body.” Turing tilted her head at that. “Such connectivity is impressive,” she said, “but rather impractical. Mechanical limbs already exist that preserve 90% of the original sensation but eliminate pain. With what you describe, they would be even more sensitive. Possibly even more so than your biological limbs. Aren’t you worried about accidentally hurting yourself?” Gadget shrugged. “I like to feel close to my work. Besides, I can automatically disconnect if something were to go wrong.” She chuckled. “Actually, one time I got Back Lefty caught in an industrial shredder. That hurt about worse than anything else I’ve ever felt for the one second it took before I disconnected. After that, well… I guess I’m just not afraid of a little pain. Or even a lot of it.” Turing nodded slowly. “That is very brave of you.” “That, or maybe I’m just too stubborn to know better,” Gadget laughed. “Though, I have to admit, Back Lefty never has been quite the same since then.” She glanced back at her rear left mechanical hand, which then gave her the finger in response. Back in the present, Turing was tasked with checking the internal machinery of the Blues Drive Monster. Gadget had at first done everything, stating that it was against the rules of the race to build anything with the assistance of an A.I. - which included Turing, obviously - but relented when Turing complained that she genuinely wanted to help. After all, she said, inspecting the craft for safety and possible issues didn’t qualify as “building.” Indeed, it would help her save some time in adding the new components. Turing peered closely in the dark compartment behind the cockpit, surrounded by the ring of machinery. From outside the craft, Gadget’s music played over the speakers that were suspended above the factory floor. Today’s Trot Sawyer he gets high on you And the space he invades he get by on you… “You seem to enjoy a lot of older music!” Turing called loudly as Gadget worked outside. “Oh, yeah!” Gadget shouted back, pausing in her work momentarily. “One of the few things I did get from Papa. He left a lot of his old music behind when he took off, and I think Mama kept it out of spite. Er, is it bothering you?” “No, not at all!” Turing replied, turning back to her inspection. “As stated, I rather enjoy music. Ah… there is a gasket in here that seems a bit worn. While not critical, you may wish to replace it.” “Perfect, thanks! Make a note of it, and I’ll get to it after this!” Turing Test leaned her head into the tight space between the machinery. While most of the components were pre-made machinery, the configuration was all Gadget’s doing. And a few of the pieces were clearly bespoke works of machining that Gadget had most likely done herself. “I had meant to ask you earlier,” Turing called out again, “what is it that fascinates you about machines?” “Huh?!” Gadget called back. “I didn’t hear that! Say again?” “I asked you what it is that fascinates—” “Hang on, I’m not hearing you at all!” Gadget shouted. “I’ll be right there!” The young mare swung down from the top of the machine, sliding over the windshield before entering the cockpit. She trotted up to Turing, lifting the tinted safety goggles she’d been wearing to weld. “Sorry, you were - oh!” Turing glanced back and saw that Gadget’s eyes had gone wide at the sight of Turing Test bent over the machinery, her flank protruding from the tight machinery. Those same eyes briefly glanced down, clearly checking out her rump, hind legs, and fetlocks. Increased blood flow detected, Turing’s systems told her. Change noted in pupils and breathing pattern. Most likely cause is physical attraction. It was a reaction she knew well, but it was surprising to see it in Gadget, given that her interest in her had seemed platonic up until this point. Still, other than Gadget displaying a reflexive attraction, it was not a sign of anything more, so she chose to ignore it for now and slid back out of the machinery to speak to Gadget face-to-face. “I was asking about your interest in machines,” Turing said. “Well, that’s a good question,” Gadget said, recovering from her moment of fluster. She rubbed her chin with one of her mechanical hands as she thought about it. “I mean, machines are all over the place nowadays, and we just sort of take them for granted, you know? And I mean ‘we’ as in organics. I don’t imagine you take it for granted.” Turing shrugged. “I suppose that I am so used to interacting with the network and other machines that I do not really consider that aspect of things. And I think of myself as, well, myself before I think of myself as a machine.” “That makes sense,” Gadget said. “Well, it started with a general interest in science. Knowing how things work is just wonderful to me, and so I got interested in biology and chemistry and other things when I was little… but then it occurred to me that machines, the amazing things all around us, were things I could literally study, take apart, and build for myself!” Turing raised an eyebrow at this. “You mentioned an earlier interest in meeting a Familiar,” she said. “You were not planning to take me apart, I hope.” Gadget shook her head vigorously. “No! No, of course not, I would never! I mean, I would love to study how Familiars work, but… well, obviously that would have to be with their consent. And so much of what makes Familiars work is classified knowledge, and it is expressly forbidden to build your own Familiar so, well—” Turing held up a hoof. “I believe we are getting off  track,” she said. “But if I were to guess, your interest in Familiars stems from your previous interest in machinery in general combined with your new concerns that arose with your mother’s Familiar’s retirement.” Gadget nodded solemnly. “You’re machines, but you’re not like any other machines out there. I want to get to know you, and not just what makes you tick… nopony ever seems to care what you want, what you think about, what you’re really like. They’re just happy that Familiars are there to please them. But I think there’s more to you than that. And you’re proving me right.” Turing stared back at her, then looked away. But I am not certain that I am truly like the others… if I were, would I still feel the way I do? “Turing? Are you okay?” Turing put on a smile as she turned back to her. “It was just a stray thought to process,” she replied. “Thank you for the compliment.” “Sure. Anyway, let me finish what I’m working on topside, and then I can look at the components you found.” “I will finish my inspection as well,” Turing said. “I have almost completed my assigned checklist.” “Great! After that, we can start checking the systems! With your help, I’m pretty sure I can optimize every last bit of this baby!” Turing nodded and let Gadget return to her work as she continued her own. She lifted a piece of tubing gently, tapping it to listen for any possible obstructions in the oxygen flow. Satisfied, she was about to move on to another component when the previous song ended and it moved on to the next on Gadget’s playlist. She froze the instant she heard the telltale acoustic guitar riff. It is just a song, she told herself. There is no need to react. She moved on to the next component. A winter’s day In a deep and dark December… Her Third Eye almost instinctively reached out… only to find no pathway forward in this Dead Zone. In this cavern of digital darkness, she was blind. And panic suddenly surged up from within her. “Okay, Turing, I’ve just about got it,” Gadget was saying. “How about you? Are you finished yet?” Turing backed out of the fuselage of the craft, scrambling out of the cockpit, her Third Eye still searching around blindly. I am alone… “Turing?” Gadget asked, hearing Turing test gallop down the metal walkway, moving at top speed toward the stairs. “Wait, Turing! Where are you going?!” Turing Test ran to the door, practically wrenching it open as she slammed the release button on the door lock to the exit. Gazing from my window to the streets below On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow And as she ran out of the factory, she heard Gadget frantically calling for her even as the music of the first verse culminated in the words she knew so well: I am a rock I am an island! She ran with the urgency of a suffocating diver clawing to the ocean’s surface. She ran with the desperation of an animal as it felt the hot breath of its predator on the back of its neck. She ran with all thoughts and considerations momentarily tossed away as the Third Eye took over, consuming all else in its voracious hunger, starved for so long but denied no more. She reached the border of the Dead Zone and felt herself reconnect with the global network, her data syncing and her systems re-engaging and, at last, her Third Eye landed on the sight of Maud Pie’s grave. She slumped to the ground, both out of relief and, she realized, defeat. The Third Eye had won. The simple sight of her master, still dead, her grave still well-kept and clean, filled her with comfort but also the realization that the gap in her vigil had changed nothing.  All it had taken was the sound of Maud Pie’s favorite song to tear away any progress she made in her attempt to find a reprieve or a new cause to live for. Is all of this… just pointless? “Turing?!” Turing Test slowly stood. She’d of course heard Gadget galloping after her, but so consuming was her Third Eye’s desire that she’d failed to process the world around her. “Turing,” Gadget gasped, still catching her breath. “Oh thank goodness… you’re still here…” Turing turned to face her and saw that Gadget’s eyes had filled with tears. “Gadget,” she said softly. “What is wrong?” “You… you just ran off like that!” she cried. “I didn’t know what to think! I thought maybe I’d said something wrong or… or maybe you’d just decided I wasn’t worth your time, or… well, I don’t know!” Turing smiled. “It’s not funny!” Gadget shrieked, and Turing’s smile vanished. “You thought I was not coming back,” Turing surmised. “You thought I was going to leave and request retirement.” Gadget wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her jacket. “Well, after last night, can you blame me?!” she demanded, gasping through sudden sobs. “The way you were talking… hearing your story… Turing, we’ve barely gotten to know each other, and… and I j-just want a chance!” “A chance at what?” Turing asked. “A chance to convince you not to kill yourself!” Gadget shouted. “If there’s a chance I can help, then let me try, at least! Please!” Turing closed her eyes, affecting a sigh. “Gadget, I appreciate your concern, but I was not going to do anything so rash,” she said. “Not yet. That song that was playing in your workshop just happened to be one of Maud Pie’s favorites, and it filled me with a strong desire to check in on her.” “Check in on her? But… Turing, she’s—” “To check her grave, I mean,” Turing clarified. “It is all I can do for her now. And though I know it is futile, it is the only way to even remotely satisfy my need to serve her. I realize that may sound pathetic, at least to an organic, but it is the way I am.  “Still, I am committed to trying to find alternative ways for me to be happy, as we discussed. So there is no need to be concerned. I would not simply abandon this course of action without notifying you first.” Gadget heaved a sigh of relief. “Okay… yeah, okay,” she said, placing a hoof on her chest as she caught her breath. Turing was about to step back into the Dead Zone, to return to the factory, but she paused for a moment. “Gadget… before I return with you, I’d like to know why you are so concerned about this. It is ultimately my decision, after all. And you have known me for less than a day. Even should I choose retirement, the only one who would regret it would be myself for breaking my promise to Maud Pie. Familiars retire all the time, after all… so why would you, as an organic, become so upset?” Gadget gawked at her. “Turing… ugh, do you really not get it? Familiar or not, you’re still a pony, and that means you deserve happiness too. And even if I just met you, I couldn’t just let somepony give up on life again. Not when I could do something about it.” Turing stared back at her. Her mother, she realized. Despite what she says, part of her wonders if she could have prevented her mother’s death. And now, perhaps, she believes that she can atone for it by saving mine. I see now. “Am I not… a burden to you?” she asked. Gadget shook her head emphatically and seized her by the shoulders with her hooves. “No,” she said simply. “Never a burden. I want you here, Turing. Please don’t think otherwise, even for a second.” Turing let Gadget’s hooves slide from her shoulders, and she stepped back into the Dead Zone, the sea of information subsiding and her Third Eye again going black.  “I apologize for making you worry,” she said. “If we have both finished our emotional outbursts, I would love to help you run those tests that you mentioned. After all, you do want to win your race tomorrow, correct?” Gadget laughed, still sniffling, but gradually calming down from her outburst. “Yeah, that would be great,” she said. “And I’ve got somepony dropping off the exterior panels a bit later. It should look awesome by the time we’re finished, so I don’t see any issue with letting you help me to install them. That is, if you want to.” “Of course,” Turing said, walking past her. “Just do not let me catch you checking out my flank while I am doing it.” She smirked as Gadget sputtered in protest, her mechanical arms flailing as she followed Turing with a flurry of hurried excuses… To be continued...