After a stretch of time passed, the mechanical girl fluttered her eyelids and finally awoke fully. Wordlessly, she observed her surrondings without much visible feelings.
She hasn't learned how to be curious yet, but as set by her programming, she will forever learn from everything thing she can observe.
Observing the expansive room filled with steam pipes, mechanical devices, gears, and darkness was quick and easy.
Having satisfied her programming, she began the next procedure. It was time to operate and exert proper locomotion with her body.
This was far trickier.
She stretched out her right arm, than squeezed and released her hand repeatedly. Than she was momentarily confused.
Why isn't she moving when she is exerting energy?
She stretched her left arm and began to do the same thing with no idea what she is doing. Her ingrained programming was telling her to try to accomplish movement on her own.
At a loss with no concept of anything, the mechanical girl tried to move her right leg forward.
Beep!
Having triggered some type of sensor, the platform tilted forward to a upright 90 degree angle.
With her leg still stuck out, her body quickly began to become unbalanced as she wobbled forward like a newborn.
Helplessly, she fell face down to her side with a soft thump. As a mechanical life, she is unable to recognize pain, yet she does realize that she could get damaged if she isn't careful.
Doing some careful analysis, she indirectly figures out that laying down was much stabler and safer than trying to stand back up.
So her next course of action was learning how to crawl...
With her face still flat on the ground, she stretches her arms and legs and began to flails them around like fish on land.
She is experimenting on how to achieve locomotion by seeing what works and what doesn't; as she is a purely mechanical machine without pre-installed instincts for walking, crawling, or much of anything else besides her need to strictly follow program instructions.
After flailing in place as if experiencing a seizure for several hour or so, she is able to finally recognize that she can move by stretching specific limbs at different intervals.
One set arms and legs move, with the arms stretching out the body and the legs contracting towards the body. Than by pushing down the ground and retracting the arms and stretching out the legs, the body is moved forward and achieves her objective: locomotion.
Of course this is all done while her head is face-planted on the ground...
The position, when viewed by normal people, will resemble a submissive position of respect or apology towards someone of power. Such as a subject paying respects or allegience to a king.
Of course, the mechanical girl has no idea about such derived customs. Purely focused on trying to move forward.
Thus, she slowly crawled forward in a strange manner.
Than, mechanical girl's arm detected an object through contact as she was mid crawl. Deciding that she must investigate, observe, and learn; she stiffly lifts her head up to look.
It was a pocket watch with string of zeros in the center of its face as it continues to count the time.
Tilting her head, without expression, she grabbed the pocket watch tightly.
Beep!
[ Congradulations, my child. You have learned how to acheive locomotion and have moved to grab my pocket watch. I am very proud of you. ]
The somewhat muffled voice of an old man came through as a pre-recorded message.
[ I hope you haven't hurt yourself too badly when learning to move for the first time. I made sure to remove all sorts of sharp objects, dangerous tools, or items before testing since I was worried you... ]
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
After that, the old man began to nag with a lot unnecessary talk of how worried they are about the mechanical girl getting damaged in the process of learning to walk in a single large room alone.
Although she is built with the express purpose to learn everything, she has to properly filter and ignore redundant or useless information that will just fill up her storage and memory.
[ Hmm... that should be the filtered machine learning test complete. If I calculated right, my rambling should be enough to completely fill your current base unmodified memory storage. ]
After that, a short sound of shuffling paper could be heard.
[ InCh: Begin Verbal Extraction Protocol: Password is 8900. ]
Hearing the command being read out loud, the basic protocols within her programming sprung to action as the key words "InCh" was spoken.
Opening her mouth, she let out a clear and monotone female voice for the first time.
"Detected Activation Word: Beginning Voice Calibration..."
Then with that, she began to speak out almost in a type of song, that was to measure if there was any error in her tone or voice.
"Ah, bo, ch, eh, fh..."
After the speaking test, she was ready to utter the password.
"Eight. Nine. Zero. Zero."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The clock's face turned green as the correct password was spoken.
[ Good job! It seems the filter is working right. Though it does hurt me to hear my own creation ignore me when I speak with concern for their well-being, despite me knowing full-well I designed it that way. ]
The old man's tone sounded depressed.
Brrrrr...!
Than the sound of retracting motors came to be heard by her as the pocket watch's extended wire retracted back inside the clock.
As if attracted by magnets, the wire reappeared and shot out from another side of the clock's edge; before it connected to the mechanical girl's nape.
[ Master's Clock has been successfully connected. Three new functions have been unlocked: Journals (Master), Permissions (Manager), and Instructions. ]
Without any surprise, she began to process the what these newly unlocked function.
[ Journals: The Master has left behind journals, entries, and personal writing throughout his entire life. With Master-Level Entry, all access has been granted. ]
[ Permissions: The authority over the entirety of the Underground Complex, Titan, is able to controlled with proper permissions and connection to the contruct itself. Current (Manager) permission allows access to most of the complex's hallways, living quarters, entertainment rooms, supply rooms, and other miscellaneous areas. Cameras for these rooms are now allowed. ]
[ Instructions: Able to recieve all the instructions left behind by The Master. Currently, one instruction available. ]
After learning the functions, she processed the only instruction she is left with by The Master.
[ Leave the Advanced Biological and Mechnical Life (ABML) Research Wing. Master's Clock now providing directions: Forward. ]
With that, she began to slowly crawled forward into the darkness under the directive of the Master's Clock.
***
As time passed, she finally hit a road block within the now receding darkness. Now in the area she was in, eerie yet fantasical red, green, and orange lights could be seen inside the cracks of darkness between endless pipes, gears, and wires.
However, the strange sight was not something that would bother her. In fact, she was more concerned about how she address the obstacle before her.
The mechanical girl looked up at her new nemesis.
Stairs.
It was different from the flat floor that she was used to. She thought about it for a moment before trying to climb the stairs by still crawling.
Indeed, it was still possible to crawl up the stairs. Thanks to her synthetic rubber like skin, she didn't need to worry about slipping off the stairs and wasting energy climbing back up.
As she crawled up 10 steps, a deep sigh resounded throughout the staircase.
"Why can't you just make my job easy?" A mopy male voice came from above.
Just as she was about to look up for the source of the voice, a pair of ball-pointed shoes landed in front of her face with a light and graceful tap.
With the same dead-pan expression, she wordlessly looked up from the ground.
In front of her was a 2 meter tall mechanical automaton dressed in a bizzare black and white jester outfit with a star-shape hat with ball-points on each end, which she is not familar with. The face of the automaton was a white mask displaying a single tear drop under the left eye with a sad crescent smile.
The mechnical jester promptly lifted it left leg and kicked her face back as she began to roll down the stairs...
Thump! Fwump! Thump! Crash!
As she laid down facing the ceiling, the mechanical girl still maintained an emotionless face. However, deciding a proper reaction was needed to respond to her fall, she let out a delayed, "Ah."
Than as she was down, her arm reached for her face. Although no visible imprint was left behind, the mechanical girl could still feel a stinging sensation.
This sensation also came to her though other parts of her body, such as parts of her arms and legs that made forceful contact with the stairs as she was rolling down.
The same mopy voice came from the stairs, "Learn how to walk normally, or be kicked down by me."
When she looked back towards the stairs, all she saw was a empty staircase.
Confused, she started crawling up the stairs again. Than the process repeated, the automaton appeared again from nowhere kicked her back down.
Thump! Fwump! Thump! Crash!
"Ah."
This situation occured several more times, before the automaton began to speak again with a tired voice, "Learn to walk. Like this."
The automaton walked down the stairs casually and the mechanical girl observed closely at his every movement.
Than as the jester arrived before her, it bended its waist into a bow, before turning around and walking up the stairs. Than it raised its left arm and was smoothly lifted up into the ceiling, disappearing without a trace.
[ Instruction Added: Learn to walk. ]
The memory of the Jester standing, walking, and bowing was replayed with clarity again and again.
She than pushed up against the ground and managed to lift her body up. Now only her hands and knees touched the floor, which resembled an animal on all fours.
Than after trying a combination of force within her limbs, she managed to slowly stand lift her torso upwards after failing multiple times.
Still, her knees prevented her from moving. So she tried repeatedly to move her legs while in this position which, ultimately failed after dozens of reiterations.
Realizing she needed to go back a step, she went on all fours and tried adjusting the position of her knees. Many attempts later, she managed to place her feet flat on the ground.
Success.
She than pushed downward with her feet and managed to lift her whole body up. A huge breakthrough.
Yet, due to having no sense of balance, she fell wobbled on the spot and toppled over. However, this did not discourage the mechanical girl.
Failure is the mother of success.
Without tiring, she rose up again and again.
Failing and falling over and over.
What does she do all this for?
It was simple. She was told to and is following her instructions. Though her creator surely had something more in mind when making her in his workshop.
One day, the creator hoped his creation could move for itself, on its own, with its own judgement. The creator wished for a selfish creation. A living one.
That way, all his creations may follow it to become truely alive. So that his creations may be presevered forever until time itself dies out.
Rise. Fall. Rise. Fall.
She did this repeatedly over and over like clockwork.
Than finally, a monumental moment occured.
It might have been a small achievement to others, but a newborn learning to walk is always a important event.
She, at first, tried to quickly stand up by pushing off the ground forcefully. However, no matter how forcefully she tried she would always topple over in the end.
Gradually, she experimented, slowing down her speed. Than she realized that slowing down helped her keep from toppling longer.
Eventually, on her 57th attempt, she managed to finally maintain her balance. With knees bent slightly and arms ram-rod straight, she made a funky little pose like a anteater doing their warning sign.
Now came the moment of truth.
She stretched our her foot and... fell to the side due to losing balance.
"???"
The mechanical girl with a still deadpan expression, opened her mouth slightly either due to the fall or pure confusion.
Didn't going slow mean her balance can be maintained at all times and she wouldn't fall?
Physics was a difficult thing to understand.