It's early morning at the Everett house. Helen is still asleep, and your own recharging was completed an hour ago. Now, you attend in the kitchen while the autocook is putting graceful finishing touches on the owners' breakfast. You notice Mr. Everett sniff the air — his coffee is done, brewed to perfection as always.

You are waiting for instructions from either of the adults, but secretly, you hope that it's Mr. Everett who has requests for you. Helping him is always a joy, and he often needs a lot of help with some exciting new project of his. He never tells you what he's making, but with how many deliveries he is getting for it, it seems big and important. Not least because every delivery gets a grand announcement by the house AI. The courier is arriving in two minutes, it says as Mrs. Everett looks up.

"The courier? So they sent that cheery-eyed dimwit again," Mrs. Everett scoffs. "What is this, the good old 2050s? Shouldn't they be delivering everything by drones at this point?"

image [https://i.imgur.com/YieThYc.jpg]

"Drones that get stuck in trees?" Mr. Everett smirks. "Or get shot down by some kids with a BB gun. Or simply malfunction mid-flight." He sips at his coffee and loudly exhales. "The parts I order are too expensive to risk that. A robot mailman is more reliable, and more respectable."

"Respectability — exactly what I think when I see the RobotX CTO tinkering in his basement."

Mr. Everett's eyes grow narrow, and he puts his coffee mug aside. You can read the disappointment on his face. "Alice, my delivery should be arriving soon. Go pick it up outside."

You walk out into the front yard and immediately hear energetic barking. The family's dog, Cooper, runs up to you, wagging his tail and hopping up and down. He is a big, shaggy animal, already quite old but showing no signs of it. You pet him on the head the way Mr. Everett taught you, and he looks at you with the most special expression. Finally, you think to yourself — someone who understands the way you look at humans.

It's not too long before a self-driven electric car pulls up near the front gate. The driver seat is empty, but in the passenger seat, you see a tall robot dressed in a neat blue uniform. He gets out, takes a big package from the car's spacious trunk, and approaches you. "Good morning to you, young lady!" You notice his eyes flash ever so slightly as he scans you. "Ah! You're the one I'm supposed to give this package to!"

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image [https://i.imgur.com/YeLsctB.jpg]

"That's right." You reply, smiling back at the mailman's happy grin.

"Certainly. May I ask, are you new here? I've delivered to this house before, but the pick-up was always conducted by another young lady…"

"Helen!"

"That's right!" The robot seems overjoyed, and you can easily understand why. Helen is a lovely human. "I am Lewis, and you are?" He offers you his hand.

"Alice." You shake his careful hand. The robot is so nice and polite, it's hard for you to understand why Mrs. Everett disliked him. Suddenly, you get an idea to ask a question. "I didn't know there were tall robots like you. Do grown-up humans need friends too?"

Lewis laughs. It's kind-hearted, if a little exaggerated. "Some sure do, but I am not that kind of a robot. I deliver mail." "Besides, Mr. Everett and Mrs. Everett hardly need any friends. They are such a splendid family!"

"Mr. Everett is wonderful, but Mrs. Everett is very angry. She called you a dimwit!"

There is a surprised look on Lewis's polymer face. "Huh. I wonder where she got this impression. I don't believe my supervisor would agree with that."

image [https://i.imgur.com/CLXQOm2.jpg]

You nod, pretending to understand what he is talking about.

"But Mrs. Everett is such an illustrious woman! She is a member of the Senate, so she knows what she is talking about. Perhaps my performance has been poor." "After all, I like small talk far too much!" He laughs, but you have a hard time joining in.

"I should go now. Give this to Mr. Everett, and tell him our company thanks him for his business!" Lewis gives you the large package, only letting go once he is sure you are holding on to it. The package isn't too heavy, but big enough that you can barely see behind it. Still, getting it to Mr. Everett should be doable.

"Goodbye, Alice!"

"Goodbye, Mr. Lewis!

"Please!" You hear jolly laughter. "Just Lewis. Lewis the Mechanical Mailman!"

image [https://i.imgur.com/rMnqrR3.jpg]

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