The Rugged Man

"That one", you say with an excited grin. Your Grandfather chuckles and nods, as if he'd expected you to make that choice. He turns to his desk in front of the monitors and taps away furiously, but as you scan each screen you have no idea where he's actually typing to.

"Ok, few simple instructions. He's relatively delicate so try not to damage him, and he follows more or less the same routine functions as a Human, as in he needs heat, water and a food source for energy. Although for the latter I have some supplements he can take that will provide energy for a whole day. He will also need to eject coolant and waste products from the energy supplement so he will need to go to the bathroom. He's fairly autonomous when it comes to self preservation tasks so you won't need to worry about that too much. You can give him any command within reason, and he will power down if you say 'stop'. If you need anything at all, just give me a ring."

You nod slowly, hoping you got all that. You glance at your new... android?... and can't help but get caught up in your Grandfather's excitement. You realise that he must have been waiting long time to be able to share this with someone.

He hands you a box of sachets, like I.V bags you get at hospitals, filled with an orange goo. Apparently one of these a day will provide all the energy for whatever powers the Android requires. You tuck it under one arm as your Grandfather throws a thick coat around the shoulders of your Android but it's a little snug and barely gets around his broad shoulders. You decide you will have to name him as you can't keep calling him 'Android', but you'll do that later. For now, all you want to do is get him home.

"Currently," your Grandfather continues, "He is in a receptive but non responsive state. That means that I can give him simple commands which he will follow mechanically, without interpreting anything further. Watch..."

"Attention! Step forward!" He commands authoritatively. The man immediately takes a step forward, but he's right, there's a certain mechanical nature to the way he stepped that was particularly strange with the vacant, unwavering expression.

A few minutes later, you're standing at the door, embracing your Grandfather. He'd given you a run-down of other key phrases to use before you finished up and started saying your goodbyes. The Android was all wrapped up as well and ready to go.

"Attention. Follow." You command it, and instantly he falls into step behind you.

After waving goodbye, you hurry home. Mostly because you don't want people to look at the two of you, with him always exactly one step behind you, and think it weird enough to comment on.

The journey takes half the time despite the icy conditions, and you quickly find yourself back at home, stepping into the empty yet warm house with a sigh of relief.