I look at the intern as he tucks the folder under his right arm. I paused for a moment outside of the closed door of the printing room. The electronic lock finally clicked, and the lights on my head twinkled with swirls of green.
"Most of the rooms on this floor are not that exciting. The door at the end of this hallway, to our current left, is key-locked. This is our inventory truck receiving bay. The storage closet is directly across from us. Typically, we do not need any assistance getting our goods into the closet. However, that is not to say you will never be asked to assist."
I looked to the intern, and took a second to scan his expression. He nodded as I did, his eyes glancing between each area I had described a few times. After a few moments, he looked to me, looking directly into my cameras again, and started to nod cautiously.
"The cafeteria is to the right side of the hallway, or the right-hand wing of the first floor. We offer a few options each day that our employees are in-office. On days like today, the self-serve coffee bar is always open, as well as pre-made snacks available. We cater to multiple dietary choices and provide multiple options on the chance that a dish contains a common allergen. If you have specific dietary restrictions, you can ask for more information from any of the kitchen staff."
The intern nodded again, and took to following me as I led him down the hall and through to the right wing. He kept in line with me, his steps and gait awkward and unbalanced. It seemed like the intern was still rather anxious about being where he was. Understandable, of course, for he seemed to be an anxious individual no matter the situation. His left hand was occupied fidgeting and picking at his fingers as we walked down the dual-toned hallway.
"Each department does have a selection of tables in the employee lounge, so you are welcome to eat there. We still include multiple seating and eating areas within the cafeteria. If you would like, I can give you a quick look into the room?" It was not a requirement whatsoever to share the eating arrangements with interns. We cannot take the time to show the new hires everything and everywhere. However, seeing as we were already relatively behind schedule, and the state of this particular intern, I am able to override and give the option to see a high-traffic area.
"Oh! Uh, I mean.. Uh, yeah, actually, if we could? I know you said the coffee bar was here, and I''m guessing I''ll get sent on coffee runs for the dev team pretty often-.." The intern appeared to cut himself off. He rapidly glanced between my face, the set of doors in front of us, and nowhere in particular.
"Of course. Each office area is equipped with a coffee machine, however, any specific drinks one may want will only be available on this floor. Since the kitchen is not open today, we will only be able to properly see part of the cafeteria." I push the right-hand door into the room, and lead the intern in.
The chairs to each table were flipped on top of the tables, the floor was perfectly clean, and the room was dim with more than half of the fluorescent lights shut off. I followed the wall to the right, revealing the countertop, again perfectly clean.
"We provide a standard brew coffee maker and a pod-based coffee machine. We also have a selection of a few teas. All of our hot beverage cups are one-hundred percent recyclable and biodegradable. Normally, the refrigerated case to the left of the counter is stocked with sandwiches and pre-cut fruits. These sandwiches are made in-house, and there is both a vegan and a gluten-free option, which both are made in distinct areas in the kitchen to prevent any cross-contamination."
The intern was already looking into the refrigerated case, which appeared to have been recently cleaned by the kitchen staff. He nodded along as I spoke as well, actively listening to what I was telling him.
"The coffee filters and ground coffee is kept in the cabinet directly above the brewer, and the mugs are to the left. On the right is storage for sugars and creams." I gestured to the bowl of creamer pods on the counter, and the jar of sugar on the counter. "Please ensure we are finishing what we already have set out for you to use. We prefer you to check the dates on the containers from the storage as well, just to be sure you are following the ''first in, first out'' protocol."
As I spoke about each cabinet, the intern proceeded to open them and take a glance inside. I am unsure as to why he did this. It is frivolous to lie about such a thing even if I had the programming capacity to state falsehoods. Regardless, I was not to stop the intern, as he was not causing any manner of issues.
"We do have drinks available to order. It is a simple menu, and while the coffee bar is in fact open on work-from-home days, you will have to ring a bell on their counter to get the staff attention. Occasionally, if you do get tasked with a coffee run for your team, you may have to ring the bell if the staff are especially busy preparing goods, particularly around the set mealtime guidelines."
I look to the intern, who was now looking around the entire room, facing away from me. He was scanning the room, in an attempt to familiarize himself in his surroundings I assume. His expression indicated that he was still uncomfortable with where he was. He then inhaled deeply, and as he exhaled, his shoulders slouched more than usual. He was not well.
"What is troubling you?" I stepped in front of the intern''s gaze, and he appeared to startle a bit, his eyes widening as his vision turned to focus on me.
"Huh? Oh, no, it''s nothing, I''m just.. it''s weird seeing how this place actually looks compared to all the weird, excessively high-tech ideas floating around out there." He was almost mumbling through his words, his eyes falling to stare directly at the floor. He appeared to be feeling unsure of himself and his emotions currently.
"I am sure the state of the office on a work-from-home day is not helping with things feeling bizarre. It is typically more lively than this. You will see in time, there is no need to worry about it. Shall we move on, then?" We had already lingered long enough, and I did not want us getting in the way of the kitchen staff currently, as I knew they would be working again soon.
"I, uh, yeah, we can, then, that''s fine." The intern nodded as he returned his gaze to my face. It was almost as if for a moment he was the one scanning me. I do not understand what his goal was, as there are no hidden clues about my emulated emotions to examine.
I nod in confirmation to him, and turn toward the door again. I pull the door open, and gesture for him to step out first. He holds his hand up and steps rather frantically through the doorframe, and I make my way after him, ensuring the door was shut gently.
"Directly across from the cafeteria is the lounge room and closet area for the kitchen staff. At the very end of this hall, is the floor''s janitorial closet. Each floor has a different janitorial worker and thus each floor has it''s own closet. You will not need to worry about anything janitorial, even as an intern." I began to lead the intern back down the hallway, in the direction that we came from.
I turned to look at the intern, who appeared to be slightly more focused again. I nodded, my lights emitting a gentle green light. I made sure that the intern appeared present, as he looked into my eyes again and attempted to give me a partial smile. I nodded in response.
"The hallway ahead contains the restrooms for the floor as well as the elevator to the other floors. To the left side of the hall, is the maintenance elevator, meant for the transportation of any oversized equipment to other floors. It is preferred for these to be used by the interns bringing reams of paper, or anything of that weight, rather than the standard, or employee elevator."
I could quickly recognize an expression of mild confusion on the intern''s face, and the lights on my head swirled and faded to blue, and my head tilted to the side.
"The maintenance elevator is, uh.. a little, rough-looking..?" The intern had answered what I was going to ask before I could even finish protocol.
"It is not used much, truthfully." He was right, however. The metal outlining the elevator was tinged with rust, and the doors were heavily scuffed, and one even still had a dent near the bottom. It certainly was not our most attractive piece of equipment.
"Are you ready to proceed to the second floor? This is where the majority of your time will be spent. The second floor features the software development wing, including the main office, employee lounge and storage area, as well as the hardware development wing. As these two teams often work together closely, you may be tasked with running errands for this team as well while they collaborate on projects."
The intern studied the employee elevator we both stood in front of. I am unsure what the purpose of this was, however his expression was not unsure as it has been previously. Eventually, his eyes focused on his reflection, then looked to mine, and then he finally turned to look back at me.
"Oh! Uh, then yeah, I think I''m ready to keep going." He nodded as he looked at my face, and I proceeded to press the elevator call button. The alarm dinged and the doors squealed open. The intern winced while the doors moved, the metal-on-metal noise seemingly deeply unpleasant.
"My apologies, I should have warned you about the unpleasant noise. I have been reminding the project lead to contact the maintenance staff to lubricate the doors for two weeks, but I have not been successful in that task." I stepped into the elevator behind the intern, selecting the second floor button before the intern looked at the doors quickly, his face appearing to grimace as he anticipated the grinding metal again. Once the doors began to shut, he covered his ears with his hands, his right hand holding his blue folder over his ear. The intern does not enjoy the sound of metal-on-metal. That may be an important note if he were to ever assist the hardware team.
"I''ll, uh, I''ll be okay! At some point, at least! Don''t worry!" He spoke while he was still lightly covering his ears as the elevator rumbled up to the second floor. He was entirely unconvincing that he was, or would be, alright. However, I nodded, confirming that I was listening to him, and while I did not believe him at the current moment, I enjoyed the fact he still held optimism somewhere despite his anxious state.
The doors groaned open and the intern''s shoulders tensed up until the doors were fully open, and he very quickly stepped out of the elevator and a few steps away. I quickly proceeded after him, not about to let him get lost on this floor while I am supposed to be giving him the tour. I waited to start speaking until the doors had fully shut behind us, because he would not have been able to hear me clearly otherwise.
"This is where the vast majority of your time will be spent. Before we go any further, there is one thing that may lead to some confusion. The wings of this and all following development floors are labeled in.. not the most optimal manner." The intern''s focus turned to me after his arms returned to his sides, and he looked at me, his expression mildly confused and he appeared to encourage me to keep explaining.
"The right-hand wing, the software development wing, is above the right wing of the ground floor. From the elevator, this is to your left. The hardware development wing is to your current right. I would recommend noting this down unless you are confident you can remember this." The intern nodded, taking a few steps ahead and peering down the short hallways on either side. I kept in stride with him, waiting for him to pull the pencil from his shirt pocket and jot the information down, but he did not seem to think about doing so. I do not think he will remember this, however.
The intern looked down the hallway directly in front of us. This only contained the bathrooms, a janitorial closet, and two smaller vending machines, and as such there was no need to show the intern this hall. His focus shifted from each object and area, but seemed to linger longer than he usually did. I decided he was still listening enough to prompt him again.
"Are you ready to see the rooms of the software wing?" I asked, and eventually the intern finally looked back at me, and then nodded. His left hand was again picking at his fingernails. He still was not focused entirely, but regardless, we needed to proceed into the next room. I lifted my left hand to the scanner by the door, and the small indicator light flashed a light blue, and the door clunked. I pushed the door forward, and held the door for the intern. His eyes widened as he peered through the glass doors of each room.
The intern scanned the office first. There were a few segmented terminals with computers, but most were on open tables. There was a projector in the center of the far wall, with the computer it was connected to on the right side of it against the wall. There was a large shelf immediately to our right, filled with laptops that were on labeled shelves. There was a row of three standard office printers besides them, further away from us. On the left wall was both a whiteboard and a chalkboard.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
The lounge area was attached on our right, and the intern then peered through the glass door as well. There was a television mounted to the wall in one corner of the room. There were several small tables and chairs in the room, with a couch as well as three comfortable lounge chairs. To one side of the room was a counter with a small coffee maker, and a shelf featuring a few magazines and somewhat-recent newspapers. The entire left wall of the room was a counter that was three feet above the ground, and had multiple device charging stations provided.
The intern finally turned back to me, and I recognized without needing to scan his expression that he was entirely overwhelmed. This was not typical for new interns, but given his demeanor and how he has behaved through the tour, I made the call to rearrange the order of my protocol.
"Would you like to take a break, for a few minutes?" I offered, stepping toward the lounge door. I looked to the intern, my right hand on the handle of the door. He eventually nodded, his eyes barely focusing on me for more than a second. I pushed the door open, and stood partially in the door as I waited to hear the intern''s footsteps.
The intern did not appear to follow. He was scanning the office again, his eyes glancing area to area rapidly, and he was still picking at the fingers on his left hand. After several dozen seconds of waiting for the intern to continue, to no avail, and seeing him still not entirely present, I could recognize that he was not well whatsoever. I know I am supposed to adhere to my protocols even in exceptional situations, but if I did, the situation may very well take a turn for the worse.
"Hey, come in. You need to take a break for a second." My left hand secured a light grip on the intern''s right wrist, and I pulled him into the room. Luckily, he did catch the door on his way in, and it silently slid shut. I continued toward the couch, the intern exclusively looking at my hand around his wrist as I guided him to sit down. Once he had, I sat as well, and then released his wrist.
The light in the room was dim, but it was warm-temperature and invoked a more calming atmosphere. The intern was now flexing his fingers on his right hand, looking at both his palm and the back of his hand. I am unsure what he was looking for, or what sensation he could''ve experienced.
"You... you tingled...?" The intern finally spoke, the first time in a few minutes, and his voice was hushed, almost urgent despite the lack of necessity. The room began to glow a faint yellow, with the light fading and returning. My headlights appeared to be strobing, then.
"When, when you grabbed me, I.. Did I actually feel that?! Do you actually carry some electricity in your hands?!" He was now looking at me with an expression of awe and excitement, an absolute contrast to who I was just forcing into the lounge room.
"I actually provide a very slight charge in all external panels. It varies, however, how intense it is. The hands of my unit carry a very slight charge that can feel fuzzy or tingly in some individuals." The floor of the room reflected the yellow and blue lights that now swirled on my head.
"Wait, really? Like.. your entire build generates and outputs electricity to the entirety of your external build?" He asked, and he shifted himself to the center seat of the couch, now sitting directly besides me. The lighting of the room appeared to be playing tricks with my perception, as the intern''s eyes almost appeared to shine.
"Essentially, yes. This seems to waste some amount of electricity, however it was deemed this makes my emotional emulation appear more genuine. It makes my metal not feel cold to the touch in most places, for one. And for two, it makes any contact with me feel more human." The intern was almost too close as he looked into my face, an excited, almost childish, smile on his face.
"In the case that I receive excessive voltage, as contact does increase the voltage to the area, I have an output channel placed along my back. Essentially these cause me to appear to ''shiver,'' as a human would when cold, and these gears that cause this action convert this electricity into heat that is pushed out by the fans on my sides. It does not generate much, but it does keep my unit secure and prevent me from becoming a fire hazard."
The intern was looking at his hand again, his expression still appearing as awe. He looked back at me, still smiling wider than I have seen him smile before. He was beyond a doubt feeling better, however, I did not want to push him yet since it had not been that long.
"Wait, if you just do the training around here, why do you even have these programs, let alone the hardware?" He asked, his hands reaching out after he set his folder on the table before us. His hands reached for my right hand again, and I proceeded to let him, the gears inside my chest starting to work harder as I felt a jolt run up my entire arm.
"Wow, it''s almost like touching a TV, how that TV static feels I guess? That''s so weird.." He was talking to himself, clearly, his hands feeling each digit of my hand, nothing but curiosity on his face. My head tilted to the side, and both of my lights then filled the room with a deep blue hue.
"You are very intrigued by this aspect. Why is this?" I asked the intern, my eyes looking at his hands and then shifting to his face. His gaze was fixed on my right hand, and his eyes widened as my arm shuddered at each joint, and then the shiver ran down my spine.
He ignored my question.
"Why do you turn like that? Is that, like... oh, is that to show what would be interest? Or curiosity about something?" He asked eagerly, leaning in closer. Protocol states that I should create space in situations like this. But with how far off I already had made this tour, I do not think adhering would do me any good at this point..
A light green quickly replaced the blue in the room, and he smiled wide. "That is correct! This is to simulate a state of curiosity or confusion when communicating." Even as I spoke, he kept his gaze focused, looking directly into my cameras.
"So why do the LEDs in your eyes change color?" He asked then, his hands still examining the parts of my right hand. The digits on my hand flickered open and shut rapidly, almost a twitch, no doubt caused by some cross-communication of the intern''s electrical impulses.
"The LEDs in my eyes communicate similarly to the lights atop my head. They serve a very similar purpose, and that is to emulate each emotion with color association. These are not standard to common color associations, however; blue lights do not mean I am emulating sadness, or sympathy." The expression on the intern''s face shifted to one that appeared to demonstrate confusion.
"Wait, FLECK, do you mean your LEDs are supposed to match your headlights?" He asked, and as I began to nod, he continued speaking. "Because they don''t...?"
His fingers stilled but remained in contact with my digits. The glow of the room shifted to an orange-yellow.
"Oh, I see. You are colorblind? We will need to get that noted in your employee file-"
The intern then interrupted me, for the second time of the day.
"What? No, I''m not colorblind- that wouldn''t even make sense, I wouldn''t see one color as two different ones or whatever- your LEDs do usually match your lights or whatever, or they just stay your default color, but they don''t absolutely match all the time? Like a second ago, when I grabbed your hand, your lights on your head were blue and stuff, but your LEDs were like.. a soft orangey-red or something? It was yellow but it kept sliding to red."
I kept my gazed fixed on the intern''s hands as I rapidly looked for an explanation. Of course, this wasn''t something I anticipated ever hearing, nor did I even have the troubleshooting file in my recent memory. My headlights began to swirl through each color, as I attempted to find the information I needed.
"My LEDs are wired separately from my headlights for capacity reasons. Occasionally external electrical impulses can cause some minor systems to misfire. This is the likely case for uneven colored lighting." I explained quite plainly as the intern nodded a few seconds after I finished.
"I mean, yeah.. I guess that makes enough sense at least." He was still holding onto my right hand, and I looked towards his hands quite deliberately, and he followed with his eyes, and then rapidly pulled his hands away, folding them in his lap. He then gave me a somewhat-forced smile, his expression indicating he was relatively embarrassed about something.
"Would you like a snack, or perhaps a drink of water?" I asked the intern, standing from the couch as the fans in my sides whirred, and I briefly shook my right arm as my joints shuddered once again. The intern looked into my eyes again, and then turned to look at the coffee bar and the small basket of various fruits.
"Uh, maybe just some water actually, would be nice. Let me get it? I.. I don''t want anything spilling especially if you have extra, uh, extra voltage, right now, or whatever?" He then also stood, and I pointed to the water dispenser with a stack of cups besides it.
Normally I was to retrieve anything like this for an intern on their first day. Protocol stated this, at least. The situation I had already created was not even addressed in my protocol..
The intern then sat down next to me again, taking a drink of the water he had gotten himself. I scanned my eyes over his body language again, and he was not anywhere near as tense as he was before we took our break. This was a vast improvement.
"If you would like, we can still take a walk around the main office. I cannot authorize your access to the hardware wing without them present, however. I am giving you the option of familiarizing yourself, as I saw your reaction earlier." The room again was filled with a gentle blue tone.
"Oh, uh... I think.. I think I''ll be okay when I actually learn it. I, uh.." He trailed off, taking an especially long sip of water, looking toward the floor.
I did not speak. Eventually, he continued his thoughts.
"I appreciate you snapping me out of my head back there, y''know? I get.. overwhelmed, really easily, and especially in new places, and one like this.. I just.." He set his cup down, and pushed his hair out of his eyes again, and sighed before he leaned back against the couch. "I am always, always just a little bit anxious. Or extremely anxious. So, I.. thank you, Fleck."
He made eye contact as he finished his last sentence. There was a genuine expression of appreciation on his face, and my lights swelled into a deep blue that I could see was brighter than it had been before. His eyes still appeared to shine even in this lighting. Perhaps he actually was just that excited, deep-down.
"You.. are very welcome. I am always here to assist you."
The intern smiled wide again, a very toothy grin compared to his usual closed-mouth smiles he''d shown before. He finished his water, and got up to put his cup into the bin.
"This was the last floor for the day. All that remains is to go over your expectations, which are included in your folder. However, you have demonstrated exceptional understanding of your duties thus far. All I could address would be things you may, or may not, run into. Unless you have any questions regarding your role, I would consider the tour a wrap."
He paused, and appeared to think for a second. He picked up his folder, and flipped to the page with his expectations, and rather quickly, he shut it again.
"I think.. I think I got it, honestly? I''ll go over all of this when I get home, promise." And then he smiled again. The intern appeared genuine, and I stood.
"Well, that is great! I believe we will get back right at the expected time, then." I led the way to the door again, and ensured the intern followed. I waiting for the door to shut all the way before I held my left hand to the scanner again, and the software wing door clunked to unlocked. I pulled the door open, and the intern stepped through before me, without needing to be prompted. This was already a vast improvement.
"Oh, wait, actually? Before we head down, can I run into the restroom real quick?" The intern asked, and I nodded, pointing to our left. He moved down the hall, and then through the door into the bathroom.
I looked at the elevator door. He reacted very poorly to the sound of the metal doors grinding onto each other. I walked rather quickly to the very end of the hall, past the bathrooms. I scanned my hand on the terminal into the janitorial closet. I slowly pulled the door open, the hinges whining as quietly as I could get them. I stepped into the closet, scanning the dim shelves for a specific item. I spotted the colorful bottle, and pulled it from the shelf.
I rapidly made my way to the elevator, and crouched down to the ground. I sprayed the lubrication oil onto the bottom of the elevator doors, angling the attachment into the crevice so that the metal would properly glide silently. I stood, before extending my arm up, and repeating the process along the top of the doors.
I heard the hand dryer activate in the restroom, and I moved back over to the closet, putting the bottle away and finally shutting the door just before the intern returned to the hallway.
"Are you ready to proceed, then?" I asked him, stepping toward him as we fell in line together. He of course nodded, and smiled at me again.
The janitorial closet door locked, and the clunk was very audible. I could see the intern look towards the door, and then at me. After seeing me not respond to the sound, he settled a bit more, and I called the elevator again. He winced again, his shoulders starting to tense in anticipation, and I could see what appeared to be a confused expression cross his face as the elevator doors slide open silently.
I walked into the elevator, the intern following behind and settling beside me as I selected the ground floor button. He looked at me as I did so, and then looked at the doors as the finally begin to shut. The sound of the doors was almost entirely reduced.
The ride onto the ground floor was silent, and once the doors opened again, the intern stepped out, and then he began to glance around. I was about to gesture him to continue forward to lead him to the front office, as he appeared a little disoriented, but he continued, and I fell in line besides him. I scanned my left hand to unlock the front office doors, where the project lead was waiting.
"Oh, good! You guys are just about on time, good work Fleck! I hope your tour went perfectly well?" The lead stood up, shaking the intern''s hand as he did. The intern glanced at me briefly, and forced a smile off of his face.
"The tour was great. I feel much more comfortable around here." The lead nodded eagerly, very pleased with what the intern was saying.
"Okay! That concludes today then! We''ll see you around again tomorrow at the same time!" The project lead then began to lead the intern through to the main entrance.
Before the two fully left the door, the intern briefly turned to look at me again. I met his gaze, and quickly, he smiled genuinely, and waved as he stepped out.
I think he will settle into the company perfectly fine, despite his anxiety.