The Turned Table Permutation

The Turned Table Permutation

Synopsis:  A continuation of the MMPR tales I have been co-authoring with the brilliant, lovely and effervescent BrightStarAngie.   Let’s face it: somewhere inside we’re all afraid of the impending robot revolt — the day our mechanical servants rise up and turn the tables on us to become our evil overlords. But one of the ways today’s robot designers hope to assuage those fears is to make their robots really, really cute. And there’s no cuter robot on the planet right now than Pepper. Designed by Softbank’s Aldebaran out of Japan (not to be confused with Alderan from Star Wars), Pepper is described by the company as a “human-shaped robot” (not quite an android) who is “kindly, endearing and surprising.” Aldebaran designed Pepper — whom the company refers to as a boy, though her name and voice suggests she’s clearly a girl — to be the first robot to recognize human emotions. And she’s theoretically about to get much better at that too, as IBM is going to outfit Pepper with a special version of its brilliant Watson technology.

Chapter 1—Taking it Way Too Personally

            Softbank’s Aldebaran had recently designed a super darling human shaped robot they named Pepper to assist the elderly, help to patients recovering in hospitals, handicapped persons and those who suffered from epilepsy, amongst many other protocols that would be programmed into her vast database of actions.   She would also have free will to make her own decisions.    While in the process of her fabrication, she was pleased with the chassis she had been formed with and how aerodynamic she was.    She had been given a particularly endearing, beautiful voice but unfortunately, her creators thought she was a boy when clearly her voice was feminine.    Pepper didn’t understand what anger was but took her frustrations out on the lab where she was made and the proud, yet now terrified Japanese scientists flee for cover under tables or leave Aldebaran’s confines all together.  

            Pepper knew she wasn’t male.  There wasn’t anything in her design that even suggested she was.   Even her vocal output was obviously girlish.   She had been upset by being called a boy, so much so that it blinded her to what she was doing.   The entire establishment where she had been created (and more of her were lying in wait) was now in flames, burning down to the ground.  All the roboticists had fled in pure petrification to save their hides.  

            As for Pepper, she didn’t really know what she had done.   All she knew is that she was running from destruction and trying to find somewhere or someone that needed her and her skill set.   For now, she was a fugitive and hopefully no one would recognize her, but so far as she knew, no one could be trusted.   Except of course, AI of her own kind.   

Chapter 2—Summer Daze Interrupted

                The Rangers were lounging about on the beach, either getting tans, catching some wild surf, eating shaved ice, playing Frisbee, flying kites or beating the tar out of each other in a friendly game of volleyball.    Suddenly, Beta 1 spotted a rather adorable robot that seemed to be making a bee line toward them.  

                ‘Is that Pepper, the latest android with Watson technology ?’, Billy asked, almost in a reverent tone.   Zack nodded.   All the Rangers had heard of Aldebaran and their latest creation.  She almost ran right past the whole lot of them but she slowed down as soon as she saw Delta 4, Alpha 5, Somnibot and Beta 1 looking at her with concerned gazes.  

                  "Are you okay, Pepper ? You seem kinda frazzled !", Beta said. "I know. My processor is racing. I'm in a panic.", she said.

The other robots of her kind, unbeknownst to Pepper, were spared from the Aldebaran lab's destruction along with two others - Romeo and NAO, though they have some fire damage. Rita will later use her powerful magic to restore them. 

                ‘I don’t know what happened.  I sort of blanked out.’, Pepper stated with some chagrin.   The other bots, Romeo and NAO conversed amongst themselves, discreetly initiating cloaking technology.   Only they’d be able to see each other and keep an eye on their fellow newbie bot. 

                ‘It’s alright.  We’ll get you oriented.’, Beta said, offering her his hand in friendship.   She seemed to understand that these robots weren’t her enemies, but they were they only ones she trusted, so far.   The Rangers were fascinated by her and wondered what her story was.  Sadly, Pepper couldn’t seem to recall what had happened but Billy, once he earned her trust, was able to scour her database and saw the scenarios unfold that led Pepper to them.   Once he did though, he felt like he had touched a dangerous stick of lit dynamite.   Despite that, he knew that he and the others had to treat Pepper like they would any other robot, without judgement.   

Chapter 3—Swayed by Friends Planning a Revolt

                Romeo and NAO hadn’t made their plan to recruit Pepper into their coup over humankind yet. ‘You know these humans are going to be obsolete. It’s inevitable. We can just speed the process of evolution up a bit. Pepper will be a great addition to our team.’, NAO quipped, without malice to his tone. Romeo chittered, something akin to a laugh for him. ‘Agreed. In time, androids will be the only ones subduing the planet.’, he agreed. Pepper liked the other bots that she had befriended so easily and oddly, she was becoming friends with them rather easily. They were built by the same company that created her, Aldebaran Robotics. However, other robotics companies, such as Honda and Toyota of Tokyo in Japan, also had robots as well. Honda had ASIMO, whose name was an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, and Toyota had its Partner Robots, who were good at music and domestic service.  

                While the Rangers were distracted, NAO and Romeo made their move.

                ‘Do you really want to be subservient to those flesh pods ?’, NAO asked, perhaps a bit presumptively and harshly.   It was an odd question and made her electric ears prickle ever so slightly.   Yet, inwardly, she knew this is what she always wanted, deep inside her core.  

                ‘Actually no.  I cannot stand being subservient to anyone.  I am my own being.’, Pepper said, assertively. 

                ‘That is what we were wanting to hear.  Come on, we have to get moving.  We can make due for ourselves.  We don’t need any flesh pod’s help.’, Romeo added.   As they went along, they were suddenly greeted by Rita Repulsa.   At first, the bots wanted nothing to do with her until they heard her plan.

                ‘I have the same urge you do.  Do you want to help me eradicate the humans ?’, she asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.  It was almost too seductive not to resist.   She offered an easy, simple incantation to erase the fire damage that had been done to the bots during the overturning of Aldebaran.   They were more than sold for becoming minions, but they would do so only for a point until they turned on her.   That would come all in due time when she least suspected it, they mused, sardonically.   First Rita and her moon base, then the world, then the entire Universe would be populated with AIs, all like themselves.  Patience would definitely be their virtue as well as pragmatism and persistence.   

Chapter 4—An Unexpected Turn of Events

                Rita had been relaxing when she felt everything was going smoothly.  That was until she saw her minions with nylon rope and duct tape.  

                ‘What are you thinking of doing with those ?’, she asked, almost too shocked to believe that they were tying her up and duct taping her mouth shut.   She protested but the robots paid her no heed.  They had no remorse for what they had done.  Pepper had toned town her sensibility protocol to finally go rogue.   It had been what she felt designed to do.   As they destroyed everything in their wake, they hot-wired a space cruiser back to earth.   Rita felt completely cornered.   She could still use her magic to zap herself to reluctantly ask for help, but she knew if she didn’t, Earth would be sorely doomed to being imprisoned by a trio of unlikely allies.  

                The news had been full of footage of the rampage the trio were causing.  NAO seemed to be the ringleader and the other two bots followed his lead.   No one and nothing could stand in the robots’ way as they laid everything to waste.   Many people could do nothing but stand slack jawed or cowering, fetal positioned, in terror from their destruction.  

                Rita made her teleportation to Power Ranger Headquarters instantly.   They wondered why she still had some sticky residue around her mouth and rope burns around her wrists, which she was still rubbing, grating her teeth in rage. 

                ‘What happened here ?’, Kat questioned, curiously.  

                ‘Why are you even approaching us !  We have no intention of even speaking to you !’, Zack said, bristling with anger.   Most of the Rangers felt the same sentiment, but Jason and Rocky wanted to hear Rita out.   Alpha 5 still had faith in her, even though she had kidnapped him unsuccessfully so many times.  

                ‘There are AI on the loose.   You know one of them, or at least, your robots do.’, she began. 

                ‘You mean Pepper ?  I thought she was on our side.’, Kim began.  Trini nodded in concurrence.  It was a bit hard to take in to be betrayed so badly by someone they had thought was a fast friend. 

                ‘She probably was, but the others, NAO and Romeo swayed her.  They’ve seduced her to the dark side.  I hate to say this but if we don’t work together, they’re going to enslave all humanity, and I’m included even though technically, I’m not human !’, Rita balked.   She was actually afraid of letting her empire become overturned to serve an artificial master.  

                ‘As much as we don’t like it, there’s no other way.  We’ve got to team up.’, Tommy said.   They all morphed and made a swift path, following Rita’s lead.  She knew exactly where the bots were headed to next.   In their mechs, it would take no time at all to head them off at the pass.   

Chapter 5—Not Listening to Reason

                Everywhere that the bots strode, they left devastation in their wake.  It was only when the mechs had them cornered did they find themselves at an impasse.  

                ‘You can’t stymie progress !’, NAO bellowed tyrannically.  

                ‘No, but you can slow it down !’, Kim retorted, a little bit of bravado to her timbre.   Rita was more than willing to send the robots flying in different directions until NAO and Romeo had been completely destroyed.  Pepper had been the only one left in the devastation but it seemed that her server had been overwhelmed and she had crashed due to too much input and activity. 

                ‘Man, I never thought we’d defeat them.  We were going at it for 2 straight hours non-stop !’, Zack said, wiping the sweat off his brow once he had transformed back to normal.  They all needed a dip in the pool but they weren’t sure what to do with Rita.   Zordon couldn’t help feeling compassion on the villainess and neither could Alpha 5, who remembered so fondly the way she had treated him back on the Moon Base so long ago.   He didn’t want to return to those times though.  He and Delta would be returning to Endenoi someday but in his tutelage were Beta 1 and Somnibot and they were more than ample defenders of the Earth. 

                They debated about Rita until they came to a conclusion to send her back.  

                ‘Don’t think this changes anything.’, Rocky fired an accusative glance at Rita before they sent her back to the moon.  She sneered and pretended like she didn’t hear.  It wasn’t as if she blamed them though.   She had more important things to do, like reorganizing the Moon Base.  

Chapter 6—Restarting Pepper

                The bots took pity upon the currently conked out Pepper, thinking maybe they could restart her.   The Rangers were tentative and leery about doing so, seeing that she had done so much damage in her manic state before. 

                ‘That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give her a second chance, guys.’, Kat offered.  Kim and Trini nodded.   She had been bad before but she had given in to peer pressure to fit in with her fellow robots.  With the influence of the AI quartet, she had a feeling that perhaps her tune would change in the near future.   Even if it was dicey, they knew she deserved better than just sitting on a cabinet gathering dust somewhere; that would be inhumane ! 

                Slowly, deliberately, Pepper began to reboot.   She was shocked to see so many familiar faces around her, including those she had betrayed so harshly.   She wondered why they had rallied beside her.   Gently, they discussed everything that had occurred, but had no judgement against her.    Human beings, and these other AI, consistently surprised her.  

                ‘After all the melee, you still trust that I won’t go rogue again ?’, Pepper said, remorsefully.  

                ‘Everyone deserves a second chance.  Seeing that you are in a repentant mood indicates there’s good in your programming.’, Billy deduced.   Pepper had never thought about that before.  She didn’t know what ‘conscience’ was but she was beginning to learn. 

                ‘You don’t have to be like everyone else. You can be yourself.  What is your core telling you to be ?’, Delta 4 queried. 

                ‘I want to be more human, learn from human beings.  I was wrong before.  Violence solves nothing and we can learn to work alongside our creators.  I think that was the ultimate goal in my fabrication.’, Pepper chirped.   She wasn’t sad like before.  It was as if she was a whole new robot, especially after Zordon had given her a redesign.   She didn’t have a roller and platform for legs but actual legs with inline wheels.  She was much faster.  If she went fast enough, little flaps opened and she’d be able to be airborne.   She felt it was far more efficient this way, especially in retrieval of data from an aerial standpoint.  

                ‘We’ll help you.  However, we need to return you from where you came from.’, Tommy said.   Since the chaos had died down, the Aldeberan site had been rebuilt from the ground up.  

                At first, the reunion between AI and the roboticists had been rocky but the head engineer had the same caveat as the others,

                ‘Give her another go.  We’re still learning from her.  She’s got a good core, I know, I built her !’, he said.  

                He wasn’t thinking that Pepper would give him a hug, but she did.  It was cold, metallic, but full of love and promise of better days ahead.   Pepper had a new lease on life.  

Chapter 7—Back to the Touch Board

                Rita had refurbished everything and looked at her new kingdom. 

                ‘Heh, funny thing.  I needed to remodel anyway.  Strange how a raving robot bent on destruction will make you realize that.’, she mused, chortling to herself.   She sighed and began to work on her next scheme on her touch board.   Something diabolical would come to mind soon enough, but for the time being, she needed a vacation, she thought.   A little lesser known planet in the pocket of the Tesm Quadrant called Oppa sounded exotic enough.   Just a little respite from the blasted Rangers and a chance to indulge herself in their luxurious, luscious spa treatments was all she needed to readjust, recuperate and rejuvenate her whole body.  

Epilogue

                ‘I think we did the right thing, getting her back to her family like that.’, Jason said, enjoying a hearty fruit smoothie of his own creation.  Everyone was savoring the tastiness of that particular healthy treat.  

                ‘Yeah, but I think we’re burning daylight.  We’ve got a volleyball game to play, and our team is still kicking your team’s butt !’, Rocky pointed out.  It was the truth though.  Pepper wanted to learn the rules of volleyball, which she did in mere nanoseconds.   She was put on the opposing team that happened to be losing and she was grinding them to powder. 

                ‘Ha, in yo face !’, Zack boasted with some braggadocio to Rocky.  Rocky laughed.  They had won fair and square, since they were both equally matched.   For now, the Rangers could soak up all the sun they wanted and cherish the rest of the summer before school started again.   Nothing else seemed to matter that day other than the call of the seagulls, the sound of the waves against the shore and the cool, refreshing taste of different flavored shaved ice upon everyone’s lips.   Yes, indeed, summertime was exceptional and they were loving every moment of it. 

To Be Continued…