Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Strengthening Family Ties (Part 3)
Don tossed the pamphlet aside and brought his hand to the top of the dog's head, giving it three pats as per instructions.
Immediately after, the dog's eyes lit up green, and a scanner was projected, scanning Don's figure before it projected the message *Owner Identified* in bold digital letters.
The projection then retracted, and the dog closed its eyes before reopening them, this time looking like those of a real dog—in this case, a Husky. It panted slightly before barking, "Woof! Woof!" sounding identical to a real dog.
"He's so cute!" Summer's expression melted like butter as she saw the android acting like a real dog. She reached out a hand to try and pet it, but the dog snapped its head toward her, dodging her hand and creating some distance before barking at her more aggressively, "Ruff!" as if warning her.
"Don, make it normal! Friendify it or whatever they do," Summer said, stepping back.
"Down, boy. Recognize friend," Don said, standing up from his crouched position.
As he said this, the dog stopped barking and sat in place, projecting a scan over Summer's body. Once the scan was done, it projected the words *Friend Identified*.
Satisfied, Summer approached it again, and this time, the dog didn't try to run away. It even moved a few steps closer and stood up on its hind legs to meet her.
"Who's a good boy?" Summer became all giddy, rubbing the dog's neck playfully.
As she was doing this, Samantha's voice suddenly echoed from behind the door. "Kids, dinner's ready!"
Hearing the unrecognized voice, the android barked once again. Don looked its way. "Sit down, boy. Recognize friend."
After Don said this, the dog let out another short bark before pulling away from Summer and rushing past the garage door, heading inside.
"Hey, I wasn't done playing with you!" Summer called after it, frowning.
Don just shrugged and followed the dog into the house, leaving Summer to mutter, "Jerk," as she slowly followed behind with her arms crossed.
Inside, everyone else was already in the dining area. Amanda had already taken her seat with a plate of well-served rice, spicy hot chicken, and a fresh-looking egg salad.
Winter was still in the kitchen, wiping the counters and putting the plates in the dishwasher, while Samantha was setting the last plate on the dining table.
Suddenly, "Woof!" Samantha showed surprise and nearly jumped back as the dog charged her way.
"Don, Summer, did you let a dog in the house?"
Don soon appeared on the scene just as the dog stopped in front of Samantha and scanned her, its projector reading *Friend Identified*. Seeing it do this, Samantha relaxed, realizing it was the new android.
"Oh, it's also a robot."
"Android," Summer corrected her as she arrived, crossing her arms as she walked over toward the table.
Amanda peeked at the dog from her seat and said jokingly, "And here I hoped it was gonna be another busty maid."
"Amanda!" Samantha called out in a slightly motherly tone, causing Amanda to raise her hands in defeat, saying, "Kidding! Kidding!"
At that moment, Winter also walked into the room. "I just heard an AI-generated canine audio. Is the other android by any chance a security canine?"
Summer, stopping near her seat, looked Winter's way and showed surprise. "You could tell it's artificial?"
Winter, holding her hands in front of her and wearing her usual blank expression, responded, "But of course. It uses an earlier and less advanced model than my own, so it is easy to discern for someone like myself, who possesses incredibly sensitive audio receptors."
Samantha turned her attention back to the dog and then looked up at Winter to ask curiously, "Does that mean it's not as advanced as you?"
Winter gave an immediate nod. "Yes, compared to myself, it is a rather primitive android with only basic features and very slow learning capabilities. Would you mind if I sync current household knowledge into its systems so it may understand the layout of the house and the occupants within?
If you leave it to learn on its own, it may take a few weeks for it to fully know every inch of this place, your voices, neighbors, and, more importantly, the Chanel Hills community guidelines for owning a pet."
At this, everyone looked Winter's way, a bit impressed. Summer said, "You know all that?"
"Of course," Winter agreed as if it was incredibly obvious. "It is only natural for me to possess extensive knowledge of your neighbors, friends, community, and rules and regulations around you so I may respond better should the scenario demand it."
Amanda couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Winter's answer. "When she puts it like that, she really does make the cute little dog seem a little primitive."
"Hey, it's not every day you get a dog you don't have to worry about cleaning up after," Don immediately agreed.
"True," Samantha nodded as well. "Now, let's all just sit down for dinner. Winter, sync the… what did you call it?"
"Information systems, Mom," Summer corrected her, rolling her eyes. "How is it that you work at one of the biggest tech companies in the world but don't even know about such things?"
"My area of expertise ins't robotics, young lady," Samantha said as she took her seat with a sigh.
"Right, you're in the boring department that deals with sales and numbers. Gross."
"It's not gross, young lady. Math is very fun," Samantha said while taking her seat, looking at Don as he took his.
"Don't you think so, Donnie?"
Before Don could respond, Summer let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ha! Don and math—that's a good one."
"I'll have you know I'm very good at math," Don corrected her, thinking, 'I was an economics and finance major in my past life, after all.'
What followed was the usual bit of sibling bickering and motherly intervention. Aside from that, dinner was quite quaint, the topic mostly revolving around tech.
From this conversation, Don learned that Summer was very knowledgeable on the subject, and even Samantha, though not directly involved with the technical aspects, knew her fair share.
As they were wrapping up dinner, Amanda yawned and said, "I think I'm going to call it a night early. I didn't get much sleep yesterday, and it's catching up to me."
Samantha gave her an "I told you so" look while saying, "I always tell you not to stay up too late. But you're right. We should all call it a night early since tomorrow is Monday."
"Don't remind me," Summer groaned, leaning back into her seat with a disappointed sigh.
Don, on the other hand, was already planning on going to his room after this, as he still needed to check his reward. If it meant what he thought it meant, school was about to go very differently for him tomorrow.