Chapter 51 - The Nestor Class 5 Robot Specifications

I took the specifications the studio created and advertised back in 2004 and then doubled them to bring them more in line with modern standards. I also added some little facts here and there and gave it a price tag. Does $100k seem right for a price? I'm open to revising some of these numbers prior to publishing to the world.

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“Hello, sir. I am a Nestor Class Five automated domestic assistant, the most advanced available on the market,” it greeted, holding its hand out to shake, which I happily did, probably because I had initiated a handshake with my NS-4 guide. Again, I used the opportunity to introduce my nanites into its systems. “My brain is positronic, capable of 12 trillion calculations per second with an internal memory capacity of 1 petabyte. My chassis is composed of 456 moving parts, three pounds of processing circuitry, two miniature nitrogen cooling units, and 1 mile of aluminum wiring.”

A positronic brain, in 2035, something that the Federation in the 24th century still struggled with. Fucking amazing. It was only the genius creator of Data, Doctor Noonien Soong, who had managed the feat successfully thus far, yet humanity of this time were producing millions of androids with a powerful positronic processor built in to run the hardware. Size-wise, this positronic processor might even be able to go toe-to-toe with the bioneural circuitry of my ship with a few upgrades.

“Tell me more about your chassis. When I shook your hand, for example, it was warm and felt soft to the touch, like actual skin,” I said leadingly.

“Unique to the NS-5 line is a proprietary gel polymer on the face, chest, forearms and hands, and legs below the knees designed to mimic skin and musculature for a much more natural feel on those areas most interacted with by humans,” the NS-5 answered. “My chassis also possesses Kev-Lite armor for greater impact protection reducing the need for repairs, non-corrosive/stainless steel plates and rivets, a 20.8 megapixel eye resolution, and a Teresa 2.0.1 OS connection to USR’s central computer for daily service and program upgrades, allowing you to say goodbye to lengthy upgrades and service calls. And of course, Three Laws Safe!”

I laughed a little at this thing parroting the marketing literature from a billboard I’d seen earlier in the day. I could also hear the capitalized letters in the ‘Three Laws Safe’ tagline.

I nodded and proceeded to touch various parts of the robot, taking deeper scans and thus hiding the visible discharge of light.

“Each NS-5 comes with a full service and support package which includes: 24-hour phone and e-mail technical and operational assistance, full coverage of any and all repairs to the NS-5 casing, musculature, positronic brain, cladding, and optics. Full servicing of NS-5 by a licensed technician every six months via on-site house call. And a head-to-toe lifetime warranty.”

Those were some impressive enticements. USR was really trying to convince people to upgrade to the NS-5 and get rid of their old NS-4s.  How much of this was USR versus VIKI’s work, the AI behind the plan to protect humanity by taking over, was anyone’s guess.

“How much for the NS-5, guide?” I asked.

“MSRP on the NS-5 is 100,000 U.S.,” the guide instantly replied. “We would be happy to place you on the pre-order list for delivery to you in 3 months tim—”