Looking at the doll in front of him, Renault rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
"Why don't you leave?"
"No! I can't go! If I go down now, those guys will definitely demolish me!" the doll shouted.
"Then how are you sure I won't demolish you if you stay here?" Renault asked, arms crossed. Though he was tempted to throw this guy out directly, he had to admit the doll had a point.
The people outside had no reason to let her go.
"Huh? You're going to demolish me!?" The doll's delayed reaction made Renault wonder how this guy had ever passed quality inspection. With such a slow response time, how could she possibly be qualified as a reporter?
Cybermedia's special news interview doll seemed no better than this...
It appeared that even if the same model of civilian doll body was used, there were still differences between dolls.
"Think what you want, but this isn't a free shelter. If you want to stay on the ship, either pay for it yourself or have your company pay for it. Of course, if you want to return to Cybermedia's headquarters, you can do that as well. Just have your supervisor pay a little for the escort fee," Renault said, turning towards the bridge.
He hoped the WZ.29 guy hadn't slacked off and forgotten how to control the ship for takeoff, or else UMP45 guy would be mocking him again for squeezing his employees.
"But... but I don't have any money..." the little reporter hurriedly chased after him.
"No money? You came out for an interview without any expense money?"
"Well... no funds. Also, I'm not affiliated with Cybermedia anymore. Two days ago, they dismissed me. Now, I'm working for a small newspaper..."
Hearing this, Renault paused, turned back, and stared at the small reporter. "No wonder. I wondered why Cybermedia would send a rookie to cover something like this. Did Cybermedia sell your employment information because you don't meet the requirements for a normal media doll?"
Her doll frame must be fine; otherwise, it wouldn't have left the factory. The only problem could be the doll's mental state. Although manufactured with the same initial mental data, dolls' mental states would transform over time after activation. Manufacturers could only use sophisticated protocols to limit their states of mind to predefined personalities.
Cybermedia's news interview dolls evidently had fewer restrictions on their mental development. They needed dolls capable of being reporters, not robots following a script.
This small reporter probably hadn't passed Cybermedia's internal tests. Instead of transferring her to other positions, they sold her out.
Looking at the helplessly nodding small reporter, Renault didn't want to say more. If she were from Cybermedia, he could send her back to their headquarters. Although he couldn't guarantee she'd keep her information secret, at least she wouldn't be in danger.
But with a small newspaper... sending her back was pointless; she'd face the same risk of capture.
Thinking this over, Renault sighed. "Turn off all your communication devices."
"Oh, oh," the small reporter nodded quickly but then remembered she had no communication devices. Her communication module was dismantled when she was transferred to the newspaper, and they wouldn't spend money on new equipment for her. She only had a used video camera and a recording device. If her propulsion system hadn't been factory-installed and necessary for her function, she wouldn't even have that.
Following Renault, she took the elevator to the bridge. As the doors opened, an unexpected scene greeted her.
Several dolls had pieced together a large table using small tables from the bridge seats. It was covered with a variety of snacks, mostly store-bought, as homemade desserts don't come in bags. The dolls, with their cheeks bulging like hamsters, were red-faced, engaged in some competition.
WZ.29, though not participating, was also covering her mouth, clearly stuffed with food.
"What are you guys doing?" Renault frowned at the sight of the impromptu tea party on the bridge. "You all think you can just slack off here?"
"Uh-huh! Woooooooo!" Suddenly hearing Renault's voice, the dolls stood up straight. If they needed to breathe, they'd have choked themselves.
"Relax, the bridge control regulations only apply when we're in space. We're still on Earth," Renault said, waving his hand.
The dolls, MG42 and others, felt resentful. Renault wasn't usually this strict. Who knew he had it in him to tease them today?
Not waiting for them to speak, Renault's side was suddenly filled with the sound of two simultaneous shutter clicks.
"Ah, sorry, subconsciously..."
"Ah, sorry, subconsciously..."
The two voices echoed, one concerned, the other smug. MDR, who had appeared at some point, was now standing next to the small reporter, both taking pictures and speaking at the same time.
"WZ.29, start the engines and let the tower know we're ready to go," Renault ordered.
The pilot, newly assigned to the ship, nodded hurriedly, gulping down her food as she moved to check the ship's condition for the normal startup sequence.