Robo the Pseudo-Pup: Part One

"Be sure to give your new robot dog lots of affection",
Tim read aloud as he fumbled through his new toy's instructions.
Tim, who was 18, worked for a large electronics company in marketing. He was the one man who wrote scripts for advertisements, helped with ad layout, and occasionally got coffee for the other designers. But that day, Tim got a call from Upper Management, and picked up his phone, shaking.
"Hello?" Tim asked, with as much composure as he could muster,
"Yes, is this Tim?" asked the man on the other end of the line.
"Y-yes. Yes, this is Tim."
"This is the Research and Development center. We've decided to have you be our first product tester."
"What does that mean?" Tim inquired.
"It means we give you our latest gadget, you try it out for a few days, and then you tell us what you think about it."
"Which product will I be testing?" Tim asked.
Whatever kind of gadget it was, Tim was excited. He loved gizmos and gadgets of all sorts.
"You'll be test running our new automatic canine!"
"I'm trying out a robot dog?"
"Yes, basically." The man said, matter-of-factly.
"Well, when do you want me to pick it up?"
"How about 5:30? That's when you get off of work, isn't it?" the man asked.
"Yeah, alright. I'll be there." Tim hung up and finished working.

5:30 rolled around. Tim went down to R&D, and picked up a large cardboard box marked PROTOTYPE. On top of the word "prototype" someone had written "Tim Hutchins, Marketing" in chiseled permanent marker. Tim put the box in his car and drove home. He put the large box in the middle of his living room, carefully minding the "This Way Up" arrow and cut the tape sealing the box.

Tim folded back the flaps of the cardboard box and proceeded to root through the Styrofoam packing peanuts that were protecting the contents. He didn't have to dig for long, though. Tim soon found the actual packaging for the robot dog, which was also quite large, about 5 feet long by 4 feet high, and carefully, lifted it out of its old cardboard container. He set it on the ground by the cardboard box, gathered up all the Styrofoam peanuts, and dumped them in the cardboard box. Tim then put the cardboard box out in the garage, and began looking inquisitively at his new "toy".

Automatic!
Friendly!
Playful!

These were the words blazoned on the sides of "Robo the Pseudo-Pup"'s box.
"Geez, this box is straight out of the 50's!" Tim chuckled to himself as he looked at the box.
Still smiling, he opened the box, and pulled out his new robot companion.
"Wow. This definitely makes up for the 1950's box!" Tim said, amazed.
His new robot was like something out of a science fiction movie! Sleek silvery plastic body panels, moving ears, video camera eyes, a see-through back, and a metal dog collar that said 'Robo' were just some of the features on his new plaything.
"He's blown me away, and I haven't even turned him on yet!" Tim stated.
Robo was quite a large robot, measuring 38 ½ inches from the tip of his snout to the back of his tail, and 28 ¼ inches from the ground to the “shoulder”. He was a big robodog.

Tim found Robo's instruction manual and began to read.
‘Congratulations on taking the next step into the future! You've just bought man's new best friend, Robo!’
"This has obviously been designed for children." Tim thought.
Tim skipped a couple of pages, and kept reading:
‘Robo has a number of sophisticated features, including high-resolution digital video camera eyes, a multi-LED emotion display, a clear plastic battery case that showcases his central computer, high torque servos in all his joints, pivoting Stereophonic ears, multiple touch sensors, a state of the art gyroscopic balancing system, and an antenna cased inside his tail! These are only a handful of the advanced features and technologies in your new dog.’
“Wow, for a children’s toy, this sure has a lot of expensive features!” Tim thought.
“But, how do I turn him on?” he asked aloud.
He gave Robo a good once over, and, with no luck, fumbled through its’ packaging until he found a sheet with a diagram of Robo on it.
“Your Robo the Pseudo-Pup box contains: 1 (one) Robo Pseudo-Pup, 2 (two) large rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, 1 (one) Remote activator/controller, and 1 (one) charging cord for 110v standard household outlets.” Tim read aloud. The picture of the remote pointed to Robo’s underbelly. He carefully lifted Robo from it’s box and gingerly turned him on his back. There, sure enough, was the controller, right where Robo’s belly button would have been, if Robo were a real dog. Tim clicked it out of it’s holder, and read the instruction manual’s page, titled “Activating Robo”.
‘Step one, remove your Robo the Pseudo-Pup from its box.’
“Check” Tim said aloud.
‘Step two, detach Robo’s activator/controller from its dock on its underside.’
“Check” Tim repeated.
‘Step three, insert the two included rechargeable lithium-ion batteries into their designated slots in Robo’s back, then firmly snap the clear plastic cover firmly into place, until you hear a click. Be sure to align both the batteries and cover correctly, as once they are in place, they cannot be removed.’
“Seems straightforward enough.” Tim remarked. He took the large batteries and carefully positioned them into their designated slots, checking his alignment often. Then, making sure to not disturb the batteries, he took the clear plastic battery cover, which was more of a back cover, since it completely sealed Robo’s back while showing off his complex electronics, and snapped it firmly into place.

With that, Tim flipped Robo over onto his feet, and stood up. Controller in hand, and praying that this invention from R&D didn’t go on the fritz like the others, pushed Activate on the remote. A resounding series of beeps followed, but Robo didn’t move. He tried again, receiving more beeps, but no movement followed suit.
“I know what’s wrong. The factories NEVER charge their stuff up before they ship it out. Robo probably just needs to charge overnight.” Tim guessed.

So, grabbing Robo, his remote and wall charger, Tim went to his bedroom to prepare for bed. After a quick shower, brushing his teeth and putting on his boxers and undershirt, Tim proceeded to climb into bed, with Robo at his bedside. Tim lifted Robo onto his bed, and plugged him into the wall. A soft hum resounded from the robot, which made Tim really sleepy. He ended up just leaving Robo at his feet, and went to sleep.