Chapter One Hundred Eight

"Where am I?" wondered Alexandra as she stepped out of the portal.



Patrick, her companion, was more apprehensive. "I -- I don't know about this, Alex. Why do you convince me to do these things?"



"Easy," Alexandra replied jokingly, "because I made you."



"This place is incredible!" squealed Alexandra as she took a look around. "It's right out of Star Sims!"



"Alex has lost all of her marbles," Patrick thought as he perused a robot in Oasis Landing's bot emporium. "She's got me looking for robots while she's in class..."



Speaking of robots, a robot with a camera took a picture of Patrick while he was looking at yet another robot.



"Trait chips?" Patrick thought to himself. "Trait chips that can be inserted at will, hmm. This one is an AI angler and an office drone."



Patrick decided to walk to the front desk. "May I help you?" asked the bot.
"Uh, I'm looking for a bot for my girlfriend."
"Your girlfriend wants to buy a robot?"
"Apparently. I don't know what's gotten into her."
"What kind of robot is she looking for? We sell all types."
Patrick shook his head. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what she's looking for."
"The reason I ask is because we have bots that do different things, according to the trait chips that have been inserted inside of it."



"Is there anything in here that isn't a bot?"
"Well," replied the robot, "this is a bot emporium, and bots are our specialty. We even have a machine that you can use to customize and make your own."



Meanwhile Alexandra had taken an apprentice astronomer position at the Mercury Observatory. She was taking classes in advanced technology and astronomy.



After work she went to the bot emporium to examine the new bots. She'd seriously considered taking one home. "This one looks interesting," she said, "but according to the stats seems a bit fragile for the price."



She was more excited about a second device, with five available trait chip slots and seemingly of much better quality. She wasn't crazy, however, about the colors.



So she took the newly selected bot through the customizer, and decided to call her... Vanderbot.