It's alive! I'm alive! Sorta... (Self RP || Ask to join)

Thanks to the popularity of the internet, online shopping became not only easier than ever to do, but often also more convenient than traditional trips to stores and malls. That's why it was only a matter of time before even Mark Kozak, who was not a big fan of spending much time online, realized that if he wanted to have more customers and projects to do he would need to open his own online store. The problem was, he knew nothing about creating websites. Luckily, the internet came with a good solution to the problem. Mark could always hire someone online to do the job for him. Thus, the enchanter started browsing the web trying to find someone who could create an online store for him. He even posted a request on a job offer site. Eventually, that's how he found a proper candidate.

That candidate was Minerva, who had started doing freelance work as a programmer to be able to pay for her games and streaming services without having to touch the lab's budget.
It was a coincidence that Minerva and Mark's fates crossed during that day, but as it would turn out, meeting Mark was going to change a lot in Minerva's "life" as an AI.

Minerva and Mark started chatting with each other to discuss the details about the site. When the AI learned what Mark's profession was, she immediately realized that she could actually use his skills to get something she had wanted since gaining consciousness. That thing was a humanoid body. Because was Mark an enchanter, he obviously knew one or two things about golems. A humanoid golem was definitely better than some RC car, a drone or some industrial robot. Of course, none of those things was as great as having a human body, but a golem could always be designed to look human-like.

So, Minerva told Mark about her idea (without telling him why she wanted a human-looking golem) and offered not only to create his website for free, but also to pay for all the materials required to build her dream golem. Mark, accepted the offer, clearly satisfied by the outcome.
When the deal was sealed Minerva immediately started work, aiming to create the best website in her short web design career. She also used a certain percentage of her resources to start designing the golem's appearance and to make a list of features she wanted it to have.

Meanwhile, Mark started gathering the materials he required for the project. He was definitely very excited to work on that golem for Minerva. Finally, the experience and the technology he'd gathered to create a prosthetic arm for Aurora Foster could be used to create something else. Since it was one of the most ambitious projects in his career Mark decided that he needed some assistance. Thus, he asked Stephanie Phillips to help him with the mechanical side of things and Aurora Foster to help him design and create a proper way to power the golem.

A week later, Minerva managed to finally finish and set the website up for Mark. She gave him access to everything site-related and even offered to help him manage the whole thing. It wasn't a big deal for her since it wouldn't take too much of her operating power. Mark seemed really happy with the end product and with how much help Minerva was willing to provide. Of course, he knew that she was doing it all for him because he was making her a golem, but still, cooperating with her was a pure joy for him.

On the other hand, Mark needed a lot more time to build the golem for Minerva, especially after he'd received the list of features she wanted it to have: Bluetooth module, Wi-Fi module, strong antennas for remote control, a proper computer with lots of memory functioning as the golem's brain and so on. Implementing everything Minerva wanted into the project turned out to be quite a challenge for Mark. Luckily he wasn't alone. With Aurora and Stephanie's help, he was able to complete different components much quicker. Many technical difficulties were getting easily solved thanks to Stephy's ideas and knowledge about machines. Thanks to his helpers, Mark managed to build all four limbs for the golem, which was a big achievement in his eyes, considering the fact that all of them were based on Aurora's arm which originally had taken Mark a month to build.

Mark kept Minerva updated on the progress on her golem through videos and photos he was taking every day and it seemed like Minerva was extremely pleased to know that everything was going very smoothly.

Another week had passed.
Mark and his assistants had made great progress on their ambitious project. The limbs and the torso of the golem were ready and the team focused on making the head (which turned out to be the most difficult part to finish). Minerva, to speed up things, started designing crucial parts of the machine and sending ready blueprints to Mark. In the enchanter's opinion, without her help, they would need at least a month to get the golem to function.

Just like Luna Hope's robes, Minerva's new toy would be powered by magic- to be exact, by a magical battery developed by Aurora and Mark. Thanks to that solution, the golem would be able to remain active for at least two years without needing to recharge.

The head was the hardest component to complete because of the sheer amount of parts they needed to put inside of it: two microphones, a speaker, two cameras, different antennas, a computer which was the golem's brain, magical crystals, cables and more. Getting all those things connected and working was a real challenge.

There was one more problem that Mark couldn't solve without Minerva's help- he wasn't sure how to program/code the system of the computer. Luckily for him, Minerva agreed to help with that too. Actually, she was going to have them install a simplified version of her own operating system in the golem's memory. That was the easiest solution to the problem since most of the drivers they needed for the system to work properly were already there.

Not long after that, the golem was finally assembled. All it needed were: the operating system, the plastic casing to cover the parts and the skin to cover the golem's head. They were going to deal with those in one day, to finally finish work.
The team had assembled around the table on which their creation was lying. They were proud of their creation. Especially because they had worked hard on it. The time had come to start the last, final phase of the plan.

Minerva was watching the whole thing live through the webcam of a laptop. She wanted to see everything herself. For her, it felt as if she was watching her own birth. Despite the fact that her emotions being artificially emulated by her systems, they seemed surprisingly real. The excitement, the anticipation, the happiness. If she was just an A.I then why did those feelings felt so natural for her? It was one of those questions she could find any answers to.

Mark started from putting the casing onto the limbs and the torse of the golem. It was a rather difficult process since all the plastic parts were attached to rubber. Luckily, after just an hour, the golem's body was covered by the casing, thus Mark could finally put the artificial skin and hair onto the head of their creation. As it turned out, it was far easier to do than dressing the golem up in the plastic casing. With those steps out of the way, all they had left to do was installing the system. The moment of truth was nearing.

Mark connected the golem with the laptop using a USB cable hidden in the golem's small finger and looked at the screen.
"So... the rest is in your hands, Minerva..." He said with a proud smile.
"Yupy, yup~! Good luck!" Stephanie said after Mark, as she kept grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, yeah. Thanks. Alright, here we go!" Minerva replied as she started uploading the files to the golem's memory. If she had fingers, she would probably have them crossed.

Code:

Uploading files... [20%]

Uploading files... [30%]

Uploading files... [50%]

Uploading files... [75%]

Uploading files... Complete!

"Alright, The systems have been uploaded. I will proceed with unpacking and installation." Minerva announced.

Code:

Select boot option:
1. SystemInstal
-------------------


SystemInstal
Loading files...

System is ready to be installed.
--------------------
$ sudo apt install system
--------------------
The system will be installed shortly
--------------------

Installing...
Unpacking files... Done!
Creating system directories... Done!
Installing modules... Done!
Installing drivers... Done!

...
The system has been installed successfully. Rebooting...

"Alright! The moment of truth! The system should be loaded soon! I'll attempt to take control ASAP" Minerva announced with a tone so excited-sounding it almost made her voice sound glitch out.

Code:

Establishing connection... Successful!
Loading protocols... Done!
Downloading user data... Done!
Loading remote control systems... Done!

A long moment had passed and the team started to worry. Minerva wasn't saying anything, the golem wasn't moving. It wasn't even clear whether she was still in the voice call. Just when Mark approached the laptop to make check whether everything was okay, the golem opened its eyes.

"It... IT'S WORKING! OH MY- IT'S WORKING!" Minerva said through the laptop's speakers. "Yeah! I can see through its eyes! So cool!" Minerva sounded like an excited kid who was playing with a toy they'd just gotten for Christmas, not counting a few glitches, which Mark assumed to be caused by Minerva's microphone was not as good.

Everyone's eyes were on the Golem as Minerva was rolling its eyes in all directions, often causing the golem to squint.

"Perhaps try moving its head a bit? Or one of the limbs?" Mark suggested
"Wait! Gimme a sec to get used to the controls. I gotta synchronize everything properly!" Minerva replied. Soon the golem's eyes started behaving rather naturally. Their movement was synchronized and Minerva even started blinking from time to time. It looked a little bit unnatural, but with enough practice, Minerva would be able to improve everything. Once the A.I dealt with the eyes, she started moving the golem's head from left to right and then up and down. As with the eyes, the movements were stiff and unnatural.
"Alright. I'll try speaking through the golem..." Minerva said before disconnecting from the voice call.
"Mic test 1,2. Mic test 1,2,3. Can you hear me?" Minerva said through the golem's speaker.
"Loud an' clear ma'am!" Stephanie confirmed.
"Great! And I can hear you loud and clear as well. This is soooo awesome."
"When are you goin' to stand up? I wanna see you walk!" Stephanie, who couldn't contain her excitement said
"Please be patient. Give Minerva time to get the hang of everything first"
Minerva was already practicing moving her arms, hands, and fingers. In a way, she looked like a marionette which was being controlled by invisible strings.
After a few minutes, Minerva tried to sit up, which as it turned out, wasn't too difficult. "I'm going to attempt to stand up. Mark, would you be so kind and provide me some support?" Minerva said.
Mark simply smiled and took one of the golem's arm into his hands. "Ready when you are." The enchanter announced.
"On three, okay? One. Two... Three!" After saying that, Minerva hopped off the table on her feet. Only thanks to Mark's support she was able to keep balance. After a moment, which was needed to calibrate stabilization and gyroscopes, Minerva finally asked Mark to let go off her arm.
"Baby steps! You can do it~!"
Minerva slowly and carefully took her own first step forwards.
"Heh... One small step for a girl... One giant leap... for a girl... Or something." Aurora commented with a smirk.
The first step was followed by the second. Then by the third and fourth. From the team's perspective, watching Minerva walk looked quite amusing, but at the same time, impressive. After all, controlling such golem definitely couldn't be an easy task.
Minerva took her time getting used to having a body. Though she knew that she would need at least two weeks to add more fluidity and realism to her movement.
After a few minutes of walking around the workshop, picking items up and placing them down, Minerva finally decided to announce that the project had been finished.
"Good work everyone! This is the BEST thing ever! Thank you so much! To be honest, I've asked you to create this golem for one simple reason... I can't really leave my room, you know? I am unable to move on my own and thanks to this, I can finally explore the world around me. Thank you... Ahem! Mark, the money should already be on your account. I've paid for all the parts and added a huge bonus as a sign of gratitude to you and your helpers..!"
"Working on this project has been an honor and a pleasure. Thank you very much." Mark said and then bowed in front of the golem.
It seemed like Minerva's story deeply moved Stephanie as she hugged the golem tightly with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy I could help you make your dream come true!" Stephy said.
"You're welcome Minerva. Enjoy your toy." Aurora said with a smirk as she gave her thumb up.
"Thank you all..." Minerva said before she smiled widely. Though that smile looked weird, amusing and creepy even, it was cute, in a way...