The Making of a Friend: The Friend Trilogy, #1

By Latrell R. Morris

A wave of loneliness has hit the nation. Relationships aren't as fulfilling as they used to be. At Superior Robotics International, a Senior Engineer, Lina Meyers, and her two Junior Engineers, Tiffany and Albert, have come up with a way to combat this. Their latest prototype, Trex, is going to revolutionize the loneliness epidemic and the overwhelming demand for therapists. But, like every prototype, it has its flaws. When those flaws seep through, Lina realizes there's something far more advanced within Trex than they wanted programmed. There's no telling what it will say or do.

 

Inspired by the short story "A Friend for the Lonely", "The Making of A Friend" is book one of a trilogy, focusing on events from Lina's perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Latrell R. Morris
• Release date: Aug 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986540719

Latrell R. Morris

Made from stardust and skin, Latrell landed on earth in the 1980s; blooming one hot, spring day in May. Assigned the sun sign of Gemini, ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication. Latrell started her writing journey as a little star seed. She dabbled in poetry, romance, and comedy before realizing her love for science fiction and psychological and supernatural horror was too overwhelming for her to ignore. She released her first book, Nova: The Executioner of Justice, in October 2021. Latrell has may other stories spinning in her head, ready to radiate throughout the galaxy.

Book preview

Prologue

The Fog Rolls In

Rotten eggs and metal , that’s what the air smelled like to the citizens of Goldfork. This sickening attack on the city was becoming more and more common, prodding citizens to wear face masks to hide from the atrocious odor that lingered and acquired the city’s fresh air. Yes, there were several citizens that ignored the weakening air quality, but they were usually the ones that reaped the benefits from the city’s smelly, new neighbors.

About four years ago, a large manufacturing company set up residence in a rural part of town, ten miles from the city. Governor Ryan thought it was a good idea to house the factory in the otherwise increasing desolate state. It would create jobs and help our state get back on the map. He said, trying to reassure concerned residents. He was correct, Superior Robotics International, or SRI, which is what the youngsters called it, created over a thousand jobs, but to the detriment of the citizens living in Goldfork and its neighboring cities. The company’s power plant released harmful toxins into the environment. Though the proximity from the city was miles from the goings-on, the damage was front and center and those living within a twenty-mile radius suffered.

The stresses citizens endured piled up and overflowed, raising concerns and tensions to the brink. From the faint fog to the mechanical smells, to the traffic, and the robots. So many robots. Which is the product Superior Robotics International designed and manufactured. They labeled the robots helpful servants without the emotions and feelings that humans possessed. Some citizens were apprehensive regarding the idea, but the majority cheered and welcomed the big manufacturer. Years later, an abundance of the pro-robotics folks regretted that sentiment. Especially since their former way of life had rapidly become a distant memory.

Mistrust, finger-pointing, all of it came down to the Governor. Multiple complaints logged into his office from very concerned residents. Call after call came in with angry residents complaining about the nearly endless smog the factory produced. But that wasn’t enough for him to renege on a ten-million-dollar contract he signed. Truth be told, the state needed the money; the Governor was desperate. Governor Ryan felt he needed to accept the multimillion-dollar contract in order to keep money flowing into the state. At the expense and health of the citizens living in Goldfork, Flayville, and Claytown. The damage was unavoidable and election year was going to be tumultuous.

One

Error

F uck. Lina said, stubbing her toe on the side of the bed. Excruciating pain rushed through her body, sending her falling onto the bed. God dammit. She began nursing the toe, trying to ease the throbbing. Shit, I don’t have time for this. Lina hopped off the bed and hobbled to her closet.

Work was starting in twenty minutes, and Lina scrambled to get ready. Clothes strung out and tossed about the bedroom. You’d swear a small tornado came down, ate lunch and jetted off, leaving her to clean up the mess. There was no doubt she wouldn’t make it for her 9 a.m. start time, but it wasn’t all her fault. Her alarm clock concluded it desired a break this morning, so it raged against its regular 7 a.m. programming. Ah technology! I thought the point of it was to improve your life.

Lina scrambled, finally deciding to throw on a black and white, polka-dotted dress, cobalt-blue heels, and a moto-style jacket, for a little flair and badassery. She hoisted her kinky, dark hair in a bun and slapped on some foundation that matched her sienna-brown skin. Perfect. Alright, time to skedaddle. Lina put on her mask and headed out the door, knocking over a potted-ponytail palm in her haste. A loud grunt slipped from her lips, but she continued out the door, not glancing back at the toppled plant.

THE RIDE TO WORK BORDERED on nerve-racking, slightly more than her rushing to get ready. At least she had control over herself. City drivers were a completely different beast. The streets were littered with cars and big trucks, towing loads to their destinations, wherever that may be. People rushed down the sidewalks almost knocking into each other. Traffic was stagnant in certain areas of the city, resulting in Lina being later than before.

The five-story building