Today is Episode Six of Unbiased Law, a robot drama set in 2111.  As humans are phased out of the system of law, robots replace them becoming purely black and white in their dealings with the public. Crime is down, and almost eliminated completely due to the accuracy rate of the droids. However, after one man in prison is found innocent, the law system is thrown into question. If one robot can make these errors, how do they know more won’t… or already have?

If you’re just tuning in, Episode One is here feel free to catch up and then return to this Episode! Enjoy!

The courthouse corridors were wrought with quiet robots and angry lawyers trying to prove their client’s innocence. I couldn’t be bothered to eavesdrop on any of their conversations. I needed to get into the security office. After finding out the Judge had been tampered with he allowed me to copy his logs from the day of the alteration. I ran the log transparent yet in my view to see where he had gone that day. As I retraced his steps I had found myself just outside another judge’s office where a camera was actually just down the hall. With the time stamp and the location all I needed was the actual video footage.

As I arrived before the door to the security office, two rather large robots moved between me and the door. “Sorry sir, no access.” I paused and looked to the two of them. “I’m on a case investigating the modification of a judge in the wrongful imprisonment of a human. I need access to the logs that are in that room.” The robots looked at each other and then back to me. “Sorry sir, no access.” Now as an ex human I had some thought processes that other robots don’t, like learning programming languages so I could hack into other robots wirelessly. Just as I turned the corner and loaded up one of such programs, suddenly there was a huge group of people making their way into the courthouse. I watched as the Mayor marched into the hall, completely surrounded by news reporters. The robots burst into action, rushing to aid the Mayor in his fight, like watching a salmon swim upstream… or more like a waterfall. I decided to make my entry into the office.

As I entered the small room, a small robot was positioned with many arms and cameras focused on many keyboards and television screens. “You are unauthorized human. You… wait. You’re not human. I detect nanites?” I had loaded a disabling program just in case, but decided to roll with his questions. “Yeah, the face is entirely nanites. I’m a robot in disguise hiding from a killer.” The tiny bot shifted and focused multiple of his cameras on me. “Robot in disguise?” I laughed, “Yeah, but I’m no Transformer.” The robot stared blankly at me, his cameras focusing and refocusing in some sort of confusion. A public service robot would have gotten that. “Alright, so I need access to the camera log dated…” Before I finish my sentence, the robot has the information on screen and a prompt for upload to my data banks appears in my view. “I know, I just read your memory. You’ve had an interesting life, and now you’re potentially the only thing that can help robots remain in their position of power.” I nodded and thanked him, but then my human curiosity got the best of me. “Help the robots? I’m trying to keep a war from starting to save everyone.” The robot made some sort of laughing sound and waved me off. “Sure thing ex-meatbag.”

As I left the security office I loaded the footage of the judge walking down the hall. It seemed that he was followed by a familiar looking blonde walking with a cane. As she approached his backside she raised the cane for only a moment and passed straight by. It was subtle enough to be overlooked by a security droid, but for me it was definitely a clue. Especially knowing what I know about that lady. My thought process loads the image of Ms. Del Mar with the gun to my face and I know she’s at least committed one other crime, two if I count the random email I received. It would be almost impossible to find her, especially if she keeps dumping bodies at the discard graveyard. Where would I begin looking for her, where would she turn up and should I risk waiting for her at her dumping zone?

As I left the courthouse I found the Mayor standing at the top of the large staircase making a speech to the news crews and public who had gathered before him. As he stood staring at the microphone, I wondered what he could possibly be reporting about. As the crowd watched on, he cleared his throat and began. “Today my fellow citizens is an ill omen in the relations between ourselves and the robots who govern our laws and risk their existence every day for our well being. It appears a recent robot murderer has finally made their presence known and has been upgraded to serial killer. For some out there, you believe ending a robot’s existence is not the same as ending a human’s. You would be wrong. The penalties are treated exactly the same and you will be punished as if they were humans. As of four fifty three pm today, our beloved police chief was found dismantled and stripped of his electronics. Luckily for us, his final act was to erase his memory banks and we found the blank memory core left in a ditch not far from his remains. If anyone has any information at all on this or any of the other robot related violence as of late, I encourage you to call the police station or even our government hotline. We don’t need your name, just your information. Thank you for your attention in this matter.”

That’s it for today’s episode, I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Also, I was wondering what everyone has been thinking of the episodic content and if they think I should continue on with more stories perhaps once either of my two features here end! let me know in the comments or email me! Thanks!

Today is Episode Five of Unbiased Law, a robot drama set in 2111.  As humans are phased out of the system of law, robots replace them becoming purely black and white in their dealings with the public. Crime is down, and almost eliminated completely due to the accuracy rate of the droids. However, after one man in prison is found innocent, the law system is thrown into question. If one robot can make these errors, how do they know more won’t… or already have?

If you’re just tuning in, Episode One is here feel free to catch up and then return to this Episode! Enjoy!

The courthouse felt like a second home to me, I’d testified so many times in cases I was hired for that the guards joked about getting me my own passcode for the building. However today would be different. As I marched in the front doors I made eye contact with the guards as I walked toward the robot security screening. “Whoa there sir, you’re going to need to take the other screening entrance just over there.” As the guard pointed, I realized he determined I was human. “I don’t know how to put this, but I definitely need this side.” The guard looked confused and agitated. “Sir, this side is for droids, that side is for humans. There are no metal detectors on this side because of the amount of metal in a droid, so we can’t let humans pass through here as the scans could harm them.” I looked around and then asked if I could speak to him in private. The guard looked to the other guard who nodded and we made our way to the security office. As I closed the door behind me, I made sure he was watching me. “I didn’t want to blow my cover, but…” I removed the hat and the nanite mask much to the guard’s shock. “Magnus?!” He managed to utter, and then he looked me up and down. “How did you look so human?”

After a short explanation and putting my face back on the guard walked me around the human side security sensors and smiled. “I heard you got shot, was kinda worried you wouldn’t be coming through any more.” I met his glance and nodded. “Yeah, being shot in the face is a blast. Just one of those moments you cherish forever. Thanks and I’ll be seeing you around.” As the guard walked away I made my way to the room where they were holding the judge who had convicted an innocent man. In the darkest halls of the building, three floors below ground level, I finally found the room and the guards had been given the heads up I was coming. “Magnus, good to see you, I assume you’re here to solve another case?” I smiled and nodded. “Here’s to hoping.” As they let me enter the room, I overheard them talking about my face. “For a robot he’s not looking too bad hey? Wonder how they got his face so realistic? How did he know what a smile was and when to do it?”

“So you’ve finally come.” My attention is immediately drawn to the robot sitting on the cot in front of me. “Yes your honour, I’ve come to…” He holds up his hand in protest. “Please, I’m hardly a judge now. Ask your questions and lets see this through. If anyone can get me free, it’s you Magnus.” I didn’t think he’d recognize me with the mask, but he is a judge who is programmed to see through lies and deceit. “You convicted an innocent man to prison and now that it’s being challenged, I’ll need full disclosure.” The judge nodded and I started my questioning. “It was said in the news that the case was extremely simple, the man you persecuted was found at the scene of the crime holding the murder weapon, with the victim’s blood on their clothes and their skin under the victim’s nails.” The judge shrugged, “That is indeed what happened, but apparently he wasn’t the killer.” As I paced back and forth I began wondering about the fact that it may have been a set up.

“So the man in prison beat the polygraph? He confessed to killing her and it read that he was telling the truth?” The judge seemed confused still by the whole scenario. “Yes, and when the new man stepped forth the only reason we now consider him the murderer was he knew specific details about the scene of the crime that not even the man in prison knew despite his being at the scene of the crime.” I began to feel uneasy, it was beginning to look like humans were challenging the law, proving they could beat us at our own game. “So this new man is the murderer then? Or could the other man have relayed the information to him somehow and they are both trying to get out and stay out of jail?” Staring off into space, the judge muttered something and then focused back on me. “I’m sorry Magnus, I really don’t know what happened. I remember thinking the man I placed in jail couldn’t have been the murderer, but then there is a gap in my memories and suddenly I remember thinking he was guilty and it was one hundred percent, without a doubt.” Something inside my own mind clicked, and I reached for the judge.

“What are you doing?” The judge leaned out of my reach, but I managed to catch him. “I need to see if you’ve been tampered with.” As I looked over him I could find no parts out of place. I switched to other scanners but still nothing was showing up, not a fingerprint out of place or anything. As I ran my hands over his head in defeat, I felt a small magnetic residue on the back of his head. As I looked closer, it seemed someone placed an extremely tiny, yet focused magnet on the back of his head. Just enough to scramble some memories. If the person was smart enough to do that, they could easily have found a way to alter his memories without the judge knowing. It seemed I would have to retrace his steps to the day of his gap in memory.

That’s it for today’s episode, as the investigation heats up in two days time the Serial Number Killer strikes yet again.

Today is Episode Four of Unbiased Law, a robot drama set in 2111.  As humans are phased out of the system of law, robots replace them becoming purely black and white in their dealings with the public. Crime is down, and almost eliminated completely due to the accuracy rate of the droids. However, after one man in prison is found innocent, the law system is thrown into question. If one robot can make these errors, how do they know more won’t… or already have?

If you’re just tuning in, Episode One is here feel free to catch up and then return to this Episode! Enjoy!

As my charge completes, the daylight nearly incinerates my visual processing core. I always try to lay down to charge, but apparently I went into sleep mode staring straight at the window. That wouldn’t have been creepy to anyone walking by, not at all. I unplug and make my way to the computer, processors still adjusting to the abnormally bright sun. No new emails, that’s always a good thing. Some days you prefer for business just not to be booming. As I check the news however I stumble upon a headline, “Serial Number Killer” just below it reads “Robots missing all over town as serial killer kidnaps and disposes of at least five public service droids.” Strangely enough, I think the number is six, I was supposed to be the first. I guess I’ll have to keep it on the down low until I can work on that case.

I turn off all the lights, lock the door and then make my way into the back office area. Stooping to open my safe, I find my brown fedora tucked under a nearby end table. Well, one case solved today, I wonder if I can make it two? As the safe clicks open, a large silver box covered in dust is all that remains within in. I couldn’t remember if I kept anything else in here, so I guess not. Placing the box on the table, I blow the dust off and open it. I stare into the case, and my human face stares back at me. “Hello Jonathan.”

Let me explain, I wasn’t always a robot. Well, it’s complicated… but there is a reason I was allowed to leave the force. I used to be one of the officers on the PAID training force. I was a human who took to cybernetic implants very well. You see in the early days of implants, most bodies rejected the nanites, tiny robots poured by the millions into your system. Each robot type had a purpose. Some were meant to cure cancers, others to  repair cell tissue, others to enhance performance; But the entire time almost no patients survived any of the tests. It was very secretive as they were testing on live human subjects, but the government gave the program the green light. I never agreed with the program, until one day.

It was a routine exercise, distract and deploy, except today the gunman in the liquor store had more than we expected. The exercise we had activated dozens of times, but normally the gunman had a pistol or rifle. I was supposed to distract the hostage taker while robots flanked him from all sides until he would just give in from the sheer number of ways he could die. This guy though, he looked ragged but he had something I had never seen before. The weapon looked like a television remote, and at first I didn’t think anything of it. As I made my way toward him, talking all the way, one of the hostages shouted for me to look left. I didn’t move, until the gunman nodded. The body down the aisle was still smouldering. Suddenly, this feeling of unease came over me. I’m going to die. As the robots deployed their part of the deal, the gunman who normally gives up, decided he would rather die than go to prison. I didn’t feel a thing as I burst through the front window of the liquor store. As I came to rest on the ground, I’ll never forget the look on the poor officer’s face who got to me first. Then I blacked out.

When I awoke, I was amazed to see I was in amazing shape. I jumped up and skipped around. I was alive! Eventually my doctor came in and sat me down. He explained that the nanites were repairing my body, but in doing so they converted a lot of blood and bone to tissue. My bones had apparently been replaced with metal now. I thought this was too awesome, I was becoming a robot! I continued returning to the doctor for check ups and apparently my body was handling the nanites just fine. However the nanites were working their way toward my brain and if they found something else to maintain, there was a possibility of brain damage. I underwent the emergency surgery and came out just fine, at least it felt fine. Until I realized I couldn’t feel the bed below me, or the fabric of the sheets. I ripped the sheets off to find that my body had been replaced with that of a droid’s. What the hell is going on?! I jumped up and I saw my head floating in formaldehyde and there’s just something about seeing that kind of image that really knocks you out.

When I awoke, there was a doctor and a government official standing over me. The news was the nanites had completely rebuilt the outer hull of my body, and has rebuilt ninety percent of my muscle mass. This took my bones and a lot of blood to manage. However, the remaining ten percent could only be rebuilt from primary body tissues, I couldn’t have a donor. Sadly it would come from my brain or my heart, and without those obviously I wouldn’t be alive. Instead, the government had fast tracked a program of developing robot people. What that means is they hooked my brain up to a computer, let it absorb all the data and then it uploaded it to this robot’s memory banks. They said it would take some getting used to, but I was one hundred percent machine now. Congratulations they said. I was the first.

As I stared at my old face, I remembered  the first few months. The face was a nanite representation of my entire head. That meant if my thought process was to move my ears, it moves them only as much as I would have been able to before. I couldn’t bend my own memory and limitations, so if my tongue couldn’t touch my nose, it wouldn’t now. The doctor put it on and pointed me to a mirror. It was remarkable, I looked human in head only. The doctor recommended I try and blend in more with robots and use the face only to remind myself that I was human once. But now, I needed it to blend in among the humans, in case my killer happened to spot me.

The face fit naturally and I put on a pair of gloves to hide my hands. Donning my hat, I slipped out the back entrance and into the alley. As I stared up into the sky, it felt strange to know today I would be perceived as a human again after so long. Did I even remember what it would be like to be a human? I flagged down a cab and hopped in. The driver was a robot and I had hoped it would be my cab driver from the other night, but not so lucky. “Where to mac?” I thought about my joke, and brushed it off. “The Courthouse please.” The cab driver nodded and pulled out. I immediately panicked, Oh no, robots transfer other robots their fare, but what do humans do these days? The cab driver caught me in the rear view. “You ok back there? You’re looking a little pale, don’t you throw up!” I looked around anxiously, Pale? What does he mean? Is my face broken? As we got a few blocks from the Courthouse I got even more nervous, and my brain apparently told my face to gag. The cab driver slammed on the brakes, “Get the hell out! I just detailed this car and I’ll be damned if you’re going to throw up all over it meatbag!” As I jumped out I realized my face was giving away my thoughts. This would take some getting used to.

That’s it for today’s episode, the investigation begins with the courthouse however I hope today’s piece was satisfactory enough! Feel free to email me or comment below!

Today is Episode Three of Unbiased Law, a robot drama set in 2111.  As humans are phased out of the system of law, robots replace them becoming purely black and white in their dealings with the public. Crime is down, and almost eliminated completely due to the accuracy rate of the droids. However, after one man in prison is found innocent, the law system is thrown into question. If one robot can make these errors, how do they know more won’t… or already have?

If you’re just tuning in, Episode One is here feel free to catch up and then return to this Episode! Enjoy!

As I leave the police station I find myself trying to piece everything together. Was my own shooting connected to the sudden surge of distrust in robot officers? As I near the door, I am suddenly brought back to the fact it is a downpour outside. I ask the receptionist if she can call me a cab, I need to get back to my office to start focusing on this new case I’ve been assigned. Waiting by the door, I can feel the moisture in my joints and gears. The rain always bugs me mostly because it reminds me I’m getting old. Most detective droids have short life expectancies, sometimes a gun shot will tear a droid beyond repair. I managed to survive over ten fatal gunshots while in service, well… now it was eleven. I was granted exemplary service for thinking outside the tin can around our memory banks. More so, I was actually being rewarded for being a self-preservationist. Suddenly I hear a honking and I am brought out of my deep thought processes. It seems my cab has arrived.

As I rush into the cab, the cab driver greets me with a wave. I look at his license, F4R-13Y, Transportation Droid. He looks at me in his rear view mirror and nods. “So, where to Mac?” I meet his gaze in the mirror. “Do I look like a Mac to you? I’m more  PC.” I hear the driver snicker a little and he nods. “Well played. You’re not like those other officer droids, they can’t download a sense of humor. You public sector?” I shrug, “In a sense, take me to one thirty seven fifty ninth ave.” I look out the window at the downpour. “I don’t remember it ever raining this much.” I catch the driver looking back in his rear view. “I don’t think it ever has, probably an ill omen for us droids. By the way, some people call me Farley instead of that code on my license.” I nod in acknowledgement, then lean forward to introduce myself. “I’m Magnus, nice to meet you Farley. Isn’t it strange how some droids actually develop through social stimulation while others seem to just remain constant?” Farley snickers again as he makes a left hand turn. “Yeah, it’s kind of sad that we managed to develop a taste for humour and manage to hold a conversation. So many droids can’t. Makes us lucky I guess.” I lean back in my seat and stare out at the rain. “Yeah. Lucky.”

I transfer Farley the fare and I bid him farewell. As I stand in the rain watching the cab drive away, I get half my fare transferred back to me. If I could smile, I would. It’s always great to meet another personable robot, makes me feel like we still have hope out there. I rush into my office and take off my wet clothes, tossing them over the waiting room seats. I don’t have to wear them, it just helps to fit in. As I sit at my desk I find three new emails. The first one is fantastic, Enhance my manhood. Well, I’d love to. The second one is even less important to me, make up and designer brands at fifty percent off. Incredible. Internet’s been around over a hundred years and this garbage still exists. The third one just has a video file and only one thing in the body of the email: from a concerned passerby.

As I stare at the email, every ounce of it reeks of virus but I can’t help but open it. The video is exceptionally grainy and very low quality, but the audio seems intact. I can hear the rain but the street is almost too dark to notice the rain falling. As I watch I see my car tail lights pull up, suddenly there’s a large flash and the door opens with Ms. Del Mar pushing me onto the side walk. I look closer. I zoom in on the body on the side walk and then replay the video. As the body slides out, I realize that isn’t my body. It’s another robot! As she pulls away, I watch as other robots rush up and dismantle the victim on the ground. As they rush away nothing is left of the victim. I pause for a moment, pretty confident I know where that place is. It’s a graveyard for old robots, discards as we call them. The discards are robots who have no further use in society, so they are shut down and if they’re too old to be recycled, well… they go here. It was rumoured that a robot had himself shut down, but only to reactivate later. This robot was supposedly a human hater, and he wanted to reactivate some of the robots there and start an army. It seems everyone is trying to start a war these days… good place to hide a body though.

End of Episode Three! I’d love to hear any feed back on today’s story and feel free to be brutally honest. Email me, or comment, either one is fine! I hope that everyone enjoyed today’s episode, I’ve been trying to keep them short so I can go over them and ensure their quality. Also, the next episode will happen once again in two days and it’ll mark the start of Magnus’ investigation! For now thanks for reading!

Today is Episode Two of Unbiased Law, a robot drama set in 2111.  As humans are phased out of the system of law, robots replace them becoming purely black and white in their dealings with the public. Crime is down, and almost eliminated completely due to the accuracy rate of the droids. However, after one man is placed in found innocent after spending a few years in prison, the law system is thrown into question. If one robot can make these errors, how do they know more won’t… or already have?

If you’re just tuning in, Episode One is here feel free to catch up and then return to this Episode! Enjoy!

PS-Also I know it’s a bit late but I’ve posted my short story for this week here! You will most likely see this link again tomorrow!

As I lay here in the puddle of water and oil, I watch the tail lights to my car disappear into the torrential downpour. Will anyone notice me? I see the light come on for my power cell. Normally we never see that, as droids we have our regular maintenance. The repair droids make sure we’re in tip top shape, and our power cells get replaced every time without a disconnect. It seems she hit mine. Ms. Del Mar, if that was her real name, when I wake up I’m going to…

A droid stands over me, staring closely at my face. What happened? Where am I? Why am I immobile? The droid realizes my visual interpreters are working and he stands up straight. “Hello Magnus, I’m the doctor at the police station. It seems you’re a detective and a former member of the Police Artificial Intelligence Detectives. Any idea how you ended up on our doorstep with a bullet hole in your face armor?” I pause a moment but nothing appears in my recent memory banks. It seems they’ve been wiped cleaner than a newly built robot. “No Sir. I have no memory, not even in my reserves.” The doctor looks closely at my face again and tinkers with something. Suddenly I can feel my legs and arms come online. He nods and spins whatever tool he is holding. “You should be good to move now, and try updating from our network, you should have some firmware upgrades.” I sit up and see if I can connect to the network. What’s this? A password? “Umm, doc, what’s the password?” He is already heading for the door by the time I ask, but he turns to me. “Your password? It’s written on your old ID badge in your wallet.”

I fumble with my wallet, and find the ID badge. I find the password and enter it into the prompt, connecting… Still connecting. Finally, I’m granted access. Now, where would this update be located? Maybe it’s… And before I know it my thought process is interrupted. “You Have Mail.” I really have got to change that, I think the doctor installed the most basic system possible. An email, from myself? Ten minutes ago? Let’s load this up.

“Magnus, If you’re reading this it means you’ve been shot in your memory core. I’d explain everything but it’s way easier to access your old self and install the backup. You’ll understand in a minute. Sincerely, Magnus.”

Well that was odd. I enter the link at the bottom of the email and it takes me to a file. Download? Of course! I wait a few moments as the file transfers. Wow, apparently I am about to remember a lot, four hundred and thirty seven zettabytes worth of memories. Installing. Rebooting.

When my visuals come back online, I leap to my feet. I’m not in my car, I’m not sure where I am or what’s been going on. After a brief survey of the scene, it appears I’m in the police station doctor’s shop. Well, it seems everything is going as well as it could. I guess I got my email, considering I’m back to my old self. I shake the reboot off and leave the room. As I open the door, a droid rushes to my side. “Sorry Magnus, but I can’t let you leave just yet… especially with no face plate. I reach up and touch where the plate should be. Oh, cords… got it. “You must be the doctor who patched me up?” The droid nods, and he responds with confusion in his voice. “You don’t remember me? I told you to update only moments ago!” I fix my tie and suit jacket. “I didn’t update, had a quality backup. I’m good as new, mentally at least.” The doctor nods. “Well at least that’s good news, but once we get your face plate back on the Commissioner wants to see you.”

Moments later I’ve got a shiny new face and all my memories, like nothing happened. Now… to find out who Veronica Del Mar is and put her in prison for murder and the theft of my car. I restored that car myself. But first, I should probably see the Commissioner. As I walk into his office, I overhear part of his conversation. “Yes. Yes. I will get my best on it now Sir. Yes. Sorry. No. I do not know what will happen if the judge is found guilty. I know. Unbiased Sir. I will. Goodbye.” The Commissioner looks up to me. “M46-NU5, welcome back. I require your service.” I survey the room, wishing he had possibly dragged that out a bit longer. “You want me to investigate who shot me Sir?” The Commissioner shakes his head, and motions for me to close the door.

“Off the record mode, M46-NU5.” The Commissioner has never been in off the record mode, at least that I’ve seen. I stand still as a coat rack, awaiting what terrible news he has for me. Suddenly, he slams his hand on the desk leaving a solid dent behind. “Magnus, you have been working your own firm for a decade or so now, correct?” I am startled by the question, not where I was expecting him to go. “Yes Sir. A decade indeed.” The Commissioner stands and I detect his scanners surveying my entire frame. “Magnus, I need you to listen and listen closely. Droids are in trouble if we do not solve this promptly and efficiently. Have you heard of the man wrongly convicted and sent to prison by a robot judge?” I had heard of it, but not much. “I know little about it, but I’m guessing things aren’t going well?” The Commissioner shakes his head. “Let me bring you up to the current news.”

“A droid judge was proceeding over a case in which a man was caught at the scene of a crime, holding the murder weapon with the victim’s blood all over him. It seemed evident that the man had committed the crime. Upon further analysis, the man had scratch marks and the victim had his skin under her nails.” The Commissioner looks at me, as if he expects me to interrupt, then continues. “It was too easy. Too default crime. We all speculated it may have been staged to put a light on us. We put the man through the polygraph and he passed. He admitted he had done the crime.” I take my moment to interrupt. “So, it was by all definition a completely solved case.” The Commissioner nodded in agreement. “However, once he was convicted and placed into prison a man came forward stating he was the real murderer. We put him through the polygraph and he was telling the truth. He explained some details that were not released to the public. We realized then we had been tricked. The humans are trying to start a war against us.”

End of Episode Two! I’d love to hear any feed back on today’s story and feel free to be brutally honest. Email me, or comment, either one is fine! I do know that today’s episode isn’t as much of a cliffhanger as the last, however I believe it is definitely a good point to end on. Our main character has died already, people are framing robots and the mystery woman is on the run. Will Magnus find out what we already know, or will the moments after he uploaded his back up be lost forever? Tune in for Episode 3 in two days! Thanks for reading!