Smart Home

Darknessxxx

Preface: With the growing popularity of other "smart home" devices, I couldn't help but think about a certain Boy Genius.

outside the home of Dexter, boy genius, the family car pulled into the driveway. From the vehicle, Dexter's Father emerged carrying a small box. Excited, he brought the box inside the house, and set it on the kitchen counter.

"Honey, kids!" he then called out. "Quick, come see what I just bought!"

There was a clambering from upstairs as Dexter and Dee Dee raced each other.

"Haha! I win! I win!" Dee Dee sang as she reached their dad.

"No fair," Dexter complained once he caught up. "You cheated."

"What have you got there honey?" their mother asked once she joined the three.

Dexter's Dad looked around the room at each of them. "Family," he said. "Let me ask you, are we cavemen?"

"No," Dexter's Mom answered.

"Nope," Dee Dee echoed.

"A rather interesting question," Dexter said. "By definition, cavemen live in caves, and as we live inside a house, logically being classified as such should be impossible."

"And let me ask you," Dexter's Dad went on. "Do we dress in loincloths, or attack things we don't like with sticks?"

"No" answered Dexter's Mom and Dee Dee, this time in unison.

"Loincloths? Those are of such ineffective design," Dexter said. "They barely qualify as an article of clothing!"

"Exactly!" Dexter's Dad said. "We're a modern family! As such, it's only natural that we utilize modern technology. Technology like this!" He opened the box he had and placed its contents on the counter in front of them.

"Ooh, "Dexter's Mother and Dee Dee said in awe.

Dexter, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. They were looking at a black puck-shaped device of about 20 cm in diameter. On its top were lights that were dimmed by what Dexter deduced to be due to lack of power, which it would receive via the power cable running from its back. "What is it?" he asked.

"This is The Aluri!" Dexter's Dad told them. "The device that will change our lives!"

Dee Dee poked it suspiciously. "What's it do?" she asked.

"The Aluri is a digital home assistant, designed to make your home life that much easier!" their Dad told them. He picked up the Aluri's power cable, "But first, you got to plug it into your home's power supply." he plugged it into a nearby power outlet, and the lights on top of it lit up red.

"So… now what?" Dee Dee asked.

Their Dad smile widened. "Now?" he said. "Right about now, The Ironers are about to kick off against The Nationalist!" he cleared his throat. In a clearer and louder than normal tone he then said, "Aluri, turn the TV on to channel 575!"

In the other room, the sound of the TV turning on could be heard, followed by an announcer's voice saying, "Welcome sports fans to tonight's game against The Ditchberg Ironers and The New Wale Nationalist!"

"So what?" Dexter said. "It's a glorified TV remote?"

His Dad laughed at the comparison. "Why, Dexter, The Aluri does so much more than that! By sharing a power supply, it can interface with any home system. Including air conditioning, computer, garden systems, gaming systems, lights, locks, and even stoves!"

"Let me try," Dexters Mom said. She also cleared her throat and said, "Aluri, could you turn the stove on for me?"

Sure enough, the sounds of gas igniting could be heard. "Well, better get started on Dinner," Dexter's Mom said, making her way into the kitchen.

"Ooh, Aluri," Dee Dee called to it. "How about some music?" Her request was met with a classical piano masterpiece, she stuck her tongue out at. "Blah, how about something from this century?"

The music stopped momentarily and was replaced with a top ten hit.

While his sister danced to the music playing, his mother cooked, and his dad watched the game, Dexter returned to his secret underground laboratory. "So it's a voice-operated electrical assistant, big deal." He stepped onto a moving walkway that would bring him deeper into his lab.

"Sure, there's a novelty to having things done with minimal effort," he said. As he was carried mechanical arms emerged from the walls and removed his clothes and replaced it with a bath towel. "...But there's no replacing that feeling of accomplishment when you do something on your own."

The walkway dropped him into a tank of warm water, that was subsequently further heated. Bright lights came on to heat Dexter's, unsubmerged, upper body. Shades were placed over his eyes to protect him from the lighting, and water jets supplied an added sense of luxury. "Though I suppose won't understand such things."

"Dexter?" his relaxing soak was interrupted when his computer called to him.

"Yes, computer?" Dexter responded.

"About this Aluri your dad bought," The Computer responded.

"A mere novelty," Dexter said. "What about it?"

"My sensors indicate that The Aluri is transmitting data about your house to a yet unidentified location," The Computer told him.

"A lot of companies collect information like that, it helps them sell other products," Dexter said. "So what?"

"It appears to be transmitting data about the entire household," The Computer told him. "And that includes…"

Dexter took the shades off of his face and gasped. "The lab!"

"By my calculations, information regarding the lab will be uploaded within two minutes," The Computer said.

With nothing but the towel around his waist, Dexter ran to the nearest monitor, to see if he could rectify the dilemma he was facing. "I have to prevent The Aluri from transmitting," he said, frantically typing away at the keyboard in front of him. "No good! it's going to take too long to interface with its operating system from here!"

Panicking, he looked around and saw a wrench he'd use for maintenance lying nearby. "This calls for a more direct approach!" He picked the wrench up and ran for the exit.

"I only have one minute to prevent the upload," he said, checking his watch.

As fast as he could, Dexter ran back downstairs. There the rest of his family watched as Dexter repeatedly attacked The Aluri with his wrench. It wasn't until it was a pile scrap that he stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dexter!" his dad stood before him in an imposing stance. "Of all people, I never expected you to so technophobic! Yet here you are, half-naked and breaking things!"

Dexter looked down at himself. Seeing how bad he must look to others, he nervously tried to laugh it off.

"Young man," his dad went on. "I want you to go to your room, and think about what you've done!" he pointed to the stairs, which Dexter hurried towards, avoiding his father's stern gaze. He didn't relax until he back in his bedroom.

"At the very least, I should have at least broken the transmission," he mused. "Who knows what would've happened if the existence of my lab got out."

Not far across town, the evil genius Mandark sat staring at a screen, where the words CONNECTION LOST were displayed.

"Cures you Dexter!" he said. "Once again, your paranoid nature prevented me from learning all the secrets of you and your lab." He turned his chair around so that he could observe fully his own laboratory. "But rest assured, one day I shall devise a plan so devious that you'll have no choice but to submit to me! Mandark!"

"Haha ha! Haha ha ha!"