The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 36-37)

Household Service: Model E

Designed by AccuTronics to interact with young children on playgrounds and secondary caregivers, the Model E has performed with distinction for well over a century. The line has long been out of formal production, but a few vintage units are still in use, watching the children and grandchildren of the adults whom they first helped raise.

Most Es saw service in schools and childcare centers. Some were stationed in recovery wards of pediatric medcenters, and still others used by psych-counselors for putting traumatized children at ease. And of course, more than a few were purchased by wealthy parents as presents for their privileged heirs.

Regardless of their background, no child can resist falling in love at their first sight of a Model E. The droids are designed to look as nonthreatening as possible. Standing under one meter tall, the humanoid frame is smooth, rounded, and appealing. The plastic-coated durasteel shell can easily withstand an errant smashball pitch or a jolly tumble from a tree limb. Es were manufactured in a variety of bright colors, including yellow, red, green, blue, orange, and pink.

Large, oiler photoreceptors stare from an oversized head that protects a cube-shaped personality matrix. While not particularly sophisticated, the matrix accomplishes its programming quite admirably.

Es are programmed to make friends and are highly skilled at reading the emotions of organic beings. Their voices are carefully modulated to sound mellow and genial. They can sing dozens of songs from numerous alien cultures and produce simultaneous musical accompaniment with their vocabulators. The droids’ databanks are filled with thousands of children’s sports, hobbies, and games, from Alderaan's Arch to zizzledy box, and they will readily lead a group of youngsters outside for an exercise walk, a nature lesson, or a spirited round of Hound the Hawk-bat. Model Es are also equipped to handle feedings, diaper changes, and emergency medicine, though their programming in these areas cannot compare to the complexity of the TDL Nanny Droid.

Over time, most children become emotionally attached to their Model E, which is why the droids seldom receive memory wipes. When several Es serve together for extended periods, they frequently become inseparable.

This loyalty can be exploited for personal gain. On the planet Kalorba, a weapons manufacturer once tried to coerce Q-E, 2-E, and U-E to assemble illegal blasters. The trio had operated the town nursery for nearly four generations, but were forced to obey when U-E's body was blasted to scrap. Fortunately, thanks to a resilient cognitive module, U-E was successfully reinstalled in the body of a freight droid once the criminal's plan was foiled.

Info Boxes

Front View

• Olfactory Sensor
• Oversized Photoreceptors
• Modulated Vocabulator
• Restraining Bolt
• Safety Light

Rear View

• Personality Matrix Housing
• Auditory Sensors
• System Ventilation Port
• Plastic-Coated Durasteel Chassis