He enthusiastically returns the kiss.
"I should go," Eiji says, checking his smartphone. "I'll miss the last train."
"All right," you say. "It was good seeing you."
"You too."
You invite Eiji to watch you activate Caliban tomorrow, and he happily agrees, though neither of you calls it a "date." You remain awake for much of the night, your mind racing with plans for what to show Eiji tomorrow.
Chapter 2: Machine, Learning
The next day, you take Caliban's frame to the Stanford hacker space, which has more tools for electronics than the fabrication shop. None of the other students are around in the morning on a Sunday but the long stainless steel workbenches are littered with their strange, half-finished projects: a half-disassembled Furby, a potato gun, a circuit board connected to a houseplant.
Eiji knows you'll need a little time with the motors, so he is coming in later.
You begin assembling the motors and wires that will power Caliban's frame.
What will you use for a power source?
1) A car battery. It's big and bulky but also inexpensive and locally made.
2) A motorcycle battery: not quite as bulky nor as powerful as the car battery.
3) A biodiesel engine. Good for the environment, and everybody likes the smell of French fries.
4) Cell phone batteries made in China: lightweight and cheap while providing reasonable power. Clearly the best choice for a dexterous robot.