As surprising as it had been that the Chronivac actually worked after all this time and harsh conditions, Rick was truly amazed at the scale of technology required to scan such accurate measurements without a physical device or laser scan. Every time he found and restored an old-world device, he was flabbergasted by his ancestors' sophistication; this making the reasons for the wars all the more inexplicable. But this Chronivac was even more advanced than some iPhone or FitBit, it had uploaded the realtime stats of all living creatures within a mile radius. Of course, at the time, this consisted of only him.
However, the Chronivac gave the option to select artificial or deceased life around him as well. Selecting artificial life as the target, his android appeared on screen as well. The stats for it were rather disappointing, just like most of his progress with it. For 30 generations since the wars, Rick's family had held the belief that a new technological Renaissance could return the world to its former state and happily support the now much smaller population. By the time Rick's parents were left behind, that dream had already been abandoned, but their love for old world technology remained. In fact, it was this skill that had kept them alive after their group left them.
Without a group for self defense, Rick and his parents were at the mercy of marauders, mutants who swept into the ruins to find valuables and supplies. They would have killed the family, but Rick's father struck a deal with them: in exchange for relative safety and a small supply drop every month, he would repair any technology brought to him, increasing its value for the marauders to use, sell or bargain with. Rick had made his life based on this agreement and received additional supplies for finding interesting items. This Chronivac, however, he could never allow the marauders to find: it's power was too great to let them use for evil. If they found it, they could very well wipe out the little remaining life on Earth.
But they had just been here to trade and would not be back for another month, if that quickly. For now, he could concentrate on Andy, the name his father had given the piecemeal android who also had to be hidden from the marauders. Opening up the Chronivac's dialogue box, he filled out and added stats according to his father's blueprints. Rick watched in awe as parts appeared from nowhere, assembling themselves into a frame which was then covered in synthetic flesh. He completed everything in his father's plans but left the AI untouched. Andy's mind had been a fully functional design by Rick's father, but without a way to communicate its thoughts or act upon them, he had left the android inactive so as not to torment it. Finally, after so many years, all Rick had to do was set the Chronivac stat for "Life" to active and the android whirred to life.
Andy opened his eyes just as a human coming out of a nap. Modeled after Rick's own adolescent form, Andy looked like only a 12-year-old boy, showing no signs of the fifty-odd years he'd sat in the bunker unfinished. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, as if he had been in a dark hole for a long time and was readjusting to the sounds, sights, and feelings of the real world. In a sense, this was true. He looked to Rick and became shy and nervous, confused at his new existence.
"Who are you?" he asked in Rick's childhood voice. "Where am I? What am I?"
"You don't remember anything?" Rick tested him.
"I remember being aware of myself, long ago. But nothing like this."
"You..." Rick paused, not sure if he should tell his childlike creation the truth.