SS Hornet | Rookie Experience

[McWolf 3,115]

Quote

"And with the first overall pick of the Season 72 VHL Entry Draft, the HC Davos Dynamo is proud to select, from the Las Vegas Aces, SS Hornet."

 

Since Saturday night, Hornet has had this tape running on loop in its mind. The steambot calculated every scenario imaginable, and the only ones that were realistic outcomes had him go to Davos, with either the first or the second overall selection. Being a semi-sentient android ran by algorithms, Hornet knew it aced the interview with Jerry Garcia, Davos' General Manager. And it has been made obvious to everyone in the VHL sphere that it has the most potential out of everyone available in this draft class. All in all, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it was selected at the very start of the event, but Hornet has been replaying the tape for the past week, trying to grasp the complete extent of the situation it know finds itself stuck into.

 

For the first time in its short robot life, Hornet is feeling fear. It was not afraid when its creator and owner died, taking away its sole purpose. It was not even afraid to pursue a career as a professional hockey player; it just felt natural to go that way. This next step, however, is a massive one. For starters, the steam-driven robot has never stepped outside of North America. It spent the first 20 years of its life in a harbor in Halifax, NS. When it decided to join the VHLM to accomplish its objective to become a hockey player, it had him travel all around North America, as he called Houston and Las Vegas its homes in the past 2 years. But Europe is new for the robot and, more than anything, it has no idea what the general opinion on anthropomorphic androids walking around as ordinary human beings is in the old continent.

 

Apart from that, SS Hornet is also afraid that it possibly might not be up to the task. From the outside, Hornet is a robot with an ever-updating algorithm that allows it to adapt to any situation, but it's actually more complicated than that. It knows without a doubt that it'll one day be a star in this league. It ran the numbers, and the odds it happens are extremely high. But it also knows that there is a massive gap in talent between the VHLM and the VHL. Its current algorithm is set to act and react to VHLM-level individuals. It needs to play against VHL-level opponents to adapt its algorithm and adapt his playstyle to one that will one day make it the best player in the VHL, and make the HC Davos Dynamo a team to fear for years to come.

 

As a first overall selection, Hornet understands that expectations are high. It is expected to start playing at the highest level possible from literally its first day wearing the iconic purple and black jersey. It feels this pressure under his copper exoskeleton and it's bound to affect its playstyle and the point totals he can ultimately amass throughout his rookie season. Nevertheless, SS Hornet is up for the challenge. This is a new territory for the steambot, both geographically and professionally, and it will do what it can to prove Davos was right to call its name first, this past Saturday.