He dreamt it again. He was some...living, breathing, feeding monster. Roaming
the halls, he was a hungry predator, ready to take out anything or anyone that
dared to move in his presence. There was one by the lab table. There was a
phrase in his vision that read "System Malfunction - Call in 10020394: SBA
Overload." It was blinking red, as if it were important. On the upper right hand
view of his vision, there was another vision he was paying attention to. It was
a map. There were dots blinking on it; the closer he got, the closer the dot
became. Below the map, a phrase was etched in electronic font: "Targeting
Systems Engaged. Protocol 2 Engaged...Primary Defense Mode Activated.". The
person in front of him was a man in a lab coat. He recognized him right away,
but didn't know exactly where he had seen him before. For a moment, he stood
still while some clicking noises came from the back of his head. A video played
before his eyes. The man was Dr. Werlen, the man who had slandered him the day
he came in. The video played in length:
"I don't know, Dr. Caplin, his body might be a bit too damaged for this," Said a
man. Robert could see three men standing over him. One picked up his hand. No
matter what he tried, he could no longer control it. "Dr. Caplin...pick another
person. This boy's too....ugly. Disgusting." The man slapped Robert's jaw,
causing his head to rock to the side. Dr. Caplin straightened his head again.
"You are dismissed, Dr. Werlen," He said, as he rubbed the side of Robert's jaw.
"You're treating him as if he is alive," Dr. Werlen said as he left the room.
"He's dead, doctor. Been dead for almost a day now. And to be honest with you, I
don't know why you're treating him like he's still here. Hey Robert! I read your
file, fatty! I know all about your..."
Doctor Caplin spoke out softly: "Stop, Dr. Werlen, you're excused."
".....Medical history. I hope you die....."
"Stop."
"......because nobody ever wanted you back anyw...."
Dr. Caplin screamed, a rareness for the gentleman. "That's enough! Leave! Now!"
Doctor Caplin ran over and slammed the door. Only he and the man remained.
"Now, getting back to business Caplin..." The man stated. Robert was used to
staring straightforward. Although he couldn't move, he desperately wanted to.
"This boy's name is what again?" Caplin said. The man picked up a clipboard.
"You are looking at John Doe number one of one, doctor. They found him dead in
the town center."
Robert wanted to scream his name out. "My name is Robert Dawwes! Dawwes! My
address is 304 West Suentra Street, Emporium Pennsylvania! Please!" His mind
spoke the words, but he could not.
"He's fine, Hawkins," Dr. Caplin said. "I knew him. His name is Dawwes and he
used to work on my computers and things at the office. Remember...we need to
pick someone who's file is clean. The best we can do is find someone we know.
Plus...the boy...didn't deserve to die. It was in the news. He was mugged and
murdered. I want him."
"Very fine, Dr. Caplin," said Hawkins. He rubbed his moustache. Doctor Caplin
reached down to below Robert's view, and when his hands reappeared, they had a
bone saw. "Might as well get to work, Hawkins. We don't...know how long this
will work for...we've had test subjects before that were a day old...but he's
over two days." He turned on the bone saw and headed toward Robert's head. The
sound of flesh being torn away from his scalp sickened him, and for a moment he
was glad he couldn't see or feel the procedure. A few minutes later, the doctor
stopped the saw. Caplin tugged on the top of Robert's skull, and it came off.
Setting it aside, he marveled at the brain for a minute.
"Isn't it amazing, Hawkins? I pulled his school files. He has an IQ
of 160. Fairly moral. His friends seemed like the good crowd too. And to
think...he could still be listening to us right now..."
"Doctor, what are you saying?" asked Hawkins.
"Look at the EKG. It's dead. Now..." Caplin reached over and turned on another
machine. It beeped at a constant pace. "His brain activity is still very strong.
We don't know what it means as of this point, but he could still be listening to
us...feeling us...that's another reason why I want this to go quick. Our
friend...Robby...here...could still be listening. Which is why I threw Werlen
out."
"I see..."
"Okay...now...here...is the frontal lobe. I'm going to insert a probe now."
Robert suddenly blacked out.
When he came to, he was still lying on his back, but something was different.
This time, he could feel a warm, tingly sensation in his hands and feet. He
still couldn't move them, though. He was in a strange place this time, however.
It appeared to be more of a basement than a hospital area.
"Where am I...?" He spoke, and surprisingly, he heard his voice. He tried to
roll his eyes, but still could not. Vaguely, a song could be heard in the
background. He recognized it from his childhood. Ironically, it was 'Weird
Science', by Oingo Boingo. Robert heard footsteps from the back of the room
coming forward. A woman put her head over Robert's view.
"Bobby?" She said. "Can you hear me? Are you awake?"
"Elizabeth, please. He might be scared. He's never seen you before..."
Frowning, the woman stepped away, but not before touching his hand, which he
felt vaguely, but not totally, like a pressure on top several layers of
blankets. The song still beat out in the background.
"Mr. Robert Dawwes, I don't know if you remember me from before. My name is Dr.
Harry Caplin, and you're in my private lab...err...basement." The doctor
appeared over head. "If you can hear me, Robert, Robby, Bobby, Bob, Rob, please,
say something, anything.
Robert was scared. Should he say anything? What would happen if he did? Was it a
mistake that he was thinking and talking now? He didn't know. But still, he
could remember the warm look of the girl above him moments before. He decided to
speak.
"Yes, I can hear you."
A large and generous smile crossed Caplin's face, and his eyes lit up. He
clapped his hands several times, and then did a dance around the table.
Laughing, the girl came into view. They hugged, and both appeared very happy
indeed. After the mini celebration, Caplin cleared his throat and led the girl
to the table.
"This is my daughter, Elizabeth Caplin. She's your age; I believe...18 or
so...she's my assistant. Robert...do you remember what happened to you?"
He could remember the two men. One took his wallet, and laughed. Both had masks
on, but their voices were peculiar. "This all you have, little man?" The one man
spoke. He jammed the gun into Robert's back, and it went off. He fell to the
ground. The men appeared in a panic. Robert closed the thought off right there
and simply answered yes.
"Okay...so...you remember your name?"
"Yes."
"Address?"
"Parents?"
"Yes."
"Robert, you were dead. I've...managed to bring you back to life. Although I'm
not quite done. You're sort of my child now...I hope you don't mind me
saying...?"
"No, not at all Doctor," He said. He wished he could look at the girl more, but
his eyes wouldn't move.
"It's been five months since you were killed. Do you remember anything between
those times?" The doctor asked the question, then began writing in a notepad.
"I remember you jamming something into my brain, and then I blacked out," He
said.
The doctor nodded, then finished writing in the pad. He put them both on a table
and walked back over to Robert directly. "Robby....I have your thought processes
working again. I have your sight working. Your speech is good as well. The only
thing I have to work on, unfortunately, is your...motor and balance system. You
see, Robert, you were shot through the spine. If I left you the way you were,
you would not be able to move. You're head is basically the only thing left of
what you used to be." He had a serious look on his face. He picked up Robert's
arm and put the hand in front of his face. "Do you see this, Robby?"
"Yes."
The hand was certainly not organic. It had five fingers, but that's where the
similarities stopped. It had a rubbery look to it, and was jointed in several
places. The coloration of it was black, and there were holes in it.
"This is your new hand. You probably can't feel anything yet. I haven't
activated your NRS yet. One I do...which will be...a few more weeks...you'll be
able to feel."
"NRS...." He repeated himself several times.
"Nervous Response System. It's what tells your brain how things should feel.
Though technically I have the option to make you completely senseless to pain, I
don't think that would be an excellent idea...you need to be able to feel when
you're hurt or damaged."
"Yes."
"Robby, do you...mind if your sister talks to you?"
"Sister?" Robert never had a sister. Then he assumed the doctor was talking
about the girl. "Yes, of course." He said.
The girl walked over, smiling. She kissed him on the cheek, and although he knew
it was just his mind, he thought he had felt it.
"Hello Robby. Dad's told me so much about you. My name's Elizabeth...and...."
"Elizabeth? You're a very nice...person...but...I feel funny talking to someone
when I can't even blink my eyes."
She giggled, and then shook her head.
"You shouldn't feel like that. I was like that at first, too."
"You...are...like me? Why do you look so human?" A look of pain spread across
her face rather quickly. "I'm sorry..." He said. "No..no...I died from cancer."
"Robert...I'm sorry" The doctor spoke up. "We can't exactly make you look human.
Your body was pretty badly damaged from what happened, as said before, and well,
she had more to work with than you."
"I understand." he said. "What will I look like...?"
A few seconds later, the doctor produced a picture and held it in front of his
eyes. Robert couldn't believe it.
"Mega...m...ma...man...." He stuttered.
"Yes!" The doctor said with a grin. "She was watching the show whenever we had
the puzzle of coming up with something for you and this is what we came up with.
Do you like it?"
"Yes..." He said.
"Now, Robert. I need to ask you something, although I can pretty much guess the
answer. You need to tell me now if you want to live again. If you just want
to...go peacefully to wherever you should go, then so be it...."
"No, doctor...if I can live and walk again..."
"Understood. Although you do understand this could take a while. And you need to
be awake for some of the calibrations. It could be painful." The doctor folded
his arms. Elizabeth smiled.
"I'm fine. I can do it..."
Laughing, he called out to his daughter. "Yes Doctor?" She said. "Get me plans
for phase two."
"Phase two?" Robert said in a questioning tone. The fuzzy feeling in his hands
had began to bother him.
"Phase two is getting the NRS working." The doctor put on a pair of goggles.
"What do you have to do?"
"We need to hook the nerve receptors in the artificial appendages into the
organic ones in your brain."
Elizabeth returned with a large stack of papers and the doctor thanked her.
Lowering his goggles, he reached under Robert's chin, but before doing anything,
he paused. "Robert?" He said.
"Yes, doctor?"
"I'm going to shut you down so you don't have to view this. it isn't going to be
pretty. And it's going to take a while."
"How long?"
"A month or two."
Robert would have gasped. He didn't understand why it needed to be that long.
"Don't worry, Robby. It'll be like sleeping. You won't even know you've been
asleep for more than a few minutes, actually."
"Okay doctor."
"Robert?"
"Yes Doctor?"
"Goodnight."
Robby smiled inside his head. Elizabeth gave him a grin. He would have asked a
question, but then the doctor pushed the switch. Things went dark, then he fell
asleep.
******
"Robert?" The doctor spoke aloud.
"Yeah Doctor?" he replied.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to activate your nerve systems now. Tell me right away if it hurts or
if it feels strange in any way, alright?"
"Okay."
The doctor went to Robert's neck. He took a bladed object and stuck it into a
place that Robert couldn't see at that angle. A loud click could be heard, then
Robert screamed out in pain. Quickly, the doctor stuck the blade and turned it
the opposite direction. The pain stopped.
"Obviously that hurt. I'm sorry. Are you alright? Where did it hurt you?"
"My right foot." He said, in a wavery voice. Although he couldn't cry, he felt
as though he was ready to. The pain was intense, and he was glad it went away.
The doctor walked to the edge of the table and used the bladed tool on Robert's
leg to adjust some sort of screw near his kneecap. Turning it a few times, he
came back to the head of the table and looked Robert in the eyes. "Ready?" He
said. Robert nodded inside his mind. "Ready, Robert?" The doctor said once more.
"Oh...sorry...yes..." The doctor stuck the tool into his neck. An electronic
whir rose into the air, then disappeared. The doctor looked into Robert's eyes
again.
"Okay, Robby. Here's the test."
He took the bladed tool and poked it into the shoulder blade area of Rob's body.
He whimpered. The doctor smiled. "So far, so good..."
Then, the doctor went to Robert's feet. he used his finger to gently tickle
Bob's foot. He laughed a little. Making sure Robert wasn't just bluffing, the
doctor asked him about it.
"What did I do?" He was smiling.
"You tickled my foot. I felt it," He said. The doctor nodded in approval. With
that, he patted Robert on the shoulder. "Felt that," He said, laughing a bit
afterwards. "Where's Elizabeth?"
"She's down for repairs," the doctor said. "You see, Robert, she is a different
kind of robot....cyb....person than you. She was built for labor, and as such,
she requires the yearly cleaning. It doesn't take long. Actually, she's sitting
on the table behind you."
"Doctor, what did you build me for?" Robert said. He still thought the idea of
being built was strange, but accepted the terms.
"You...," he stopped.
"Yes, doctor?"
"...were built to be like the Navi robots that were in the series, remember?" He
said. Robert immediately thought that his body would be massively armored, a
thick battle machine, ready for fighting. Or, perhaps a smaller, sleek body like
Mega Man.
"Well, Robert....you're...a....lifestyle assistant robot."
His mind did a flip. He was a maid.
"I'm a maid?"
"Essentially, yes. You aren't angry, are you?"
"No. I'm glad to be alive."
"Good....do you want to keep going? I won't need to shut you down anymore unless
you misbehave, and I know you won't." He smiled again.
"Of course."
"Okay...Robert. I know I told you it wouldn't be long, but...I'm sorry...it's
been a while since I last activated you. That was in the summer of two-thousand
three. It's now the spring of two thousand five."
"I was...down for that long?" He wondered how it seemed so short.
"Yes, yes you were."
"I understand," he said.
"Okay, now lets progress, shall we? Next up is your VAS. Visual Aid System. It
will allow you to target objects, and it enhances your vision. I'll be turning
it on now."
The doctor took the blade to Robert's neck again, and another tiny click was
heard. Robert's eyes shut for the first time in years. They opened
"Robert, can you see properly?"
Inside his head, Robert was amazed. He could see an array of colors so vivid it
was unbelievable. There was a bit of a difference though between focusing on an
object before and now. If he concentrated on something long enough, his eyes
seemingly zoomed in on it. He focused on the doctors face, which was off to the
side a bit. He concentrated more on his nose, and his eyes slowly zoomed. The
more he put attention to it, the faster it zoomed. It got ridiculously clear. He
could see individual pores in the doctor's skin, and could even see the tiny
blood vessels beneath the skin. He laughed.
"Can you see?"
"Yes, doctor, very well."
"How well, Robert? Here...I want you to read this, okay?"
The doctor held up a computer chip with a pair of tweezers. First Bob focused
his eyes on the chip, since it was off to the left and slightly low of straight
forward. Next he began to focus. The zooming started. Slowly and surely, words
came into view. They cleared at a point and he read them aloud.
"Bill...sucks? Bill sucks?! Wait a minute! That's a Pentium Three!"
Both the doctor and he laughed.
"I see you haven't lost your touch," The doctor said. He grinned once again.
"Okay...now, the Heads up Display. You need one. Essentially, it's like your
operating system. It lets you check on your systems, and also lets you automate
some things. You won't ever have to go under like Elizabeth over there with
this. It's one of my new innovations."
Once again, the doctor reached for his neck and flicked at something. Another
sound, and soon words were scrolling across Robert's line of sight. A voice in
the back of his head read some of them aloud.
"NRS online. Reactor Online. Gyro Systems Online. All systems nominal." A
woman's voice said rather flatly.
"Groovy. Sound's like Britney Spears." Robert said.
"I figured you'd like her."
He read through some of the information which was translucent. Indeed, if he
concentrated on a button, a submenu would open.
"Go ahead and explore!"
He held his eyes on a menu option that said 'Core System Information.' After
doing so, the menu read a quick system status, and the woman spoke:
"Core Temperature is steady at seventy-six degrees Fahrenheit. System efficiency
is at Ninety four percent and climbing. Gyro Stabilization systems are geared
for earth gravity. All systems meet status GREEN requirements. No repairs
needed."
"Okay Robert, now here's the big one. Your motor systems." The doctor folded his
arms and sighed.
"What's wrong, doctor?"
He sighed, then spoke:
"This is always the bitch. I can never get the muscle systems right at first.
Even when I activated Elizabeth a few years ago, she punched me in the mouth
because of reflex. I think I have you good, though, so lets see."
The doctor, as always, took the metal object and flipped a tiny switch on
Robert's neck. The woman's voice in his head spoke aloud:
"Power systems indicate system wide drainage of forty percent for process seven.
Engaging process seven."
His knee jerked.
Slowly, he blinked his eyes. Then smiled. He turned his head and his eyes met
Caplin's. The doctor motioned for him to sit up. Slowly, he called upon the
electronic muscles in his back, and they supported his weight. Slowly, he sat
up. The woman spoke aloud once more:
"Gyro stabilization beginning."
Robert suddenly felt extremely nimble. He picked his arm up and looked at his
hand. Rubbery in the palms and metallic on the backs, they appeared to be
mitted. Smiling, he turned to the doctor. Caplin came to the side of the table.
"Go ahead, Robert...walk."
He slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed. One foot touched the ground,
then the other. Slowly he put more and more weight upon them until his whole
body was supported. He then pushed himself forward and stood. A gauge in the
upper-right of his view moved as he bobbed his head and a compass spun as he
turned. It was a navigation system. But yet, he still felt much more nimble than
a regular person. He transferred all of his weight to one foot, then slowly
picked the foot up until he was standing on just his metallic toes. The doctor
laughed.
"You're probably able to keep your balance better now, actually. You have a
series of gyroscopes in you that help to keep you balanced. But now...go
ahead...there's a mirror...go see yourself."
In the corner of the room was a large mirror. He slowly walked toward it. Each
time he took a step the gauge bobbed. It bothered him, and soon he found himself
imagining it disappearing. It did. With satisfaction he kept walking.
He arrived at the mirror and stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes for a minute.
Staring at the image in the mirror was amazingly strange. He remembered what he
looked like before, and now this. Not the massive, hulking creature he had
imagined all that time ago, and not even the maid Navi the doctor had explained.
He was about four feet tall, and had arms and legs about six inches in diameter.
At the forearms, they widened, and the same happened at his calves. Indeed, he
looked like Mega Man, only he was dark black with gold bands around the arms and
legs. The doctor tapped him on the back. He turned.
"Robert...this is yours, too," He said. He handed Bob a helmet. It completed the
outfit. Putting it on, he looked back at himself.
"What now?" He had wondered what the doctor would say
now. Perhaps stay and do his bidding? Be some kind of super hero? Be a maid?
"Whatever you please. You're welcome to stay here. You're also welcome to go.
You're your own person. Take that liberty and go," Smiling, he shrugged.
"I know what I want to do," Robert said, chuckling.
"Yes?"
"I want to watch TV. Preferably an episode of Digimon."
They both laughed. Suddenly, from the table behind them, a beeping noise rung
out. The doctor looked over.
"What's happening?"
"She's waking up."
Elizabeth opened her eyes as if she were awakening from an evening slumber. She
swung her legs off of the table and walked over to Robert. She smiled when she
saw his body upright, as she was much taller than he.
"You shrunk," she said, laughing.
"Yes I did." He held out his hand and they shook.
That afternoon, Robert, Elizabeth, and Doctor Caplin talked for hours at the
dinner table. Robert watched the doctor eat a piece of cake, and he wondered
what it would be like to taste some. However, he found that he no longer craved
it. He also no longer had hunger. it seemed strange, but then he just assumed it
was a part of not being completely human. The trio talked well into the night,
until the Doctor's yawning became too constant. He retired, but the two Navis
stayed awake, talking as the moon rose high in the sky.
the halls, he was a hungry predator, ready to take out anything or anyone that
dared to move in his presence. There was one by the lab table. There was a
phrase in his vision that read "System Malfunction - Call in 10020394: SBA
Overload." It was blinking red, as if it were important. On the upper right hand
view of his vision, there was another vision he was paying attention to. It was
a map. There were dots blinking on it; the closer he got, the closer the dot
became. Below the map, a phrase was etched in electronic font: "Targeting
Systems Engaged. Protocol 2 Engaged...Primary Defense Mode Activated.". The
person in front of him was a man in a lab coat. He recognized him right away,
but didn't know exactly where he had seen him before. For a moment, he stood
still while some clicking noises came from the back of his head. A video played
before his eyes. The man was Dr. Werlen, the man who had slandered him the day
he came in. The video played in length:
"I don't know, Dr. Caplin, his body might be a bit too damaged for this," Said a
man. Robert could see three men standing over him. One picked up his hand. No
matter what he tried, he could no longer control it. "Dr. Caplin...pick another
person. This boy's too....ugly. Disgusting." The man slapped Robert's jaw,
causing his head to rock to the side. Dr. Caplin straightened his head again.
"You are dismissed, Dr. Werlen," He said, as he rubbed the side of Robert's jaw.
"You're treating him as if he is alive," Dr. Werlen said as he left the room.
"He's dead, doctor. Been dead for almost a day now. And to be honest with you, I
don't know why you're treating him like he's still here. Hey Robert! I read your
file, fatty! I know all about your..."
Doctor Caplin spoke out softly: "Stop, Dr. Werlen, you're excused."
".....Medical history. I hope you die....."
"Stop."
"......because nobody ever wanted you back anyw...."
Dr. Caplin screamed, a rareness for the gentleman. "That's enough! Leave! Now!"
Doctor Caplin ran over and slammed the door. Only he and the man remained.
"Now, getting back to business Caplin..." The man stated. Robert was used to
staring straightforward. Although he couldn't move, he desperately wanted to.
"This boy's name is what again?" Caplin said. The man picked up a clipboard.
"You are looking at John Doe number one of one, doctor. They found him dead in
the town center."
Robert wanted to scream his name out. "My name is Robert Dawwes! Dawwes! My
address is 304 West Suentra Street, Emporium Pennsylvania! Please!" His mind
spoke the words, but he could not.
"He's fine, Hawkins," Dr. Caplin said. "I knew him. His name is Dawwes and he
used to work on my computers and things at the office. Remember...we need to
pick someone who's file is clean. The best we can do is find someone we know.
Plus...the boy...didn't deserve to die. It was in the news. He was mugged and
murdered. I want him."
"Very fine, Dr. Caplin," said Hawkins. He rubbed his moustache. Doctor Caplin
reached down to below Robert's view, and when his hands reappeared, they had a
bone saw. "Might as well get to work, Hawkins. We don't...know how long this
will work for...we've had test subjects before that were a day old...but he's
over two days." He turned on the bone saw and headed toward Robert's head. The
sound of flesh being torn away from his scalp sickened him, and for a moment he
was glad he couldn't see or feel the procedure. A few minutes later, the doctor
stopped the saw. Caplin tugged on the top of Robert's skull, and it came off.
Setting it aside, he marveled at the brain for a minute.
"Isn't it amazing, Hawkins? I pulled his school files. He has an IQ
of 160. Fairly moral. His friends seemed like the good crowd too. And to
think...he could still be listening to us right now..."
"Doctor, what are you saying?" asked Hawkins.
"Look at the EKG. It's dead. Now..." Caplin reached over and turned on another
machine. It beeped at a constant pace. "His brain activity is still very strong.
We don't know what it means as of this point, but he could still be listening to
us...feeling us...that's another reason why I want this to go quick. Our
friend...Robby...here...could still be listening. Which is why I threw Werlen
out."
"I see..."
"Okay...now...here...is the frontal lobe. I'm going to insert a probe now."
Robert suddenly blacked out.
When he came to, he was still lying on his back, but something was different.
This time, he could feel a warm, tingly sensation in his hands and feet. He
still couldn't move them, though. He was in a strange place this time, however.
It appeared to be more of a basement than a hospital area.
"Where am I...?" He spoke, and surprisingly, he heard his voice. He tried to
roll his eyes, but still could not. Vaguely, a song could be heard in the
background. He recognized it from his childhood. Ironically, it was 'Weird
Science', by Oingo Boingo. Robert heard footsteps from the back of the room
coming forward. A woman put her head over Robert's view.
"Bobby?" She said. "Can you hear me? Are you awake?"
"Elizabeth, please. He might be scared. He's never seen you before..."
Frowning, the woman stepped away, but not before touching his hand, which he
felt vaguely, but not totally, like a pressure on top several layers of
blankets. The song still beat out in the background.
"Mr. Robert Dawwes, I don't know if you remember me from before. My name is Dr.
Harry Caplin, and you're in my private lab...err...basement." The doctor
appeared over head. "If you can hear me, Robert, Robby, Bobby, Bob, Rob, please,
say something, anything.
Robert was scared. Should he say anything? What would happen if he did? Was it a
mistake that he was thinking and talking now? He didn't know. But still, he
could remember the warm look of the girl above him moments before. He decided to
speak.
"Yes, I can hear you."
A large and generous smile crossed Caplin's face, and his eyes lit up. He
clapped his hands several times, and then did a dance around the table.
Laughing, the girl came into view. They hugged, and both appeared very happy
indeed. After the mini celebration, Caplin cleared his throat and led the girl
to the table.
"This is my daughter, Elizabeth Caplin. She's your age; I believe...18 or
so...she's my assistant. Robert...do you remember what happened to you?"
He could remember the two men. One took his wallet, and laughed. Both had masks
on, but their voices were peculiar. "This all you have, little man?" The one man
spoke. He jammed the gun into Robert's back, and it went off. He fell to the
ground. The men appeared in a panic. Robert closed the thought off right there
and simply answered yes.
"Okay...so...you remember your name?"
"Yes."
"Address?"
"Parents?"
"Yes."
"Robert, you were dead. I've...managed to bring you back to life. Although I'm
not quite done. You're sort of my child now...I hope you don't mind me
saying...?"
"No, not at all Doctor," He said. He wished he could look at the girl more, but
his eyes wouldn't move.
"It's been five months since you were killed. Do you remember anything between
those times?" The doctor asked the question, then began writing in a notepad.
"I remember you jamming something into my brain, and then I blacked out," He
said.
The doctor nodded, then finished writing in the pad. He put them both on a table
and walked back over to Robert directly. "Robby....I have your thought processes
working again. I have your sight working. Your speech is good as well. The only
thing I have to work on, unfortunately, is your...motor and balance system. You
see, Robert, you were shot through the spine. If I left you the way you were,
you would not be able to move. You're head is basically the only thing left of
what you used to be." He had a serious look on his face. He picked up Robert's
arm and put the hand in front of his face. "Do you see this, Robby?"
"Yes."
The hand was certainly not organic. It had five fingers, but that's where the
similarities stopped. It had a rubbery look to it, and was jointed in several
places. The coloration of it was black, and there were holes in it.
"This is your new hand. You probably can't feel anything yet. I haven't
activated your NRS yet. One I do...which will be...a few more weeks...you'll be
able to feel."
"NRS...." He repeated himself several times.
"Nervous Response System. It's what tells your brain how things should feel.
Though technically I have the option to make you completely senseless to pain, I
don't think that would be an excellent idea...you need to be able to feel when
you're hurt or damaged."
"Yes."
"Robby, do you...mind if your sister talks to you?"
"Sister?" Robert never had a sister. Then he assumed the doctor was talking
about the girl. "Yes, of course." He said.
The girl walked over, smiling. She kissed him on the cheek, and although he knew
it was just his mind, he thought he had felt it.
"Hello Robby. Dad's told me so much about you. My name's Elizabeth...and...."
"Elizabeth? You're a very nice...person...but...I feel funny talking to someone
when I can't even blink my eyes."
She giggled, and then shook her head.
"You shouldn't feel like that. I was like that at first, too."
"You...are...like me? Why do you look so human?" A look of pain spread across
her face rather quickly. "I'm sorry..." He said. "No..no...I died from cancer."
"Robert...I'm sorry" The doctor spoke up. "We can't exactly make you look human.
Your body was pretty badly damaged from what happened, as said before, and well,
she had more to work with than you."
"I understand." he said. "What will I look like...?"
A few seconds later, the doctor produced a picture and held it in front of his
eyes. Robert couldn't believe it.
"Mega...m...ma...man...." He stuttered.
"Yes!" The doctor said with a grin. "She was watching the show whenever we had
the puzzle of coming up with something for you and this is what we came up with.
Do you like it?"
"Yes..." He said.
"Now, Robert. I need to ask you something, although I can pretty much guess the
answer. You need to tell me now if you want to live again. If you just want
to...go peacefully to wherever you should go, then so be it...."
"No, doctor...if I can live and walk again..."
"Understood. Although you do understand this could take a while. And you need to
be awake for some of the calibrations. It could be painful." The doctor folded
his arms. Elizabeth smiled.
"I'm fine. I can do it..."
Laughing, he called out to his daughter. "Yes Doctor?" She said. "Get me plans
for phase two."
"Phase two?" Robert said in a questioning tone. The fuzzy feeling in his hands
had began to bother him.
"Phase two is getting the NRS working." The doctor put on a pair of goggles.
"What do you have to do?"
"We need to hook the nerve receptors in the artificial appendages into the
organic ones in your brain."
Elizabeth returned with a large stack of papers and the doctor thanked her.
Lowering his goggles, he reached under Robert's chin, but before doing anything,
he paused. "Robert?" He said.
"Yes, doctor?"
"I'm going to shut you down so you don't have to view this. it isn't going to be
pretty. And it's going to take a while."
"How long?"
"A month or two."
Robert would have gasped. He didn't understand why it needed to be that long.
"Don't worry, Robby. It'll be like sleeping. You won't even know you've been
asleep for more than a few minutes, actually."
"Okay doctor."
"Robert?"
"Yes Doctor?"
"Goodnight."
Robby smiled inside his head. Elizabeth gave him a grin. He would have asked a
question, but then the doctor pushed the switch. Things went dark, then he fell
asleep.
******
"Robert?" The doctor spoke aloud.
"Yeah Doctor?" he replied.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to activate your nerve systems now. Tell me right away if it hurts or
if it feels strange in any way, alright?"
"Okay."
The doctor went to Robert's neck. He took a bladed object and stuck it into a
place that Robert couldn't see at that angle. A loud click could be heard, then
Robert screamed out in pain. Quickly, the doctor stuck the blade and turned it
the opposite direction. The pain stopped.
"Obviously that hurt. I'm sorry. Are you alright? Where did it hurt you?"
"My right foot." He said, in a wavery voice. Although he couldn't cry, he felt
as though he was ready to. The pain was intense, and he was glad it went away.
The doctor walked to the edge of the table and used the bladed tool on Robert's
leg to adjust some sort of screw near his kneecap. Turning it a few times, he
came back to the head of the table and looked Robert in the eyes. "Ready?" He
said. Robert nodded inside his mind. "Ready, Robert?" The doctor said once more.
"Oh...sorry...yes..." The doctor stuck the tool into his neck. An electronic
whir rose into the air, then disappeared. The doctor looked into Robert's eyes
again.
"Okay, Robby. Here's the test."
He took the bladed tool and poked it into the shoulder blade area of Rob's body.
He whimpered. The doctor smiled. "So far, so good..."
Then, the doctor went to Robert's feet. he used his finger to gently tickle
Bob's foot. He laughed a little. Making sure Robert wasn't just bluffing, the
doctor asked him about it.
"What did I do?" He was smiling.
"You tickled my foot. I felt it," He said. The doctor nodded in approval. With
that, he patted Robert on the shoulder. "Felt that," He said, laughing a bit
afterwards. "Where's Elizabeth?"
"She's down for repairs," the doctor said. "You see, Robert, she is a different
kind of robot....cyb....person than you. She was built for labor, and as such,
she requires the yearly cleaning. It doesn't take long. Actually, she's sitting
on the table behind you."
"Doctor, what did you build me for?" Robert said. He still thought the idea of
being built was strange, but accepted the terms.
"You...," he stopped.
"Yes, doctor?"
"...were built to be like the Navi robots that were in the series, remember?" He
said. Robert immediately thought that his body would be massively armored, a
thick battle machine, ready for fighting. Or, perhaps a smaller, sleek body like
Mega Man.
"Well, Robert....you're...a....lifestyle assistant robot."
His mind did a flip. He was a maid.
"I'm a maid?"
"Essentially, yes. You aren't angry, are you?"
"No. I'm glad to be alive."
"Good....do you want to keep going? I won't need to shut you down anymore unless
you misbehave, and I know you won't." He smiled again.
"Of course."
"Okay...Robert. I know I told you it wouldn't be long, but...I'm sorry...it's
been a while since I last activated you. That was in the summer of two-thousand
three. It's now the spring of two thousand five."
"I was...down for that long?" He wondered how it seemed so short.
"Yes, yes you were."
"I understand," he said.
"Okay, now lets progress, shall we? Next up is your VAS. Visual Aid System. It
will allow you to target objects, and it enhances your vision. I'll be turning
it on now."
The doctor took the blade to Robert's neck again, and another tiny click was
heard. Robert's eyes shut for the first time in years. They opened
"Robert, can you see properly?"
Inside his head, Robert was amazed. He could see an array of colors so vivid it
was unbelievable. There was a bit of a difference though between focusing on an
object before and now. If he concentrated on something long enough, his eyes
seemingly zoomed in on it. He focused on the doctors face, which was off to the
side a bit. He concentrated more on his nose, and his eyes slowly zoomed. The
more he put attention to it, the faster it zoomed. It got ridiculously clear. He
could see individual pores in the doctor's skin, and could even see the tiny
blood vessels beneath the skin. He laughed.
"Can you see?"
"Yes, doctor, very well."
"How well, Robert? Here...I want you to read this, okay?"
The doctor held up a computer chip with a pair of tweezers. First Bob focused
his eyes on the chip, since it was off to the left and slightly low of straight
forward. Next he began to focus. The zooming started. Slowly and surely, words
came into view. They cleared at a point and he read them aloud.
"Bill...sucks? Bill sucks?! Wait a minute! That's a Pentium Three!"
Both the doctor and he laughed.
"I see you haven't lost your touch," The doctor said. He grinned once again.
"Okay...now, the Heads up Display. You need one. Essentially, it's like your
operating system. It lets you check on your systems, and also lets you automate
some things. You won't ever have to go under like Elizabeth over there with
this. It's one of my new innovations."
Once again, the doctor reached for his neck and flicked at something. Another
sound, and soon words were scrolling across Robert's line of sight. A voice in
the back of his head read some of them aloud.
"NRS online. Reactor Online. Gyro Systems Online. All systems nominal." A
woman's voice said rather flatly.
"Groovy. Sound's like Britney Spears." Robert said.
"I figured you'd like her."
He read through some of the information which was translucent. Indeed, if he
concentrated on a button, a submenu would open.
"Go ahead and explore!"
He held his eyes on a menu option that said 'Core System Information.' After
doing so, the menu read a quick system status, and the woman spoke:
"Core Temperature is steady at seventy-six degrees Fahrenheit. System efficiency
is at Ninety four percent and climbing. Gyro Stabilization systems are geared
for earth gravity. All systems meet status GREEN requirements. No repairs
needed."
"Okay Robert, now here's the big one. Your motor systems." The doctor folded his
arms and sighed.
"What's wrong, doctor?"
He sighed, then spoke:
"This is always the bitch. I can never get the muscle systems right at first.
Even when I activated Elizabeth a few years ago, she punched me in the mouth
because of reflex. I think I have you good, though, so lets see."
The doctor, as always, took the metal object and flipped a tiny switch on
Robert's neck. The woman's voice in his head spoke aloud:
"Power systems indicate system wide drainage of forty percent for process seven.
Engaging process seven."
His knee jerked.
Slowly, he blinked his eyes. Then smiled. He turned his head and his eyes met
Caplin's. The doctor motioned for him to sit up. Slowly, he called upon the
electronic muscles in his back, and they supported his weight. Slowly, he sat
up. The woman spoke aloud once more:
"Gyro stabilization beginning."
Robert suddenly felt extremely nimble. He picked his arm up and looked at his
hand. Rubbery in the palms and metallic on the backs, they appeared to be
mitted. Smiling, he turned to the doctor. Caplin came to the side of the table.
"Go ahead, Robert...walk."
He slowly swung his feet over the side of the bed. One foot touched the ground,
then the other. Slowly he put more and more weight upon them until his whole
body was supported. He then pushed himself forward and stood. A gauge in the
upper-right of his view moved as he bobbed his head and a compass spun as he
turned. It was a navigation system. But yet, he still felt much more nimble than
a regular person. He transferred all of his weight to one foot, then slowly
picked the foot up until he was standing on just his metallic toes. The doctor
laughed.
"You're probably able to keep your balance better now, actually. You have a
series of gyroscopes in you that help to keep you balanced. But now...go
ahead...there's a mirror...go see yourself."
In the corner of the room was a large mirror. He slowly walked toward it. Each
time he took a step the gauge bobbed. It bothered him, and soon he found himself
imagining it disappearing. It did. With satisfaction he kept walking.
He arrived at the mirror and stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes for a minute.
Staring at the image in the mirror was amazingly strange. He remembered what he
looked like before, and now this. Not the massive, hulking creature he had
imagined all that time ago, and not even the maid Navi the doctor had explained.
He was about four feet tall, and had arms and legs about six inches in diameter.
At the forearms, they widened, and the same happened at his calves. Indeed, he
looked like Mega Man, only he was dark black with gold bands around the arms and
legs. The doctor tapped him on the back. He turned.
"Robert...this is yours, too," He said. He handed Bob a helmet. It completed the
outfit. Putting it on, he looked back at himself.
"What now?" He had wondered what the doctor would say
now. Perhaps stay and do his bidding? Be some kind of super hero? Be a maid?
"Whatever you please. You're welcome to stay here. You're also welcome to go.
You're your own person. Take that liberty and go," Smiling, he shrugged.
"I know what I want to do," Robert said, chuckling.
"Yes?"
"I want to watch TV. Preferably an episode of Digimon."
They both laughed. Suddenly, from the table behind them, a beeping noise rung
out. The doctor looked over.
"What's happening?"
"She's waking up."
Elizabeth opened her eyes as if she were awakening from an evening slumber. She
swung her legs off of the table and walked over to Robert. She smiled when she
saw his body upright, as she was much taller than he.
"You shrunk," she said, laughing.
"Yes I did." He held out his hand and they shook.
That afternoon, Robert, Elizabeth, and Doctor Caplin talked for hours at the
dinner table. Robert watched the doctor eat a piece of cake, and he wondered
what it would be like to taste some. However, he found that he no longer craved
it. He also no longer had hunger. it seemed strange, but then he just assumed it
was a part of not being completely human. The trio talked well into the night,
until the Doctor's yawning became too constant. He retired, but the two Navis
stayed awake, talking as the moon rose high in the sky.