Authors Notes: A golden cookie for the person who can figure out what Julien is doing at the end of this chapter (Other then lunch)
Twisted Cogs
Chapter 2
Daily Rituals
Julien woke up at 6am as usual. He had walked into the bathroom and smiled remembering that he was a father now. He finished up in the bathroom and looked out into the hallway. Zane had slowly opened the door to peak out. He spotted Dr. Julien and smiled. He quietly walked out of the room and met him at the bathroom door.
"I suppose the first thing we need to do is brush our teeth." He told his son. Zane looked puzzled at this.
"What...what is that?" He asked as Julien held up an extra tooth brush he normally kept just in case something unforeseen happened to his or if he misplaced it again in his tired state.
"This is a toothbrush. I'll show you what to use it for." He said holding up the tooth paste and squirted some of the blue gel onto the brush.
"Alright...now you stick it in your mouth and brush your teeth." He said doing the same so Zane knew what to do. Zane copied his father not really liking the taste of the paste. Julien laughed looking at the mild look on Zanes face. He didn't look to pleased.
"The texture isn't pleasant either." Zane mumbled looking up at his father.
"Perhaps not, but we must do this or your teeth will rot and fall out." Zane gasped and renewed his efforts in brushing his teeth.
"How long have you been brushing your teeth father?" Zane asked curiously.
"Oh since I'm 35 years old I'd say about that long." He told him. Zane gasped and copied his dad spitting the paste out and gargling with mouthwash.
"Alright this next part you won't have to worry about." Julien grabbed a razor and cream.
"Why will I not have to worry?"
"Well Zane you are a boy and a robot. You will not grow facial hair like I do." Julien said lathering his face up and beginning to shave. He gasped nicking his chin. Zane gasped seeing the blood start to come from the wound.
"You are hurt father!" He said reaching up to Juliens face.
"Oh I'm fine son. Just a little wound, I can close it off using a little toilet paper." He said doing so showing Zane that he wasn't hurt to much. "See no harm done. I'm always doing that there."
"If it harms you, why do it?"
"Because I don't look good with a beard." Julien winked at Zane and laughed. Zane didn't to much understand. What did looks have to do with injuring oneself?
"Oh you'll understand someday when you fall in love."
"I'm afraid I do not understand love father." Julien reached down and picked up Zane. his walk was still a little wobbly. It was actually quite adorable, but Julien suspected that it might be an equilibrium problem.
Juliens cell started to ring. He tucked it under his chin as he held Zane. The kitchen was rather dirty. He hated to wash dishes.
"Yes yes I have him here with me. Yes its a him…" Julien pulled a pot from the sink and began to wash it. "I had to take my work home with me Christopher. Unlike you I'm actually committed to my work." Julien rolled his eyes and looked at Zane who was sitting on a chair patiently kicking his legs this way and that watching him clean some plates. Julien hung up on Dr. Christopher.
"How about some breakfast?" He asked cleaning off the stove.
"Breakfast? Hopefully thats something to consume. I am on empty." Zane said which got the doctor to laugh.
"Yes Zane it is something to eat. How about Eggs, Sausage, and toast?" He asked the boy who smiled and nodded. He knew what those were, but he wasn't sure if he liked them, but he was hungry and he wanted to try it if his father wanted to feed it to him.
"Are you...alright Zane?" Julien had sat the food down in front of him after making it. Zane was find, he just wasn't to sure how to eat the food he had been presented with.
"Yes father I just...don't...know how?" He asked and looked up at Julien who looked a little bewildered. He was sure he had programmed this into him.
"Yes...um…" He picked up his fork and started to eat his eggs. "Like so." He showed him. Zane did the same thing, putting the eggs into his mouth and began to chew. It was a little runny, and over seasoned. But it was good and he was hungry. He cleared his plate faster then Julien did. He stood up and took his plate to the sink. He pulled the chair over and began to wash the dishes.
"Oh Zane you don't have to do that." He said
"But it is fair is it not? You made the food and I clean up." He said. Julien didn't remember programming that into him either. So odd that he would know these sorts of things. Perhaps Zanes artificial intelligence was far more advanced then even he knew.
"Well alright, just be wary of the knife i used to cut up the sausage." He told him.
"Yes father." He told him.
Julien came back from getting on his every day clothing to his kitchen being spotless. Zane now sat down on the floor with the construction paper and crayons. He looked down at the paper and smiled. It was a picture of himself and Zane.
"Zane can you come here for a moment?" Julien asked sitting down on the couch. He had a wet washcloth in his hand. He pulled the shirt off Zane and began to wash his face and hands free of the yoke, and grease of their breakfast.
"There we go…" He said redressing him in something new.
"Thank you." Zane said looking back down at the clothing, this time he had on socks, and shoes too.
"Now a word of warning. Do not ever...ever let Dr. Christopher or anything thats friendly with him to open you up. They aren't allowed and they will probably only cause you harm." Julien said. Zane gulped at this news and just nodded. "Good boy." He said and took his hand.
"Are we going back to the lab now?" Zane asked.
"I'm afraid so, their are still some tests they want to run on you. I also want to look you over to see if theirs anything wrong bodily while I can still fix it." He said running his finger lovingly over Zanes tiny fingers.
"What if...I'm not right?" Zane asked. Julien smiled and shook his head.
"We'll probably make another...but you'll still be my son. My Zane." Julien picked him up hugging him tightly. "I love you." Their was that word again, that word Zane didn't understand, but it appeared to mean a lot.
Zane walked into the lobby of the lab building. It was a huge white building with lots of windows, and doors. Once inside he could see that the walls were painted blues and greens.
"Good afternoon Dr. Julien." The woman named Judy said from the entrance. "Looks like you have a meeting in thirty minutes." She said looking at her tablet. "Did you want me to look after Zane until then? I brought some dvds for him to watch." She held up Walle.
"Whats that?" Zane asked looking up at Julien. He chuckled.
"Why don't you go find out?" He told Zane. Zane looked a little beside himself. He watched Julien walk down the hallway.
"Father?" He called. Perhaps thats what it was? The desire to be by someone. "I love you." He called out. Julien turned and walked back picking him up and hugging him tightly.
"I love you too."
"Oh you two are so cute." Judy giggled taking Zanes hand and walking him into Juliens office and put the dvd into the player. "This is a movie, you watch them as they tell a story." She told him. Zane gasped looking over the brightly colored landscapes, and ships, the music, and then the love story.
"How did he do?" Julien asked. Judy smiled over her tablet and shrugged her shoulders.
"Glued to the tv like most children are. He laughed…"
"He laughed? Extraordinary."
"You mean you programmed him with emotions?" Dr. Christopher looked rather annoyed.
"No I didn't...but he's artificially intelligent. Means he can learn to have them." Julien said. Christopher shook his head and grumbled before walking over to Zane.
"Hey there Zane? I'm Dr. Christopher." He held out his hand. Zane narrowed his eyes at him, but shook his hand to be polite. "Hey he knows some manners."
"Of course he does." Julien rolled his eyes. "He's my creation after all."
"How would you like to go with me to the test labs?" Zane gasped and ran over to Julien taking his hand. Julien smiled at Zane.
"Come on, we do need to have those tests done...but I do believe my team will be doing them. Good day Dr. Christopher." Julien left with Judy behind him. Zane looked over his shoulder at Christopher and stuck out his tongue.
Dr. Christopher wasn't as smart as most people in the company. He had scratched and lied his way to where he was, but to watch someone like Dr. Julien to get above him without even trying angered him so much. He looked around the lobby with anger watching that little robot boy stick his tongue out at him. His cheeks turned red, and he began to form a plan in his mind. He was going to get that Dr. Julien. He wanted that robot boy to be his son, that was fine with him. He stood up and walked into Dr. Juliens office again. He rooted around in his drawers and finally found what he was looking for. The blueprints to his pet project. He took pictures of it, and put them back into the drawers. He walked out of the room and left the building completely.
Dr. Julien sat in his office watching Zane play with a few toys in the middle of the floor. Their was a tiny toy that he had made him. Just a tiny thing that moved on its own if you pull the wheels back it would sail forward. He suddenly thought of something and smiled. He pulled out some paper and a pencil and got to work immediately. He still had a lot of funds from this project and who's to say its done right? He chuckled when Zane walked over and tugged on his sleeve.
"Its noon father. Your tummy's been growling. Perhaps we should eat." He told him. Julien wasn't aware that he had been sitting there for three hours now. Zane had put his new toys into a box already.
"Alright Zane. Lets go to the cafeteria. With your cleaning the kitchen so nicely we had no way of making us a lunch." He chuckled and took his hand.
