Rob God of Robotics Ch 2
Chapter 2: Training a Godling.
Chapter Summery: Rob is trained by Diana, the Amazon Princess, on the finer points of being an immortal. Vex Vector belongs to me. (But you can have him if you want him…)
Note: Rob's post-death speech at least partly inspired by Tasha Yar's speech at the end of the ST:TNG season 1 episode, "Skin of Evil".
_-_-_
The sun rose on another beautiful day on Themyscria, home of the immortal Amazons. The female warriors awoke to the sounds of exotic song birds and the scent of luscious fruit and colorful flowers. Each Amazon ate her breakfast and went about her daily routine as she had for over three thousand years.
For Diana, the princess, that meant helping in the gathering of food. Today, she was in the apple orchard, helping to pick the bright red, green, and yellow fruit as she floated above the ground.
She was in the middle of plucking one of the round fruits when Hermes appeared. Instantly, she flew to the ground and knelt before the messenger god, as the other Amazons in the grove also kneeled.
"Greetings, my daughters!" Hermes greeted them. "I have come to announce great tidings! For on Olympus there is now a new god! He was once a mortal, but was killed in battle, and is now the God of Robots and Robotics. I have been sent from Father Zeus to ask you, Princess Diana, to come to Olympus and teach the new godling his new role as an immortal. To do so, you must once again become the Goddess of Truth. But do not fear; it is only temporarily. Just long enough to teach him what he needs to know."
"But why call on me, Lord Hermes?" Diana asked. "Why can not one of the gods teach him?"
"Father Zeus felt that the youth would learn better if he was tutored by one who has been both a mortal and an immortal. And do not mention Hercules, Diana. Father Zeus does not want Robert to have a teacher who would challenge him to a wrestling match every few minutes. Our new godling has not the physical power for something like that. He is also both modest and shy."
"Hmmm…only temporary…" Diana mused. "Mother is not going to like this…"
"I know," Hermes answered. "But we would not ask this of you if it was not important."
"To teach a new godling how to be a god of Olympus…" Diana mused aloud, as if debating to go or not. But in truth, she had already made up her mind.
"Alright," Diana agreed. "I will have to tell Mother, of course. And as I said, she is not going to like the idea…"
"Just tell her what I told you," Hermes replied. "I will wait here, and take you to Olympus when you are ready."
"Very well," Diana said. She left the orchard for the royal palace.
_-_-_
"What!?!" Hippolyta cried in disbelief. She half-rose, half-leaped from her throne when her daughter told her what the messenger god had told Diana.
"It's only for a short time, Mother," the princess said. "And I would like to meet this 'God of Robots and Robotics'. He seems to be from a new Patriarch's World. A Patriarch's World at peace."
"If he died in battle, Daughter," the queen replied, "I very much doubt that is so."
"Hermes said it would only be temporary," Diana said. "Just long enough to teach this new godling about godhood."
"And how long will that take?"
"I do not know, Mother," Diana answered truthfully. "If the youth is as intelligent as Hermes says he is, maybe only a few days."
"And, of course, you are going to go through with it…" Hippolyta sighed. She slowly sat back down on her throne.
"Yes, Mother," Diana smiled.
"I thought as much," the queen replied, resigned that her daughter would be leaving the island of Amazons for a while. "Then go, with my blessing, and have a safe journey."
"Thank you, Mother," the princess said. She left the audience chamber and returned to the orchard.
_-_-_
Meanwhile, on Mount Olympus, the object of everyone's concern was looking into a large fountain of water. By his side was Eros, the god of love, who was already Rob's best friend among the Olympians.
"Tell me why we are watching the Pool of Scrying again?" Eros asked, his feathered wings bobbing up and down with every move of his shoulders. Unlike his Roman counterpart –who was always depicted as a baby—Eros was a full-grown youth. His blond hair was curled in tight ringlets, and his blue eyes sparkled like stars. At first glance, an observer would think that Eros was Rob, or that they might be brothers.
"I missed my funeral, Eros," Rob replied. "I want to at least see the reading of my will."
"You have a will?" the love god's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, I do," Rob answered. "It concerns itself mostly with the Orbots, and who is to be their next commander."
As they watched, Dia and the Orbots filed into Rondu's office. Rob scowled when he saw a smug young man stop Dia as she was just about to enter the office.
"Who is that?" Eros asked.
"His name's Vex Vector," Rob answered in disgust. "He wants command of the Orbots, but he doesn't know anything about leadership. And he would never take good care of the Orbots. Vex just wants the title so he can show off."
"You sound like you do not like him…" Eros commented.
"I don't," the other confirmed. They continued to watch the proceedings.
RONDU'S OFFICE:
"Why don't Commander Rondu just give the Orbots' command to me?" Vex asked, stopping Dia from entering the office. His slick, well-groomed black hair and his uniform immaculate as he smirked at the beautiful, silver-haired young woman.
"Because not just anyone can be the Orbots' Commander," Dia answered, irritated at Vex's arrogance, especially in the face of the death of the young hero. "The Orbots' Commander has to care about the people he protects, as well as the Orbots. You don't care about either." With that, Dia pushed past Vex and entered her father's office. The door slammed in the insufferable youth's face. Fuming, Vex leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his face screwing up in an irritated pout.
Dia was surprised when she saw Andrea Jo Taylor, a young robotics engineer, sitting in the room. Why was the young woman here? Did she now know Rob's secret?
When everyone in the room was seated, Rondu moved to the front. In his hand was a black cube with a yellow grid on it, like a mono-colored Rubik's Cube. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"We are gathered here today to listen to the last will and testament of one of our own. A young man of great skill, talent, integrity, courage, and most of all, compassion. The Orbots' Commander and his Orbots came into our lives when we needed them the most. They saved us from the evils of Umbra and Shadow when no one else could, and have remained our strongest allies ever since.
"Now, we have lost the Orbots' Commander, in battle with the remains of those old enemies. He will be missed by all." Rondu's gaze went around the room.
"I will now play the last will and testament of the Orbots' Commander," Rondu announced. He went to a holo-vision tube that was behind him, and attached the cube he carried to the control panel. He pressed a few buttons, and the holo-tube lit up. Inside, a life-sized image of Rob appeared, in his Galactic Patrol uniform, and carrying his helmet.
"Hello, everyone," the image greeted cheerfully. "If you are watching this, it means that I'm dead, or otherwise unable to continue my duties. Chances are, I'm dead. It was probably while I was on duty, and quite possibly in battle. I can only hope that in the process, lives were saved and justice was done.
"The important thing now is to choose a new Orbots' Commander. I have given it a lot of thought lately: Who would lead the Orbots should anything happen to render me unable to continue as their commander? To make such a decision, we need to look at how and why I made my choice.
"I could go on and on about the mechanics of the Orbots, and how they are programmed and everything," the image continued. "But the bottom line is not their programming, or how they were designed and constructed, but that we trust each other completely. The secret of that trust is simple, and it's not just programming. Think of their design and construction like the making of a human, and you'll see it.
"Design equals conception; construction equals pregnancy; and activation equals birth." The image paused in its speech to allow this information to sink in. Then, it continued. "There's the secret of the trust the Orbots and I shared. I wasn't just their creator and commander; I was their father, as well. The love and trust we had was parent and children, not creator and robots, or leader and team.
"Which leads us to the reason we're here: Choosing the next Orbots' Commander. There is only one choice, you see. The Orbots have lost their father, so the choice of their next leader is simple; their mother."
"But…we don't have a mother!" Bort exclaimed. "Do we?"
"Not that I'm aware of…" Bo answered, just as puzzled.
"Yes, I know," Rob's image continued. "The Orbots have no 'literal' mother. But, given time, they would have received one. Had I and the woman I loved been able to marry, she would have been the Orbots' 'mother'. Unfortunately, that can't happen, now. But she is still the logical choice for leadership of the Orbots.
"Dia," the image continued speaking, "you are the only one I can trust to not only lead the Orbots, but to love and care for them, as if they were your own children. Please, accept the command I offer."
"Yes…" Dia nodded, her voice a whisper as tears ran down her cheeks. Her beloved was entrusting her with not only leading the Orbots, but for their care, as well.
"I know you are not a robotics engineer, Dia, and that the Orbots will need maintenance. I suggest A.J. Taylor. She's one of the finest robotics engineers I've ever seen. She'd be perfect to handle the practical side of things. Speaking of which…
"A.J., I would like for you to take over my lab, both at Galactic Patrol Headquarters, as well as the one at my house. I leave my house to Dia, so I suggest the two of you become roommates, as it were. The Orbots need you two to be as much as a team as they are.
"Dia, listen to the Orbots. They can teach you what you need to know. And they have great ideas, too, which can be very helpful in any situation.
"I guess that's all I needed to say. Keep up the fight, and someday, I'll see you in whatever afterlife there is to be had. Until then, this is Rob Simmons, Orbots' Commander, signing off." The image stood at attention and saluted, then faded as the recorded message ended.
"Well," Rondu said into the silence. "That's that. The new Orbots' Commander has been named. All she needs to do is accept the appointment." He smiled sadly as he approached his daughter. In his hand was the communicator of the Orbots' Commander. He motioned for her to stand up, which she did so.
"Do you, Dia, take the command of the Mighty Orbots, as requested by Robert Simmons, the late Orbots' Commander?" Rondu asked, offering the communicator to her.
"Yes, Father," Dia answered, forcing her voice to be clear and strong.
"Then," Rondu said, "by the power vested in me as the Commander of the Galactic Patrol, I present you with the communicator and rank of the Orbots' Commander." As Dia took the communicator and placed it on her own wrist, the Orbots came to stand beside her.
"Congratulations, Commander Dia!" Rondu finished. He saluted the new Orbots' Commander. Dia saluted back, and then relaxed as the Orbots congratulated her and welcomed her as their new leader.
MOUNT OLYMPUS:
"Atta girl, Dia!" Rob cheered. He and Eros continued to watch the scene to its conclusion. "I know you can do it!" The image of Dia in the pool seemed to start, as if she had heard something.
"Enjoying yourselves, boys?" a merry voice behind them asked. Rob and Eros whirled around to face Hermes and a beautiful, young woman in white and gold.
"Uh…hi, Hermes," Rob smiled. "We were just watching…"
"Rob's last will and testament," Eros finished.
"'Will'?" Hermes raised an eyebrow.
"Just making sure his last wishes as a mortal were being carried out," the love god explained.
"Ah," the messenger god nodded. "And those last mortal wishes were –if I may ask?"
"Only that a certain person is made the new Orbots' Commander," Rob smiled. "She was."
"'She'?" Hermes questioned.
"Dia," Rob answered. "The woman I love."
"Ah…"
"So this is the new godling!" the woman beside Hermes spoke up. Rob turned his attention to her –and found himself looking at a very beautiful, black-haired woman, in a short, white, Greek tunic. Gold pins held a long, blue, cape to the tunic, and a wide, gold belt held the tunic close to her body. The gold belt had large "Double Ws" on it. At her forehead was a band of gold, pointing slightly downward in the middle. On her forearms were large, gold bracers, while simple, gold sandals finished the outfit.
"Diana, princess of the Amazons of Themyscria, meet Robert Simmons, once the Orbots' Commander, now God of Robots and Robotics," Hermes introduced grandly.
"'Amazons'?" Rob asked. "Themyscria? And you look familiar, somehow…"
"Try twentieth and twenty-first century history," Eros advised. "And imagine a red top with gold double Ws, a wide gold belt, and a blue, star-spangled bottom. Add a gold, double-pointed, red-starred tiara, a golden lasso, and a pair of silver manacle bracelets, and I think you know who she is…"
"A star-spangled costume, golden lasso, silver bracelets…" Rob thought for a moment. "Wonder Woman?" he asked. "She's Wonder Woman?"
"That's her!" his friend grinned at him.
"And she is your tutor in godhood," Hermes added.
"Lucky!" Eros grinned at Rob. The new, young god only blushed.
"We should start as soon as possible," Diana said, ignoring Eros' comment. "So, if you are finished watching the concerns of your past life being filled out…"
"Uh…sure…" Rob replied shyly.
"Then, let's get started," she said. She motioned for him to join her. He moved to do so, and the two exited the room.
"How well do you think he'll learn?" Eros asked as he watched his new friend leave with the Amazon princess.
"He is intelligent, Eros," Hermes replied. "And his heart belongs to another. He will keep focused on his lessons."
Eros nodded in agreement.
_-_-_
As Diana had surmised, it only took a few days to teach Rob all he needed to know about godhood. He learned that he had grown in physical power, as well as the basic powers of an Immortal. He enjoyed flight, especially, since outer space was where he felt the most free. In his mortal life, he could only do so in the Beamcar, or Mighty Orbots, or some space craft. Now, however, he could fly to whatever planet took his fancy, without aid of any kind of space vehicle or spacesuit.
His favorite powers, though, was the ones that he had as the god of robots and robotics. He loved to practice his ability to create statues at a thought, and to bring them to life. He never recreated the Orbots, though. They would join him soon enough as it was.
The final test of his powers came when several piles of materials was placed before him. There was iron, gold, wood, granite, and marble. All around him were the Olympians, and Diana was at his side.
"Robert," Zeus proclaimed, "you must now create statues from the materials placed in front of you. A god or goddess will give you a statue to create from a certain material, and you will create that statue and bring it to life, with as much free will as your Orbots."
"Ready?" Hera asked Rob.
"Yes," he answered.
"Then we will begin," Zeus said. "First among us, speak the material and the statue."
"Granite," Hades commanded. "Make a statue of a scholar."
Rob concentrated on the gray stone, and slowly, it formed the figure of a man in a Galactic Patrol uniform. Another thought, and the statue came to life.
"Hello, boy," the statue said. "Been quite a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has, Ranick," Rob answered.
"That is a scholar!?" Ares questioned.
"Ranick was my teacher in the Galactic Patrol," Rob answered. "He taught me everything I know about being a GP officer."
"Scholars come in all shapes and sizes, Ares," Hades smiled.
"Hmmph!" the war god grumbled. "Well, I now present him with a statue to create: Iron! Create a warrior!"
Rob thought for a moment, and then concentrated on the black metal. It took the form of a samurai-looking warrior with a tri-lensed shield.
"Kadron," Rob explained. "A Shadow agent Mighty Orbots defeated. Of course, this one is no where near Kadron's real size. Kadron was as big as Mighty Orbots."
"Well," Athena commented. "That is a warrior. For mine, use the marble to make a statue of the wisest person you know."
"That's easy enough," Rob smiled. He turned his attention onto the marble and instantly created a statue of a certain Elvadorian man.
"Rondu," he smiled. "The wisest man I ever knew. Closest thing to a father I ever had."
"Wisdom can come from many places," Demeter smiled. "For me, use the wood, and create an animal."
At Rob's thought, the wood took the form of a dragon.
"The Dragon of Targon," he said. "Bo, Bort, and Crunch found a jewel on the planet Targon, and the dragon hatched from it."
"Beautifully done!" Aphrodite smiled. "Now, for the gold. Create a statue of the most beautiful woman in the universe!"
The statue that was formed was that of Dia. Aphrodite was stunned that he would create the statue of the mortal Elvadorian woman, and not of Aphrodite, herself.
"He's in love, Mother!" Eros laughed. "Of course she's the most beautiful woman in the universe to him!"
Rob blushed and smiled sheepishly, hoping that he had not offended the goddess of love and beauty. But he was in love with Dia, and to him, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever known. He need not have worried, though. Aphrodite gave him a reassuring smile.
"Well done, Robert!" Zeus commented grandly. "You have learned your lessons well!"
"Thanks, Father Zeus," Rob smiled back.
"And," Hera added, "I know where to put all these statues."
"Yes," Zeus agreed. "It is time that Robert got his own, private quarters on Olympus."
"'Private quarters'?" Rob asked, puzzled.
"Even we need places to go to in order rest and relax and recharge our powers," Hermes answered. "A private place just to be by ourselves or to entertain guests."
"And it is time that you got your private place," Hera said.
Zeus rose from his throne and placed his arm around Rob's shoulder. He led the new, young god to the edge of the royal palace. Instantly, a doorway in the air –what Rob might call a wormhole—opened, allowing both Zeus and Rob to enter the area beyond the swirling gate.
On the other side was space as Rob had known it –endless black, filled with stars, planets, nebulas, and more. Floating in this space was an "island", clean of any impurities. Lush plants and a thriving animal life was everywhere. In the center was a palace, Greek-style, but with influences from both the 23rd Century and the Galactic Patrol.
"It's…amazing…" Rob breathed. He gazed at his new palace in wonder.
"And that is just the outside!" Zeus laughed, amused at the young godling's reaction. "The inside is even more spectacular!" The king led Rob into the building.
Indeed, the inside of the palace was as grand as the main Olympian palace, with 23rd century designs and those of ancient Greece mingling to create a unique interior. Books and scrolls filled an expansive library; a long table filled the banquet hall; and the "living room" had several of the same kind of couches that had been in the Olympian palace. Each couch had a table next to it.
Around the room –and indeed, every room had them—were statues of marble or gold, each representing a beautiful young man or woman. Against one wall were the statues Rob had created and brought to life for his tests. The golden statue of Dia was in a place of honor.
"The statues are your servants," Zeus told him. "A wave of your hand and they will come to life to serve you. But you will also need guards."
"The guards have already been chosen, Father Zeus," Rob answered. "When their time comes, the Orbots, themselves, will be my guards."
The other gods and goddesses joined the two, welcoming the new godling to his new home. Eros showed him a fountain that was a smaller version of the Pool of Scrying.
"You can look in on your Orbots –and anyone you want—through this," Eros said. Rob looked into the fountain, and an image of Dia appeared, getting ready for her first mission with the Orbots.
"You can do it, Dia," Rob encouraged from afar. "Just do your best. You'll get the hang of it." Again, the image of Dia seemed to start, looking around for the source of a voice only she could hear. This time, Rob noticed her expression.
"The two of you are linked by the love you share," Eros told him. "She can hear you, but you need to learn to focus your thoughts. It works best when she's asleep. In the dream world, you can communicate with her as easily as if you were in the same room. If you like, I can teach you how to do it so you can visit her in her dreams."
"Thanks, Eros," Rob smiled. "I'd like that." He turned back to the image in the fountain.
We'll be together soon, Rob thought. First, in your dreams, and later, when you come to Olympus.
_-_-_
Next Chapter: Immortal Meeting. Rob Simmons, the God of Robotics, sees his double –a living Rob Simmons—in the Scrying Pool, and decides to contact him. And Vex Vector plans revenge.
