Prequel
Part Eleven
Tobio woke up on the day of his ninth birthday with both excitement and dread. He was anxious to see what presents he had received, and he dreaded finding that his father would not be present to wish him a happy birthday. At least it wasn't a school day, this year he was lucky enough to have his birthday fall out on a weekend. It had been a cold night, so he had worn his 'footy' pajamas with the hooded top. He left the hood hanging behind him since he no longer thought that it was cute, and he'd just about outgrown the garment.
He ran down the stairs to find Dr. Tenma sitting in the living room next to a pile of gift wrapped boxes. His father was wearing his usual business suit and had his briefcase standing next to the front door. It was obvious to Tobio that his father intended to stick around long enough to wish him a happy birthday, and then leave for the Institute and another day in his laboratory. Still, he was happy to see him, even if for just a little while.
"Good morning Son!" Dr. Tenma cried out. Tobio ran to his father and jumped into his arms. Despite his anger at him for planning on leaving for work, the boy was still very happy to have his father with him, even if only for a short while. After giving his old man a suitable bear hug, Tobio looked around to see just what was sitting in the middle of the room. It was almost like Christmas, only without the tree, and all of the presents had his name on them.
The first box he came to had a card attached, signed by Dr. Ochanomizu. Tobio tore open the wrappings to find that his Godfather had bought him a notebook computer. It was one of the latest models with one of the fastest processors. Kenichi had a similar one that could run the hottest game software with ease. This newer model would smoke his.
The next present was from Tamao and Kenichi. They had pooled their money together to get Tobio a new Shogi set. Tamao had written on the card "Since you keep beating the two of us in Shogi, we figured you'd like to have a decent set of game pieces." It was an expensive Shogi set with inlaid lettering on the tiles, and a beautiful board made of ebony wood.
Now there were only two presents left, Tobio left the largest one for last. The smaller box contained several pairs of pajamas, pants, and shirts.
"Nora selected those for you, Tobio." Dr. Tenma said. "She told me that you were outgrowing some of your clothes. I told her to order on line whatever she thought you needed."
Tobio turned around and saw the nanny 'bot standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Thanks Nora!" he said. The robot smiled back at him.
He now uncrated the largest box. Tobio was certain that he knew what was inside of this one. Sure enough, it was the jet hover scooter he'd had his eyes on for half a year. It was the top of the line model that had the greatest range and top speed. The vehicle came in knocked down form, in order to fit into the mail order packing crate. Included were a set of simple tools and instructions for putting the scooter together.
"It won't take you long to assemble it, it's actually easier than your bicycle was to bolt together." His father told him. "The man at the factory told me that there were really only four major parts to put together, along with the wiring harness that has all of the connectors factory installed. I was told it takes the average customer about 20 minutes to put that together. I figure that means you'll have it ready in maybe seven minutes."
"Ah Dad!" Tobio whined. He jumped into Dr. Tenma's arms again to give him another hug.
"Thanks Dad!" Tobio said
"You should assemble the scooter in the garage, I don't want any grease on the living room carpet!" His father said. Uma helped Tobio drag the large box over to the garage.
"I've got to get going to work now." His father said. "Be careful with that scooter. It's a lot faster than your bicycle is."
Tobio assembled his new scooter in the garage at his father's instructions.
"Dad was close, it took me eight minutes to assemble this." he thought. He now had it plugged in to charge the batteries. It would take till nearly lunch time till there was enough power in them for him to try it out. Tobio walked from the garage to the front porch and sat on the porch bench. It was exactly the same spot where he and Urania were playing Chinese Checkers almost two years ago when Tamao first rode by on his new bicycle.
He almost started to cry when a late model German luxury car pulled into the driveway. Before Tobio could walk over to the car, the driver opened the door and walked toward him. The man didn't look at all familiar to him. He wore thick glasses, the tops of which fit into a flap of skin hanging down from his wrinkled forehead. There was a noticeable flat spot in the back of the man's head.
"My father, Dr. Tenma, isn't home right now." Tobio said, thinking that the man was looking for his father.
"Are you Tenma Tobio-San?" he asked.
"Yes, that's me." Tobio said wondering what was going on.
"My name is Acetylene Lamp, I'm an attorney with the National Insurance company. Your mother, Tenma Hoshie, had a life insurance policy with us naming you as the beneficiary. It was taken out without the knowledge of your father, and specified that in the event of your mother's demise it would be payable to you after your ninth birthday."
Lamp handed Tobio a business card identifying the man as an agent with the company. It had Lamp's photograph on it, his printed name and signature.
"Here is an envelope with the details of the policy. You will be able to draw on the funds when you reach your 16th birthday, although in an emergency situation the courts will release the money at any time." The attorney explained. "Keep this document in a safe place, OK."
"Sure, thanks." Tobio said as Lamp got back into his car and drove away. Tobio wasn't exactly sure what he had been handed, but it was a link to his mother. He felt a bit strange about it. He folded the envelope in half and put it into his back pocket, and promptly forgot about it.
Tobio was about to try out his new scooter when his cell phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was his father calling from the Institute.
"Hello son!" Dr. Tenma said. "I have another surprise for you. You remember how to get to the Institute, don't you?"
The Institute of Science was only a about a mile and a half from the Tenma's house. Tobio had rode his bicycle there once to meet his father for lunch. It would be an easy ride on the new scooter.
"Sure, I know how to get there." Tobio said.
"Good, why don't you take that new scooter of yours and meet me here for lunch?" Uma suggested.
"I'm on my way!" Tobio said. He disconnected the scooter from the charger, the battery indicator on the control head now indicated 75% fully charged. "Good enough for the short trip" Tobio thought.
The hover scooter handled like a dream. Tobio found that it could glide easily just inches above the road, yet had enough power to zoom up out of ground effect and soar up to fifty feet up in the air for brief spurts. He took the long way over to the Institute to meet his father, as he was having so much fun piloting his new toy. He parked the scooter next to his father's car in the garage and took the elevator up to the office level where Dr. Tenma was waiting for him.
"Did you have any problems assembling the scooter, and how does it ride?" Tenma asked his son.
"Are you kidding? It was easy to assemble, I didn't have to look at the manual more than once. They had good pictures showing how the parts fit together. It rides like a dream, I feel like I'm flying on it!" Tobio said excitedly.
"Let's have lunch, and then I have a surprise for you." Tenma said.
Father and son took the elevator down to a lower level of the Institutes main building where the cafe was. They both ordered sandwiches from the deli counter. Tenma got himself a cup of coffee, and Tobio a bottle of fruit juice. Uma spoke between bites.
"The new robot models came out yesterday." Uma was bragging. "You'll like these Tobio, a lot of the research that I've been busy with the past few months have gone into the latest models. We've almost broken through the Kokoro barrier with these units. I'm still working perfecting the design for the government contract, but you can see the results of that research in the new units."
They finished their meal left the cafe area. Dr. Tenma lead the way toward the manufacturing floor. Along the route automated material transports were carrying parts, into the factory area, and scrap material in an other direction. Tobio noticed some robots in the scrap carts.
"Where are those old robots going?" he asked.
"Those are either obsolete or unrepairable units being taken out of storage to be scrapped." Uma explained. "Section seven of the laboratory complex has a recycle facility that takes them apart and melts down the recoverable metals, rare earths, and semiconductors for reuse as raw materials in the factory."
Tobio turned his head quickly as another scrap cart whizzed by them.
"There was a robot that looked just like Nora in there" he exclaimed.
"Yes, her model actually is obsolete now that the new units are available." Dr. Tenma explained. "We're not selling anymore robots like Nora from now on and all existing unsold stock are being recycled as of today."
Uma opened the door to the factory show room and ushered his son inside. They were greeted by a humanoid female robot.
"Hello Tobio, my name is Nora. Your father told me that you'd be coming here today, I'm happy to meet you." The robot spoke in a pleasant voice, with a timber not unlike Hoshie's voice. "I am the latest in the Domestic and Nanny series. I'm looking forward to being part of your family."
Tobio had a sinking feeling in his gut.
"You've done it again, haven't you Dad?" he asked
"Done what, son?" Uma asked. "Isn't the new Nora bot wonderful? She has the most advanced AI, almost human in fact."
"That WAS OUR Nora in the scrap cart wasn't it?" Tobio said, his voice quavering.
"As I said, her series is obsolete now. No longer being supported by the factory." Uma stammered.
"AHHH, you have done it again, you bastard!" Tobio screamed.
He turned and ran from his father, looking for the exit to the garage. Uma took off after Tobio, but a tram loaded with reactor units on the way to the factory cut him off. As soon as the transport went by he continued to run, but Tobio now had a good head start. Uma arrived at his car in time to see the tail lights of Tobio's jet scooter disappearing into the distance.
Tobio could see his father's car approaching in his mirrors. He lifted off and banked sharply, then descended onto a back road, trying to avoid his father. Uma knew the roads around the Institute like the back of his hand and took a side street that cut diagonally across to join up with the road the Tobio had chosen.
Once again the boy saw his father's car approaching and quickly took a detour. This time he missed a street sign and found himself going the wrong way on a busy street. Tobio floored the accelerator and climbed above the traffic. As the engine whined down and lost power he saw that he wasn't going to make the clearing he was aiming for. A heavily loaded truck was crossing the intersection just as his scooter was descending into it. Tobio tried to rev up the engine again to climb above the traffic, but there wasn't enough charge left in the battery to accelerate fast enough. His scooter and the truck arrived at the same place at the same time.
CRUNCH!
A crowd had formed around the accident scene. Tobio lay on the ground several yards from the mangled remains of the hover scooter, which was impaled into the grillwork of the truck. Barely conscious, and in great pain, he was dimly aware of being lifted into an ambulance. In his blurred vision he could see the image of a doctor with a scar on his face and a head of half black, half gray hair working on him.
Dr. Tenma arrived on the scene just as the ambulance was speeding away. He saw the wreckage of his son's scooter. A team of policemen were taking photos of the scene and measuring skid marks on the ground.
"Where did they take him?" Tenma asked. "Which hospital did my son go to?"
"Metro City General", one of the policemen said.
Tenma jumped into his car, punched up the GPS and speed off to the hospital.
"Are you still riding shotgun on ambulances?" Dr. Tezuka asked as the young surgeon wheeled the gurney from the ambulance into the emergency ward. Several other doctors immediately took over the care of the accident victim.
"From time to time, yes I do." He replied. "I've already made a few good contacts this way. Patients with injuries matching my skills."
"And fat wallets", Tezuka added. "You know, you're the opposite of those ambulance chasing lawyers. I sometimes wonder which is worse. At least you have a conscience."
The young surgeon entered the operating room where Tobio was receiving emergency treatment. What remained of the boy's clothing and personal belongings were in a bag in the corner of the room. The surgeon looked though the items with the idea of learning the identity of the boy, and found the folded up envelope in the rear pocket of his pants. He opened the envelope and examined its contents. The doctor gave a low whistle as he put the paper back into the envelope and replaced it with the rest of the boys belongings.
Authors Note:
Technically this would be the point where this story should end. The 'prequel' part is now over and from this point on we know what happens, it's all in the canon. However, I seem to have injected some new ideas in here which deviate from the canon just a bit. I have also hinted at the origins of a few things, but left them hanging in the air. Rather than ending the story at this point, without tying up the loose ends, and letting some of the deviations play themselves out, I will continue this saga a bit longer. Enjoy the 'Epilogues' which will follow starting with my next update.
Also, while I've mostly based this story on the 2003 Anime version of the canon, I have chosen to use names and events from the other two Anime series, as well as the manga. Thus my personal 'head canon' is sort of a hybrid collection of the different stories that have been written over the years as Atom evolved.