Meanwhile, John was remembering his talk with Mysterious Marylyn, which he
had ja mere two hours before he left. She had been wearing her usual blue
dress, and the "mysterious" in "Mysterious Marylyn", started to rear its
head.
"So, do you think that they'll start to understand each other, if locked into a room?"
"Understanding is a three edged sword"
"That's a lot of help" John said "Will being forced to talk make them reconcile?"
"A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles." She answered
"So you're saying that just because they would be in the room together, that doesn't guarantee squat?"
"If you say so"
"Why no straight answers like before?"
" In life, you often get what you need, not what you desire."
Back at the room, Dylan had never told Rommie his plan because he realized right away that it would not work.
"Do you regret what you did?" Dylan could not help but ask this.
"I regret that I had to do it"
"hmmm" he didn't like that answer. "I hate it when you use the phrase "had to do it"
"but it's the truth." She stated simply "Do you regret kidnapping me?"
"I wanted to protect you from possible violent developments, and I wanted to give you another chance, but I guess I should not have bothered" Dylan's feelings were starting to resurface.
"Dylan, I didn't want to hurt you. I only shot you because you had the chance to shoot Orich I did call for help after I shot you"
"That's not the point! It doesn't matter that you called for help. You betrayed, me Rommie." His voice was starting to increase
She did not know what to say to that.
Someone opening the door broke the silence.
"Dylan!" Beka exclaimed, "There you are? What is Rommie doing here…
"It doesn't matter, let's go" he replied as he left with Beka and Harper.
Rommie just stood there, thinking and regretting that they could not reconcile.
Later, on, John comforted Rommie, as she cried. Soon, they moved to some planet called Obkam.
26 years passed, and Rommie and John had a happy life, except for an accident that required Rommie to have a new voice put into her system, but was more beautiful than her original one, and she changed her name to Ann, given because she and John had done some illegal things in their missions. Also, 14 years after they got to the planet, Jalicia and her son, Gandalf, who was born a year after Rommie's last meeting with Dylan, came to Obkam to live next door. However, that happiness was temporary.
Rommie, and Jalicia were gossiping, when they heard the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Officer Lagrimas" Rommie had a bad feeling about this.
"It's about John, your partner. He was attacked by several anti-Android people, with powerful weapons." There had been an anti-Android movement starting up, but the violence had been minor.
"What?" Rommie was in shock "No! No!" Jalicia sat her down, and all Rommie could do was stare.
"We'll need you to identify the body."
"My son will do it later."
"Fine. I'm sorry about your loss"
"He can't be dead! Mysterious Marilynn said that we would have a long happy life together!"
"Long is a relative term" Jalicia replied, as she comforted her.
Days later, a funeral was held. Many of the friends both of them had made over the years. Rommie was still numb and she was at the service only in Body.
Two months had passed, and as usual, Rommie was just watching mindless vids on the monitor, when Jalicia came in.
"Hey, How ya doing?"
"Alright"
"Why don't you go shopping with me?"
"I can't. I have housecleaning to do?"
"Well, this place could use it." Jalicia could not help but notice the mess there was. "Rommie, John would not have wanted you to go on like this."
"Look, I'm not ready to go on!"
"Okay, I'll give you some space." So, Jalicia left.
One year two weeks, after John's death, Rommie had decided to take a walk, despite the fact that it was raining. As she was walking along, she saw a blind young man of about 19, with a cane and a seeing guide bot, who lead him about. He had blue eyes, and brown hair. Also, he seemed to have the double chin look and wore a big hat, as well as a brown heavy raincoat.
"Excuse me" he said, "But do you know where the Lillian hotel is?"
"Actually, it burnt down a few years ago"
"oh" he seemed disappointed, as the rain started pouring down.
"Why don't you stay with me?" Rommie said impulsively. There seemed to be some sort of vulnerability and trustworthiness to the young man.
"Sure" the young man had a good feeling about Rommie.
"What's your name?"
"It's uh….Michael Kelly" Rommie sense that this was not his real name, but she let it go.
As they went along, Rommie asked him a few more questions.
"What brings you here?"
"I wanted to live on my own for a while. My dad didn't want me to go, but he indulged me."
"What about your mother?"
"She left my dad a year after I was born"
"That's terrible"
"What does your father do?"
"He.. uh…did various things"
"oh?"
"yeah.. various things"
"Okay. Here we are. Take off your coat so you can sleep on the couch."
"Thanks"
"So, tell me about yourself. What are you interests?"
"Literature, philosophy, and music of any kind"
"Well, I do have some recordings if you'd like to borrow them"
"Thank you. My goal is to become a writer, but I thought I should come here for a while, as there is a good writing community here"
"There is"
"I hope to be able to be one of the founders of the Literary Renaissance. Do you know where the writing community is?"
Rommie could not help but notice that the young man reminded her of someone.
"Ma'm?"
"oh yes I do"
"What's your name?"
"Ann"
"Why don't we hit the dance club? You seem homesick"
"I am"
And so they went.
"What kind of music is this?"
"It's called Orem Techno-Trance"
"I love it!" Michael was having a great time, with Rommie, whom he found sweet.
As the evening went on, Rommie could not remember the last time she had fun.
The next day, Gandalf and Jalicia went to see them.
"Who's this?" Gandalf asked, surprised. He was a water engineer for the local city. He had his mother's brown eyes, but had black hair.
"A young writer' Rommie answered "and his seeing eye bot.
The Seeing Eye bot was in a corner, as Michael tended to rely on his cane and memory to navigate himself in Rommie's house.
"Would you guys like anything? The young man asked.
"No we're fine" Jalicia replied.
"Rommie, do you want anything? Like for me to do some chores later?
"No"
Later, Gandalf, discussed his worries to Jalicia.
"Mom, do you think that it's safe for Rommie to have a stranger just come in?"
"He seems trustworthy, besides, how much could a young blind kid do to an Android?"
"Still.. he might have a gun or something"
"Don't worry, son."
" He seemed eager to please."
"Yes."
"Too eager to please"
"Now now"
The next day, Michael tried to find an apartment, but didn't find anything he liked. As the week went by, the level of his effort decreased exponentially. He liked staying with Rommie.
Another year passed, and they were still living together as friends. Michael had managed to publish some short stories, and was busily working on his novel. Already mature for his age, the year, just made him more mature.
One day, Rommie was alone watching some vids, as Michael was with some writing companions when someone knocked on the door.
It was Dylan. His face was one of blank fury.
"Dylan?" Rommie exclaimed in surprised. Dylan was the last person she expected to see. Aside from an increase in wrinkles, a good amount of gray hair, and a goatee, Dylan looked like the same man she had served under all those years ago.
"It isn't enough that you betrayed me, but you must also seduce my son!" his face was red, and his eyes were dark.
"I didn't seduce him! We're just friends. I was not aware that he was your son" Rommie was getting angry at these accusations.
"That's not what I've heard from some acquaintances"
"In other words, you had people spy on your own son."
" I had heard rumors that he had gone to live with an older woman, and they were lovers."
"He lives with me, but we are just friends."
"Look, I don't want him living with you!"
"That's not for you to decide."
"Either you get him to stop living with you or I will see to it that he finds out about what you did to me. Something tells me that he might take it personally. I'll give you four days" With that he left.
Rommie, on her part, could do nothing but think and fret for the moment.
TBC
"So, do you think that they'll start to understand each other, if locked into a room?"
"Understanding is a three edged sword"
"That's a lot of help" John said "Will being forced to talk make them reconcile?"
"A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles." She answered
"So you're saying that just because they would be in the room together, that doesn't guarantee squat?"
"If you say so"
"Why no straight answers like before?"
" In life, you often get what you need, not what you desire."
Back at the room, Dylan had never told Rommie his plan because he realized right away that it would not work.
"Do you regret what you did?" Dylan could not help but ask this.
"I regret that I had to do it"
"hmmm" he didn't like that answer. "I hate it when you use the phrase "had to do it"
"but it's the truth." She stated simply "Do you regret kidnapping me?"
"I wanted to protect you from possible violent developments, and I wanted to give you another chance, but I guess I should not have bothered" Dylan's feelings were starting to resurface.
"Dylan, I didn't want to hurt you. I only shot you because you had the chance to shoot Orich I did call for help after I shot you"
"That's not the point! It doesn't matter that you called for help. You betrayed, me Rommie." His voice was starting to increase
She did not know what to say to that.
Someone opening the door broke the silence.
"Dylan!" Beka exclaimed, "There you are? What is Rommie doing here…
"It doesn't matter, let's go" he replied as he left with Beka and Harper.
Rommie just stood there, thinking and regretting that they could not reconcile.
Later, on, John comforted Rommie, as she cried. Soon, they moved to some planet called Obkam.
26 years passed, and Rommie and John had a happy life, except for an accident that required Rommie to have a new voice put into her system, but was more beautiful than her original one, and she changed her name to Ann, given because she and John had done some illegal things in their missions. Also, 14 years after they got to the planet, Jalicia and her son, Gandalf, who was born a year after Rommie's last meeting with Dylan, came to Obkam to live next door. However, that happiness was temporary.
Rommie, and Jalicia were gossiping, when they heard the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Officer Lagrimas" Rommie had a bad feeling about this.
"It's about John, your partner. He was attacked by several anti-Android people, with powerful weapons." There had been an anti-Android movement starting up, but the violence had been minor.
"What?" Rommie was in shock "No! No!" Jalicia sat her down, and all Rommie could do was stare.
"We'll need you to identify the body."
"My son will do it later."
"Fine. I'm sorry about your loss"
"He can't be dead! Mysterious Marilynn said that we would have a long happy life together!"
"Long is a relative term" Jalicia replied, as she comforted her.
Days later, a funeral was held. Many of the friends both of them had made over the years. Rommie was still numb and she was at the service only in Body.
Two months had passed, and as usual, Rommie was just watching mindless vids on the monitor, when Jalicia came in.
"Hey, How ya doing?"
"Alright"
"Why don't you go shopping with me?"
"I can't. I have housecleaning to do?"
"Well, this place could use it." Jalicia could not help but notice the mess there was. "Rommie, John would not have wanted you to go on like this."
"Look, I'm not ready to go on!"
"Okay, I'll give you some space." So, Jalicia left.
One year two weeks, after John's death, Rommie had decided to take a walk, despite the fact that it was raining. As she was walking along, she saw a blind young man of about 19, with a cane and a seeing guide bot, who lead him about. He had blue eyes, and brown hair. Also, he seemed to have the double chin look and wore a big hat, as well as a brown heavy raincoat.
"Excuse me" he said, "But do you know where the Lillian hotel is?"
"Actually, it burnt down a few years ago"
"oh" he seemed disappointed, as the rain started pouring down.
"Why don't you stay with me?" Rommie said impulsively. There seemed to be some sort of vulnerability and trustworthiness to the young man.
"Sure" the young man had a good feeling about Rommie.
"What's your name?"
"It's uh….Michael Kelly" Rommie sense that this was not his real name, but she let it go.
As they went along, Rommie asked him a few more questions.
"What brings you here?"
"I wanted to live on my own for a while. My dad didn't want me to go, but he indulged me."
"What about your mother?"
"She left my dad a year after I was born"
"That's terrible"
"What does your father do?"
"He.. uh…did various things"
"oh?"
"yeah.. various things"
"Okay. Here we are. Take off your coat so you can sleep on the couch."
"Thanks"
"So, tell me about yourself. What are you interests?"
"Literature, philosophy, and music of any kind"
"Well, I do have some recordings if you'd like to borrow them"
"Thank you. My goal is to become a writer, but I thought I should come here for a while, as there is a good writing community here"
"There is"
"I hope to be able to be one of the founders of the Literary Renaissance. Do you know where the writing community is?"
Rommie could not help but notice that the young man reminded her of someone.
"Ma'm?"
"oh yes I do"
"What's your name?"
"Ann"
"Why don't we hit the dance club? You seem homesick"
"I am"
And so they went.
"What kind of music is this?"
"It's called Orem Techno-Trance"
"I love it!" Michael was having a great time, with Rommie, whom he found sweet.
As the evening went on, Rommie could not remember the last time she had fun.
The next day, Gandalf and Jalicia went to see them.
"Who's this?" Gandalf asked, surprised. He was a water engineer for the local city. He had his mother's brown eyes, but had black hair.
"A young writer' Rommie answered "and his seeing eye bot.
The Seeing Eye bot was in a corner, as Michael tended to rely on his cane and memory to navigate himself in Rommie's house.
"Would you guys like anything? The young man asked.
"No we're fine" Jalicia replied.
"Rommie, do you want anything? Like for me to do some chores later?
"No"
Later, Gandalf, discussed his worries to Jalicia.
"Mom, do you think that it's safe for Rommie to have a stranger just come in?"
"He seems trustworthy, besides, how much could a young blind kid do to an Android?"
"Still.. he might have a gun or something"
"Don't worry, son."
" He seemed eager to please."
"Yes."
"Too eager to please"
"Now now"
The next day, Michael tried to find an apartment, but didn't find anything he liked. As the week went by, the level of his effort decreased exponentially. He liked staying with Rommie.
Another year passed, and they were still living together as friends. Michael had managed to publish some short stories, and was busily working on his novel. Already mature for his age, the year, just made him more mature.
One day, Rommie was alone watching some vids, as Michael was with some writing companions when someone knocked on the door.
It was Dylan. His face was one of blank fury.
"Dylan?" Rommie exclaimed in surprised. Dylan was the last person she expected to see. Aside from an increase in wrinkles, a good amount of gray hair, and a goatee, Dylan looked like the same man she had served under all those years ago.
"It isn't enough that you betrayed me, but you must also seduce my son!" his face was red, and his eyes were dark.
"I didn't seduce him! We're just friends. I was not aware that he was your son" Rommie was getting angry at these accusations.
"That's not what I've heard from some acquaintances"
"In other words, you had people spy on your own son."
" I had heard rumors that he had gone to live with an older woman, and they were lovers."
"He lives with me, but we are just friends."
"Look, I don't want him living with you!"
"That's not for you to decide."
"Either you get him to stop living with you or I will see to it that he finds out about what you did to me. Something tells me that he might take it personally. I'll give you four days" With that he left.
Rommie, on her part, could do nothing but think and fret for the moment.
TBC