Disclaimer: I don't own Metropolis, but I do own this story!!!!
This is it, the last chapter! WAFF writing's really difficult.
Thank you to all those who reviewed, being:
Amy (The first reviewer!)
Xalan (Who's followed and reviewed nearly every chapter!)
Heiwa Shima
Shinigami
Pace Star
Moro Stagsleap (Don't worry, no more waiting for Tima to be restored!)
jester_of_gesture
Rini Sayian-jin
Catherine Perey
Daiosharune
The Anonymous Fellow (Who didn't sign in any way at all, but I still loved the
review!)
death-bunny bishoujo
Inu-Adrienn
And of course to those who reviewed Tima's Log, this story's precursor:
K**chan
Silver Goddess
Eve (I wish Eve had finished Blue Eyes… I want to know what she meant by the eyes
having an important role in the story!)
dara
Heiwa Shima
vashgirl
Alex Warlon
Lovely Elf Kurumi
Daiosharune
Inu-Adriennsama
Bluestar
Reaalis (What? ^^')
Black Cherry Soda
Toddy
Enjoy! Man I hope this turns out all right…
*********************************************************************************************
The next morning Aki and Kenichi started work as soon as Kenichi woke. They
started up the terminal and began what they both hoped would be their last checks.
First Kenichi chased the virus from the throne's systems, then he and Aki ran a
systematic check of Tima's systems.
Turning to Aki, Kenichi said, "Well her body wasn't hurt, that's a relief."
"But what about her mind?" Aki was standing on her toes to look at the screens.
"I can't tell until we start her up Aki. We'll just have to wait and see," Kenichi
sighed. If Tima had been hurt he would never forgive himself. It was his fault, if he
had only been more careful…
"Come on then Kenichi, let's move Tima into her room." Aki started to uncouple the
throne. Kenichi stood up and helped her. In a moment they had Tima lying on her
bed in her bedroom.
"Well then, I'll let you do the honours," Aki held up a length of cable attached to a
cluster of fuel cells.
Sitting down beside her Kenichi gently turned back Tima's ear, "Come on Tima…"
he touched the bear cable to the exposed socket. There was a loud whine and a bang
from inside Tima and her eyes began to focus and unfocus. After a few moments they
settled and Tima sat up slowly.
"What…?" Tima said quietly looking around.
"Tima?" Kenichi asked touching her arm. She turned to look at him.
"Kenichi!" Tima yelled and threw her arms around him. Kenichi returned the
embrace.
"Tima…" Kenichi could hardly believe it. Tima was safe, here with him, and nothing
had gone wrong!
The two of them stayed like this for a while, then sitting back a little Tima asked,
"When I was in that dark place I called to you but you didn't answer. Where were
you? Was there something more important you had to do?"
Kenichi felt a stab of guilt. It had taken him a long time to rescue Tima. If things had
been the way they were when he arrived, what must Tima have gone through for the
six weeks it had taken him to find her?
Kenichi blushed heavily, "Tima I… There's nothing more important than you…"
"Oh. Why Kenichi?" Tima lent forward and tilted her head a little to one side as she
asked this. Kenichi felt a knot form in his stomach.
"… I'm not sure Tima." Kenichi looked away, finding it difficult to hold Tima's gaze.
Again they were silent for a moment, then rising to his feet Kenichi said, "You should
get some sleep. Goodnight Tima," and left the room.
* * * * *
Why had he said that? Kenichi rolled over on his bed. But it was the truth. There
was nothing more important to him than Tima; maybe he really did love her… But
even if he did, Kenichi wasn't sure if Tima felt the same. It was no use worrying
about it now anyway, in the end he fell asleep.
* * * * *
She couldn't do it. Kenichi had told her to but Tima just couldn't get to sleep. Every
time she closed her eyes all of the old questions came back. What was she? She
wasn't human, but at the same time she wasn't a robot; at least that was what that man
had said. What had he meant by 'superhuman'? And then there was what that boy…
Rock he was called wasn't he? When he had asked her who her father was Tima had
said Kenichi almost automatically. But now Tima wasn't so sure of that, she really
had no idea of what a 'father' was. Kenichi had said that word once too hadn't he?
He'd asked who her father and mother were. So a father was a person and a
possession, and had something to do with something else called a mother? Well
Kenichi definitely wasn't Tima's father because she didn't own him. Tima's head
hurt. It was all so confusing, perhaps she should just try not to think about these
things and ask Kenichi next time she saw him.
Then again why couldn't Tima go and see him now
Climbing out of bed Tima headed for Kenichi's room. All of the lights were out,
however the room was bathed in a soft glow from a machine up against one of the
walls. Walking over to this machine Tima looked at the picture on the front of it. It
was a picture of that nice room she had been in with Kenichi and that other person;
she could see him lying on one of the beds. Looking away from the picture Tima
walked over to the desk against the other wall. Were these pictures of her? But… she
had never worn dresses like those, although the lady that had talked to her when
Kenichi wasn't there had given her something like them. Tima had also never had her
hair like that.
Finally Tima turned around and looked at Kenichi, asleep on his mattress on the floor.
Tima suddenly felt extremely tired and lonely, and couldn't bear to go back to her
room.
* * * * *
Kenichi was lying on his side, his head pillowed on his hands. He slowly opened his
eyes, that had been the best he'd slept in a long time. But why did his front feel
so warm? Kenichi started to roll over but found something was in his way, wondering
what it was he lifted his quilt and looked underneath.
What Kenichi found there gave him a shock. There, with her eyes closed and smiling,
curled up in a ball and cuddled against him, was Tima, fast asleep.
"T…Tima…?" he gasped. She murmured something in her sleep and snuggled up a
little closer to Kenichi. He suddenly felt extremely awkward.
Tima stirred. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Kenichi.
"Tima… why are you here?" Kenichi asked, blushing.
"I wanted to ask you something but you were asleep, so I decided to stay here. It is
okay if I stay here, isn't it Kenichi?" there was a kind of innocent fear in Tima's
voice, and Kenichi couldn't bear to answer in any way but, "… Alright, you can
stay." Smiling Tima curled back up and closed her eyes, once again snuggling up
against Kenichi's front. Blushing even harder Kenichi lay his head down again.
"What did you want to ask?" he asked Tima, looking under the covers at her.
Tima looked back up at him, "What's a father Kenichi?"
"Well… a father is someone who looks after you."
"Like you Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"Well, no not really… A person is like a mix of their mother and father, their parents,
who look after and love them. They are their parent's child. So you see, you aren't
my daughter, so I'm not your father. Um… huh…?" Kenichi knew he wasn't the
right person to explain all this. He barely understood himself.
"Does that mean I have a mother and father Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"No…" Kenichi had been afraid of this.
"Why not?" Tima looked worried.
Gritting his teeth Kenichi decided to tell her the truth, "Tima… It's true that all
humans have a mother and father but…"
"But I'm not a human, am I…" a tear rolled down Tima's check. So it was true, she
wasn't human… "I'm a robot…"
"Tima…" Kenichi didn't know what to say, but seeing Tima like this…
"But why do I look like a human?" she asked.
"You aren't exactly a robot Tima…"
"What do you mean Kenichi?"
"Your body is mostly robotic, but, well you have a human heart. You're at least part
human… But that doesn't matter! You're Tima and that's all that's important,"
Kenichi couldn't think of anything more he could say.
Tima rubbed her eyes, "So I'm part human…? How human?"
"I told you Tima, machine or human doesn't matter! Especially not to me!" Kenichi
had spoken without thinking again, and immediately turned a much, much deeper
shade of red when he realised the implications of his words.
"Kenichi…" Tima said in a sort of sob, burying her face against him. Not knowing
what else to do Kenichi put his arms around her and held her close. To his surprise he
found Tima was shaking a little.
Feeling suddenly very hot, Kenichi gave a deep sigh, and in a short while found
himself falling asleep again.
* * * * *
"Oh…" Kenichi yawned and stretched. Looking under the covers again he found
Tima was still asleep. No matter how weird this situation seemed Kenichi couldn't
help but smile on seeing her like that. How could a man as inhuman Laughton
possibly create something like Tima? She made a noise in her sleep and snuggled
Kenichi again. Realising Koh still needed to be restored, Kenichi decided to wake
Tima. He shook her gently, and she slowly opened eyes.
"Hey Tima, it's time to get up."
Smiling Tima climbed out of the bed, and Kenichi did the same. Stifling another
yawn he walked over to a pile of folded clothes from which he pulled several, Tima
stood watching. The clothes were his luggage, and he had never intended to use them
for so long. He had been pretty lucky really; he and his uncle's hotel had only just
been outside of the Ziggurat's blast radius. Next Kenichi headed for the bathroom,
and it was just as he was lifting his shirt over his head that he noticed Tima standing
behind him.
"Ah! Tima please wait outside!" he pushed her out of the room.
"Why Kenichi? What are you doing?" Kenichi realised Tima had never actually
washed.
"I'll explain in a minute," he shut the door. Kenichi pulled ofF his clothes and with a
deep sigh climbed into the bathtub. It was a simple contraption, an old tub into which
water was constantly falling from a hole in a pipe in the ceiling that carried hot water
somewhere, and then flowing out and down a nearby drain.
Wondering what he was going to do to stop Tima getting into such embarrassing
situations, Kenichi began to wash himself.
* * * * *
Having put fresh clothes on, Kenichi opened the door to the bathroom and found
Tima standing right outside smiling at him.
"Tima… you've been waiting there all this time?" Kenichi asked astounded.
"Well you told me to Kenichi," Tima replied.
"Yeah I suppose…" Kenichi found it strange she had taken his instructions to heart
like that.
"What were you doing in there?" she asked.
"I was bathing," he hadn't noticed before, but Tima really stank. Kenichi doubted it
was actually her that smelled, rather the clothes she'd been wearing for five days, and
had been sitting unwashed for at least four weeks in between time, however he was
pretty sure the smell was going to linger even without them.
"What's that?"
"I'll show you. You really need a bath yourself," Kenichi pulled Tima into the
bathroom and poured a liquid from a nearby bottle into the tub. A thick froth formed
on the water's surface.
"What's that Kenichi?" Tima asked, looking over the side of the bath in near
fascination.
"Soap," Kenichi replied sounding matter of fact, "Now what you have to do is take
off your clothes- No not yet!" he almost yelled, Tima pulled her shirt back down,
"Phew… Now, when you've done that you just get in the bath and soak yourself for a
while. Understand?"
"Yes Kenichi." Tima answered.
"Good, I'll leave you then. Watch out for the soap, don't let it get in your eyes or it'll
hurt. I'll come back in a little while." Kenichi walked out of the room and pushed the
door to, then sat down. He'd wait outside, just in case. After a moment, quiet
splashes began to emanate from the direction of the bathtub.
* * * * *
This is fun! Tima thought as she sat in the warm water. With her finger she cut
indefinite shapes in the bubbles on the surface. She wished Kenichi were here
though, why didn't he want to have fun too? Tima gathered up a lump of bubbles in
her hands and blew them away, and after floating for a few seconds they settled at the
other end of the tub. Giggling she began moving back and forth, watching the little
waves moving across the water and ignoring the copious amount of spillage.
Outside Kenichi smiled to himself. He could guess what was going on inside the
room, it was a good thing spilt water drained right away over the stone floor.
Wondering what it was like underneath the bubbles, Tima closed her eyes and put her
head under the water, then opened them again. It was pretty down here, with the light
playing on the surface. Realising she had stopped, Tima took a breath. That was a
mistake. As she took the breath Tima felt the water pouring into her mouth and nose
and down her throat, making everything hurt horribly. She got back above the water
coughing and spluttering, trying to call to Kenichi through the pain in her throat. The
soap was in her eyes and it was adding to the pain.
Hearing the sudden commotion Kenichi jumped up and ran into the room, "Tima
what's the matter?" he asked in a panic, seeing her sitting in the bath and gasping for
air.
"Ke- Kenichi!" Tima descended into another fit of coughing, covering her eyes with
her hands. Kenichi knelt down beside the tub and started patting her back.
"Come on Tima, just breath. It'll go away in a moment," he told her. He hoped she
hadn't taken in too much water. Luckily Tima hadn't. Slowly she stopped coughing
and looked round at Kenichi.
"How did you manage that?" he asked, helping her out of the bath and putting a towel
around her.
"I put my head under the soap to see what it was like, but when I tried to breath it all
went up my nose," Tima answered, a look of surprise on her face. Kenichi kicked
himself mentally, he should have realised Tima didn't know you couldn't breath
underwater.
"Just rub yourself with that until you're dry," Kenichi told her pointing to the towel. He
looked the other way, and Tima did as instructed.
When she was dry Kenichi guided her from the bathroom and into his. Digging
around in the pile of clothes he produced a shirt and a pair of shorts that fell to just
below the knees, along with a pair of boxer shorts.
"Here put these on," Kenichi gave Tima the clothes and turned around again while
she put them on. A minute or so later he turned back. Tima was standing
wearing his clothes, and they just about fitted her.
Smiling Kenichi said, "We're going to have to get you some proper clothes some
time. You've been wearing boy's clothes as long as I can remember!" Tima laughed
a little at this, but the words reminded her of the pictures on the desk.
"Kenichi, are those pictures of me?" she asked pointing at Kenichi's desk. Kenichi
blushed heavily at this question.
"Well, sort of… Here sit down," he flopped down on one end of his mattress.
"When you were created Tima, it was because of a man called Duke Red. I think you
know him, he has a really big nose, like a beak," Kenichi made appropriate hand
gestures, making Tima giggle.
"Now Duke Red used to have a daughter, she was called Tima. He never told anyone
what happened to her, and the people who know aren't telling anyone either, all we
know is Tima died when she was twelve. Ever since it seems he's been a different
person, and he saw your creation as a chance to get his daughter back," Kenichi's face
turned serious, "She looked exactly like you Tima, and that's her in the pictures."
Standing up and walking over to the desk Tima picked up a picture of the girl running
down a path, "She looks very kind. What was she like Kenichi?"
"I don't know Tima, most of the people who had met her died during the rebellion or
when the Ziggurat exploded. My guess is she was a very nice person, since you were
made to be as similar to her as possible. In a way she was kind of like your sister,"
Kenichi said looking at the picture in Tima's hand.
"So Duke Red made me?" Tima asked.
"No, he paid a man called Dr. Laughton to make you."
"What was he like?"
"My Uncle was looking for him for a long time before he died in the fire in his
laboratory. Uncle once told me that he found it hard thinking of a man like Laughton as
a human. Apparently he did a lot bad things," Kenichi replied.
"Oh…" Tima said. Kenichi wondered what Tima was thinking, "I'd like to find out
more about Tima," she said. The way Tima had said the words made them sound
strange.
"Perhaps we will find out about her one day," Kenichi said.
Tima looked away from the picture to Kenichi, "What's a sister?"
The unhappy look disappeared from Kenichi's face and he laughed, "People who
come from the same parents are called either brother or sister. Sister for a girl,
brother for a boy."
"What's the difference between girls and boys?" Tima asked.
Kenichi caught his breath and blushed heavily, "Well uh… you see… oh I'll tell you
some other time," he laughed awkwardly. Tima just stared blankly at him, "Let's
have breakfast!" Kenichi jumped up.
* * * * *
"It seems things are getting a little tense." Aki said as she lifted two plates of food up
onto the table in front of Kenichi and Tima.
"Thanks Aki. How do you mean?" Kenichi asked. Tima turned to listen to Aki as
well.
"The situation between Japan and Metropolis is looking to turn nasty," Aki climbed
onto a chair and sat down on the other side. They were sitting at a table outside their
home, on the edge of the ruins. It was a beautiful day, with the sun beating down on
them so. On days like this the ruins almost seemed pretty, "It seems like it had
something to do with the Ziggurat. First with the solar flare incident, that cost them a
huge amount of money, and now the nuclear fallout from when the fusion reactor
blew up has reached them and is causing all sorts of trouble."
"What's Japan Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"It's the place I was born," Kenichi answered, "Hold on Aki, fallout? What nuclear
fallout? We were fine here."
"Most of the radioactive particles were blown into the air in the explosion and were
carried away like a cloud. Japan was unlucky enough to have been where most of it
came down, although a few other South East Asian countries were affected."
"So this could lead to a war?" Kenichi looked worried.
"Yes, it seems like it," Aki said sadly, "Whenever Metropolis starts a war it's almost
always been a genocide. But this time it may be different. Japan's the second most
technologically advanced country in the world, so a war between the two of them
could be terrible," Kenichi paled a little.
"Kenichi, what's a war?" Tima asked, looking a little scared. If it was something so
bad it frightened Kenichi then…
"Something very, very bad Tima. I'll explain properly later," he answered. Kenichi
didn't plan on telling her very much. There was no way he was going to let Tima get
mixed up in a war.
"Kenichi…" Aki sounded awkward, "I don't think you should stay here."
"What? Why?"
"It could be dangerous here. Whenever a war starts in Metropolis, all foreigners are
rounded up and sent to 'protection camps', to protect them from 'extremists'. In other
words the entire city becomes extremely racist towards anyone who isn't from this
country, along with anyone who associates with them," Aki looked at Tima for a
moment.
"Oh…" Kenichi understood immediately. He didn't like the idea of these camps
much at all, but if Tima were put in one too… and besides they would undoubtedly be
separated, "How long do we have?"
Aki looked down at the table, "If things keep going like this, a week at most."
"Can you find a flight to Japan for the three of us then?"
"I can't come with you Kenichi…"
"Why not?" Kenichi hadn't thought Aki had any reason to stay behind.
"No robots may enter or leave the city during times of political difficulty. It's to
protect against spies or terrorists."
"Once again anti-robot bias…" Kenichi muttered angrily.
"I ought to be able to get the two of you places on the next plane out though. The security
doesn't bother to scan people of course, since as far as they know no robot could
possibly look like a human. The worst that could happen is you could get searched."
Aki seemed resigned to staying. Kenichi hated this city more and more.
"Well, I'll go see about those bookings then…" Aki said climbing from her chair.
Her voice carried an air of forced cheerfulness. As they watched her walk away
Kenichi and Tima were quiet for a while, and then Tima asked, "What's happening
Kenichi?"
"We're going to go to Japan. It's going to be dangerous to stay here soon," Kenichi
stood up and carried the plates in doors with Tima following.
"Will Aki come with us?" she asked.
"No, Aki can't come with us, she isn't allowed to."
"I think that's unfair." Tima was standing behind Kenichi as he washed the crockery
under a stream of water falling from a nearby severed pipe.
"It is Tima… Metropolis claims to be a free land where everyone can be happy, but
under the surface there're so many bad things," Kenichi shook his head.
"You said earlier you'd tell me what war is." Tima said.
Putting the plates down Kenichi turned to her, "It happens when groups of people
disagree, and can't resolve the problem by talking, so they try to kill each other so that
there's no one left to argue with them."
"Why do they do that Kenichi?"
"Nobody really knows Tima," Kenichi sat down at the table again, "It's stupid really.
Why can people never resist the temptation to fight if talking doesn't work?
…Normally one side starts the war, and the other tries to protect themselves. But it's
never that simple…"
Tima sat down across from him, "Why?"
"Don't worry about it Tima. I promise you'll never need to know," Kenichi told her
with a smile. Inwardly he hoped he really could do this.
Tima smiled back, "Okay Kenichi."
* * * * *
The airport was a lot busier than Kenichi remembered it being when he had arrived
with his uncle all that time ago. Back then, you couldn't move without brushing
against someone, now it felt like he was out on the streets of the network again, being
dragged along with the others by the force of the crowd. There were all sorts of
robots around them that he had never seen before. This was because of the fact that
the zone number restrictions had been temporarily lifted so that the robots could do
several more jobs than they normally would, to compensate for the lack of workers
because of the chaos the Ziggurat had caused. Of course the lack of workers had also
meant that most of the inhabitants of the slums had been able to get jobs too. The
government had decided to cut down on the number of robot workers being built
anyway, after the rebellion they had learned a valuable lesson.
Kenichi, Tima, and Aki were holding each other's hands in the hopes of not getting
separated. Koh, who had been brought out of his recuperative sleep to say goodbye
had wanted to come too, but of course they was no way for him to get around. As
Kenichi walked along, he thought back on what had been said.
* * * * *
"So you've got to leave, huh Kenichi?" Koh asked looking out at the three of them
from the screen.
"That's right Koh. Metropolis isn't going to be safe for us much longer." Kenichi
answered.
Koh's gaze turned to Tima, "Well Tima, I guess this is goodbye, I just wish we'd had
a chance to get to know each other better. Look after Kenichi for me."
"I will, and thank you for helping to save me," Tima said.
"He never once talked about anything but you when we were in the network you
know." Koh said with a mischievous grin, Kenichi blushed heavily and looked at the
floor, making Koh and Aki laugh.
"Aw man… I really wish I could go with you to the airport. Don't you dare forget
about us," Koh said, a mock scowl on his face.
"We won't Koh," Kenichi said grinning.
"By the way I've been thinking about what I'll do once I'm recovered properly."
"What?" all three asked.
"I think I'll become a wanderer in the net. I'm going to get stronger, that way no
virus'll control me ever again!"
"Well be sure to come visit." Aki said cheerfully.
"I will, don't you worry about that."
"Goodbye then Koh, and thanks for everything!" Kenichi said as they walked from
the room waving.
* * * * *
All considered, Kenichi was sort of happy to be leaving. Of course he would miss
Aki, but on the flipside, he'd be able to show Tima his homeland, he'd be able to see
Uncle Shinsaku again, and he was starting to really dislike Metropolis anyway.
"We're almost there," Aki said. The gate for the airliner to Japan loomed ahead.
As they reached the gate they dodged into an alcove area to say their goodbyes.
"We'll be seeing you then Aki," Kenichi said kneeling. His eyes stung a little.
"Goodbye Kenichi," the little robot threw her arms around her friend.
"I'll try and find a way to contact you. Maybe I'll look for the terminal on the net or
something."
"I'll keep it connected," Aki said stepping back.
"Goodbye Aki," Tima said.
"Goodbye Tima," Aki answered. It didn't seem like there was anything more to
say. Kenichi stood up.
"We'll see each other again," Aki said. It was a statement.
"Yes, we will Aki. Goodbye," and with that Kenichi and Tima disappeared into the
crowd. Leaving Aki standing silently watching where they had been for a while after.
********************************************************************************************
Well, that's it. The end of The Search For A Mind. Thank you to everyone that read
and reviewed the story. I plan on doing a sequel sometime soon, and I hope you'll
look out for it. Really this is only an end to a title that's becoming inappropriate.
Thanks everyone.
On I side note, to those out there who noticed it and thought, 'Hey wait a sec', fusion
reactors don't meltdown!' I'll try and give an explanation. Although I doubt I've got
it right…
Although a fusion reaction is cold, and therefore cannot normally meltdown, and
cannot produce radiation since it involves the fusion and not the fission of atoms,
there are rare circumstances under which a meltdown can still happen. I think. Well
whatever Rock did to the Ziggurat it made the fusion plant blow up anyway. I think
that button Rock pushed was a kind of emergency shutdown for the omotanium fusion
reactor. And what would normally have happened would have been the Ziggurat
would have simply stopped working. However, since Tima had pushed the reactor to
overload point already, slamming on the brakes caused the fusion reaction to reverse,
producing a fission reaction that the core was not shielded against, nor did it have any
coolant functions. The reaction quickly went into a meltdown and breached the core,
causing an explosion. If anyone can come up with a theory as to how Kenichi
survived this, I'd really appreciate knowing.
Thanks for reading! Please review! ^ _ ^
I wonder if this'll ever get riffed… Heh, I hope so.
This is it, the last chapter! WAFF writing's really difficult.
Thank you to all those who reviewed, being:
Amy (The first reviewer!)
Xalan (Who's followed and reviewed nearly every chapter!)
Heiwa Shima
Shinigami
Pace Star
Moro Stagsleap (Don't worry, no more waiting for Tima to be restored!)
jester_of_gesture
Rini Sayian-jin
Catherine Perey
Daiosharune
The Anonymous Fellow (Who didn't sign in any way at all, but I still loved the
review!)
death-bunny bishoujo
Inu-Adrienn
And of course to those who reviewed Tima's Log, this story's precursor:
K**chan
Silver Goddess
Eve (I wish Eve had finished Blue Eyes… I want to know what she meant by the eyes
having an important role in the story!)
dara
Heiwa Shima
vashgirl
Alex Warlon
Lovely Elf Kurumi
Daiosharune
Inu-Adriennsama
Bluestar
Reaalis (What? ^^')
Black Cherry Soda
Toddy
Enjoy! Man I hope this turns out all right…
*********************************************************************************************
The next morning Aki and Kenichi started work as soon as Kenichi woke. They
started up the terminal and began what they both hoped would be their last checks.
First Kenichi chased the virus from the throne's systems, then he and Aki ran a
systematic check of Tima's systems.
Turning to Aki, Kenichi said, "Well her body wasn't hurt, that's a relief."
"But what about her mind?" Aki was standing on her toes to look at the screens.
"I can't tell until we start her up Aki. We'll just have to wait and see," Kenichi
sighed. If Tima had been hurt he would never forgive himself. It was his fault, if he
had only been more careful…
"Come on then Kenichi, let's move Tima into her room." Aki started to uncouple the
throne. Kenichi stood up and helped her. In a moment they had Tima lying on her
bed in her bedroom.
"Well then, I'll let you do the honours," Aki held up a length of cable attached to a
cluster of fuel cells.
Sitting down beside her Kenichi gently turned back Tima's ear, "Come on Tima…"
he touched the bear cable to the exposed socket. There was a loud whine and a bang
from inside Tima and her eyes began to focus and unfocus. After a few moments they
settled and Tima sat up slowly.
"What…?" Tima said quietly looking around.
"Tima?" Kenichi asked touching her arm. She turned to look at him.
"Kenichi!" Tima yelled and threw her arms around him. Kenichi returned the
embrace.
"Tima…" Kenichi could hardly believe it. Tima was safe, here with him, and nothing
had gone wrong!
The two of them stayed like this for a while, then sitting back a little Tima asked,
"When I was in that dark place I called to you but you didn't answer. Where were
you? Was there something more important you had to do?"
Kenichi felt a stab of guilt. It had taken him a long time to rescue Tima. If things had
been the way they were when he arrived, what must Tima have gone through for the
six weeks it had taken him to find her?
Kenichi blushed heavily, "Tima I… There's nothing more important than you…"
"Oh. Why Kenichi?" Tima lent forward and tilted her head a little to one side as she
asked this. Kenichi felt a knot form in his stomach.
"… I'm not sure Tima." Kenichi looked away, finding it difficult to hold Tima's gaze.
Again they were silent for a moment, then rising to his feet Kenichi said, "You should
get some sleep. Goodnight Tima," and left the room.
* * * * *
Why had he said that? Kenichi rolled over on his bed. But it was the truth. There
was nothing more important to him than Tima; maybe he really did love her… But
even if he did, Kenichi wasn't sure if Tima felt the same. It was no use worrying
about it now anyway, in the end he fell asleep.
* * * * *
She couldn't do it. Kenichi had told her to but Tima just couldn't get to sleep. Every
time she closed her eyes all of the old questions came back. What was she? She
wasn't human, but at the same time she wasn't a robot; at least that was what that man
had said. What had he meant by 'superhuman'? And then there was what that boy…
Rock he was called wasn't he? When he had asked her who her father was Tima had
said Kenichi almost automatically. But now Tima wasn't so sure of that, she really
had no idea of what a 'father' was. Kenichi had said that word once too hadn't he?
He'd asked who her father and mother were. So a father was a person and a
possession, and had something to do with something else called a mother? Well
Kenichi definitely wasn't Tima's father because she didn't own him. Tima's head
hurt. It was all so confusing, perhaps she should just try not to think about these
things and ask Kenichi next time she saw him.
Then again why couldn't Tima go and see him now
Climbing out of bed Tima headed for Kenichi's room. All of the lights were out,
however the room was bathed in a soft glow from a machine up against one of the
walls. Walking over to this machine Tima looked at the picture on the front of it. It
was a picture of that nice room she had been in with Kenichi and that other person;
she could see him lying on one of the beds. Looking away from the picture Tima
walked over to the desk against the other wall. Were these pictures of her? But… she
had never worn dresses like those, although the lady that had talked to her when
Kenichi wasn't there had given her something like them. Tima had also never had her
hair like that.
Finally Tima turned around and looked at Kenichi, asleep on his mattress on the floor.
Tima suddenly felt extremely tired and lonely, and couldn't bear to go back to her
room.
* * * * *
Kenichi was lying on his side, his head pillowed on his hands. He slowly opened his
eyes, that had been the best he'd slept in a long time. But why did his front feel
so warm? Kenichi started to roll over but found something was in his way, wondering
what it was he lifted his quilt and looked underneath.
What Kenichi found there gave him a shock. There, with her eyes closed and smiling,
curled up in a ball and cuddled against him, was Tima, fast asleep.
"T…Tima…?" he gasped. She murmured something in her sleep and snuggled up a
little closer to Kenichi. He suddenly felt extremely awkward.
Tima stirred. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Kenichi.
"Tima… why are you here?" Kenichi asked, blushing.
"I wanted to ask you something but you were asleep, so I decided to stay here. It is
okay if I stay here, isn't it Kenichi?" there was a kind of innocent fear in Tima's
voice, and Kenichi couldn't bear to answer in any way but, "… Alright, you can
stay." Smiling Tima curled back up and closed her eyes, once again snuggling up
against Kenichi's front. Blushing even harder Kenichi lay his head down again.
"What did you want to ask?" he asked Tima, looking under the covers at her.
Tima looked back up at him, "What's a father Kenichi?"
"Well… a father is someone who looks after you."
"Like you Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"Well, no not really… A person is like a mix of their mother and father, their parents,
who look after and love them. They are their parent's child. So you see, you aren't
my daughter, so I'm not your father. Um… huh…?" Kenichi knew he wasn't the
right person to explain all this. He barely understood himself.
"Does that mean I have a mother and father Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"No…" Kenichi had been afraid of this.
"Why not?" Tima looked worried.
Gritting his teeth Kenichi decided to tell her the truth, "Tima… It's true that all
humans have a mother and father but…"
"But I'm not a human, am I…" a tear rolled down Tima's check. So it was true, she
wasn't human… "I'm a robot…"
"Tima…" Kenichi didn't know what to say, but seeing Tima like this…
"But why do I look like a human?" she asked.
"You aren't exactly a robot Tima…"
"What do you mean Kenichi?"
"Your body is mostly robotic, but, well you have a human heart. You're at least part
human… But that doesn't matter! You're Tima and that's all that's important,"
Kenichi couldn't think of anything more he could say.
Tima rubbed her eyes, "So I'm part human…? How human?"
"I told you Tima, machine or human doesn't matter! Especially not to me!" Kenichi
had spoken without thinking again, and immediately turned a much, much deeper
shade of red when he realised the implications of his words.
"Kenichi…" Tima said in a sort of sob, burying her face against him. Not knowing
what else to do Kenichi put his arms around her and held her close. To his surprise he
found Tima was shaking a little.
Feeling suddenly very hot, Kenichi gave a deep sigh, and in a short while found
himself falling asleep again.
* * * * *
"Oh…" Kenichi yawned and stretched. Looking under the covers again he found
Tima was still asleep. No matter how weird this situation seemed Kenichi couldn't
help but smile on seeing her like that. How could a man as inhuman Laughton
possibly create something like Tima? She made a noise in her sleep and snuggled
Kenichi again. Realising Koh still needed to be restored, Kenichi decided to wake
Tima. He shook her gently, and she slowly opened eyes.
"Hey Tima, it's time to get up."
Smiling Tima climbed out of the bed, and Kenichi did the same. Stifling another
yawn he walked over to a pile of folded clothes from which he pulled several, Tima
stood watching. The clothes were his luggage, and he had never intended to use them
for so long. He had been pretty lucky really; he and his uncle's hotel had only just
been outside of the Ziggurat's blast radius. Next Kenichi headed for the bathroom,
and it was just as he was lifting his shirt over his head that he noticed Tima standing
behind him.
"Ah! Tima please wait outside!" he pushed her out of the room.
"Why Kenichi? What are you doing?" Kenichi realised Tima had never actually
washed.
"I'll explain in a minute," he shut the door. Kenichi pulled ofF his clothes and with a
deep sigh climbed into the bathtub. It was a simple contraption, an old tub into which
water was constantly falling from a hole in a pipe in the ceiling that carried hot water
somewhere, and then flowing out and down a nearby drain.
Wondering what he was going to do to stop Tima getting into such embarrassing
situations, Kenichi began to wash himself.
* * * * *
Having put fresh clothes on, Kenichi opened the door to the bathroom and found
Tima standing right outside smiling at him.
"Tima… you've been waiting there all this time?" Kenichi asked astounded.
"Well you told me to Kenichi," Tima replied.
"Yeah I suppose…" Kenichi found it strange she had taken his instructions to heart
like that.
"What were you doing in there?" she asked.
"I was bathing," he hadn't noticed before, but Tima really stank. Kenichi doubted it
was actually her that smelled, rather the clothes she'd been wearing for five days, and
had been sitting unwashed for at least four weeks in between time, however he was
pretty sure the smell was going to linger even without them.
"What's that?"
"I'll show you. You really need a bath yourself," Kenichi pulled Tima into the
bathroom and poured a liquid from a nearby bottle into the tub. A thick froth formed
on the water's surface.
"What's that Kenichi?" Tima asked, looking over the side of the bath in near
fascination.
"Soap," Kenichi replied sounding matter of fact, "Now what you have to do is take
off your clothes- No not yet!" he almost yelled, Tima pulled her shirt back down,
"Phew… Now, when you've done that you just get in the bath and soak yourself for a
while. Understand?"
"Yes Kenichi." Tima answered.
"Good, I'll leave you then. Watch out for the soap, don't let it get in your eyes or it'll
hurt. I'll come back in a little while." Kenichi walked out of the room and pushed the
door to, then sat down. He'd wait outside, just in case. After a moment, quiet
splashes began to emanate from the direction of the bathtub.
* * * * *
This is fun! Tima thought as she sat in the warm water. With her finger she cut
indefinite shapes in the bubbles on the surface. She wished Kenichi were here
though, why didn't he want to have fun too? Tima gathered up a lump of bubbles in
her hands and blew them away, and after floating for a few seconds they settled at the
other end of the tub. Giggling she began moving back and forth, watching the little
waves moving across the water and ignoring the copious amount of spillage.
Outside Kenichi smiled to himself. He could guess what was going on inside the
room, it was a good thing spilt water drained right away over the stone floor.
Wondering what it was like underneath the bubbles, Tima closed her eyes and put her
head under the water, then opened them again. It was pretty down here, with the light
playing on the surface. Realising she had stopped, Tima took a breath. That was a
mistake. As she took the breath Tima felt the water pouring into her mouth and nose
and down her throat, making everything hurt horribly. She got back above the water
coughing and spluttering, trying to call to Kenichi through the pain in her throat. The
soap was in her eyes and it was adding to the pain.
Hearing the sudden commotion Kenichi jumped up and ran into the room, "Tima
what's the matter?" he asked in a panic, seeing her sitting in the bath and gasping for
air.
"Ke- Kenichi!" Tima descended into another fit of coughing, covering her eyes with
her hands. Kenichi knelt down beside the tub and started patting her back.
"Come on Tima, just breath. It'll go away in a moment," he told her. He hoped she
hadn't taken in too much water. Luckily Tima hadn't. Slowly she stopped coughing
and looked round at Kenichi.
"How did you manage that?" he asked, helping her out of the bath and putting a towel
around her.
"I put my head under the soap to see what it was like, but when I tried to breath it all
went up my nose," Tima answered, a look of surprise on her face. Kenichi kicked
himself mentally, he should have realised Tima didn't know you couldn't breath
underwater.
"Just rub yourself with that until you're dry," Kenichi told her pointing to the towel. He
looked the other way, and Tima did as instructed.
When she was dry Kenichi guided her from the bathroom and into his. Digging
around in the pile of clothes he produced a shirt and a pair of shorts that fell to just
below the knees, along with a pair of boxer shorts.
"Here put these on," Kenichi gave Tima the clothes and turned around again while
she put them on. A minute or so later he turned back. Tima was standing
wearing his clothes, and they just about fitted her.
Smiling Kenichi said, "We're going to have to get you some proper clothes some
time. You've been wearing boy's clothes as long as I can remember!" Tima laughed
a little at this, but the words reminded her of the pictures on the desk.
"Kenichi, are those pictures of me?" she asked pointing at Kenichi's desk. Kenichi
blushed heavily at this question.
"Well, sort of… Here sit down," he flopped down on one end of his mattress.
"When you were created Tima, it was because of a man called Duke Red. I think you
know him, he has a really big nose, like a beak," Kenichi made appropriate hand
gestures, making Tima giggle.
"Now Duke Red used to have a daughter, she was called Tima. He never told anyone
what happened to her, and the people who know aren't telling anyone either, all we
know is Tima died when she was twelve. Ever since it seems he's been a different
person, and he saw your creation as a chance to get his daughter back," Kenichi's face
turned serious, "She looked exactly like you Tima, and that's her in the pictures."
Standing up and walking over to the desk Tima picked up a picture of the girl running
down a path, "She looks very kind. What was she like Kenichi?"
"I don't know Tima, most of the people who had met her died during the rebellion or
when the Ziggurat exploded. My guess is she was a very nice person, since you were
made to be as similar to her as possible. In a way she was kind of like your sister,"
Kenichi said looking at the picture in Tima's hand.
"So Duke Red made me?" Tima asked.
"No, he paid a man called Dr. Laughton to make you."
"What was he like?"
"My Uncle was looking for him for a long time before he died in the fire in his
laboratory. Uncle once told me that he found it hard thinking of a man like Laughton as
a human. Apparently he did a lot bad things," Kenichi replied.
"Oh…" Tima said. Kenichi wondered what Tima was thinking, "I'd like to find out
more about Tima," she said. The way Tima had said the words made them sound
strange.
"Perhaps we will find out about her one day," Kenichi said.
Tima looked away from the picture to Kenichi, "What's a sister?"
The unhappy look disappeared from Kenichi's face and he laughed, "People who
come from the same parents are called either brother or sister. Sister for a girl,
brother for a boy."
"What's the difference between girls and boys?" Tima asked.
Kenichi caught his breath and blushed heavily, "Well uh… you see… oh I'll tell you
some other time," he laughed awkwardly. Tima just stared blankly at him, "Let's
have breakfast!" Kenichi jumped up.
* * * * *
"It seems things are getting a little tense." Aki said as she lifted two plates of food up
onto the table in front of Kenichi and Tima.
"Thanks Aki. How do you mean?" Kenichi asked. Tima turned to listen to Aki as
well.
"The situation between Japan and Metropolis is looking to turn nasty," Aki climbed
onto a chair and sat down on the other side. They were sitting at a table outside their
home, on the edge of the ruins. It was a beautiful day, with the sun beating down on
them so. On days like this the ruins almost seemed pretty, "It seems like it had
something to do with the Ziggurat. First with the solar flare incident, that cost them a
huge amount of money, and now the nuclear fallout from when the fusion reactor
blew up has reached them and is causing all sorts of trouble."
"What's Japan Kenichi?" Tima asked.
"It's the place I was born," Kenichi answered, "Hold on Aki, fallout? What nuclear
fallout? We were fine here."
"Most of the radioactive particles were blown into the air in the explosion and were
carried away like a cloud. Japan was unlucky enough to have been where most of it
came down, although a few other South East Asian countries were affected."
"So this could lead to a war?" Kenichi looked worried.
"Yes, it seems like it," Aki said sadly, "Whenever Metropolis starts a war it's almost
always been a genocide. But this time it may be different. Japan's the second most
technologically advanced country in the world, so a war between the two of them
could be terrible," Kenichi paled a little.
"Kenichi, what's a war?" Tima asked, looking a little scared. If it was something so
bad it frightened Kenichi then…
"Something very, very bad Tima. I'll explain properly later," he answered. Kenichi
didn't plan on telling her very much. There was no way he was going to let Tima get
mixed up in a war.
"Kenichi…" Aki sounded awkward, "I don't think you should stay here."
"What? Why?"
"It could be dangerous here. Whenever a war starts in Metropolis, all foreigners are
rounded up and sent to 'protection camps', to protect them from 'extremists'. In other
words the entire city becomes extremely racist towards anyone who isn't from this
country, along with anyone who associates with them," Aki looked at Tima for a
moment.
"Oh…" Kenichi understood immediately. He didn't like the idea of these camps
much at all, but if Tima were put in one too… and besides they would undoubtedly be
separated, "How long do we have?"
Aki looked down at the table, "If things keep going like this, a week at most."
"Can you find a flight to Japan for the three of us then?"
"I can't come with you Kenichi…"
"Why not?" Kenichi hadn't thought Aki had any reason to stay behind.
"No robots may enter or leave the city during times of political difficulty. It's to
protect against spies or terrorists."
"Once again anti-robot bias…" Kenichi muttered angrily.
"I ought to be able to get the two of you places on the next plane out though. The security
doesn't bother to scan people of course, since as far as they know no robot could
possibly look like a human. The worst that could happen is you could get searched."
Aki seemed resigned to staying. Kenichi hated this city more and more.
"Well, I'll go see about those bookings then…" Aki said climbing from her chair.
Her voice carried an air of forced cheerfulness. As they watched her walk away
Kenichi and Tima were quiet for a while, and then Tima asked, "What's happening
Kenichi?"
"We're going to go to Japan. It's going to be dangerous to stay here soon," Kenichi
stood up and carried the plates in doors with Tima following.
"Will Aki come with us?" she asked.
"No, Aki can't come with us, she isn't allowed to."
"I think that's unfair." Tima was standing behind Kenichi as he washed the crockery
under a stream of water falling from a nearby severed pipe.
"It is Tima… Metropolis claims to be a free land where everyone can be happy, but
under the surface there're so many bad things," Kenichi shook his head.
"You said earlier you'd tell me what war is." Tima said.
Putting the plates down Kenichi turned to her, "It happens when groups of people
disagree, and can't resolve the problem by talking, so they try to kill each other so that
there's no one left to argue with them."
"Why do they do that Kenichi?"
"Nobody really knows Tima," Kenichi sat down at the table again, "It's stupid really.
Why can people never resist the temptation to fight if talking doesn't work?
…Normally one side starts the war, and the other tries to protect themselves. But it's
never that simple…"
Tima sat down across from him, "Why?"
"Don't worry about it Tima. I promise you'll never need to know," Kenichi told her
with a smile. Inwardly he hoped he really could do this.
Tima smiled back, "Okay Kenichi."
* * * * *
The airport was a lot busier than Kenichi remembered it being when he had arrived
with his uncle all that time ago. Back then, you couldn't move without brushing
against someone, now it felt like he was out on the streets of the network again, being
dragged along with the others by the force of the crowd. There were all sorts of
robots around them that he had never seen before. This was because of the fact that
the zone number restrictions had been temporarily lifted so that the robots could do
several more jobs than they normally would, to compensate for the lack of workers
because of the chaos the Ziggurat had caused. Of course the lack of workers had also
meant that most of the inhabitants of the slums had been able to get jobs too. The
government had decided to cut down on the number of robot workers being built
anyway, after the rebellion they had learned a valuable lesson.
Kenichi, Tima, and Aki were holding each other's hands in the hopes of not getting
separated. Koh, who had been brought out of his recuperative sleep to say goodbye
had wanted to come too, but of course they was no way for him to get around. As
Kenichi walked along, he thought back on what had been said.
* * * * *
"So you've got to leave, huh Kenichi?" Koh asked looking out at the three of them
from the screen.
"That's right Koh. Metropolis isn't going to be safe for us much longer." Kenichi
answered.
Koh's gaze turned to Tima, "Well Tima, I guess this is goodbye, I just wish we'd had
a chance to get to know each other better. Look after Kenichi for me."
"I will, and thank you for helping to save me," Tima said.
"He never once talked about anything but you when we were in the network you
know." Koh said with a mischievous grin, Kenichi blushed heavily and looked at the
floor, making Koh and Aki laugh.
"Aw man… I really wish I could go with you to the airport. Don't you dare forget
about us," Koh said, a mock scowl on his face.
"We won't Koh," Kenichi said grinning.
"By the way I've been thinking about what I'll do once I'm recovered properly."
"What?" all three asked.
"I think I'll become a wanderer in the net. I'm going to get stronger, that way no
virus'll control me ever again!"
"Well be sure to come visit." Aki said cheerfully.
"I will, don't you worry about that."
"Goodbye then Koh, and thanks for everything!" Kenichi said as they walked from
the room waving.
* * * * *
All considered, Kenichi was sort of happy to be leaving. Of course he would miss
Aki, but on the flipside, he'd be able to show Tima his homeland, he'd be able to see
Uncle Shinsaku again, and he was starting to really dislike Metropolis anyway.
"We're almost there," Aki said. The gate for the airliner to Japan loomed ahead.
As they reached the gate they dodged into an alcove area to say their goodbyes.
"We'll be seeing you then Aki," Kenichi said kneeling. His eyes stung a little.
"Goodbye Kenichi," the little robot threw her arms around her friend.
"I'll try and find a way to contact you. Maybe I'll look for the terminal on the net or
something."
"I'll keep it connected," Aki said stepping back.
"Goodbye Aki," Tima said.
"Goodbye Tima," Aki answered. It didn't seem like there was anything more to
say. Kenichi stood up.
"We'll see each other again," Aki said. It was a statement.
"Yes, we will Aki. Goodbye," and with that Kenichi and Tima disappeared into the
crowd. Leaving Aki standing silently watching where they had been for a while after.
********************************************************************************************
Well, that's it. The end of The Search For A Mind. Thank you to everyone that read
and reviewed the story. I plan on doing a sequel sometime soon, and I hope you'll
look out for it. Really this is only an end to a title that's becoming inappropriate.
Thanks everyone.
On I side note, to those out there who noticed it and thought, 'Hey wait a sec', fusion
reactors don't meltdown!' I'll try and give an explanation. Although I doubt I've got
it right…
Although a fusion reaction is cold, and therefore cannot normally meltdown, and
cannot produce radiation since it involves the fusion and not the fission of atoms,
there are rare circumstances under which a meltdown can still happen. I think. Well
whatever Rock did to the Ziggurat it made the fusion plant blow up anyway. I think
that button Rock pushed was a kind of emergency shutdown for the omotanium fusion
reactor. And what would normally have happened would have been the Ziggurat
would have simply stopped working. However, since Tima had pushed the reactor to
overload point already, slamming on the brakes caused the fusion reaction to reverse,
producing a fission reaction that the core was not shielded against, nor did it have any
coolant functions. The reaction quickly went into a meltdown and breached the core,
causing an explosion. If anyone can come up with a theory as to how Kenichi
survived this, I'd really appreciate knowing.
Thanks for reading! Please review! ^ _ ^
I wonder if this'll ever get riffed… Heh, I hope so.