PART 10
"I never knew Wayneright had a son." Roger was gazing out the window of Dastun's office, still struggling with the knowledge that he had acquired only a short while ago.
"I don't have all the details yet, Roger, but it seems Timothy Wayneright did have one other child, besides the real Dorothy." Dastun was hunched over his desk, a variety of papers scattered across the wood surface. He held one up for Roger to see. It was a birth certificate. "It seems Wayneright's wife gave birth to a boy, about five years before they had Dorothy." He held up another document, and Roger took this one as well. It was a death certificate.
"This is dated only a couple of months after the birth" Roger commented, his jaw dropping.
"Yeah. I don't know the cause of death just yet, but it seems the baby didn't live for very long."
"Wayneright must have been devastated..." Roger said, his voice faint as his thoughts began to wander.
"Well, he did have Dorothy a few years later. That probably took some of the edge off it."
But Roger did not hear this last statement. His mind reached back into the past year. It conjured images of another figure wearing a red hood who had also come seeking to take his life: RD, a psychotic android that looked just like Dorothy...
"Dorothy!" Roger shouted, his mind suddenly bolting into the present once again. He put two and two together, and felt his stomach become a bottomless pit. He dashed out of Dastun's office, ignoring the protests of the Colonel as he went.
Roger slammed his foot down onto the brake pedal, the car coming to a screeching halt. He jumped out and hurried up to the front gate of the mansion. He gazed up at it and sighed. After the last time, he had been hoping he would not have to return here again.
It took him some time to force is way through the gates, but after squeezing his way between what space he could force, he made his way slowly into the house. As he navigated its dark corridors he cursed himself mentally. He should have thought of this before. If RD had been one of Wayneright's creations, why shouldn't there be more?
And Solderno's ghost! It was Solderno himself who had helped to build Dorothy, and her larger sister creation, Dorothy II. More than likely RD was also some of his work. He should have known to look here when Big Ear told him that rumor in the first place. He grunted and kept walking.
But he froze when something rose to his ears; music. The familiar sound of a piano being played filled the empty house. The flawless notes flowed hauntingly, and Roger knew immediately it must be Dorothy playing. But then a second sound, that of a violin, rose to join it. The two instruments worked together in perfect harmony, creating one of the most dreamy melodies Roger had ever heard. He continued slowly, not wanting to disturb the musicians. Finally he came before the same door that Dorothy had stood before not an hour ago. He pushed it open slightly, just as she had, and peeked in through the crack.
And there she was! Dorothy was seated at a grand piano, her fingers gliding over the keys expertly. And standing next to the piano was another figure, so startlingly like Dorothy. His face bore the same fine, aquiline features. His eyes glinted with the same sort of light as Dorothy's; the eyes of a doll. He played the violin, matching each note perfectly. Their duet rose to a heart-wrenching crescendo, and finally sank into a soft finale. They both paused for a moment, waiting for the last echo of the final notes to fade. Then Dorothy rose and came around the piano to the stranger...and smiled!
Roger's jaw dropped. Never had he seen her face light up so! Dorothy's eyes snapped shut, she jumped up, throwing her arms around the shoulders of this unknown figure. He threw his arms around her as well, his face matching hers, emotional now, full of life. He placed his hands on her hips and picked her up and then spun about the room with her. When they came to a stop he set her down, and she looked up at him, her eyes like those of a child seeing the stars for the first time.
"You really are Damian!" Dorothy said, her voice sounding so different to Roger. "You are my brother!"
"I have waited for this moment, Dorothy, when we would be united for the first time." His voice was deep, but had a rich smoothness that would have been soothing if Roger weren't already so alarmed. "The real Dorothy and Damian were never able to gaze into each other's eyes as we do now. That is why our father created us. We are the true image of his dreams." They shared another warm embrace, and Roger pushed the door open a little more to watch them.
"Dorothy...there is something else I must show you" Damian said, breaking the momentary silence. Dorothy took a step back, waiting. Damian's eyes rolled up, and a section of his forehead broke from him, sliding out to reveal the disk drive that was contained within his cranium. He reached up and slowly removed the disk that rested inside it. He held it up in the dim light, which sparkled off it.
"What is it?" Dorothy asked, her voice like that of a little girl gazing before a large gift with a bright bow tied upon it.
"Our father, creator, intended for us to share this." He placed it out to her, and she slowly took it in her delicate hand. "There is an incomplete program within you, Dorothy. Within both of us. And this is the final data needed to complete it."
"What...what does it do?" Dorothy said this in a whisper, awed by his voice.
"When you upload this into your central matrix, it will activate that incomplete program. It will activate the program that will allow you to experience true emotional states."
Dorothy's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking. Her mouth hung open, as if she were searching for the words that would express a dream come true. She stood, frozen as a statue, afraid to move, afraid to end this moment that would live forever within her memory. And across the room, behind the door, Roger wore the same expression.
"And what of you, Negotiator?" Damian said, turning on his heel to face the door that Roger was listening behind. Roger jumped, struggled to suppress a yelp of surprise. He hadn't even realized Damian knew he was there. He quickly regained his composure, and stepped into the room. Dorothy frowned when she saw him, and for some reason this upset him more than he had imagined it ever would. "Would you deny my sister this chance? Would you rob her of this dream? Or will you finally grant her that which has eluded her, despite both your best efforts?"
Roger straightened his tie and started straight into the emotionless eyes of the android that stood next to Dorothy.
"Damian, I presume? I believe we've already met." Damian offered a slight bow of his head, acknowledging this statement.
"He's my brother, Roger!" Dorothy said, not entirely sure why she felt the need to say this.
"I see" Roger said, his face turning stern. "And do you realize that your brother almost killed Angel, wrecked the police station, tried to kill me?" Damian's face remained neutral, un-reactive to Roger's words.
"Roger, why are you telling lies?" Dorothy shouted. Roger recoiled at this, feeling physically struck by her words. Dorothy looked up at Damian, desperately seeking validation. "Damian, that's not true...is it?" Damian closed his eyes, paused, the way a human would if they took a breath of preparation. Then he opened his eyes.
"Yes Dorothy, I did commit these acts the Negotiator speaks of." He did not turn his head to see Dorothy's injured face. He kept his gaze firmly rooted to Roger's. "I acknowledge my fault, Roger Smith, and I ask your forgiveness. It was the honest reaction of a concerned sibling. I merely wished to ascertain if you were truly holding the best interest of my sister in mind."
"And how do you explain what you did to Angel?"
"The woman was snooping where she did not belong!" Damian snarled, suddenly growing defensive.
"You almost killed her, and could have crippled her for life!" Roger shot back.
"Then she shouldn't have trespassed here!"
"Stop it!" Dorothy shouted. Damian and Roger both turned to her, their surprise clear. Dorothy also was surprised. She hesitated a moment, shrinking back, her hands over her mouth. But finally she calmed and addressed them both seriously.
"These are serious charges you are making, Roger. And Damian has offered good reasons for all of them. But I won't have the two of you fighting over what is best for me without giving me a say in it." She turned to her brother and held the disk out to him. "I thank you for giving me this option, Damian, but I must think about this decision before I make it. You understand, don't you?"
"Better than you can understand, Dorothy." He took the disk and placed it back inside the drive in his cranium. He gave Dorothy a final hug before she walked over to Roger.
"I am ready to go home now, Roger." She stepped past him, out the door, into the hall. Roger remained, dumbstruck as he struggled for the right thing to think. He looked at Damian, their eyes meeting, one soul beyond reproach, one empty as air. They gazed at each other, but finally Roger broke off the stare and followed after Dorothy.
"Dorothy..." Roger said as he started the engine. But Dorothy made no response. She sat, gazing out the window. Roger gulped, and drove. They remained, in silence, until they finally pulled into the garage below Roger's home.
Damian watched them leave from a window. His face changed once again. But this time, his eyes narrowed into a look of murderous rage, and his mouth turned down into a frown of hatred.
"I never knew Wayneright had a son." Roger was gazing out the window of Dastun's office, still struggling with the knowledge that he had acquired only a short while ago.
"I don't have all the details yet, Roger, but it seems Timothy Wayneright did have one other child, besides the real Dorothy." Dastun was hunched over his desk, a variety of papers scattered across the wood surface. He held one up for Roger to see. It was a birth certificate. "It seems Wayneright's wife gave birth to a boy, about five years before they had Dorothy." He held up another document, and Roger took this one as well. It was a death certificate.
"This is dated only a couple of months after the birth" Roger commented, his jaw dropping.
"Yeah. I don't know the cause of death just yet, but it seems the baby didn't live for very long."
"Wayneright must have been devastated..." Roger said, his voice faint as his thoughts began to wander.
"Well, he did have Dorothy a few years later. That probably took some of the edge off it."
But Roger did not hear this last statement. His mind reached back into the past year. It conjured images of another figure wearing a red hood who had also come seeking to take his life: RD, a psychotic android that looked just like Dorothy...
"Dorothy!" Roger shouted, his mind suddenly bolting into the present once again. He put two and two together, and felt his stomach become a bottomless pit. He dashed out of Dastun's office, ignoring the protests of the Colonel as he went.
Roger slammed his foot down onto the brake pedal, the car coming to a screeching halt. He jumped out and hurried up to the front gate of the mansion. He gazed up at it and sighed. After the last time, he had been hoping he would not have to return here again.
It took him some time to force is way through the gates, but after squeezing his way between what space he could force, he made his way slowly into the house. As he navigated its dark corridors he cursed himself mentally. He should have thought of this before. If RD had been one of Wayneright's creations, why shouldn't there be more?
And Solderno's ghost! It was Solderno himself who had helped to build Dorothy, and her larger sister creation, Dorothy II. More than likely RD was also some of his work. He should have known to look here when Big Ear told him that rumor in the first place. He grunted and kept walking.
But he froze when something rose to his ears; music. The familiar sound of a piano being played filled the empty house. The flawless notes flowed hauntingly, and Roger knew immediately it must be Dorothy playing. But then a second sound, that of a violin, rose to join it. The two instruments worked together in perfect harmony, creating one of the most dreamy melodies Roger had ever heard. He continued slowly, not wanting to disturb the musicians. Finally he came before the same door that Dorothy had stood before not an hour ago. He pushed it open slightly, just as she had, and peeked in through the crack.
And there she was! Dorothy was seated at a grand piano, her fingers gliding over the keys expertly. And standing next to the piano was another figure, so startlingly like Dorothy. His face bore the same fine, aquiline features. His eyes glinted with the same sort of light as Dorothy's; the eyes of a doll. He played the violin, matching each note perfectly. Their duet rose to a heart-wrenching crescendo, and finally sank into a soft finale. They both paused for a moment, waiting for the last echo of the final notes to fade. Then Dorothy rose and came around the piano to the stranger...and smiled!
Roger's jaw dropped. Never had he seen her face light up so! Dorothy's eyes snapped shut, she jumped up, throwing her arms around the shoulders of this unknown figure. He threw his arms around her as well, his face matching hers, emotional now, full of life. He placed his hands on her hips and picked her up and then spun about the room with her. When they came to a stop he set her down, and she looked up at him, her eyes like those of a child seeing the stars for the first time.
"You really are Damian!" Dorothy said, her voice sounding so different to Roger. "You are my brother!"
"I have waited for this moment, Dorothy, when we would be united for the first time." His voice was deep, but had a rich smoothness that would have been soothing if Roger weren't already so alarmed. "The real Dorothy and Damian were never able to gaze into each other's eyes as we do now. That is why our father created us. We are the true image of his dreams." They shared another warm embrace, and Roger pushed the door open a little more to watch them.
"Dorothy...there is something else I must show you" Damian said, breaking the momentary silence. Dorothy took a step back, waiting. Damian's eyes rolled up, and a section of his forehead broke from him, sliding out to reveal the disk drive that was contained within his cranium. He reached up and slowly removed the disk that rested inside it. He held it up in the dim light, which sparkled off it.
"What is it?" Dorothy asked, her voice like that of a little girl gazing before a large gift with a bright bow tied upon it.
"Our father, creator, intended for us to share this." He placed it out to her, and she slowly took it in her delicate hand. "There is an incomplete program within you, Dorothy. Within both of us. And this is the final data needed to complete it."
"What...what does it do?" Dorothy said this in a whisper, awed by his voice.
"When you upload this into your central matrix, it will activate that incomplete program. It will activate the program that will allow you to experience true emotional states."
Dorothy's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking. Her mouth hung open, as if she were searching for the words that would express a dream come true. She stood, frozen as a statue, afraid to move, afraid to end this moment that would live forever within her memory. And across the room, behind the door, Roger wore the same expression.
"And what of you, Negotiator?" Damian said, turning on his heel to face the door that Roger was listening behind. Roger jumped, struggled to suppress a yelp of surprise. He hadn't even realized Damian knew he was there. He quickly regained his composure, and stepped into the room. Dorothy frowned when she saw him, and for some reason this upset him more than he had imagined it ever would. "Would you deny my sister this chance? Would you rob her of this dream? Or will you finally grant her that which has eluded her, despite both your best efforts?"
Roger straightened his tie and started straight into the emotionless eyes of the android that stood next to Dorothy.
"Damian, I presume? I believe we've already met." Damian offered a slight bow of his head, acknowledging this statement.
"He's my brother, Roger!" Dorothy said, not entirely sure why she felt the need to say this.
"I see" Roger said, his face turning stern. "And do you realize that your brother almost killed Angel, wrecked the police station, tried to kill me?" Damian's face remained neutral, un-reactive to Roger's words.
"Roger, why are you telling lies?" Dorothy shouted. Roger recoiled at this, feeling physically struck by her words. Dorothy looked up at Damian, desperately seeking validation. "Damian, that's not true...is it?" Damian closed his eyes, paused, the way a human would if they took a breath of preparation. Then he opened his eyes.
"Yes Dorothy, I did commit these acts the Negotiator speaks of." He did not turn his head to see Dorothy's injured face. He kept his gaze firmly rooted to Roger's. "I acknowledge my fault, Roger Smith, and I ask your forgiveness. It was the honest reaction of a concerned sibling. I merely wished to ascertain if you were truly holding the best interest of my sister in mind."
"And how do you explain what you did to Angel?"
"The woman was snooping where she did not belong!" Damian snarled, suddenly growing defensive.
"You almost killed her, and could have crippled her for life!" Roger shot back.
"Then she shouldn't have trespassed here!"
"Stop it!" Dorothy shouted. Damian and Roger both turned to her, their surprise clear. Dorothy also was surprised. She hesitated a moment, shrinking back, her hands over her mouth. But finally she calmed and addressed them both seriously.
"These are serious charges you are making, Roger. And Damian has offered good reasons for all of them. But I won't have the two of you fighting over what is best for me without giving me a say in it." She turned to her brother and held the disk out to him. "I thank you for giving me this option, Damian, but I must think about this decision before I make it. You understand, don't you?"
"Better than you can understand, Dorothy." He took the disk and placed it back inside the drive in his cranium. He gave Dorothy a final hug before she walked over to Roger.
"I am ready to go home now, Roger." She stepped past him, out the door, into the hall. Roger remained, dumbstruck as he struggled for the right thing to think. He looked at Damian, their eyes meeting, one soul beyond reproach, one empty as air. They gazed at each other, but finally Roger broke off the stare and followed after Dorothy.
"Dorothy..." Roger said as he started the engine. But Dorothy made no response. She sat, gazing out the window. Roger gulped, and drove. They remained, in silence, until they finally pulled into the garage below Roger's home.
Damian watched them leave from a window. His face changed once again. But this time, his eyes narrowed into a look of murderous rage, and his mouth turned down into a frown of hatred.