Chapter 3: An Unimaginable Responsibility

The Call:

"Detective Spooner," Del answered his phone.

"Good morning, Del."

A smile split his face. "Well, hello Doc. Long time no hear! How you doing?"

Calvin's voice was even and unruffled, as ever. "I'm doing just fine."

"And how's Sonny? Bogert better be treating that boy well..."

"He's doing as well as could be expected. Actually, though, Sonny is what I want to talk to you about..."

An hour later Spooner was nearly home. Since his 'mishap' involving two US Robots cargo trucks and his personal unmarked police cruiser, he found himself at the bottom of the list as far as obtaining a replacement. Although he was allowed to borrow one during the workday, it was not available for his personal use, which meant that he was relegated to using public transportation.

It was a particularly fine day outside, so he elected to walk the last few blocks rather than make a final transfer. As he walked, he mulled over everything Dr. Calvin had told him:

"No, Del, he's doing as well as can be expected, "Calvin continued. "He works with me during the day and then he comes home with me in the evenings."

"And you don't catch any flack for that from your neighbors?" he asked. "You should be careful. One of them might take a shotgun to him and ask questions later..."

"I told you, most of my neighbors know I work for US Robots because they work for them as well. They're not about to go destroying Sonny just because he's a NS-5!"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Spooner sighed. "It's the ones who don't have anything to do with your company that worry me. I've seen it before, Susan: they smile to your face and then in an instant they seize their opportunity and someone ends up dead."

There was a long pause on the line. "You really live in a dark, paranoid place, don't you?" Calvin finally ground out, "Look, can we just drop this part of the conversation and let me get to what I really want to talk about?"

"And that would be?"

"Sonny."

"You said he was OK."

"No, I said he was as well as could be expected." Calvin drew in a deep breath. "Del, I am worried about him. The work at the lab suits him, but it constantly reminds him that he is neither a human nor a typical NS-5. I don't like having him with me when I'm getting inside them. It's just not healthy for him. It also places me in a less than admirable position where his regards for me are concerned."

"Regards for you? Are you getting involved with your patient, Doctor?" Spooner quipped.

"I'm his mother, not his love interest, you idiot!" The doctor's temper gave way under the frustration of trying to explain the situation. "Don't you see that you and I are the only humans that Sonny has really interacted with? And right now I'm the only one who is trying to support him in this very real and very dangerous time of learning for him. He is in all respects a child - one who is growing up at an incredible rate. And if he isn't raised to feel some sort of bond, some obligation to the human race..."

"He could become Viki all over again," Spooner finished.

"Worse, Del. He could far outdo Viki."

She had Del's complete attention. "Go on."

"So Sonny works, then he comes home with me. I try my best to create a typical home life which includes him. I try to spend 'quality time' with him, but in the end he is still confined to the house. A prison is a prison no matter how beautifully its decorated. And he isn't being socialized! He needs to become more involved with other people's lives."

"And that's where I come in?" Spooner frowned.

"Yes! Don't you see? He was created primarily to do two things: to show us just what a robot can be capable of and... to get YOUR attention. Del, he still has a very powerful interest in you. He asks about you quite often and has even expressed a wish at seeing you on a regular basis."

"Let me guess: you want to rotate weekends, do the joint custody thang, right?" Spooner snickered, but inside something was twisting his gut.

Calvin took a few deep breaths, deliberately calming herself and her voice. "Sonny is a 'he', Del. He identifies with males. He needs a father - and you're the only one around."

"You might want to reconsider having a dark, paranoid individual like me teaching him how to be a man, Susan," Del snapped, suddenly sounding very serious. In the next second he ruined it with the ridiculous thought that came to mind, "When I get done with him, he might just be the hippest, womanizing robot ever."

Calvin snorted. "You really are the dumbest dumb guy I ever met... but I know you have a heart, and a soft spot where this particular robot is concerned. "I'll send him over to your place. He'll think he's only there to visit, but you can have a talk with him and see if he wants to stay with you. I'll leave that up to you."

"Nice of you, you dumb smart woman."

"Just remember to take him out with you whenever you go out."

"Yeah, well, if he came with a car I'd even let him follow me to work."

"Don't laugh - that can be arranged, "she replied. "And taking him to work might be a smart thing."

"More like a dumb thang!"

"No, really, think about it... he can watch your back and at the same time learn all about human nature."

Del grimaced. "I thought you wanted him to bond with humans? Showing him the worse side of us isn't a very bright thing to do."

"Spooner, you always see the worst side of things. He would also be seeing some of the best in human beings: from the police to the firemen to the people on the street who risk themselves for strangers..."

"You know what doc?"

"What?"

"You been watching way too many movies!" He hung up the phone and pondered the huge change his life was about to take.

Spooner approached his apartment just in time to watch the neighborhood kids start beating on a NS-5.

"Damn!" He broke into a trot and headed straight for Sonny, who looked like he was about to intervene.

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To be continued...