Author's Note: Thanks to a certain review or two, the hiatus has been lifted and the passion to continue has rekindled in me once again =)
Enjoy Chapter 9! Don't forget to review please! Feedbacks are encouraged and they encourage me to keep on going!
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"Who's Dr. Thomas Light?" Cameron scratched the back of his head as his mind went through some sort of preponderance, as if he was trying to envision the man his best friend had mentioned earlier.
"He's some dude, or rather, professor…" Nate cleared his throat, correcting himself, as he wanted to make the man that could potentially hold the key to his robot problems sound extremely important, though no one said he wasn't. "He's a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCLA."
"UCLA? No surprise…" Judy spoke matter-of-factly… especially since that's one of her choices for college. That… and along with USC, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego.
"Yup… and I remember hearing his name on TV while watching the news on Channel 7."
Right before that damn robot surprised the hell outta me at the family room window…
Cameron sarcastically scoffed at the last few words in Nate's sentence. "Pfffttt… since when did you watch the news?"
The brunette rolled his eyes. "When I've decided to grow a brain… a task you seem to lack proficiency in…" Nate smirked as the spiky blonde glowered, towering above him… but only since his best friend was slightly taller than him… and the fact that Nate was currently sitting down in the swivel chair and Cameron was standing upright.
"Anyways…" Judy rolled her eyes at the intimidation contest going on in front of the computer. "What does the e-mail say? Anything good."
"Right, the e-mail…" The Figueroa shifted his posture so that his back was perfectly straight. He felt he sounded better when sitting like such. He began to read the following:
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Dear Mr. Figueroa,
First, I'd like to give you my utmost gratitude for e-mailing me about your curiosity in robots and their impact in the human world. It's a very exciting time in this field of research with high hopes for a more efficient and positive future.
—
All three teenagers snorted and rolled their eyes at the seemingly clichéd remark.
—
I would be delighted in providing some assistance for your project with an interview. However, as I've previously mentioned that this is an exciting time in the field, my schedule is currently swamped and—
"Hmmph, well that was certainly no help!" Cameron spoke his mind, cutting of Nate in the process.
"Dude, I wasn't finished reading…" Nate stated rather dryly, furrowing his eyebrows in displeasure.
"Oh…"
"Dude, Cameron, you always do that…" Judy pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Let Nate finish reading already…"
"Jeez, okay okay. Sor-ry…" the De La Loire's voice was rather defensive.
"Okay, anyways…" Nate cleared is voice as he resumed:
—
—And I can schedule an appointment for you to meet with me tomorrow, Saturday at 11am, on the UCLA Campus in my office. If you can make the appointment, please call me immediately at 310.555.0301. If I don't answer, please leave a message in my voicemail.
Once again, I thank you for your interest in the field of robotics.
—
Dr. Thomas Light
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of California, Los Angeles
310.555.0301
light AT ee DOT ucla DOT edu
—
"So Saturday at 11…" Judy repeated the appointment time from the e-mail.
"Yup…" Nate softly retorted, wrapping his hands behind his head.
"So… you're gonna go?" Cameron stated the question that was in fact on everyone's mind.
"Well… I mean—… I… guess so…" Nate answered, hesitation present in his voice. "I mean… this guy is probably the only one that can help me out right now…"
After the Figueroa finished speaking, the room suddenly fell awfully silent, save for the sprinklers that can be heard from the backyard, watering the garden by the swimming pool. Each teen either looked off into space within deep contemplation, or just fidgeted around, trying to find something to ogle at instead of being part of the now awkward situation.
"C—… can I go with you…?" Judy suddenly broke the room's dead aura. "I mean… you'll need some kind of moral support when you go over there and explain to Dr. Light your situation." The Wu managed to beam out a smile. "Besides… I could always use an informal campus tour of UCLA, hahaha."
"Yeah, count me in too, dude!" Cameron jumped onto the bandwagon. "I could get my mom to take us there and then bring us home. Ah dude, we should chill around Westwood or something since we'll be down there anyways!"
As Nate stared at his two cheerful friends, he couldn't help but to release a smile as well.
How did I ever manage to get two of the most awesome-est best friends in the world?
"Thanks Judes… thanks Cameron… thank you guys for the support…"
As long as I have those two at my side… I can take on anything! Bring it on you damn androids!
Picking up his cell phone, Nate dialed the number given in the e-mail. Ringing four times, the call led to Dr. Light's voicemail box. After the beep, the shaggy-haired brunette left the following:
"Hello, Dr. Light. My name is Nathan Figueroa and I'm the one who sent you an e-mail in regards of a possible interview in the subject of robots and its impact on humans. I just wanted to let you know that I am available at 11am tomorrow and it would be great to meet up with you for the interview. If you can either give me a call back or an e-mail, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful afternoon."
—
The next day on a bright, beautiful, and mild Saturday morning, Nate, Judy, and Cameron hopped out of the De La Loire's white Mercedes ML350 SUV that Cameron's mom, Suzanne, drove. Looking around the vicinity of the Westwood Plaza turnaround, they took in the sights of buildings and trees and grassy knolls and students and faculty walking around, deciding to chill on campus on a Saturday.
"Merci, Madame De La Loire," Nate sheepishly waved to the blonde woman of 45 years of age in the driver's seat.
"Pas de problème, Nate!" Suzanne replied in a genuine French accent. "You guys have fun!"
"Maman..." Cameron closed the passenger side door before his mom would take off. "Rencontrez-nous ici après je vous appelle."
"Okay, mon fils. Bon, je vais faire des magasins à Beverly Hills. Bye and be careful!"
"Bye..." Cameron waved off as his mom drove into the turnaround, heading back towards Wilshire for Beverly Hills. "So, what do we do now?"
"Well…" Nate took out the piece of paper he printed out that morning. It was the most recent e-mail Dr. Light had sent him. "It says to go to Boelter Hall and his office is located in Boelter 6739C."
"Boelter Hall it is, then…"
"Oh, um…" Judy interrupted, causing the group to stop walking towards their intended destination. "Can we take the long way around? I wanna see more of the campus."
"Oh God, really now?" Cameron snorted.
"Well…" Nate took out his phone and looked at the time. It only read 10:15am. "We could, since we have more than forty-minutes to kill. Also, Dr. Light did state in his e-mail that he might run a bit late since he'll be coming from a conference meeting with the department."
"Sweet!" Judy face glowed with excitement.
"I guess…" Cameron conceded.
For about the forty minutes they had to spare, the trio was able to sample a bit of what college campus life was all about. They saw a variety of notable features, including the bruin bear statue, Bruin Plaza, the various brick façade buildings around campus, Ackerman Union, and seeing college students taking advantage of the grassy knolls and the perfect weather Southern California was able to offer during wintertime, including playing ultimate Frisbee, and reading and lounging around. They also noticed the extraordinarily amount of students heading to the library, hearing how it was the final weekend before finals week.
"I can totally see myself pulling all-nighters at the library…" Judy dreamily retorted out, causing her two male friends to raise their eyebrow.
"Riiiggghhhttt…"
"Shut up, Cameron!" Judy swung her mini-purse towards said dude.
"Alright…" Nate interrupted. "We should make our way to Boelter Hall. It's 11am."
"Right…" his two friends replied in the affirmative.
Thankfully, the signs were able to guide the trio to Boelter Hall, which was quite a bit of distance away from where they were standing. At about 11:10, a Boelter Hall Engineering sign block greeted them. Opening the glass doors, they stepped inside and made their way down the linoleum-tiled hall, their footsteps echoed off the walls with each step as the fluorescent lights shone on them. They noted along the way of the many different displays of engineering related items, including computers and robots.
Hmmm… interesting…
A particular display caught Nate's eyes as two familiar robots he saw on TV were right in front of him, though they were just models of the original robots created.
"Rock and Roll…" Nate began to peruse the snipped out article from the Los Angeles Times affixed on a corkboard next to the models. "Dr. Thomas Light…"
"Whoa dude…" Cameron gazed in awe at the robots, one featuring long blonde locks and another with short and spiky brunette hair. "They look so… real…"
"That's the point, Einstein…" Judy stepped next to Cameron, herself taking in the sight of the robots.
"These were the same robots I saw on TV along with Dr. Light…" Nate spoke after reading the article. "Rock and Roll."
"Interesting names for robots…" the spiky blonde began to take much interest at the blonde robot. "Dude… for a robot… she's pretty hot. The one named Roll."
"Aww, I think Cam's got a crush on a robot. How cute…" the Wu smirked at the glare she received.
"Shut… up…"
Nate rolled his eyes as the two continued to bicker. Luckily, his chocolate-toned eyes caught a board displaying the various faculty offices located in the hall.
"Let's see… Thomas Light… Thomas Light…" his eyes began to scan the different white-coated letters listed. "Aha! Dr. Thomas Light, 6739C, 3rd floor." He then turned back towards his friends, who were still ridiculously bickering about Cameron's crush on Roll. "Yo Cameron! Judes! Come on, we got to head up to the third floor."
"Cool… anything to get Cameron away from this robot…" Judy and Nate made their way to the elevator, but noticed that a part of their trio was missing. "Cameron?"
"Oh crap!" Cameron snapped out of his gawking of Roll and made his way to where his friends were.
"Here we are…" Nate read aloud the nameplate affixed onto the door. "Thomas Light."
"Is he here, yet?" Judy said aloud what was on everyone's mind at the moment.
"Let's see..." Cameron knocked on the wooden door a few times. When no response was given after about ten seconds, the blonde raised his fist to knock one more time, until—
"Hello…" the door opened rather quickly, revealing an old man in about his late sixties to early seventies, dressed in a white lab coat over his business attire, complete with a blue tie with white polka dots. He had a somewhat portly frame, complete with black bushy eyebrows, white-coated hair, and a distinctively long and fluffy looking white beard surrounding the lower part of his face. "Can I help you?"
Cameron and Judy stared wide-eyed at the old man for a few seconds before turning their eyes onto Nate, who is the one that wanted to see the doctor.
This is the old dude I saw on TV…
"H— hi… Dr. Light?" Nate wasn't exactly great with meeting new people, especially those that were a lot older and very likely more intelligent than him. Starting to sweat just a little bit and his face starting to become slightly flushed, he continued. "I— I'm Nathan Fig— Figueroa. I— I'm the one who e-mailed ab— about interviewing y— you in r— regards to ro— robots and humans."
Good Lord, finally got that out…
Initially, the old man looked at Nate as if he had no idea what he was talking about and was just there to waste his time. However, the professor's frown turned into a genuine smile as he suddenly recalled what the Figueroa was talking about. "Oh yes, that's right. Nathan Figueroa… from Reseda High, right?"
Oh thank God, he remembers the e-mails…
"Yes sir, that's correct."
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Thomas Light," the old man stuck out his hand, to which Nate firmly shook it in greeting.
"Oh, and Dr. Light…" Nate took a brief gander at his friends by his sides. "These are my friends, Cameron De La Loire and Judy Wu."
"Pleasure," Dr. Light shook the hands of the other two teenagers.
"Nice to meet you, sir," Cameron nodded with a smile.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Judy added in a curtsy along with a handshake.
"Please, please…" Dr. Light opened the door wider and he made a gesture for the teenagers to come into his small yet cozy office. "Please come in and make yourselves comfortable."
"Thank you very much," Nate nodded as he and his friends took their seats in the comfortable leather chairs in front of Dr. Light's desk. He noted the many awards and recognitions affixed onto the walls, all nicely framed, and giving off an aura that Thomas Light had certainly accomplished so much in his lifetime. In addition, his eyes landed on a particular picture of Dr. Light… with his robots, Rock and Roll.
"Anyways…" Dr. Light typed on his keyboard for a few seconds before going under his desk and pulling out three bottles of water. He proceeded to hand them out to his guests.
"Ohhhh, Fiji water!" Cameron happily began to drink the water. "Thank you very much!"
"You're absolutely welcome!" Dr. Light simply chuckled. "Now Nathan, I must say once again that I am pleased that you are interested in the field of robotics."
Yeah… right…
"Mmmhmmm…" Nate simply nodded in the affirmative. "Oh and please, call me Nate."
"Alright, Nate…" the bearded man shook his head. "Before I begin, I was just curious on how you were able to find me as a choice for your interview?"
"Well…" Nate opened the bottle of water, taking a quick swig of it before continuing. "I recall seeing a report about you on Channel 7 on you winning the Nobel Prize in Physics… and who better than to interview someone who knows a bit on robots than someone who has won a Nobel Prize on it."
"Oh gosh…" Dr. Light seemed to blush a bit on his accomplishment. "I mean, it really wasn't anything major. My mission in my research… and well, pretty much in life… is to design and create robots that would be beneficial to human society. And hopefully one day… they can be just like humans and be able to integrate into society without any prejudice or being second-class…"
"Mmhmmm…" Nate took out a notepad he'd brought with him and began to write his so-called notes. "And by prejudice, do you mean with all of the recent controversy that's been occurring with robots?"
"Recent controversy?" Cameron seemed to be bewildered by the subject.
"Your friend is talking about what's been happening in the Eastern San Fernando Valley as of late," Dr. Light readjusted his posture in his expensive leather swivel chair. "I believe the latest one happened in a warehouse off of San Fernando Road in Pacoima."
"Was anyone hurt?" the spiky blonde seemed more interested.
"No, but accusations have already been pinpointed at robots," Dr. Light sighed, flipping through some stack of papers on his desk. "They've been prime targets for being the scapegoats as of late, including robotic-scientists. Instead of blaming the real perpetrators, people today find it so easily to blame non-humans."
"Dr. Light…" Nate spoke, some firm seriousness in his tone. "Is there any possibility for robots to potentially harm humans?"
Judy decided to attach a supplementary question to Nate's. "And also, isn't there a law amongst robot designers or something saying that robots cannot inflict harm human beings for any reason whatsoever?"
"Well Nate and Judy…" Dr. Light laid his elbows on the table so that he could get a better view of his guests. "According to Isaac Asimov's Robotic Theory, there are three fundamental laws that robots and their designers must adhere to before they are brought into the human public sphere. The first one is that: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. The second is: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And lastly: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second law."
"Whoa…" The information given by Dr. Light seemed to have overwhelmed Cameron a bit. "Quite complex there, doc. And you've totally recited the laws by heart."
"Well, I've been in the game for about 45 years or so…" Dr. Light stated matter-of-factly. "So it's pretty much embedded into my memory."
"Dr. Light, I'm guessing that these laws can be broken, correct?" Nate asked another question.
Because I sure as hell know that Quick Man has definitely broken the first two laws… in addition to Metal Man and Air Man… can they all be connected?
"As sad and very frightening to say… yes… they can be broken…" the white bearded professor took a swig of water. "We have a set of ethics as well in the robotic-scientific community as well, that I'm very certain 99.9-percent of scientists follows… but…" He began to gaze out of the window towards the cloudless blue skies the Santa Monica Mountains abutted. "There are some rogue scientists out there that God-knows what they're doing with robots and how to get around Asimov's laws."
The room then became quiet. Nate wasn't sure on what to ask next as Dr. Light continued to gaze out the window. The Figueroa was also questioning whether or not he should tell Dr. Light of the many fiascos he's been in over the last few days… especially with the last one in North Hollywood.
"And I should know…" Dr. Light unexpectedly spoke, sporting on a grave and serious facial façade. "I know one personally."
As if someone cued for the dramatic sound-effect, all three teenagers widened their eyes at the news being shared to them. They weren't quite certain why Dr. Light was pouring his heart out towards them, but this prompted Nate to do something that he thought he would've done later during this interview.
"Dr. Light…" Nate began to uncomfortably shift in his seat. "The reason why I came here to see you today is…" He took another deep breath, bracing himself for the events to follow on what he was going to say. "I'm currently a victim and a witness to the breaking of Asimov's Laws."
Once again, an ambiance of silence and tension began to fill the room. Dr. Light gawked at the shaggy brunette with much apprehension. Cameron and Judy held an expression of worry for their best friend, hoping that Dr. Light can be of assistance.
"A—… are you certain, Nate?" Dr. Light's voice became grave.
"I wouldn't be here otherwise…" the brunette answered matter-of-factly, though with solemn in his voice.
"It's true, doc…" Cameron stepped in, causing the professor to sway his attention at the blonde. "I've been a witness to my best friend almost getting killed by these things…"
"Oh my God…" Dr. Light put a hand over his mouth, a look of shock in his eyes.
"I can also vouch for this…" Judy joined in as well. "We were attacked at the North Hollywood Orange Line station a few nights ago by two robots, and Cameron almost died that night as well, sustaining a concussion…" Though usually strong, Judy thought the waterworks were about to kick in her eyes. "I thought I was gonna die that night too… Doctor, you've gotta help us!"
Said doctor pulled a piece of tissue out of the Kleenex box and handed it to Judy. "Have you approached the police about this?"
The three teenagers looked at each other with uncertainty and bewilderment.
"To be honest, Dr. Light…" Nate inhaled deeply, exhaling in attempt to clear his mind of all the past events starting to resurge in his thoughts. "I don't think having the LAPD will help... plus I'm deeply afraid of any reprimanding or retaliation. I mean I've already got three robots tailing my ass!" Nate nearly screamed at the top of his lungs, but was able to calm himself down. "Excuse my language, Doctor…"
"No offense taken…" Dr. Light managed to crack a smile amid the seriousness of the situation. "Well, remember when I said that I knew a rogue scientist personally?" The three teens nodded. "Well, I'm not saying it's him or anything or even making accusations, but perhaps your problems are connected to him."
"Who is he?" Nate demanded.
Dr. Light fidgeted a bit, seemingly afraid to say the name that was on the tip of his tongue. "God, I haven't mentioned his name in years… but he's my old partner too, so you must understand it's also sentimental as well…"
"Right…"
"His name is… Doctor Albert W. Wily…"
"Isn't he the professor that was fired from USC some years back?" Judy inquired, recalling doing a current event report related to the name given.
"Yes, that's him…" Dr. Light simply nodded in the affirmative, gazing up towards the ceiling, trying to recollect about his old comrade. "Before that, we were research partners here at UCLA. We even built our first prototype robot together," he pulled open a desk drawer, taking and revealing a photo of him and his partner next to a freshly built robot. The trio wasn't able to discern the color of the robot due to the photograph being black and white, depicting how long ago the photo was taken.
"The robot was named Proto Man, and we wanted to do great things modeling on Proto Man's architecture. But then… we had a huge disagreement…" Dr. Light shook his head side to side.
"What happened?" Judy asked.
"Well… let's just say we saw our visions of robots differently..." Dr. Light face contorted in disappointment. "He resigned here and took a position up at USC. However, a scandal had broken out about him trying to make robots in the militaristic orientation and was ultimately fired from the university. Ever since, no one has ever heard from him. He's pretty much the subject of rebuke and jokes in the robotic-scientist community."
While Dr. Light was finishing up his story, Nate examined the photo given to them with much scrutiny… especially at the man standing next to Dr. Light…
God… he looks so familiar… his face…
After a few more moments of examining, an epiphany struck the Figueroa.
Oh… my… God… IT'S HIM!
"Dr. Light!" Nate alarmed the others with the sudden volume and distress in his voice. "The man next to you in the picture… Dr. Wily… I've seen him!"
The three others in the room looked at Nate with much shock and confusion.
"Are… you… certain…?" the professor's voice became rather shaky.
"Yes…" Nate began to recollect about the old man that nearly ran him over a few days ago on Ventura Blvd. The clumps of gray hair sticking out to the sides and the thick German accent were certainly not forgetful to the Figueroa. "Is he about your age and speaks with a German accent?"
"Y— yes…" Dr. Light managed to answer.
"A few days ago, while I was skateboarding home, an old geezer, who looks like the dude in your picture, nearly ran me over on Ventura Blvd in an alleyway. And that's when I was chased for several blocks to my house by a robot, named Quick Man, that he probably left there."
"My God…" Dr. Light wasn't sure on how to think at the moment. "He, or whoever it was, left it there as a trap… probably for someone to go into the alley and never to be seen again." Getting up from his chair, he began to write on a piece of paper. "I unfortunately cannot continue this right now as I have another conference to attend, but this is something that needs to be addressed." He handed the paper to Nate, the address 22800 Plummer Street, Chatsworth was on it.
"You live in the Valley too?" Nate inquired.
"Yes, in Chatsworth," Dr. Light began to grab a few things for his conference. "I may have a few things that can possibly help you out with your problems. Can you and your friends come over around 8pm tonight?"
Go over to his house? Is that wise?
Nate spent a moment pondering about whether or not he should visit Dr. Light's private residence, but—
"Yes, we will!" Judy answered almost immediately.
Geez, thanks Judy…
The Wu simply shrugged at the glare she received.
"Great! I'll see you all tonight then!" Dr. Light proceeded to lead the teens out of his office and eventually outside in front of Boelter Hall.
"Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Light!" Nate graciously shook the professor's hand.
"It's my pleasure, Nate," Dr. Light simply smiled before he took off. "Oh… uh… Nate, Cameron, and Judy?"
"Yes?" the trio replied in unison.
"Please… be careful whenever you're outside… and be careful who you trust…" Dr. Light said with much warning before he took off.
Well… that certainly didn't assuage my worries…
As soon as the Doctor was out of sight, the three of them made their way back to the Westwood Plaza turnaround where they would meet Cameron's mom.
"You think this Dr. Light will be able to help us?" Cameron orally mused.
"Let's just hope so…" Nate shrugged. "Oh, and thanks for taking up his offer on behalf of all of us… Judes."
"What?" Judy said defensively. "Nate, you know this is the only guy that can help us. I mean, it would be best to rid of our problems immediately before we have another NoHo incident…"
Nate sighed as he conceded. "Yeah… you're right… thanks again… both of you…"
Cameron and Judy stopped in place, smiling as they put their arms around the Figueroa.
"Hey, what are friends for?" Cameron simply beamed. "But you know what? I'm craving for some ice cream cookie sandwiches."
"Oh my God! Let's go to Diddy Riese!" Judy excitedly jumped.
OMNOMNOM!
Nate was certainly craving for something sweet. "Hell yeah, let's go!"
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Once again, please don't forget to review ;-) It would be super appreciated!