The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Cartoon Network, Sunrise, and Bandai Visual.
THE BIG O:
ACT 28
SCAPEGOAT
Chapter Two: Invitation
A chorus of clicking filled the room. The man sagged and tore the pantyhose off his head in disbelief. Nearly everyone in the room was holding a pistol, many of them revolvers. They were all pointed at him. Big Ear, who had barely looked up from his newspaper called out in a bored voice. "Calvin, what are you doing here? You're not a cannibal, you're an accountant."
Dropping his fire axe, Calvin somehow managed to stammer out a reply. "W-well, you know, th-there's no food. The Paradigm Corporation has turned against us! W-we're afraid to drink the water! The Corporation might have poisoned it!"
"Go home to your family," Big Ear suggested. "Take care of them and find a place to hide until this all blows over."
"Oh…" Calvin seemed almost disappointed. "Okay. See you guys. Take care."
"Later Calvin," some of the men chorused. The bartender put away his gun and shook his head at the idiocy of his fellow man.
Meanwhile, at the grocery store, a robbery was in progress. "There's a food shortage and we're not going to starve!" A man with a gun shouted. "Guys, grab all the food you can carry! In the meantime, nobody move or I'll shoot this hostage!" He put his arm around a pale teenage girl whose red hair was cut in a pageboy style. She was the only one in the store who hadn't run for cover when the thugs burst in.
"Please unhand me," the small and petite girl said in a clear, yet lifeless tone. "I will pose no threat and I need to finish my shopping while supplies last."
"Shut up, Girlie, or I'll break your neck!" the gunman shouted, using his arm to drag the girl by the neck for emphasis. Well, he tried to drag her by the neck anyway. The girl was as stiff as a statue and must have weighed nearly three hundred pounds.
The girl's small delicate hand clamped around his wrist like a vice.
"Hey! What...!" the thug cried out just before the slender girl seized him with both hands and hurled him into his fellows. "Yagh!"
The thugs looked up from the floor to see the winsome girl pick up the pistol and examine it. Before their unbelieving eyes she bent the barrel of the gun using only her bare hands. It was then they noticed that the girl's white skin had no color whatsoever. Her face held no expression. She didn't even flex any muscles or strain when she ruined the pistol. It was as if she was the walking dead. She dropped the now useless gun and turned her cool unblinking gaze to the looters on the floor in front of her.
"Sh-she's not human!" one of the thugs cried out.
"Run!" another cried. Almost as one the robbers scattered.
The black clad girl's gaze remained on an object on the floor where the criminals had been. She walked over and retrieved a second pistol that had been knocked out of a looter's hand moments earlier. With this firearm she used her thumb and forefinger to pinch the barrel shut.
"D-don't move!" a quavering voice commanded. The girl turned to see one of the thugs had remained behind to point a pistol at her. "You… you must be an android! It's the only way you could be so strong!"
"Correct," said the girl.
"W-well d-don't try anything!" he stuttered. "Androids can't harm humans!"
"What makes you believe that?" Dorothy asked him. "I am faster and stronger than you, and it requires no skill to harm a mere human. If you intend to shoot me, I would suggest a gun with a higher caliber. There is no way that gun could stop me before you came to harm."
"I… I'm getting out of here!" the sweating crook decided.
"I won't stop you," the android girl assured him. "I have a list of errands to do and preventing your escape is not one of them."
It was surreal. The girl was such a little thing it looked like he could snap her neck easily. In reality, she could break his neck without trying. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the thug ran outside to join his fellows.
Turning to the grocer, Dorothy placed her hands before her and bowed. "Please accept my apologies for my remarks about humans," she said as if she was reading the words from a card. "I assure you, they were intended only to intimidate and I meant no insult."
"N-no!" the grocer stammered. "Think nothing of it, Miss Wayneright! You saved us all!"
R Dorothy Wayneright glanced around the store. The damage was done. The grocer and all of his customers were afraid of her. The fact that she had driven the looters away would be forgotten and all they would remember was an android stating how easy it is to harm a human. She retrieved her groceries and walked up to the counter that had formerly possessed a long line. "I will pay for my purchases now," she said quietly.
As Dorothy walked down the gritty and damaged streets of Paradigm she reflected on the fact many did not realize she was an android. Most androids looked no more human than a crash test dummy. She was the most lifelike android in existence that she knew of. Now the patrons at the neighborhood grocery store would gossip that what appeared to be a girl was in fact no more than a machine that mimicked humanity right down to the dainty gait when she walked.
Although Dorothy had never made any effort to hide her mechanical nature, she had no desire for the fact that she was an android to be revealed in such a threatening way. It would be more acceptable for strangers to mistake her for a human girl.
As she turned into an alley to take a shortcut, a greasy man with stringy hair seized her. "Come to poppa, sweet thing!" he said with a predatory smirk. "I've been watching you a long time, toots. Finally that cute little ass of yours will be mine!"
Dorothy frowned. Apparently, there were times it was advantageous for strangers to be aware that she was strong enough to rip doors out of their hinges.
Norman opened the door to the street outside. "Miss Dorothy? Are you all right?"
"I am fine, Norman," the android girl replied as she entered the mansion. Her black dress was ripped at the hem of her skirt and her hair was askew. She had a run in her stockings and one of her cuffs was missing its buttons. "There is a mugger a few blocks away who needs medical attention. At least I managed to get the groceries home intact."
"Well, the important thing is that you're home safe and sound," the butler sighed attempting to downplay the android's disheveled appearance. "After you have a chance to freshen up, Master Roger has a task for you."
Later, Dorothy had changed into a reddish black dress that had a white ruffled collar and formal white cuffs. A fresh set of black stockings and shiny black shoes completed her ensemble. Her red pageboy cut hair was again immaculate, her bangs broken by a black band. She entered the parlor, where she found Roger Smith admiring his collection of hourglasses and drinking a cup of tea.
"Roger," her voice as always sounded vaguely melancholy, "There was a robbery at the grocery store and an attempted mugging on the way home."
"Good heavens, Dorothy," the negotiator responded without emotion, "that's awful."
"It certainly is," the android agreed. "This neighborhood used to be very safe. I have never been assaulted on the street in broad daylight this close to home before. All of our neighbors must be in considerable risk."
"Neighbors?" Roger frowned. Dorothy had a point. The elderly mechanics who assisted Norman when he needed Big O repaired in a hurry lived in the area with their families. Together they formed a 'neighborhood watch' that had kept this particular illegal residence zone relatively free of crime unlike some others. Now with civilization crumbling around them it seemed that even this island of sanity was in danger.
"You don't even know our neighbors, do you Roger Smith?" the android said with emotionless disdain. "It seems odd. You make your living off your social skills, yet you choose to live the life of a hermit. You even keep Colonel Dastun, your best friend, at arm's length."
"What are you getting at?" asked the irritated negotiator.
"Just that it is strange for you to isolate yourself," the android stated. "Most people suffer isolation involuntarily yet you choose it freely, despite being gifted with charm, money, looks, and confidence."
"Now you're making me blush," Roger smiled sardonically.
"Is the reason for your voluntarily solitude related to your preference for black, Roger Smith?"
Roger's confidence seemed to vanish. "Uh…"
"Did someone close to you die?" the girl continued with childish audacity. "What was her name? Were you in love?"
"Where are you getting these ridiculous insinuations?" the negotiator snapped testily. "Why should I answer any of these questions about my past? You never hear me ask you about your past do you?"
"Perhaps you should, Roger Smith," the android replied coldly.
"I've had enough of this," Roger grumbled. "I've got a job for you that's perfect for that thick head of yours. I'm expecting a call from the Paradigm Corporation. I want you to invite the board members of the Paradigm Corporation over here between the hours of twelve and four. Tell them on no circumstances can I leave the house on business. Do you understand?"
"Invite them over here?" The android acted as if she had not heard him correctly. "In the past you have always gone to visit them. They are the rulers of the city after all…"
"Not for very much longer if things keep up," Roger smirked.
"Given the volatile atmosphere in the streets, it is unlikely that they would be willing to leave their dome at this time," Dorothy continued.
"Oh I'm supposed to risk my life by coming when they call?" Roger sneered. "No thanks! Not anymore! If they want my services so badly they can get them on my terms not theirs!"
"Roger, you're being childish…" the android scolded.
"I haven't been a child for a long time," Roger leaned back in his chair. "I'm due to be childish for a little while."
Dorothy was silent. It was obvious that she did not understand what he was getting at and that he was deliberately keeping her ignorant. "Very well," she said finally. "I shall answer the phone and relay your instructions."
Later that day, the phone rang.
"Roger Smith's residence," Dorothy said when she answered it. "Dorothy Wayneright speaking."
"Miss Wayneright?" an overly chipper voice asked her. "Veronica Oldcastle, Paradigm Public Relations. Mister Erskine of the board of directors would like to meet with Mr. Smith. When can he come in?"
"Roger Smith is not able to leave the house right now, but will invite Mr. Erskine and the other members of the board to meet at his house at two o'clock," Dorothy stated calmly.
"Perhaps you don't understand," Ms. Oldcastle's voice sounded a little snippier. "This is the Francis Erskine, Vice President of the Paradigm Corporation I'm talking about."
"I understand," Dorothy responded with unflappable calm, "but Mr. Smith is very busy and is unable to leave the house at this time. If two o'clock is too early, may I suggest three?"
"May I inquire what business is more important than a meeting with Mr. Erskine?" Ms. Oldcastle's already shrill voice sounded a little shriller.
"Certainly," Dorothy replied. "Mr. Smith sleeps late until twelve. He has breakfast at that hour. After that he brushes his teeth and washes. He then sits at his desk and meditates with his hourglasses. I believe that he is planning to construct a new one to replace the ones that were destroyed during the attack on our house three weeks back. He then intends to survey the house to see if any new repairs are needed. He will probably brood until five or six, and then will go out on the terrace to watch the sunset with me. After that he will probably dine."
"This is ridiculous," Ms. Oldcastle's snippy voice was quite shrill now. "This is Francis Erskine we are talking about. With Alex Rosewater on sabbatical, Mr. Erskine is in charge of the Company."
"I see," Dorothy said with quiet calm. So the official story was that Rosewater was on 'sabbatical'. "Please extend my congratulations to Mr. Erskine. If three is too late, would he be able to make it at one?"
"Please hold," was Oldcastle's cold reply.
Dorothy stood as silent as a sentinel for over a half hour. Finally Veronica Oldcastle's high-pitched voice came back on. "Mr. Erskine and the board members can be there at five."
"I'm afraid that is impossible," Dorothy replied stoically. "Mr. Smith dines every night at six and it is likely that the meeting will take more than an hour. Could you arrange for them to arrive earlier?"
"This is preposterous!" Oldcastle squawked. "Mr. Erskine is a very important man!"
"So is Mr. Smith," Dorothy retorted without a shred of malice. "I regret that the conditions are preposterous, but that is irrelevant. Mr. Erskine and the members of the board wish to procure the services of my employer. If his services are truly important, they will need to see him before four o'clock."
"Please hold," came Oldcastle's exasperated order.
It was another half hour before the woman returned on the line. "Mr. Erskine and the board members will be at the Smith residence at three."
"Very good," Dorothy nodded. "Unfortunately the garage is in a state right now, so the board members will have to park on the curb. I trust that the appropriate security measures will be in place. Good day," with that the girlish android hung up the telephone.
She strode into Roger's office to find him measuring fine white sand for an hourglass. He and Norman had been checking the mansion's supplies and security measures that day, and he needed to relax. "Roger," she called softly in her melancholy voice. "Mr. Erskine and the members of the board will be arriving at three."
"Good," he nodded with a small smile. "I overheard part of your conversation, Dorothy. You handled yourself like a pro."
"Thank you Roger," the android acknowledged as she walked daintily to his desk. "I must confess that I do not understand the reason for insisting that the board members of Paradigm come here to your office. With the public unrest the way it is you are asking them to put their lives in danger."
"It's all part of the bargaining process," the negotiator assured her. "If I came to them, they would be in control. By forcing them to come to me, I'm letting them know that their power isn't absolute anymore."
"Is that wise?" Dorothy asked. "They may decide that you are a danger and send someone to eliminate you."
"They won't do that as long as they need me," Roger smirked coolly, "and I intend to make sure that I always remain needed."
"I'm sure you know best," the dainty android replied, but it was difficult to determine whether she uttered those words in sincerity or sarcasm.
On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Norman's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:
Next: Members of the Board
