"Dad, you know Aida," Mace said as he and Roxanne ran into Macklnn as they headed toward the lab.
"Aida," Macklnn greeted warmly, shaking her hand enthusiastically and with a warm smile that reminded her of Mace's.
"Greetings, Mr. Mind," Roxanne said shyly, smiling at the man. It had been a few months since he'd last checked up on her, but he looked mostly unchanged. "It's nice to see you."
"It's good to see you, as well, Aida," Macklnn said. "Mace," he went on, looking to his son, "have you seen Fid?" Mace snapped his fingers in front of Macklnn's eyes, and the man blinked in response. Mace smiled and hitched his thumb over his shoulder.
"I saw him headed that way," Mace answered. "I think he and Minion were going to show Gilda around while Aida and I are in the lab."
"Thank you. Just remember to wear goggles, especially you, Aida. Mendje would kill me if I let either of you go in without goggles," he muttered as he touched heads with the both of them and went off in search of Fid.
"What was that about?" Roxanne asked as Mace led her into a back hall and set his bare hand into a scanning pad. "The snapping I mean?" she imitated the action as she spoke of it.
"Dad blinds himself a lot in the lab," Mace answered, setting his eyes to a second scanner as it accepted his handprint. "That's also why he insisted we wear goggles. Mom goes ballistic when he blinds himself."
"That makes sense," Roxanne answered, watching as Mace next pressed first his lips and then his tongue into two more scanners. He wiped at his mouth as it accepted the print, making a face.
"We need to leave cleaning agents here for that," he muttered to himself. Roxanne was now slightly confused—she was familiar with the hand and eye scanners, and with the need for DNA verification—they had those on their front doors at home—but why in the world would he use his lips or tongue?
As if he had read her mind, Mace began explaining the moment the door opened to allow them entrance.
"The Cerulean lips and tongue are just as individualized as a fingerprint, iris, or retinal scan. Dad designed it to add extra precautions against invaders, and I'm working on a dental-imprint addition in my free time—I'm not sure that it's impossible, but it is highly improbable for any two people to share the same exact dental records."
"What if someone gets a tooth knocked out?" Roxanne asked.
"Someone else who's in the registry can let them in and update the imprint."
"What if no one else is in the registry?" Mace paused and thought for a moment.
"In my home that wouldn't be a problem," he decided. "All three of us are on the registry. And even if it was just me, you face the same trouble with any sort of print—if you lose your eyes, or burn your fingerprints off, etc."
"It just seems like a bit of a logical fallacy," Roxanne went on. "You'd have to update the registry constantly—your teeth are constantly changing by the smallest degrees, and if you didn't update it for a few days, you could be locked out even if you pass all the other features. And it wouldn't be too difficult for anyone who really wanted to get in to get access to your dental records and create a mold of your teeth…" Mace facepalmed.
"Well, I'm an idiot," he proclaimed, looking completely matter-of-fact as he said it. He picked up a pad of paper nearby and quickly scribbled a note to himself, speaking aloud as he did so. "Note to self," he mumbled, "Destroy…Dental…Imprinting…Scanner."
"You don't have to destroy it!" Roxanne said quickly. "I wasn't trying to say it was bad, I just…I—I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know anything. Don't listen to me. I'm an idiot."
"You're not an idiot," Mace snorted, tearing off the note and hanging it on the nearest hook. Roxanne realized as she looked around that various notes and sketches were hung up on hooks that were attached to strings, which hung from the ceiling in various spots here, there, and everywhere. He beckoned her to follow him, and she did. "I've seen your grades up on your Class Wall. You're a solid B student, and that's nothing to laugh at."
"Right," Roxanne said, rolling her eyes as they came to a halt at a small table. What looked to be a metal frame stood at its center, and over it hung the sketches Mace had drawn up the week before. "I'm a B, sometimes C student in a school where everyone else has straight As. I'm anywhere near intelligent."
"I'm not everyone, Aida," Mace laughed. Roxanne gave him a quizzical look, and Mace cocked his head curiously. "You…Really think everyone else has straight As, don't you?"
"Well they do!" Roxanne exclaimed.
"Aida," Mace laughed, his face softening, "I think someone has seriously been pulling your leg!"
"What are you talking about?" Roxanne demanded, crinkling her forehead.
"What do you think the point of grades would be if everyone got straight As?" Mace demanded.
"I—I don't know," Roxanne said with a shrug. "To make sure people aren't shirking off?"
"Well, that's part of it, but—look," Mace said, starting over. "There's no point to any sort of grading system if anyone is getting the same exact grades. Yes, compared to what we know of the human race, we are hundreds and thousands of years ahead, but that doesn't mean we're all uniform. Saying that all Ceruleans get straight As is like saying all humans failed at every single thing they did within their own school systems. You're probably at least three hundred years ahead of where you came from right this very second. In fact, it's probably more than that. Who in the world told you that everyone got straight As, anyway?" Roxanne paused.
"Reptung," she admitted. Mace rolled his eyes.
"Goodness, I'm glad I don't have siblings! Your brother isn't one to talk—he's got good grades but not much else, and you've got better grades than a lot of the girls in your class. Deldja's got worse grades than you have, and she's no less than average."
"Sorry," Roxanne apologized, looking down.
"Sorry?" Mace asked. "Sorry for what?"
"For being an idiot," she answered.
"Aida, aren't we having this same conversation right now?" Mace prompted, catching her eye. She smiled a little and covered her face with her hands, causing him to smile again as well.
"Oh, shut up," she laughed. "You know what I mean!"
"Yes, I know precee—precisely what you mean," Mace said with mock seriousness. "You're sorry for being an idiot about being stupid. Perfect sense is made of this situation by any and all who choose to ponder it. What could be more clear?"
"You're a jerk," Roxanne accused, but he could tell from the look on her face when she peeked out at him that she didn't mean it. She was so cute like that, with her face all red and her smile so wide, and a laugh carried on her voice…Mace shook his head slightly.
"Well, you shouldn't be a jerk to yourself," he returned. "You're very intelligent, and shouldn't underestimate yourself. You're probably smarter than anyone on your planet ever was. Except maybe that Einstein fellow. He was a genius in his own right, regardless of how long ago his concepts were thought up by Cerulean scientists."
"How do you even know about this stuff?" Roxanne suddenly demanded. "Everyone seems to know more about where I came from than I do, and iI'm/i the one who's supposed to feel pride in who they are! How am I supposed to so much as respect a dead culture I hate and simultaneously know nothing about?"
"No one's ever let you in the Pod?" Mace asked.
"What Pod?" Roxanne asked quickly.
"The Pod you arrived in," Mace said. "No one's ever let you see it?" Roxanne shook her head. "That's not right," Mace said. "I've had access to the Pod since I was ten. It has a plethora of information on your people within it, though, obviously, not all of it. But it's still fascinating! You really should see it—Oh! We should go look at it now! Come, Aida," he said, grabbing Roxanne's hand. "We should go look at it now, before we forge—OOF!" Mace dropped Roxanne's hand as he tumbled over a counter he had forgotten was there, scattering various mechanisms and tubes to the four winds and literally doing a somersault in midair. He landed on hoverboard and went spinning, stopping when his head cracked into the wall.
Had he stopped after the somersault, Roxanne might have giggled, but as it was, she gasped, rushing to his side with worry written all over her face.
"Mace," she shouted, leaping onto and then over the same counter he'd fallen over. "Are you all right?" Mace blinked as Roxanne skidded to a stop beside him, and he looked up into her face. Then he grinned.
"I'm fine," he answered. "I am perfectly, one hundred percent fine! Now, let's get to that Pod—" Roxanne giggled and grabbed at Mace's hand before he could drag her out of the lab.
"Maybe we should just look at the robot's skeletal frame," she offered, gesturing to the area of the laboratory from whence they had just come. "That's what you asked me over for, wasn't it?"
"Oh, yes," Mace answered, slapping his forehead. "Goodness gracious, I'd almost forgotten about that! I wanted to show you this remarkable thing you can do when you press down on the end of what I have of the tail so far. It's a fluke, and I plan on working it out with all the other bugs, but I'm sure you'll be able to appreciate this, especially since you…"
Roxanne tuned out as Mace stood up and grabbed her hand to pull her back over to the table where the backbone and the beginnings of legs had been worked out. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she was almost certain he could hear it, but he didn't give any indication that he could. They were there for at least two hours as Mace finished up showing her the spinal column before taking her around the lab, introducing her to a few of the projects he was working on. She loved the way his eyes shone when he talked about what he was doing, and it wasn't too hard for her to jump to the conclusion that he didn't have many chances to explain all of the many functions of his designs with his peers.
He never let go of her hand once while they were there.
As Roxanne met up with Gilda at the door, the two smiled at one another and hugged. Mace and Minion stood in the door, waving as they made their way out of the house and down the path that would take them home.
"I fully intend to see you here again tomorrow, Aida!" Mace called cheerfully. "I may even have to fly over to pick you up, if you aren't here by noon!"
"I will be!" Roxanne promised with a wave and a bright smile in his and Minion's direction. But maybe she wouldn't be. Maybe she'd be a little late.
Maybe just enough to make him come and get her.
Author Comments: Not really much to say on this chapter…But I just want to thank everyone who's been reviewing my story! Your reviews mean the world to me! ^.^