Chapter 6 Welcome to Axiom
The spaceship flew for a very long time. In this time, Wall-e was sleeping on his side with one arm under his head. The spaceship easily flew faster thanks to the additionally installed engines.
When the spaceship turned, then Wall-e suddenly woke up and began to pull slightly. He was surprised at the moment of lowering his hands not knowing why they were so light, but after a moment he remembered that after all he was on a spaceship and here gravity didn't work. He felt like he slept for a few days because he felt a little better although he had a slight headache. He decided that he would try to move around a bit and maybe see if anyone was on board. He regretted that he had not done so earlier, but hoped that no one had noticed his presence. When he unbuckled the belt, he began to levitate again. He quickly grabbed onto one of the seat handles.
''(sound rumbling!)... Huh?''- Wall-e was surprised at the sound heard. He guessed what it might have been but had to be sure, so he touched his stomach with his free hand. After a few seconds, it rumbled again and Wall-e knew he was hungry. He began to open his bag in search of something to eat. However, he forgot about gravity for a moment and by this his tools started flying out of the shoulder bag. He quickly grabbed them before they could fly off somewhere and put them back in.
''Phew… they would almost fly away,'' – he said closing the bag ''Hmm, maybe there will be something in those containers on the table'' - he thought while looking at the table.
He flew over to the table and looked at what it contained. Inside the containers through the clear glass, Wall-e noticed water bottles in the larger one, while in the smaller one, candy bars.
''In this small one are the same stuff that Eve... Wait a minute... I should probably still have half as far as I remember'' - he said and as he checked his right pocket, there was indeed still half a candy bar there. He unfolded the paper and suddenly crumbs began to patch in the air. ''Oh. It even works for these things.''
Wall-e grabbed the crumbs and quickly put them in his mouth, and then ate the candy bar chocolate to the end. He found some trash can on the side and put the paper in it. When he returned to the table, he wondered how to open these containers until he saw that each has "open" button. He pressed a button on a small container and a bar flew out after a moment. He did this two more times and from the second container he took out one bottle labeled ''water''. He quickly put things in his shoulder bag and zipped it up so it wouldn't fly away again.
Before he returned to his seat, he noticed that nineteen feet away from him was the cockpit of the spaceship. He bounced slightly off a protruding door piece and began to fly toward the cockpit. He stopped three feet away in case anyone noticed him. He was surprised looking at the large armchairs because it was not visible to the eye that anyone was doing anything there. Grasping various elements on the wall, Wall-e approached the first pilot's seat and immediately noticed that there was no co-pilot.
''Normally it should probably be some kind of additional remote control, right?''- he wondered in his thoughts. However, when he leaned back to see the second seat, there was no one there either ''Hey, what the ...!?" - shouted surprised ''Why isn't anyone here?!''
There were control devices, but no one was controlling them. Wall-e now panicked. He didn't know the controls and also didn't want to touch anything lest he break something. He noticed a monitor in front of him on the control panel, which displayed some drawings. There was an almost identical spaceship drawn at the bottom, and a long line leading to the marked point at the top. According to these records, there are still four hours to go. Wall-e had no idea what the marked point might be, so he had to wait until the spaceship got there.
Wall-e left everything alone and returned to his seat. He buckled back in and began to watch the stars, which twinkled so beautifully that he could not take his eyes off them.
Four hours later
Wall-e looking at the stars, noticed that the spaceship was approaching towards the purple haze (nebula). In the distance behind the nebula was an object that Wall-e could see dimly. When the spacecraft passed next to the nebula, then there was still nothing visible for a while, and then Wall-e gasped:
''Ohhhhhh…This is…?''
Wall-e was so surprised that behind his goggles his eyes were wide open and his lips parted. He knew perfectly well what this huge ship was and looked on in disbelief that this ship was ''AXIOM''. He remembered from the advertisements displayed on Earth, but never thought he would ever be on it.
Being close enough, the spaceship slowly floated upward to where the hangar door was located. Wall-e wasn't sure if he should stay put, but on the other hand he didn't want to risk someone noticing him sitting by the window. He unbuckled his belt and moved quickly behind the corridor away from the windows. He was catching on the walls when he moved, but when the hangar doors closed...
(bump on the floor)…Ouch! … AGAIN!? - he muttered with his face to the floor. Once again it happened to him in the last few weeks that his face hit the floor. He didn't like it.
Gravity was restored so suddenly that Wall-e did not expect it at all especially since he was flying horizontally and was at the corridors without seeing what was happening outside. He slowly picked up though it was difficult. His limbs responded poorly for too long spent without gravity. He crouched down to move his limbs a little, then slowly stood up, bracing his hands against the metal wall.
''(SLAMMING SOUNDS!)''
Wall-e was surprised by the sounds. He was convinced that someone was about to come inside. He couldn't use the hatch with which he entered earlier because it was now above him and was too high.
At some point, the spaceship element on which Wall-e was based began to slide out from the left side (Wall-e didn't activate it). At the last moment Wall-e grabbed one of the metal thick bars of the ship support stabilizing the ship. He held it tight until the element caught on the floor. As soon as he let go then he fell to the floor, leaving a trail of dirt (the same was inside the ship on the armchair and part of the corridor). The metal support was large and wide enough to somehow hide Wall-e in case someone was looking in his direction or from above.
''Phew, somehow managed,'' - Wall-e breathed a sigh of relief that he managed to get out and even more that he didn't fall from a very high height when that support slipped out.
Through small gaps in the support he noticed that in front a few meters from his position was a large illuminated white rectangle on the floor. After looking a little higher, he noticed a huge machine illuminating five horizontal beams of blue light.
'' Hmm, it looks like something is going to be there. Just what...?''
''(EJECT SOUND!)''
This sound made him quickly look up coming a little closer. A section containing five capsules slid out of the ship. One of them glowed green.
''Eve'' - he said not too loudly so that no one would hear him.
One of the mechanical arms slid out of the top and one by one began to remove the capsules from the center. The first was the one from the left end that is Eve's capsule. Wall-e wanted to approach but quickly ducked when he heard the door open on the other side. While the capsules were being set up, a cleaning crew of four people emerged from the door. One of them was shorter than the others and looked like a teenager.
Each of them had a different type of equipment. The first one called as ''Moe'' (4 feet 9 inches tall) had a special container on the back and a brush with a handle, the second vacuum cleaner, the third washer and windshield cleaner, and the last had a large polisher. Wall-e noticed that there were crates erected on the right side. He came up with the idea of hiding behind them the moment those were turned around. Wall-e waited a while longer until they started first with the first capsule on the right and when everyone was turned around, Wall-e quickly snuck from the left to the right where the crates stood. He couldn't just go where Eve was because her capsule was the last from the left. He decided to wait for the right moment. He didn't notice that he left behind him boot tracks stretching several meters to where he hid.
When Moe finished the last capsule (Eve's capsule), he looked toward the spacecraft and at the floor where a long trail stretched from the part supporting the ship to the standing crates. Immediately his display, which resembled rectangular welding goggles detected the presence of contamination on the floor and displayed the words ''Foreign Contaminant''. Others were busy cleaning the capsules further, so Moe took the opportunity to clean the dirt left behind.
Wall-e seeing that one of them is going towards the ship, quickly moved to the crates next to him so that he would not notice him. He stood on tiptoe peeling himself against the top crate to see better. Now he could see everything from a different angle, but he could still see what was going on.
''Who are you?'' - shouted Moe
''AAAH!'' - shouted Wall-e turning around quickly and inadvertently knocking down the crate he was leaning on ''Oops''
Others were busy with their duties and the sound of other machines partially drowned out the sound of the falling crate. Wall-e didn't know what to say so he just kept going back. Moe turned off the viewfinder for a moment but when he saw that this stranger was leaving footprints, he immediately turned it on and then shouted surprised. Wall-e was a hundred percent dirty.
''AAHH!? No, no, no, no. I have to clean up! I have to clean up!'' he shouted moving towards Wall-e.
Wall-e was doing dodging. The moment he started backing up again he didn't notice the crate behind him (the one knocked down) and tripped over it now lying on his back. Before Wall -e could get up, Moe was on top of him and started scrubbing him on his face as well as his torso. For a few seconds, Moe cleaned his writing on the suit and his face a bit. Wall-e didn't like it especially when the foam was flying down his face and he couldn't breathe through it.
'' (cough) (cough) phfe ... Go... Go away from me'' - shouted Wall-e pulling him off. He also wiped off the foam left behind, which has not disappeared.
Moe tried again, but noticed the dirt left behind when young man quickly stood up and stepped back.
''AAH! Stop making everything dirty!''
Others watched the scene unwinding and laughed at it. They knew that Moe was quite obsessed with cleanliness, but they didn't think it was that strong.
Moe tried a few more times. Wall-e was sick of doing dodges so he just pushed him away. When Moe saw the dirt on his uniform he panicked so much that he spun around sometimes while scrubbing. Wall-e was so amused by what the little man was doing that he covered his mouth with his hands.
While the two seemed to be arguing with each other, a short guy (identical in height to Moe) in an officer's uniform came out of the elevator along with two robotic guards. On his uniform he had the name ''Gofour'' engraved. Hearing giggles, he approached the three laughing people.
''What is going on here?'' - he shouted drawing their attention.
Immediately all three stood at attention. Their cleaning equipments were large enough to hide Wall-e and Moe, and the sounds of the mechanical working arms drowned out their squabble.
"NOTHING, SIR," they all said at the same time
Gofour didn't bother with the three cleaners any longer and checked the capsules one by one with his held scanner.
Meanwhile, Wall-e was still trying to chase away the little guy, who kept waving that brush of his in front of him. At one point he pushed him away with his feet when he fell again. Now they were at a slightly greater distance from each other.
''AHHH, YOU STUPID ...!'' - Moe began to shout losing patience
''HEY, LOOK OUT!'' - Wall-e quickly shouted showing how one of the arms behaved strangely and flew towards Moe. Moe didn't have time to take evasive action and was pushed back so hard that he rolled to the edge of the floor, where the spaceship stood. Now he was dangling from a terrible height held by his arms.
''AAAAAAAAA! HELP! I'M ABOUT TO FALL!'' - shouted Moe, but suddenly the alarm sounded and no one heard his screams.
Moe couldn't longer hold on by the fact that his hands were slipping. Feeling that he could no longer hold on with his eyes still closed he prepared to fall. His hands let go, but surprisingly he didn't fall.
''Easy... I'm holding you.''
Moe was surprised that someone grabbed him. After looking up it appeared that he was being held by a dirty stranger. Wall-e in an almost seated position held him by one hand and then added the other because he was so heavy through the equipment that Wall -e clenched his teeth. With one leg, Wall-e supported himself against the parts sticking out of the floor, and with the other he tried to stand up to try to pull him up. Moe looking at him was really surprised. He didn't expect the dirty skinny boy to save him after the way he treated him. He was also surprised that all the lights in the around suddenly turned green.
Wall-e didn't notice it because his eyes were closed, but he heard the alarm for a moment. He struggled to pull him up and wasn't going to give up in spite of it. With one quick strong movement now in a standing position he managed to pull him up. Immediately Wall -e fell on his back breathing fast, and Moe lay on his side supporting himself with his arms.
'' You...'' - said Moe looking at him surprised '' You...You saved me? But why? After all, I... - he asked, not understanding.
Wall-e turned his head to him and smiled: ''That's because ... everyone would do that'' - he said catching his breath.
Wall-e now noticed that the lights were green and was surprised. Tilting his head back he noticed that one of the capsules was being lifted ''Huh?'' He quickly got up and looked from that direction. It turned out that it was his Eve was being lifted and placed on the hovercraft (MVR-A No.6). Seeing her being taken away he shouted: ''No, Eve!''
Wall-e's sudden standing up as well as his shouting surprised Moe. He had no idea what the stranger was talking about until he saw that he was running toward the elevator. Wall-e ran towards the elevator very fast but...BANG!
Wall-e hit right on the closed door. For a moment he lay on his back but quickly got up and started pounding on the door. The others looked at him strangely whispering among themselves.
''Hey, hey, calm down. This way, you won't lure that elevator - said Moe pulling him away from the door.
''But I have to go. I have to catch up with her. I have to... - he said quickly
''Do you mean…?
''Mhm'' - said nodding quickly
Moe thought for a moment and looked at the lights on the wall showing the position of the elevator.
''Follow me'' - he said, showing Wall-e to follow him.
Moe led Wall-e to a small door located 10 feet from the elevator where MVR-A is. It turns out that the small door was in fact a small emergency elevator. Moe was the first to enter and waited for Wall-e, but he stood uncertain.
''Why are you still standing? Come here''
''Are you sure I will fit in here?'' - he asked looking at the elevator inside
''You seem slim enough that it's no problem'' - Moe assured when Wall-e started go inside. ''You only have to keep ...(BANG)...your head bowed - said a little too late, when Wall-e entering hit his head right on the ceiling of the elevator when he tried to straighten up.
Inside was wide enough to fit two more people, but not tall enough for Wall-e to stand upright. So he decided to sit cross-legged for now until the elevator reached the top. When the elevator began to move , Wall -e and Moe were quiet. Moe looked at the young stranger, and his viewfinder continued to detect impurity. Moe sighed to himself and decided to turn off his viewfinder for a moment which he tucked into his cap.
Wall-e looked at him.
''I'm Wall-e,'' - he said with a smile extending his right hand toward him.
Moe looked at him and at his hand. Even without the viewfinder he could see that it was dirty. He pulled out a brush and began to clean his hand before accepting it.
''I am Moe,'' he replied shaking his hand.
After a few minutes the elevator reached the designated floor and they both stepped out of the elevator. They had to be careful because the corridor was terribly crowded. Everywhere, both robots and people driving various vehicles were moving along the designated white lines. Wall-e and Moe had to hold on to the wall more to avoid bumping into anyone. Wall-e frantically tried to find Eve until, after looking to the right, he spotted his target. Unfortunately, after taking a few steps, the hovercraft took off.
Wall-e without waiting any longer began to speed on his roller skates in the direction where Eve's hovercraft was. Wall-e couldn't hear Moe calling him by the constant sounds from the hallway. The traffic in the corridor was so crowded that Wall-e could barely avoid it. He was almost near where the corridor led in three directions but he didn't notice one of the vehicles that bumped into him. Striking, Wall-e rolled some eight feet and found himself roughly in the middle of the roadway. The white lines didn't go there, so he was safe for now. Apart from a few abrasions, nothing serious happened to him. Looking around looking for Eve, Wall-e spotted some white movement in front and after zooming in with his goggles he was already sure that there was Eve. As he ran on, he completely forgot about Moe.
After reaching the top, he noticed that the floor was now lit mostly with blue lines. In front of him from a side corridor emerged a floating blue hoverchair on which someone was. Wall-e stepped closer and was surprised to see that it was a very fat man weighing 660 lb or maybe even much more.
The man talked the whole time looking at the display in front of him and heard nothing more than sounds through the large speakers of the hoverchair. The strangest thing was that Wall-e must have avoid him quickly earlier because he almost bumped into him without paying attention. Even now he didn't pay attention that Wall - e was next to him.
''What's going on?'' - pondered Wall-e scratching the back of his neck , riding alongside all the time.
He heard another person next to him , who had the same huge obesity as the first one and strangely enough they talked among themselves even through the displays . They didn't even pay attention that they were next to each other and went their separate ways. Wall-e was very surprised by their behavior and didn't understand this.
''Hm, that was strange. Didn't they see that they were next to each other? ... WHOOH?!'' - He spoke to himself and then stopped surprised to see even more passengers dressed the same, talking and riding. In the around he could hear them talking among themselves on their screens projected through the hoverchairs. Now Wall-e had to be really careful not to bump into anyone.
In every corridor you could see a crowd of people in red identical jumpsuits moving around on floating chairs. The exact number was not known, but there are certainly more than even a thousand people. On the main floor, no one even paid attention to Wall-e. He knew that he stood out a lot from the others because he was a very thin and dirty boy, but did anyone care. Of course they didn't.
Wall-e continued riding along the corridor between the white lines so as not to bump into anyone. Looking around, he saw passengers talking among themselves while looking at holo-screens, eating liquid food from large cups or playing games. It disgusted Wall-e.
After exiting the tunnel, it became brighter and Wall -e after looking up was surprised after seeing the sun. It turned out that it was just a computerized hologram projected on the ceiling. A computerized female voice could be heard in the around encouraging people to buy.
Wall-e had to move more to the right side due to the fact that there were more blue lines closer and there was no room for him between other passengers.
"Take the cup," said one of the passengers, next to Wall-e, holding the cup on its side and still looking at the holoscreen.
''Huh? What?''
''Come on, take it. I can't anymore,''
Wall-e was backing off a bit. He wanted to tell the man that he was no food-serving robot, but the man seemed to be losing patience.
''Hey! Go on, take… Woaaahhh!''
The man reaching further fell to the floor. Wall-e also fell to the floor with him, due to the fact that the obese man accidentally pushed him with his hand. Wall-e couldn't maintain his balance and fell to the floor, leaving some dirt. Wall-e got up from the floor and took the cup from the man. Suddenly the line turned (on where the man was) red and Wall-e quickly moved backwards as two stewards (rectangular version) appeared. Again, he had to step back a bit when an additional blue line appeared a few seconds later. He put the cup next to him for the time being and after tucking the roller skates under his shoes, began looking at the unfolding event, which he caused.
''Remain stationary a service spot will be here to assist you momentarily'' - said one of two stewards
''Stewards, please help me.'' - The man asked them to help him get up because he couldn't do it himself
The stewards did nothing but stand around providing passage for other passengers instead of helping this poor lying man, who was asking for help from anyone. Now he looked like an upside-down turtle swinging baby limbs.
Wall-e looking at it was remorseful that he just didn't take that cup. He also didn't understand the attitude of those rectangular white tin robots, which only had right arrows displayed on the screens and stand instead of decided to take matters into his own hands. He put the cup somewhere further away so that it wouldn't get in the way and approached the man.
The man, feeling someone grabbing him from behind and lifting him up, said shocked:''Wait a minute?...What is happening?''
Wall-e grunted as he began lifting the man onto his hoverchair. It was difficult to lift a terribly heavy fat guy, but Wall-e didn't give up. In one swift move, he placed him belly down on his the hoverchair and stopped it when it started turning. The man groaned for a moment, but fell silent when he saw who had helped him.
''Is everything all right, sir? '' - asked Wall-e
The man was very surprised to see Wall-e standing in front of him.
''Umm ... ye ... yes thanks,'' He was clearly surprised to see a dirty skinny boy with goggles in front of him ''Who are you?''
''I'm Wall-e,'' - he said, extending his hand in front of him.
''Um John,'' - he replied taking his hand in his big one.
For Wall -e it was a strange grip. He could practically feel only fat muscles that didn't seem to have any bones. Nevertheless, he smiled at him. For a moment Wall-e forgot something until...
''Eve?'' - he recalled ''Oh my god Eve, I almost forgot?!'' - he shouted, turning around and looking straight ahead.
''What?'' - he asked not understanding "I'm John"
Wall-e looked around quickly, then zoomed in and saw the hovercraft on monorail.
''EVE!'' - shouted and quickly started running
''Umm... bye Wall-e,'' - he said waving lightly goodbye.
John was a little disappointed that the boy was gone so soon but hoped to meet him again.
Meanwhile, Wall-e tried his best to get to Eve as soon as possible. Only that unfortunately the monorail has started ''No!... No,wait!... Wait for me!...NO! .. NO NO NO!... NOOOOO!'' Wall-e didn't make it in time. The force field activated as Wall-e arrived, preventing him from entering.
Wall-e kept his arm outstretched for a moment before dropping it and falling to his knees. He was tired and depressed.''(Sighing from fatigue and sadness)…Eve… I'm sorry''
Devastated, he hit his hand on the floor simultaneously angry and saddened from defeat. A few tears ran down his face. A few tears ran down his face from under his goggles.
''If you need help, I can gladly help,''
''Huh?'' – Wall-e was startled by the sudden voice.
He quickly wiped away his tears and looked around looking for the source of the voice. There was no one behind him, but he wondered where his new friend had gone. He was convinced that he had been following all along, but probably not. On the other hand, he wasn't really worried about it because Moe will be able to find him by following the roller skates tracks left behind, and Wall-e knew that Moe was obsessed with cleanliness.
When Wall-e looked to the sides, he noticed that to the right was rectangular machine, resembling a computer guide. After approaching closer, a map appeared showing the area where Wall-e stood as well as the immediate surroundings.
''Hm, interesting'' he muttered to himself ''Maybe this will help me find Eve.''
There were various buttons on the panel. Wall-e pressed the one with the word "MONORAIL" and after a while the map showed the route and position of not one but two monorails. He saw that the second monorail, which was returning still had six minutes while the one with Eve still had fourteen. The route had only two places, namely where Wall -e was and the Lido Deck, so for Wall-e it wouldn't be difficult to find Eve.
On the one hand, Wall-e wondered whether to try taking a different route on his roller skates. However, after looking down, he saw that a large group of passengers was moving there as well. On another note, the monorail was the fastest possible solution to reach the destination especially since the time would take about twenty minutes while roller skating on such a complicated route would probably take up to an hour. Wall-e decided to wait.
For those few minutes he browsed the map until he heard the monorail stop. He quickly entered the second carriage to a vacant seat between a nearly bald man and a woman with a short ponytail. There were no extra chairs there and Wall-e had to hold on to the top metal handrail, so as not to turn over.
He was surprised after seeing that the passengers next to him as well as everyone else now had blue jumpsuits and not red as before, but they were still doing what they usually do which is eating, looking at screens or both. All around you could see bars where a good number of passengers ate their meals in cups; various stores selling souvenirs, T-shirts, perfumes and many other things, although the first two were unlikely to be used at all, as well as salons where hair or makeup was done. After three minutes they passed a huge, very wide apartment-like building with windows, where the passengers probably slept. The destination was still five minutes away but suddenly...
''Wooaaahhh?!'' - shouted Wall-e falling first into the woman's hoverchair, and then fell to the floor
He was very surprised and didn't know what happened. After a few seconds the transport began to go... but in the wrong direction.
''No, again?!'' - he shouted raising himself to a sitting position before clasping his hands and angrily hitting his knees.
''Is everything okay?'' - asked a female voice.
Wall-e turned his head at the voice he heard and saw that a woman was looking at him with her surprised look and now wearing the red jumpsuit ''Um... yes, yes, I just...'' After he stood up and grabbed the metal handrail with his left hand, he noticed that he had damaged one of the speakers of her hoverchair ''Oh dear. I am very sorry about that. It was really an accident. This train ... so suddenly...''
The woman seeing that he was beginning to panic spoke up: ''Easy boy, nothing happened. It's just chair . Besides, I felt it too,'' - she assured him.
Wall-e was relieved that the woman wasn't angry on him for that, but the way she looked at him puzzled him. The woman looked at him wondering why he was so skinny, dirty and had goggles on his face.
''Why are you covered in dirt?'' - she asked
Now Wall-e knew what it was about: ''Well... I actually...'' - began scratching the back of his neck slightly, but didn't have time to answer when they both saw the displayed image of the captain on all the screens.
''WELL, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. TODAY IS THE 255642ND DAY OF ABOARD THE AXIOM. THE FORECAST FOR TODAY IS THE TRADITIONAL 72 DEGREES WITHOUT CLOUDS...(there was a continuation all the time)''
They both listened carefully to the transmission of the captain , especially Wall-e, who could not believe what he heard and after seeing the number of years underneath. This information was such a strong surprise to him that he struggled to process it in his head.
''It's been ...700 YEARS?''- in his thoughts this information made him not know what to think about it. He knew that he had spent a great deal of time on Earth but to make it last ... CENTURIES?!
The woman looked at the boy, hearing his rapid breathing, and mumbling to herself. She was surprised to see that he was looking at his hands with his lips slightly tilted. Through his goggles, she couldn't tell if he was surprised or worried, but it was clear he was nervous for some reason. He looked as if some information had been conveyed, which caused him to suddenly change his behavior.
''Hey boy!'' - She called out to him but he didn't listen. She grabbed him lightly by the arm and shook him ''Hey!'' she called out again to which Wall -e immediately turned to her surprised ''Are you okay? You turned pale for a moment.''
Wall-e himself didn't know what to think about it, but he didn't want to worry her. '' Um... yes, yes, I'm okay '' - he said right away and added: ''I only... - Wall-e tried to figure something out.'' I noticed someone standing there on the screen behind the captain, and frankly his appearance makes me a little scared, especially those red eyes'' On the one hand, Wall-e didn't lie, because indeed he didn't look nice . He stood at attention at all times and wore a uniform. Wall -e wasn't sure but suspected that he might be a robot. Although he looked human and even had short black hair covered by a cap, the moment he saw the red eyes glowing behind the red visor, he was surprised.
''Who exactly is this person?" - he asked, trying to divert her attention from his problem.
''This is probably the deputy captain, but I don't know his name''
Wall-e looked at him thoughtfully. He had the impression that this person looked almost like the one in the hologram on Earth and was probably called Auto. He looked quite serious and stern, and frankly Wall-e had no intention of ever meeting him.
When the monorail finally returned to its proper route, Wall-e noticed something familiar on the right side of the screen. It turned out that Eve was there (still in the capsule), at which Wall-e smiled that he had finally found her.
''Eve'' - he said to himself.
The woman next to him heard him: ''What are you saying?''
''There on the screen I saw that there was Eve.'' - he said, pointing to the screen, which had already gone out.''We unexpectedly separated and …well...'' - Wall-e couldn't explain it.
''Is this your girlfriend?'' – she asked
Wall-e at these words blushed and looked away embarrassed. The woman already knew from seeing him turn red on the face that he had some feelings for her.
''Only unfortunately my dear, I have to worry you'' - she said drawing his attention ''They don't let just anyone in there without a pass, and I understand you don't have such a thing.'' Wall-e moved his head in a gesture that there was no such thing. ''I also think it would be useful to refresh your clothes .Of course if you want to.
Wall-e wondered and looked at himself. ''Actually, I could use a little washing them. My new friend said that you supposedly have something like a laundry here, right?
''Yes, of course. It should be at the place we are going to. I can take you there, and by the way, maybe you can meet your friend when she leaves the captain's bridge, which is also there.
''Really?''
''Mhm''
''Thank you'' he said cheerfully ''I don't know how I can repay you miss...?''
''Mary'' - she said ''My name is Mary''.
''I'm Wall-e,'' - he said, pointing to himself and bowing slightly.
Mary had to admit that he was a nice gentleman. They smiled at each other and waited for the monorail to arrive. At the time, Wall-e was thinking about his meeting with Eve, and Mary was watching everything in around, as if she had seen it all with her own eyes for the first time in her life.
10 minutes later
The monorail stopped on the spot. Wall-e and Mary came out and after turning around they were impressed by a very large pool which it was divided into three parts: into one huge one on the middle, about ten smaller circles and a huge circle with small bridges
''(shout of surprise) Wow. I didn't know we had a pool here'' - she said very surprised
Both she and Wall-e looked on this with great admiration. It wasn't sure why, but they both liked the water, although Wall-e never had the opportunity, and she probably didn't either.
''I would like to try it,'' he said with a smile.
''You know I wanted to ask you the same thing.'' - Mary said, to which Wall -e smiled ''Let's go to the laundry room first. I need to wash my hands.'' - she said to which Wall-e agreed, but there was another problem.'' Just how do we find...?
''Maybe this will help''- said Wall-e, showing the map displayed on the side.
After they approached, Wall-e started looking because Mary was not able to. Wall-e clicked various buttons until he came across the location of the nearest laundromat. It was about 1,300 feet from their location. Wall-e already wanted to take out his roller skates, but Mary spoke up.
''Get on my hoverchair in the back. I'll give you a ride." - she offered
''But... Are you sure...?''
''Don't worry. Go ahead and come in, I'm about to extend the small platform'' - she said with a smile and pressed the button extending the small platform at the back of the hoverchair.
Wall-e climbed onto it slowly with the fear that something might happen. Fortunately, nothing happened, and the hoverchair remained in the same position the whole time even as Wall-e was leaning on it.
''Comfortable enough?'' - she asked
''Of course''
After a while they took off and Wall-e was delighted with such a cool fast ride. No one was blocking their way so they arrived at the site within minutes. Wall-e came down and thanked her for the cool ride. The wide sliding door opened and they both went inside. Inside it was spacious and bright and no one was there but them. There were several doors, a wide countertop on the left and a side room where the sinks were visible. The room was illuminated with a bright blue light and there were holograms of clothes and palm trees.
As it turns out it was also used for people to wash themselves if they really need it.
''Wow'' - said Wall-e looking at all this
Everywhere one looked was spotlessly clean, and the nearby walls were covered with tiles in which the lights were reflected.
''Good morning''
''Huh?''
''Good morning'' said Mary ''Relax, it's just the workers'' - she said to Wall–e pointing to the two robots.
''Oh…umm...good morning'' - said Wall-e a little shyly
The robots approached them. It was immediately clear that they were looking at Wall-e, and he took a step back. Mary seeing this touched his hand: ''Don't worry. They will do you no harm.''
Wall-e took her word for it and came closer. The robots looked at Wall-e, and one of them pulled out a scanner and began to slide a blue light over Wall-e's clothes. After finishing the scan, the scanning robot's sensors squeaked for a moment which meant that the dirt level was far too high.
''Citizen, please follow me. We will take care of your clothes,'' - said one of the robots while the other went somewhere behind the counter and came back with the things he had put in the changing room. The first took Wall-e there and told him to take off his clothes, and then said he could go use the showers. After a few minutes Wall-e hung his bag on the hanger and took off his boots, suit and gloves. He now wondered if he should leave his work pants. He looked at the clothes he had received and there was a long white zippered bathrobe and flip-flops. Wall-e thought for a moment and decided that he would let all the clothes be washed, but hoped that it wouldn't be destroyed. The bathrobe, which he was wearing was too big for his slim person and so were the flip-flops. Fortunately, the bathrobe had a tie belt and this reduced the size a bit.
Wall-e came out with the clothes he was holding and gave the waiting robot. The second robot led Wall-e to the room where there were showers, sinks and mirrors. Inside was Mary and after seeing Wall -e she said: ''There are showers on the left if you want to use. Don't worry, I won't look. I'll wait outside.''
''Mhm'' - murmured Wall-e
Wall-e opened the white door of one of the shower stalls and saw what it was like inside. There was a lot of space and there were even pull-out racks so that Wall-e could leave his shoes and bathrobe, and next to him on the rack was a large white clean towel. Next to it on the wall hung an instruction manual, and Wall-e already knew how to use the shower. Mary left the room and waited for Wall-e to finish taking a shower.
Wall-e enjoyed his bath. The water was very warm and also the bath lotions had different very nice scents. (They were also used to wash hair.) Wall-e chose a blue one that smelled like the sea breeze and he started washing his body as well as his hair. The dirt flowed freely from him, and there was no end to it. After almost 20 minutes, Wall-e finished washing off all the dirt from himself. Now his body looked much better, and also his hair looked different when he washed it out. At one point, he started coughing for a while. Before that it also happened to him when he was on the spaceship and when he was running but then it was just a scratchy throat. After a while, he stopped coughing and walked over to the dryers. He dried himself all over (including his hair) and went outside in a bathrobe and flip-flops. Mary waited for him, sitting on the side and looking the windows at the other passengers. Mary after seeing Wall-e spoke up:
''Oh my dear, you look much better now,'' she said with a smile after seeing his appearance ''Was it pleasant?''
''Yes, thank you,'' - he confirmed with a smile,''Are my clothes here?''
'' They said they will be ready soon. They are currently drying.''
'' I understand''
12 minutes later
While waiting, Wall-e told Mary about where he came from and how he got to Axiom. Mary was so impressed and wanted to learn as much as possible. The bell sounded, and Wall-e approached the counter. Wall-e took his clothes and was impressed with how clean and fragrant they were. The suit looked better now although it seemed that the yellow color was still faded a little. The boots and gloves also looked better, and his work pants were repaired.
Wall-e returned to the same changing room and saw that the bag continued to hang there. He checked that everything was in place and smiled that nothing had been taken. After putting on his refreshed clothes and bag, Wall -e was glad that now he wouldn't have to listen to those constant complaints that he was spreading dirt or germs. He also hoped that Eve would also appreciate it. However, when he was about to leave.
''Please come up to make a transaction'' said the robot at the counter
''What such?'' - Wall-e asked, not understanding.
''It's about the payment'' - Mary explained.
'' But I don't have any money,'' said Wall-e worried.
''Don't worry. I will pay for you.''
''Really? Thank you very much.''
Mary drove up and told Wall-e to place a card that had slipped from the arm of her hoverchair on the panel. The transaction was made for a small fee and after a while they both left the laundry. Wall-e was grateful that the woman helped him.
They started walking towards the Lido Deck. There were a lot of people there but by the circle where the small bridges were there was almost no one. They found themselves in a place opposite the tower-like structure where the captain's bridge was so that Wall-e could see Eve when she will left.
Wall-e looking at the clear water saw his reflection. He had to admit that he never thought his hair was a dark brown color, because until now he thought it was all black. He touched the water and felt a pleasant coolness. The water was so nice that he tossed some up with his fingers, causing a light rain, after which he began to laugh. Mary seeing this also laughed. She was over the water and lightly splashed the water with her foot towards the Wall-e, at which he also splashed her, but only in the legs. He never splashed in this way, but he liked it very much. They both laughed loud further splashing each other, and no one even paid attention to them.
After ten minutes they took a momentary break. While Wall-e was lying on the floor with his hands (a little wet) under his head and was drying a bit although he was not very wet, Mary was leaned back slightly on hoverchair, also enjoying the warmth of the artificial sun.
''I must admit that it is amazing here. It may not be real sunshine, but it certainly gives better warmth than the one on the Earth'' - said Wall-e enjoying the warmth.
"What does the sun look like on Earth?" - Mary asked curiously
''Well... Compared to that here, on the Earth, the sun is twice as hot. Because of this I have to wear a hood and not look at the sun for too long even if goggles protect my eyes.''
''Forgive me for asking this question, but why don't you take off your goggles here.''
Wall-e rose to a sitting position and looked at her ''Well... My goggles are so fitted to my head that I can't... Huh?''
Wall-e didn't finish the sentence because he noticed that someone came out of the door leading to the bridge. For a moment he thought it might be Eve, but it was the short guy in the white uniform that Wall-e had spotted on the docks. He was holding something and Wall -e clearly saw that it was something green. He quickly got up and after zooming in with his goggles, he was surprised that he was holding a shoe with a plant.
Mary was worried when he suddenly stood up. When she was about to ask him what happened, this one started running after Gofour. Mary shouted after him, but Wall-e didn't hear her.
Wall-e followed him carefully and far enough away that he didn't think Wall-e was following him. They passed many corridors and at one point they came across a very crowded corridor. Gofour held the object in one hand and hid it under his sleeve so that no one would notice at least the green plant. Wall-e had problems so he decided to use roller skates to have better freedom of movement.
In the corridor, one of the vehicles began to accelerate so that it was going far too fast than it should. As a result, he collided with other drivers and robots, then more until several fell on each side, including Gofour and Wall-e. Gofour through this dropped the plant and it flew through the air in front of Wall -e, who was now close to the other corridor. Wall-e wanted to grab the plant but suddenly alarms sounded. It turned out that armed stewards began to approach from the corridor where Wall-e was earlier. Wall -e after hiding the plant in his shoulder bag started to run away from there. He hoped no one would notice him.
Unfortunately, the fleeing Wall -e was spotted by one of the stewards, who suspected that he was responsible for causing the mess. He sent two others to follow him while the others dealt with the mess here. Gofour was stunned and had no idea that the plant had been taken.
Wall -e didn't know exactly where he should go. The corridors were terribly full and getting past them all was difficult. Fortunately, Wall-e was a great roller skater and he was quite good at making difficult dodges at given moments. After a few minutes he got out of the crowded corridors , but that was not the end of the problems.
''STOP!''
Wall-e heard a robotic voice behind him. Seeing that they look not very friendly , he didn't stop and continued to run away thinking that they want to take away his gift given to Eve, which was previously in the hands of that guy in uniform. Wall-e was starting to get a little tired probably because of the constant running on roller skates. Eating the candy bar on the spaceship earlier somehow satisfied his hunger, but this constant running was really tiring and he was slowly starting to get fed up.
He was currently on the road outside the corridor after turning left and going straight . Riding thirty-two feet he noticed on the right stretched steps (it's actually a wall forming a kind of staircase) that led to the upper floor. The stewards were far enough away that Wall-e could quickly stow the roller skates and start climbing. The steps were about thirty, and each was almost two feet high. When Wall -e was on the seventh step, he heard the same stewards start calling him again. Seeing that Wall-e wasn't coming back, they decided to use a drastic measure. They pulled out their guns loaded with electric darts of up to 6,000 volts, which cause temporary paralysis when they hit the target. However, they had no idea that Wall-e was no ordinary man, and that such power could cause serious consequences for his health.
One of the darts flew past Wall-e's head when he did a dodge. Another almost hit his leg and then he saw that they were electric darts.
''Not good... Whoaah?!'' he said quickly , before another almost hit him.
At one point when he jumped to the side doing a dodge, he almost slipped, but caught his balance in time. However, he didn't expect one of the darts to hit him close to the pacemaker. At the last moment he pulled out the dart , but unfortunately another hit straight into his the pacemaker. The charge was so strong that a kind of blue electrical discharges formed around it. After a few seconds, the darts turned off, but some smoke was coming out of Wall-e, and he was unaware of surrounding. He didn't notice that he was at the edge of the step and consequently began to fall 330 feet down.
It would have been Wall-e's end if he hadn't fallen on the vehicle filled with clean towels, which cushioned his fall and saved him. Wall-e flew on the towels and landed on the floor . In the process of falling, he didn't notice that his bag slipped and fell somewhere down. He was half-conscious lying almost on his stomach with one arm outstretched and the other holding his chest.
The driver stopped instantly when he felt something hit from behind and was visibly upset after exiting when he saw the scattered a moment he scolded Wall-e, but then changed his attitude seeing that he was suffering.
Although Wall-e was unharmed in the fall, his heart ached badly and he could barely catch his breath. With his eyes slightly open, he could see the battery level on his goggles dropping or rising every now and then after sparks or small electrical discharges appeared for a while.
The driver heard the beeping for a moment and was surprised. He decided to check it out, so he slowly rolled him over onto his back and then saw that he had darts stuck in him. He touched them lightly and fortunately the plastic tips were only warm. After pulling out his darts, he noticed that two stewards, who had earlier pursued Wall-e, were heading in their direction.
''Citizen, please leave this fugitive, and you come with us,''- said one of the stewards without paying attention to the serious condition of Wall-e.
''Hey, hey wait a minute. Can't you see that he...?'' - the driver started saying but suddenly...'' (sound of sparks and then beeping!)''
The driver after seeing, that Wall -e turned his head and had his mouth opened slightly, not clenched teeth, he got worried ''Hey, can you hear me?'' The driver patted Wall-e on the face and then shook by the shoulders but unfortunately he was unconscious. He started to check his pulse by touching his neck with his fingers and was very surprised to feel how irregular it was and also fast. Without hesitating any longer, he shouted to the robots: ''Maybe you could call for some help! This boy won't last long.
As if on command, one of the stewards began to call for transport, and the driver put some towels under Wall-e's head. While waiting, Wall-e regained consciousness from time to time, but quickly lost it In addition, he was plagued by headaches , which caused him to turn his head from one side to the other every now and then, as well as keep his teeth clenched.
The MVR-A hovercraft arrived at the site within 12 minutes. The stewards as if nothing just stood by instead of helping so the driver and a random passerby had to lift the Wall-e themselves. One grabbed Wall-e by the shoulders , and the other by the legs and put him down with his legs forward. After laying him down, three blue wide seat belts on his shoulders, stomach and knees activated. The stewards were at the front, making sure there was a passage while the MVR-A was taking Wall-e on medical-repair block.
Information: Two types of steward bots appear here. The stewards of the normal type are the same as in the film, that is, they have a rectangular structure and use force fields. While the combat type have a similar structure to humans (without legs) and can float at least a few feet in the air. Unlike the first type, the ones here are more dangerous, but here I don't want to reveal too much, because later in the story it will be shown.