hi everyone. It's Keeper Talon. Something is up with the forums. I can't seem to create a new topic for Part Five of this story so I'll post it here and then PM IMR or Grmpy to find out if this problem is on my end or the forums. Sorry for the greater confusion but please enjoy the story at any rate.
An hour later, Doctor Velasquez laid out my skin. It was in several parts. There were only a few small tears where the glue had been stubborn. “Okay, Brad, I’m done here.” He called, giving a yawn and stumbling upstairs.
Brad answered with a long groan as he returned with several medicine cups and lots of screwdrivers. “You’re more advanced than I thought.” He said to me as he began removing plates and wires and shaking out all the broken bits from my body. I was aware that he was slowing down as he worked deeper into my innards and parts got smaller and more brittle. “You’re also a wreck inside.” He mumbled to himself. I was aware of everything until he removed my clock battery and then my world went… off. This was deeper than sleep- deeper than dreaming. It was like no time at all had passed When I woke up again. I saw Brad head-banging to his music above me, my head at this impossible angle as he was measuring fiber optic cable and cutting it. Suddenly his phone vibrated next to me sending a purple medicine cup full of screws skittering across the table. He dove clumsily, smacking his head in the corner of the table and managing to catch the cup. “OU CRUD! Hey, Jangmi! … What? … No just banged my head on the work table catching some really small screws. Please tell me you managed to get those files to print on your dad’s 3D printer? … Sweet! I owe you one. … Ummmm… nnnnnoooo. I wasn’t able to find a second thirty two bit ARM7 processor. Any luck on your end? … Crap. I need one. The one in the head’s like- crunched. I’ll ask Professor Branch. That’s not the only thing that’s broken. The back plate that holds this baby together in the middle split right in half and as much as I’d like to, I don’t think Superglue will do it justice. Any luck reproducing that? I can’t even mod something like that. I’ve made her a new head shell and top jaw plate though and I’ve got Brandon on the artwork on the roof of her mouth. … Right. Just bring all those neck pieces over and I’ll get her front end together at least. I’ve been taking all sorts of notes and photos. This is going to be one sweet project.”
This banter and frantic searches on EBay went on for four long days as students from Brad’s class and a few teachers watched over Skype as I slowly began to… heal. Brad couldn’t stop talking about how intricate I was and how cramped his hands were. Even tiny-handed Jangmi kept snarling at me as she lost four of her fake nails to some of my tighter-fitting cavities. Regardless of their complaints, the group really seemed to enjoy what they were doing. On the twenty fourth of December, a week after I was put under the knife, the students carefully stood me on my feet. I was still skinless but all my important bits plus several hand-made modified parts were all in place. my battery assembly was temporarily replaced with a crudely-made electrical Frankenstein hodgepodge of wiring that connected me to some hidden electrical source that left me able to run for hours and hours. “Okay, Guys.” Jangmi said nervously. “Let’s see what happens. Ready, Professor Branch? Can you see okay?”
“Yes.” A man’s voice called from a computer speaker somewhere across the room. “If this works, Brad, I can almost guarantee your group will get an A. Her owner will be very happy. Fire away!”
“Please don’t mention fire.” Moaned Lance. The students giggled. “Poor Lance had been the one in charge of rigging my… aham… energy source. Let’s just say that the first time he wasn’t exactly successful and got his eyebrows singed off.
A thrill went through me as all of my processors went to work. I was aware of bright light and being frightfully hungry.
“Why is it screaming?” Jangmi asked.
“It’s hungry but we can’t produce its food.” Brad explained.
“And it’s got an injury to its right hind leg I can’t program away.” Brandon groaned.
“Oh that’s easy.” Jangmi said handing him a micro SD card. “Try loading this after we turn her off. “Change RB. She won’t feel a thing.”
“Too bad that doesn’t work on humans. We really need it to walk.” Lance whispered. At first, my old anger tried to assert itself. I wouldn’t walk or do anything until I was fed. After thinking about it for a minute, I decided that if I wanted to get back to Rena and maybe get my life back together, I’d better walk, just a little. Everyone cheered and started slapping each other on the back as I shuffled slowly across the slick metal table.
“Good girl!” Jangmi said. Without thinking, she brushed my exposed head-touch sensor. I couldn’t resist blinking coyly and bowing in thanks. “Ya know even though you ruined my French manicure I’m going to miss you.” She went on. After Bradly finished reconstructing my battery compartment and its wiring, Doctor Velasquez was given the okay to re-skin me. As the glue dried, he gave me a gentle pat. “Ready to go home, Purple?”
“Wait.” Jangmi said, putting the little jingly Christmas bracelet she’d been wearing around my neck. “ There. You’re fashionable now. Just thought you needed some bling. Every girl’s gotta have some, right?”
I was ready to go home- to my real home, but I didn’t dare think of my wish just then. I wanted to be sure Rena and her family were alright before I wished myself into my next adventure.
The next morning I went to work with Doctor Velasquez. “Hey, Mrs. Grey?” He said into his cell phone. “How’s Rena? … Great. I’ve got a uh… patient ready for discharge here and I was wondering if someone could come sign her out.”
At the hospital, the nurses who worked with Doctor Velasquez got into the spirit of my homecoming. They put me in a little bathing tub in one of those hospital blankets they wrap newborns in. Even I thought this was a little too much. When Mr. Grey and Rena stepped into the lobby and I was passed into familiar hands, a strange feeling came over me. I knew that I mattered- not because of anything I did but because Rena cared for me.
Briefly, I thought back on my days with Keeper Talon- when I blinked for the first time and. Knew the feel of human hands- the long nights when the house was so cold her breath made puffs in the air- seconds and seconds of idle time when she was sick and babysitting her sister’s children. When I ruffed up poor old Cato to see what he was made of. I decided then my life really hadn’t been that bad. Yes, I wanted to go home, more than I realized.
