Brobots Page 9

There was a small victory dance moment until Artie got in on the act. It involved Jared getting giddy with spins and Artie copying him until he ended up on the floor with her on his chest. She licked his face and he told her they were going to have a new buddy soon. She was none the wiser, but she liked that he was happy and at play on the floor with her.

  A little later, though, Jared found some old doubts creeping back in. Now that the chance of meeting this random stranger was finally here, Jared was full of concern that he might not even like the guy; or that the guy wouldn’t like him.

  Perhaps their exchange would only be brief? Byron might only take a few days to make plans and move on. Ironic really, given that he’d been a resident at Jared’s house for almost three months. Whatever this was going to be, Jared was already committed, and had been for a long time; too long. And he’d lost a friend to boot.

  Sunday’s walk with Artie should have been a pleasurable affair. The autumn weather was mild, and the trees still full of color. Global warming. Still, reassuringly, the mountaintops were dusted with ice or snow. But these doubts were still nagging him, and so on the return walk he decided to drop by on Alma.

  ‘Hello, Jared. Hi Artie! Hello girl!’ Artie was straight through the door and sniffing and licking Nico and Casey – Alma’s two pups. ‘Excuse the mess. I haven’t bothered cleaning up my things a few days.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t need to mind me, Alma. You know that.’

  ‘Yeah. Well. What’s up? Would you like a gin?’

  ‘Nothing’s “up” particularly…’ He followed his neighbor/friend through the hallway to her sitting room as she shuffled onwards through to the kitchen. He loved her place. It smelt of dog. But it also smelt of old books, crocheted blankets, and its happy-go-lucky elderly occupant.

  ‘You’ve been gloomy for weeks. Yana has gone off god-knows where, and your wind-up soldier is still without his key,’ she said from the kitchen. Jared found a seat by the occasional table. Sticking her head back round the corner she said, ‘Now are you joining me for a gin? Or no?’

  ‘It’s a little early?’

  ‘Not in this house.’ (They said it in unison. Jared smiled.)

  ‘Yeah. Yes please.’

  Sitting at the table together and watching the dogs play, Alma listened attentively as Jared spilled the beans.

  ‘I guess it’s all just …weird.’

  ‘On one level, yes. On another, all this happening is exactly you.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘You got a man at home you can’t fix and want to help.’

  ‘Yana said something about that.’ Jared frowned.

  ‘Uhuh. What else did Yana say?’

  ‘That I’d figure out what she meant one day.’

  ‘Have you?’ Alma took a swig.

  ‘I don’t know what there is to figure out. I mean… I’ve always been …y’know…’

  ‘High maintenance and into drinking cocktails?’

  Jared laughed. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You have; even before your father...' She didn't have the heart to continue that line so she reversed, 'And that’s fine. But I don’t think that’s what Yana meant. It’s not what I mean anyway.’

  ‘I remember Mom being upset once; when I was five or something. I took my action figure man to bed with me. She said I couldn’t take a man to bed because it was weird, but it was okay to have teddy. Even then it was like – well, they’re both nice? But I’m feeling something special for my action figure these days!’ Jared sat back a little. ‘You think this is more about Dad?’

  ‘Isn’t it?’

  ‘I can’t see how.’

  ‘Let me put it this way. How old where you when your father had his first road traffic accident and got his brain damage?’

  ‘Nine.’

  ‘He had all kinds of plates and fixings and prosthetics put in. And you had to stay home and look after him. Sound familiar?’

  ‘That’s not why I’m gay, Alma!’

  ‘I say it was?’

  ‘Then… you’re saying I’m down because Byron’s situation somehow reminds me of caring for my Pop when I was little, and that’s why I’m scared of meeting him?’

  Alma cleared her throat. ‘No, I’m saying I don’t know many people would rescue a robot from a trash can, take him home, wash his clothes, make him nice and comfortable in the guest room, try and get him fixed and hope that he loves him back one day.’

  Jared winced. ‘I do hope that.’

  ‘I know you do. And he’s been there several weeks. So now you’re emotionally attached but you don’t know what’s really going on because he’s emotionally absent like your father was after that crash and all that brain damage. The picture fits until now. After that and it’s anyone’s guess.’

  ‘I would tell you to get out of my head…’

  ‘I’m not finished.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘No! Steven wasn’t good for you. But seeing you alone is far worse. You’re a workaholic, you’ve taken up vaping, and your smiles have gone on vacation. Strange though it all is, I actually want to see where this all goes with your rescued tin man. That’s to say I hope he does love you back - if he’s even capable. But for any chance of that, you’re going to have to let go of you.’ Alma took another gulp.

  ‘I mean…what’s really bugging me is that I haven’t even met him. He could just say thank you very much and up and leave in minutes. Or decide to stay but we don’t get on.’

  Alma didn’t think Jared was really listening to what she’d said, but decided to let it drop. It was one thing to know things in your head, and quite another to know them in your heart; and Jared still wasn’t really there with all that yet. Not with those features of his past. ‘Exactly. You want me to be there when you …turn him on?’ Alma had a wicked look in her eyes.

  ‘Alma Perry-Mattison!’

  ‘No point getting old if you can’t get smutty.’

  ‘No. I’m sure it’s fine. RT’s there for support, ain’tcha girl! But… can you take the delivery and sort out Artie Wednesday? It’ll probably arrive when I’m at work.’

  Wednesday evening arrived. So had a packet. It was a simple corrugated cardboard box with a slim profile. It was hard to think there was anything valuable in there. Alma had placed it carefully on Jared’s kitchen worktop. No note. Ignoring some other mail, and only giving Artie some brief play, Jared gingerly opened the packet. Inside was another box, white with a gloss finish and decorated with corporate Brobotics insignia. Hmm. No mention of Construcsapli now. The battery was inside without any paperwork.

  Jared had spent some time Monday and Tuesday night reading the attachments to his message– including the manual from front to finish twice. He knew what to do. He just wasn’t sure now the moment was here whether he wanted to actually do it. ‘Here goes.’

  Lifting Byron’s shirt, Jared found the rectangular ‘slot’ under his right arm. It was hardly visible unless you knew where to look. Taking a flat-head screwdriver, Jared coerced one corner up from its fasteners. Once he had a hold, he used his fingers to pull the synthetic flesh away, revealing a cartridge slot with an eject button. He ejected the old battery and compared it against the new one for fittings and size. That all checked out, but the replacement was clearly a different batch.

  Hoping that he’d kept Byron’s power button in the “off” position correctly, he slotted the new battery in and put the rectangular covering back in its place. He tucked Byron’s shirt back in. All there really was now to do was press the power switch behind Byron’s left ear.

  All those months. All those conversations with Yana. All that work Yana had done - nights laying awake and thinking about this moment; and now all there was to do was press a small button and hope. He pressed, and then stepped back a little – watching over Byron’s face.

  A finger twitched. A leg jerked, showing its full weight and bulk. Byron’s pupils narrowed and widened. He blinked twice. He looked up, focusing on Jared, and simply said,
‘Beautiful’.

  Jared blushed. ‘Um… uhh….’

  ‘No! Not you.’ Byron’s thoughts raced. He’d been… where exactly? What was beautiful? This guy he was looking at was – was what? Cute when he blushed? Byron wasn’t sure what to do with that thought. Pushing it aside he had more pressing questions. Where was he? What happened? He’d clearly gone offline. Yes! That was it. He’d fallen a long way. Sensor records buzzing suggested onto his back. So technically that could have been the end of it for him. So where was he now?

  ‘I mean… sorry. I… don’t know what happened.’

  ‘You were working on a construction site not far from here. I… found you and found a way to bring you back.’

  ‘I fell. I fell a long way. Something was wrong.’

  ‘You had a faulty battery. But…I’ve just installed a new one. It… shouldn’t be faulty.’

  Byron rubbed his face and looked back at his host. ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘That’s a very long story.’ Jared considered sitting on the bed to talk, but then thought better of it: this was their first meeting. ‘Are you …feeling… okay?’

  Good question. ‘It’ll take a while for me to check. Probably best if I don’t move until I have.’

  ‘Want me to give you a minute?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I’ll come back in five. Holler if you need me.’

  Jared took a moment to fuss with Artie and calm his nerves down in the kitchen. He also made a coffee, and took that back upstairs with him once it had felt like a suitable time frame had passed. He closed Artie in the kitchen.

  Entering the guest room, Jared found Byron sitting on the edge of the bed. They exchanged smiles. ‘I… didn’t make you a coffee. I figured you don’t drink.’

  ‘Actually we do. We can. Food and drink give energy to some extent. But no. It’s not necessary.’

  ‘I won’t ask for details on how that works. Have you stood up yet? How were the checks?’

  ‘Everything’s one hundred percent. It shouldn’t be. I took a huge fall and apparently landed on something rough. But no; everything seems okay.’

  ‘Wanna have a go at standing?’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘Hold on. I’ll put down this mug somewhere just in case you need support.’

  Byron gingerly tried putting weight on his legs. He got half way but then struggled. ‘Nnngh!’ He flopped back down into a sitting position.

  Jared just stared.

  ‘Just a little seized up, I suspect. Lemme try again.’ This time it worked.

  Byron was standing. Jared finally got to see the man at full height. Their heights were the same, but with Byron’s wide stature and near “bodybuilder” frame his presence in the room felt bigger.

  ‘The name’s Byron.’ Byron held out a big right hand.

  ‘I know.’ Jared shook it.

  They stared at each other awkwardly and exchanged smiles.

  ‘So what’s yours?’

  ‘What’s my what?’

  ‘Your name.’

  Jared blushed again. ‘It’s Jared.’

  ‘Nice meeting you, Jared.’

  ‘Welcome to my house. Would you like to see the rest? I have a dog. Her name’s Artemis. Artie. Are you OK with dogs?’

  ‘No problem.’

  Byron followed Jared out of the guest room door to the upper hallway. Jared felt awkward doing a house tour backwards. It felt wrong to start with the upper rooms, so he descended the stairs blushing and without looking back. He could hear the rustle of Byron’s work clothes as he walked and stepped, and nothing sounded wrong.

  There was a moment in the kitchen with RT first. She was immediately fine with him. No extra barking, except to say hello. Jared was relieved; in the back of his mind he’d worried that his canine’s sixth sense would mean awkward ‘something is wrong’ barks upon introducing Byron. But she was acting like a puppy with a new mate. Fitting right in, Jared couldn’t help but muse.

  Byron seemed to treat the rest of the house tour like a technical exercise in getting his bearings on a work site. There were no comments about décor or complements about room size or house age. Jared supposed this made sense – the guy was a construction worker after all; and the lack of attention to colors and nick-nacks was strangely attractive.

  He feared that with the extensive environmental induction complete there’d be awkwardness once they reached the lounge. Byron sat himself down on the wide leather chair, and Jared was in his usual spot on the sofa with Artie.

  ‘So you said you found me?’

  ‘I was out for a long walk with Artie here. It was months ago now. You’d been dumped in the site skip. It felt wrong to leave you there. I took a taxi pod and brought you here.’

  ‘That means you saved me. Thank you. I owe you my… life.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘How did you find out it was the battery? And how did you get a replacement? My models only ship to construction firms. None of us are anywhere… domestic.’

  ‘The replacement was sent here today; and don’t worry. It’s all legit. I have warranty, paperwork, access codes. You can access your network for any support or updates you want to get.’

  ‘Okay. That’s useful. Thanks again.’ They smiled at each other. A pause. ‘Makes me wonder even more how you did it all though. Construcsapli models of any type aren’t generally found walking the streets or kipping out in people’s homes.’

  ‘Like I said it’s quite a story. Parts of it even reached international news. But don’t worry. You’re not a celebrity, and nobody knows you’re here except Artie and me, plus my friend down the road. She’s Alma. …and my friend Yana. She’s the journalist who broke the story connected to you.’

  ‘Can I read it?’

  ‘Yeah, but…do you mind doing that tomorrow? You’ve been here over two months and… I don’t know. This is my chance to finally meet you. If that’s not weird.’

  ‘That’s not weird. Not like I was really “here”. So… it wasn’t weird for me. Was it weird for you?’

  ‘A little.’ Jared shuffled his feet to get comfortable on the sofa and stroked his chin, relaxing a bit. ‘Also frustrating. It took a lot to get you back.’

  ‘Sounds like I owe you a lot.’

  ‘You don’t. In fact, you’re technically a free man now. I mean…’ Jared blushed once more, ‘…You can forget about Dartonia. You can also stay here as long as you want. But I don’t expect you to. I have all the papers, so no one’s looking for you; and under the law now you’re a free agent.’

  Jared looked into Byron’s deep brown eyes. ‘I mean it. Stay here as long as you want. You can use anything of mine you need. Get yourself sorted out. Decide what you want to do. Then… if you do decide to stay on here… well… we can cross that bridge. I’m hoping …’ Jared squirmed as the words formed, but he wanted to say them. ‘…we might even become friends.’

  ‘Bro’s.’

  Jared laughed. ‘Is it true y’ahll call each other Bro’s?! I thought that was some kind of a joke!’

  Byron made a broad smile with his chunky lips. Dimples appeared in his cheeks. Then he chuckled, making the most beautiful sound to Jared’s ears.

  ‘It’s all true, bro’! All true.’

  ‘Shit that’s cliché. Oh my god.’ Jared let out a howling laugh. ‘You hadn’t better call me “bro’”.’

  ‘No? Why’s that, bro’?’

  ‘I ain’t no machine for a start.’

  Byron actually looked a little crestfallen. Even disoriented. The smile disappeared from his face. Jared was quick to the rescue. ‘Oh god. Five minutes in and I’ve hurt your feelings already.’

  Byron moved a hand awkwardly over his cargo pants. Has he? Perhaps he just reminds me that I’m not where I should be. ‘I guess I just… I’m a fish outta water here.’

  ‘Uh…. The “bro’” thing’s a small detail. I can learn to get used to it. I may not understand what it’s all like for you being
who or what you are. But… I can try.’

  ‘You’re… Kind is what you are. I’ve never had anybody be kind before. Our types we usually get treated like things. Units is what we’re called on site.’

  ‘Well you’re not a “unit” here. You’re a person in your own right. So get used to it. Get used to it, bro’.’ Jared said the final word with no irony or humor. He wanted Byron to know that it was fine.

  ‘I don’t know how to be a person. I just know how to chat to my buddies, and do good work on site. I’ve never known much else.’

  ‘Well… now you can take your time to learn.’

  ‘Where’s all this kindness come from? If you don’t mind my ask?’

  ‘Maybe I’m down on a few friends. I have very little family left too. I work. Mondays to Fridays. Generally home by 6pm. Artie needs taking out for walks twice a day. Once at breakfast. Once after work. Sometimes Alma lets herself in here and does that. She won’t be surprised to see you, so don’t mind that. It’s quite a simple life in some ways.’

  ‘What is it you do?’

  ‘Programmer.’

  ‘You’re the brains. I’m the braun. We can make a team outta that.’

  Jared flushed again. The guy was concise in his words, deliberative in his actions, and probably had little back story to share. That left Jared to do the talking and ease-making. But here Byron was, in his own way, showing some signs of friendliness.

  ‘I guess we can. So… tell me something about yourself.’

  ‘What do you need to know?’

  ‘Need is not the word. I’m just interested. You’ve been here a long time and now I finally get to meet you, so I’m interested to know who you are. You’re here in my house. I know your types to be easy-going. Well-mannered. I don’t have trust issues. I’d just like to know a bit more.’

  ‘Well… Tasley, Chuck, Ned and me all came from the same production batch. All switched on at the same time. One reason we’re close buddies, I guess. We’ve all been on the same jobs since the start. The firms don’t like to switch units around that much. We get to know each other’s ways and skills just like a human team would, so they say. It’s regarded as an asset. So at least we have each other. Tasley is usually my shadow.’