by Gabe Sluis
Binno Terrace stood, perplexed, in the middle of the concrete floored garage. He turned around one more time, confused at the empty space. He fingered the gold coin in his pocket as he checked a storage closet in the corner. Totally empty.
Binno closed the door and let his shoulders slump. He shook his head and headed out of the garage. Two steps out of the side door he was stopped in his tracks.
"Binno! Open the roll-up, would you?"
Binno cocked his head and frowned. Rolling down the street toward the garage was the robot he had just upgraded. At least it looked just like the bot he had just given a brain...
But instead of Professor Vance or his student Tom Gregory, a boy with shaggy, dark hair, was riding in the robots arms, positioned to hold him like a chair. A duffle bag was looped across the bots midsection and the boy controlled his conveyance with a corded joystick. The pair rolled up to the main door.
"What is this? Who are you? Is that the N.V. Signature I just worked on?"
"Sorry to tell you Mr.Terrace, but those two were not from a university in America. They had to tell a good story to find someone who could build a brain like you can. Open the roll-up, hey? I want to get this thing off the street," the boy said.
Binno was stunned, but there was something about such clear communication coming out of the kid, who appeared to be about ten years old. The look on the boy's face made him move.
And then it struck him. The child was speaking his native language, Italian. Binno stopped with the door halfway up and turned back to the kid.
"Who are you?"
"Call me Anton. Now, can we get inside, please?"
Binno stood to the side as the snake-tracked war robot and its passenger went inside. The boy was lowered to the ground and began to remove the duffle. Binno dropped the door and walked over to the returned robot.
He looked the old combat robot over. The more he looked, the less he agreed with his initial assessment that it was the same robot he had just enhanced. There were a few attachment points that had not been as fully stripped as the last bot, and no new screws he had placed in the others head.
"I really want to know what is going on!" Binno said, trying to sound forceful.
"Your services are required once more," Anton announced, digging into the black duffle. "I have all of the parts necessary for you to augment this robot to the same level as the last. I even have the same style parts you brought from your personal collection. A few things are of a higher quality, but it should make no difference."
"What are you saying?" Binno asked, still confused.
"I need you to put a brain in this robot, as well. Same specifications; everything."
"You say the Professor lied to me and now you want me to do the same thing he tricked me into?"
"Yes, but at least I'm being up front about it with you," Anton said. "I was told you did it primarily for the money, as you are out of work. I'll give you twice what Vance did."
The boy stuck a hand under his dark grey, V shaped, mini-sarape and pulled out two gold coins. He flipped bot of them to Binno in rapid succession.
"I heard you quoted twenty hours of work for your last outfitting. I'd like it if you could do it in half the time, since you have recent specific experience on this sort of installation."
Binno was blown away. He fixed his gaze on the boy in front of him. He ground the two coins against each other in his closed hand, knocking his knuckles against the single coin in his pocket. How does this child know so much? he asked himself. Each piece of gold was enough to sustain his life in Queenstown for two weeks. In one day, he had extended his ability to search for a new job for a significant amount of time. Or this job could be his ticket to get completely out of town...
"Alright," Binno said. "Lay out for me exactly what you brought. I'll get to work."
"Excellent. I have some painting to do," Anton said, pulling a small sprayer from the bag. He unscrewed an ivory colored paint cartridge and attached a dark steel color. He triggered he sprayer twice, clearing the line of the lighter paint. "I will try to work around you best I can."
Binno left the garage late that night, still partly confused. He felt used, but the three coins in his pocket kept the feelings of frustration to a minimum.
Anton had answered very few of his questions as he worked to paint and repair part of the Bot's track. The speed and skill with which the boy had worked was startling and strange. In fact, everything about the days encounters had been strange, especially the moment he got a peak at the boy's purple eyes.
But he needed to get his mind on track. His plans had recently changed with the new knowledge that he was not going to be working for a university in America. It was back to the drawing board on coming up with a plan; no time to be thinking about the brains he had just placed in the two refurbished war robots.
The closet door opened in the back of the garage as soon as Binno had left.
Envy rolled out as the young boy was finishing affixing expanding forearm shields to the other bot. The ivory colored robot rolled up to face it's darker colored brother as the purple-eyed boy stood back.
"All done. What do you think?" he said, not speaking Italian.
"Do you have any evidence that acquiring a second N.V. Signature was what Vega had in mind when he deceived the Keepers and kept the coin?"
"I don't think so. Knowing Vega, he kept the coin because it would be foolish not to. I don't think he anticipated that we would integrate it into your systems or do anything of what we are doing. Why? Do you disagree with this?"
"I have no feelings, as I am not capable. As far as he soundness of the actions, I can find no faults. You were designated as one of my authorized users and I will follow your commands."
"Good, fine. I want your feedback, though."
"Adding members to our team can only benefit our cause in the long run. Shall we switch him on?"
Fingers found the switch under the chin of the deactivated robot. It came right to life.
"I have been authorized two controllers. Please state your names so I may determine your roles," the flat voice of the war robot spoke. It's flat pentagon face bouncing between toe two individuals.
"I am Envy. We are equals. I will designate all persons or entities from whom we shall follow instructions. Further authorized controllers will be identified at a later date."
"Envy is an authorized user," the war robot agreed.
"Your designation is Onyx. Please begin cycling through male voice options..."
The Library
