by Rohan Healy
“Well I have to say, after spending the past month in The Dustbowl I can sure appreciate what you all are doing here, it’s really amazing!” Said Miles before taking another bite of sausage.
“Yeah well we’re just doing our part. The Humber Dam used to power a third of the Gyaros settlements including New Fortune. But since the water levels dropped we’ve got just a little more than what we need to power the town. Don’t know how long that’s gonna last though,” Adara sighed and looked forlornly out of the window at the children playing on their front lawns. She returned her gaze to Miles, “but we’ll hold out as long as we can.”
“Why are the water levels falling?” asked Miles.
“It’s the Wilhelm stations, we’re running out of Chimerium to power the towers, once we’re all out that’s it, Gyaros turns back into a dusty rock with no weather, no atmosphere, nothing. There’s that but also it’s hard to find people with the technical knowhow to maintain the stations these days, and the syndicates are so busy fighting each other they can’t even rally together to find a way to save the moon.” Adara looked depressed thinking about the fatal inevitability of it all.
“That’s awful, I guess there hasn’t been a shipment of Chimerium to Gyaros since the end of The War of Unification. That’s sixty years! How has Gyaros even latest this long?” Miles asked curiously.
“Well Talos had huge stockpiles here, enough to power the colony for decades but of course when everything fell apart after the war, the syndicates fought over the remaining supply. This meant that some sectors’ stations went off line entirely creating unliveable regions and adversely affecting the weather in the other sectors as well. Hence the storms, the deserts and the empty oceans.” Adara finished her tea, let out a refreshing “ahhh” and continued.
“So what’s your plan, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Miles thought for a moment, his plan of course was to get to New Fortune, find Mesa and get the hell off Gyaros, but he was not willing to divulge the full details of his goal.
“I’m going to try and make it to New Fortune and eke out some kind of existence there. I’m hoping my skills as an engineer and electrical technician will be good enough to secure some work, then I can find someplace safe for Lucy. Try and find someone who will take care of her, you know?” Miles took a last bite of his breakfast and placed his knife and fork down on the plate with a light clatter.
“Seems like you’re doing a pretty good job of taking care of her already,” smiled Adara admiringly, Miles scoffed.
“She deserves better than me Adara, she deserves a family that will love and care for her, give her the security a young girl needs.” Miles had yet to fully take in the fact that Lucy was an artificial intelligence made of wires and steel, veiled in human form. He still very much thought of her as the young girl that she appeared to be. A bell could be heard jingling as Doctor Galand entered the eatery and took a seat at the table with Adara and Miles.
“Good morning Miles, how did you sleep?” he asked beaming brightly.
“Better than I have in about a month!” Miles exclaimed with a laugh.
“I’m glad to hear it Miles, I hope I wasn’t too harsh yesterday, I…” Miles cut him off.
“Please, say no more, I understand, you’ve already done more than enough. Tomorrow morning we will continue north toward New Fortune.”
“Yes about that,” said Galand, his brow furrowing, “I thought you should know that there is a brilliant technician and roboticist who lives to the west of here about a hundred miles. He could certainly fix up that little girl’s arm, maybe make her a full replacement even. You see I did what I could to repair the damage to the biological part of her but I don’t have the skills necessary to work on her mechanics. She may have sustained damage to her systems that might be worth checking out.” Doctor Galand finished speaking, a look of concern for Lucy on his wise old face.
“Thank you Doctor, we’ll make a stop out there on our way to New Fortune,” Miles bowed his head slightly in appreciation of this information.
“Excellent,” the Doctor smiled, “Adara will mark his location on your map. The man’s name is Adam Powell, he lives in a small house with his wife where he runs his machine shop and does a little farming. A very good man, if a little testy at times,” a wry smile crept up one side of Galand’s face which suggested that he and Adam had been through a bit together. “I have a few patients to attend to this morning, including little Lucy, so I will let you finish your breakfasts in peace.” Galand began to stand and leave when Miles stopped him.
“Hold on just a second Doctor, I was thinking about Lucy, and I have a question. You said you gave her a sedative, but if she’s a robot why would an injected sedative work on her at all?”
“Well Miles it seems that she was designed to mimic human behaviour in every way possible, even down to the effects of drugs on the human body. I don’t know the specifics but I imagine that when the sedative was injected into the blood stream, her diagnostics module presumably ran a toxicology test to determine what had entered the system. Once the drug was identified the computer would have then simulated the effects of that drug, which in this case was unconsciousness. Speaking of which the drug’s effects should be wearing off fully around now, you should be with her when she wakes up.” Galand pardoned himself and headed out the door cheerfully into the warm sunny morning.
“He’s right, I’d better get back to Lucy. Thanks again for everything you’ve done, I’ll talk to you later,” Miles smiled and began to leave.
“You’re very welcome Miles, it’s always a pleasant surprise to get nice visitors. I’ll load your truck up with fuel and as many supplies as we can spare for your trip,” Adara beamed back and started clearing the table. She watched Miles head up the steel stairs to room number eleven and sighed.
Back in the motel room Miles opened the heavy curtains letting in the bright midday sun. The light spread across the room and illuminated Lucy’s pretty face. Her eyes and cheeks twitched at the sudden change in brightness and slowly her eyelids opened. Miles rushed over to be at her side.
“Hey you, how are you feeling this morning?” Miles asked in a hushed tone. Lucy groaned and stretched.
“I’m hungry,” they both giggled and Miles went to the diner again momentarily to fetch Lucy something to eat. He returned with a bowl of steaming hot mushroom soup and a fruit salad, as well as a small plastic portable table, the type that is used for eating breakfast in bed. Placing the food on the table by the window Miles carefully helped Lucy to sit up on the sofa. Lucy moaned in pain before finding a comfortable seating position. Miles propped the sturdy little table over Lucy’s lap and placed the bowl of soup on top of that. Taking a spoon in his hand he scooped up some soup and blew on it to cool it to an edible temperature. He then went to place it into Lucy’s mouth.
“Umm, papa, I still have one arm remember, and I’m not a baby,” she laughed, Miles too giggled at the silliness of what he was doing.
“I’m sorry Lucy, of course you’re not. It’s just that my son is much younger than you and I get mixed up sometimes,” Miles handed the spoon to Lucy who began slurping down the soup ravenously. Despite not needing food for her robotics to function, her biological parts required the nutrients to go on living and reproducing on a cellular level.
“The doctor who saved you told me where we can get you a new arm,” Miles said to Lucy who looked up from her soup excitedly, “we’re going to go there tomorrow morning, you’ll be back to your old self before you know it!”
“Wow really?! That’s so cool!” she beamed ecstatically, but then her temperament changed and she went quiet.
“What is it Lucy? Is everything okay?” Miles asked worriedly.
“Umm, papa, I-I’m not a normal girl…you must think I’m a freak,” she mumbled dejectedly, looking up at Miles, her big dark eyes shimmering, “but you have to believe me, I didn’t even know! I remember now, but before…I would have told you I swear, but
I forgot,” her eyes returned to her soup which she was now stirring listlessly. “I thought I was a normal human but now I know I’m different, now I know there’s something wrong with me…”
Miles could feel himself welling up, he cracked a big smile and placed his hands on Lucy’s cheeks making strong eye contact with her.
“Lucy, listen, it doesn’t matter to me whether you are a machine or a human or a bit of both. What matters is what we’ve been through together, do you understand? You are the only bright thing that I have on this dark moon, you are proof that light can exist among the terrible blackness here.” Miles knew that he was fully prepared to kill innocent people for food when Lucy came into his life and altered his path so drastically. If not for Lucy he would have become no better than the likes of Carl, Madison or Clem. Although Lucy didn’t know it, and was too young to understand, she had saved Miles that day, saved him from a life of torture, murder and inhumanity. Lucy looked down and pulled at a little piece of thread that hung from her torn left sleeve.
“So you still like me?” she said almost whispering. Miles let out something between a laugh and a sob.
“Yes Lucy, I still like you. And I always will.”
The rest of the day flew by as Adara brought meals, toys and books for Lucy in the motel room. Doctor Galand made regular checks on Lucy’s health, assuring Miles that she was doing fine and healing at an accelerated rate due to her internal workings. According to Galand she would be almost back to her usual self by the morning. After dinner Adara helped Lucy take a bath, being very careful not to upset the wound. During this Miles and Galand took a stroll around Humber Dam. It wasn’t as big a town as Miles had first imagined, there were only about forty families living there in total. They walked to the dam itself which was an impressive sight as the sun set beyond it. Strolling along the dam they peered over the side to the three hundred meter vertical drop below. The view took Miles’ breath away. What an incredible sight, the vista stretched many miles into the distance toward the east where the once Great Northern Sea was now little more than a large lake surrounded by dusty dunes. Large birds flapped in the distant sky and packs of heavy beasts could be spotted roaming the plains below, drinking at the banks of the fast flowing river that formed at the bottom of the dam and flowed out into the depleted Great Northern. As the sun began to set Miles and Galand headed back to the motel room where they found Lucy and Adara laughing and joking merrily. Lucy was clothed in a set of pink pyjamas presumably donated by one of the local children, and was sitting under the blankets in the big double bed. Miles had decided to couch it that night and let Lucy enjoy the comfort of the king size.
After one final check-up Galand and Adara said their goodbyes.
“We plan to head out early tomorrow morning and get to Adam’s before lunch, we’ll be gone before you wake up,” said Miles.
“We wish you all the best,” said Galand, “and you are both welcome back if you ever need to stop by again.” He smiled down at Lucy who smiled back.
“I loaded up your truck with everything we could spare, you’ve got some canned food, a few blankets and clothes, flashlights, bullets and a few books for Lucy,” said Adara.
“Thank you Adara,” said Miles, “you are too kind.”
Adara hugged Miles and Lucy, being careful of her injury and Galand shook both of their hands before saying their last farewells and leaving room eleven for the night. Miles said his good nights to Lucy and they both got comfortable and fell fast asleep.
The next morning at nine Adara entered room eleven. Miles and Lucy were gone, as was the blue pickup truck. On the table near the window was a note and some money.
“Thank you again. I know it’s not much but I hope it goes some way to repaying our debt to you. Miles.”
Adara looked down at the letter and the pile of coins and sniffed, a single tear falling onto the paper just below where Miles had signed his name. It’s amazing how quickly one can become fond of someone.
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Chapter 20
After four hours of driving, Miles noticed the sky beginning to grow darker, almost as if night time were approaching, which was strange as he knew that it couldn't be far past midday. The further they drove, the darker it seemed to get and the scenery gradually changed from the all too familiar desert wastelands and rocky cliffs to grassy plains with the occasional odd looking tree here and there. Lucy looked out of her window curiously as the environment around them became greener and more alive.
“Hey! There's a house over there!” Lucy said excitedly, pointing straight ahead, “do you think that's the place?” she added, turning to Miles.
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Miles replied with a smile upon seeing the small well lit structure in the distance. By now, it was almost pitch black, stars filled the night sky, the trees had become denser and the grass was much taller. The sounds of strange animals could be heard all around but due to the unnatural darkness that covered the area, none of them could be seen. Then suddenly, without warning, the sky lit up as bright as daytime and the sun hung there in the sky! Lucy jumped in fright and Miles almost swerved off the road.
“What the hell just happened?!” Miles said, surprised as his eyes began to adjust to the dramatic change in lighting.
“Must be a malfunctioning Wilhelm station,” Lucy replied looking around in wonder at the lush green surroundings, now illuminated by artificial daylight. A variety of exotic and unfamiliar creatures could be seen hiding in the tall grass and bushy trees, and high above Miles and Lucy, several giant, bird like animals soared majestically through the skies.
“So you know about the Wilhelm stations?” Miles inquired as the road took them closer to their destination.
“Of course!” answered Lucy proudly, “they automatically maintain an artificial, Carthage-like climate and day-night cycle. But they've hardly been maintained at all for around fifty years so they've gradually deteriorated,” she paused briefly before continuing, “that's why 83.7% of Gyaros is a wasteland.”
“Wow, impressive,” said Miles now used to Lucy’s bizarre but vast and highly accurate knowledge base. Now that he knew what Lucy was it all made a lot more sense. “Any idea what's wrong with this one?”
“Hmm....” Lucy stared at her feet for a moment, thinking, “dunno. Maybe it got damaged by an explosion or something.”
“Hey, how is your shoulder feeling now?” asked Miles looking down at the yellow t shirt that had been donated to Lucy, the left sleeve tied off and tucked into itself.
“It’s okay, still a bit sore,” she replied placing her hand gently on the healing wound.
Before long, Miles and Lucy had gotten as close as they could to the house by car and parked by the side of the road to continue up a narrow bushy trail on foot. The last time Miles could remember feeling grass beneath his feet was on the occasional family picnics he had with Hellen and Chet in The Hesperides’ Garden of Elissa’s Green Districts. The smell of the thick foliage brought back wonderful feelings from Miles’ youth, and the sound of the long grass swaying in the breeze was like music to his ears after so long in the desert wastelands. ‘Wow, I didn’t realise just how much I missed the colour green!’ The small home among the dense forest looked like another building left over from Gyaros' glory days under Talos rule and seemed to be decently maintained. Two wooden chairs sat on the front porch and a small garden grew to the side of the house, consisting of several exotic looking flowers. It had, however, been reinforced over the years like almost all standing structures on the red moon with a sturdy looking metal door and various steel plates of different shapes and sizes covering certain parts of the exterior. The only vehicle in sight was a large worn out looking motorcycle that leant against the side of the building. As they drew close to the house, Miles called out… “Hello?”
After receiving no answer, Miles approached the front door and knocked. “Excuse me. We need your help.”
“Maybe they're not home.” As the w
ords left Lucy's mouth, the thick steel door opened slightly, being stopped by a heavy looking chain. A man who appeared to be in his mid-sixties with a dense grey beard and a western hat that curled up at the sides stared at the two from inside the doorway. The deep wrinkles around his eyes creased and folded as his bushy brow furrowed, scanning Miles and Lucy.
“Can I help you?” asked the man in a brusque deep voice.
“Um, yes,” replied Miles, “you see, we...”
“You want a new arm for that little girl?” the old man said emotionlessly, looking down at Lucy's missing limb.
“Yes please!” Lucy replied with a smile. The man looked cautiously at Miles and Lucy for a few seconds.
“Everyone's lookin' for a new arm these days,” he mumbled before replying, “alright, come inside and we'll talk.” With that, he closed the door, removed the chain and opened it again, wide enough for the two to fit through.
“Thank you so much, Mr Powell right?” Miles said as he stepped through the doorway and placed his hand out in front of him.
“Yeah, that’s me, but call me Adam,” the two men shook hands.
“I'm Miles Stanton and this is Lucy.” Miles looked around the interior of the house which was littered with various machine parts and odd looking contraptions. They seemed to be standing in the living area, as in the centre of the room stood a polished wooden coffee table with a sofa on each side as well as a couple of arm chairs.
