Work Text:
It had been a long hot day in the garden. Arborus could feel the grit in his joints and he needed oil. Badly. He usually didn’t let it get that bad, but he had wanted to finish taking the last of the stumps out of one particular section of the main garden so he could finally feel like he had the beginnings of something out there to work in, rather than a poorly maintained woodlot. It was getting dark too. Arborus went in, topped up his oil, somewhat concerned he was a whole quart low, then spent a few minutes in the potting shed making a mixture of clean water and a small amount of vinegar in a coffee can. He kicked off his boots at the door to his house and went inside.
Dropping all of his dirty clothes onto the floor near the door (he would wash them later, he told himself) he went to the desk drawer where he pulled out some clean soft rags from a box kept there, along with a small kit bag. He sat in his desk chair and began to remove his wooden plating, meticulously cleaning each piece by giving both the plates and the gaskets a once over with the water-vinegar solution. He inspected the gaskets for wear then set the pieces on the desk to dry. He started at his head and eventually ended with the long plates covering his shins. There were no wooden plates on his feet. He carefully cleaned what he could reach of his metal framing, then used a long handled brush for the more difficult parts. He finished off with some joint grease.
He paid particular attention to cleaning up tonight. Tomorrow he had an appointment with Peter about setting up a maintenance lab in the basement of the manor — a lab just for him. He also had something he needed to attend, something his mother had made him promise to do and he had been remiss thus far.
He quickly replaced the now dry plating. Taking some clothing from the hooks behind the door, he donned a pair of cargo shorts and a hoodie with the sleeves cut off a little below the shoulder seams. Feeling much better, but still a little off, he climbed onto his bed and settled in for the night. He did not sleep, but he did put himself into a low power repair mode, running all the self-maintenance scripts as he did on occasion. He was thinking too, that it was time for maintenance on his oil system, and having a lab with tools would be a good thing for that.
With the morning light he rose to tend the chickens and collect the eggs for the manor staff. He turned out Cob into the grassy section of the yard and put dishes of food out for the kitties, who were nowhere in sight. It was early yet but he took the gathered eggs up to the kitchen door at the back of the manor. Cook was always up when he arrived, didn’t seem to matter how early. She was always happy to see him and, like today, often teased him about her missing produce order. Today he had good news for her that a small first crop of lettuce was coming along in a week or so, along with some radishes and green onions. She beamed at him. He left smiling.
Still needing to kill time, he wandered into the gardens out back. He was passing the gazebo there, surprised to see The Spine already up and sitting alone. Having overcome much of his shyness he offered a “good morning.”
The Spine looked up, his pensive expression brightening on seeing Arborus. “Good morning to you, Arborus,” came the basso reply. “You’re not often up here in this part of the garden.”
Arborus climbed the steps into the gazebo. “No. I don’t get up here too often. I didn’t mean to intrude. I have an appointment with Peter but it is early yet, so I wanted to see the garden in morning light. It…it is very nice here.”
The Spine laughed lightly, “It’s no where near noon yet. That’s usually when Peter makes an appearance. And you aren’t intruding. I’m out here…most mornings. If it’s not raining.”
Arborus frowned. “He told me 8am today. Could he have meant this evening? A mistake?”
“If he said 8am, he meant it. Usually though, he gets so wrapped up in his work he doesn’t stop until early morning, then goes to bed until around noon. He must be making an exception for you.”
“Oh, I hope not.” Arborus sat on the bench opposite The Spine. A noise attracted his attention. He looked over the railing at the small fountain water feature. Odd. Running water outdoors? He had been reading about water usage and water rights in the area. It seemed out of place. He asked The Spine about it.
“It’s been there longer than I’ve been alive. Father told me it was artesian, from a deep source, but that doesn't make sense. I’ve never seen it not running. Though there were times when I was away…for years…so I cannot be 100% certain.”
Skipping tracks from curiosity, Arborus asked, “Father?”
“Yes, Colonel Walter the First. You may have heard Rabbit calling him Pappy. The same man.” The Spine’s eyes grew distant and he went quiet for several moments. He brightened again. “Where did Peter tell you to meet him?”
“In the Main Hall.”
“Let me check something.” He accessed wi-fi. “Ah, he’s going to bring you down to my lab to run the initial check on you. I just told him to meet us there, we’re actually pretty close to my lab right now, rather than go all the way around to the front of the manor.”
“Your…your lab?” squeaked Arborus.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get your own. He uses mine for anyone with a more modern design. I’ve been upgraded so many times now, it’s likely that anything he may need will be there when he has a look at you for the first time. It’s almost time. As random as Peter can be, he is punctual for appointments and expects the same courtesy. This way.” The Spine rose and beckoned Arborus to follow him. They crossed the shaded terrace then entered a tunnel of greenery that lead to a bulkhead door. “Peter just reinstalled this door. He hates doors, but security is more important these days.” He opened the heavy, metal-clad door.
“Yet it opened with you just turning the handle?”
“I pinged security when I talked to Peter. They unlocked it. We really should get you on the wifi. Maybe Peter can set that up today too.”
Arborus pondered that as they walked down the dimly lit stone passageway. “They gave me a transponder to wear when I arrived. It’s here, under my arm plating.” He tapped his left arm. “I’m not sure I want to be on the network where I can hear people talking all the time. That might be….distracting.”
“I can respect that. It can have its moments….” He smiled. “But you have to actively join in. You don’t have to listen. People can ping you but it doesn’t mean you have to answer. You can set who you receive messages from too.”
“It would be rude to not answer. And I cannot be selective in who should be able to talk to me. Best not to have it.” Arborus shook his head.
“Talk to Peter about it. He’ll come up with something. Here we are. Home sweet home.” He stopped before the doorway to his lab. The lights were already on. He gestured for Arborus to enter.
Walter Worker Chelsea was there starting up the main computer console. Arborus looked around at the odd mixture of old metal equipment and shiny plastic, the huge assortment of tools neatly arrayed on trays on the countertops, more cabinets and drawers than he could count quickly, and the large exam table in the center of the room, large enough for The Spine to lay down comfortably. It was raised to its upright position. Chelsea waved him over. Arborus hesitated. The Spine clapped him on the shoulder twice. “Chelsea is the best. You’ll be fine. Peter should be along in a minute.” The Spine left the room his footsteps going back the way they had come, out to the garden.
Chelsea went over to sit at a desk in the corner of the room. She opened a laptop there and indicated to Arborus he should come over and sit in the chair next to her. He did. She tapped some keys, pulled up a “new robot” file and began filling in information. He noticed that she had put in his name as Arborus Ramsay. That made him catch his breath and it nearly brought tears to his eyes. He hadn’t ever given that a thought until just now, and decided he liked it.
“While we have a few minutes, let’s get some of this stuff out of the way. Just some initial questions, all easy stuff, I think. Just some safety concerns. You can lie flat on your back, right?” He nodded, but she already knew that. “What about on your side, either side, okay?” He nodded. “How about face down? Good?” Again he nodded. “What about inclined with your head below the line of your hips.” Arborus had to think about that. Had he ever fallen or tipped past horizontal?
“I don’t know. I assume you are asking for fluid shift reasons? My system is closed loop and I think it’s probably okay? But I cannot recall ever being in a head down position.”
She made a note. “We ask because sometimes even in closed loop systems there can be pump priming issues or a component can’t handle inverted pressure. If you aren’t sure, it’s something we’ll check out." She made a note. "What about air? You ‘breathe’ right?”
Again Arborus had to think. “I breathe to talk, yes. I do have a pulmonary system as a secondary cooling source when needed. There is also a passive system for…” he hesitated. “I’m not sure the word combustion is appropriate. Catalyzing maybe? There is a process that breaks down the waste oil used as a coolant that involves heat and air.” Chelsea nodded and made notes. She got up and gently passed the palms of her hands over the vents in his jaw. The air from there was warm but not hot. "Just these?" she asked. Arborus pulled up the back of his sweatshirt.
"Intake ports down here too." He pointed to two covered and microscreened ports about where a human's kidneys would be. He dropped the shirt and pulled at his hood. "And two more vents here." He pointed to the back of his neck. "This is why I wear a vest when working." Chelsea took a look then sat back down to type in more notes.
“What about your ability to detect sensations. Do you feel heat or cold, can you tell if someone is touching you if you don’t see them doing it? Are you able to feel pain or discomfort?”
“I have some ability to detect thermal conditions as a self-protection. There is such a thing as too warm or too cold. I cannot function sub-zero for any length of time. Living in Maine, there were some days during winter that I was unable to do my outside chores. Too cold. We watched for those and made arrangements beforehand. I have some limited sense of touch. My hands have hundreds of receptors, but the rest of me is pretty sparse. I do not feel “pain.” I can tell if I’ve stressed a tensor or overworked a joint but it is more a feeling of wrongness than pain.”
Peter came in the room at that point, but he just leaned against the wall behind Chelsea. She asked, “Have you had any problems adjusting to living here?” She asked it out of the blue and it sort of took him by surprise.
“I….” He looked up at Peter. “It’s very nice here. All the people here are very nice. I…I miss home though.” His eyes dropped to look at his hands. He didn’t want to seem ungrateful but he was, for lack of a better word, homesick.
Chelsea nodded. “That’s understandable Arborus. I dream of my home sometimes too.” It was telling that he brought up his feelings for home first at the prompt.
Changing tack she asked, “Have you had any climate issues. It is hot and pretty dry here.”
“I have had trouble with the heat. Go through a lot of oil working here. I was going to ask that we do a cleaning cycle for that system very soon.”
Peter asked, “Is it urgent. Should we do it today?”
Arborus hesitated. He wanted to be sure he had all the right tools and supplies lined up. “We can go over what is needed. It is all rather standard off the shelf items, except for some of the tools. I usually did the maintenance on the same day I did the tractor’s oil change.” Chelsea looked at him with the same concern she’d held earlier about that tractor. Arborus gave her his most disarming smile. “Some of the same parts and and the oil supply. If you have the parts and tools, today would be good, but it is not urgent. It takes about two hours if pre-prepped.” He looked down. His fingers toyed absently with the stone on his choker. He fidgeted in his chair.
“There’s something else, isn’t there,” Peter asked.
Arborus looked up at him, then over at Chelsea. “I do not want to offend.”
“No offense here, Arborus," Peter said. "Out with it.”
The robot’s eyes dropped to look at his booted feet. “I have something I need to discuss with you Mr. Walter.” He looked up at Peter. “But my…my momma said it could only be you.” He looked over at Chelsea again. “Alone.”
“No worries Arborus. Chelsea, I got this.”
Chelsea gave up her seat, “Sure thing.” She patted Arborus on the shoulder. “I’m not at all offended, Arborus. I’ll be up giving Camille a hand with Rabbit. Something about glowsticks…. I didn’t ask….” She laughed and left the room.
Arborus smiled at the mention of Rabbit. He asked Peter, “Rabbit always seems to be getting into trouble?”
“Rabbit can be a handful. Sometimes there isn’t a lot of thought process going on there, just a whole lot of impulsive action, and when combined with some of the other robots, like Zer0 or G.G…..” He laughed. “Things can get quite messy very quickly. I wouldn’t have it any other way though.”
“I know what you mean,” said Arborus. “I like her…randomness. It’s…fun.”
Peter laughed again then became quite serious. “So what is it Arborus? What did your mother want of me?”
“She told me I was to give you something. But only to you, alone. I've tried several times but...there are always too many people.... She said what you do with it after, is up to you, but you must receive it alone.” Arborus got up and went over to the tool trays on the counter. He looked down the long line of them, finally picking up a long, hooked wire probe and a very small torx driver. He sat back down in the chair and removed the wooden plating from his upper leg. Then he opened the rubber cover on his kneecap and fished the long probe up into his thigh. Peter watched as he deftly snagged a catch to release a section of rough metal plating on part of his frame there. Laying the metal piece aside he popped off two more to fully expose the internal workings of his upper leg. Peter looked at it in amazement.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you and The Spine were twins. Just looking at this, your construction appears similar. The level of redundancy…it’s all there.”
Arborus poked into a space with the torx driver, not using it as it was meant to be used, but more as a pressure key to release one of the tensors in his leg. It was one of a redundant pair, a backup should there be a malfunction of the main tensor. He released the upper attachment and removed it. It was an overlapping cylinder about 3” long and 1” in diameter. He twisted the ends while pushing them together, the unit sprung open in a manner that showed it to be non-functional. Opening the cylinder, Arborus revealed a small, very smooth ovoid capsule. He handed it to Peter. “This is for you. I am unable to open it further for you. I cannot properly grasp it to turn it. Not without tools and I don’t want to damage it.”
Peter took it, knowing what it would be. Hardly daring to breath, he carefully unscrewed the two halves of the capsule to reveal a USB thumb drive. He pulled it out, handling it carefully. “Arborus, I’m going to back this up to my private system immediately. I don’t want to lose this.” He took it over to the main console by the exam table and gingerly placed it into the interface there, then he typed in some command codes. He watched the entire time the transfer took to complete, several long minutes. Arborus in the meantime had replaced the plating on is leg. He came over to stand next to Peter.
Peter said, “I feel better knowing that’s backed up.”
“There is another copy,” Arborus said and tapped his chest.
“I still feel better knowing that’s backed up.” Peter smiled and pulled up the drive menu. “What should we look at first.”
“I imagine my power system is what you would like to see first, but…”
“But?”
“We need to look at my oil cooling system. It has been running too hot.”
“A malfunction?”
“I do not think so. It may just need adjustment for the heat here, but I’m not quite sure. Perhaps if we look together, I will recognize something my Momma may have forgotten to tell me.”
Peter pulled up the schematic and quickly scrolled around the screen. A low whistle came from behind his mask as he looked at the drawings. “Arborus, I’m not quite sure how this could be, but this is amazingly similar to The Spine. Almost like your mother had access to his schematics.” He froze as a thought occurred to him. “Arborus?” He turned slowly to look directly at the robot at his side. “Did she ever tell you anything about her life? Was she, by any chance, in the military?”
Arborus shook his head. “She never talked about her past…” he hesitated. “But now that you mention military there may have been something….” He shook his head again. “I cannot…be sure.”
“On the off chance that she was, she may have had something to do with The Spine’s upgrades.... Let’s not mention this to him, okay? It’s a…touchy subject. A lot of what he went through back then was done to him against his will.”
Arborus’s eyes opened wide. “Momma would never….she wouldn’t….No! She’d never do that! Not against his will!”
Peter dropped the matter as something to check out later in the privacy of his office. His mother would have had to have been into her 90s when she died if she had been directly involved in The Spine’s 1950s upgrades. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, as blue matter could do strange things to a person’s DNA. He set it aside and began scrolling through schematics, looking at a very specific area of the cooling system. He whistled again.
“Yeah, okay, I see what’s up. Arborus, The Spine also had a problem with overheating. He has cooling fins along his dorsal process, but only recently we were able to figure out where the heat was coming from and where to sink it. He still has the fins, but they are rarely needed now.”
Arborus thought back to the night he had almost been abducted. Seeing The Spine, in the semi-darkness with those fins extended, the exposed weaponry crackling with power, intense green eyes focused — and deadly…. He shook his head. Peter was talking to him.
“It looks like you may have a similar issue going on here. Your mother used oil to mitigate it to some extent. In fact, there is room here,” he circled an area with his cursor, “to add in a secondary heat sink.” I think your mother may have known it might be necessary.”
“She never told me.” He looked away, not wanting to ask, but he did. “Is it….Is it something you can fix?”
“I think we’re gonna have to fix it for you to stay on here. Especially if you want to continue your work.”
“I do want to stay. As much as I want to go home, I know I can’t, and this is the next best place for me to be. I can be useful here.”
“Okay. I want to get with David, my Matter Master. We’ll take a look at this system schematic and together we’ll work up a second heat sink for you. It’ll be a few days, maybe even a week. Can you take it somewhat easy until then? You don’t have to stop work unless you feel unsafe about it, but I do want you to cut back and come inside during the midday hours. Deal?”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Now if you don’t mind, I’d still like to get a once-over on you, do some quick photos and a few tests. Come on over here to the table and let’s have a look. Leave on the shorts, but take off the hoodie. We’re gonna have to take a few plates off your chest.”
Arborus obediently did as told, shedding his sweatshirt and tossing it onto the chair before stepping up and leaning back into the heavily cushioned exam table. The table was much too big for him. The Spine always seemed a towering giant to Arborus, even more so now. Peter powered the table down flat. Arborus showed him how to remove the plates and then lay perfectly still while Peter probed inside his torso with an endoscope, taking video and photos. Then he was asked to turn on his left side and remove several more plates and some metal framing panels. Peter had another look with the scope.
“Yep, it’s gotta go in from this side. Once we get the unit made, it should be a piece of cake. I want to hook you up to a diagnostic and get some pre-procedure readings. I saw one on the thumb drive. I’ll have to get a new console set up with your software and have Chelsea set up a lab for you in the room across the hall. Come on back…hmmm…not tomorrow but the next day, what is that? Thursday? They all run together sometimes. Come on back then and we’ll check you out for the procedure. Have you ever been taken offline?”
“Do you mean shut down? Completely? No! I mean, I can’t…I don’t think….” Arborus panicked at the thought. To him, that sounded like it would be...dying. What if no one turned him back on? He literally began to tremble.
“Okay, okay.” Peter tried to calm him. “I was just wondering. How did your mother do repairs? Not live…?”
“Oh, repair mode. It’s like being asleep but not. She had to do that to me once to repair an arm I had damaged in an accident. During the repair, I was aware, but could not move. I don’t have pain receptors.”
“A command level open stasis? It wasn’t unpleasant to be aware of the repairs being made?”
“No. It was no different from putting on or removing these plates.”
Peter frowned. He didn’t like to think about his charges being awake and aware during what amounted to surgery. “This isn’t a repair, Arborus. It’s an upgrade. I’ll take a look at this tonight and we’ll talk again on Thursday morning. Same time, around 8am.” He helped replace the wooden plates that had been removed then powered the table upright. Arborus grabbed his shirt and put it on.
“Thank you,” he said sincerely.
“Sure thing, Arborus. It’s what I’m here for. We’ll get you sorted. Before you go,” Peter tapped a message into the computer, "Go down the hall to the left and see Ryan. He should be in the lab 4 doors down on the right. He'll take you to the supply room to see about your oil system parts. If we don't have what you need, he'll order it and we'll get that taken care of on Thursday too." He waved as the young bot left the room then immediately buried himself in the contents of the thumb drive.
Not more than an hour later there was a soft knock on the doorjamb. Peter looked up.
“The Spine? What is it?” The robot looked at him with sad eyes.
“I wonder if we might speak a moment,” The Spine almost whispered.
“Of course!”
“The roster just updated, and I have to ask this. It’s none of my business but….”
“The roster! Oh, no! Spine, I….”
“Arborus Ramsay?” The Spine looked at him with liquid green eyes. “Was his…was his mother…Dr. Muriel Ramsay?”
“Spine, I’m so sorry, I should have said something first…. But I didn’t know, not until I saw these.” He pointed at the schematics on the screen.
“It’s alright, Peter.” The Spine smiled, though rather halfheartedly. “Dr. Ramsay was perhaps the only bright spot in an otherwise very dark time. I couldn’t be sure. It was so long ago.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
The Spine hesitated, “I wish I had known she was still alive…” Then shook his head. “No. No, it’s okay. I just wanted to know. That’s all.” He turned to go.
“Spine, you know I’m here. If you ever need to talk, I’m here. Any time.”
“Thank you, Peter.” He stood taller and set his shoulders. “I’m fine. It was just a momentary shock. That’s all. Thank you.” He left. Peter watched after him with concern.
—
The next week was a whirlwind of activity for Arborus. Peter was busy building the new heat sink so after setting up a new console in the new lab space, he left it to Chelsea to do the fit-out. With help from staff, Arborus, and a couple of the other robots she had a new table brought in and padded to fit Arborus’s frame. She took Arborus to the tool room where she let him select what tools might be needed should repairs need to be done, then they spent some time online looking for a few he didn't find. Particularly some woodworking tools should a plate need replacing. She also helped him with his oil system maintenance, watching as he did the procedure and asking questions so she could do it should it become necessary. She also got it on video capture so Peter could review it later. Then she put him through a whole slew of system testing and motor skills evaluations which took several hours over several days.
Arborus cut back on his work in the garden. He stayed mainly in the growing frame yard, but he found himself so distracted that he only did simple tasks like glazing or painting frames, or grooming Cob just to be near him. Most of the time he stayed under the shade of the potting shed. After his maintenance he felt so much better, but with a fix for his overheating so near, and no real pressure to work, he did take it a bit easy. He hated being idle. Still, he was worried. He had never had a major upgrade done before and he was very nervous about the possibility of having to be shut down. Rabbit and Butterfly had come by during the week, just their usual random visits but they could do little to ease his anxiety. Even his cat Tish, noticed his unease and stayed at his side constantly, ready to jump into his lap if given the opportunity. He welcomed her company.
Finally the day came when Peter called him up to the lab to run some final checks himself. He had the parts ready and all the testing on the new heat sink was complete and perfect. He scheduled the procedure for noon the next day. At the end of the visit, he had Arborus sit down in the chair by the desk then sat facing him. "Arborus, there's no way around this. When we interface this new hardware, we are going to have to do a system reboot." Arborus pulled back and looked away. "We'll have to take you offline. Your mother left instructions for this, it's very straightforward, but she noted that you have never experienced a shut down. Is there anything I can do to make this easier for you?"
"If that is what it takes," he said quietly, not looking at Peter, feeling his eyes fill with oil. He blinked it away and said more resolutely, "If that is what it takes, then it is, what it is. I still want you to do this. Do what it takes to fix this." He sat up straight in the chair and looked directly at Peter and nodded.
"Good! Tomorrow it is then. 12 noon." They both stood. Peter stretched. "I'm going to go catch up on my sleep for this. You should take it easy too." They left the lab together, going separate ways.
After his appointment Arborus sat in the gazebo for a long time. A cold dread had crept over him. Despite his bravado, he was really scared. He shook it off to walk slowly back to his quarters but once there he just sat on his bed, not moving, for hours. Near dusk there was a knock at his door. It startled him. He got up and opened it, even more startled to find The Spine standing outside.
“May I come in, Arborus?”
Struck speechless as was usual in The Spine’s presence, Arborus just stepped back to let him enter. Finding his voice, he asked hesitantly, “Is…is there something I can do for you?" The Spine went to the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. Arborus did the same. The Spine looked at him directly.
“Some people have told me that you are nervous about tomorrow. I just wanted to come by to see that you were okay. And to see if there is anything I can do to help.”
Arborus sat back in his chair, even more astonished now — and all the more speechless. This was not at all what he expected from The Spine. “I…” he stammered, then shook his head and looked away from the silver bot’s gaze. “Peter just told me…they…have to do…a system reboot. I….I’ve never…I don’t know if I can….” His eyes began to film over with oil.
The Spine saw this and waited patiently a few moments. Then quietly he said, “Peter is the best there is. Ever. He is even more brilliant than the man who created me. He won’t let anything happen to you. And he’ll have David and Chelsea to assist. You cannot ask for a better team of hands, minds or hearts. That probably doesn’t make it any easier. Especially where you’ve never been powered down before. It can be frightening, even when you know what to expect.” He paused. “I just wanted to come by, to let you know that you are not alone. And if you would like, I can go with you tomorrow, if it’ll help.”
Arborus looked across the table and even though his vision was blurred he could see the intensity of The Spine’s glowing green eyes. “You…you would do that?” he stammered again. He thought back to the conversation with Peter, about how his momma might have…. No. Not his momma. She wouldn’t….
Almost as if The Spine could read his thoughts he replied, “Yes, I would be most happy to do that, for you…and as a debt I owe to your mother as well.” It was his turn for oil filmed eyes. “She was there for me when there was no one else…. Back when I didn’t have the comfort of knowing if I would ever wake up again…or what I would wake up as…. But she was there, a young woman, a doctor just-graduated from a prestigious engineering school,. Very smart, smarter than a good number of the men on my upgrade team and I could see they resented it. They wouldn’t believe her when she told them I was sentient, mocked her insistence that she stay by my side before every procedure…” He looked down at the floor. In almost a whisper he said, “And after…after, she was always there to wipe away the tears when I was unable to do so myself.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes and looked up. “It’s the very least I can do for her son. Who is, in some ways, my brother.” He nodded deeply.
Arborus was stunned, upset that his momma had indeed been there, but happy she had been able to help in some small way. And The Spine his brother? In a convoluted way, maybe he was. Seeing the earnest expression in The Spine’s face, he said, “It…it would be a help…if you…would come with me.” He actually welcomed the idea of company.
“I’ll come by at 11:30 and walk up to the manor with you. Okay?” The Spine stood to go.
“Okay.” The thought actually gave Arborus some comfort now, knowing he wouldn’t have to make that walk by himself. Arborus stood with him and opened the door for him. Tish strolled in and rubbed against his leg first before going over to The Spine and doing the same to him.
“I guess I am hers now too?” The Spine laughed. “Cats are wondrous creatures. Have you met Marshmallow yet?” Arborus shook his head. “No? I’ll have to introduce you sometime. Next movie night! Marshmallow loves a good movie.” He reached down and gave Tish a quick scratch on the shoulder blades before stepping outside. “I will see you in the morning.”
“Thank you, The Spine. I really do appreciate it.” The Spine waved and set off up the path to the manor.
Just as he was closing the door a streak of black fur flew into the room and jumped up on the table, Tish’s kitten, no longer a kitten but a lanky teenager now, all limbs, ears and tail, midnight black with dazzling blue eyes. Butterfly had named her Shadow, as the kitten was shy with people around. Arborus went to lay on his bed. Tish hopped up and curled up in the crook of his arm, her head resting on his chest, her purr loud and comforting. Shadow walked all over him before deciding instead to curl up on the soft blanket at his feet. She was sound asleep in a heartbeat but he could tell Tish was still watching him through slitted eyes. He patted her gently, knowing he would be unable to rest this night but not wanting her to stay awake too. He hoped he could calm his systems enough for her to think he had relaxed, but doubted it. He was wound tighter than a clock spring. But eventually she did curl up on his arm with her paw against his chest and fell asleep.
The morning was a long time coming, but as always, the sun did eventually rise. Arborus got up and put on his hoodie and cargo shorts, then did his usual morning chores. Cook was especially nice to him this morning when he brought the eggs. She gave him a warm hug. He returned to his cabin to do a little desk work, but he could not concentrate. He was still staring at the same page of his notebook hours later when he heard a soft knock at the door. 11:30 on the dot.
“Are you ready to go?” The Spine asked.
“Not…not really, but yeah…let’s go do this thing.”
The Spine chuckled lightly. “You sound like Rabbit.” They fell in step and made their way up to the manor via the back gardens, to the same door by the terrace gazebo that The Spine had first shown him. They arrived at the new lab to find Peter, Chelsea and a third man Arborus guessed was David just finishing with their pre-op checklist.
“Right on time Arborus,” Peter said. “You haven’t met David yet. He’s Matter Master in the labs here.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Arborus said and shook the tall man’s hand.
“And you, Arborus.”
Chelsea patted the heavy cushioning on the table. “Ready when you are, Arborus.”
Arborus looked to The Spine, who nodded and moved with him to the table.
“Shirt off first,” Chelsea said.
Arborus pulled the hoodie off over his head. The Spine took it from him and set it aside on a hook on the wall. Arborus stepped up onto the table ledge and Chelsea powered it level. She could see Arborus was trembling now, his hand fidgeting with the stone on the choker he wore. She put a hand to his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. We’re gonna need you to be on your left side. Can you turn that way for me?”
Arborus slowly did as requested, trembling even more as he watched Peter roll over a tray covered with tools. David brought over a second cart. On it was a glass jar that held a small, fist-sized mechanism immersed in oil.
Chelsea said, “I’m going to attach the telemetry lead now Arborus. Okay?” He could only nod in response, tensing even more as her hands touched his neck to remove a wooden plate there, then she flipped open the protective rubber cover to the data port at the base of his skull to attach the lead. David moved behind him, opposite the table from Peter. Arborus looked up at The Spine. Without being asked, The Spine reached down and took his hand in his own.
“It’s just like sleeping,” The Spine said. “When you wake up, it’ll all be over.”
“Will I…will I dream?”
The Spine smiled and shook his head. “No, no dreams.” Chelsea was looking at him. “Are you ready?” Arborus closed his eyes. He grasped The Spine’s hand tightly and nodded. Chelsea entered a command on the console and pressed the enter key. Arborus shuddered then there was a very quiet, yet distinct whine of disconnecting servos and he slowly relaxed onto the cushions. The Spine gently set his hand down. “I’ll wait outside, Peter. I’d like to be here when you wake him, please?”
“Sure thing,” answered Peter as he and David deftly began removing wooden plates.
—
The Spine had counted two hours, 28 minutes and 14 seconds before David came out of the lab.
“It went well, Spine. Everything went well. Go on in. I’m going to grab a quick bite to eat then head back down to the main lab.”
Peter was just snapping on the last of the wooden plates covering Arborus’s chest when The Spine entered the room.
“He did well, Spine. We’re going to wake him now.” Peter thought maybe he understood why The Spine was there. “Would you talk him through it?”
The Spine came over and took Arborus’s hand just like before. He nodded to Chelsea, who keyed in the command line.
Arborus powered up slowly, his servos reconnecting in succession rather than all at once. Then his eyes opened and his body tensed. “Where….?” He shifted on the cushions.
The Spine gripped his hand. “Don’t move yet. It’s okay, Arborus. They’re all done. You’re going to feel a little disoriented. Take it slow and let any status yellows click over to green before even trying to move.”
Arborus nodded, closing his eyes. He suddenly grimaced.
The Spine gripped tighter and put his other hand to the young bot's shoulder. “You might feel a ‘wrongness’ Arborus. That is your new hardware coming online. Give it a few minutes. You’re doing great.” He looked over at Peter who was now behind the console with Chelsea.
“Everything is looking nominal,” Peter said. “Driver installation is complete.”
Arborus whispered. “It feels…strange….”
The Spine said, “As soon as the new firmware integrates, that strange feeling should go away. If it doesn’t, say something.”
Arborus waited. There were two new status indicators still blinking yellow. One turned green then a moment later the second one did as well. The feeling of unease went away. “I feel much better now. All green.” He moved to sit up. The Spine held him down with the hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t. Don’t sit up yet. Turn onto your back and let Chelsea power up the table for you, and even then, wait until you feel your stabilizers are ready before attempting to step down. I know my own gyros take a bit to get themselves up to speed and rebalanced after a complete shutdown.” He let go both hands and stepped back. Arborus turned to lie flat. Chelsea brought the table up. Arborus was glad The Spine had warned him. Once upright he felt momentarily unsteady, but it passed quickly.
“Do you want to try to step down now?” Chelsea asked. Arborus nodded. The Spine moved closer, in case he needed help should his balance be off, but everything seemed to be fine.
Peter came around and handed Arborus his hoodie. “Okay, I’d suggest slowly ramping up your exertion level today and tomorrow. I want you to come back day after tomorrow for a diagnostic check. 8am. You shouldn’t feel anything different other than not overheating as you were before. If anything, anything seems off to you, I don’t care how small, notify me via your laptop and come directly here. I’ll meet you here in this lab. If you need help and can’t access the computer, you know how to activate the emergency alert on your transponder, right?” Arborus nodded. “Okay. You’re good to go.”
“I…I can go back to work?”
Peter nodded, “Yup. But take it slow today and tomorrow.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Peter.” He looked over at The Spine. “And thank you, The Spine…”
“No. Thank you, Arborus.” The Spine smiled at him and watched after him as he left the room. He stood silent several minutes as the smile slowly faded.
“Spine, are you okay?” Peter asked.
The Spine nodded.
Peter put a gentle hand on The Spine’s shoulder. “She was there for you…wasn’t she.”
“Yes. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today.” He nodded in the direction of the door. “I’m very glad that he’s going to be okay too. It makes me very happy to know she lives on…through him.”