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The Spine wandered aimlessly through the lower lab levels of the Manor. He didn’t know why he was down here really, or what he was looking for, hoping he would know it when he found it. He was about to pass a room with a heavy oaken door when he stopped. He lifted the latch and pulled it open. The hinges creaked in protest. It was dark inside. From long practice The Spine reached in and turned an old fashioned light switch. A dim light came on. It was in the center of the low ceiling and didn’t do anything to drive away the dark shadows in the further corners of the room. It was enough light to see that one whole wall was stacked floor to ceiling with wooden crates.
There were five crates set apart, resting on the floor. He went over to the one with his name stenciled on the sides. It took some effort to lift the heavy lid. The crate hadn’t been opened in years now and the hinges were starting to rust. As the lid fell back against the keeper chains The Spine reached down inside and lifted out an armor chest carapace made of a dark-finished stainless steel. It was a piece of the heavy battle armor he had worn when the robots had been called upon to serve. Father had made all of the robots a set of protective battle armor to wear when they had first fought the Copper Elephants, but he had lost most of that on the return trip home, trading it for water. This armor was made new at the start of the First World War. It was far heavier. It had been cleaned, repaired and upgraded a bit over the years for each conflict fought, just as he had been upgraded too.
“I’ve always hated this armor,” he whispered. “Hated it. Hated needing it. Hated wearing it… but now….” With a sigh he gently set the armor back down into its foam cushioning. An oil tear slid from his eye, dripping down his cheek as he slowly closed the lid of the crate. He wiped it away fiercely then rested his hands on the lid, his head bowed, eyes closed, thinking back to what had happened earlier this morning….
Today, this morning, a Marine Colonel had driven out from the Miramar Air Station to see Peter. When all of the robots had heard of the war in the Middle East there had been quite a bit of tension as they waited to be called up. The wait had turned into months, the months into a year. No word. No orders. The constant worry had started getting to all of them.
The Spine had seen the Colonel arrive and had made a point to be in the outer foyer, not intending to eavesdrop. Not really. Well maybe he had. But the only words he heard were “robots” followed by the word “obsolete.” That had struck him a terrible blow. All the upgrades, all the pain, all the terror he had experienced. Obsolete?
He was still out there when Peter showed the Colonel out. The Spine stood at parade rest, waiting for orders. Of all of the bots, with all of his upgrades and weaponry, he couldn’t possibly be…obsolete? But no orders came. The Colonel did shake his hand and thanked him for his service. That was some small honor. No one had ever thanked them for their service before and he wished the others could be here to receive thanks as well. But he stood in a daze as Peter accompanied the Colonel outside. When he came back in, The Spine was still standing there.
“Good news, Spine! You aren’t being called up. They’re letting you sit this one out. You can stop worrying about it now.”
The Spine listened to this with confused thoughts. He didn’t want to go into battle, ever, but….obsolete? He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word, to Peter to ask if that was truly what he had heard, though he had heard it plain as day.
Peter clapped him on the back. “Bet that’s a load off of your mind, Spine. Do you want to tell the others or can I?”
The Spine tried to muster a smile, but failed pretty miserably. “You go on up and tell them Peter. But…but, just tell them they’ve been honorably discharged…. I’m going for a little walk.” He left the room headed toward the back hallway. Peter watched after him puzzled for moment then his shoulders sagged as he realized that The Spine had heard the conversation, and suddenly understood his request. He looked down the corridor where The Spine had vanished with some concern, but then regained his former exuberance and bounded up the stairs to give Rabbit and Zer0 the good news.
How The Spine had found his way down here, or why he had even come, was a mystery to him. He raised his hands and looked at them closely. Obsolete? Somehow he should be happy that meant no more war for him, but now, just past his 100th birthday it made him somehow feel old and…frail. He felt more tears leaking from his optics, dripping down onto the wooden lid.
“Why am I crying?” he asked himself aloud. “I should be happy with this. I should… be… happy…” He slowly sank down to sit on the floor, his back to the crate. He drew up his knees and rested his arms on them, then rested his head. He wept quietly.
He was distracted by what sounded like the rumbling purr of a large tiger. Looking up he saw Marshmallow’s massive furry head looking in the door at him. Much larger than a tiger, with basketball-sized eyes glowing green in the dim light, the huge cat blinked at him and uttered an almost kittenish “Plerrrp?”
“Hi Marshmallow. What are you doing down here?”
The huge cat entered the room. “Pleerrrrrp?” as if asking The Spine the same question. He head-bumped The Spine with his furry chin, knocking his fedora to the floor.
“You always somehow know when I’m feeling sad, don’t you big fella. I’m glad you’re here.”
Marshmallow’s purr grew louder as he nuzzled at The Spine’s shoulder. The cat sat down close to The Spine, then in a show of true affection, laid down next to him. The Spine slid over to be nearer to the big cat. Marshmallow draped one huge paw over The Spine’s legs then wrapped the other around him in a hug. Resting his giant furry head against The Spine’s back, the big cat embraced him as if he were a small kitten. The Spine leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the paw on his legs and hugged back. “Thank you Marshmallow. I’m not sure why I’m feeling sad, but I do need a hug just now.” He let the cat’s long fur drape over him, comforted by the warm embrace. They sat that way for quite some time. The cat purred contentedly with eyes half shut while The Spine sorted through the conflicting feelings he had. After much thought and a few more tears, he finally convinced himself that if it meant no more war, obsolete might not be too bad a thing after all. When he stirred to get up, Marshmallow head-bumped him again.
“Yeah, I’m alright now. Everything will be alright. Let’s keep this a secret though, huh? Between you and me. Okay?” The cat chirruped as he also got to his feet.
“Come on, buddy. Let’s go upstairs. It’s probably pretty near dinner time for you anyway.” He shut off the light and closed the door to the armory. Putting his arm up over the big cat’s shoulders, they made their way upstairs into the daylight, leaving the darkness behind.