A Clockwork Heart, Chapter Three
Welcome back to A Clockwork Heart. This episode...
Talson had given up on sleep hours ago. He’d listened to Tessa moving about downstairs cleaning most of the night, and even the comforting sound of the steam hissing through the radiator couldn’t lull him. At first, it was just the sound of someone else in the house, but it didn’t take long for Talson’s thoughts to turn to excitement about his creation, as well as his upcoming trip through time.
Normally, he would swim some laps in his pool in the cellar to unwind, clear his mind and exhaust him enough to drop into a deep, restful sleep. That was out of the question, because he didn’t want to risk activating Tessa, charging on her base down there. So instead, he’d lain in his bed, tossing and turning, head filled with ideas and plans, until he heard her clattering about in the kitchen.
He shuffled slowly down the stairs and was greeted by a smiling Tessa, happily preparing coffee. The scent of the freshly ground beans steaming to perfection brought an immediate charge to his sleep-deprived body.
“Good morning, Talson. Did I wake you?”
“Good morning, Tessa. No, I was already awake. I’m going to swim some laps while the coffee brews; no breakfast this morning. I trust everything went well last night?”
“Very well, Talson. I have been charged to full capacity and am ready for the day. Enjoy your swim.”
‘I’m going to have to program her to stay powered down if I want to use the lap pool at night.’ Talson noted to himself as he climbed down the ladder.
Being in the cellar, the water was cool and the sound of it as he broke the surface echoed off of his tin walls. The peace of the water, the rhythm of his body; breathe, stroke, breathe, stroke, centered him.
P.T. had suggested he start swimming laps back when he was at the Science Academy, and Talson felt like it was a missing piece of him that had finally been found. It saved his sanity during the Dark Times, and it was the only request he’d made to Sabine while she house hunted for him after his acceptance into the JVS; he must have an indoor lap pool. Luckily, they were quite common after the Dark Times.
Once his mind was clear of all the clutter, he focused his attention on Tessa.
‘It’s actually kind of nice to have coffee waiting in the morning and dinner at night. But this 'bot is far more than just a housebot; I can’t wait to try out my programs, make some new ones, and see what Tessa can really do.’
With each stroke, his inventor’s curiosity about his ‘new toy’ ratcheted up a notch. ‘I’ve got to figure out how to tell how much is in the programming, and how much is in what P.T. concocted. I mean, she asked for hair. That can’t be programming...’
With his thoughts clear and focused, the smell of coffee brought Talson from the pool, and he followed it to his dining room.
“Are you certain you don’t wish to have breakfast? Also, Mr. Smith left the artifact he carried downstairs last night here in the hall. Is it his, or shall I return it upstairs to the lab?”
“Thank you, Tessa. It is P.T.’s, but I suspect he left it here for me to examine. Could you take that to my desk in the cellar? It should be safe there until I can return it to him. And don’t worry about breakfast; they always have a huge spread of food at the JVS, so I’m fine. That means you’ll be on your own in the house for most of the day. Are you O.K. with that?”
This was another thing on Talson’s mind while he lay awake in his bed. Until he understood what P.T.’s compound was and what it could do, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her powered up when he wasn’t home. The most basic housebots were programmed to work when their owners weren’t home. This advanced model should handle this easily; plus, he’d installed her newer programs himself. Still, he worried about that unknown factor.
‘Yes, I will definitely be examining P.T.’s artifact tonight.’ He promised himself.
“I’ve been programmed to work independently, and I trust everything will be fine. I have your contact number, and I can call you if any problems arise, as I have been programmed to do.
‘I’ve just asked my housebot for advice. I may need one more cup of coffee before I touch anything at the JVS.’ Talson mocked himself. As he reached for the pot, Tessa beat him to it.
“Another cup, Talson? Please allow me.”
“Thank you, Tessa.” He smiled to himself. ‘It really is like having someone living with you. This is going to take a lot of getting used to.’ He looked at the ‘bot, which stood waiting patiently while he drank.
Unused to making breakfast conversation, or any conversation in his home, Talson felt awkward with the simbot just standing there waiting for orders. Uncomfortable silence filled the room until he finished, and together, they walked through the main hall.
“So what do you plan to do today, Tessa?”
“I’ll take the artifact to your desk in the cellar, continue cleaning, and when I’m finished, I plan to inspect the outside of the house and garage for any needed repairs. I will then prepare your dinner.”
“The repair inspection can wait; why don’t you read a bit and see if you can access some knowledge that you don’t already have? There’s plenty of books and papers on the shelves in the library to help you learn about what I do. Be very careful with that artifact, Tessa. I’ll call and let you know when I’ll be home.”
With that, Talson left for the day.
Tessa, with great care, lifted the canopic jar from the hall table where P.T. had left it the night before. Her eyes lingered on the tiny face carved into the lid; it seemed to be looking right at her, mesmerizing her. She carefully ran her metal fingers over its delicate features, as if committing them to memory.
“You have a secret.” She said to the ancient clay jar.
The jar gazed back at her with a hint of a smile gracing its chiseled face, and revealed nothing.
Tessa finally became aware that she’d been staring at the jar for a very long time. Over an hour had passed, and she hadn’t moved from the spot.
“This is not what I’ve been programmed to do.” Tessa said, her normally low, smooth voice sounding strange to her own hearing module.
She quickly walked the jar to Talson’s cellar workspace, and placed it carefully on the desk without looking at it again. She cleaned the rest of the house, not returning to the cellar for the rest of the day.
Tessa finished her cleaning early, having worked late into the previous night. With that done, she turned her attention on her surroundings, so that she could better understand Talson and his needs. The first thing she noticed was his love for simbots. There were many posters showing ancient simbots that looked to be from old movies or toys. She reached her hand out to touch one.
“I don’t look like this.” she said out loud, remembering her reflection next to Rita’s in the mirror last night. Rita had given her clothes; something these simbots didn’t have. She had yet to meet another actual simbot.
“Perhaps this requires more studying; if I’m to assist in the lab, I must know everything about simbotics.” She decided to revisit the posters later, and go about the rest of her chores instead.
“Talson said to skip the inspection today.” Tessa looked with concern at some dampness on the ceiling of the second floor. Her home maintenance programming told her that meant there was a leak somewhere; maybe above the third floor lab. Her programming also told her that she was to do exactly what was asked of her. She went to the bookshelf, as Talson had instructed her.
Tessa read all about Talson’s work, which seemed redundant. She’d already been programmed with this same data, so that she would eventually become his lab assistant.
“He said to gain knowledge I don’t already have.” She said out loud as she returned to the bookshelves. There were many volumes to choose from, and many looked as if they’d never been touched. She found one of those, and began to read.
It was a book on recent history; fairly new with a perfect, unblemished spine. She skimmed to a chapter called, “The Dark Times”. The title showed the date of the Dark Times to have been around thirteen years prior. This was knowledge she was not given in her programming. She read on…
‘In certain areas, the pollution from years and years had built up to a point where oxygen could no longer be drawn from the air for breathing. The hospitals filled quickly with the dying.
Those few who didn’t die, however, were physically and mentally changed. They went mad with their need for oxygen; their skin turned a pale shade of blue, their eyes took on a mirror-like quality, and their canine teeth grew long and sharp. The only way they could get the oxygen they needed to live was to take it directly from the blood of others.
This victims became known as ‘Darklings’ because they tended to hide in dark, enclosed spaces. This was due to increased sensitivity to sunlight on their oxygen deprived skin and eyes. The Environmental Protection Agency declared a state of emergency once the first mutants were discovered. The condition was called Feldman Syndrome, after Dr. James T. Feldman, who discovered it and its cause. However, the more common name of ‘the Darkling Disease’ is used among the general population. There is no known cure.’
‘The bite of a Darkling, which is the method they use to draw the oxygen from the blood of their victim, can have 3 possible results. Firstly, the victim may suffer a few days of weakness and minor aches and pains, but recover fully. Secondly, the victim could die as a result of blood loss or other trauma. Lastly, the victim could acquire Feldman Syndrome themselves.’
The next page showed a picture with the text of a fierce, wild thing that looked nothing like the humans she’d met. “He looks human, but at the same time, different; not like Talson, Rita, or the Smiths. He looks quite insane, and dangerous as well.”
Tessa was programmed to recognize a threat, and that was what she saw in the picture. “I shall be mindful to watch for Darklings near the house.” She would protect the humans in her care from this threat at all costs. Once she’d made her assessment, she turned the page.
The next picture showed tall buildings that must’ve been the height of architecture once, but were now crumbling shells.
‘The cities were abandoned. All the trees that had been cut down to make room for their skyscrapers were the same trees that absorbed poisonous carbon-dioxide, and turned it into breathable oxygen. Without them, the cities became death traps for those who lived there.
A mass exodus from the cities to the rural areas that still had vegetation caused those areas to become quickly over-populated. Lawlessness came easily to the masses that were fighting for their lives.
The Military and the Environmental Protection Agency joined forces, creating the powerful M.E.P.A. With full support of the government, they declared martial law, enforced curfews, monitored the air quality, and eventually decided that the Old Ways would save everyone.
They issued the Great Times Decree; a return to the ways of the Victorian era - where steam was the power of choice. With the clean power of steam, wind, and solar methods, as well as the replanting of as many trees as possible, the air would become clean of all toxins and breathable once again.
Adapting the moral code of Victorian times would begin a return to virtue and valor that would ensure the survivors of the Dark Times would never allow such a catastrophe to occur again. That was their hope.
Those showing symptoms of Feldman Syndrome were feared by the “healthy” citizens of the countryside, and shunned. They were beyond the help of the trees of the rural areas. Rebelling against the Great Times Decree and martial law, the Darklings returned to the ruined cities. They lived by no rules but survival of the fittest. Anyone who wandered into their cities of their own accord faced the possibility of having their blood drained for the oxygen contained inside. No laws would protect them.’
Tessa scanned through her data base. While she was clearing the plates from the dining room last night, she’d heard Talson and Rita talking in the next room.
“He said he’d lost his family in the Dark Times. My programming shows that humans keep pictures of those they love. I found no pictures while I was cleaning. He was already sixteen and away from home for a year; he should have pictures.”
As she processed this information, she put the book away, and got up to look around the house for pictures of Talson’s family. She found a few pictures of Talson with the Smiths in the dining room that appeared to involve various award ceremonies, but nothing from before he lived in Twinbrook. “The only pictures in this house are from after the Dark Times, and the posters of the simbots.”
She recalled the angry tone in his voice when he told Rita that he did not talk or think about his family. “I don’t know what he meant by ‘lost’ them, but I should find out so I can better understand his needs. I must never ask about them, so that I don’t anger him. Perhaps I can ask the Smiths to help me acquire the knowledge the next time I see them.”
She went to the computer to access Talson’s navigational records from his steamcar. She found that, most nights, he was home by 6 pm, so she set an alert to notify her of his departure from the JVS, then went to the kitchen to begin preparing Talson’s dinner.
“Tessa!” Talson yelled, closing the door behind him. “I’m sorry; I forgot to call and let you know what time to have dinner ready.”
Tessa came from the kitchen, trailing the aroma of a cooked ham behind her. She stood before Talson and smiled at him.
“Good evening, Talson. Your dinner will be ready in two minutes. I programmed the Global Positioning System device in your steamcar to alert me when you left work, so I knew when to have dinner ready. I trust you had a wonderful day at the Jules Verne Society.”
“Good evening, Tessa. I did have a good day, as a matter of fact.” Talson chuckled as the GPS housebot program he’d written years ago became useful to him for the first time. “My friend Charles helped me devise a way to give you the hair you requested. We can do it right after dinner.”
“That was very thoughtful of you both. Thank you, Talson, and please thank Mr. Charles for me.”
“It’s Mr. Banfield, actually. Charles is his first name. He works with me at the JVS. He’s dying to meet you; he knows nothing about you except that I have a new housebot. We’ve never made hair for one before, so he’s quite intrigued.”
“Whenever you decide to invite him to dinner, I shall prepare his favorite dish.”
Talson laughed to himself as he ate his dinner. He had to admit that having a freshly cooked meal at night was far better than reheating the prepared meals that Sabine had left for him. And seeing that Tessa had hooked into the GPS like she was programmed to do made him realize he’d been worried for nothing.
After dinner, Talson took Tessa upstairs to his lab, to affix the synthetic blonde tresses that he and Charles worked on. Charles had teased him and said to make sure he included a hat, as it was proper for Victorian ladies to wear one.
Talson laughed, but was reminded of his earlier embarrassment of not having thought to clothe her at all. Once he was alone, his thoughts returned to the matter. ‘I could call Rita; she knows far more about this than I do.’ It took a while for him to stammer through his request, but she did, in fact, have a hat that matched the outfit she’d given Tessa, and she’d be glad to drop it off this evening.
Talson explained this to Tessa while the blow torch moved around her hairline. “…so Rita should be here around eight.”
Tessa smiled as Talson worked; she found the crackle and sizzle of the blowtorch interesting. While she remained as still as possible, she looked again at some of the simbot posters Talson had hung around the lab. There was one in particular that hung over the small bed he kept there for days when he was too exhausted to make it to his room. That was the one that drew her gaze most often. It looked most like her.
The others all featured squat, sturdy simbots, walking in a stiff, clumsy manner, or shooting lasers from it’s hands or eyes. This one was sleeker; more humanoid in its appearance. It looked skyward, and seemed to be reaching towards the stars in the night sky.
She didn’t understand why she found herself looking at it so often, and she decided to ponder that while Talson worked. Her back was to it when he began, but soon he asked her to turn, and that gave her the opportunity to study it. She found herself comparing her arms to the simbot’s arms, and found herself about to raise one in a similar pose, just as Talson finished. Before she could wonder at her reaction, the doorbell rang, signaling Rita’s arrival.
“Well look at you, Tessa! What beautiful long hair you have! You should be flattered that Talson remembered you asked for it!” Rita laughed, giving Talson an elbow to the ribs. “It’s almost a shame to cover it up, but ‘the Great Times were great for a reason’, right? Here you are!” She said.
Tessa recognized the famous M.E.P.A. slogan from the book she’d read that afternoon, as Rita plopped a hat on top of her new head of hair.
“Now you’re the proper lady of the manor! My apologies for forgetting it earlier. Here I am teasing him for being forgetful, and I completely dropped the ball on this one.” Turning to Talson, Rita added, “You’re rubbing off on me, Talson Curious.”
Tessa smiled and thanked her, as she was programmed to do. She went to get drinks while Rita led Talson into the dining room.
“The dining room; are you hungry? Have you eaten? Tessa can warm up some-“
Rita cut Talson off before he could finish. “No, thank you. I’ve eaten. But we have some work to do, and I thought we should start in here.”
“Work?” At Talson’s puzzled look, she sat opposite him at the table.
“Talson, You are my new project, and today is your first lesson. You are going to learn how to talk to people. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be charming and witty. Men will want to be you, and women will want to be with you! Ready?”
“I hardly think; I mean, is this really necessary?”
“Yes, it really is. Although I have to admit; you calling me today was a huge step. But it’s only a step. Soon, you’ll be running marathons. The sooner you accept that this is going to happen, the sooner we can get on with it.”
And with that, Rita ran Talson through the most basic conversation starters; ‘Wonderful weather we’re having; were you able to get outside and enjoy it? That’s a lovely dress you’re wearing. This is my first time here, what would you recommend? My name is Talson Curious, how do you do? Tell me about yourself.’
Rita had Talson run through the questions, and practice answering them as well. After awhile, he relaxed a bit, and the conversation flowed more freely. Rita called for Tessa, and had her sit in.
“While I’m away on tour, he’ll need someone to practice with. You can do this with him every day, and soon, it’ll be second nature to him.”
Almost on cue, Rita’s phone rang. It could only be one person; it was always one person - Ashley. She excused herself and went to the next room to take the call.
“Hi, Ashley. What’s up?”
“Hi Rita - great news! They’re going to kick off the European leg of your tour a whole month early!”
“A month early? It’s a month away. That would mean-“
“Yes, it’s time to get home and pack!”
“Ashley, this is supposed to be my month off. You’re always doing this to me! I need a break! It’s not like I need the money; why does it have to be now?”
“No…of course it’s not the money. It’s just that…well… you need to play the big venues while you’re still the hottest thing out there. You know, strike while the iron’s hot! What happens if, a year from now, we can’t get any gigs at all? It’s my job to worry about things like that, so I don’t expect you to see the big picture. You just stay focused on singing your little heart out. I have some business things to iron out, so I’ll be a day behind you. There’ll be a hotel rep there to take care of you until I get there. It’ll be great! You’ll be great! You’ll see.”
Rita clicked off a little more forcefully than she meant to, but her voice remained calm, as she came back to the dinning room.
“Well Tessa, looks like you’re being pressed into duty sooner than I thought. That was my manager, and she sensed I was actually relaxed and enjoying myself; therefore, she got my next tour pushed up. I’ll be leaving tomorrow, so it’s up to you to get Talson ready for polite society!”
Rita turned to Talson next. “And no slacking! I fully intend to take you out in public when I get back to see what you’ve learned!”
Talson gave Rita a small smile and just shook his head. “We’ll discuss it when you get back.”
Normally, Rita would’ve had a witty comeback about that, but she had other things on her mind.
She hugged them both goodbye, and then Rita headed home to pack. From the steamcar, she put her phone in the hands-free connector and made a call.
“Hi, Mr. Classen? It’s Marguerite Florenta….Yes. Remember what we talked about last month?...That’s right. I know I said ‘no’ when we spoke before, but I’d like you to start putting together that new management team you talked about. Right. Nothing immediate, but I’d like to look over your proposal.”
Before she ended the call, Rita had one more idea.
“… Oh, and one more thing…I think it’s time I looked into how my finances are being handled. I know this is something my manager should be showing me, but I’d like an independent report; something under the radar. Can your firm do that? Great. I’ll be out of town again starting tomorrow, but you can reach me at this number…Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you. Goodbye.”
Back in the rented house Ashley shared with Rita, Ashley had another call to make.
“Hey, Baby. Guess who has the place to herself tomorrow?”
“That’s not important; it’s the money that matters. When’s the next payday coming?”
“Soon, Baby. I’m sending her off on a longer tour starting tomorrow. The money will be rolling in within the month, I promise. I’ll have to join her, but not for a couple of days. Can’t we be together before I go?”
“You’ll come to my place tonight.”
“But I don’t like your place; the way your flunkies look at me gives me the creeps. Come see me tomorrow, please? ”
“Perhaps you don’t understand. You’ll come see me tonight. If you’re a good girl, maybe I’ll come see you tomorrow; maybe give you something to remember me by while you’re gone.”
He ended the call, and Ashley closed her phone. She ran her hands up and down her crossed arms, warding off a chill that had nothing to do with anticipation.
That's it for now! Stay tuned for Chapter Four...