Chapter 3: With These Hands That Will Not Bleed ...

[nanocerancowboy]

[ACTION - A (In and Around 458 Stone Street, Late Afternoon/Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Gat is coming home from his shift at the Mayfield Fire Station when he notices that there's mail in the household mailbox. Curious, Gat retrieves the envelope inside. It's addressed to him ...]

What's this?

[Opening it on the spot, Gat pulls out a photo of-

Comments

ACTION - B

[doofenstrudel]

[Heinz is home from work, and is hauling things around in his garage, trying his best not to look suspicious in the least. But all of the stopping and glancing out into the street is actually very suspicious. At least no drones have stopped by to pester him. And no non-drones have cared to ask why he has so many shovels laid out.

...wait wait WAIT did a robot just come out of the house across the street?

YES. He WILL bother that burning RAcast!]

Hey! You!

[The lanky, big-nosed man darts down his driveway and stops at the end of it. He's wearing a lab coat, and he looks uncertainly surprised.]

...Oh, I have questions, but I have no way to decide what order to put them in. This is awkward.

[nanocerancowboy]

[You've succeeded in grabbing Gat's attention, Doof! The CAST stops mid-stride, looking over to the man flagging him down.]

Howdy there, stranger. How can I help you?

[doofenstrudel]

[There is... additional staring. Did the robot just speak with a Texan accent?

Okay, that's just nitpicking, focus, Heinz.]

I... am your neighbor, and I cannot help but notice that you are...

[He gestures upwards and downwards with both hands, indicating Gat in his entirety.]

...heavily armored! The mail came today, didn't it?

[Now he's sounding cheerful.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat stares at Doof the entire time. This man certainly is an animated one. But when asked if he'd just gotten something in the mail, Gat gives a nod.]

That it did. I'll admit, after bein' in a human body for so long it's takin' me a lil' bit to get used to bein' a CAST again.

[doofenstrudel]

[There is such staring happening on Stone Street today.]

Ah! So you're a r...! Wait. A cast? [He is not pronouncing those capital letters!] Cast iron? Die-cast?

There is some terminology there that I am not familiar with....

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat's shaking his head and chuckling in response to this!]

Naw, not in that sense. We ain't built with either material. "CAST" is its own word, y'see.

[doofenstrudel]

[Doof does have a way of bringing laughs to a situation, but mostly by accident.]

I would hope not. That would be terribly heavy, uncomfortable, and not very practical.

Proper noun, then. Alright. You must not be from anywhere near where I am from, I have never heard of such a thing. [He hesitates.] I have constructed a not-terribly-elegant humanoid robot, but...

You are a machine, yes? Not a guy in a very good suit of powered armor?

[nanocerancowboy]

[It's a good thing Gat's so laid back; there's no real change in his posture in response to being called a machine. If a human like Doof asked a CAST Supremacist that, it would only end in tears.]

No sir, this ain't powered armor. But I am wearin' armor, I s'pose you could say.

[Made conscious of his recently-regained body, he holds up the back of a hand, glancing at it for a second.]

It's more accurate to say that I'm a synthetic life form. I ain't made of cogs an' gears. Most of my body's designed to replicate th' same functions of a human being.

[doofenstrudel]

Really.

[Doofenshmirtz shuffles in closer, leaning forward, intensely curious.]

So you are just wearing the armor because it is great, but actually you are an artificial humanoid? Do you have enhanced strength? Senses? Any benefits over your standard-issue not-artificial humanoids?

[He'd have not made out well on Gat's homeworld, with an attitude like this one. But he doesn't care this is science and also very cool.]

[nanocerancowboy]

Armored parts like these are a big part of CAST fashion back home, yeah.

Well-th' first CASTs were designed with an eye toward high precision an' accuracy compared to human bein's. That's probably th' most notable thing. I suppose I could say "not bein' organic" is another advantage. Don't need to sleep or eat all that much.

[... Though not being organic also makes it harder to be a good techer, and magic-based attacks tend to be a lot more painful. Gat contemplates this further, trying to think of what else might set CASTs apart from humans. He holds a hand up to his chin in thought, resting the elbow in the palm of his other hand.]

I wouldn't say that I'm way stronger than a human, but on th' whole, I've noticed that CASTs tend to be a lil' stronger than th' average. Dependin' on th' profession, of course.

[doofenstrudel]

[This is quite the excellent infodump. Thankfully, Doofenshmirtz is prepared, these days. He pulls a small notepad from his front pocket, and unclips a pen. And starts to jot things down.]

Mmmhmm... I see... That's unexpected, that one... huh.

[At the end of it he blinks at his notes, blinks at Gat, and then stuffs it all back into his pocket with a sharp sigh.]

I find myself suddenly less excited than I was, seeing as you're technically just a guy in boxy armor.

[Disassembling him would probably be really gross, for starters...]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat shrugs noncommittally.]

I am what I am.

[He really doesn't know how to take that, though. Being a "guy in boxy armor" would normally be a compliment. It's a good thing that Gat doesn't know Doof was thinking about possibly taking him apart!]

[doofenstrudel]

Where I have heard that one before....? Well, whatever.

[Doof waves a hand dismissively. Taking the guy apart is no longer on the agenda, buuuut there is the possibility of other research. Possibly.]

I haven't introduced myself! I am Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz. And... you would be?

[nanocerancowboy]

Name's Falk Gatt. Though, most folks jus' call me "Gat."

[doofenstrudel]

[Heinz offers his hand for a friendly handshake.]

Pleased to meet you, Gat! I really should have gone over and introduced myself by now, but... [Shrug] it is easy to get caught up in your own plans.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat's assuming that Doof means he should have met his neighbor earlier when they first arrived in Mayfield. Regardless, he shakes Doof's hand. He's got a firm grip, but it isn't finger-crushing or overpowering. There's also a definite "feel" in how his arm moves which tips off that he isn't human, though it would be easy to miss.]

'S'alright. I reckon it's th' same for all of us. We're all gettin' adjusted to th' life that Mayfield's makin' us live.