Beat'd noticed Bridge first - him runnin' to something was kinda hard to miss. Then he looked down, an' all he saw was some kinda machine lookin' thing. It was enough to make him walk over to see what was goin' on.
"Yo," he greeted, though he was lookin' at the thing he was pettin'. "Uh...what's that thing?"
"This is Ric," Bridge answered promptly, giving the dog a pat between the ears as he stood up. "Ric, this is Beat. He looks a lot like Ryan, but he's not. He's Beat. Go on, go say hi."
Ric cocked his head up at his master, then dropped the ball from his mouth. His tail wagged in a jointed, mechanical fashion as he stepped towards Beat, emitting friendly panting noises from his mouth speakers. "You're okay with dogs, aren't you?"
"Yup, he got sensors worked into his exoskeleton." Almost proving Bridge's point, Ric nuzzled up into Beat's touch, looking very happy. "He's just like a real dog, only without the fur, skin, bones, muscles, nerves, blood, vital organs and tissues, and with a CD/DVD player, refrigerator, tracking software, weapons systems, surveillance capabilities and titanium shell."
Beat was pretty sure that meant he ain't nothin' like a normal dog at all, but at least it seemed like it acted like one, so he kept pettin' him. He wasn't gonna think too hard 'bout it. He hadda feelin' he'd jus' get a headache.
"That's pretty tight, man. Have you always had him here? I ain't ever seen him 'round before," he said, glancin' up at Bridge. He was pretty sure he woulda noticed it by now if it had been.
"He just showed up," Bridge explained with excitement. "Minutes ago. I was playing catch with myself and the ball rolled away and he fetched it, like a good dog." He patted Ric on the back with him compliment, and the dog barked proudly.
So it was one of those weird island things. He was glad Bridge got somethin' he liked. He wasn't so lucky.
"So is there a lotta things like this back where you were?" he asked. Seemed like it would be a pretty rare thing to him, but he was startin' to really see how different where he was from was compared to where Beat'd been.
"Machines or robotic dogs?" Bridge had to ask. You never knew around the island sometimes. You might think someone'd led a life completely similar to your own only to find that one difference that changed everything.
"We've got a lot of machines. A lot, a lot. Technology's made huge advancements since we've joined the intergalactic community. But not a lot of robotic dogs, actually. Most people still like furry pets."
He guessed their machines were probably real amazin', jus' by seein' his dog. Closest he'd seen were the cheap toy that walked an' barked that his sister used to have.
"Intergalactic?" he repeated, squintin' his face a little in thought. "That mean you guys were in space?"
"Sometimes," Bridge confirmed with a little nod. "Mostly it just meant all kinds of aliens came to Earth to cause trouble. We're a little new on the galactic scene and don't have the best defenses set up yet."
"Yo," he greeted, though he was lookin' at the thing he was pettin'. "Uh...what's that thing?"
Reply
Ric cocked his head up at his master, then dropped the ball from his mouth. His tail wagged in a jointed, mechanical fashion as he stepped towards Beat, emitting friendly panting noises from his mouth speakers. "You're okay with dogs, aren't you?"
Reply
"Uh, naw, I ain't got a problem," he said, leanin' down to pet its head, though he felt kinda weird doin' it. "So it's feelin' me doin' this?"
Reply
Reply
"That's pretty tight, man. Have you always had him here? I ain't ever seen him 'round before," he said, glancin' up at Bridge. He was pretty sure he woulda noticed it by now if it had been.
Reply
Reply
"So is there a lotta things like this back where you were?" he asked. Seemed like it would be a pretty rare thing to him, but he was startin' to really see how different where he was from was compared to where Beat'd been.
Reply
"We've got a lot of machines. A lot, a lot. Technology's made huge advancements since we've joined the intergalactic community. But not a lot of robotic dogs, actually. Most people still like furry pets."
Reply
"Intergalactic?" he repeated, squintin' his face a little in thought. "That mean you guys were in space?"
He ain't good with words sometimes.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment