|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 7:05 pm
"I can't believe you broke again," Jamie muttered as he twisted his small screw-driver deftly against RICEE's mechanical leg. He sat perched upon one of the stools for the tall tables, his feet planted facing opposite directions. This little lizard-like robot might have been his first, but it didn't chase away the disappointment he felt every time it failed. Today it had fallen off a chair trying to climb up onto his shoulder.
"Technology always breaks," Rebecca replied from behind the counter, her posture bent over the surface as she calculated some fund issues by hand. She avoided using electrical devices when she could. She simply wasn't very good at handling them and the unnaturalness of it all never ceased to be unsettling. Why she had chosen to live, then, in an area surrounded by such things Jamie had yet to figure out.
"Not if you make it good enough," Jamie protested subbornly, taking a small silver part to replace the broken on in RICEE's joint. Despite his work he let his gaze flick absently to the door now and then, just in case. Customers didn't usually come in this late, but you never knew for sure.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 5:40 pm
A time that would be late for most human beings was just the beginning of Ishizuke’s day. Currently, she was waking mid-evening, though now that the nights were getting shorter she was waking earlier. It wasn’t that her house wasn’t comfortably protected from UV rays, it was just that there was no point being awake if she couldn’t really be active. So she saved her energy for the night.
Her newly-heightened stature was still a bit of a puzzlement to everyone, and Mercury had insisted that Ishi continue to go out with adult supervision. Ishi understood: she wasn’t stupid and watched quite enough news to know how many bad things happened to unsupervised people at night, and while they didn’t live anywhere near anything bad, she was very uncomfortable with the idea of going out alone.
So she had brought Nereus out exploring with her. He was easygoing and very, very relaxed, quiet, and was certainly up for anything Ishi suggested. She had dragged him all over the place, and now she was stopping for a bit to let him do what he wanted.
He wanted a coffee, so he had led the way to a café he always stopped in on when he was in that part of town. “You’ll like the place,” he said. “It’s very quiet, very warm. Excellent tea, too.”
Ishi, for her own part, said nothing until they had gone through the doors. She paused when she saw the boy—his hair was the first part of him she saw, but his face was familiar after a moment. Putting her hands in her pockets shyly, she glanced at the woman behind the counter and noticed what she had expected: she had seen them before. Walking over to the boy, she smiled a little bit and sat down not far from him, watching the repairs he was making while her father went to order whatever it was he was getting.
“Looks complicated,” she said after a long pause.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 6:01 pm
While Jamie did hear the bell chime, annoucing that someone had come in the door, he didn't look up right away. He was using all of his fingers, plus a few clips, to hold the joint together as he put in the new part. If he looked up he was afraid he'd make it worse then it had been to begin with. So he took a moment to carefully slide the replacement part in and ensure it was attatched with the proper wires. Then he locked everything back together and twisted the joint back with a clean pop.
He finally looked up, his blue eyes flitting about routinely until they came to rest on Ishizuke. He immediately smiled, an expression of recognition, "Ishi, right? Haven't seen you in ages!"
Becca quickly looked up from her calculations, which were beginning to frustrate her at this point. Simply because she didn't use a calculator didn't mean she was good at math; it was actually extremely torturous and she was surprised she ever got her bills right. She shoved the paper, now smudged with mistakes, cross out, and finger prints, and whiped her hands on her apron as she went over to the main counter.
"May I help you?" she asked politely, trying to smooth away her personal agrivations that had nothing to do with this customer at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 3:24 pm
“Hello, Jamie,” she answered, still smiling. She turned her head after a moment, fixing him very clearly with her good eye. It wasn’t something she needed to do, really, but old habits died hard. “It really has been a long time,” she admitted, shrugging a bit. “Mama and I sorta stopped going to that park for a while, and when we did come, we missed you, I guess.” She took her hands out of her pockets, crossed them loosely over her chest, and then smiled. “You got lots bigger, too,” she said with a smile. “I only just got this tall, and it really, really surprised Mama when I came down this morning.”
She took another step closer and looked at RICEE with interest. “What is it?” she asked. Other than the obvious, she meant. It was something shaped like a lizard, but other than that, she had no idea.
Nereus smiled at Becca. “No calculator?” he asked, nothing other than polite curiosity in his voice. “My niece does all her work without one, but she was the first I ever saw do that.” Then he glanced quickly at the mandatory board of beverages. “I’ll be boring and have a skim milk latté. What would you recommend for my daughter?” he asked, pointing over his shoulder at Ishi. “She doesn’t much like chocolate.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:01 pm
"Mom likes to go to different parks," Jamie explained apologetically, "We don't usually go to the same one in a row...and when I got bigger she stopped making me come at night, though sometimes I do 'cause it's fun." He looked at her for a moment, as if taking in the changes since they had last seen each other and then offered up his warmest smile.
"Oh! This is RICEE. He's a...Reptilian Interactive and Cooperative Electronic Entity," He lifted the small robot, placing it back on its legs. "Alisa helped me name it," he admited. He couldn't have come up with all those words by himself. Not yet. But he was learning. Technology and mechanics fascinated him.
"He's basically a robot...look," he sat back and then stated clearly, "RICEE, wake."
The red lizard twitched to life clusily and began to clatter about the table.
"I'm not big on gagets," Becca replied with a sigh as she slipped her fingers along the keys of the cash register. She had to use it with customers, less they want a hand written reciept.
"What size would you like?" she asked, mentally logging the order, "And we have some iced drinks, or if she likes tea we have that too, both hot and cold. Juice and milk, of course, are available if she'd rather have that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 12:30 pm
Ishi smiled and nodded her understanding; she didn’t like going to the same place every night, either. Now that she was bigger, she got to wander more and more, so it was even better. “Should come visit me in the park some time,” she suggested idly. “I’m there a lot now.”
When he woke the robot, Ishi’s eyes grew wide, and she smiled, intrigued. The complicated name had thrown her off a bit, but she tilted her head and laughed as the little thing started exploring the table. “Can I hold it?” she asked, holding her hand out tentatively. She didn’t wanna mess with Jamie’s technology if he weren’t okay with it, but RICEE was so...interesting!
A reference she didn't quite realize right away made her lift her head. Alisa? Did he have siblings? Or at least other kids in the house, like Ishi had her sister and Renna? "Who's Alisa?" she asked tentatively, almost shyly.
"Ah, technology and I don't generally get along well outside of the most basic. Things break. Big gadgets are Mercury's job, not mine," Nereus said sympathetically. Chemistry was his deal. It didn't require much in the way of machinery. Not like his roommate's electrical engineering and some of his other lab partner's more complicated biogenetics.
"The largest you have, for me." He answered her next question with a laugh. "The little one's as nocturnal as a child can get, and I'm the one on guard duty tonight." His tone was light, friendly, and he watched her with some interest as she turned to the cash register. "Hmm...." he regarded the board again. "Smoothies?" he inquired. “A berry smoothie, perhaps?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:10 pm
"Sure thing," he agreed without a second thought, "I'll tag along with mom next time she goes." It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Becca had stopped asking if he wanted to come along, but she never refused him when he asked. He had yet to decifer that most of the time she didn't really want company...but he was bound to figure it out eventually, being the little problem-solver that he was.
"'course you can," he grinned, seeming extremely pleased by her interest in his little project. The excitement was bright and clear in his eyes. Alisa was too easy going to really encourage him beyond offering some help, and his mother...well, he knew her views on technology all too well.
"Just say his name and tell him to come," he instructed.
He looked a little surprised at her question, not expecting it. He answered quickly, seeming to make ammends for forgetting, "Oh, Alisa's my older sister! She's really good with silver...she helped me with some of the parts."
"I don't have anyone to fix mine," Becca murmured, seeming a little bit sulky at the idea, "Unless you count my son." It was pretty pathetic when you had to rely on a kid's tinkering to keep your gagets in working order.
She nodded, repeating the order, "One large skim milk latte' and a berry smoothie." She then turned and began gathering the supplies for each drink, moving with practiced ease down the long counter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:12 pm
"Maybe you can come over some time before and then go to the park with me after," Ishi suggested, flashing a smile. She really didn't have much in the way of company ever, and having someone over would be welcome, and really cool.
When Jamie gave her permission to hold RICEE, her expression shifted from initial happiness to slight nervousness. What if she broke it? Then again...he had been fixing it when she came in, so maybe she wouldn't break it too badly. "Okay," she said tentatively, tilting her head and looking at the little robot curiously. "RICEE, come," she said softly, and laughed with delight when it responded. Picking it up to peer at it, she looked up to grin at Jamie again.
"I have a sister, too. Her name's Angelique and she's pretty old...like lots older than me. And then I have a cousin, too...she's Renna." She nodded, and then tilted her head. Silver? Wasn't that expensive? Was this made out of silver, then? Tilting her head, she leaned in to scrutinize the little robot. "He's got silver in him?"
At Becca's mention of Jamie, Nereus turned his head to look at the boy and the thing Ishi was holding, apparently some sort of a robot toy. If the kid knew how to operate those, he was already far beyond anything Nereus could do, and probably quite good at fixing things.
"Seems a pretty apt young gent," he said, maintaining that same light, conversational tone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:56 pm
"Sure, that sounds like fun," Jamie agreed. He didn't get to visit many of the other kids...and he hadn't been to anyone else's house. So the spark of enthusiasm was obvious on his face. Now he was extremely curious as to what her house was like. He knew, but the talk of the customers, that not everyone lived behind a cafe'.
RICEE was obedient, as ever, and was relatively still in her hands, apart from the whirring and clicking of his head as he turned it a bit back and forth to keep her in the view of his primative senors that, realistically, didn't affect his responses at all (apart from manuvering). Jamie hadn't quite gotten far enough to get it to work better.
"Wow, you have more family then I do," he observed. Not much, really, just one person, but still. He had two and she had three. It was different.
"Yeah, he's got silver for some of the really small parts. I dunno where my sister gets it, but she said I could use it and helped me out." Sometimes he wondered if she made it, like a magician or an alien. But he didn't have any proof of that either so he was left with yet another family mystery...which he vowed to solve someday.
"Yes...and I suppose that's for the best," Becca returned. Letting some of the mixing machines run she asked absently, "And...Ishizuke, is it...? She's been doing well?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:39 pm
"Kay. I'll talk to Mama when I get home," Ishi said, nodding and inspecting the little robot as it inspected her. "Still can't believe he's made with real silver," she said. "I always thought silver was just for...y'know...pretty things. Rings and jewelry and stuff. Didn't know you could make robots out of it. That's pretty neat." Nodding sagely, she considered his comment about having more family. "I guess I do have kind of a lot," she said, and shrugged. "But it's okay 'cos the house is big an' I don't have to share my room because they're making Renna room with Angelique. It's nice." Nodding slowly, she looked over at Becca and Nereus, who weren't doing much of anything, as far as she could tell. Shrugging and turning back to Jamie again, she set RICEE down and watched it move again.
"D'you make other stuff, too?"
"She's doing well enough," Nereus answered. "Sometimes I wish she could go outside, though. Girl doesn't get enough sunlight, and almost never sees people."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:50 pm
"Well, only some of his parts are made of silver...usually the smaller ones, the rest is pretty standard stuff...some plastics, some copper and iron and stuff. My sister would never give me enough silver to make a whole robot with," he admitted. She wasn't usually too thrilled about giving him any to begin with, but for whatever reason she always did when he asked. He had learned to simply ask in moderation.
"That's really nice. I don't share a room either, but if anyone else lived here I might have to," he mused. He had never thought about how they fit into their house before.
"I make lots of things!" He replied eagerly, "My bike broke...so I'm fixing that. I do a lot of fixing more than making right now...figuring out how to make things is a lot harder than just fixing them. But I love to try."
"Well, if she ever wants to come over, she's more than welcome," Becca offered as she finally set both drinks together in their cups and slid them over across the counter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:47 pm
"That's really interesting, either way," Ishi said, watching the little robot. When Jamie started talking about all the other things he fixed, she grinned. "Wow. That's a lot of stuff. I'm not that handy. Definitely not. Can't even fix things, and since you're making things and fixing them, you definitely win." Nodding sagely, she smiled radiantly and then glanced over to see what her father was doing.
"Thanks, and Jamie's welcome to visit us whenever as well," Nereus answered Becca with a smile, picking up the cup and glancing at his watch. ....Oh. It was significantly later than he had realized, and even a nocturnal child should only be out so late. "I had meant to stay, but it looks like I should probably get Ishizuke home." He nodded and then took carried the drinks over to where Ishi and Jamie were still talking. "Ishizuke, darling, we really ought to be going."
"But dad," Ishi began without looking up. Nereus sighed.
"Come on, Ishi. It's getting late, and there's only so long you can stay up." Ishi refrained from rolling her eyes and instead gave Jamie a little smile. Parents. Couldn't live without them, but they were such a drag at times.
"Sorry," she said. "Guess I gotta go." Shrugging, she smiled at Jamie. "See you around?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 3:14 pm
"That's alright, I understand," Becca replied with a nod of her head. "Thank you for coming," she offered before going back to cleaning the dishes.
Jamie seemed a little disappointed, but he still offered her a smile, "Yeah. Hopefully it'll be soon. Bye Ishi." He pulled RICEE into his hands and waved farewell. Hopefully he'd be able to go visit her like they had said...but they'd just have to see how it'd work out. If not, he was sure they'd meet up in some other way. He couldn't imagine not bumping into her again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
