Jennings' Folly

by Thomas C. Stone

  My Grandfather’s words resonated within me and a part of me hoped that Uncle Pat and Phineas would not kill the lizard so that I could be the one to take its life.

  We talked for a few more minutes, making our bug-out plan, and afterwards I helped Grandpaw back to his room. Right and Wrong eyed our return.

  “Don’t worry about them,” said Papaw. “They’ll be docile enough until they heal.”

  Neither of the thugs sharing my Grandfather’s hospital room would look at me as I left the room. It was a different matter with the officer at the front desk, however.

  As before, he lingered in the company of the receptionist. Perhaps he had a crush on her, or maybe he knew her brother or went to school with her right here in Calgary. In any case, when I strolled past, he moved with me and matched my stride.

  “I just want to let you know,” said Officer Osama (it said so on the plastic name plate above his right shirt pocket), “I grew up here. My family is first generation. There’s not a place you can go in Calgary where people don’t know me. It’s like having eyes and ears in hundreds of places at once. There’s nothing…” Officer Osama paused a moment to look at the scrap of paper he held, then started anew, “There’s nothing Miss Ginger Doolittle can do in the limits of Calgary that I won’t eventually know about. Keep that in mind.”

  “Oh I will, Officer, I will.”

  *

  My part was to take Kaliis and the gear to where we left the striders locked away in a private parking garage. No walking this time. I’d have to use a cab. Pretty simple plan, you’d think. What could go wrong?

  Upon my return to The Guest House, I stopped by the office, settled our bill, and asked for a cab. I looked forward to getting out of Calgary and so I ran up the steps to the second floor walkway. I felt terrible about Danny but was glad to be heading home. Knowing a killer was on the loose was troubling.

  I knocked, announced myself, and opened the door with my electronic key. Kaliis wasn’t there. Neither was my pack with the diamonds. It was as if someone had punched me in the stomach. I shut the door and quickly checked the suite. Kaliis was not there.

  I sat on the edge of the bed with elbows on my knees and held my hands over my face, fighting the urge to break down and cry. What to do now? And then I thought about poor Danny and how happy he had been the last time we were together. I cried. I couldn’t help it. So many things going all wrong, out of my control, yet still people depended on me. Papaw was depending on me.

  Sitting up, I wiped my face and took a deep breath. Where could Kaliis have gone? I looked around the room for clues but there was nothing. Had someone broken in and taken him and the diamonds?

  I inspected the door – no one had broken in there. There were empty beer bottles. Ah-ha. Perhaps he went to get more. Well, it wasn’t much, but I decided to walk to the nearby package store because that’s where he would have to go. Opening the hotel door, I was startled by a disguised Kaliis, standing on the stoop and fumbling with his electronic key. He looked up. “Why, thank you,” he said.

  I was angry but relieved as well. “Where have you been?”

  He was wearing his exoskeleton but it was hidden by Grandpaw’s overcoat. A scarf about his practically nonexistent neck and a sloppy brimmed hat pulled low covered his head and when he opened his coat I saw he wore my pack.

  “While you were gone, I had an extraordinary idea,” he said, entering the room and leaving the door open.

  I interrupted him. “Before you get wound up, I need to tell you that Papaw says we’re leaving. He wants us to bring the striders to the hospital. He’s ready to go.” I also told him about poor Danny.

  Kaliis took the news about my friend with his typically stoic outlook.

  “Well,” said Kaliis, “I suppose we’d better get moving.” Kaliis turned to the open door and gestured for someone to come inside. It was an automaton, a robot. It paused at the door, but continued inside at Kaliis’ urging.

  “Amanda,” said Kaliis, “I’d like to introduce Michael.”

  Robotics is not exactly my thing, but Michael looked to be a typical general purpose model. Facial features were oriental, following the Japanese anime craze in personification fifty years before. He stood five feet but not an inch more. Hands and fingers were well formed so I assumed his toes were too. The truth is, there were a ton of used robots on Dreidel, a fact not uncommon on a frontier colony.

  “What about the kids? Toby and Riley?”

  “Michael likes children. Don’t you, Michael?”

  The robot looked at Kaliis and smiled. “Yes, I like children very much.” Then it looked at me and tilted its head and asked, “Do you like children too?” His voice was light, pleasant, not a child’s voice but not an adult’s either.

  “Yes, sure, but I don’t have time for this.” I stood up and clapped my hands. “We’ll have to see what Aunt Liza says about keeping Michael. In the meantime, we have to go. Chop-chop. Let’s get out of here. Now.”

  I crossed to the window and peeked out the curtain. The cab was downstairs and waiting. I waved to the driver and he saw me through the airshield.

  When we grabbed the bags (including Michael, which I must admit was pretty nice having the help), I grilled Kaliis a little. “Wasn’t it risky to leave the room? We told you not to leave.”

  “I considered that as well,” he said. “You returned earlier than I supposed. I wanted to surprise you.” He stopped and directed Michael to take the bags to the waiting vehicle. Michael took all the bags.

  “It was a surprise, all right.” I said, still not ready to drop it. “I can’t imagine what got into you.”

  We followed Michael down the breezeway. “I wanted to surprise you with Michael,” Kaliis said again.

  “I heard you.”

  “You need an assistant.”

  “I’ve got you.”

  “No, in reality, I am Mr. Jennings’ assistant. Michael could help with your more mundane tasks.”

  “Like what?”

  The cabbie got out and walked to the rear of the van in order to open the back for the bags. He had a toothpick in his mouth and commented that we had some heavy bags.

  Kaliis said he could program Michael to do whatever I wanted. “He can be your boyfriend if you like.”

  “I should be offended by your remark, but I prefer real boys,” I said, “not toys. If Michael can prove his worth as a worker, well, we’ll see.”

  “Perhaps we can teach him to hunt.”

  “If you can teach him to do laundry, I’d be grateful.”

  Kaliis and I were still talking about Michael when the cab pulled up to the garage where the striders were parked. I paid the cabbie and waited until he drove off before opening the double doors.

  We stowed the gear and climbed aboard our separate vehicles with Michael riding in my jumpseat. A short ride took us to the hospital. Grandpaw waited at the curb.

  He was not in a good mood. “Sure took your time,” he mumbled as he opened the door to Kaliis’ machine.

  “Get down from there,” he ordered his alien assistant. “I’m driving this thing, not you.”

  Ten minutes after that, we were gratefully leaving Calgary behind.

  Chapter 21

  The drive home was quiet, giving me time to reflect and absorb everything that had happened. The robot sat below me, strapped into the jumpseat. I argued with Kaliis about whether to power down Michael or let him accumulate.

  Accumulate is what droids and robots do. That is, if they’re any good. Cheaper models don’t contain the heuristic programs so they don’t “accumulate” memories. Michael was activated at the shop when purchased by Kaliis. That’s when he began accumulating. Kaliis said turning Michael off and then turning him back on in a new setting would scramble the algorithms.

  “He’ll talk with you,” said Kaliis, “during our trip, if you want.”

  “What would I have to talk to him about?”

  “I don’t know, but keep it light. I�
��ll download a knowledge bank when we get home. It’ll give him a little depth.”

  “Too bad you can’t do anything about his looks.”

  Kaliis stared at Michael’s cartoonish, anime face set into an over-sized head. Michael stared back without wavering, occasionally blinking. “Human aesthetics,” sniffed Kaliis, “leave a lot to be desired. The salesman assured me Michael was a handsome fellow. That is a direct quote. You don’t think he’ll scare the boys, do you?”

  “More likely they’ll scare him.”

  “Impossible. Presently, there is no fear in him at all. That’s something else I’ll have to tweak.”

  Michael ended up “accumulating” the trip with me, but I didn’t feel much like talking other than the occasional navigation cue from Grandpaw.

  The weather cooperated again, although we hit some fierce crosswinds along a ridge and both of us felt like the striders might topple over. I was so afraid, I said a prayer. When I said “Amen,” Michael repeated the word, reminding me I was merely semi-alone.

  Once I asked Papaw about his leg and he replied it was doing okay, that he was standing inside the strider instead of using the bicycle seat. We stopped only one time and that was for the specific purpose of allowing Papaw to get out and stretch his bad leg. I walked with him, but neither of us really had much to say. After downing a protein bar, we climbed back inside the striders and continued on our journey.

  By the time we commenced to circumvent Summit, the sun had set. Lights shined so brightly from the settlement that we could see its location from kilometers away. My strider was slaved to Papaw’s so I napped out over the last part of our trip.

  The best part was waking up and being home.

  *

  I popped my hatch and climbed down over Michael, who watched everything with mute fascination. When I hit the ground, I turned around and told Michael to hang tight. “I’ll be back.” I shut the hatch again, closing him inside. Grandpaw parked beside me and I opened his hatch. He waited while I helped Kaliis get down from the jumpsuit, then both Kaliis and I helped Papaw down from the pilot’s position.

  Papaw moved stiffly and favored his one good leg.

  Aunt Liza turned on all the outside lights and waited on the porch for us to unload the gear. Toby and Riley ran out in their pajamas and began pestering the three of us for gifts. “What didja get me, Papaw?” asked Toby while Riley grabbed my wrist with both hands and wouldn’t let go.

  Papaw stiffly climbed down from his pilot’s position after Kaliis unbuckled and slipped from his seat. “I’m afraid I didn’t have time to go to the shops in Calgary.”

  Disappointment clouded the boys’ faces.

  “But,” said Grandpaw, “Mandy brought something home you boys might like to see.”

  They wanted to know immediately what I had with me and both eagerly pulled open the hatch when I popped the release. When they saw Michael, they flipped out with wows and oh-mans and went right up to the robot, looking in his eyes and touching his face. Michael blinked and they fell back. “He’s on!” shouted Toby, adding “Run for your lives!” Naturally, the boys began arguing over whose side of the room Michael would sleep each night. Papaw clipped that idea early when he told the boys Michael was to be treated like other expensive equipment. “Michael isn’t a toy,” Papaw reminded them and they responded by saying “I know, I know,” but they didn’t.

  The boys unbuckled Michael and told him to climb out of the strider, which he did. The automaton stood blinking in the lights. He smiled and said, “Hello. I am Michael.”

  “I’m Toby. This is Riley.”

  “How do you do?”

  “We’re good.”

  “How old are you?” asked Riley.

  “I was manufactured six years ago by the Sono Group with a primary specialty in kinetic body art.”

  “Huh?”

  “Dance.”

  I looked at Kaliis and he looked back at me. “Dance?”

  Kaliis shrugged.

  “A dancing robot? How lucky are we?” I called to Michael and he looked at me.

  “Show us some moves.”

  “All right,” said the automaton. “Do you have a preference in style?”

  “Do the Robot!” shouted Toby.

  “Don’t embarrass him,” I told the boys, then realized Michael couldn’t be embarrassed.

  Michael backed away a few steps and stood legs apart with arms spread, palms out. From that position, he started with a double leg shake that climbed up into his pelvis. At that point, he began swinging his arms in a broad sweeping motion, all performed with a captivating, flourishing style.

  “He’s quite good,” commented Kaliis.

  Papaw shook his head and told us all to get into the house.

  I took my pack and my Vimbacher, which Toby insisted on carrying for me, and began walking towards the porch with Papaw and Kaliis. The boys trailed behind, walking with Michael. It felt good to be home. We were returning conquerors for an all too brief moment.

  “Where’s Pat and Phineas?” Papaw asked Aunt Liza as we approached the porch. Liza wore her worry face, so we knew something was wrong, something in addition to poor Danny’s death.

  “Pat’s out tracking that lizard; and Phineas? Well, that’s another problem.”

  The boys took Michael into the house as Aunt Liza explained the problem with Phineas. “He’s in jail,” she said flatly.

  “In jail? Where?” asked Grandpaw.

  “In Summit. After Danny was killed, Jonah brought his posse out and caught up with Phineas and Pat in the creek bottoms. Took ‘em by surprise.”

  “You’d think Jonah would’ve gotten over all that after all these years.”

  “Well, he hasn’t and Phineas is sitting in the tank. How’s your leg?”

  “It’ll be all right,” he said before limping into the house.

  “He needs to rest,” I whispered to Liza.

  “I’m glad ya’ll are home,” she said. “How was the trip?”

  “It wasn’t what we planned.”

  “That’s what Gary said. Well, I’m relieved you’re home and everyone is all right, except for poor Danny.”

  “How are Danny’s parents holding up?”

  “Not good. Nelda won’t talk to anybody and John goes out every day hunting for the lizard that got Danny.”

  “Any reports of additional kitzloc about?”

  “Nah. We think it’s just that one. Thanks to Gary, these parts have been hunted out for years. Don’t know where this one came from, but I wish it would return to whatever hell spawned it.”

  Liza and I stepped inside and shut the door. We left the outside lights on and activated the force field. Everyone eventually went to bed but I sat at the window downstairs, gazing out at the yard, wondering if I should go look for Uncle Pat.

  *

  Pat came in at dawn, waking me from where I had fallen asleep on the couch beside the window. I was glad to see him and he was doubly glad to be home.

  “Any sign of the lizard?”

  “Oh, there’s plenty of signs, all right. This one kills everything, plus, it kills for fun. I ran across two carcasses yesterday. A spledgin and a Holstein. Both pretty much torn apart. From the amount of meat strewn around, it doesn’t look like our boy ate much of the kill, if any at all.”

  “You think animals can go insane?”

  “Hell, I think entire species can go insane. Look at the Tec’Lissir. Sometimes I think humans are crazy. But this particular lizard? It’s just mean, that’s all. We need to find it and put it down before it kills somebody else. Sure am sorry about Danny.”

  I nodded and bit my lip. I wanted to explain how awful I felt but I also wanted to let everybody know I was not in love in Danny. I ended up not saying anything because it was all so awkward.

  People began to wake and I prepared breakfast for everyone. It was a real treat for Aunt Liza and she said it felt like her birthday because of it. Papaw was the last to come down the stairs. He l
eaned heavily on the railing, gingerly placing weight on his injured leg.

  “Sort of stove-up overnight,” he explained.

  “You need to get back to bed after breakfast,” said Liza.

  “No can do,” countered Grandpaw. “Amanda and I are going to Summit to see about getting Phineas out of the tank.”

  “We are?” I asked.

  “Yes indeed.”

  “How can you go anywhere with that sore leg of yours?” said Liza.

  “It’ll loosen up once I start moving around.”

  “Uh-huh,” Liza doubtfully expressed herself, knowing it would do no good to argue with Grandpaw when his mind was set.

  After breakfast, Uncle Pat went to bed and Papaw, Kaliis and I pulled two of the striders out again and headed to Summit. It was an uneventful drive although we did see Neil Diamond on the road standing up in the driver’s seat of his wagon, singing at the top of his lungs. He waved as we passed.

  Like always, we parked the striders outside the main gate and walked in. Papaw put a hand on my shoulder and limped along.

  The jail in Summit was originally a dug-out pit with a roof of interconnecting wooden beams. A few years back, it was upgraded into a single story structure with more humane furnishings, like a cot and a bucket to pee in.

  The deputy knew both Papaw and me and let us in, shaking hands with us and asking after Liza and the boys.

  “They’re fine,” said Papaw. “They’ll be better when we track down the lizard that got Danny.”

  “Oh, that’s a terrible thing,” the deputy said. “I expect you’re here to see Phineas?”

  “You expect rightly,” said Papaw. “I need him to help me hunt that critter.”

  “That’s more’n I can help you with, Mr. Jennings. You’ll have to talk to Jonah.”

  “I expected as much,” said Grandpaw. “Can we see Phineas now? Liza bundled up some food for him.” Papaw held up a sack and the deputy took it, looked inside, and handed it back to Grandpaw.

  We followed the deputy down the hall to a stairwell that led to the basement. There were three cells divided by iron bars; the ones on the left and right were empty. Phineas sat on his cot in the middle cell with his back against the wall. When he saw us, he grinned and jumped to his feet. “I knew you’d come looking for me.” He looked at me. “Hey Amanda.”