Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure)

by Rohan Healy

  “Wow, this looks like fun!” said Lucy excitedly, taking the old board to a small patch of concrete beside the house and laying its wheels down on the ground.

  “Hehe, be careful with that,” Miles warned as he walked over to join her, he knew what a skateboard was but had very rarely seen them used in Elissa as there was a law against skateboarding in public areas and like all laws on Carthage it was strictly enforced. Lucy sat on the board with her feet in front of her and began to roll slowly across the pavement.

  'She'd like it here,' Miles thought as he watched Lucy play on the skateboard with a large grin across her face, 'she'd have food, protection, toys. I just hope that Adam will let her stay.'

  Lucy eventually became more confident and began to stand up on the board, she had surprisingly good balance considering she only had one arm. Then again, she was an android so Miles had little understanding of how her sense of gravity differed from his own.

  The evening hours passed by quickly as Miles watched Lucy play with the various toys and contraptions in Adam's shed. The sun was setting behind a row of ragged mountains to the west, casting beautiful oranges and purples across the fluffy clouds. Eventually they heard Miriam call out.

  “Come on inside, dinner's almost ready.” Miles helped Lucy return the toys to the shed and they made their way back inside the house as night approached. After washing his hands in the bathroom upstairs, Miles joined the rest in the living room for dinner. Miriam handed him a steaming hot bowl which contained large chunks of fish and various peppers in a rich chilli sauce with a wedge of lemon on the side. The meal reminded Miles of his good friend Clark back on Carthage; a big fan of chilli who would often cook a similar dish, only with a little more spice. Politely thanking Miriam, Miles took a seat beside Lucy on one of the sofas and began to eat. He took his first taste of the mouth-watering food and was taken aback by the divine flavour of the chilli sauce and the perfect flaky texture of the fish,

  “This is amazing!” said Miles through a mouth full of food, unable to hold back a smile.

  “Thank you Miles,” Miriam replied, bowing her head in gratitude.

  “What did I tell ya?” Maxen said upon finishing a portion of the fish “Miriam's as much of a genius at cookin' as Adam is at buildin' those crazy machines!”

  “Ah, speakin' of that,” Adam began, “the arm's comin' along nicely, you can have a look after dinner if you like, I should have it done by around midday tomorrow.”

  “Cool, I can't wait to see it!” Lucy said in her usual cheerful tone. Looking at Lucy with a furrowed brow, Adam added, “now, the actual procedure may take some time, I've never operated on someone like Lucy before, I'm sure I'll be able to get it workin' in the end though.”

  Miles swallowed and spoke again, “thank you again Adam, for all of this.”

  “Hehe, you can quit thankin' me, Miles!” Adam replied, a smile stretching across his face, “you got that tower up and runnin' again, I wouldn't care if you stayed here the rest of your days.” Miles never thought that he would experience a meal like this on Gyaros, surrounded by kind, friendly people all with carefree smiles on their faces as they dined on a delicious, home cooked meal. Maxen, Adam, Miriam, Lucy, as ridiculous as it seemed, they felt almost like a family to Miles at that moment.

  “So, did you two find anything fun it that dirty old shed?” Miriam asked.

  “Yeah, there was a bunch of cool stuff in there,” replied Lucy.

  “Sounded like you found that old skateboard, huh?” said Adam after swallowing a mouthful of supper.

  “Mmm hmm,” Lucy nodded her head.

  “Brings back memories, an old friend of mine from New Fortune gave it to me when he came to visit one time,” Adam explained, “he just got a new board so he let me have his old one. I was never that good at it but it was a lot of fun.” Adam had an almost childlike expression on his face as he recalled the past. “I don't have much use for those kinda things now though so if you find anything you like in that shed, it's yours.”

  “Wow, thanks Mr. Powell,” Lucy said with a big grin before taking another mouthful of chilli.

  Upon finishing dinner, Maxen joined Miriam in the kitchen to help clean up while Miles and Lucy followed Adam back into his workshop to have another look at the arm. There were still several exposed wires and only three of the fingers had been attached so far but for the most part it looked a lot like Maxen's arm, only much smaller.

  “I've designed the cannon to slide out from below the wrist rather than needin' to shift the entire arm into a separate form just to fire it,” Adam explained, demonstrating this function by poking around in the arm with a screwdriver, causing the wrist to open and a metallic barrel to quickly slide out, “this means you can be ready to shoot while still havin' control of the fingers.”

  “Cooool,” Lucy said quietly, leaning in and examining the arm closely.

  “It'll look good on you,” Miles said, looking down at her with a smile.

  “Well, I'd better get back to it then,” said Adam as he took a seat at his desk to continue his work on the arm.

  “Alright, we'll let you get to work, c'mon Lucy.”

  Miles and Lucy left Adam alone in his workshop and returned to the living area to think of another way to pass the time. In the end they settled on a game of I spy which seemed like a perfect fit for a house like the Powells' with such a large variety of objects lying around the place. About ten minutes into the game, Maxen and Miriam joined in, having finished cleaning the dishes. They played for another hour, snacking on more homemade chips and beer before finishing up for the night and getting some sleep. Adam continued to work into the early hours of the morning as the others slept soundly until the artificial sun rose once again.

  Miles awoke at around 9:30 to find Adam already awake and in his workshop, continuing construction of the robotic arm. ‘Does he ever sleep?’ He then made his way into the kitchen where Lucy was enjoying a bowl of cereal at the table. Like most food at the Powells' house it looked homemade and appeared to contain oats, berries and some kind of crunchy flakes. Greeting Lucy with a smile as he entered, Miles proceeded to make himself the same meal, pouring the cereal out of a clear plastic container that sat on the countertop into a large porcelain bowl before adding milk - or at least what appeared to be milk - from a half empty glass bottle in the refrigerator. He took a spoon from the cutlery tray by the sink and sat at the kitchen table across from Lucy, his bare feet tapping against the cool linoleum.

  “I bet you're pretty excited about today, huh?” asked Miles before taking his first bite of breakfast.

  “Mmm hmm,” Lucy hummed with a full mouth as she nodded her head. She swallowed and added, “that arm looks amazing, I can't wait to try it out, I'm gonna look just like Uncle Max!”

  “I can't wait to see it on you,” replied Miles happily.

  “Do you think it's gonna hurt, you know, the operation?” Lucy asked, squinting her eyes anxiously.

  “I'm sure Adam will use some sort of sedative, it'll be just like going to sleep except when you wake up you'll have a brand new arm.”

  “So cool!” said Lucy, the cheerful smile returning to her face as she took another mouthful of cereal, her feet swinging below the tall wooden dining chair.

  Upon finishing the meal, Miles took his and Lucy's bowls to the sink and rinsed them out thoroughly before placing them on the kitchen countertop. Miles looked out of the window above the sink to see Maxen once again fishing down at the pond.

  “Looks like Maxen's fishing again today, wanna go see how he's doing?” he asked and Lucy jumped to her feet.

  “Yeah!” she said as she began to make her way to the back door with Miles.

  The next couple of hours were spent relaxing by the pond and talking as a warm wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves, creating a calm, soothing sound. Maxen caught an impressive total of three fish, though none of them were quite as big as the one that he had caught the day before. At just past midday
Miles saw Adam exit the house through the back door and begin to make his way down to where the three of them were sitting by the water. He had completed the arm and was ready to perform the operation, he called everyone back inside and prepared his workspace for the procedure, clearing a large table in the centre of the workshop and retrieving several medical instruments from a case under his desk.

  “Are you ready?” Adam asked, looking down at Lucy who seemed a little nervous.

  “Um, I guess so,” she replied.

  “You got nothin' to worry about, Adam here knows what he's doin',” Maxen assured Lucy.

  “And we'll be right here when you wake up,” Miles added to ensure she felt safe.

  “Okay,” Lucy said quietly with a soft, but apprehensive smile on her face. Lucy was lead to the Powell’s upstairs bedroom by Miriam where she removed her clothing and replaced her dress and shirt with a papery gown designed for this kind of operation. The gown allowed maximum access to the area that would be operated on while maintaining the patient’s modesty. Lucy re-entered the workshop with Miriam as Adam was sanitizing his hands and equipment.

  “Now, you're gonna have to lay down on this table, I know it's not the most comfortable thing in the world but you'll be unconscious for the whole operation anyway,” said Adam. Without saying a word, Lucy climbed onto the wooden table and laid on her back.

  “Like this?” she asked.

  “That's perfect, Lucy,” Adam replied, filling a syringe with a clear liquid, apparently some kind of anaesthetic and sedative. “I'm going to give you an injection, it’s dreamscape in its liquid form, it'll hurt for a second but then you'll fall asleep, is that alright?”

  “Uh huh,” Lucy nodded and reached out her right hand to Miles who knelt beside her and held it tight with his.

  “Alright,” Adam said, flicking the needle with his left middle finger, “I want you to close your eyes and try to count backwards from ten.” He slowly pushed the needle of the syringe into a vein at the base of Lucy's neck, she winced in pain as Adam squeezed the plunger.

  “Ten, ni-” within less than a second, Lucy was completely unconscious.

  “Is there anything I can help with?” Miles asked after a few seconds.

  “I think it's best if you just leave me to if for now, this could take a while,” Adam replied, looking up at Miles, “I'll let you know if I need you.”

  “Alright.” Miles took a last look at Lucy now lying motionless on the wooden table, a look of serenity on her young face, before he and Maxen left the workshop, leaving Adam to perform the procedure in peace.

  Miles watched the clock as the hours slowly rolled by, he had complete faith in Adam but was still quite nervous about the operation. Luckily he had Maxen and Miriam to keep his mind occupied as the three talked and told stories to pass the time. Adam remained in his workshop for about three and a half hours before finally emerging in the late afternoon.

  “Well, it took some work but it's all finished,” said Adam proudly as he wiped the last of Lucy's blood off of his hands with a white rag, “you can see her now if you like.” They all made their way into the room where Lucy was still asleep on the table.

  “Wow, she looks great,” whispered Miles, looking down at Lucy's mechanical arm which was now completed and fully attached to her left shoulder.

  “I think it suits her,” Maxen added softly, leaning in for a closer look.

  “You did a great job honey,” Miriam said, putting her arm around Adam and kissing him lovingly on the cheek.

  “Did you have any trouble attaching the arm?” Miles asked.

  “It was definitely a challenge opperatin' on somethin' like her but I wouldn't call it trouble, it's always exciting to explore new kinds of machinery,” Adam explained.

  “Um, would I be able to talk to Adam in private?” said Miles after everyone had just about finished admiring Lucy's new limb. Maxen and Miriam returned to the living room and left Miles in the workshop with Adam and the unconscious Lucy.

  “I wanted to talk to you about Lucy,” Miles began.

  “Go ahead,” Adam replied, his eyes narrowing and his left eyebrow rising. Miles looked down at Lucy, making sure she was asleep before continuing.

  “I can’t take her with me to New Fortune, I just couldn't bring her to such a dangerous place,” Adam seemed to already know where this was going. He decided to hear Miles out, “this place is different from the rest of Gyaros, it’s green and full of life, you and Miriam are kind people. I know it's asking a lot but I want Lucy to stay here, I want her to be safe and this is the best way I can make sure she'll be alright.” Miles looked at Adam pleadingly, appealing to his sense of humanity. Adam remained silent for a few seconds, considering the request before finally speaking.

  “I'm not sure Miles, even you don't know where this girl came from, how do I know that she's not a danger?”

  “Well...I guess you don't,” said Miles honestly, “and I can't force you to do this, but I just want her to have a decent life and this is the only place on Gyaros I've seen where that seems possible.” Adam looked at Lucy, even though she was made up of mostly wires and mechanical parts, it was hard to see her as anything less than human. He let out a deep sigh and replied.

  “I suppose I still owe you for that tower...” he returned his focus to Miles and added, “alright, she can stay. Miriam always wanted a kid, but…well, it just never happened,” Adam’s eyes fell to the ground and his cheeks turned a little red.

  “Thank you Adam,” Miles said sincerely, “it means a lot to me to know that she'll be safe.” Adam looked over at Lucy once again and said, “convincin' her to stay might be hard, she seems to be pretty attached to you. How are you gonna tell her?” Miles sighed deeply before replying,

  “I'm not, it would be better to leave without saying anything. It would be impossible to convince her to stay when I go, but I know that it’s what’s best for her, and that’s all I want.”

  “I see,” returned Adam, nodding his head understandingly. Miles continued, “Maxen and I will stay for another week while Lucy recovers and learns to use her arm, then we're leaving for New Fortune. We're thinking of making a stop at the arena so Maxen can make some money in the fights.”

  “You know, I've told you that you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you like. New Fortune is a rough city, I know it's probably none of my business but what do you two think you're gonna find there that's worth riskin' your lives for?” Miles wasn't ready to let Adam know the truth, the fewer the people aware of the supposed “way back”, the better.

  “I'm sorry Adam. I'm extremely grateful for your offer, but my reasons for heading to New Fortune are not something I can talk about. All I can tell you is that Maxen and I made up our minds the day we landed on Gyaros and the plan hasn't changed.” Adam seemed to understand, he’d been around long enough to know that everyone on Gyaros had their secrets and he knew not to push people for answers.

  “Well then, I wish you boys the best of luck at the arena and in New Fortune, I won't be askin' any more questions.” He checked Lucy one more time before adding, “she'll be wakin' up in a few minutes, you might wanna stay here. I think it'd be best if you're the first thing she sees.”

  “Alright.” Miles pulled a wooden chair next to the table where Lucy laid and sat down as Adam left the two alone, returning to the living room with the others.

  Miles watched Lucy closely as he sat beside her, waiting for the effects of the dreamscape to wear off. After three or four minutes, Lucy's eyes began to slowly open as she looked up to see Miles smiling back at her.

  “Lucy,” Miles said softly, taking his right hand in hers again, “how do you feel?”

  Lucy's face started to twist into an expression of discomfort as she brought her hands up to her head.

  “Lucy?” Miles began to panic, Lucy looked to be in pain, or perhaps the dreamscape caused her to remember more of her past. “It's okay Lucy, it’s over.” Miles could hear a soft ringing in
his ears as Lucy continued to hold her head tightly, moaning in pain.

  “You're alright, everything went well, don't worry.” Miles was desperately trying to calm Lucy as the ringing in his head grew louder until it began to hurt, he took Lucy in his arms and whispered painfully, “Lucy ... it's... me... please... stop.”

  “Papa?” Lucy said quietly, the ringing disappeared and the pain in Miles head went with it.

  “I'm so sorry,” Lucy apologized as tears began to form in her eyes, “I had a bad dream...you went away…I didn't mean to, I couldn't -”

  “It's okay, Lucy,” Miles interrupted, the smile restored to his face, “the operation was a success, how do you like it?” Lucy's eyes quickly shot to her left arm.

  “Wow!” she said weakly, still recovering from the effects of the sedative. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of her shiny new arm and a large grin stretched across her face. She began to move her arm around slowly, getting used to how it functioned by bending all of the fingers one at a time.