She put her phone down with a puzzled look and let herself back into Argonaut Laboratories.
Jake and Brigite were lounging behind the reception desk in the front room. Jake wore his usual casual shirt and shorts, his dreadlocks flowing over his shoulders. Brigite stood behind his chair, her bright blue wig shining and her figure amply displayed in her midriff-baring tank top and skirt.
Both of their gazes were fixed on Luke’s computer screen.
“What are you guys looking at?” Mandelie said.
“It’s this new camera the zoo installed in their koala exhibit,” Jake said, without taking his eyes from the screen. “It’s hypnotic.”
“Hypnotic,” Brigite repeated.
“Have you seen Luke lately, Brigite? Or heard from him?” Mandelie said.
“Luke?” Brigite said. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Me neither,” Mandelie said. “I’ve been trying to contact him but I keep getting disconnected. I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“I’m sure he’s fine, Mands,” Jake said. “Oh, look! That koala just rolled over. Oh, he’s sleeping again.”
Mandelie left the two of them and went down the hallway and into one of the lab’s experiment rooms.
Her father Dr. Jason Miles and his assistant Trista were gathered around a table, where a shiny black circular plate was resting. Dr. Miles was carefully prodding the plate with a long gleaming tool.
“It’s reacting,” he said to Trista.
“What is that?” Mandelie said, looking down at the plate.
“It’s something that I hope will make a few things right,” Dr. Miles said.
“What do you mean?” Mandelie said.
“I’ve been working on this plate for the past month, using the same concepts and theories I used to design Luke,” Dr. Miles said. “It’s for Damian Foster. The plate is meant to be affixed to his spine. It will generate an electric current that will revitalize his legs and hopefully make him able to walk again.”
Mandelie was stunned.
“Are you sure it’s going to work?” she said.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Trista said. “I’ve called his assistant Carlie. She’s going to bring Damian over here tonight. I told her not to get his hopes up though. It may not work.”
“The plate’s been reacting well though,” Dr. Miles said. “It’s fully activated and it’s generating a strong surge. We’ll have to see.”
Carlie pushed Damian in his wheelchair down the long curved sidewalk towards the driveway of his villa, where his Rolls Royce was parked and waiting for him.
Damian looked his usual strikingly handsome self in a striped shirt and jeans, a scarf bundled around his neck. But his face was wary and guarded. His green eyes flashed under his long dark brown hair.
“I’m not expecting anything,” he said to Carlie. “I’ve seen every surgeon in the world and none of them think I’ll ever be able to get out of this wheelchair. I don’t think Jason Miles has a chance of changing anything.”
“We’ll see,” Carlie said, not willing to go any further than that.
The chauffeur opened the passenger door for Damian and he and Carlie helped Damian inside. Carlie folded up Damian’s wheelchair and put it in the trunk of the car.
“You haven’t been able to get in touch with Luke? That’s weird,” Trista said.
She and Mandelie were standing in the break room of the laboratory, drinking cups of coffee.
“It is weird,” Mandelie said. “And a little unsettling.”
“When was the last time you saw him?” Trista said.
“He was at my apartment a couple of days ago, and spent the night. Nothing seemed different,” Mandlie said. “In the morning he left and said he’d see me at the lab. I haven’t seen him since then.”
“He’ll show up,” Trista said. “Don’t worry.”
“I’ll try not to,” Mandelie said. “But it’s completely not like him.”
Accompanied by two Imperial Guards, Luke stood waiting in the majestic rotunda of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. Beside the guards it was hard to tell a difference between him and them, even though he wore a dark sweater, gray trousers, and shining black shoes, instead of their green and gold uniform. He was similarly tall and lean, his posture alert and effortlessly controlled. His dark blond hair was brushed back and his blue eyes were inscrutable.
The room in which he was standing was vast, filled with dark, echoing spaces. The carpet under his feet was deep and thick. Long richly red curtains were pulled back from the arched windows of the room. A coat of arms was placed on the stone wall high over his head. Meandering, silent servants drifted through the room like jellyfish on a current.
There was the sound of a door closing and then a slender, ethereal-looking girl appeared at the top of an ornate golden staircase and made her way down the crimson stairs towards him. She had a pale face with aristocratic features and her large blue eyes were filled with a strange, haunting light. Her pale blond hair was coiled into innumerable slender braids piled on top of her head. She wore a red caftan with gold embroidery on its skirt hem and its long draping sleeves, an abundance of golden bracelets on her slim wrists, and a gold collar around her white neck. Her steps were silent and graceful.
She paused on the bottom step. Her eyes rested on Luke and showed their satisfaction on seeing him.
She extended her hand towards him. It was bedecked with golden glimmering rings.
“At last we meet, Luke,” she said. “I am Princess Dabya.”
“Oh, look, that koala just touched the other one,” Brigite said, pointing to Jake’s computer screen.
They were both so engrossed in staring at the koalas that at first they did not notice the door opening and Damian entering in his wheelchair, accompanied by Carlie, who cleared her throat.
“Mr. Foster!” Brigite said. She walked out from behind the reception desk in her spiked heels.
“Always nice to see you, Brigite,” Damian said. “I’ve got an appointment with Dr. Miles.”
Mandelie and Trista came into the room.
“Mandelie,” Damian said, throwing a smile in her direction.
Mandelie returned it, only politely.
“Follow me, Damian,” Trista said, leading the way to the experiment room where Dr. Miles was.
“Hello, Damian,” Dr. Miles said, shaking Damian’s hand. “And you too, Carlie.”
“So what’s going to happen here?” Damian said. His face was still wary and guarded.
Dr. Miles held up the black plate.
“I’m going to administer an anesthetic to you,” he said. “I will perform a surgical procedure on your back and then attach this black plate to an area on your spine. The top of the plate will show through your skin, but the bottom will be attached very securely. Once the plate is attached, it should generate an electric surge that will – hopefully – give you the use of your legs again.”
Damian exhaled.
“It sounds like a fantasy,” he said.
“It’s very real,” Dr. Miles said. “I can’t guarantee that it will work, of course. However, if the plate does work, you won’t be able to remove it from your spine. You’ll need it in order to walk.”
Damian glanced at Carlie, and then at Mandelie, and then back at Dr. Miles.
“Are you sure you can do the surgery?” he said.
“I’m not a surgeon,” Dr. Miles said. “But I’m knowledgeable about anatomy and you won’t find a surgeon anywhere who will be willing to put this plate on you.”
Damian looked a little pale. But he nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter 2.
Luke and Princess Dabya were seated at a graceful wooden table in a sun-drenched garden of the palace. The table was laid with golden cloth and covered with a magnificent tea set made of white china and gold.
Princess Dabya began pouring a cup of tea for them both dexterously.
&nbs
p; “I have heard of you much earlier than this,” she said. “The events of the past year concerning you and your cohorts at Argonaut Laboratories have reached the worldwide media. I’ve found them extremely riveting. You are as handsome in person as you are in your press photographs.”
“And your Habsburg blood shows in every aspect of your bearing,” Luke said. He pulled his cup of tea towards him.
Princess Dabya laughed. She sipped from her own cup.
“You are too kind. I try to modernize myself in every other way, however.”
A servant slipped between them and began laying plates of pastries on the table.
“Palatschinken, apfelstrudel, nockerl, and sacher torte,” Princess Dabya said, pointing to each dish in turn. “Have you ever eaten Austrian food?”
“No,” Luke said. “I’m afraid I have not. But I am honored to try it for the first time in the presence of Your Imperial Highness.”
“Please. Call me Dabya. Using titles is such an expenditure of time.”
Luke waited until the servant had gone before speaking.
“I am sure you receive your news through different channels as well,” he said. “Lesser-known channels spanning a wide network of influences. The Society of the Future, maybe?”
Dabya paused before her fork was about to touch the apfelstrudel.
“So that is why you are here,” she said.
“You are an incredibly influential member of the society,” Luke said. “It doesn’t surprise me, concerning your impressive knowledge of robotic engineering and computer dynamics. Much of the public does not know that you secretly received a sciences degree in engineering from Vienna University.”
“My family was against it,” Dabya said. “But I have slightly distanced myself from the Society in the past year, Luke. Our most recent president, Cargio Lataun, was jailed. It was a disgrace, an embarrassment.”
“But you remain a financial supporter and a member,” Luke said.
“Of course,” Dabya said. “I believe in the Society’s vision of the future and I await their next presidential appointment with curiosity. Lataun was a mistake. We had no idea that he was going to take things so far. What do you want with the Society, Luke?”
“Familiarity,” Luke said.
Dabya sipped her tea. She seemed lost in thought.
“You have not yet taken in Vienna yet, I suppose,” she said. “You must stay and be my guest until you have. I insist.”
“I would never dream of refusing the Princess’s invitation,” Luke said.
Carlie sat in the front room of the lobby, trying not to look in the direction of the room where was operating on Damian. She stared at her iPad but found herself unable to concentrate on it for one of the few times in her life.
At last she got up and joined Brigite and Jake behind the computer.
“What is this?” she said.
“Koala Kam,” Jake said. “It should be classified as a drug. How long have we been watching these things, Brig?”
“I don’t know,” Brigite said. “The time seems to have gone by so quickly.”
“They’re going to feed the koalas soon,” Jake said. “That’s the best part.”
“I don’t really like koalas,” Carlie said.
Jake and Brigite both gasped as though she had said she wished to murder the Easter Bunny.
“This is my security detail, Luke,” Dabya said. “My head of personal security, Nichlaus Schroder. Nichlaus, this is my esteemed guest Luke. He is from America.”
Luke shook hands with the immensely tall, broad-shouldered bodyguard. Nichlaus had a thick beard peppered with gray, his face was lined, but his eyes were sharp and observant.
“A pleasure,” Nichlaus said.
“I must introduce all of my guests to my bodyguards, otherwise someone might accidentally get shot,” Dabya said to Luke, as they continued on their walk through the gardens behind the Schonbrunn Palace, Imperial guards tracking their every turn from a distance.
Rose trees were all around them and the walk beneath them was covered with lush grass and flat gray stones for their feet. Dabya held a pale green parasol over her head to shade herself from the sun.
“Do you enjoy the symphony, Luke?” Dabya said. “There is no actual music to be found anywhere other than in Vienna.”
“Mozart was a singular human being,” Luke said.
“Then you’ll be glad to know the Vienna Mozart Orchestra is playing a tomorrow night at the Musikverein,” Dabya said. “Will you attend with me?”
“I would be delighted,” Luke said.
Mandelie was waiting outside of the room where her father was operating on Damian, leaning against the door. She could hear faint sounds from inside the room – the sound of beeping, the sound of a drill, and her father’s voice as he issued tense instructions to Trista.
After nearly three hours Mandelie was sitting on the ground outside of the door, dozing off. She nearly fell into the room when Trista opened the door abruptly.
Mandelie got to her feet.
“Get in here,” Trista said.
She pulled Mandelie into the room.
Dr. Miles was removing safety goggles from his face. He looked relieved and began dropping bloodstained tools into a tub near the sink.
Mandelie saw Damian lying shirtless on his stomach on a table. He was still unconscious. The black plate was visible on his back at the base of his spine.
“He’ll come around in a few minutes,” Dr. Miles said. “I timed it perfectly.”
Mandelie stared down at the black plate. The edges of it were stained with blood.
“It should be working already,” Dr. Miles said. “Getting the current going.”
Damian groaned. He stirred and lifted his head.
Mandelie was nearest to him and she met his eyes.
“How are you feeling?” she said.
“I can feel something below my waist,” Damian said.
“Try putting your feet on the ground, Damian,” Dr. Miles said.
Damian reached out with his hand and instinctively Mandelie took it. He held on to her hand tightly as he swung his legs over the edge of the table and set his feet on the floor.
“Try standing,” Mandelie said.
The black plate on Damian’s spine sent a burst of electricity through his legs, activating every dormant nerve in them.
Damian exhaled and got off the table. He put his full weight on his legs.
He was standing.
Chapter 3.
Her iPad tucked under her arm, Carlie walked down the steps from the balcony of Damian’s room and onto the lush green grounds behind his villa. Her face seemed slightly less strained than it had been in months and she was wearing her dark hair in a longer style than her usual short curls.
She passed by the gardens, the fish pond, and innumerable swathes of immaculate green turf and made her way down a gently sloping hill to a solid concrete building at the base of it.
She let herself into the air-conditioned indoor tennis court. It encompassed two Olympic-sized courts. The first thing Damian had done when he had regained the use of his legs was to dismiss his physical therapist and hire a tennis instructor.
Carlie joined the other person standing along the sidelines of the court, a maid carrying a tray with a glass of ice water and a folded white towel on it and wearing a long-suffering expression on her face as she waited for a break in the game.
Damian was playing a hard game of tennis with his instructor, an attractive blond. Carlie watched as the instructor hit the ball hard towards the opposite end of the court and Damian dove for it, hitting it back at the last second. He was drenched in sweat.
“Damian,” Carlie said. “Damian!”
She picked up the whistle hanging around her neck and blew it.
Damian finally signaled for a stop to his instructor. Seizing her opportunity the maid ran to him with the water and the towel.
Damian dumped the glass of water over his head. He wipe
d his face with the towel.
“That’s the fifth straight hour of tennis I’ve played, Carlie,” he said. “I’m not even tired! I could probably play all day. Man, this is the best feeling I’ve ever had. We’re playing a game of naked Twister tonight.”
“We are NOT playing a game of naked Twister,” Carlie said.
“Oh come on. You’ve got to celebrate with me,” Damian said.
Carlie exhaled.
“Fine. But I’m keeping my underwear on. I just came to tell you that Adventis shares have gone up. Evidently the news of your miraculous recovery has really pepped up the shareholders.”
“It just gets better and better,” Damian said. “I want to throw a party for all the Adventis staff, Carlie. I want the press to be there. I want everyone to know – the media, the shareholders, our competitors – that I’m back and I’m not going anywhere. Make it the event of the year, Carlie. It’s a strategic move. Get on it.”
He threw the towel over his shoulders and returned to his game. Carlie shook her head but could not suppress a smile.
The room Luke had been given for his temporary stay at Schonbrunn Palace was even bigger than the one he had when he was living in the Adventis building. It was grand and airy, paneled in dark woods, with immense square windows that looked out on a courtyard of the palace.
Luke had already unpacked his suitcase and placed all of his belongings in the substantial closet. He was about to lie down on the heavy oak four-poster bed, covered with white linens, when he was alerted to a new message by his communication console.
He accessed it. It was from Mandelie.
“Luke, are you there? Please call me when you can.”
Luke took his cell phone and dialed Mandelie’s number.
Mandelie picked up on the second ring.
“Hello?” she said.
“It’s me,” Luke said.
He heard her sigh in relief.
“I was starting to worry. Where are you?”
“I’m in Vienna.”
The Android Chronicles Book One: The Android Defense Page 19