Project Tsubesa (episode I)

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Sakura's Sci-Fi Files: 
Project Tsubesa

 
         A quiet mysterious boy looked both ways and crossed the highway. He had sky blue eyes that seemed to look elsewhere than the road to which he was crossing. He walked at a slight limp, but he didn't seem to mind. The look on his face was indescribable. It looked so stiff and pale that you might think he was angry. He wasn't though. Not yet. They hadn't pulled at him enough...
 
         Down the road, a SUV carrying a young man sped through the intersection. He got up fifteen minutes late. If he were to walk in late at work one more time, he'd be suspended. Gold dust fell from his lashes as he rubbed at his dark ringed eyes. I'll never mix THAT stuff again, he thought as he shook his head. How stupid of me, drinking on a Sunday... He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice that he'd gone through a red light. He didn't even notice the boy he just hit. 
         The impact almost knocked him out. Was it a cat? He backed up and inched toward what he thought was a large tomcat. When the pale face of a preteen stared him in the face, he froze. The blood drained from his face. Oh my god, oh my god! Look what I've done! Terrified, he sped off. The next car that drove by stopped and called 9-1-1.

~1~

* * *

"A small neck bone was fractured when he was hit."
 
"Killing him instantly," the crime scene investigator finished.
 
"Right," the coroner answered. He put up some x-rays of the boys' skeleton on the lighted wall. This revealed gaps between many bones. "This kid had it hard. There are old bruises and cuts all over." He turned to the body again to show the CSI numerous scars. His neck was weakened from recurring near asphyxia." He pointed to the thinner bones in the neck on the X-ray. He thought of the kid's neck being grasped by someone's strong hands.
 
"Someone was choking him?" He asked. The coroner nodded.

~2~

 
"Too many times to count. He was lucky. He could've died the last time." The coroner sighed and scratched his head. "He's broken his legs a couple times, but they've healed." He lifted the sheet to show the CSI. He also pointed out a healed fractured collarbone, and puffy wrists. "Either he was really, really clumsy, or this boy was abused," he finished. The CSI's eyes went wide and he turned pale. The coroner stared him in the face, concerned. "You OK? Want to take a break?" The young man nodded, and dashed out of the room with his hand over his mouth. After a few seconds, the coroner heard gagging sounds from the hall. He sighed. Another newbie chickened out. Where would he find people to assist him? Forgetting the incident, the coroner filled out an accident report sheet, and bagged up the body to put in the morgue. He handed his colleagues posters to distribute saying, 'Do you know this boy?' with the young hit and run's picture on it. They had no I.D for him yet. The aging coroner had been through this kind of case before, but the idea of kids getting beaten still sickened him. He shrugged and sipped his coffee; which finished it. He wiped the liquid off his lips with the back of his hand. Thinking of home, he happily cleaned and locked the room for the night.

~3~

* * *

"Check all of them," whispered a tall and dark-haired man to a short woman. Her cheekbones stuck out because of her bony chin. How do I get myself into these things? she asked herself. You just can't leave temptation alone, can you? She looked up at the man with almost sorrowful eyes. She trusted him, but this seemed a little drastic for her. She had never broken into a building before. In fact, she considered it a taboo. The lock of the morgue clicked open. The lock pick the man fashioned from a paper clip had worked. "Holler when you find one that's not damaged at all," he whispered. The green-eyed nurse nodded and she slipped through the door. She scurried over to the first black bag she saw, and opened it. She quickly closed it in disgust. After five minutes of searching, the tall man whispered as quietly as possible, "Hey Niko, over here." Niko zipped up the bag she was starting to open and shuffled over to him. The well built man read the tag on the zipper aloud. "Hit and run victim." He recited. "No I.D."

~4~

Niko looked at the deceased boy. He looked about age twelve to thirteen. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping. She wished that he was. He was too young to be dead. Scruffy bleached blond hair cut into different lengths covered his head. His ears were covered by two longer tufts of hair. Niko spotted aged bruises on his neck. She yearned to touch him, but the thought of it sent a chill up her spine. The tall man once again grinned. "This is the one, I can feel it. Help me get it to the truck." Niko nodded as the man zipped up the bag. "One, two, three. Lift." On 'lift' the man heaved the front end of the bag off the table while Niko took the back. They shuffled their way out the open door into the darkened back alley. A single streetlight flickered at the corner. Two cats Niko heard hissed and screeched. A black Dodge Ram was backed up to the door, it's covered box's tailgate was open. Niko lifted with all her might to get the bag onto the tailgate. The man pushed the body bag into it, and crept into the cab. Niko pulled a dark blanket over the body and closed up the tailgate and cover. She hurried to close and lock the morgue door, then slipped into the cab herself.

~5~

 
The man started the engine, and stomped on the gas pedal. He weaved his way onto the main highway.
 
"We're going to look suspicious. You're wearing a men-in-black suit," Niko joked, pointing to his black dress pants, shoes and expensive suit jacket. He smirked as he messed up his sleeked black hair. He popped open the glove box and pulled out a cherry red cap. He put it on backward. With his free hand, he took off his tie, throwing it to the backseat.

~6~

 
He took off his jacket and un-tucked his white shirt collar. He fumbled with the buttons until he got a few loose.
"Now I'll fit in." Niko quietly giggled. She had always been somewhat fond of him, even though they worked together. She took out her tight bun and fluffed up her wavy chestnut hair. She reached below the seat and pulled out her purse. Finding some bright pink lip gloss, she slapped some on. Spotting the man's sunglasses, she snatched them from the dashboard and put them atop her head.  
"Now I will too," she chirped. The man chuckled to himself and kept driving.

~7~

 
         The small truck drove through the city and into the countryside. It turned off the main highway, and changed route many times on the dirt roads until it came to a barbed wire fence. There were no buildings around the fence; no cars, or any sign of human activity. Just rolling hills swallowed by the black of the night. A small video camera on top of the giant fence followed the truck as it drove into the opening gates.  
         They drove beyond the fence until they came to a white building that resembled a factory in both asthetics and size; though it was much much different. It's smokestacks were ever bellowing grey smoke. The silence coming from it was eerie. The truck slowed at the vehicle entrance, which was two gigantic swinging doors about 20 ft. in height. Two dark figures (obviously gaurds) wearing black dress pants and suit jackets matching the man's in the truck were at either side of it. In their hands, shone chrome machine guns. They both smiled and waved as the truck neared.  
          The entrance led them into a large garage; it was more of an underground mall parkade than a garage. The roof was low, and pillars supported it. At the end of the parking lot, a closed overhead door beckoned them. The truck backed up to it. After a shrill beep, the door slowly lifted open. 
         Niko and the tall man casually got out of the truck, slamming its' doors behind them. The operator of the door came out to greet them. He was a short, chubby man. His eyes were beady and black. They stared continuously at nothing. On his grey-haired head was a huge bald spot. His dress code was not great, for he wore a short army green shirt that let his belly hang out, grubby, ripped jeans and leather boots. He held a clipboard in his hand.

~8~

 
"Did you get a body?" the chubby man asked. His voice was surprisingly high. The tall man answered happily,
 
"Yup. It's barely damaged and there's no I.D too."
 
"That's great!" The man gave Niko a wink, then walked off. Niko and the man signed in. Two men wearing unfashionable jumpsuits came from the left of the room and lifted the body bag onto a rolling table. They wheeled off in another direction without a word.

~9~

Niko grabbed her lab coat from her locker and put it on. Today a new chapter in the history book begins, she thought, feeling proud. She walked quickly down the hall until she came to a door marked 'NEW PROJECTS AND EXPERIMENTS'. She swung it open and surveyed her surroundings. This being her first big project, she took the time to notice all of the strange room's details. The vast rectangular room had only one large, dark curtained window high up toward what was the second story of the building. The room was dominated by massive, shiny new computers and equipment that hummed and clicked. The smell of sanitizer engulfed the room. Niko became dizzy because of it and almost fell over. I have no time to just be standing here, she thought. She sat down at the largest computer and started typing.

~10~

On the tiny computer table sat a huge stack of floppy disks. They were labeled artificial heart functions, artificial lung functions, etc. Every few minutes Niko took one and pushed it into the hard drive. That was followed by more typing. After five floppy disks were loaded, the two men in jumpsuits wheeled in with the body. They left it near to a stationary table and saluted goodbye. The tall, dark haired man came into the room as the two men strolled out the door. His metal nameplate flashed: Dr. Otashi. His eyes almost seemed black, because they were buried so deeply within their sockets. His small mouth was twisted into a permanent grin; even when he spoke seriously. A short, pointy nose that was planted on his face seemed almost too small for his massive body and broad shoulders. The tan boots he wore were filled with size 10 feet. They clunked noisily as he walked. 
         Niko noticed he had entered and stood up. Together they gingerly lifted the body out of the open bag and set it on the steel table. Niko took down a white sheet from the back shelf and pulled it over the body so it ended at it's shoulders. Otashi clapped his hands together.

~11~

 
"Well, project 001 humanoid has begun," he announced. Niko went to the back of the room again to fetch a small rolling table. There were strange looking, unfamiliar tools placed neatly on top of it. Most of them were bladed. Otashi washed his hands extensively as Niko had done earlier and put on some rubber gloves. Niko did the same.
 
"Do I have to watch this?" Niko begged.
 
"Sorry Niko, but to make this project you have to be here the whole time. And if you don't make this project, you won't make your paycheck. It's the same way with me too." Niko sighed.
 
"Fine," she mumbled. She crossed her arms tightly over her stomach and took a deep breath.

~12~

 
 

--END OF PART A--

 
 

PART B

 
         Coco watched until the last image of the room dissappeared behind the dark curtain.
"This isn't right," she mumbled. The dirty-blond-haired boy standing next to her looked surprised.
 
"I know what you mean, but this could be a great scientific breakthrough," he stated. Coco's eyes narrowed. She sighed and walked away.
 
"Hey!" the boy called after. Coco stopped in her tracks. She bit her lip.
 
"T.J," she stated.
 
"Yeah?" answered the blond haired boy. He didn't like being called by his full name: Torman Jonsan the Second.
 
"What if the project...--doesn't work?" T.J folded his arms behind his head as he walked.
 
"Who knows?" he exclaimed. "They'll probably just get rid of the body and keep the expensive parts." Coco once again heaved a sigh. T.J glanced into her stern face. He put his hands back in his jean pockets. "Oh, quit being so serious." Coco smiled.
 
"You're right." As usual, T.J thought. "Want some breakfast?" she asked, sounding suddenly cheery.
 
"Sure, but you're paying."
 
"Fine." They prodded up a few more flights of stairs to the cafeteria. They both bought a bagal and a cup of orange juice. T.J stirred his with his finger and licked it off. He hated silence, so he broke it.
 
"They said building the project should take a matter of days. No more than a week," he informed. Coco's expression didn't change.
"What's been with you lately?" Coco looked down at her half eaten bagal.
 
"I guess-that seeing that body is getting to me." T.J arched his brow. Coco looked up and changed the subject. "And what's our role in this?" T.J took a deep breath and said without stopping,
 
"To help with non-scientific tests, and analyze its' behaviour of course." Coco nodded.
 
"There are so many 'volunteers' here..." she started.
 
"What is it?"
 
"-but not a word gets into the city. What happens to them?" T.J shrugged.
 
"They probably get paid, like they promised, then sworn to secrecy."
 
"That makes sense." Coco fell silent.

"Is that it? Is that what's bugging you?" His voice had changed. It now sounded serious and grave. His bright blue eyes seemed to mix with her brown. She didn't answer. He leaned in closer to her. "I don't think it is." Coco said nothing. "Hmm..." He cocked his head. "I'll drop it this time." He sank back in his chair. "I guess we just get to relax until the project gets built." Coco nodded and smiled.

~13~

 
 
         Niko heaved a sigh of relief. The worst part was over. Doctor Otashi pulled off his blood covered gloves.
 
"Now you're in charge Niko." He threw the gloves in the garbage pail.
 
"I'm so glad that's over," she breathed.
 
"Well, it had to be done." Niko stretched her arms and took a seat at the computer. Otashi pulled a small black remote out of his pocket, and pressed the only big red button. The curtains opened on command. He left the room after a wink to work on his most recent report.
         T.J stopped in his tracks and stared through the window.
 
"The curtains are open," he called to Coco. She turned around and came back to the window. On the table lay a boy. He looked about her age. Something seemed very wrong with him, but Coco couldn't put her finger on it.
Niko looked up at the window and said into her headset,
 
"Why, isn't it our volunteers!" Niko's words were heard loud and clear outside the second floor window. A small speaker was nailed to the wall on either sides of the glass. Niko smiled. "Feel free to ask any questions now." Coco and T.J looked at each other in surprise. Coco blurted,
 
"What did you do to him!?" Niko raised a brow.
 
"Be more specific please."
 
"Oh." Coco cleared her throught. "What did you just finish doing?" Niko's eyes lit up as she recited as if a written speech,
 
"We replaced it's bones with metal joints, gave it artifical organs and drained all the blood. It's nervous system is made up of magnetic waves. It's brain, or computer, is modified so it can preform natural human movements, but nothing else."
 
"Oh," Coco replied, obviously disgusted. That must mean that he can't think. T.J ignored her pondering face.
 
"It? Why'd you call him that?" Niko shrugged.
 
"Because it's no longer a gender. Project 001 humaniod is an it." T.J didn't sound convinced.
 
"But still, it used to be a human boy. Does it even have a name?"
 
"Of course. 001." T.J frowned.
 
"That's not a name, it's a serial number." Niko frowned as well. She sounded angry when she spoke.
 
"Listen kid. It's not even finished yet. Why would it need a name?"
 
"It's just a thought," T.J scourned. Coco glanced at his scowling face.
Doctor Otashi came back in and started setting up more equipment without a word. He attached small suction cups with wires coming out to 001's head. Coco turned away from T.J.
 
"What are you doing now?" she asked. Niko's scournful gaze turned into a feeble smile as she looked at Coco.
 
"We're downloading and testing it's computer. Now if you excuse me, I have to get straight to this." There was a soft click as the speakers turned off. Niko pulled her headset off and continued typing. Otashi announced,
 
"Artifical heart ready to download." Niko pressed a few more keys. On the monitor appeared a small pop-up with a slowly growing red bar. The numbers on top of it increased; 15%, 25%...Niko stood up beside Otashi.

~14~

 
"You know, the kid is right," Niko admitted. "It could use a name." Otashi let out a warm smile.
 
"Yes, it couldn't hurt," he agreed. His face turned grave. "Now, don't go attaching yourself to this thing. It's like you to do that."
 
"Hmph." She souned offended. "Don't worry about it. How could I get attached to an object with a computer for a brain?"
 
"I'm just warning you Niko. You won't be the same person if you do. Plus, if anyone important finds out that you are, you'll get in big trouble." Niko opened her mouth to say something, but the computer gave a shrill beep instead. She pressed another key. She saw 001 jerk as its artifical heart started beating.
 
         By the end of the day, its entire system was downloaded in it's computer.
 
"Now for the second-to-last step," Niko squeaked. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a small square plastic container that looked small in her palm. She opened it, and took out a computer chip. Otashi propped up 001 so it was sitting up, and pushed back it's head. Niko shuffled over to it, and brushed back its' silver hair. She tapped on a hollow part of the neck, and a small compartment popped open. Inside were three slits the perfect size for computer chips. She pushed the chip she was holding into the first slot and pressed a tiny red button also in the compartment. She repeated this for the next one, then closed it. She checked if everything was going smoothly on the computer screen, then grinned at Otashi.
 
"What are you so happy about?" he grimaced.
 
"Oh-nothing," she lied. Everything is going so well... Otashi rolled his eyes.
 
"What are the chips for?" He rallied, knowing that she wanted him to ask that.
 
"You don't know?" She gasped.
He shrugged.
 
"You're the computer geek, not me." Niko took that as a compliment. He continued, "I thought you didn't tell me, purpose, for a surprise or something."
 
"Ha! You wish," teased Niko. "Anyway, the first chip allows it to move on its own, and the second allows it to use its computer, or 'artificial brain' on its own." Otashi folded his arms. He looked impressed.
 
"But there's three spaces," he mentioned.
 
"I know that! The Force is supposed to install a third one. I'm not sure what it's going to be used for, but it's probably not gonna be good." She smiled again, ignoring Otashi's alarmed expression. He was personally afraid of 'The Force'. "And now for the last step," Niko chirped. "Want to do the honours?" Otashi answered,
 
"Sure." Now he was picking up what she was talking about. He took a small steel rod symbolizing a pen with no tip from one of the back shelves. He pressed the grey button on it, and a small curved blade popped out. He pushed 001's head back again and poked the blade into a button so small that it had to be put into a hole. Simultaneously, the computer's artifical voice beeped,
 
"PROJECT 001 HUMANIOD ACTIVATED."

~15~

 

***

 
"It's learnt so much so quickly!" Niko boasted. A small boy with silver hair sat at a round, mahogany table. He sat upright, stiff as a twig. In front of him sat a piece of lined paper filled with square block writing.
Niko cracked her knuckles.
 
"The ABCs, basic speech...I'd say that its IQ is equivalent to-" she checked her charts. "A four-year old. Not bad huh?" She turned to Otashi.
 
"I have to admit I'm impressed." He folded his arms. "You've outdone yourself Niko." She blushed.
Coco and T.J sat at a different table in the same room. Coco was staring at 001.
 
"He looks confused," she pondered. "I wonder what he could be thinking about." She fell silent and stared off into space. T.J gave her a playful look, but she didn't even seem to notice.
 
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" T.J teased. "Besides, his brain's a computer. How could he be even capable to think?" Coco snapped,
 
"Then how can he learn?" She snapped. "Explain that!" T.J put his forefinger to his chin and pondered.
 
"I honestly don't know Coco, but if you asked that Niko girl, she could probably explain it with science." Coco crossed her legs under the table.
 
"I'm not gonna say I told you so when weird things start happening with him."
T.J shrugged.
 
"Who knows what could happen in this place." Coco drummed her fingers on the table impatiently.

~16~

 
         I don't understand...What is this place? He could barely hear himself think. His few thoughts were clouded by the constant beeping and humming in his head. A loud sound, shreeching tires...He squeezed his eyes shut. Remembering gave him a headache. So many bad memories from an old grey house, a dusty attic, and an overwelming feeling he could not describe. What did these images mean?
Coco put on her headphones as T.J did. Niko's soft voice greeted them.
 
"Welcome to social test number one," she stated.
 
"What are we supposed to do?" T.J asked.
 
"Try to socialize with it. One of you taking notes would be wonderful." She sounded suddenly cheery. The mircophone clicked off before either of them could ask any questions.
 
"That sounds kinda vague; socializing." T.J nodded. They both stood up and tiptoed over, afraid that their footsteps would scare the robot. He still didn't have a name. Wonder if they've forgotten, Coco thought. Wouldn't be surprised. His eyes were clamped shut, like he wanted everything to go away. They slowly and silently pulled up a chair and sat down. His eyes remained closed. Coco scratched her head.
 
"What are we supposed to do?" she whispered to T.J.
 
"I don't know. Say hello." He nudged her in the ribs.
 
"No, you do it!" she whispered louder.
 
"No you!"
 
"You!" They squaked. And squaked. And squaked. By the time they were finished, 001's eyes were open and staring. There was no expression on his face, but his eyes...oh his eyes were very unusal. They were glazed blue as if someone had put a sheet of wax paper over them. They did not glitter or sparkle; same as blind-mans': dead and non-seeing. T.J and Coco stared back in awe.
 
"Now what?" squeaked Coco.
 
"Just follow my lead." He paused and looked straight into 001's eyes. He spoke clearly and slowly. "He-llo. My--name--is--Tee--Jay." 001 closed his eyes again.
 
"I know," a computer-like voice said. Wow, he talks, Coco thought. 001 re-opened his eyes. "And you're Coco." T.J and Coco glanced at each-other.
 
"How'd you know that?" T.J squeaked. 001 shook his head slowly.
 
He fell silent. He heard the noises in his head again. The shouting voices, the insults. The headache came once more. He clamped his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead; groaning.
 
"What's wrong?" That was the girl's voice. What was her name? Coco. He heard the screeching tires again. This time afterwards, he felt someone leaning over him hollaring,
 
"Say something! Move!" He forced his eyes open and took a deep breath. T.J and Coco stared in concern.
 
"What was that all about?" Coco demanded. He just shook his head, for he hadn't a clue. Staring off into space once more, he let the beeping and humming fill his head. The memories. They were trying to tell him something. But what? About his past and who he is. That's what he hoped. He didn't even know his name. Did he have one at all?
T.J asked the question he was holding in for days.

~17~

 
"What's your name?" No memories popped up on that one. Suppose he didn't have one?
 
"I don't have one." T.J looked slightly surprised.
 
"Thought so."
 
"Do you want one?" Coco asked him. What a strange question that was. He didn't respond. "I'm going to call you-" she tried to think of a name. "Tsubesa. Ya, Tsubesa." She winked. Yes, he liked the sound of that. 001 was getting old.
 
         A few minutes later, the creepy looking men with dark sunglasses escorted T.J and Coco out. The doctors took Tsubesa away too, but in another direction. A tall man with dark hair had his huge hand on Tsubesa's shoulder. A shiver went up Tsubesa's spine whenever the man spoke. He whipped open the door to the scary room with the high window. The hand on his shoulder tightened, now clenching. When Tsubesa tried to squirm away, the man pulled the steel rod out of his lab coat and poked the curved blade into Tsubesa's neck. All the colour drained from his eyes. His body became limp. Otashi stuffed the rod back into his coat and caught the robot before it fell. Before he fell into blackness, Tsubesa squeezed his eyes shut.

~18~

 
         Niko and Otashi lifted Tsubesa onto the table.
 
"Did you hear the test?" Otashi asked.
 
"Yes of course," she answered. "How strange that is, it knowing the volunteer's names."
 
"Yeah. It didn't answer when the boy asked it how it knew."
 
"Why would it know? It doesn't even know what it is."
 
"Yeah, I know." He waltzed over to the computer, passed it, then shuffled back to stare at it. "There's unusually high levels of waves coming from it's computer," he stated. Niko looked away from the pale robot she created and scurried over to the computer. She studied the screen.
 
"Yes, that's unusal." She shrugged. "It's nothing to worry about. If they get too high i'll look into it." Forgetting the strange incident, they continued setting up equipment. Otashi attached the suction cups to Tsubesa's head once more. Niko rolled up with a wheeled table with a T.V on top. Otashi took all the wires from the suction cups and twisted them together. He took out a small white plastic box from a drawer. It had a square hole on either side. He stuffed the wires in one hole, and the jack from the T.V in the other. He opened another computer program and pressed a few board keys. Just after he turned around, an alarming beep came from the computer, and another from the T.V.

~19~

 
"What's going on!?" Niko squeaked.
 
"I don't know!" He sounded alarmed. They turned to the T.V. It clicked on without any command. Green zeros and ones started to fly across the screen.
 
"Computer language!" Niko bawled. "That shouldn't be there! I didn't type that!" She shot him an icy glare.
 
"Don't look at me!" What's doing this? The robot? Tsubesa? She shook her head. No. It can't be. I didn't tell it how to do that. Suppose it did it on it's own? Otashi sat backward in a chair next to the television screen. He scribbled down the suquence of numbers on a notepad, trying to decode it as he went along.
 
"Niko, type and decode this for me." He ripped out the page that was full. "I think it's trying to turn itself on. Maybe there's words in here somewhere." Niko pushed the CD in the drive and opened the new program. She typed in the sequence and left clicked. The program translated it into English characters. Most of what was recovered was a jumble of letters making no sense, but one sectence did pop up, almost knocking Niko out of her chair. It read,
 
WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
 
"Otashi..." she warned. "Come look at this NOW."
 
"Not now Niko." He continued jotting the numbers down.
 
"No Otashi. Get over here. All of it says nothing, except for this. Come see." He finally got up and strolled over. His jaw dropped and his eyes bulged at the screen.
 
"How can this be? Is it learning too much?" There was a quiver of fear in his voice. Niko ignored him.
 
"This computer can't hold all those waves. We have to unplug it before it crashes." Ignoring the warning, Otashi took a wire from the computer and attactched it to the other end of the T.V. Niko typed anyway.
 
"Come on, respond!" She pleaded. More zeros and ones appeared on the screen. She left clicked again, and words were deciphered.
 
WHAT IS GOING ON?
 
"Amazing," Otashi mumbled. Niko's eyes narrowed. She was deeply in thought. AFter a moment, she said gravely,
 
"I think that it's thoughts are interrupting the computers." Otashi fumed,
 
"Thoughts!? I told you not to get attached to this thing! A robot can't think!" Niko stood up and glared at him.
 
"Then how do you expain this?" She swung her arm at the computer screen. Instead of zeros and ones, straight English came from the T.V.
 
WHERE AM I?
 
"I'm going to have to unplug the computer. It's going to overload." Otashi nodded as he fiddled with his hands. His face was drained of all colour, and his eyes continued to bulge. He looked like he was going to be sick. Niko pulled the plug out of the motem.
Tsubesa stirred.
 
"I don't believe it!" Niko squeaked. "It's turned itself on!" Otashi turned grave.
 
"That can't be," Otashi muttered under his breath.

~20~

 
         What was this feeling Tsubesa suddenly got? He had never felt it before. All he knew is that he didn't like it. It made him feel uptight and uncomfortable. He searched his dictionary, but he couldn't find a description. Was it fear? No. There wasn't anything to be afraid of. He wanted to sit up, but he felt too weak and tired.
Niko plopped in her chair.
 
"How did this happen?" She buried her face in her hands. Otashi scratched his head and pulled up a chair. He sat on it backward.
 
"This is really weird Niko. I thought that it was you typing that stuff. Now I know that you wouldn't do such a thing." Niko nodded.
 
"It's thinking. I was afraid of this. Pretty soon, it'll wonder why it has to listen to us." She buried her face in her hands and started to sob. "I'm such a failure." Otashi shook his head.
 
"No you're not." He lifted her chin up. Her face was red and tear-streaked. Never had he seen her look so horrible. "All we have to do is work around it. We are NOT bailing out on this project now. We've gone too far." Niko wiped the tears off her face. She cleared her throaght.
 
"Got any ideas?"
 
"As a matter-of-fact, I do."
 
Tsubesa was listening to their every word. He wanted to smile, but he kept still, just in case they caught him with facial expressions.
 
"We'll put an obedience device in it. Whenever it doesn't take out an action we tell it to, it'll get zapped or something." Niko's eyes lit up.
 
"It's bones are metal. The shock would coarse through it quite quickly." Otashi smilied. She was back to her old self.
 
"It's settled then."

~21~

 
         Now, this feeling was fear. Tsubesa shivered at their words: -"it'll get zapped or something." He didn't like following orders. Maybe if he continued listening, he would discover where the device will be located and how to get rid of the damn thing. He had his own mind now. And it's no computer.

~22~

 
 

--END OF PART B--
***
---END OF EPISODE I---

 
Author's Corner
 
Hi! If any of you are wondering, Tsubesa is pronounced soo-bay-sa. Just like the way you say Tsunami. I'm a little obsessed with Manga and anime . Most of my stories take place in Japan,(like In The Cold} or have a strange Japanese twist. By the way, this story does not take place in Japan. You may have also noticed in my other series, In The Cold, that a lot of the names start with the letter M. I didn't do it on purpose! (i like M names). I was inspired to write this story by the movies Short Circuit and D.A.R.Y.L. I love both of them. (#5 is alive!!) If you want to chat with me, you can make me your contact on msn. My address is [e-mail], or of course, [e-mail] Happy Reading! 
-Sakurafantasy