MEET EEZO

CHAPTER 5

13.

All of those experiences that they had were as meaningful as a sapling. It will take time for it to have a bigger relevance in the future. It's for them to cherish it as it grows its roots, being able to stand strong in time.

Eezo is no stranger to Alioth's current state, for a highly advanced technology, gathering all the necessary details is a child's play. The newspapers, Alioth's record, and ofcourse the current behavior that is being shown, all of those were the firm evidence that he needed in order to have a conclusion. Healing physical wounds would be easier for Eezo but dealing with emotional and psychological pain is a whole new level of difficulty. No matter how advanced Eezo is, it is not equipped with the ability to feel and empathize. It can still read the situation and have calculated conclusions. Like what Eezo did when it noticed that Alioth is afraid to swim. Reading behavioral movement helps Eezo to adjust, suggest, or come up with a "helper response". But it does not let Eezo feel the way it exactly feels, hence the story for a brighter future continues.

The 6th day of their learning week goes as simple as it could be. They don't want to overly exhaust themselves because they all have their own things that they should attend to. Alioth and Rigel clean out the mess, and do a little bit of trivia game with the lead of Eezo. As afternoon sets in, Rigel went home. He needs to prepare things before going back to school by the next morning. In fact, Alioth also needs to prepare for his scheduled check up, thus the said day has come.

Going out early is what Alioth and Milly do every check up. They don't want to be late in their schedule since the psychiatrist is doing her best to help them. Alioth ordered Eezo to hide inside the house and never let anyone see him. They don't know what the other residents will do to Eezo once they know about the sentient robot. Alioth does not want to complicate things, therefore the note on his whiteboard is still on his desk, something that will remind Eezo.

Upon arriving at their destination, the examination starts immediately. Just like before, Milly waits in the reception hall while it is in progress. Though this time, the check up is quite faster than before. Afterwards, the psychiatrist talks with Milly privately.

"How was it doc? It is a little bit faster this time isn't it?" Milly asked.

"Indeed, for some reason, Alioth is being responsive. In fact, too responsive…" The psychiatrist said.

"What do you mean?" Milly asked further.

"He still could not talk, though every time I would ask something, he would immediately answer. He even asked for something to write on." The psychiatrist explained.

"Oh about that. Martin gave him a white board and a pentel pen. He used those to communicate now" Milly responded.

"That's great! It means he is willing to communicate now. By the way, Is there something that he is waiting for? Or something he needs to attend immediately?" The psychiatrist randomly asked.

"I'm not sure… Why did you ask?" Milly replied.

"He seems in a hurry, perhaps the reason why he is being too responsive is that he wants to finish the session immediately. He won't spill it out but as I observed, he wants to be in that place as soon as possible" The psychiatrist mentioned.

"It must be the project that my son Rigel and Alioth are building. Actually last week, I saw them painting a huge robot-like figure. Probably crafting for fun, you know, kids" Milly said.

"Well whatever that craft is, I can say that it is helping him. I'm sure that he will eventually try to speak if things go well from here." The psychiatrist replied.

"Thank you so much, I hope so too" Milly said as they fetched Alioth in the separate room.

As soon as Alioth saw Milly and the psychiatrist, his eyes sparkled as he ran towards them, excited to go home. That short scenario immediately proves the point of the psychiatrist. What it feels like a dead-end problem, somehow slowly clears up as a light of hope shines on a path for them to continue.

Eventually, they head home. Milly feels like a spike has been removed from her throat. Seeing Alioth progress eases the pain she felt when her sister, Alioth's mother, died. At the end of the day, it's not only Alioth who is in pain.

Upon arriving, Alioth bowed down his head quickly, indicating that he is thankful, then he ran immediately inside the house. Milly is indeed curious about what's inside, she thinks that there could be more than she imagined. Though Milly did not intervene, as long as it helps Alioth, she is fine with that.

"Welcome back Master Alioth" Eezo said.

Alioth grabbed his whiteboard and wrote "How are you?"

"I successfully hid, the task was accomplished" Eezo answered.

While they are having a chat, someone knocks on the door. Alioth immediately opened it and saw Martin.

"Hey, ahm.. It's been a while since your last visit. sooo I decided to visit. May I come in? I got foods" Martin said.

Alioth nodded and let Martin inside the house.

"Your house is clean, you've done a very good job maintaining the house" Martin said as he put the food on the table.

"I just cleaned last night" Alioth wrote on his white board and showed it to Martin.

"Oh you communicate that way now! Impressive!" Martin gladly said.

"I found this with the stuff you gave me" Alioth wrote.

"Those boys did help us big time, come sit, let's eat while it's hot. I ordered this at Christian's store. They called it Lumpiang shanghai" Martin offered.

Martin and Alioth ate the so-called Lumpiang shanghai, and both of them were surprised by the taste of it. It is definitely a dish they would want to eat again.

"Those Pinoy dishes keep on surprising me. Mary is a great cook." Martin said.

Alioth agreed and wrote "They also have sweets"

"Yeah, they sell a wide variety of foods in their so-called sari sari store" Martin replied.

Minutes after, Eezo walks in the living room and says "Master, do I continue hiding or your order is already done?"

"HOLY SHIII… WHAT IS THAT!" Martin shouted as he looked at Eezo.

Alioth puts his hand on his face, knowing that they messed up.

"Ju.. just stay behind Alioth… doo. Don't panic" Martin stuttered as he tried to protect Alioth.

"You are the one who is in panic" Eezo answered.

"ANNND IT'S TALKING! Okay.. okay… What are you?" Martin asked as he kept on stuttering.

"I am Eezo, a sentient robot" Eezo replied.

Alioth pulls Martin's sleeve to get his attention and hands him a notebook. Martin is entirely confused on what is happening, what does a 7-foot sentient robot doing in Alioth's house, and why is he the only one who is in panic. He eventually reads the notebook that Alioth gave him. It contains a summary about Eezo. Surely a lot of things to chew on.

14.

It took them quite some time before Martin calmed down. Everything is in front of him. He was able to connect every detail; like why Alioth and Rigel want to learn electronics, why they suddenly stopped hanging out in his place, basically everything that the kids are up to finally makes sense to him. Though of course, it is a lot of things to digest and he still cannot believe what he is seeing.

"Aahm… Are you friendly?" Martin curiously asked.

"Define friendly?" Eezo responded.

"You know, like you won't do anything to us. Abduct or perhaps conquer the world or something?" Martin added.

Alioth laughs as he sees how nervous Martin is.

"What? I have to make sure" Martin said defensively.

"Negative, unless Master Alioth ordered me to do so" Eezo answered.

"I am an electronics engineer. I thought I was ready for the advancement of technology but I guess this is a bit too much" Martin said as everything blew his mind.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone? Please…" Alioth wrote.

"Yeah yeah sure, I just need to you know, kinda rearrange my thoughts, I'll be back. I.. I promise!" Martin said as he walked towards the door.

"Master, Am I supposed to stay and not go out of the garage?" Eezo asked.

Alioth heavily sighed, fully aware that everything is about to change.

As Martin reaches his house, he walks back and forth, thinking and weighing things. He intendedly waits outside so that he can talk to Rigel first when he comes down from the school bus. His next move will depend on the discussion that they will have.

It is 4 in the afternoon and Rigel shows up just like how Martin anticipated. He immediately approached Rigel and invited him inside the house for an important discussion.

"Let's cut to the chase, I've seen that robot and I want answers" Martin seriously said.

"Oh, you mean Eezo?" Rigel responded.

"Yeah, you gave it a name already" Martin replied.

"It is actually Alioth that gave him its name" Rigel clarified.

"Nevermind that, is that thing safe?" Martin questioned.

"You wouldn't ask where it came from first?" Rigel asked.

"I already know the summary, Alioth gave me a notebook where he logs everything" Martin answered.

"Weeeell, typical Alioth." Rigel said.

"Don't divert the topic" Martin mentioned.

"Oh yeah, sure, it's totally safe. It shoots beams and stuff but you know it's all good" Rigel answered.

"It shoots beams? How's that even safe?" Martin hysterically questioned.

"Calm down, if it wasn't we could have been dead by now. It's been a week since Eezo functioned again" Rigel responded.

"How am I supposed to calm down? How are you so calm now?" Martin added.

"I did panic before but not like yours. I mean it's overwhelming but I know Eezo won't harm us. In fact it is helping us, especially towards Alioth" Rigel explained.

"What do you mean?" Martin asked.

"Ever since he found that robot, he has opened himself more. I can see him enjoying it and he starts to communicate as well." Rigel answered.

Martin was struck by Rigel's words, he realized that Alioth wouldn't even go to his place if it wasn't for that robot. "I guess you're right.. He writes his thoughts now" Martin replied.

"Back then, he looked like a moving doll. Without emotions, just operating repeatedly. But now, Alioth looks like a kid! Well quite different from the others but at least it's better than before. You know what I mean." Rigel added.

"Does your mom know about this?" Martin asked.

"Well I'm about to tell her later but seeing an adult respond that way… I kinda don't want to tell her. Mom can be overly protective and I don't want this to lead to a scenario wherein they will take Eezo from Alioth" Rigel answered.

Martin deeply sighed and said "You do have a point… Fine, you guys can keep your secret. Just remember, when something bad happens, I'm the first one who will remove Eezo away from the both of you"

Martin and Rigel's conversation finally came into an agreement. They could not blame Martin from his reaction, he only cares so much that is why he reacted that way.

Afterwards, Rigel told Alioth about everything. He laughs when Alioth tells him how exactly Martin figured it out. Who would have thought that a sentient robot, way far intelligent compared to them, will blow their cover with just a simple scenario. Alioth actually feels relieved as everything finally settles. But can they keep things hidden forever?

Due to the current setup, Alioth agreed with Rigel that they should lie low for now, especially when Rigel is not around. Martin is on guard mode as of the moment, they don't want to do anything that would lead into something they could not handle.

Staying inside will be the smartest choice. Rigel heads home right after their small chat, there is plenty of homework that he needs to do. Their entire week went exactly that way. There are times that Martin will pay a visit, he observes and sometimes does a little chat with Alioth. It was awkward at first but Martin slowly got interested in Eezo. Reading Alioth's log blows his mind, he never saw any material like Eezo. Friday came and Martin could not stop his curiosity no longer, he started examining Eezo.

"So you're telling me, this is charging through solar and absorbs lightning?" Martin asked Alioth.

Alioth nodded.

"Amazing, it looks like copper but it is not. I'm confused about how it attracts lightning. Like a rod or some sort" Martin said.

"The panels are fused with the properties that are present in a lightning rod" Eezo simplified the scenario.

"But how is this not fry your circuits?" Martin questioned.

"My whole body is designed to absorb impact. The excess current will be thrown to the body part that touches the ground" Eezo answered.

"I guess that also explains how you were not burned down when you entered the mesosphere…" Martin mentioned.

"Affirmative" Eezo answered.

Alioth is actually happy to see Martin, taking this scenario as an opportunity to learn rather than a threat. To check Alioth's primary conclusion to Eezo's properties, Martin redo the experiment that Alioth did. There could be a possible missed angle that Alioth failed to notice. It will also solidify the primary conclusion if it is checked more than once, thus the redo of the experiment began.

Martin's veteran skills are really impressive. Compared to Alioth's scrappy experiment, Martin has a more systematic way. Alioth was amazed at how Martin worked, he realized that there are a lot of things that he should learn. Knowledge is easy to acquire but technique needs practice.

After almost an hour, Martin came up with closely similar results with Alioth's previous data. As confusing as it is, the only reason that they can throw in that scenario is "it's not from this planet". Though it did make sense for Martin, everything will be much more questionable if the materials used to build Eezo are similar to the elements on earth. The narrative would not make sense because humanity could not even achieve what Eezo has done. It is reasonable to have that data in line with the outstanding feat that Eezo can do. It reminds them how impossible it is for humans to explore the depths of the universe, especially without those elements, but it is something to look forward to. At the end of the day, the curiosity inside of Martin beats his own fear. He finally understands why the boys are so into this matter.

15.

It's been a slow-paced week for Alioth due to the fact that Rigel told them to lie low for a while. It is not as exciting as the earlier week but Martin kept them busy. Since Alioth is an extremely observant child, he enjoys even just watching Martin conduct his experiment. The expressions made were entertaining for Alioth, which made his week worthwhile.

At last, the weekend starts, they can do something fun with the lead of Rigel. For a child who wants to be by himself, it is a big development since Alioth is starting to look forward to something.

Burnt from his studies, Rigel could not be the actively-fun guy at this moment. Normally Rigel would suggest something physical, perhaps stroll, hike, or some sort, but he could not think of any. "I'm soooo tireeeeed" it is the line that has been the all time phrase for Rigel since morning.

Alioth feels a little bit sad because he's been waiting for this day. He then suddenly realized that it is a good opportunity for him to do something for Rigel this time. Alioth must think of something that will remove the mental fatigue of Rigel. So he thinks and thinks about something unique, he must generate an idea real quick.

"Want to go to your secret place?" Alioth wrote.

"I would love to but at this point of time, the shelter is facing the sun, we'll be fried if we stay there" Rigel replied.

"We can modify it!" Alioth added.

"I can help in the modification of the said place" Eezo responded.

"Yeah… I do think that place needs a little change" Rigel said.

"LET'S DO IT!" Alioth wrote while smiling.

"Fineee, I guess this can help me forget about my activities for a while" Rigel said as he carried his own body.

Finally agreeing to the plan, they all head to Rigel's secret place at the top of the hill. They are already used in sneaking Eezo around the neighborhood, therefore going through anywhere they want is a breeze.

Upon reaching the place, they realized that Rigel was right. It would be better if they can create a treehouse in the area. Eezo argued that it wouldn't be advisable since it will be prone to danger, the trees are not thick enough and it is close to the edge. A small misstep will lead them to falling to the cliff. With that said, they uphold the theme but modify it in a safer way. Instead of putting the "house" on top of the tree, it will be placed beside it, using the torso of the tree as the foundation.

This time, Alioth and Rigel learned their lesson. Not like before, wherein they will straight on do what they plan, they asked Eezo on things that he can offer. The potentials are limitless, Eezo can literally build them a palace if they want to. Alioth and Rigel decided to draw something that is very simple, not eye catchy but comfortable enough to stay in. Like an extremely downgraded version of a nipa hut. Thankfully their drawing skills matched the low quality version that they are aiming for. They don't have to draw it intentionally miserable because their skills already did it for them. As soon as Alioth and Rigel finished sketching, they handed it over to Eezo and let him do the rest. They also advised Eezo to gather wood or materials somewhere far from the neighborhood so that no one will be disturb by the noise.

It did not take them long to gather the necessary materials for their hut. Of course Alioth and Rigel helped Eezo in building their place. They let Eezo do the heavy load while the rest of it will be their job. The simple tying, arranging, assessing if everything is on track, Alioth and Rigel are no slouch on their respective tasks.

Alioth noticed that what they are doing is effective. Rigel does love physical activities and these kinds of things boost his spirit. Eventually, the place will be a hideout for them. It will be a lot safer to do what they want without a risk of someone suddenly showing up. Realizing these thoughts fired Alioth up, he dedicated himself even more.

It took them quite some time before everything was close to finishing. Eezo heads out once more to get a last remaining wide plank or something similar, that will suffice for the remaining side of the hut. Due to exhaustion, Alioth and Rigel rest inside of it for a moment.

After a while, they heard someone was coming, and it was not Eezo.

"I knew it! I will find you here! By the way, nice place" Luna said. A smart looking, light tanned, long braided black hair girl, classmate of Rigel.

"You cannot just leave me alone aren't you?" Rigel responded.

"Who is she?" Alioth wrote on his whiteboard.

"She's a nobody, don't mind her" Rigel said.

Luna noticed the way Alioth communicated, with her keen observation, she concluded that Alioth is mute but not deaf. She proceeded to introduce herself "I'm Luna Dela Cruz! Daughter of Christian and Mary. I live nearby" she said.

"Hi. I'm Alioth" Alioth wrote.

"Aaaaww, you are a cute one, not like the one who avoids our group work" Luna said subtly.

"I told you, I'll finish it later!" Rigel argued.

"As I observe, you look like you haven't even started it yet. I'm quite sure you'll ask for an extension later" Luna said.

Rigel could not reply on that one, he admits that he has been quite a nuisance to their group work recently.

"Your name sounds Spanish" Alioth wrote on his whiteboard and showed it to Luna.

"Actually, I'm a Filipino. Both of my parents are." Luna explained.

Alioth widen his eyes as he write "LUMPIANG SHANGHAI"

"Oh you tried those already? How was it?" Luna replied.

"I LOVE THEM!" Alioth wrote.

"Glad to know, I made those!" Luna said.

Alioth gets excited, "Really? Come inside our base!" he wrote.

"Sure, Let's see your fort" Luna replied as she followed Alioth.

"Wha…" Rigel was stunned how everything happened. "Your loyalty was tested through food?" Rigel said as both Luna and Alioth ignored him.

As they all sat down, Alioth wrote "I haven't seen you in the neighborhood"

"Well I am always occupied with school activities" Luna said.

"She is the Ms.DoEverything in school. There's no school program that she is not participating in" Rigel side-commented.

"How old are you?" Luna asked.

"12" Alioth wrote.

"And they continue to ignore me" Rigel said.

"Really? You look way more responsible for a 12 year old" Luna mentioned.

Alioth giggles as he humbly accepts the compliment.

"Are you done now? You can actually leave if you don't mind" Rigel said to Luna.

"I don't really mind, it's quite comfy here. And besides, I'm not the one who has pending work" Luna responded.

"You really followed me here just to insist that? How do you even get here?" Rigel irritatedly asked.

"Oooh, this is well tied, Did you do this?" Luna asked Alioth.

Alioth nodded.

"HEY! Don't just ignore me! Ugh, this girl is frustrating to deal with…" Rigel said.

"And I'll take that as a compliment! Thank you~" Luna said as she winked.

Alioth is actually enjoying how Rigel and Luna argue. It's rare for him to be as open as he is right now. For some reason he is fine letting Luna inside in their so-called base. The welcoming aura yet persistent that Luna shows, makes everyone comfortable around her. Though it is not the same scenario for Rigel.

As everyone continued to fool around, Alioth and Rigel forgot something important. The best way that reminded them is when Eezo landed and asked "Where should I put this?"

Luna dropped her jaw as Alioth and Rigel realized that they are in a huge trouble right now.

-There is no secret that can remain hidden forever, especially if it's a 7-foot walking sentient robot. Time will tell until everyone knows it, Eventually they will meet Eezo.