Repairs

Needing to clear my head, I decided to take a short elevator ride up to the roof. While the executive suites were considered the top floor of the building, the roof was home to one of my favorite spots.

As the elevator opened, a gentle gust of wind pressed against my face, the clean scent of nature soothing my senses. This high up, the streets of New York were unable to be heard. Despite it being chilly outside, this outdoor park was quite temperate. It was at least 20 degrees F warmer.

With this, birds could be heard chirping year round as they flew through the canopy of trees and played with their companions. A small group of horses grazed in an open part of the park, enjoying fresh grass and drinking from the river that snaked through. Squirrels and other small animals scurried about, finding food and observing their surroundings.

I was happy that even in the concrete jungle, this small patch of green existed, preserved through the combined efforts of humans and androids. It was the place that was best for me to think. I would always go to a hut with my tablet, get a refill on my coffee, and just let the ideas flow.

Arthur uploaded the full report on the chip to my tablet. I needed to use this information to come up with the basis for a design. My goal was to create a detector for the chips in order to identify individuals that had one in their head.

The challenge was being able to differentiate between this chip and other chips that are used to treat health issues.

I thought about this problem as I walked through the park. A cobblestone path weaved throughout the park. Following it could lead you to any of the locations such as the huts, the waterfall, the lake, and of course the restrooms.

After a few minutes, I arrived at one of the huts. They were quite spread out in order to ensure that each and every one can maintain peace and quiet. There were also a few androids that would provide food and drink services. They were part of the team that maintains the park.

Seeing that it was vacant, I walked through the doorway and took my shoes off before placing them on the rack. The floor of the huts was covered in a burlap like material with foam underneath to ease the pressure on one's feet. It felt very comfortable.

The hut wasn't very large, only about 80 square feet. This was approximately the size of your average shed. There was an uplight lamp hanging from the ceiling that provided a mode of lighting that was easy on the eyes. Two windows on the walls adjacent to the door let some natural light into the hut as well. On the far end of the hut was a hammock with a small table next to it. This was my destination.

I placed my tablet onto the table and climbed into the hammock. Reaching back towards the table, I didn't grab my tablet but rather pressed the button on the underside of the table.

Barely a minute later, a voice came from outside the doorway. "May I enter?"

I smiled, excited for another cup of coffee. I might have a bit of a problem. "Yes, please."

A female android came into the hut wearing a plain uniform with the Southrop logo on it. "Would you like to place an order Dr. Mittdermit?"

I nodded. "Just my usual iced coffee please."

She nodded in return, turning towards the exit. "It will be ready in a few minutes."

I waved her off. "Thanks!"

About an hour went by. I spent this hour by taking intermittent naps, jotting down ideas for the detector, and coming up with a plan for if something were to happen regarding this whole scenario. I kept writing off the last set of things because I was sure that Arthur had contingency plans in place. Thus, I had nothing to worry about.

I was awoken from a nap by my watch lighting up and vibrating. Glancing at it, Yakov sent me a message. He was ready to make the repairs. I quickly got up from the hammock and put my shoes on, briskly walking through the park and entering the elevator.

Just a few minutes later, I was at the door to Yakov's lab. I scanned my badge and the door slid open, revealing what was probably the messiest version of his lab I had ever seen.

I coughed, getting Yakov's attention. He was fiddling with a circuit board. He usually passes time by playing with old tech. "I didn't realize it was hurricane season."

Yakov nearly choked in response to my comment. "Oh shut up, will you? I haven't had time to clean."

I chuckled. "Just get it done. Do I have to send you for FOD training again?"

(FOD is Foreign Object Debris and is an actual term used in manufacturing.)

Yakov tossed the circuit board aside and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll get it done this week. Can you wheel Mark over? I need to prepare my tools."

I nodded, looking around and noticing Mark on the far end of the room. He was plugged into a terminal while sitting in a wheelchair. I waved as I walked over. "Hey Mark, how are you doing?"

Mark's eyes opened slowly as they flashed intermittently. He was clearly processing a lot of data. "I am doing alright, James. How was your meeting?"

I sighed, not wanting to think about that mess at the moment. "I'll fill you in later. You might have some good ideas."

Mark nodded. "Very well. Is it time for my repairs?"

I smiled. "Yes, let's get you patched up."

Reaching over to the back of his neck, I unplugged the cable harness. The "skin" on the back of his neck quickly and seamlessly closed back up. This was a feature we added in order to conceal and protect our android's data ports.

I then pulled the wheelchair away from the desk before getting behind it and pushing it towards Yakov. As we approached, I noticed that Yakov was carrying a large box with a touch screen panel on the front.

My eyes lit up. "Ooooh, whipping out the big boy toys, are we?"

Yakov nodded. "It is my creation afterall. I'll never go back to hand tools."

I smiled. This piece of tech that Yakov invented was truly amazing. He has been building one for me in his free time. I then turned back to Mark. "Alright, buddy, let's get you on the table."

Mark nodded, pushing himself up and out of the wheelchair. As he did this, some of his artificial blood flowed out of the open gunshot wound. It further stained his shirt. Not wanting him to hurt himself any further, I helped pick him up and placed him down on the table. He was now lying on his back.

*Beep*

The box that Yakov took out made a beeping sound. It then clicked and began unfolding. There were a series of arms with a rotating set of tools on the end of each one. In the middle of the box was a pair of gloves. The gloves were jam packed with wiring and nanochips.

Yakov picked up the arms and began clamping them to the sides of the workstation. There were four of them and they were placed beside either of Mark's shoulders and both sides of his hips.

Once the arms were in place, Yakov used a scalpel to cut off Mark's shirt. His jacket had already been taken off. Now that the shirt was off, the wound was on full display. The blue blood was partially dried and covering his abdomen. Some of his mechanical innards were on display and it was clear that some things were missing.

With the shirt removed and arms in place, Yakov's preparation was complete. He slid the gloves onto his hands and spoke in a monotonous voice. "Activate."

A slight whirring sound accompanied a series of lights activating on the arms. Once the startup sequence was complete, a holographic display was projected around the gloves. This was the interface that the device would be controlled with.

Yakov stretched his fingers and the tool arrays on the end of the robotic arms. He then stabilized his hands and started moving his fingers carefully. The rotating arrays stopped on a few different tools. One was a spreader, one was a scalpel, another were tongs, and the last was a soldering iron.

Lowering his hands slowly, the arms followed. The scalpel moved in and sliced Mark's skin open further, exposing more of his innards. He then stretched one of his fingers to the side and the tongs moved towards the parts on the table. The tongs delicately grabbed one of the components and then lifted it in the air. It moved towards the incision Yakov had created.

Using the spreader, Yakov pried open the incision, leaving enough space to install the part. The tongs placed the part inside with the correct orientation. Quickly, the soldering iron followed, connecting wires that the tongs proceeded to pull towards the new component.

Approximately ten minutes later, Yakov pulled one of the gloves off and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Phew, that was tiring."

I chuckled. "Maybe it's almost time to retire."

Yakov shrugged, shaking his head gently. "Not quite. These old bones can still get the job done."

I nodded. "You could say that again. How long until the skin fully fuses?"

Yakov glanced at the incision that he had just cauterized shut before turning back to me. "The self repair should be kicking in now that I re-enabled it. Have him do a full diagnostic in the morning. He should be fine by then."

I smiled, happy that Mark would be alright. I knew he would but it feels good to hear it. He was precious to me. "Help me get him back in the chair?"

Yakov nodded, helping me lift Mark up, we placed him back in the wheelchair. "Alright, you should get back to Lana. She's probably angry about this morning."

I shrugged. "What can I do? It's not my fault."

Yakov rolled his eyes. "You young people really don't understand women."