Servo 9:2
Servo 9:2
“Jonah?” Grandma called from downstairs. “Jonah, Dagwood is here.”“Coming, Grandma!” I hollered. The thought crossed my mind if it was perhaps such a good idea to show Dagwood what we were up to. He didn’t strike me as the kind of kid who could keep a secret. But if we never get the bot working, it wouldn’t matter. On the way out of the room I grabbed my tablet. It was fully charged and still had the recent memory stick loaded into it. Perhaps I was hoping my father would give me some wisdom with his words. Although his work was decades more advanced than the dilapidated old bot we were fixing. Maybe something would jar my memory.I went downstairs and was met by Dagwood at the front door.“Hiya, Jonah.”“Hi,” I said, ushering him outside. “Rory probably has some homework to do.”“Will he come out later?”“Confident of that.”“What about your sister?”She’ll have nothing to do with our project.”“Your sister is pretty.”“Uh, yeah.” I led the way to the barn and opened the doors. “Mmm, her hair is the color of golden corn silk.”“Dagwood?”“She doesn’t like it here, does she?”“Nope. If Suz had her way, she’d be back in the Inner States.”“What’s it like there?” Dagwood followed along. “I hear only really smart people live there…I bet I’d be too dumb.”“Umm, no, that might not be the case,” I said, stopping at the workbench. “What do you mean?”“Well, if you have a marketable skill that brings in enough to put you above the income threshold, you could live there.”Dagwood gave me a blank stare. Evidently my words were above his comprehension level. “Naw, that sounds too hard. I think I’ll just stay here,” he replied. “Grandpa says you’ll make a fine farmer.”“He did?”“Yes.”“Oh, that was mighty nice of him. I wanna be just like my daddy.”“So do I.”“What do you mean?”“My daddy worked on bots.”“He did?”“Yup.” I reached out and pulled the crusty canvas tarp covering the sections of bot. “And that’s what I want to do.”“Gosh, is that a bot?”“What’s left of it,” I answered with an obvious frown. “Are you going to fix it up?”“That was our plan.” Picking up and arm, I inspected it. “If we can.”“So your daddy made bots?”“Yes, and Grandpa Cranwinkle too.”Dagwood put his hands over his mouth. “Oh, I didn’t know. He’s such a nice old man.” He got down to eye level with the workbench. “Folks here don’t like bots.”“Because of the Great Separation, right?”“Bots killed a lot of people.”I decided I’d refrain from telling Dagwood that Grandpa was one of the battle bot designers. That probably wouldn’t go over well with his infantile psyche. My words would have to be chosen wisely. “Yeah, they did. But bots like this were built to serve.”“Serve how?”“Well, for starters, they can clean your house, make meals, do laundry, babysit kids, and even drive you around town.”My new friend leaned against the bench; it was obvious he was in deep thought. A moment later, he started chuckling. “I’d like a bot to do my homework!”I laughed along with him. “I don’t think this bot was smart enough for that.”“Did the ones you had help you?”“Occasionally.”“The new ones must be super smart, right?”“Pretty smart. They work like information databases. If I needed something, I’d tell them and they’d search the internet and find it for me.”“That’s cool. We have to go to the library and look through books here.” “The school has a library with books?”“Yeah. Didn’t your schools?”“No. Everything was electronic. I’d only seen one book in my life until I came here.”“Only one?!”“And it was an old one. But Grandpa has a whole room of them he saved.”“He has books, here?”“Uh, huh. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.”“Where did he get them?”“He said he saved them from being burned during the war.”“They must be really cool books.”“I have a couple I’m reading…So odd to have to turn pages.”“I love the smell of old books.” Dagwood took in a deep breath and let it out. “I love the smell of smart.”“Umm, I think you mean the smell of intelligence.”He waved his hand as if to dismiss my correction. “Whatever.”“You can be smart and not have books.”“Obviously you are. But I think books tell a special story, not by just what is inside them, but how they look…What are you reading?”“A collection of short stories.”“I love those. By who?”“Some guy named Bradbury.”“Ray Bradbury?”“Think so.”“Would your grandpa let me borrow it when you get done?”“I’m sure he would.”Dagwood reached out and touched the bot’s right arm. “Can you make it work again?”“I don’t know.”“What will you do with it if you can make it work?”“Rory and I know that you have to get a license to have a bot.”“Yup.”“So if we can get it working again, it’s just going to stay in here, and we’ll disable it when we leave…I don’t want Grandpa Cranwinkle getting into trouble.”“No, he’s too nice to get in trouble.”I poked at a few wires that were hanging from a leg. “Dagwood?”“Yeah?”“You know this town well, right?”“Like the back of my hand!”“If someone had a bot, and needed some parts to fix it, where would they go?”He put his chin in his hand and scrunched his face. “I reckon the hardware store.”“You’re joking, right?”“No. Mr. Coates can order stuff—anything you want.”“He could get me parts for the bot?”“Yes, but that might not be good.”“Why?”“Because he’s friends with the sheriff. And if he tells that you have a bot—”“I see.”Dagwood’s face lit up and he thrust an index finger into the air. “I got it!”“What?”“Jimmy Pineapple.”“Huh?”“Well, that’s what we all calls him. His name is really Jimmy Pineppley.”“Who is he?”“Works for a guy who runs the local grain mill. They have a bot there.”“So?”“We could talk to Jimmy and see if he can order the parts—sayin’ that it’s to fix their bot.”“And what if the bot is newer than mine?”“Uh, I dunno. Just tryin’ to help you out.”“It’s appreciated. Can you introduce me to Jimmy?” My mind began to churn. “Sure. How about tomorrow?”“Sounds good.”Dagwood reached out and picked up a weighty leg like it was nothing. “Promise you’ll tell me more what it’s like in the Inner States?”“I can do that.”“You’re really nice, Jonah.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Jonah?” Grandma called from downstairs. “Jonah, Dagwood is here.”“Coming, Grandma!” I hollered. The thought crossed my mind if it was perhaps such a good idea to show Dagwood what we were up to. He didn’t strike me as the kind of kid who could keep a secret. But if we never get the bot working, it wouldn’t matter. On the way out of the room I grabbed my tablet. It was fully charged and still had the recent memory stick loaded into it. Perhaps I was hoping my father would give me some wisdom with his words. Although his work was decades more advanced than the dilapidated old bot we were fixing. Maybe something would jar my memory.I went downstairs and was met by Dagwood at the front door.“Hiya, Jonah.”“Hi,” I said, ushering him outside. “Rory probably has some homework to do.”“Will he come out later?”“Confident of that.”“What about your sister?”She’ll have nothing to do with our project.”“Your sister is pretty.”“Uh, yeah.” I led the way to the barn and opened the doors. “Mmm, her hair is the color of golden corn silk.”“Dagwood?”“She doesn’t like it here, does she?”“Nope. If Suz had her way, she’d be back in the Inner States.”“What’s it like there?” Dagwood followed along. “I hear only really smart people live there…I bet I’d be too dumb.”“Umm, no, that might not be the case,” I said, stopping at the workbench. “What do you mean?”“Well, if you have a marketable skill that brings in enough to put you above the income threshold, you could live there.”Dagwood gave me a blank stare. Evidently my words were above his comprehension level. “Naw, that sounds too hard. I think I’ll just stay here,” he replied. “Grandpa says you’ll make a fine farmer.”“He did?”“Yes.”“Oh, that was mighty nice of him. I wanna be just like my daddy.”“So do I.”“What do you mean?”“My daddy worked on bots.”“He did?”“Yup.” I reached out and pulled the crusty canvas tarp covering the sections of bot. “And that’s what I want to do.”“Gosh, is that a bot?”“What’s left of it,” I answered with an obvious frown. “Are you going to fix it up?”“That was our plan.” Picking up and arm, I inspected it. “If we can.”“So your daddy made bots?”“Yes, and Grandpa Cranwinkle too.”Dagwood put his hands over his mouth. “Oh, I didn’t know. He’s such a nice old man.” He got down to eye level with the workbench. “Folks here don’t like bots.”“Because of the Great Separation, right?”“Bots killed a lot of people.”I decided I’d refrain from telling Dagwood that Grandpa was one of the battle bot designers. That probably wouldn’t go over well with his infantile psyche. My words would have to be chosen wisely. “Yeah, they did. But bots like this were built to serve.”“Serve how?”“Well, for starters, they can clean your house, make meals, do laundry, babysit kids, and even drive you around town.”My new friend leaned against the bench; it was obvious he was in deep thought. A moment later, he started chuckling. “I’d like a bot to do my homework!”I laughed along with him. “I don’t think this bot was smart enough for that.”“Did the ones you had help you?”“Occasionally.”“The new ones must be super smart, right?”“Pretty smart. They work like information databases. If I needed something, I’d tell them and they’d search the internet and find it for me.”“That’s cool. We have to go to the library and look through books here.” “The school has a library with books?”“Yeah. Didn’t your schools?”“No. Everything was electronic. I’d only seen one book in my life until I came here.”“Only one?!”“And it was an old one. But Grandpa has a whole room of them he saved.”“He has books, here?”“Uh, huh. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them.”“Where did he get them?”“He said he saved them from being burned during the war.”“They must be really cool books.”“I have a couple I’m reading…So odd to have to turn pages.”“I love the smell of old books.” Dagwood took in a deep breath and let it out. “I love the smell of smart.”“Umm, I think you mean the smell of intelligence.”He waved his hand as if to dismiss my correction. “Whatever.”“You can be smart and not have books.”“Obviously you are. But I think books tell a special story, not by just what is inside them, but how they look…What are you reading?”“A collection of short stories.”“I love those. By who?”“Some guy named Bradbury.”“Ray Bradbury?”“Think so.”“Would your grandpa let me borrow it when you get done?”“I’m sure he would.”Dagwood reached out and touched the bot’s right arm. “Can you make it work again?”“I don’t know.”“What will you do with it if you can make it work?”“Rory and I know that you have to get a license to have a bot.”“Yup.”“So if we can get it working again, it’s just going to stay in here, and we’ll disable it when we leave…I don’t want Grandpa Cranwinkle getting into trouble.”“No, he’s too nice to get in trouble.”I poked at a few wires that were hanging from a leg. “Dagwood?”“Yeah?”“You know this town well, right?”“Like the back of my hand!”“If someone had a bot, and needed some parts to fix it, where would they go?”He put his chin in his hand and scrunched his face. “I reckon the hardware store.”“You’re joking, right?”“No. Mr. Coates can order stuff—anything you want.”“He could get me parts for the bot?”“Yes, but that might not be good.”“Why?”“Because he’s friends with the sheriff. And if he tells that you have a bot—”“I see.”Dagwood’s face lit up and he thrust an index finger into the air. “I got it!”“What?”“Jimmy Pineapple.”“Huh?”“Well, that’s what we all calls him. His name is really Jimmy Pineppley.”“Who is he?”“Works for a guy who runs the local grain mill. They have a bot there.”“So?”“We could talk to Jimmy and see if he can order the parts—sayin’ that it’s to fix their bot.”“And what if the bot is newer than mine?”“Uh, I dunno. Just tryin’ to help you out.”“It’s appreciated. Can you introduce me to Jimmy?” My mind began to churn. “Sure. How about tomorrow?”“Sounds good.”Dagwood reached out and picked up a weighty leg like it was nothing. “Promise you’ll tell me more what it’s like in the Inner States?”“I can do that.”“You’re really nice, Jonah.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
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