Servo 14:1
Servo 14:1
As winter dragged on, I was growing less and less enthusiastic about venturing to the barn to work on the bot. Otto secured the interface cable and I spent much time in my room reprogramming the memory core. It was painstakingly slow work; the core had a dismally small memory bank and I had to go through thousands of lines of code to decide what to “keep” and what to “throw.”My biggest stumbling block was Otto’s difficulty in getting the precious junction interface I so desperately needed. Without it, the memory core and the whole bot were useless. He told me that it was a difficult part to get, and I was now in full agreement with him. My thoughts began to wander to Jimmy’s partially destroyed bot. I couldn’t remember if the head was obliterated or not. Maybe that one tiny part was still intact. Did I want to ride all the way over there for the possibility of an empty hand?I sat on the bed looking out the window. Snow fell in torrents. Would this season ever end? I desperately craved warmth, flowers, and rain. A faint glow of light wormed up the driveway. A visitor? In this weather? I saw the glow become two—that of headlights. I went to the window and peered out. The car pulled up near the house. Someone got out. It was difficult to tell just who it was. The darkly clad figure dashed onto the porch and I lost sight. Below me, knocking on the door. I knew Grandma was in the kitchen; she’d answer. A few moments later, I heard her shoes clacking across the hardwood floor. The door squeaked as it opened. Muffled voices. Then, “Jonah!” she called, “It’s Otto.”I tore from the room, down the stairs, and nearly tripped over my feet as I hurried to greet my friend. “Hi!” I said, skidding to a stop in front of him. Grandma retreated to the kitchen.“Hey,” he replied nonchalantly. “Did you see my new ride?”“Ride?”“The car. I bought it two days ago.”“Oh, excellent. Congrats.”“Thanks.”Above on the landing I heard the floor creak. I glanced up to see Suz peering down. I knew what she wanted. Two months had passed since she asked me to find out if Otto liked her. I hadn’t forgotten, but I wasn’t in any hurry either. “Hey, Suz,” Otto said, giving a slight nod.My eyes darted back and forth watching each of their body language. Perhaps there was some chemistry. “Hello, Otto,” Suz replied, coming downstairs. She didn’t stomp down the steps like she tended to. No, this time she sauntered like she was in some romantic movie. Maybe I wouldn’t have to use any of my match-making skills after all. Suz was readily telegraphing her desires to Otto without my help. “Did you hear?” he said.“No, what?”“I got a car.”“Oh, that’s wonderful.”I swore I could see gooey sap dripping from her voice. This was not the same sister I’d been living with for nearly a year. No vile stare, no vicious jabs, no protesting, nothing! It was if she flipped a switch and became someone else. Is this what love does to people? Fascinating.Otto opened his knee-length black wool coat and dug around an inside pocket. After some difficulty, he produced a small white box. “Here,” he said, offering it to me.I took it; hoping it was the junction interface. The box was the right size for such a part. Lifting the top off, I saw the tiny interface with accompanying servo. “Yes!”“That should help you out.”At that moment I wanted to throw my arms around Otto and hug the daylights out of him. “Thank you!” Finally the precious part I needed to make the bot functional. My enthusiasm nearly overwhelmed me. I wanted to get right to work. But something stopped me. I paused and watched the interaction going on between Suz and Otto. “Hey, would you like to go for a ride in my car?” he asked. “In this weather?”“It’s got a good heater in it.”I was totally dumbfounded. Was my sister being that stupid? Our school in the Inner States taught us about sex. Yes, it was part of the curriculum in the sixth grade. We learned all about it; how to do it, how to prevent pregnancy, and even the miracle of birth. School taught that sex was best left to the responsible adults in society. Our time would come; we needed to exercise patience. I knew Suz had paid attention in class, and once I even caught her watching a dirty movie on her tablet. Did she intend on breaking the rules? What was this newfound rebellion? It was only a month and a half before she turned eighteen. Why now?“I’d love to,” she said. “Let me get my purse and coat.”I stepped in front of her. “Suz—”“Shut up, Jonah.” She pushed past me and went to the hall closet, retrieving her coat and purse. Without another word, she collected Otto and disappeared out the door. I was left to watch and wonder if my sister would become the biggest moron on the planet. What did I care? She would soon be on her own and able to make decisions as an adult. I still had five more years to wait. Truly, I wasn’t looking forward to the mating game. Rory came from his room. “Hey, was that Otto?”“Yup!” I held the little white box up in triumph. “The junction interface!”“Awesome!” He thundered down the steps. “Can we go work on it?” “Sure. That wind’s really whipping. Better dress warm.”
As winter dragged on, I was growing less and less enthusiastic about venturing to the barn to work on the bot. Otto secured the interface cable and I spent much time in my room reprogramming the memory core. It was painstakingly slow work; the core had a dismally small memory bank and I had to go through thousands of lines of code to decide what to “keep” and what to “throw.”My biggest stumbling block was Otto’s difficulty in getting the precious junction interface I so desperately needed. Without it, the memory core and the whole bot were useless. He told me that it was a difficult part to get, and I was now in full agreement with him. My thoughts began to wander to Jimmy’s partially destroyed bot. I couldn’t remember if the head was obliterated or not. Maybe that one tiny part was still intact. Did I want to ride all the way over there for the possibility of an empty hand?I sat on the bed looking out the window. Snow fell in torrents. Would this season ever end? I desperately craved warmth, flowers, and rain. A faint glow of light wormed up the driveway. A visitor? In this weather? I saw the glow become two—that of headlights. I went to the window and peered out. The car pulled up near the house. Someone got out. It was difficult to tell just who it was. The darkly clad figure dashed onto the porch and I lost sight. Below me, knocking on the door. I knew Grandma was in the kitchen; she’d answer. A few moments later, I heard her shoes clacking across the hardwood floor. The door squeaked as it opened. Muffled voices. Then, “Jonah!” she called, “It’s Otto.”I tore from the room, down the stairs, and nearly tripped over my feet as I hurried to greet my friend. “Hi!” I said, skidding to a stop in front of him. Grandma retreated to the kitchen.“Hey,” he replied nonchalantly. “Did you see my new ride?”“Ride?”“The car. I bought it two days ago.”“Oh, excellent. Congrats.”“Thanks.”Above on the landing I heard the floor creak. I glanced up to see Suz peering down. I knew what she wanted. Two months had passed since she asked me to find out if Otto liked her. I hadn’t forgotten, but I wasn’t in any hurry either. “Hey, Suz,” Otto said, giving a slight nod.My eyes darted back and forth watching each of their body language. Perhaps there was some chemistry. “Hello, Otto,” Suz replied, coming downstairs. She didn’t stomp down the steps like she tended to. No, this time she sauntered like she was in some romantic movie. Maybe I wouldn’t have to use any of my match-making skills after all. Suz was readily telegraphing her desires to Otto without my help. “Did you hear?” he said.“No, what?”“I got a car.”“Oh, that’s wonderful.”I swore I could see gooey sap dripping from her voice. This was not the same sister I’d been living with for nearly a year. No vile stare, no vicious jabs, no protesting, nothing! It was if she flipped a switch and became someone else. Is this what love does to people? Fascinating.Otto opened his knee-length black wool coat and dug around an inside pocket. After some difficulty, he produced a small white box. “Here,” he said, offering it to me.I took it; hoping it was the junction interface. The box was the right size for such a part. Lifting the top off, I saw the tiny interface with accompanying servo. “Yes!”“That should help you out.”At that moment I wanted to throw my arms around Otto and hug the daylights out of him. “Thank you!” Finally the precious part I needed to make the bot functional. My enthusiasm nearly overwhelmed me. I wanted to get right to work. But something stopped me. I paused and watched the interaction going on between Suz and Otto. “Hey, would you like to go for a ride in my car?” he asked. “In this weather?”“It’s got a good heater in it.”I was totally dumbfounded. Was my sister being that stupid? Our school in the Inner States taught us about sex. Yes, it was part of the curriculum in the sixth grade. We learned all about it; how to do it, how to prevent pregnancy, and even the miracle of birth. School taught that sex was best left to the responsible adults in society. Our time would come; we needed to exercise patience. I knew Suz had paid attention in class, and once I even caught her watching a dirty movie on her tablet. Did she intend on breaking the rules? What was this newfound rebellion? It was only a month and a half before she turned eighteen. Why now?“I’d love to,” she said. “Let me get my purse and coat.”I stepped in front of her. “Suz—”“Shut up, Jonah.” She pushed past me and went to the hall closet, retrieving her coat and purse. Without another word, she collected Otto and disappeared out the door. I was left to watch and wonder if my sister would become the biggest moron on the planet. What did I care? She would soon be on her own and able to make decisions as an adult. I still had five more years to wait. Truly, I wasn’t looking forward to the mating game. Rory came from his room. “Hey, was that Otto?”“Yup!” I held the little white box up in triumph. “The junction interface!”“Awesome!” He thundered down the steps. “Can we go work on it?” “Sure. That wind’s really whipping. Better dress warm.”
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