keypad with
glowing red numbers on it above the door handle. Eddy quickly pressed the
numbers in sequence, and a low hissing could be heard from behind the door. He
took one look at me, back at the door, and threw it open.
Oh my God.
Thousands, if not millions
of moving machines. A living, hissing, screaming, creaking, whirring being.
Stretching for what seemed to be miles, the factory had a mind-blowing number
of intricate pieces all working at once. Sentient iron arms hastily piecing
together new sentient iron arms. Wheels spinning in place, sending smoke into
the air. Machines hiding in the man-made canopy inhaled this smoke and spat it
into the endless maze of pipes far above our head. Mechanized men supervised
the entire production line, speaking in bleeps and bloops .
" Ain't she a beaut'." Eddy grinned. He had his hands on his hips as he proudly
surveyed this world of metal until he was distracted by a short bot bumping
into him.
"Hey!" he shouted
at it. He picked it up with both hands and it panicked; it struggled with all
the vigor its circuits could provide it! I couldn't get a very good look at it,
but it seemed to be around three or so feet tall, and humanoid in shape. Upon
its head and around it's stomach were yellow blinking lights, which were
flashing excessively as it struggled to break free while crying out in its
native electrical tongue. Eddy chuckled, put it back down, and let it resume
its business.
"Eddy... this is all...
I mean, how the hell can you afford all this?” I asked while watching the robot
make independent decisions, to my astonishment.
"Don’t you get anything
about the black market? Everything that you end up paying hundreds and
thousands and millions and billions of bucks for…it’s all there for cheap if
you know where to look. Gotta get the right men in
the right places. Gotta make a network. Maybe I’ll
tell you more about that another time." He pulled the little black device
out of his pocket again, read it for a moment, and put it back in his pocket.
He looked at me and smiled again, but seemed a bit more sincere this time,
instead of being friendly for the sake of business.
"Alright, we've got
time. You could either see your friend now o—"
"I want to see Danni.
Now." I pleaded, but it seemed to come out as more of a demand. Eddy let
out a bit of a sigh and led me down another iron hallway lined with red lights.
"Yeah, I'm startin ' to think you and your friend are gonna make a good team. She's gonna be really helpful to us too. You know she's got a photographic memory?"
his words hit me like a ton of bricks at the same moment he threw open another
door. I didn’t even have time to focus on the startling revelation when I was
tossed in; the room was dark and dank just like all the others, and Danni was
sitting on a stool in front of a lab worker holding a pen and clipboard. It
seemed that she was taking a test of sorts, but any concentration she may have
had was gone the second Eddy and I walked in. The second she saw me, she turned
around and immediately jumped off of her seat and into my arms.
"Oh God, Leo...!"
she held me in a surprisingly crushing grip. I had never seen her like this, so
all I could do was wrap my own arms around her, and give her some soothing
words.
"I'm here Danni, don't
worry, it's fine... it's fine..." She suddenly jolted up and glared
directly into my eyes. In all honesty, I was more concerned with the scratches
she had on her face and the crack in her glasses.
"Don't you ever do that
again!" Danni sternly commanded. Yes, she was fine again.
"Gee, thanks mom."
I replied. Then again, I wasn't sure exactly what it was that I wasn't doing
again, but the most important news was that we were safe and sound, together
again. I then thought about what Eddy had said about her having a photographic
memory, but I was quickly pulled from the bear hug and pushed out the door.
“She’s busy right now; you
two can catch up later. Right now, I
glowing red numbers on it above the door handle. Eddy quickly pressed the
numbers in sequence, and a low hissing could be heard from behind the door. He
took one look at me, back at the door, and threw it open.
Oh my God.
Thousands, if not millions
of moving machines. A living, hissing, screaming, creaking, whirring being.
Stretching for what seemed to be miles, the factory had a mind-blowing number
of intricate pieces all working at once. Sentient iron arms hastily piecing
together new sentient iron arms. Wheels spinning in place, sending smoke into
the air. Machines hiding in the man-made canopy inhaled this smoke and spat it
into the endless maze of pipes far above our head. Mechanized men supervised
the entire production line, speaking in bleeps and bloops .
" Ain't she a beaut'." Eddy grinned. He had his hands on his hips as he proudly
surveyed this world of metal until he was distracted by a short bot bumping
into him.
"Hey!" he shouted
at it. He picked it up with both hands and it panicked; it struggled with all
the vigor its circuits could provide it! I couldn't get a very good look at it,
but it seemed to be around three or so feet tall, and humanoid in shape. Upon
its head and around it's stomach were yellow blinking lights, which were
flashing excessively as it struggled to break free while crying out in its
native electrical tongue. Eddy chuckled, put it back down, and let it resume
its business.
"Eddy... this is all...
I mean, how the hell can you afford all this?” I asked while watching the robot
make independent decisions, to my astonishment.
"Don’t you get anything
about the black market? Everything that you end up paying hundreds and
thousands and millions and billions of bucks for…it’s all there for cheap if
you know where to look. Gotta get the right men in
the right places. Gotta make a network. Maybe I’ll
tell you more about that another time." He pulled the little black device
out of his pocket again, read it for a moment, and put it back in his pocket.
He looked at me and smiled again, but seemed a bit more sincere this time,
instead of being friendly for the sake of business.
"Alright, we've got
time. You could either see your friend now o—"
"I want to see Danni.
Now." I pleaded, but it seemed to come out as more of a demand. Eddy let
out a bit of a sigh and led me down another iron hallway lined with red lights.
"Yeah, I'm startin ' to think you and your friend are gonna make a good team. She's gonna be really helpful to us too. You know she's got a photographic memory?"
his words hit me like a ton of bricks at the same moment he threw open another
door. I didn’t even have time to focus on the startling revelation when I was
tossed in; the room was dark and dank just like all the others, and Danni was
sitting on a stool in front of a lab worker holding a pen and clipboard. It
seemed that she was taking a test of sorts, but any concentration she may have
had was gone the second Eddy and I walked in. The second she saw me, she turned
around and immediately jumped off of her seat and into my arms.
"Oh God, Leo...!"
she held me in a surprisingly crushing grip. I had never seen her like this, so
all I could do was wrap my own arms around her, and give her some soothing
words.
"I'm here Danni, don't
worry, it's fine... it's fine..." She suddenly jolted up and glared
directly into my eyes. In all honesty, I was more concerned with the scratches
she had on her face and the crack in her glasses.
"Don't you ever do that
again!" Danni sternly commanded. Yes, she was fine again.
"Gee, thanks mom."
I replied. Then again, I wasn't sure exactly what it was that I wasn't doing
again, but the most important news was that we were safe and sound, together
again. I then thought about what Eddy had said about her having a photographic
memory, but I was quickly pulled from the bear hug and pushed out the door.
“She’s busy right now; you
two can catch up later. Right now, I
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