Between the Lanterns(27)

“Maybe,” August answered with a shrug. “There are two ways to find out. I can plug it into my equipment over here and check if it contains any information. If I do that, the data may be corrupted in the process, meanin’ that she might not act exactly like herself. Different kinds of glitches can occur that way. Or we can just plug the BrainSave into an automaton and… see if it works.”

Samantha looked down at the little electronic chip in her hand, slightly smaller than a hockey puck, and said, “I don’t want to ruin her if she is in here, so no plugging into your equipment. But how do we get an automaton? Aren’t they expensive, sweets?”

“Yeah, they cost a lot these days,” he said with a grin. “A good model costs as much Credit as a house. They do have some more affordable options, but I wouldn’t recommend them; too many problems, which Montek knows about but doesn’t care enough to fix. But, uh, we don’t need an automaton, babe,” he said, motioning to the automated wooden sculpture, and adding, “We already have one.”

Sam looked at the knee-high wooden creation in wonder, and breathed, “Will that work, sweets?”

“I believe so,” August told his wife. “I mean, it’s just wood and string. It probably won’t last very long, maybe a year or so, but that’s more than enough time to say goodbye.”

“One day is enough for me,” Samantha said, making up her mind. “If it works, I only want her in there for one day. One day, you hear? Then we take it out. Ok, sweets?”

“Yes, love. We can do that,” he said, taking her hands in his own.

August placed BrainSave into the port he had made on the back of the wooden automaton. There was a humming noise as the little drive inside began reading the information contained on the small black disk. He set the heavy little robot back down on the workbench, and they both waited for what seemed like forever.

The humming stopped, and there were three clicks followed by a whirring noise. The wooden robot then began walking up and down the length of the workbench, not saying a word.

“Tara, is that you? Are you in there, sweets?” Samantha said, her voice full of hope.

No answer. The automaton continued walking up and down the workbench. Tears sprang to Samantha’s eyes.

“Stop, Woodrow,” August said.

The automaton halted his march across the workbench.

“Damn,” August whispered. “He reacted to the name I programmed for him. That means the BrainSave is… empty.”





Chapter 11





THIS MIGHT HURT A LITTLE





Samantha looked down at the wooden automaton and scowled, saying, “Woodrow, could you please get out of the way, sweets? I’m trying to vacuum the dang carpets.”

“YES,” the little wooden robot replied in its strange monotone while walking in its awkward way to the opposite side of the room, directly in line to where Samantha was going to vacuum next.

“Mrs. Lurie, I have to say that is the strangest little thing I’ve ever seen,” Lee Parr said. “It looks like a Montek.Automaton made out of wood and strings. Does it have a BrainSave? Is there a relative in there?”

Sam smiled over at the lawyer and shook her head. “No, Mr. Parr, there isn’t a BrainSave in Woodrow. It was empty, so we took it out. It’s sitting over on that mantel gathering dust. My husband and I made little Woodrow. Don’t mind him, though, he just walks and talks. He doesn’t mean anything. He just keeps me company.”

“It certainly is quite strange,” Lee said, waving to the robot, adding, “Hello, Woodrow.” The lawyer waited expectantly, staring at the odd little wooden figure, but received nothing in reply.

“Woodrow, tell the man hello, sweets,” Samantha said, hands on her hips.

“HELLO SWEETS,” Woodrow said, exactly as he was told to do.

Samantha threw her head back and laughed. He had never copied her like that before. The lawyer was right; Woodrow was an odd little thing.

“So, you’ve got some final paperwork for me to sign about Tara’s property?” She asked Lee. “It took y’all long enough. She’s been dead over a year now. What’s been the problem?”

Lee Parr no longer worked for the state as he had when John had died years ago. He now worked exclusively for Montek, which, as everyone knew, was pretty much the same as working for the government. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, as they used to say.

“Oh, you know, Mrs. Lurie, the usual red tape,” he replied. “Montek has to make sure you’re not getting one Credit more than you should. But don’t worry, everything has been checked and triple checked. We found no problems and your settlement is ready. I must say that after this one and the settlement you received from Montek.Claims last year, you and your husband are now quite wealthy. Why haven’t you opened another diner? You could have a chain of them across the Southeast!”

Samantha looked sadly into the kitchen at the newly refurbished antique oven and stove August had bought and then fixed up for her.

“I’ll cook at home, but without Tara it don’t seem right to have another diner,” she replied quietly.

The lawyer nodded along, not listening to Samantha or caring what she had to say, and replied, “That’s nice, Mrs. Lurie. If you can just sign here, I’ll be on my way again.”