Between the Lanterns(34)

“It’s amazing, sweets. I mean, this thing is just… incredible, August,” Samantha told him, genuinely impressed.

He looked proud as a peacock, grinned at his wife, and told her, “Just wait until it’s all finished, Sam. It will be a one -of -a -kind marvel.”

Samantha settled herself in to do some serious woodworking. It felt wonderful to work with her hands again. Together, the couple sat in that room until the sun faded, and worked side -by -side in between the lanterns. They had never worked like this before in their lives. Feverish didn’t quite describe it, but it was urgent. All of the wrongs they had experienced, all of the let-downs they had gone through, all of the tragedies they had suffered together;: all of that seemed to melt away. In fact, it acted as fuel to their work, you could say.

All of the awful moments in their lives drove them to work harder, faster, and better than they ever had at anything before. Eventually, they grew too tired to continue and headed up to bed with their lanterns floating along behind them. They may have been too tired to continue creating in the workshop, but they found some additional energy once they reached the bedroom, and celebrated their love with an intense passion.

Over the next month, they worked tirelessly day and night to create this new automaton. The tiny details and engineering were left up to August while Samantha crafted the beautiful, wooden frame and multiple moving pieces. The wood they used was hard and firm. It was real wood from China, but neither of them knew what kind of tree it used to be. It was knobby and gnarled, so it took a little more time for Samantha to bend it to her will.

August realized that this new model needed to have advanced internal components, but he wanted to keep it as natural as possible. He used some metal where necessary, but most of the new automaton was wood, and in keeping with the original Woodrow he used a system of strings and pulleys to create movement in the extremities.

“Realistically, he won’t last for very long,” he said.

“How long do you reckon, sweets?”

Considering, August scratched at the new growth of beard on his face. He had not shaved since they began this new Woodrow.

“Honestly, I don’t know. He definitely won’t last as long as even the earliest Montek.Automatons, simply because of his wooden body and the string and pulley system we used, even though the mind of this new Woodrow is years ahead of anythin’ that they have over at Montek.”

Samantha rubbed at one of the new Woodrow’s arms and said, “Sweets, I hate to tell you this now, but I kinda want him to act like the old one. I don’t want a thinking, problem-solving, wooden robot. I want our little old Woodrow back.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that,” August said. “He will act just like the old one, don’t worry.”

Samantha examined the variable components of this new version of her old, wooden companion and found something she didn’t quite like.

“Is this a port to hold a BrainSave, August?” she asked.

He had known his wife would see that eventually, but was hoping it wouldn’t be so soon.

“Yes, Sam. But let me explain…”

She walked out of the workshop and slammed the door, cutting off his explanation. August found her in the kitchen leaning against the counter and sipping a large glass of sweet iced tea.

“Why would you build him with a BrainSave port, August?” she said icily. “After all we have ever talked about, and after everything they have done to us. Are you considering putting yourself into an automaton? The way Montek wants everyone to do?”

“Sam, hear me out,” he pleaded. “This is no corporate automaton. I built that port for either of us. If one of us goes first, this version of Woodrow will have the ability to extend one of our lives. Not as an unthinkin’ robot, babe. It will be capable of so much more. And I’m not giving it to Montek. This new device is just for us.”

Sam looked down at the ground, deep in thought.

“What if I don’t want that, sweets?” Samantha asked. “What if, when I go, I don’t want to come back in a hunk of wood? What if, when you go, I don’t want your voice coming from a lifeless shell?”

“Sam, that is your choice,” he told his wife. “But if you go first, I feel like I would die without you. I would need somethin’ like this so I could keep on livin’. I just know that, in my heart. But if you don’t think you would, that is your decision. And if you don’t wanna be put into Woodrow, that’s fine. But I do want my consciousness in Woodrow if I die first. That way, if you need me, I can be there for you. Just like with Tara, when we tried to say goodbye. You don’t ever have to turn it on, though.”

“I just don’t know, sweets. I just don’t know what to think.”

August took Samantha by the hands, looked deep into her soul and softly said, “Sam, you don’t have to answer now. We have a long time to think about it. We might even have to build a new Woodrow before we ever have to make that decision.”

She nodded slowly, then looked up and muttered, “I just hate the way those machines act. It’s not real. It’s just an imitation of the person who died.”

“Don’t think of it like these Montek.Automatons that are walking around with their prehistoric BrainSaves,” he said. “That port ain’t for a BrainSave, Sam. I’ve been workin’ on a new tech for years. All up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “It is completely ours and cannot be owned by Montek. I ain’t built it yet, but it won’t take me too long since I’ve been dreamin’ about it for a while… Heck, I could probably make it right now with my dang eyes closed. I call it the SameSoul. This tech is so far beyond the BrainSave, babe. It will be able to capture exactly who you are or who I am at the time of death, and put that essence into Woodrow. New memories can be stored. New experiences had. New conversations. It’s never been done, Sam.”