Copper Visions (9 page)

“It is an honer to have you here, Mr. Alexander, and I think you'll be very impressed by the work we do. Well, that is, if you're capable of feeling impressed?” Doctor Blue said, placing an emphasis on 'feeling'. “Your creators papers, while astonishing in their depth, did seem to leave out anything about the concept of emotion.”

“Yes, he never got that far in his research,” David said. “To answer your question, I understand a range of human emotions and I am capable of comparing a new situation to a similar one previously experienced, noting the differences and appreciating them.”

“So you are capable of emotion?” Doctor Blue asked.

“It's a bit more complicated than that but yes, in a limited range,” David said. “I would be happy to go more deeply in depth on the subject when we have a bit more time. I would not wish to distract fro the mission of the moment.”

“You are fascinating, Mr. Alexander. Far more so than your creators papers led me to believe,” the doctor said. “I would dearly love to pick apart your brain some time.”

“Another time, doctor,” David said, his face losing some of it's mobility.

“Yes, of course,” the doctor said, opening a heavy door at the end of the hallway.

It opened into a medical laboratory much like, if rather more extensive, many he had seen before. Most of the equipment was new and very high quality and there were a few pieces he knew had to have been custom made.

“Did you have that made from Doctor Alexander's drawings?” He asked.

“Yes, the ones that were included in his second paper. I made a few minor changes to make it more efficient.”

“It was my understanding that it was supposed to mimic certain portions of the human body.”

“And don't you find the human body horribly inefficient? I suspect Doctor Alexander did and that's part of why he created you.”

“I find the human body marvelously complex and I expect that's why Doctor Alexander chose to study it when he tired of studying indigenous peoples in hard to reach places.” David turned to Doctor Blue. “But this can't be your only laboratory, can it? The work I saw must have required much more sophisticated equipment.”

Doctor Blue smiled. “Quite the discerning eye, my friend, and you are correct. I have a workshop. If you'll follow me?”

The door to the workshop was hidden at the back of the laboratory, designed in such a way that it would be easy to miss unless a person knew exactly what they were looking for. The doctor opened it with a flourish, obviously certain he was going to impress his guest.

The workshop was a thing of beauty. Delicate metal bones were everywhere; hanging from the walls, the ceiling, laying on work benches. Most of them were smaller and lighter that what Sophie had, some with intricate designs etched into the metal.

“These are works of art, Doctor Blue,” David said, picking up a small hand on the workbench.

“Thank you,” he said. “I had them made after Sophie's were such a success. The largest complaint I heard from some of the investors were that they were ugly. Of course hers were, she's the first successful test we've had. There wasn't time to make her pretty ones.”

“Do you have plans to replace them, now that you have the time?”

“Of course not, why would I? The ones she has are good enough for her and replacing them wouldn't do anything for my research except put the ugly ones back in my lab. No, it's for the best, really, for her to keep what she has.”

“I see,” David said. “Are you not concerned the extreme weight is doing additional damage to her muscles? Her back?”

“Ah, and that's part of the brilliance of my discovery. The serum doesn't just make the limbs work, it also repairs any injured tissue. It's quite remarkable, really.”

“It makes the limbs work? There's no internal engine?”

“None whatsoever,” the doctor said, smiling as though he'd been very clever.

“Then how does it work? Those metal limbs are much too heavy for her to use without some kind of assistance.”

“The serum forces the tissue to grow and incorporate the limbs into her body. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure why it works in the strictest sense, only that it does. The best we've been able to tell is that the body remembers being whole, remembers having limbs to move and the serum creates some kind of link between the metal and the muscles so the body can use the metal limbs as though they were originally part of the body.”

“Where did you find such a miraculous invention?”

“I confess, I started with your father's work. His original mechanical theories were quite brilliant but not appropriate for a human body.”

“If you're talking about Doctor Alexander, I'm afraid I don't understand. He was concerned with the mechanics of robotic limbs and mobility. Without some kind of internal engine, I don't know how you got more than a superficial design template from him.”

“In his later work, yes, that's true. In his early work, however, your father speculated that it would be possible for a human body to provide the power necessary to incorporate mechanical limbs.”

“He was never able to test such a hypothesis and declared any attempt to create test subjects immoral. Which would be, I assume, your motivation for offering to help with the mine.”

“There are enough unscrupulous people that I would merely have to advertise for test subjects to have bodies at my door but yes, quite aside from the complication such a scheme would create, I did find the thought of deliberately causing harm to people to be distasteful.

“His later writings were on the mechanical nature of bones and joints. There's not much of a moral question there. I do wonder, though, why you keep referring to Doctor Alexander as my father.”

“I suppose that's how I've always thought of him. In some of the interviews he gave, he referred to you and the others as his children. It wasn't until he began referencing you in his professional work that you were referred to as his creations.”

David turned to examine a wall of arms, some with beautiful etchings and gold inlay. “You've made quite a study of Doctor Alexander, Doctor Blue.”

“I promise, I did not start out with that intention. Only, in the course of my studies on limbs and their replacement, did I come across some early interviews he did,” the doctor said. “I found it interesting how much the writer obviously admired his subject. Such glowing descriptions and the pride he had in you. He really does make a fascinating study.”

“I can imagine he does, he lived an extraordinary life on the continent and was a pioneer in the field of applied mechanics. I'm sure the fact that he began studying the field late in life and in the wilds of Bharat merely adds spice to the stories people tell about him.”

“An anthropologist turned engineer after the rather tragic loss of a beloved younger wife to a mysterious illness she caught while assisting him with his studies. One would think he would become a doctor if he was going to change fields of study. It would be more logical if his goal was to keep somebody else from dying.”

“Yes,” David agreed. “That would have been a very logical change if that was his goal. Since he did not, I imagine he had other motivations.”

“Do you? If you have any insights to Doctor Alexander's motives, I would be most interested in hearing them. He never did give a satisfactory answer when people asked.”

“I can't pretend to have any insight into Doctor Alexander beyond what could be easily observed by those close to him. The death of a much loved spouse can change a person, certainly. The study of anthropology is, essentially, a study of people. When his wife died, I think the good doctor chose to withdraw from people. Were he a peaceful, restful type of person, I'm sure he would have returned to his estate to read and hunt. Afflicted, as he was, by a mind in constant need of work, he threw himself into the study of a new subject.”

“And carved his own little empire among the people he likely held responsible for his wife's death.”

“They'd respected him before he was married and welcomed his wife with open arms. She wasn't the only person to die during that rainy season. Really, he had more in common with them than he had to hold against them, and they supported his research more than paid assistants back home would have.”

“Do you think it has anything to do with his search for their gods?” Doctor Blue asked.

David turned to face the doctor. “It might. He was the first person to venture into the jungle in several generations. I believe they considered it a spiritual journey to become a part of their tribe and he was embraced as one of them when he returned.”

“It had nothing to do with what he found in the jungle?”

“According to the official stories, Doctor Alexander found nothing of note in the jungle.”

“Come, David, we both know the official story is a lie, and a poorly constructed one, as well. He would have found something worth speaking about, even if it was a new type of plant, monkey or beetle. The fact that he denied the discovery means it was something he didn't want to share.”

“You seem to have some insight into that journey, doctor,” David said, wondering how much the doctor knew.

“I have some of your father's journals that were recovered from the wreckage.”

“Those seem to be a popular commodity these days,” David said.

“And something else recovered from you father's workshop.”

“Indeed?”

“Indeed. It's, well, quite frankly, it's the reason we even have the serum.”

“You have my attention, Doctor Blue. I admit my curiosity as well.”

Doctor Blue walked to a door on the other side of the workshop and beckoned David to follow him. “I would be very surprised if you'd never seen this before, David, but I will grant your astonishment at seeing it here.”

With another flourish, Doctor Blue threw open the door and revealed a large closet with several sets of cabinets and a large metal cage in the center. In the center of the cage, looking up at him with sad eyes, was the demon.

The creature in the cage looked like a malignant cross between a dog and a child, with large eyes, a flattened nose and long ears. It's legs, while apparently ideal for walking on all fours, ended in hands which it used to hold onto the bars as it came forward in the cage to see who its visitors were. David bent down to get a better look and the creature came as close as it could and sniffed.

“What a remarkable creature,” he said, peering at it. “I've never seen anything like it. Where did you find it?”

Doctor Blue studied them before he answered. “You're quite sure you've never seen anything like it before?”

“I've seen things that are like parts of it before. Its nose, for example, resembles a pug and it's eyes are rather like those cards with pictures of children with exaggerated eyes and pouting lips. I must say, this creature is a very unique collection of parts and I wonder at it being alive at all.”

“Yes,” Doctor Blue said, nodding slowly. “It is a very remarkable creature and I wonder at you having never seen it as it was found in the wreckage of your fathers laboratory.”

“It wasn't there when I left,” David said, standing slowly. “And he made no mention of finding a new species in his letters to me. I do wish you would stop calling him my father, Doctor Blue. While I understand the sense of whimsy you feel about my creation, it is a far from appropriate epithet.”

“My apologies, David, but I have reason to believe it's not. However, I will refer to the good professor by his title in deference to your request. I find it extraordinary that he never mentioned so remarkable a creature to you. Its mere existence would assure a place in the study of the natural sciences.”

“Are you sure Professor Alexander discovered it?” David asked. “It may have been some kind of scavenger, drawn by the destruction of the lab.”

“I assure you, it was a part of the collapse, if not the actual cause of it. It was found dazed and badly injured by the people sent to find out what happened. Instructions for its care was found in the professor's papers, along with the notes for experiments he was running on it.” Doctor Blue turned to look at the creature in the cage. “The professor had gotten sentimental in his work, if not in his professional publications. He referred to the creature as though it were a part of the experiments rather than a subject, as though it had some control over what they were doing.”