Yup. Dagmar's a kook. But the plot begins to thicken...(and if you notice grammatical errors, forgive me. I've seen that I screw it up frequently...like question marks where there should be a period. It's just that my eyes get so tired by this time of day... ) Oh, and there were two more construction projects--a big abandoned warehouse, and Orion's strange house. Dear Diary, He’s gone out again. He’s getting rid of my post car because the bright yellow color is too conspicuous. I asked him what he would do with it. He said he’d just park it in a garage near Orcus Industries. He smiled when he said that, as if he were playing a prank on Orcus Industries. We had breakfast first, before he left. He eats food like anyone else, Diary. I always thought robots didn’t eat regular food, and I guess he saw my look of surprise because he made a dramatic production out of putting the next forkful of egg in his mouth, twisting his face up as if horrified. Then he chewed it with his eyes crossed until I laughed. I thought he would laugh, too, but he didn't. Instead, he looked down at his fingers for a moment, and said, “There are all kinds of robots, Dagmar. The simplest of them perform repetitive tasks, such as assembling other machines, or just watering plants. The next level of robot is usually, but not always, constructed with arms and legs and is programmed for more intricate work, like housecleaning. The engineers who build those will often give them a personality, in order to make it easier for people to work with them. Then, there are the androids, like me.” He paused, blinked at me, then turned his head and stared out at the lake, “We are the most complex of all.” He turned back toward me and reached over the table for my hand. He pressed my fingers up to the side of his neck. “What do you feel?” he said. At first, Diary, I thought only of how warm the metal was to the touch. It surprised me. I held my breath and felt my cheeks grow hot. Then my fingers sensed something more than the warm metal, a faint thumping. It was as regular as a heartbeat. I said, “Something beats, like a heart.” “Yes,” he said, and held my fingers there a moment longer, than let me go. “And your eyes…” I started to say. “Organic.” “How? I don’t understand how it could happen.” “I wasn’t built,” he said. “I was born.”
Diary, I had never heard of such a thing. I had never thought about robots as anything but a mysterious combination of machines and computers, put together in a lab with bolts and screws. Then Orion stepped out of the shadows and into my life, and I became obsessed by the thought of him. For the past two weeks I have made myself crazy trying to rationalize an impossible situation. How could I love a machine? And now it was even worse. Born as a machine! Born how? Born small? Like a baby? From a woman? Or from a robot like him? I thought back to the lady robot, Koko, who drove me away from the bar and to that empty warehouse. I remember that I asked her, Why are we here? He said you would drive me home. She said, First, we must wait here. He will come. Who will come? Malcolm Landgraab will come. He doesnt want you to go home now. Sit here and wait quietly. Wheres Sheldon and Pao. Where did they go? I thought theyd come with me. I dont know where they are. I think they left in their own cars. Diary, I had had too much to drink and I am not used to that. My head was spinning and I had trouble thinking clearly. But I knew that something was wrong. I knew that I didnt want to see that man, Landgraab, again. Koko talked to me and I answered her but I dont remember any more of what was said. I only remember that suddenly Orion was there, arguing with her. Then he reached for her hand and she jumped into the air in a way that made me laugh. And then she stood with her head slumped on her chest, asleep standing up. While she stood there asleep, Orion turned to me and said, Run to my car at the end of the block. The key is in the ignition. There is a paper on the seat with instructions on how to get to my place. Go there right now! Do not stop anywhere! Do not telephone anyone! Landgraab is dangerous and he will come looking for you, so dont do anything stupid. Do you understand? Can you do this?
Diary, I could not figure out what was happening, but Orion was so intense and insistent, that I just nodded like an idiot and turned around and ran out of the warehouse. I was hardly sober, but frightened enough to stay alert for the long drive back to my house to get my diaries. I didn’t dare leave them for someone else to find. And I had to call my boss anyway. It was only later that I wondered why Orion hadn’t come with me. When he showed up with my car, which I had left at Club Dante, I just assumed that getting my car was the reason. And yet, now he’s getting rid of it. Why didn’t he just leave it at the Club? And how did he find me? Was he following me? Why? I have so many questions, Diary.
Dear Diary, Orion came back too late for lunch and left before dinnertime. I ate alone, and I am alone even now, because he hasnt come back yet. I asked him where I should sleep and he told me to use his bed because he would be out all night. Are you taking the car? I said. When he nodded, I started to get angry. Am I a prisoner, Orion? You havent told me anything at all. You havent explained anything at all. Why am I here? Whats going on with Landgraab? Why would he be looking for me? And what about Andromeda ONeill? Is she dead? Shes been missing for almost a month. He reached up and touched my cheek and I admit it, I melted. Its like he has a magic power over me, Diary. How do you do that to me? I said to him. I really said that! I spoke my thoughts aloud. Im afraid that if I stay around you much longer Ill forget who I am. Ill forget my name. I thought hed laugh at me, or make a joke, but he didnt. Instead, he explained a little bit of whats going on. Malcolm Landgraab, he said, is a blackmailer. Hes blackmailing Orcus Industries. Lawyers on both sides make it out to be nothing more than business hardball, but when you get to the bottom line, its blackmail. Landgraab has confidential information that he is threatening to make public unless Orcus Industries hands over certain formulas from their most recent research project. But isnt he a stockholder? Isnt he hurting himself by hurting Orcus? Those formulas he wants will change life as you and I know it, Dagmar, and he wants total control of that. And the information he threatens to release is confidential. I cant discuss it. I stamped my foot, Well, thats just great. At least tell me how long Im going to be a prisoner here. I dont know. But youll be safe. I have to go.
After he left I was still angry for a long time, angry enough to ignore his orders and pick up the telephone to call Sheldon or Pao. But the phone is dead. I am not angry anymore. I am scared. I could just walk away from the house. But the sun has gone down. The road is dark. The fields and trees are full of shadows and strange noises. I have gotten under the covers of his bed with all my clothes on. The whole house is open to the sky. There are no doors, no locks and no alarms. Anyone could sneak up on me while I sleep. I am afraid to sleep.
oOOo oOOo shades of the twilight zone! I'm sure glad I'm not in ms. Bertino's shoes. Can you just imagine?
Well, I for one wouldn't be because I'm not out of my mind. But I agree the story is much more interesting this way.
Diary, someones in the house. I hear voices, one deep and the other lighter. Not Orion. Where are you, Orion? Please, come home now! These men sound angry, and I hear the word Robots repeated. The deeper voice sounds familiar, but I cant think who it is. They are climbing the stairscoming up hereheavy shoes...faster and fasternowhere to hideI am going to push the diary under the mattress
From Detective Sidewalker's Notebook Tuesday evening: Took Officer Chavez along to Orcus Industries. Chavez drove. I spent the ride on the phone, tracking down Lawson and Moriz. Found Moriz first. Hes lost Landgraab. How is that possible? I ask him. The man rides around in a chauffeured limo thats as big as a house! Keep looking. Let me know the moment you find him. Next, Lawson: He found the caretaker for Gothier Green Lawns and they went over to the cemetery to look at the files. There is one dusty folder with the names of Godfrey and Adeline Bertino. The gravesites were purchased with cash about 20 years ago. Headstones, too, all in one big transaction. Lawson asked if Adeline and Godfrey were buried there at the same time, like from a car accident or something. The caretaker insisted that nobody is buried there. The graves are empty. The funeral director who arranged everything is long dead, and never explained why it was done that way, but its not unheard of, if there are no bodies. Explosions, plane crashesthat sort of thing. A blond woman comes every Sunday and leaves flowers on the graves. No vase, so the caretaker cleans them up the next day. Last week she asked about the grave of someone elsea Wilhelmina Bertino. The caretaker showed her the other grave. He didnt tell her that its also been there for 20 years and is as empty as the first two. He felt sorry for her. The only Godfrey and Adeline Bertino that Lawson can find any record of, died in a factory explosion 20 years ago. But they had no children. Wilhelmina Bertino worked there, too. Also died in the explosion. No children. Lawson drove up to Sayreville. Bertinos house is empty. No one has seen her. The phone company traced a call from Bertinos house to her boss at the post office. She was there just long enough to make that call. End of report. Lawson is going to hunt down the estate of the funeral director. Maybe his files are still around. I doubt it, but I tell him to go ahead.
From Detective Sidewalkers notebook: Caught in downtown traffic and late for our appointment with Nigel Orcus. So I gave Chavez some of the facts about the Dagmar Bertino case and asked what she thought of the mail carrier. She tells me the girls in love. Question: Who is she in love with and what does that have to do with anything? The answer: Orion Thanatos. I tell her that Orion is a robot. Chavez knows this already--she was with me at their house when the first missing persons report came in--and tells me shes met more than one woman who is attracted to robots. OK, I can go along with that until I hear a better reason, because it explains some of Bertinos behavior. Next question: where did Bertino come from? Any ideas? Chavez can only suggest that someone has gone to a great deal of trouble, time and expense to hide that girls origins. So the real question is: Why? Who cares? Answer: Dagmar Bertino cares. Its an elaborate setup to hide the truth from Dagmar, herself.
From Detective Sidewalker's Notebook Orcus Industries: We were met outside by Maxine Orcus. She took us upstairs to meet her brother, Nigel, who runs the business. On the way up, I asked a few questions, mainly for the benefit of Officer Chavez. Nigel and Maxine, and their cousins, Terrence and Diana Orcus, are third generation owners of Orcus Industries. Question: How many other stockholders besides your family and Landgraab? Answer: Not many. Three at last count. The company went public only a couple of years ago. The stock is priced high and does not pay dividends. The market perceives it to be risky. Maxine assured us that it is not. Question: What do you sell? Maxine said they sell robotic designs. Emphasis on design. Orcus Industries is research and development, not manufacturing. Question: Were the robots, Arkin Amberstone and Orion Thanatos, designed by Orcus Industries? Answer: The original design was developed by Orcus Industries. Original? Question: What do you mean by that? Someone has changed it? Who? Answer: Evolution. Chance. Fate. Whatever you want to call it. Two elevator rides ended in the top floor office of Nigel Orcus. First impression: He is not disturbed by our lack of progress in finding the two robots. He has not received any ransom demands concerning them. He has decided that they merely chose to quit in a very unprofessional manner. Question: What about the missing laptop? Has it turned up? Answer: Oh, yes. Didnt my assistant call your department? I told him to let you know we found the laptop. Question: Have you remembered anything else about Andromeda Rose ONeill, maiden name Saville? Answer: Nothing more than he had told me before. Andy Rose Saville did joint work with Arkin Amberstone, who was principal investigator under a government grant for a certain project we cant discuss. He pointed out that I had asked all these questions when he first reported the robots missing. I said, Just making sure nothing has changed since I was last here. Question: What do you know about a woman named Dagmar Bertino? Answer: Never heard of her. He was lying. Everyone in the room stopped breathing the minute I said her name.
Officer Myra Chavez tape-recorded the following conversation (restricted to departmental files, not authorized for use in court Voice of Detective Sidewalker, “Dagmar Bertino is missing, and your former employees, the robots, have something to do with it. So does your stockholder, Landgraab. You do know who she is, and you will tell me about it. Here, or at the station.” Voice of Nigel Orcus, “Have a seat, Detective.” “I’ll stand. Tell me about Dagmar Bertino.” “She’s an employee of the post office.” “I know that. What else?” “I had no idea that she’s missing. When did this happen?” “Last night. Tell me why Landgraab would kidnap her?” “Landgraab?” Voice of Maxine Orcus, “Landgraab and Orcus Industries are involved in a lawsuit over ownership of certain formulas that we have developed. He must think that he can use her to pressure us. He’s wrong.” Detective Sidewalker, “Who is she?” Nigel Orcus starts to speak but is interrupted by the voice of Maxine, “She’s the child of an affair involving a member of our family. Happened a long time ago. We’ve done what we can to see that she’s happy. We will contact Landgraab and insist that he let her go. Is that all, Detective?” Voice of Sidewalker, “For now.” Sounds of movement and the elevator bell. Footsteps. Another elevator bell. Footsteps. Street sounds. Car doors. Voice of Sidewalker, “What little they said about Bertino was fabricated on the spot. What do you think?” Voice of Chavez, “I agree. Child of an affair, my ***.”
Wow, Lynet. I am in awe of those corporate offices. Amazing. You have a real gift! Hmmm ... not so sure they were lying. And I love how they look, like Technofairies.
Wow, Lynet! Great sets! Cool characters and really intriguing plot twists! Is the light beginning to dawn just a bit? Hmmm - only time will tell if my suspicions are correct!
Thanks, Sacha and SBW. I'm feeling a little pressured at the moment because I'm trying to get to a certain point in the story before the Seasons EP shows up next week. And who knows what will happen in my neighborhoods when I load that one? :shocked:
I'm guessing, lots of thunderstorms? Can't wait for them, myself ... this weekend's going to be busy. I have a lot of households to prepare.
From Sidewalker's notebook: 9:00 PM We take the cruiser down the block but stay within sight of Orcus Industries. I radio Moriz. He has not yet located Landgraab. I tell him to FIND that man! 9:15 PM I radio Lawson, tell him to abandon the funeral director search, and to go to the intersection of First and Main. Lawson drives an unmarked car, and I want him in line to take over the tail of a blue van. Four people from Orcus are on the move. A blue van pulled up to a side entrance of Orcus Industries, and all four members of the family came out and got in. The van is now moving fast. We follow at a distance, then give the tail over to Lawson. 9:45 PM Van now heading west on Route 12, out of town. Lawson feeds us the directions. Chavez and I, in the cruiser, stay a few blocks back, out of sight. 9:50 PM As he follows the Orcus van Lawson calls me on his cell phone and tells me that he found the retired secretary to the dead funeral director. She kept everything, all the files. The money for the fake burials came from the government, with explicit instructions on how the entire setup was to be handled. I hang up with Lawson and add this new wrinkle to my list: Arkin Amberstone and Orion Thanatos, two missing robots? Orcus Industries? Malcolm Landgraab? Andromeda Rose O’Neill? Dagmar Bertino? The government? Orcus Industries designs robots. (Any government contracts?) Landgraab is a stockholder in Orcus. (Might know about government contracts.) Andromeda O’Neill is buddies with a robot employed by Orcus, and disappears with it, and one other. (Hiding? Hiding what?) Bertino is contacted (recruited?) by one of the robots. The government is employing (via the Post Office) Dagmar Bertino, and sets her up with a phony family. Orcus Industries, the robot design company, knows all about that setup. Robots everywhere, so the Question: Dagmar Bertino...a robot? Answer: ????????
