automaton and the Nutricator, and there was no way either of those would make her happy.
Unless Tara had activated the BrainSave, that is. Once August spotted the big machine, he rushed over to the Montek.Automaton and did a once-over visual inspection. Now that he had been put in charge of their production in the local area, he was very familiar with the construction and design of these “tin cans,” as his lovely wife was so fond of calling them.
He noticed it wasn’t the newest model, but it was a nice version from several types back. Some of the improvements included in this model were of his design. Not that Montek would ever give him any credit for those ideas. But as long as he and Samantha knew about it, that was all that mattered to August. He had no desire to please everyone anymore. He only wanted to help where he could and enjoy his wife’s affection. That was plenty for him.
August popped open the shielded area containing the BrainSave. He couldn’t check the contents here, so he placed it in his pocket and stepped carefully out of the wreckage and back to his bicycle.
Only an hour after leaving, August walked back in the front door to find Samantha asleep on the couch, holding a photo album in her lap. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over his wife, then gently guided her head down onto a pillow.
He whispered to the lanterns, “Follow, please and thank you,” as he tiptoed to his workshop out back.
As he took out the BrainSave, August looked over and saw the wooden automaton statue Sam had made for him. Beside it were the blueprints for an idea he had been working on. And that idea might just come in handy now.
He placed the chip that may or may not contain the memories of Samantha’s best friend off to the side, forgetting it for a while, and getting lost in the little wooden automaton project. August had a habit of getting into something deep and tuning everything else out.
He examined the wooden sculpture and his blueprints, then gathered all of the materials he would need to begin. August worked tirelessly for the next two hours while Samantha slept soundly on the couch. It was what they both needed. She desperately needed the rest to recover from the past few emotional days, and August just as badly needed to focus his mind on a task and fix something. It felt good.
The door to his workshop creaked open, and Samantha peeked her head in with a sleepy look on her face, saying, “Sweets, what are you working on? Is that the wooden sculpture I made you?”
He whirled around, surprised by her sudden appearance and made a startled gasp. Bringing a hand up to his heart as if having a heart attack, he and exclaimed, “Good Lord, woman! You scared the bejeezus out of me!”
Samantha smiled genuinely for the first time since the phone rang two nights ago. There was nothing like a jump scare to make you feel better, especially when it’s not you that gets scared.
“Sorry, sweets,” she said, stifling a laugh. “You know that you get lost in here sometimes. Even if I knock, you won’t hear me. Now, what is going on, huh?”
August held up the finished little robot and grinned at his wife and said, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Setting it down on the workbench, the same old workbench he had been using for years, August connected the last of the wires in the back of the little wooden automaton. It immediately sprang to life. The wooden robot began to walk up and down the length of the workbench. After a minute or so, it just stopped and stood idle.
“What on Earth did you do to it, sweets? How is it working?” Samantha asked excitedly.
“Well, I installed a similar chip to the ones in the lanterns,” he said gesturing up at them, “letting the automaton work off of the Tesla generator outside of town.”
Samantha gazed up at the two lanterns they were standing between once again.
“Amazing, sweets. How is it moving, though?” she asked, leaning down to examine the newly
Unless Tara had activated the BrainSave, that is. Once August spotted the big machine, he rushed over to the Montek.Automaton and did a once-over visual inspection. Now that he had been put in charge of their production in the local area, he was very familiar with the construction and design of these “tin cans,” as his lovely wife was so fond of calling them.
He noticed it wasn’t the newest model, but it was a nice version from several types back. Some of the improvements included in this model were of his design. Not that Montek would ever give him any credit for those ideas. But as long as he and Samantha knew about it, that was all that mattered to August. He had no desire to please everyone anymore. He only wanted to help where he could and enjoy his wife’s affection. That was plenty for him.
August popped open the shielded area containing the BrainSave. He couldn’t check the contents here, so he placed it in his pocket and stepped carefully out of the wreckage and back to his bicycle.
Only an hour after leaving, August walked back in the front door to find Samantha asleep on the couch, holding a photo album in her lap. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over his wife, then gently guided her head down onto a pillow.
He whispered to the lanterns, “Follow, please and thank you,” as he tiptoed to his workshop out back.
As he took out the BrainSave, August looked over and saw the wooden automaton statue Sam had made for him. Beside it were the blueprints for an idea he had been working on. And that idea might just come in handy now.
He placed the chip that may or may not contain the memories of Samantha’s best friend off to the side, forgetting it for a while, and getting lost in the little wooden automaton project. August had a habit of getting into something deep and tuning everything else out.
He examined the wooden sculpture and his blueprints, then gathered all of the materials he would need to begin. August worked tirelessly for the next two hours while Samantha slept soundly on the couch. It was what they both needed. She desperately needed the rest to recover from the past few emotional days, and August just as badly needed to focus his mind on a task and fix something. It felt good.
The door to his workshop creaked open, and Samantha peeked her head in with a sleepy look on her face, saying, “Sweets, what are you working on? Is that the wooden sculpture I made you?”
He whirled around, surprised by her sudden appearance and made a startled gasp. Bringing a hand up to his heart as if having a heart attack, he and exclaimed, “Good Lord, woman! You scared the bejeezus out of me!”
Samantha smiled genuinely for the first time since the phone rang two nights ago. There was nothing like a jump scare to make you feel better, especially when it’s not you that gets scared.
“Sorry, sweets,” she said, stifling a laugh. “You know that you get lost in here sometimes. Even if I knock, you won’t hear me. Now, what is going on, huh?”
August held up the finished little robot and grinned at his wife and said, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
Setting it down on the workbench, the same old workbench he had been using for years, August connected the last of the wires in the back of the little wooden automaton. It immediately sprang to life. The wooden robot began to walk up and down the length of the workbench. After a minute or so, it just stopped and stood idle.
“What on Earth did you do to it, sweets? How is it working?” Samantha asked excitedly.
“Well, I installed a similar chip to the ones in the lanterns,” he said gesturing up at them, “letting the automaton work off of the Tesla generator outside of town.”
Samantha gazed up at the two lanterns they were standing between once again.
“Amazing, sweets. How is it moving, though?” she asked, leaning down to examine the newly
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