If you're looking for beautiful seaside scenery, this is the place for you. Home to the world's largest collection of fishermen and fishing pets, this city is well known, as it provides much of Barakka's fish exports. You should try the famous Broiled Sea Scalla, it's delicious! (+2 Fame)

Moderator: Retired Staff

Return to Jawan, the Sea City

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:43 AM

Aster smiled, as though Rabbit had said something funny. The android inclined its head. “You know... Nevermind,” he said. He drank the tea down to its dregs, leaned up against the fence. “Keep up the good work.” With that, he disappeared back inside the house. Rabbit watched him go, wondering at the significance of the exchange, but ultimately dismissed it. It had been anomalous, but nothing worthy of further rumination.

This proved to be false, though at the time Rabbit had no way of knowing. The change began gradually: Aster requested the android’s help with some training. “This is easier with two people,” he said, setting the black bird--- Rook, he called it--- onto his arm.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:44 AM

“Here, hold this.” He handed Rabbit a hoop. Rabbit assumed the intended task was to have the bird fly through it, or to it. It wasn’t immediately apparent what Aster needed a second person for, as a stand would have sufficed just as well.

It was only when they had gotten past the initial exercise, and Aster asked the android to begin throwing the hoop, that his motive became apparent. Rabbit was dubious about this. Rook’s good training was apparent when he was with Aster, this much was true. He had flown through the hoop admirably. However, Rabbit doubted the bird was capable of repeating the feat with a moving target.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:44 AM

Nevertheless, a command was a command, and Aster couldn’t really hold Rabbit accountable for the failure of his animal. Rabbit threw, steady, as per the request. To the android’s surprise, Rook almost managed it. The bird darted below and angled itself, only to falter when one wing clipped the edge of the hoop. He floundered, but recovered without crashing to the ground, and had only to suffer an ungainly flight back to Aster’s hand.

“There, that’s a good boy. You almost had it that time. Just a little more practice and... Here, toss it higher next time, would you? Gives him a bit more lead time to judge how to go.” Aster soothed the bird with a treat, praising it as he stroked a closed hand down Rook’s chest.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:44 AM

Rabbit complied. The afternoon passed like that, with the android assisting Aster with his beasts. There was even an attempt to rouse the drudge-beast to learn some new commands, with limited success. Undismayed, Aster merely said that they would make another effort tomorrow.

They. The two of them together. Rabbit supposed this was to become a routine now, or at least a semi-regular occurrence. Perhaps it had passed some sort of test, and having proven worthy, was now included in what served as its owner’s business. Perhaps that was the intent all along. Rabbit did not claim to know the thoughts or whims of its owner.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:45 AM

It was not a terrible thing, most of the time. It added to Rabbit’s tasks, but not beyond its capacity to perform, especially given that androids needed no sleep. Gradually, Aster even began to have Rabbit assist him with the dragons, though only the milder-tempered ones, and only under his direct supervision. As Rabbit began to pick up the methods of training, Aster began to have it work with some of the lesser-trained birds. None, he’d said, would ever match Rook’s caliber, but it was good to have them know some things. He had thus far kept them only as companions for the black bird, and for his own pleasure. Some of them came to know Rabbit, and to slowly learn to follow its commands, though most were wary at first. Even the drudge-beast came eventually to acknowledge the android’s authority, which seemed to genuinely surprise Aster.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:45 AM

However, they were all invariably Aster’s creatures. In a sense, Rabbit was too. There was only the property, and its upkeep, and the care of its residents. This was what Rabbit knew, and this was enough.

It all changed one stormy night. Had Rabbit been anything but an android, it might have found such a thing trite, cliche. But it was true--- there had been a wicked storm, though not unforeseen. Rabbit had been in charge of taking in the birds, and securing anything that might blow away. They had a lightning rod, if it proved necessary, as thunderstorms were not unheard of in these parts. The dragons had been given sedatives in their food, to calm them through the night.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:46 AM

Rabbit recalled standing on the porch with Aster, watching the approach of the clouds. “Well, there’s nothing for it,” he’d said. “Come in. Make yourself comfortable in the kitchen, or wherever--- but leave the upstairs alone.”

The offer surprised Rabbit. Aster had been speaking to it more and more as of late; perhaps he missed company more than he cared to admit, the android had thought. His conversational offerings were still short and blunt. It was mostly work that they spoke of. Nevertheless, there had been a gradual change in his manner, such that he began to treat the android more as if it was simply an oddly-shaped man.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:46 AM

However, the house remained forbidden, and Aster had thus far remembered the nature of the android--- had never offered food, or questioned it on its dreams. Rabbit had not been concerned because of the presence of these boundaries.

Now, the android hesitated. “The house,” it said, just a hint of question in its voice.

Aster sighed and dragged a hand through his hair--- his habit when he felt he was being called on to explain something he didn’t care to explain. “Just for tonight. You heard the reports. The storm’s bad, and I didn’t pay this much to those assholes in town to break you over some shitty weather.” He sounded almost annoyed for it. He did not like this, that he was making the invitation.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:47 AM

Fortunately, he did not have to. “I will be perfectly fine,” said Rabbit. “My model is waterproof and capable of withstanding impacts of up to 200 miles per hour. There is no need to concern yourself with my well-being.”

For a moment he looked like he was going to argue, but he seemed to think better of it. A frustrated grimace passed over his face, and he sighed, turning away. “Your funeral,” he said. It took a moment for Rabbit to parse that as his assent, and a dismissal. But as the android turned to leave, he added, “Don’t wander out too far. I don’t want to have to go looking for you.”

“Very well,” said the android. It watched the door click shut, just to be sure he was finished, before setting off on its own.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:48 AM

The empty grounds before the storm was a strange thing to behold. Rabbit had not realized how much the noise of the place had been a part of its ambiance. It wasn’t loud; they had no neighbors and there were no children, and even the dragons were mostly quiet when they were not being worked with. Only the birds made a significant noise contribution, but they were all inside now.

Even earlier, before they had been taken in, they were unusually subdued. Aster said it was because they knew what was coming. It had seemed strange to see them like that, even knowing why it was happening. There was an idiom--- the calm before the storm. This must have been what it meant.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:48 AM

The drudge-beast’s usual pasture was empty. It was in a stable now, sleeping its sedated slumber, along with the rest of the creatures too large to do anything else with. The android wandered out to it, watching the woods beyond. Were there beasts there, wild ones, ones that had nothing to do with Aster? There must have been. It could not make any out, even with its infrared sensors. They were underground, perhaps, or deeper in. It was likely they knew, too, that a storm was coming.

Even Rabbit could sense the change in pressure. The humidity levels were steadily rising. A moment later, its outer shell registered a minute impact: the first drop of rain.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:49 AM

The storm began in earnest after that. Within five minutes, the torrent was such that even Rabbit took shelter. It was not necessary, but there was no need to be out in the rain, and Aster had been concerned with the idea of the android taking damage. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Rabbit was a ‘defective model’. Rabbit did not know exactly what its defect was, but the delivery-man had said as much during the delivery.

As far as Rabbit could tell, however, it was functioning perfectly well.

The rain went on for a long time. The winds howled; the trees bent and shook. Lightning struck several times, though never close enough to matter. The boom of thunder sounded soon after.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:49 AM

It was a good thing, Rabbit thought, that the animals outside were sedated. It had no idea what it must have been like inside the house with all the birds. The noise now was a different kind, an endless cacophony with no rhyme or reason. Rabbit listened, at rest inside its little shack, and waited for it to end.

It did not at first realize that there was something amiss. This might have been what the deliver-man meant by a faulty model. Its AI was online, as always, and its sensors were feeding it a steady stream of information. It should not have been possible for a machine to grow complacent. And yet, it did not react to the heat signature moving in from the outlying woods until it was well within its range of detection. Perhaps it was confused with the presence of other near-by beasts with similar sizes and heat signatures, but even then, that was a poor excuse.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 05/06/2017 2:49 AM

Fortunately its range was still quite wide. The beast had not even made it out of the woods proper, much less into the open space that separated the forest from Aster’s establishment. It was headed this way, but the progress was slow. A moment’s observation told Rabbit this much.

The android weighed its options. It could do nothing. Aster had given it instructions to watch out for itself and stay put. The creature could be a wild one, and it had little enough experience with wild animals. It could alert Aster, but in this weather, what the man could do about a threat was questionable at best. It also did not wish to endanger its owner; such a directive was programmed into every NOVA model, to discourage mutiny. Or it could go out to investigate, and possibly run into trouble, or possibly ward off a threat to the property.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Re: Cogs on the Wheel

Postby crow » 10/01/2018 4:32 AM

After some deliberation, it chose the latter option. Simply doing nothing felt as though it were shirking its duties, and merely alerting Aster may well have consequences Rabbit never intended. On the other hand, Rabbit itself had the advantage of metal plating, and even in the worst case scenario, it was replaceable, even if its model was rather expensive.

Thus, Rabbit ventured out into the storm. NOVA models were considerably weatherproof, and though it was lighter than it looked, it was still well within a weight where the threat of being blown away was minimal. The trouble, as it turned out, was keeping track of where the creature's heat signature was coming from.
User avatar
crow
Globetrotter
Globetrotter
Pets | Items
Keystones: 3874
Donate
Joined: 09/04/2007 11:54 AM

Previous

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests