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A Robotic Heart
- Thread starter AnimatedC9000
- Start date
theprawncracker
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...I guess it's good that I put the Zoot smiley in the my last post. I seem to be channelling him today. Sheesh. Sorry, guys.
AnimatedC9000
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Chapter 5
For the next several weeks, I was in a slight denial. I didn’t want to believe that I was turn into a robotic person, especially since I had almost no control over it. Yet, with help from counselors and a new friend, I managed to overcome those problems and learned how to control myself.
During those weeks, specialists were in my room, trying to help me readjust to everyday life. I learned how to control my motor reflexes better and how to improve my then-weak speaking skills, among other things. They all said that I made amazing progress, but there was one slight problem.
Sometimes during the lessons, I acted up. That is to say, the electronics inside my body acted up. From time to time, my motor reflexes would short-circuit, my voice system would malfunction, or I’d blow a fuse when I blew my nose. My case was a curious one, and finding someone who could fix all of my glitches would be quite a task.
Fortunately, I met the right man-- or bird, I’d rather say-- for the job clearly by chance one day.
It was late morning, sometime close to noon. I was sitting up in my hospital bed, working on a crossword puzzle in the daily paper (“Let’s see… Thirty-two down: Acquaintance…”). In the middle of completing an entry, I heard a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I called out, half-expecting for it to be a doctor or a nurse to run some tests on me.
“Plumbing services!” an unfamiliar voice replied to me. “May I come in, sir?”
I blinked. Plumbing services? What did I need a plumber for? Unless there was something wrong with the sink again… “Sure, come right on in,” I said. “The door’s unlocked.”
The creature I saw enter the room then made my eyes widen. It was a kiwi bird with shaggy brown feathers and beady eyes. He wore a shirt, overalls, and a hat, and had a tool belt around his waist. “Thank you,” he said to me before going to work.
At first, I didn’t know what to make of the situation. All I knew that I was a robotic patient at a hospital with a kiwi plumber in my room. Abandoning the crossword puzzle, I decided to speak to the bird. (A plumber was better than no visitors at all.) “So... you’re the plumber?” I asked.
“Uh-huh,” the kiwi answered, not looking up from his work. “I’m also an expert at first aid, a TV repairman, a pipe fitter, and a sheet metal worker.”
I was surprised about all of the jobs that he had. “Quite a résumé,” I commented.
“Thanks,” he said, turning to me with a smile on his face. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
I was slightly confused about why he said that. “I beg your pardon, sir, but--”
“Oh, it’s Lindbergh,” the kiwi said to me, standing up and tipping his hat. “Lindbergh C. Kiwi, at your service.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Lindbergh,” I replied with a slight smile.
“Don’t mention it, Michael.”
I blinked. Michael? How did he know my name? “And you know my name because...?”
Lindbergh looked at me. “Oh, you’re in the papers. ‘Local High School Student Lost in Explosion’, ‘Explosion Survivor Becomes Medical Wonder’. It’s easy to put two and two together once you’ve seen the articles.” He then added, “That, and your files are in the container next to the door.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that I caused quite a local stir,” I told him, amazed that I’d caused such talk to come up.
“You’d be surprised,” the plumber told me.
“Wow…” I sat back in the bed, letting it all sink in before I spoke again. “So, what does the ‘C’ stand for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
The kiwi looked up. “Huh?”
“The ‘C’ in your name,” I clarified.
“Oh,” he said, slowly nodding. “That my middle name, Clive.”
“Nice middle name,” I commented.
“Eh, you get used to it after the years.”
Suddenly, something in my head seemed to click. Maybe he could help me with some of the problems I’ve been having recently, I thought. “Listen Lindbergh, do you think you can help me out a little?”
The kiwi, surprised by my request, responded almost instantly. “Sure Michael, what is it?”
I looked down at my legs, which were under the sheets of the bed, as I began my explanation. “You see, I’ve been confided to my bed for most of the day because the motor reflex mechanisms in my legs have shorted out. The doctors say it’ll take some time to fix, but I was wondering if you could help out with repair some.”
“Sure I can!” Lindbergh happily replied, grabbing his wrench and making it over to my bedside. “Just let me see what I can do here...”
He then began to work on me, pulling the covers back some so that most of my legs came into view. The kiwi then started to mess around with some of the knobs on the control panel on my chest, trying to find something. “Aha! Here we are!” Tightening what appeared to be a few loose bolts with a screwdriver, he then started to test the reflexes in my head by pounding a hammer against my legs.
“OW!” I immediately shot out of bed. “What was that for?”
“Just testing your reflexes,” Lindbergh explained me. “They seem to be pretty good. Try to walk around now.”
Taking his advice, I stood up on the floor and started to take some steps around the room. I wasn’t making awkward movements when I was moving anymore. “Lindbergh, you’re a life saver!”
“Aw, it’s no trouble at all,” the kiwi said back, a sense of a job-well-done in his voice. “Just doing my job.”
A nurse rushed in, apparently alerted by my screaming. “What’s going on in here?”
I rushed up to the nurse, an air of determination about me. “Nurse, look no further for a worker. I’ve found my repairman!”
“Me?” Lindbergh asked, blinking.
“Yes,” I said. “From now on, you’re in charge of helping me fix my malfunctions and glitches whenever they may happen.”
With those words, I had not only found a repairman, but a best friend in Lindbergh C. Kiwi, one of the nicest birds I’ve ever known.
For the next several weeks, I was in a slight denial. I didn’t want to believe that I was turn into a robotic person, especially since I had almost no control over it. Yet, with help from counselors and a new friend, I managed to overcome those problems and learned how to control myself.
During those weeks, specialists were in my room, trying to help me readjust to everyday life. I learned how to control my motor reflexes better and how to improve my then-weak speaking skills, among other things. They all said that I made amazing progress, but there was one slight problem.
Sometimes during the lessons, I acted up. That is to say, the electronics inside my body acted up. From time to time, my motor reflexes would short-circuit, my voice system would malfunction, or I’d blow a fuse when I blew my nose. My case was a curious one, and finding someone who could fix all of my glitches would be quite a task.
Fortunately, I met the right man-- or bird, I’d rather say-- for the job clearly by chance one day.
It was late morning, sometime close to noon. I was sitting up in my hospital bed, working on a crossword puzzle in the daily paper (“Let’s see… Thirty-two down: Acquaintance…”). In the middle of completing an entry, I heard a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I called out, half-expecting for it to be a doctor or a nurse to run some tests on me.
“Plumbing services!” an unfamiliar voice replied to me. “May I come in, sir?”
I blinked. Plumbing services? What did I need a plumber for? Unless there was something wrong with the sink again… “Sure, come right on in,” I said. “The door’s unlocked.”
The creature I saw enter the room then made my eyes widen. It was a kiwi bird with shaggy brown feathers and beady eyes. He wore a shirt, overalls, and a hat, and had a tool belt around his waist. “Thank you,” he said to me before going to work.
At first, I didn’t know what to make of the situation. All I knew that I was a robotic patient at a hospital with a kiwi plumber in my room. Abandoning the crossword puzzle, I decided to speak to the bird. (A plumber was better than no visitors at all.) “So... you’re the plumber?” I asked.
“Uh-huh,” the kiwi answered, not looking up from his work. “I’m also an expert at first aid, a TV repairman, a pipe fitter, and a sheet metal worker.”
I was surprised about all of the jobs that he had. “Quite a résumé,” I commented.
“Thanks,” he said, turning to me with a smile on his face. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
I was slightly confused about why he said that. “I beg your pardon, sir, but--”
“Oh, it’s Lindbergh,” the kiwi said to me, standing up and tipping his hat. “Lindbergh C. Kiwi, at your service.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Lindbergh,” I replied with a slight smile.
“Don’t mention it, Michael.”
I blinked. Michael? How did he know my name? “And you know my name because...?”
Lindbergh looked at me. “Oh, you’re in the papers. ‘Local High School Student Lost in Explosion’, ‘Explosion Survivor Becomes Medical Wonder’. It’s easy to put two and two together once you’ve seen the articles.” He then added, “That, and your files are in the container next to the door.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that I caused quite a local stir,” I told him, amazed that I’d caused such talk to come up.
“You’d be surprised,” the plumber told me.
“Wow…” I sat back in the bed, letting it all sink in before I spoke again. “So, what does the ‘C’ stand for, if you don’t mind me asking?”
The kiwi looked up. “Huh?”
“The ‘C’ in your name,” I clarified.
“Oh,” he said, slowly nodding. “That my middle name, Clive.”
“Nice middle name,” I commented.
“Eh, you get used to it after the years.”
Suddenly, something in my head seemed to click. Maybe he could help me with some of the problems I’ve been having recently, I thought. “Listen Lindbergh, do you think you can help me out a little?”
The kiwi, surprised by my request, responded almost instantly. “Sure Michael, what is it?”
I looked down at my legs, which were under the sheets of the bed, as I began my explanation. “You see, I’ve been confided to my bed for most of the day because the motor reflex mechanisms in my legs have shorted out. The doctors say it’ll take some time to fix, but I was wondering if you could help out with repair some.”
“Sure I can!” Lindbergh happily replied, grabbing his wrench and making it over to my bedside. “Just let me see what I can do here...”
He then began to work on me, pulling the covers back some so that most of my legs came into view. The kiwi then started to mess around with some of the knobs on the control panel on my chest, trying to find something. “Aha! Here we are!” Tightening what appeared to be a few loose bolts with a screwdriver, he then started to test the reflexes in my head by pounding a hammer against my legs.
“OW!” I immediately shot out of bed. “What was that for?”
“Just testing your reflexes,” Lindbergh explained me. “They seem to be pretty good. Try to walk around now.”
Taking his advice, I stood up on the floor and started to take some steps around the room. I wasn’t making awkward movements when I was moving anymore. “Lindbergh, you’re a life saver!”
“Aw, it’s no trouble at all,” the kiwi said back, a sense of a job-well-done in his voice. “Just doing my job.”
A nurse rushed in, apparently alerted by my screaming. “What’s going on in here?”
I rushed up to the nurse, an air of determination about me. “Nurse, look no further for a worker. I’ve found my repairman!”
“Me?” Lindbergh asked, blinking.
“Yes,” I said. “From now on, you’re in charge of helping me fix my malfunctions and glitches whenever they may happen.”
With those words, I had not only found a repairman, but a best friend in Lindbergh C. Kiwi, one of the nicest birds I’ve ever known.
theprawncracker
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Very nice! Good to see the bond between Lindbergh and Digit developing. It seems odd that Lindbergh didn't really have much say in this... but maybe we'll see some of that later. Good stuff, Cait! Keep it up! More please! 
TogetherAgain
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YAY, friendship! Nice to meet Lindbergh. And now I'm wondering how and when Michael became Digit in name. I suppose I'll have to be patient.
I'm really enjoying this so far, Cait. One little piece of advice, though--keep an eye on your use of tense. Just something I've noticed you slip on sometimes. Not a huge deal, but something you might polish.
Keep up the great work! MORE PLEASE! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I'm really enjoying this so far, Cait. One little piece of advice, though--keep an eye on your use of tense. Just something I've noticed you slip on sometimes. Not a huge deal, but something you might polish.
Keep up the great work! MORE PLEASE! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
AnimatedC9000
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- Apr 25, 2008
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- 154
Hey cool, I have muffin cannons aimed at me! I hope they're blueberry!
...
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... the next chapter's coming up soon, either tonight or tomorrow morning. Or tomorrow afternoon. Please hold your fire until then.
...
...
... the next chapter's coming up soon, either tonight or tomorrow morning. Or tomorrow afternoon. Please hold your fire until then.