A man sat writing away at a workstation in a vast laboratory. Various gadgets of all kinds lay dismantled or in the process of creation. Evidence that exchangeable parts were taken from one invention to be used in another multiple times a day. Furiously he wrote and drew new pieces. The concepts were endless but how to craft perfection? That was the mission, but for weeks the answer eluded him.
"Alert motion detected in the southern garden." the computer notified the man but he did not respond. Surrounded by junk he stood up onto the desk and picked up a contraption just out of his reach while he was sitting.
"Stupid drone ports, how do i fit them into this fucking machi..." he stopped mid sentence as he looked up and saw a young man walking up to the front door on his security monitor. He wasn't expecting visitors. Infact a visitor was something he loathed and didn't want.
"Intruder protocol will implement in 20 secs if you do not comply as a guest. The young man looked rather baffled. He reached out slowly and pressed the doorbell as a robotic voice counted down from 20.
"17, 16, 15. Guest protocol activated." the robotic voice notified the young man.
The robot startled him and he was unsure on where the microphones for the intercom were located and said "Hi, My name is Seth Railen. I'm looking for Bael Reddings. Hopefully I comply as a guest?" Bael dropped down from his stool. He was 3' 9" tall and aging. As he took off his lab coat scars could be seen all over his arms. He paused before leaving his workstation checking each pocket for his missing lighter.
"Click click." The lighter ignited and Bael lit a half smoked cigar.
Bael watched the monitor and didn't recognize Seth. He weighed his options and decided to lean towards safety. Out in the Badlands the only visitors were usually bad.
"Computer release armaments. Shoot countdown in 1 min. Also why wasn't I notified of a visitor? Is the last patch not working correctly?" Bael questioned the computer but was unable to hear the reply.
"We thank you for your visit. You now have 60 seconds to leave the premises before being fired upon. Have a good night and please come back again soon!" The computer complied with Bael's wishes and guns activated. Bael could see Seth's face change from confused to very worried as the gun laser sights locked on to his chest.
"Scanners indicate your hearing is likely the cause of the issue." the computer tried to defend itself but it was a futile effort.
Bael stared into the monitor. "Do you feel lucky?" he whispered as an evil smile crept onto his face. The scientist cackled and karma quickly intervened and forced him to go into a coughing fit. His eyes watered as they locked on to Seth's boyish features. His face seems vaguely familiar he thought to himself and paused a moment.
"Computer identify the visitor." Bael paused for an answer
"Seth Railen. Son of Captain Edgar Railen." the computer replied but Bael still heard nothing.
"So could you tell Mr. Reddings that Captain Railen's son Seth is here. It's rather urgent. My father said he would meet me here but I'm worried he won't be coming. I may have been followed." Seth stared into a nearby cactus. It was hot today. Hotter than normal. Seth could see the heat waves over the patio. The furniture looked sun bleached. The plastic looking partially melted like a half used candle.
Bael laughed as he watched the young man bravely speak into machine guns like a microphone. "Computer… why can't I hear any sound?" he asked as he grabbed a snack from his hawaiian print lab coat thrown over his workstation chair.
"The young man claims to be the son of Captain Edger Railen who served with you at the Battle of Eronoch. Unfortunately you are unable to hear due to last nights grenade experiment. Shall I enable written response?" The computer replied.
"God damn it… NO!" the scientist yelled as he dropped his snack through the metal floor into lower levels of the lab.
"Ding, Ding, Dong" the single jawbreaker bounced from platform to platform for several floors.
"Goodbye young sir!" Bael said cheerfully as he walked off to take a shower.
"You have 30 seconds to remove yourself from the premises." The computer warned Seth
" Major Bael, please tell your computer to stand down. I hope you are awake." Seth said looking like he was having a horrible day as he opened up his backpack. Inside he grabbed out a small device shaped like a wrist watch. As he put on the wrist band he vanished from the monitor. Little did Bael Redding know as he showered. That the young man had planned for this due to his father's warnings.
"Love is so much better with you!!!" Bael sang in the shower as loud as possible. It echoed throughout his bathroom and into his the rest of the house.
Seth began breaking into the front door using a small handheld laser.
"Master Bael the facility has been breached. Shall I alert the authorities?" the computer asked to assist like a faithful servant once again.
"Nooooooooooo!!!" Bael sang "Noooooo body is gonna love you like I love you baby!!!!!" He belted out his soul into the bar of soap.
Sensors alerted the computer again. "Their is an intruder in the kitchen shall I trap him inside?"
"Yes!!!!" Bael half sang half screamed as he danced around in the shower. At that exact moment mechanical metal doors trapped Seth inside of the kitchen. He was completely surprised and felt his own heart jump out of himself.
"Mr Reddings. Please this is unnecessary. I really need your help. My father told me you were very untrusting but I assure you I'm not lying. I'm really Edgar Railen's son. If you could just chat with me a little I know things that would prove who I say I am.Computer please scan my ID 32D32AC. I'm sure you are able to tell I'm not armed." Seth pleaded inside of the kitchen. He wished there was food at least in the room he was trapped in.
It was much more well kept inside the home then outside. Small animatronic robots were everywhere. Seth noticed this and picked up a candle stick and smashed it on the floor. At that exact moment red lights began flashing throughout the building and small cleaner robots opened the door in the kitchen to clean up the mess. Seth slipped out of the room at the same time into the living room.
"Alert! The facility is under attack!! Alert The facility is under attack!!" the computer echoed throughout the entire house. Bael jumped out of the shower without drying and ran for to his bedroom for a weapon.
"Computer where is the intruder now?" Bael yelled with a sense of urgency. Seth waited patiently in the living room on the couch. He looked exhausted but it took everything in him to not collapse. His eyes scanned everywhere except for the corner with the 7ft tall African fertility statue.
"The intruder is in the living room." The computer replied. Seth heard Bael as he ran by but couldn't get up. He drifted off as a naked dwarf ran up to him armed with buteferd hand cannon. He just couldn't stay awake anymore.
"Please help." Seth whispered as he faded. Bael being completely livid at this point was screaming at Seth. Bael had read his lips as he said it and lowered his gun. Flashes of hundreds of faces mouthing the words ran by as if on a train in his mind. Blood drops in a line found their way to the young man. It was too late to help now. The boy was dead.