Carl is a very young man looking like at the age of 30, comparing with his 70-year-old wife, Lucy, who have already suffered from senile dementia.
One cozy afternoon, Lucy muttered to Carl with several vague phrases, but Carl got it experiencedly. It was observed by their housekeeper-a “female” intelligent robot that Carl had at least one year been taking care of his dear wife since he was back from a place where God knows.
“Frank…are you here?” Lucy stared at him at a lost.
“Oh, no, my dear, that’s a character in the story I have been telling you since this morning. Now, we shall turn to the page 12, sweaty!” Carl cuddled Lucy wearing a bitter smile and opened a notebook titled Bob’s Diary-the 2019th version.
06
It was a dark and cold night, which was told by my father. My father, Frank, at that night was extremely desperate for sunlight.
“are you ready, Bob?”
“yes, dad. I feel energetic now, shall we start it?”
“fire it right now”
As my father groped for the on-off, a harsh flash blinded our eyes as the previous darkness had done to my father who was vulnerable to the temperature, gas and light around him on Mars. How could it be so different that we seemed two kinds of species. Anyway, the next moment we were arrested by the Mars Defenders, known as the MDs.
07
“Doctor Booker and his son Bob Booker, in the room 737” announced a warden.
It was dark in the jail and my weakling dad unexpectedly trembled, his bones beating.
“Don’t worry, dad. This time is going to be okay; you will be sent to the Earth House where you can live a perfect life as if you were on the planet called earth.”
Dad and I had been prisoned here several time and consequently were sent back to the Earth House where the MD accommodated him for observation. Dad and I were their samples, one from the earth and another, the combination of robotics and genetics.
“Please do not mention it. That simulation can’t be my real earth!” Dad was a little bit annoyed, which I have sensed.
“Dad, am I your real son? We are genetically connected but physically I am far stronger than you.”
“Thanks for asking! I cannot answer it because I am an earth man of ethics.
What is ethics? What an unintelligible stuff!
Lucy fell asleep and Carl left her alone at the terrace, while the warm wind was turning over the notebook, wondering what was in the pages 1to 5.
01
There is no light or at least I could only hear that…
“let there be light.” Then, there was light! Light was separated from darkness. There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.
02
“let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. So, men made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. Men called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
03
“let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds…”
“nonsense! It is impossible to plant such weird trees, let go of the book (Bible) and plant our super trans-species hero-Seeds of God.”
Then there were colorful plants covering over the surface of the ground.
I can have a vague sight-there were a group of robotic workers bending over the ground, seemingly sowing something, I am not sure about that.
Then there were colorful plants covering over the surface of the ground.
There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
04
“let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”
“I don’t think Doctor Booker would like that, Sir. I know on Earth there is no hint of living creature in its sky, but aerial signals, updated to now 2019G or 2020G-fascinating penetrating. Doctor Booker may prefer faster transfers.”
“terrific, that seems like earth!”
Then there were super-penetrating network-4040G.
I can feel I was wrapped by so thick a cover that I could bear the over-whelming high-rate striking from every direction.
There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
05
“Sir, God said, ‘he created mankind in his own image’, I am not sure how to create mankind.”
“what a headache! Since mankind has created us equipped us with intelligence, it is very easy to create stuff in bulk with high efficiency. But you know there is mystery about mankind’s feelings-very biologic stuff, ha!”
“why not combine our intelligent Bob with Doctor Booker’s genes, like which, mankind on the earth are combining swine’s genes with parrot’s genes to creature a kind of flying-speaking and pig-like pets, and kids like them very much. I think poor homesick Doctor Booker would like that.”
“good idea! Your mind now is very mankindish, congratulations!”
That is a conversation between the two guys who recently worked on my operation.
“let’s call it a day!” they left.
I can breathe now with bloody heart beating and I know the first truth about myself-my name is Bob Booker, son of Frank Booker.
There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
“Doctor Booker, need I send Lucy inside?” a robotic maid said gently.
Carl nodded and stepped in to his study and continue the dairy-day 08 to 10.
Several hours had gone. His nib rubbing the sheet, his upper eyelashes was entangled with the lower. Very soon, he was asleep.
11
It was a mystery that I triggered my self-destruction system to help my dad escape from Mars, which hadn’t been programmed in the algorithm designed by the MDs.
At that astonishing moment, I felt more humanlike than any time before. My dad told me that was one trait of human ethics. May I thoroughly understand it after death-or in other word after my physical disappearance!
Fortunately, I live again, as an invisible cognition, in my dad’s brain.
12
I have been embedded into my dad’s brain dealing with much painful feelings which used to be my dad’s but now, mine. My part-time job on the earth now is to endure painful thinking for my dad. He has been troubled by the truth that-it is too late to be with Lucy since he came back home. Every time he remembers the thousands of days wasted in the simulation on Mars, the millions of minutes when he missed his Lucy and the billions of seconds when he counted the escaping plans failed to be practiced, he bursts into tears. On consequence, I have to endure the pain for him.
My lord, I feel the bitterness of love now!
13
At midnight, it is not busy in dad’s mind. I could have a rest and…perhaps, I shall read some memories of my dad’s so that I could better understand human’s feelings.
“I was a startling discovery that Bob should blow up himself to sent me back home; I wondered if there is some quirk in robotic creatures.”
I am wondering too; I remarked and turn over the pages of memorial disk.
“earth is still the earth, but my love is not like my lover-she is too old to recognize.”
Poor dad, how can you scientist forget that common sense-the Earth’s revolution period is 365 days while Mars’ is 687 days (about 24 hour per day), which means that you spent 20 years on Mars while Lucy grow twice older than you. I remark so.
Turning over pages, I hardly cry out!
“I remember the last voice uttered from my noisy Bob’s body-Ka…rl…not very clearly-a set of machine stoppage sounds. So, I renamed myself Carl.”
Again, a cozy afternoon, Lucy insisted misrecognizing Carl as Frank- “you are Frank...”. But that time Carl didn’t deny it immediately and pretend to patiently wait for Lucy’s added question- “are you?” with rising intonation. During the moments when he was pausing, Carl glanced at the housekeeper whose green LEDs lightening signed “inspection free”. Carl relived with a deep breath and cuddled his wife, with tears squeezed from eyelashes, nostrils and lips.
“Dear Lucy, I am Frank. I am sorry I thought I was capable of saving our Bob, our son. I was so stupid that I believed MDs could bring Bob back to life without any condition!”
“I was wrong! Everything goes wrong!” Carl shouted, and Lucy stared at him, biting her wrinkled lower lip.
“Bob is here,” she pointed at her head. Carl was so disappointed that Lucy indicated Bob was in her brain not in her heart; for he was deadly missing the sane Lucy who had used to remember those she loved by heart; he was hoping she would be awake when it came to their own son, but in vain.
“do you want me to read the following pages, honey?” Carl whisper to her ear. Lucy nodded.
08
At least we were sent back our comfortable house in the simulation, safe and sound. But, you know, my dad was so angry that he roughly pushed the door of his room and threw himself onto his comfy bed, without a single phrase such as “good night”. Neverminded, I was programmed to forgive his rudeness.
By the way, I didn’t need any sleep so I had plenty of time to prepare the tasty pills, which dad took every morning to maintain youth and dynamic, for his actual earthly age is over 70.
So dull was I who had finish arranging the pills according to the prescription the MDs gave, I was planning to “tidy up” my dad stuffy lab, but in a short time I was attracted by the darken door in the corner-behind which was an out-of-bounds area. Provided that dad knew I had been there, he would get mad. However, he was so physically weak that he couldn’t administer corporal punishment to me. I rushed to the room of mystery-this kind of behavior was described as naughty-one trait of human kids, which was programmed in my primary processing center.
I had decoded the password lock for several seconds and the door was opened
09
It was a shining space wrapping which were crystal walls as well as crystal blue ceiling. I thought the person who live in this must be the most beloved angel by God.
Not until stepping to the middle of the room did I found that lucky angel—yellowish golden hairs, light eyelashes glistened in the rain of rays and rosy check nearly to bloom. His face was exactly like mine but not its fragility. I was wondering if he had a pair of blue eyes like mine, which could assure me that I had been created in his image (a copy of him). But I would never know his iris ‘color because his eyelids would never open again. He must be the biological son of dad’s, the real Bob who was killed by a laboratory accident on the earth, in which he was poisoned by the impure To-Be-Cleverer Potion which Most parents on earth would force their children to drink.
Though he was died, his silent body had been considered a treasure to be stored here. Dad must have suffered from such grief for so long.
A little bit sad, or maybe jealous, I prostrated myself on the transparent floor, staring at the silent human body that was ice-bound under the crystal surface.
So, what is the point of my existence? another mystery. But it was little time to think about it because someone entered the room. According to its orderly footsteps, I knew it was the MDs and there was nowhere to hide.
10
Dad was in too, but handcuffed.
“Doctor Booker, it is the 10th day and Bob is now working better with the organic eyes.” The officer of the MD lifted me off the ground with his forceful hawk-claw-like hand and entangled my dad’s neck with another snake-like arm.
“sign it! or I will ruin that lovely body and…” the officer turned his face to me “our Bob… the combination of 2019th…I will ruin its eyes.” A sharp ache flashed through my eyeballs, much more painful than that the MD’s pliers had done in the first day when I couldn’t see.
“how dare you!” dad cried out loud. It was the first time I saw my dad cry since I was created 10 days ago. I was touched by this man of whom I had taken careless care for only 10 days.
I decided to make great difference today!
“sign it dad, so we can have mom’s company.” knowing I was in the MD’s side, the officer put me on the ground and sneered, “how clever Bob 2019 is! Continue my boy.”
“Dad, mommy-Lucy on the earth now was too old to live alone. I think I need a mommy for what you had told me the important thing- my education’s sake.” I stepped closer to my dad and gave him a hint of that “dad what I said just now was just nonsense, lies!” Luckily, dad kept shocked and I thought he had got it.
“right over the ceiling is the passage to earth, once we have signed it, you 3 can get united. And you know” A cold voice was through my body just to my dad’s ear.
I got the hint-it was time to reward my sentimental dad; only a big boom could break through this fragile ceiling and perhaps my self-explosion fitted it perfectly. Without any hesitation, I triggered the bottoms-my pretty blue eyes.
Boom! It made difference.
“Lucy, are you asleep?”
No response. Carl assumes that his love is died. He lays her down on the bed and steps to the window with his back towards the bed. The shadow of his body is too lonely in the room.
“Dad, do miss me?”
Carl turns around and gets stunned with the old female who sit on the bedside seriously in the manner Bob used to do when he got up for medicine in the lab on Mars.
“You look much weathered; do you need the pills?”
Carl know it is the condition-he would never get out of the MDs’ control.