The Repair Shop - Part 4
The Small Business Chronicles: The Repair Shop - Part 4
Chapter One: No rest for the weary
It was a busy last few days for Jack, Ellie, and JB, but they finally finished working on their latest repair job: an entire staff of Partier models that a corporation had rented for a celebration they were holding. Fortunately for Jack and his staff, the corporate employees had gone relatively easy on them, so Jack just had to clean out their plumbing and perform a few minor repairs before getting them back to the rental agency. Still, the rental company he was assisting had requested a fairly quick turnaround, so he ended up pulling an all-nighter with his staff to get them done in time.
“Thanks for the help guys,” Jack said, plopping down in his desk chair, “you deserve a good rest.”
“Thanks Jack,” Ellie said, looking somewhat weak. She’d gone without recharging for almost a day, along with JB, and they were quite drained.
“You guys go get some rest,” Jack told them, “The rental agency should be coming around in a few hours to pick these ladies up.”
“Will do,” Ellie smiled, saluting playfully before heading to her room with JB.
Jack smiled knowingly in return, knowing Ellie and JB would be having a bit of fun before turning in. Once he heard the door to her room shut, he leaned back in his chair and quickly dozed off.
He was awoken nearly 20 minutes later by his intercom. Rachel’s voice sounded clearly, waking him up.
“Jack, are you there?” She asked, the tone of her voice indicating she had been trying to contact him for a few minutes.
Jack rubbed his temples and leaned in to the intercom. “Yes Rachel, I was taking a nap…. go ahead.”
“Sorry to disturb you Jack,” she said apologetically, “but there are a few official looking people waiting here for you….it seems urgent.”
“Tell them I’ll be right up,” he responded, a confused look on his face. He quickly activated the camera on his terminal, using it as a mirror, and fixed his hair. They’d have to do with his unshaven look, given they showed up without making an appointment. He took a quick gulp of water before rising from his chair and heading to the lift.
When he arrived in Rachel’s office a few moments later, he saw three important looking people sitting in her waiting area, one of whom looked very stressed.
“Sorry to keep you all waiting,” Jack said politely, joining Rachel at her desk, “I just pulled an all-nighter for another client and was taking a rest.”
The stressed-out man quickly cleared his throat and gave Jack a weak smile. “I’m so sorry to inconvenience you, Mr. Brown, but I’m here to present you a job of utmost importance…and delicacy.”
Jack was quite intrigued. “Oh?”
“I’m a representative of the U.S. State Department, and these two are representatives from the Scottish government.”
That instantly woke Jack up. “Oh, I’m honored to have representatives of the Scottish government here.”
After the events of World War 3, the Scottish government achieved a great status boost following the decimation of much of Europe and the British empire. They now controlled the entire British Isles, including Ireland, and much of Western Europe. While the U.S. was still dominant, the Scottish government commanded a great deal of respect, so dealings with them were always held with great seriousness.
One of the Scottish officials, a woman, cleared her throat and began speaking. “Mr. Brown, I’m truly sorry to disturb your rest…we are aware of your reputation, and a few other things, and are convinced that you are the best person to assist us with our quandary.”
“I’m honored,” Jack said, “how can I be of assistance?”
“Recently the son of one of our top ministers was killed in an unfortunate road incident,” she began, “based on the evidence found at the scene, it was most likely caused by another vehicle, but we’re unable to access the information to prove it.”
“I take it there was an android in the vehicle with him.” Jack surmised.
“That’s correct,” she confirmed, “he had a recent model Perfect Friend android in the passenger seat that was heavily damaged by both the fire in the vehicle, and the water from when the car was partially submerged.”
Jack winced. “I’m beginning to see why you came to me.”
“Indeed,” she nodded, “in any event, the Scottish government would be eternally grateful if you could do anything you can to recover the data from the crash so we can prosecute the driver of the other vehicle.”
“Is the family at all interested in having the android refurbished and returned?”
“No,” she answered bluntly, “I already spoke with them on that matter and they are interested only in recovering the data.”
“Is the Scottish government interested in the android then?”
“Again, no,” she replied, “we have come to the decision that, in addition to your usual fee, we will add the android as part of your payment. You may keep it for refurbishment, spare parts, or junk it…the decision will be yours.”
“I think I might be able to find a use for it,” Jack mused, “anything else?”
“Actually yes. The Scottish government would appreciate it if you could have the data recovered by the end of the week,” she replied; it was Tuesday. “We are aware that, due to the extensive damage, that this timetable might not be possible,” she continued, anticipating Jack’s response, “but, if you could manage it, the Scottish government will also include a free passage waiver as part of your payment.”
Jack’s breath caught in his throat as she announced the additional payment. After World War 3, most countries locked up their borders and it was much more difficult to travel around freely than it once was. Free passage waivers were essentially passports, diplomatic immunity, and a few other things all wrapped up into one neat package. To receive a free passage waiver was a huge deal, and a tremendous honor, but they almost always had conditions.
“Well, that certainly is worth the trouble then,” Jack nodded fervently; he’d always wanted to visit Scotland. “Umm, what sort of conditions will this waiver have?”
“The waiver will be offered in perpetuity, though you will have to make arrangements at least three months in advance.”
That sort of condition was second only to having no conditions whatsoever, so Jack was quite excited. “Well, you’ve provided me an offer I can’t possibly refuse,” he grinned, holding his hand out.
“We’re glad to hear you’ve accepted our offer,” she smiled, shaking his hand. The U.S. State Department official sighed with relief. “My assistant will assist you with unpacking the damaged android from our truck, parked near your loading dock.” She turned back to the U.S. State Department official and they left the room.
“Thank you,” Jack nodded, turning to the other Scottish official, “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” he replied, rising from his seat and walking with Jack out into the loading dock.
“Ah Jack, this man had me watching his truck outside,” Kat announced, approaching him from near the door, “he provided an official code.”
“Sorry about that, but our visit is quite important,” the man said, “My name’s Clyde, by the way.”
“No problem at all Clyde,” Jack smiled, “Let’s help Clyde get some stuff out of his truck Kat.”
“Yes Jack,” she nodded, walking over to the truck and opening the back. Kat pulled out a container that most likely contained the damaged android, as well as a few smaller boxes.
“What’s in the smaller boxes?” Jack asked curiously, as Kat strapped everything together on a rolling cart and rolled them to the lift; Jack and Clyde followed.
“Spare parts, all the stuff that came in the box, and all backup and update logs we could pull from her local server back in Scotland,” Clyde replied, “Even her clothes…I was primarily responsible for Helen’s maintenance and upkeep back in Scotland, since her owner wasn’t skilled in that area,” Clyde explained.
“I understand,” Jack nodded.
“I only wish I was half as skilled as you are,” Clyde smiled weakly, “I’m a close family friend and it kills me that I couldn’t fix Helen up enough to recover her data.”
“Was Helen based on anybody in particular?” Jack asked curiously.
“Not really,” Clyde shrugged, “I think Owen partially inspired her appearance on a handful of crushes he had, but overall, she’s an original design.”
“Good to know,” Jack nodded, “if I do get her fully functional again and have her work in my businesses, it helps if she’s not based on a real person who might be offended at an anatomically correct version of themselves being used without their permission.”
“I see,” Clyde chuckled, “well, you have nothing to worry about in that department.”
The lift arrived in Jack’s lab a moment later and they paused their conversation to follow Kat and her cart into Jack’s work area. Once she arrived in the work area, she neatly spread out the boxes of Helen’s spare parts and then paused over the container storing Helen’s damaged body.
“Would you like me to open it, Jack?” She asked politely.
“Yes, but place her body on the mobile cart.”
Kat nodded and opened the container, lifting the damaged android from inside and up onto the rolling table. Once she made sure that everything was out of the container, she resealed it and then wheeled the cart back to the lift.
Jack winced as he gazed down upon the damaged female android, Helen, laying on his table. The entire life half of her body was scorched, the skin completely burnt off and the underlying metal skeleton showing. The right half still had skin, but there was extensive water damage to the underlying musculature and the components. Her body was still somewhat damp, having been stored in an airtight container.
“Well, now you see what I was trying to deal with,” Clyde grimaced, “You think you can recover the data?”
Jack leaned in and examined the partially exposed A.I. Core, shaking his head. “I’m not certain,” he admitted, “there’s an awful lot of damage, but I have far more sophisticated equipment down here than most techs do.”
“Yeah, this place is quite impressive,” Clyde nodded approvingly, looking around, “you’ve certainly made a name for yourself, and now I understand why.”
“Thanks,” Jack smiled modestly, “so, how come you guys didn’t simply bring Helen directly to Spaztec? I’m sure they could’ve recovered the data for you.”
“Because we needed someone we could trust to be discreet,” Clyde replied, “given the modifications you’ve made to your wife, and a few other things I don’t need to mention, we feel you can be trusted.”
Jack’s face flushed. “Oh, you know about that?”
Clyde laughed. “It’s sort of an open secret in the intelligence communities,” he shrugged, “but rest assured, you and Gabby are quite safe…for obvious reasons, no one is going to want to mass produce sentient androids.”
“Yeah,” Jack laughed.
“Well, I won’t keep you any longer,” Clyde said, turning to the lift, “as I said before, all of Helen’s original hardware and pertinent items are in the storage boxes, as well as her recent backup files…. I just hope they come in handy.”
“Me too,” Jack nodded, “if not, I can always use the spare parts.”
“Good luck, Jack,” Clyde smiled, before heading to the lift.
Jack merely nodded and then turned back to Helen to begin an initial checkup.
Chapter Two: Picking up the pieces
Season One Closed for Christmas - The Shop | The Repair Shop - Part 1 | Off-season - The Motel | The Repair Shop - Part 2 | Slow day - The Cafe | The Small Business - End-of-Year Review
Season Two Homefront - The House | The Repair Shop - Part 3 | Green Thumb - The Greenhouse | The Repair Shop - Part 4 |