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6. The Underground Farmhouse

Corby and Ora made their way to the house near Samuel's after following the four thick, black cables that lay on the ground. All of the doors except for two adjacent ones had no handles.

"I wonder which is the entrance," Corby said. "Oh well, if it isn't this one, it's the other one." He knocked on the closest door.

Someone with blue eyes peeked through the door's rectangular window, then spoke in a masculine voice. "What?!" He opened and got a good look at Corby while standing there in a crimson velvet robe. "Well, well, well! A new face in town! Did Gramps send you over? Cool looking hover robot I see there."

Corby gave a small smile while staring back at the guy who had silver hair styled into two fauxhawks. "Yeah, your grandfather sent us. As for the robot, her name is Ora. I'm Corby …" He frowned. "Yggdrasil. I know, I know! I'm sorry about what my family used to say—"

The tall, mildly muscular young man cut him off by grabbing and shaking Corby's right hand with his own. "I don't care what people say if they're talkin' s**t. You come to my doorstep, I welcome you inside and judge how you behave as a guest. I'm Hilarion Medley, I'm pleased to meet you, so come in." He gestured toward the inside of his house.

"Thanks," Corby said as he and Ora went in.

The door to the right side of the room was opened by a young woman. "Do I hear a new person?" Her wide, emerald green eyes focused on Corby.

After observing her pink hair held by golden strips of fabric in twintails that almost touched the floor, and judging that her face's fair skin was too clean with no trace of makeup, he wondered if she was a rare type of modified human. Her hourglass figure, red tank top, and pink miniskirt gave him the impression that she wasn't the type to get involved in work that required lots of effort.

She said, "Oh! If I knew we were going to have guests, I would have baked some cookies!"

"It's okay, dear," Hilarion said. "It's not like anyone actually plans to come here." He looked at Corby. "She's my wife. Her name is Nargirata."

She smiled at the guests. "You can call me Nargi!"

"Nice to meet you," Corby said.

Ora tilted her head to the right while staring at Nargirata.

Nargirata asked, "Who is your little companion?"

"She's Ora. She's been helping me escape the authorities' attacks and has some kind of gift of seeing into the future."

Hilarion looked at Corby while raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "A psychic robot, huh? That's a little far-fetched, so I'd like to see a demonstration of that."

Corby put his right palm over his forehead. "Oh no … Not this again."

Ora flew closer to him. "Do you want me to demonstrate?"

He looked at her with concern. "N-n-n-yeah. I guess we gotta do this again."

"Then you'll have to recharge me afterwards."

"I will. Just … don't go crazy on me again, okay?"

Ora landed next to his feet and sheathed her wings. "I will try. Awaiting orders."

Corby looked at Hilarion. "I don't want to make her use too much of her battery, so I'll only ask her to predict what happens during the next two minutes. All you have to do is intend to do something about one minute from now. She will find out what you were going to do."

Hilarion nodded. "Got it."

"Ora? Predict what will happen within the next two minutes!"

"I'm on it, Corby!" Ora said, spreading her glowing circuitry all over the room and people.

Meanwhile, Corby spread the papyrus device. As soon as Ora finished her part, the video was received and displayed on the device's screen. The future versions of Hilarion and Nargirata were dancing while holding each other very closely and taking long and short steps in sync.

"Yeah, I was thinking of dancing tango with Nargi," Hilarion said. "That robot's indeed gifted. I see it has glowanade in it. Maybe Gramps was right about that stuff being alien tech."

Ora poked Corby's right leg with her right claw. "Can you recharge me now?"

Corby extended his glowanade wires, allowing her own to connect to them and drain him. He stopped after five seconds, since Ora was flapping her wings uncontrollably.

She looked up at him. "Why did you stop?"

"That's enough," he said, then focused on Hilarion again. "Before you ask about why I have it inside of me: it got into my blood after I was hurt in an explosion at the Kimiatronica refinery."

"I never thought humans could use that stuff," Hilarion said. "Does it have side effects?"

"Just an annoying headache when using it at full strength as far as I can tell. Anyway, if the glowanade is alien tech, why would the aliens leave it inside a geyser? Why are the glow thieves consuming it like it's some kind of nutritious substance to them? It's as if they've evolved alongside this resource."

"Who knows? Gramps modified most of the supposedly alien devices around here so we can use them, since they had no buttons or power sources. The stoves are now set up to act as either ovens or forges, and he even cobbled up a steam-powered generator that makes use of the lava and water found in this cave."

"Sounds like Mister Samuel has talent when it comes to modifying machinery," Corby said.

"Yeah, he sometimes asks me or my cousin for help, but most of our daily use electronics have been made by him."

Corby remembered something. "Oh, he said I should ask you to show me your greenhouse."

Hilarion and Nargirata grinned simultaneously and said, "We thought you'd never ask!" They quickly swapped their pink slippers with brown shoes from the hallway.

"Follow us!" Hilarion said while gesturing toward Corby and Ora. He opened the door on the right and entered first. Nargirata, Corby, and Ora followed. "This is greenhouse room number one."

The ground was mostly made of brown soil, with a gray cement path connecting the room's two opposing doors. The door that led outside didn't have a handle.

Hilarion went near forty short, leafy plants, a few of which had stems with yellow flowers sticking out of their middles. "This is the lettuce patch. Nargi and I replant them in such a way that we can harvest at least two lettuces a week and have some dedicated to seed production."

Nargirata picked an orange fruit from one of seven trees. "These are pineapple oranges. Here, try one!" She threw it at Corby.

He caught it with his hands. "Thanks." As he unpeeled it, the sweet smell of citrus reached his nostrils. He took a segment out of the fruit and put it in his mouth, chewing it. After swallowing it, he said, "It's really good! Better than the stuff I've made with the home lab."

"I'm glad you like it, because we don't have home labs around here," Hilarion said. "We lack a lot of modern tech everyone still living in Hades takes for granted, but we're still getting by just fine. Nargi and I have hoarded books from our former home and from Gruzifor. Those provided us with plenty of knowledge about farming and building various devices. Gramps even has some books about how to forge old weapons such as shotguns, grenade launchers, and various types of bombs."

"Bombs?!" Corby said, staring wide-eyed at him. "Like the one Vanessa was going to use to blow us to kingdom come?!"

Hilarion grinned with half-closed eyes. "I see you two haven't met under the best circumstances. Yes, we use explosives to deal with the Triumvirate's forces. Sometimes a shotgun's enough to crash those pesky drones, but if the ground forces get involved, it's time to set off the red hot fireworks!"

Corby rubbed his chin. "Explosives might make overthrowing those bastards slightly easier."

"Whoa there, champ!" Hilarion said while putting his palms in front of Corby. "You and my cousin are big dreamers, ya know that? Those bastards have at least a thousand minotaurs, hundreds of drones, and I'm pretty sure they're not above deploying the hundreds of police cyborgs if push comes to shove. We're in no position to start a war with the big guys, bro. We're lacking in tech, numbers, and opportunities. Until we find a way to improve on at least two of those things, we can't take the risk."

"But how am I supposed to get my revenge on them for the crap they've caused at the refinery? How am I supposed to stop them from tricking more desperate people into handing over their children to them in exchange for allowing those children to be born? The way the Triumvirate runs this world is disgusting!"

"With tech, numbers, and opportunities. We're not stagnating, Corby. We're preparing. Our weapons will improve, our food resources will multiply, and we will at some point attempt to recruit more people. We're just not ready for a war yet. Be patient. It may take us a few more years, but it's better than to just take a huge risk while barely having anything to defend ourselves with. Now let's continue the greenhouse tour."

Nargirata pointed at a patch of short plants that had small, ridged leaves. "These are the carrots and parsleys." Going a bit further she pointed at a patch of plants with very thin leaves. "And this is the dill."

Hilarion went next to a patch that had red fruit and yellow flowers among thick vines and small leaves covered in short hairs. "That's the tomato patch, and those bushes right next to it form the potato patch. This whole room has all the ingredients you need for soups, salads, and sandwiches. Now let's move on to the next one." He led them through the door to the second part of the greenhouse.

Once Corby entered, he saw a field of golden wheat spread all over the room except for the concrete path which connected all three doors. A bright yellow light shone over the plants, and six columns of equally spaced fans were on the left on a wall behind him. "It's … almost like those fields they have on Earth!"

"It's not as vast," Hilarion said.

"But it provides a lot of flour," Nargirata added. "It also provides a nice view while Hil and I sit on our stone bench and watch the wheat sway in the wind when we turn on the fans." She pointed at a stone bench located next to the intersection of the paths.

After she sat on it, her husband joined her and held her hands, saying, "Nargi and I enjoy relaxing in this room almost daily in the afternoon after working hard."

"It's one of those moments that we wish could last forever," she said, looking into his eyes while smiling along with him.

"Even if nothing lasts forever, as long as we're alive we can enjoy moments like these as often as possible."

Ora tilted her head to the right. "You both enjoy doing this together?"

Nargirata nodded. "Yes. We're a couple, so it's normal to share moments of happiness like this."

"I can't imagine ever going back to a life without Nargi," Hilarion said.

Corby was staring awkwardly at his robot. "You're unusually social all of a sudden, Ora."

Ora landed near the bench and stared up at Hilarion and Nargirata. "How do people become a couple?"

Hilarion scratched behind his head. "Well, uh ..."

Nargirata took on the burden of explaining. "One declares their feelings to the other, and the other reciprocates. Then you start bonding until you're inseparable."

"How does one declare their feelings?" Ora asked.

"One way of doing it is telling the other you love him or her," Nargirata said.

"Really?"

"Yes. It definitely worked on Hil. It was love at first sight."

Hilarion grinned sheepishly. "It sure was!" He looked at Corby. "Man, they're so cute chatting to each other!"

Corby could feel the sweat start to form on his forehead. "What got into Ora today?" After a moment of silence watching Nargirata pick up his robot, he said, "Actually, I should be glad that she's noticing other people. It's nice that she's actually discussing things out of her own will."

Ora continued with the questions while Nargirata held her on her lap. "What else do people in couples do?"

"They work together toward common goals," Nargirata said. "Sometimes they offer each other small gifts or put on displays to show their love. It's all about keeping your partner interested."

"You know it, girl!" Hilarion said to his wife, ending with a wink and grin. "Hey, Corby, wanna see the chicken farm too?"

Corby shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

They left Nargirata and Ora behind and went to the next room, where there was soil everywhere and some blue grass sticking out of it. Twenty one chickens and five roosters roamed the area, clucking and pecking at the scattered wheat grains on the ground.

"This is the feeding area," Hilarion said. "They've got this whole room all to themselves during the day."

Before Corby could say anything, Ora flew toward him, then remained hovering next to his left shoulder. He looked at her. "Had enough chatting?"

"Why did you leave me behind?"

"We've never left the house, Ora. Calm down."

Nargirata entered the room and picked up a light-brown hen that was larger than the rest and hugged it. "This is Galena. She's my favorite chicken and she'll never be used as food. Still going strong at the age of five!"

Hilarion smiled at her. "That's right. Her pet chicken's only going to die of natural causes."

Corby looked at the other chickens and swallowed loudly. "I'm guessing the others won't be as fortunate ..."

"Some of them will end up in a soup or as a roast," Hilarion said. "We mostly keep chickens for the eggs, but there comes a time when the old ones need to be taken out to make room for younger ones."

"I see."

"That's a farmer's life, Corby. Having so few people here, we can't expand the farm too much, or else we won't be able to keep things running smoothly. Anyway, let's go to the next room, also known as the chicken coop."

The chicken coop had thirty round nests made of hay, four of which had eggs in them. It was illuminated by a large LED lamp that was dimmer than the ones in other rooms.

"Nargi and I take turns cleaning this place up, because the chickens spread their feathers and droppings everywhere, every single day," Hilarion said. "You could help us out by cleaning it every third day."

"So, I'll have to clean chicken poop," Corby said. "Meh, I'll do it. It's not like I've got anything else to do until we're ready to recruit more people."

"Don't worry; there will be more work for you. You won't get bored."

Corby sighed.

"I can help!" Ora said, staring into his eyes.

He scowled at her. "Oh, yeah? What can you do with those single-clawed hands?"

"I can kill the chickens!"

"No, Ora!" Corby said, his eyes looking wider than ever.

Hilarion chuckled. "Your robot can help with gathering the eggs. Nargi? Bring her the wooden basket!"

A few minutes later, Ora got busy flying around, checking each nest for eggs until she found them all and gently placed them one by one inside the wooden basket that had a handle. She used her claws to grab the handle and carry the basket to Hilarion. "Five eggs retrieved."

"Thank you," Hilarion said, taking the basket from her. "Nargi?"

"Yes, honey?" Nargirata said.

"Take the eggs to the pantry and put them in the fridge, please!"

Nargirata took the basket from him while smiling. "Okay!" She left while her pink twintails flowed gracefully behind her.

"Since I've cleaned this place today, it will be your turn to do it tomorrow, Corby," Hilarion said.

"Yes, sir."

Hilarion burst into laughter as he put his arm around the back of Corby's neck. " 'Sir'? Come on, dude! We're around the same age! How old are you anyway? I'm 20."

"I'm of exactly the same age," Corby said.

Hilarion patted him on the back. "You were only two years away from getting yourself a family. Such a shame you had to end up in this mess so early."

"I was indeed intending to one day find someone with whom I could have and raise kids, but my biggest worry was that the Triumvirate would try to get involved if they saw some opportunity."

After staring at Corby's hair for a second, Hilarion frowned. "Dude, you'd have no choice. You're—"

Corby held his right fist in front of his chest. "I'll do all I can to make sure the Triumvirate falls! Nobody should be manipulated into selling their future family members to the government!"

"I admire your passion, but I advise you to have patience. We need to fortify this place before we bring more people into it. That's why we need you to learn about what we do here. Let's go outside, to the lake. I want to show you something."

Hilarion led Corby and Ora to the lake that extended for about seven meters away from the cave wall near the house and was ten meters long. A metal pipe with the diameter of about half a meter extended from a hole in the ground and arched over five meters, its other end being submerged in the water. A muffled rumble could be heard from under the soil.

Corby couldn't quite understand what was the deal with the pipe. "What does it do?"

"It's a part of the steam-powered generator," Hilarion said. "A part that returns the steam into the water, so that it can be re-used."

"But where's the generator?"

"It's under the ground. See that hatch over there?" Hilarion pointed at the wooden hatch located close to his house. "That gives access to the generator. It's best we don't go down there unless we really need to. It's damn hot in there."

"So, how did your grandfather build this generator?"

"First, he had us dig a trench," Hilarion said. "Then we had to make a tunnel leading the lake's water to a subterranean cave we've made inside that trench. Once that was done, we had to dig another chamber under that cave, then connect that chamber to the lava that comes out of the ground nearby. Inside the trench, he put a large turbine he made from some metal he found inside some of these houses. We covered the trench and only left room for the pipe that would recover the water. Then he worked on the generator with what metal he had left, and connected it to various appliances, including his forge and … the washing machine." He pointed at the machine at the other end of the lake. "You can use it to wash your clothes if you need to."

Corby went to inspect the silvery machine. It looked rough in design, obviously handmade, with a vertical drum covered by a square glass lid. A black cable and a silver pipe went from one of its sides into the ground while another pipe went from its opposite side into the lake. "It's not as advanced as the average washing machine you'd find in Hades, but as long as it works ..."

Hilaron crossed his arms. "Of course it works. Gramps may not make the sleekest-looking electronics, nor the most efficient, but one thing's for sure: they get the job done."

Ora opened the lid of the machine and got inside the cylinder, which slowly spun with her in it. "It is safe to put your clothes in it."

Corby took her out of there. "Ora!" He turned her around to face him. "Don't mess with the machines! You might break them!"

Hilarion grinned. "Aww! She just wants to make sure you don't damage your clothes."

"Don't touch the machinery!" Corby said while repeatedly poking Ora's snout with his right hand's index finger. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good." He placed her on the ground, and in less than a second she went airborne again.

"Hey, don't be so rough on her," Hilarion said. "She's just trying to be a good assistant."

Corby furrowed his eyebrows while looking at him from the right corners of his eyes. "And often ends up being a thorn in my side."

"She won't learn any better if you yell at her. Have some patience, man. Social robots can learn to be just like us humans. All they need is some love and mentoring."

Corby looked at Ora. "I don't hold out much hope for this one."

Ora just hovered in front of him with that blue, soulless stare.

"Things will work out," Hilarion said. "Hey, wanna go on an evening scavenger hunt with me and Nargi later on? Gramps needs more iron ore for his forge."

"Sure. I'll do anything it takes to prepare us for taking on the Triumvirate!"

"Awesome! But until then, would you stay with us and tell us more about you and Ora over some cookies?"

Corby smiled. "Sounds great. I haven't had cookies in ages. I don't even remember what they look like."