Droids And Bots

Chapter 2

Nora turned the Droid around so its sensor light faced the Princewill. She was glad to have routine tasks for her hands and routine questions for her mouth—something to focus on so she wouldn’t get flustered and lose control of her brain’s Online connection again. “Have you had problems with her before?”

“No. She gets a monthly checkup from the royal technicians, and this is the first real problem she’s ever had. ”

Leaning forward, Princewill Arthur picked up Nora’s small metal foot from the worktable, turning it curiously over in his palms. Nora tensed, watching as he peered into the wire-filled cavity, fiddled with the flexible joints of the toes. He used the too-long sleeve of his sweatshirt to polish off a smudge.

“Aren’t you hot?” Nora said, instantly regretting the question when his attention returned to her.

For the briefest moment, the Princewill almost looked embarrassed. “Dying,” he said, “but I’m trying to be inconspicuous. ”

Nora considered telling him it wasn’t working but thought better of it. The lack of a throng of screaming girls surrounding her booth was probably evidence that it was working better than she suspected. Instead of looking like a royal heartthrob, he just looked crazy.

Clearing her throat, Nora refocused on the Droid. She found the nearly invisible latch and opened its back panel. “Why aren’t the royal technicians fixing her?”

“They tried but couldn’t figure it out. Someone suggested I bring her to you. ” He set the foot down and turned his attention to the shelves of old and battered parts—parts for Droids, hovers, Onlinescreens, portscreens. Parts for Bots. “They say you’re the best technician in New Ireland. I was expecting an old man. ”

“Do they?” she murmured.

He wasn’t the first to voice surprise. Most of her customers couldn’t fathom how a teenage girl could be the best technician in the city, and she never broadcast the reason for her talent. The fewer people who knew she was a Bot, the better. She was sure she’d go mad if all the market shopkeepers looked at her with the same disdain as Redcap did.

She nudged some of the Droid’s wires aside with her pinkie. “Sometimes they just get worn out. Maybe it’s time to upgrade to a new model. ”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. She contains top-secret information. It’s a matter of national security that I retrieve it…before anyone else does. ”

Fingers stalling, Nora glanced up at him.

He held her gaze a full five seconds before his lips twitched. “I’m just joking. Nissi was my first Droid. It’s kinda sentimental. ”

An orange light flickered in the corner of Nora’s vision. Her optobionics had picked up on something, though she didn’t know what—an extra swallow, a too-quick blink, a clenching of the Princewill’s jaw. She was used to the little orange light. It came up all the time.

It meant that someone was lying.

“National security,” she said. “Funny. ”

The Princewill listed his head, as if challenging her to contradict him. A strand of brown hair fell into his eyes. Nora looked away.

“Tech 5 model,” she said, reading the faintly lit panel inside the plastic cranium. The Droid was nearly thirty years old. Ancient for an Droid. “She looks to be in pristine condition. ”

Raising her fist, she thunked the Droid hard on the side of its head, barely catching it before it toppled over onto the table. The Princewill jumped.

Nora set the Droid back on its treads and jabbed the power button but nothing happened. “You’d be surprised how often that works. ”

The Princewill let out a single, awkward chuckle. “Are you sure you’re Camy Nora? The technician?”

“Nora! I’ve got it!” Tim wheeled out of the crowd and up to the worktable, her blue sensor flashing. Lifting one pronged hand, she slammed a brand-new steel-plated foot onto the desk, in the shadow of the Princewill’s Droid. “It’s a huge improvement over the old one, only lightly used, and the wiring looks compatible as is. Plus, I was able to get the dealer down to just 600 univs. ”

Panic jolted through Nora. Still balancing on her human leg, she snatched the foot off the table and dropped it behind her. “Good work, Tim. Tragot boly will be delighted to have a replacement foot for his guard-droid. ”

Tim’s sensor dimmed. “Tragot boly? I don’t compute. ”

Smiling through locked teeth, Nora gestured at the Princewill. “Tim, please pay your respects to our customer. ” She lowered her voice. “His Imperial Princewill. ”

Tim craned her head, aiming the round sensor up at the Princewill, who towered more than two feet above her. The light flared as her scanner recognized him. “Princewill Arthur,” she said, her metallic voice squeaking. “You are even more handsome in person. ”

Nora’s stomach twisted in embarrassment, even as the Princewill laughed.

“That’s enough, Tim. Get in the booth. ”

Tim obeyed, pushing aside the tablecloth and ducking under the table.

“You don’t see a personality like that every day,” said Princewill Arthur, leaning against the booth’s door frame as if he brought Droids to the market all the time. “Did you program her yourself?”

“Believe it or not, she came that way. I suspect a programming error, which is probably why my stepmother got her so cheap. ”

“I do not have a programming error!” said Tim from behind her.

Nora met the Princewill’s gaze, was caught momentarily dazzled by another easy laugh, and ducked her head back behind his Droid.

“So what do you think?” he asked.

“I’ll need to run her diagnostics. It will take me a few days, maybe a week. ” Tucking a strand of hair behind one ear, Nora sat down, grateful to give her leg a rest while she examined the Droid’s innards. She knew she must be breaking some rule of etiquette, but the Princewill didn’t seem to mind as he tipped forward, watching her hands.

“Do you need payment up front?”