SAISHO17-CC pt.2

A knock sounded at the door - an older man with gray hair and a lab coat let himself in. He had a slight hunchback.

"Ah, Professor Doctor Rheintal, I was just explaining to Lobert why I brought him here."

Christina seemed pleased by his appearance.

She looked over to Lobert.

"It is a shame, but for today we must bid farewell."

"I'll take the boy from here, if you don't mind." The old man had a smoky but gentle voice.

He held the door open for Lobert.

Lobert looked back at the room one last time, he hadn't really paid attention before, but the room was virtually empty, with only a small holographic pedestal in the center of the small hexagonal room.

A strange shape for a room, Lobert thought.

The room was painted white and lit with a clinical white light.

Christina smiled and waved goodbye to him.

One amazement was followed by another.

The small hexagonal room Christina was in was just a small part in the middle of a much larger room.

It was an incredibly futuristic room, the likes of which Lobert had only ever seen on a screen.

Everything was metallic and shiny.

There was generous illumination throughout, and countless screens and holographic projectors dotted the room.

The hum of countless computers, probably working on some complex problem, echoed through the room and the air was muggy.

Scientists scurried about the room, noting things down on their tablets as they muttered to themselves.

Professor Rheintal must have been the lead scientist here, because unlike the other researchers, whose lab coats were a light ash gray in color, his was a pure white.

At some spots there were some sort of work islands where more men in lab coats were surrounded by desks that surrounded them entirely, fully loaded in screens and projections stacked on top of each other.

No doubt he must have been in the central districts, Lobert thought. He had never dreamed of experiencing the future in the flesh.

This was the real thing.

Lobert began to take what Christina had said a little more seriously.

"Everything you hear within these walls should stay within these walls, do you understand?" Professor Rheintal said.

"Yes."

"Answer in complete sentences when you talk to me." Professor Rheintal demanded.

"Yes I understand, Professor Rheintal."

The old man revealed a smile and nodded with satisfaction.

"You're probably a little overwhelmed with the situation here."

Lobert waited for Rheintal’s next sentence.

"Answer when spoken to." Rheintal said in an admonishing tone.

Lobert was a bit irritated by the professor, he didn't know that he expected an answer after all.

"It's all happening a little too fast for me." Lobert admitted.

The professor nodded understandingly.

"For now, we'll do a basic overhaul of your appearance. Do you object to body modifications or plastic surgery?" Professor Rheintal asked.

"I prefer my natural self, I want my mother to be able to recognize me at the end of the day."

"I understand, of course." The professor had no pejorative tone in his voice.

He added, "But a haircut and new clothes are unavoidable."

"I have no problem with that."

The professor nodded in approval.

"After that is done you will visit your new apartment and then that would be everything for today."

The professor walked out of the room and Lobert followed.

They walked through white corridors with pipes and cables running along the ceilings. A few researchers with light gray coats came towards them, but they were completely absorbed in their work and did not pay any attention to them.

A little further on, the elevator was already waiting for them.

So this is where he came from, Lobert thought to himself.

They boarded the elevator, large enough for 15 people, designed for heavy loads, research equipment, for example.

Now in the elevator, Lobert could hardly believe his eyes.

The display showed 221 floors. 221!

He could not imagine how big this building was.

So he simply asked, "How big is this skyscraper?" Lobert was incredibly curious.

The professor  tapped the 150th floor into the display.

"For someone who's never been in one, that must be quite impressive." The professor laughed heartily, perhaps he was a bit nicer than Lobert first assumed.

"Measured from sea level, 1000 meters, and from ground level, 850 meters."

The elevator went up and accelerated.

Lobert noticed it before, but this elevator was pretty darn fast.

It was the longest elevator trip he ever had despite the fact that this elevator was so damn fast.

In the blink of an eye, the elevator could whiz past three floors at once.

The elevator decelerated and then came to a stop. Cling.

They had arrived at the 150th floor and the doors opened.

×

Lobert found himself in the same parking garage he had been in earlier. The car from earlier was still there, along with one of the women in black.

But Lobert did not remember her from earlier, probably someone else. They all looked so similar, after all.

The woman was a bit shorter than him, about the same age and athletically built.

The professor sat down in the back seat and Lobert sat next to him.

Lobert was about to close the door, but the woman did it for him before he had a chance to do it himself.

Lobert heard another door close; she must have been the driver.

The professor pressed a button on the side his seat and spoke, "Reiko sweetie, could you please take us to the Rayonnante hair salon." He released the button and the car started humming.

The button was probably there due to the back and front seats being separated, visually and auditory; without it, there wouldn't be a way to communicate.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you. The woman who is driving us is Reiko, she will be your bodyguard from today on."

"She doesn't look very strong to me." Lobert doubted.

It wasn't that she looked weak, but she didn't struck him as a fighter. She looked kind of plain, thanks to her not having many distinctive features...except...well, if Lobert had to describe her, he would point out her black hair, which wasn't very long, but he couldn't think of much else; Lobert wasn't good with faces anyway.

"Appearances can be deceiving." the professor countered .

"Beneath her delicate figure are muscles strengthened by carbon fibers and an artificial arm. I'm sure if she had to she could snap your neck with two fingers, but luckily for you, that's not her job."

That was enough to convince Lobert; after all, he had no knowledge about body modifications or muscle reinforcements. He knew they existed, though.

"Her job is to chauffeur and protect you - and yes, even when you're in the bathroom." The professor added.

"Can't I do without a bodyguard?" Lobert asked, hoping he could continue to take a dump in peace.

"You can't, you'll be needing her."

"Can she at least leave me alone in the bathroom?" Lobert loved his privacy in the bathroom, he wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"No, that's not an option." There was no negotiating with the professor, to Lobert's disappointment.

"You don't seem to realize it, Casper probably hasn't gotten around to explaining it to you yet-"

Casper? Lobert briefly rummaged through his mental register of names.

Ah yes, Casper, Christina's other name.

"Why don't you call Casper Christina?" Lobert interrupted the professor without thinking.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to you, is that clear? I guess you still need to be taught proper manners!" the professor scolded in a stern tone.

"Yes, I'm sorry Professor Rheintal, I won't do it again." Lobert apologized.

"Very well, kid. Now...to your question...I call SAISHO Casper because that's the name we gave her when she was first being developed. But for some reason she doesn't like that name as of late and now wants to be called Christina instead. She is a real puzzle to me." the professor admitted.

"If I could I would also give myself a new name, Ryzel for example, that sounds cool."

The professor didn't seem entirely thrilled.

For a while there was an uncomfortable silence, at least for Lobert.

"Can I open the car window?" Lobert asked.

He was hoping to get a good look at the central districts up close, but the windows were blacked out, so there was nothing he could see.

"No, they are there for your safety." again, the professor did not compromise.

"Honestly professor, who would want to kill me? I'm not even officially the Arbiter yet. And if I am then I'll just play the obedient dog. No problem."

Lobert was already annoyed by the things he was prohibited from doing before even being the arbiter.

"But you're not supposed to be the obedient dog, but now that you mention it again, you wouldn't let me talk earlier."

The professor gave Lobert a criticizing look.

"Christina probably hasn't told you yet, but the arbiter only exists so it's easier to control the government. The public may think that you were elected by highly qualified scientists like me, and that your will, words and values are absolute. But the fact is that instead of keeping a bunch of politicians in their pockets, it is easier to have only you in the palm of their hands, you are much easier to bribe or threaten. They will use any means to get you to submit to their demands. And if anything goes wrong, they can easily make you a scapegoat and then dispose of you. Do you finally get it now?"

"Yes Professor Rheintal, I understand."

Lobert knew this was all too good to be true.

"As long as you understand it now." the professor said.

The car drove some more and then Reiko announced their arrival over the intercom, and the car promptly came to a stop. 

Reiko opened the door for Lobert and held out her hand to him.

Lobert grasped the hand and was surprised at how firm her grip was. It almost hurt, but he didn't let it show.

After everyone got out, the car flew away, probably on autopilot; he hadn't seen another driver.