Page 91 of Cozy Prisons
“You named the mover bot Bop?” Daxus asked.
Nataly giggled. “It fits. You know, because the bad leg makes her ‘bop’ when she walks.” She looked around until she spotted someone. “Riff, can you come over here and explain how easy it would be to fix Bop?”
Riff said something to her wife, then jogged over and spoke to the crew member. “All she needs is a mid-leg joint assembly. It would only take me a few hours, uh, marks to swap it out.”
“You’re a very clever human,” the crew said in a tone of voice Daxus knew wouldn’t go over well with the humans. “But we don’t bother fixing mover bots when they get like this. We simply replace them. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a shiny, new bot instead?”
“No, it wouldn’t be nicer to have a new bot,” Nataly said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Riff. “Bop is a loyal, hard-working bot who doesn’t deserve to be left behind because she isn’t perfect anymore.”
Riff nodded in agreement. “We don’t need another bot because this one is easy to fix.”
Utharium joined them and motioned to the crew member to follow him. “Let’s speak privately, away from the humans.”
“Certainly,” the crew member agreed, and the two of them moved a little distance away. Daxus remained with Nataly, Riff, and Bop.
“You two aren’t on Dandilow II any longer,” he reminded the women. “There’s no need to conserve possessions. Mover bots like this one are cheap to replace.”
Nataly put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. “Bop carried all of Grace, Merrick, Maeve’s, and my stuff out of danger. It walked all the way to us in the woods and carried everything back, including me. She’s a good bot and shouldn’t be left here to rust simply because one of her legs isn’t working fully.”
Daxus knew he shouldn’t say it, but couldn’t help himself. “You speak like it has feelings. It’s not sentient.”
Both Riff and Nataly gasped at him with dramatic flair, almost as if they’d practiced it.
Riff slapped her hands over the sensor cluster at the front of the bot. “Don’t listen to him, Bop. We know the truth.”
Nataly shook her head at Daxus. “How could you say such a thing? Bop is practically family. She’s like the little sister I never had.”
The crew member sounded a startled rattle. Utharium and the crew member were both staring at her. They must’ve finished their conversation and returned in time to hear Nataly’s outrageous statement.
The crew looked at Utharium. “She can’t be serious.”
Utharium sounded an amused rumble. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Humans do tend to get attached to all kinds of things. They don’t need to be sentient. I’ve heard they used to make pets out of rocks. Rocks can’t even move on their own.”
The crew member sounded another surprised rattle. “I read that they’re affectionate, but I never realized they were so quick to form emotional connections. Do you think they’d be in distress if we left the mover behind?”
No sooner did the crew member ask then both Riff and Nataly started petting and cooing to the bot.
“You’re the best mover ever, Bop,” Nataly said.
“Not only will we get you an entire leg, but I’ll service all the other legs too,” Riff said.
Daxus barely kept his rumble of amusement bottled up. These two were entertaining and absolutely adorable. If they were this determined, he might as well go along with it.
“Please don’t cry,” Daxus said, stepping close to Nataly. “I know you already lost everything when the fault swallowed your nest and possessions, but we won’t make you leave the bot behind.”
“She’s all I have left!” Nataly wailed.
Next to her, Riff pretended to cry. “I’m sorry, Bop. I’m trying, but no one cares about you as much as us.”
“They’re truly upset,” the crew member said, obviously astonished.
Utharium sounded a rumble of agreement. “They could become despondent without the mover bot. Please check with the captain to see if there’s any way we could fit this bot. I wouldn’t want to cause any of the humans further distress, not after the entire village was destroyed."
The crew member sounded a soothing rumble. “I hadn't thought of that. Of course, they’d become attached to the fewthings that weren’t destroyed. Let me check, we might be able to fit the bot if we shift some things around.”
The crew member turned away while unclipping her Ident.
Nataly and Riff exchanged a look before stepping away and going about their business as if they hadn’t been clinging to a mover bot as if it were an ailing family member.
