Meet Your Maker
Robotics engineer finds the end result of one of his projects in a pretty unlikely place.
Meet Your Maker
With the dull hum of his monitor adding to the natural white noise of his home office, Isaac leaned back in his chair. He brings a paw to his face and rubs his eyes, sighing in frustration at having spent the past 8 hours glued to his seat, hyper-fixated on his task. To him, the 'funniest' part of it was, he wasn't even working. Sure, it may be somewhat work related, but, this was really entirely out of his own volition. For a moment, he stopped, and recalled what had sent him down this wild 'goose' chase: A single, somewhat blurry photo. He pulled the image back up on his second monitor and just stared at it for a bit, then putting his head in his paws and groaning.
Early that morning he'd gotten an email from his coworker with that image attached, along with what was surely something typed in jest: "Hey Isaac, that looks like the prototype you did, yeah? Hah, too bad he's not got those orange tags, would've surely been interesting..." Initially, the lion was not phased by this. The wolverine did look pretty similar to the prototype he helped work on, but it didn't really click initially. Maybe he had just been too tired to notice the first time, but, while looking over the image again, he began to notice faint, but distinct details. A lot of information could be gleaned off the attachment... Especially with what is considered a 'blurry' photo in 2030. After a few minutes spent making mental notes, the lion realized he had gigabytes of extremely high resolution photos of his work. He plugged an external drive into his computer and opened the most recent file on it. Inside was nearly 60 images of his company's most recent 'venture'. Each image was taken about 20 degrees from each other around a central point, at three different heights, which made finding a reference just about the easiest part of this process.
Over the next few hours, Isaac took note of every little similarity that could be used to identify the... Person, in the photo. He struggled to come to terms with that word, mulling over it in silence as he zoned out. However, he drew himself from his thoughts and continued with his work, the light outside his apartment fading. By the time he would've been eating dinner, he'd finally gained near complete confidence in the fact that, this was indeed 'his' work. The realization had occurred much earlier on in the process, that 'someone' out there had been created, in part, by him. This didn't dull the edge that had, just today, been firmly pressed to his psyche. As it neared the end of the day, the lion's search had finally procured something of value: A single forum post from 2 weeks prior.
The self-named Gauss, an up and coming racer in the other side of the city, happened to perfectly match the visual description Isaac was looking for. It certainly helped that Gauss did have one incredibly unique visual... gimmick, at least according to Isaac initially. That didn't make much sense though, and Isaac eventually settled on it being more of a disguise than anything. Regardless, he was now completely sure that Gauss was the person he was looking for. By browsing a few other threads on the site, he figured that the next time he'd be able to catch the wolverine would be 2 days from now. Unwilling to let this opportunity slide, he started making plans immediately. It'd take an hour to get there on public transportation, and the race would be at night, leaving him pretty much free to still work that day, thankfully. He booked a hotel in the area, too, knowing that he'd rather not take public transportation back at, well, 2 at night. Past all that, the lion had to figure how he'd even get the wolverine's attention. Gauss didn't seem to be too popular by any means, but, if he's hiding as he is, he'll certainly be a bit 'shy'. To make things more complicated, Isaac certainly doesn't seem like the type to be at one of those events, making his sudden appearance, and eagerness to question the wolverine quite suspect. Regardless of these things, the lion was determined, and could at least prepare himself for the 'confrontation'. It was well past 1am now, though, and Isaac was beginning to fall asleep at his desk, so he called it for the night, resolving to continue his planning the next day.
Woken by a disgruntled stomach, the lion got up quickly to make himself a large breakfast, since he'd not eaten since breakfast the previous day. Eating quickly, he went right back to his desk, finalizing the travel plans. Thankful for it being the weekend, Isaac was able to stay home for the remainder of the day too, feeling confident enough in his plan for the following day by the end of this one. Since he had work in the morning, he didn't stay up nearly as late, setting alarms and reminders for himself before falling asleep. Waking up bright and early, he eats a quick breakfast and rides the subway to work. Work, with the anticipation of the latter part of the day, was dreadfully slow, and Isaac found himself getting antsy even hours before he'd be able to leave. Sighing in relief once he was able to leave, he quickly made his way out of the building, and back home. His dinner was quick, with his attention split as he reviewed and re-reviewed all of his plans, then taking a short time to relax before he was ready to head out.
Despite the amazing public transportation in his city, it still took about an hour to reach the supposed start for the race, leaving little time for the lion to try and spot Gauss before things were set in motion. Thankfully, the wolverine's animated, helmet-mounted LED panel stuck out like a sore thumb, allowing the lion to pretty easily identify Gauss' car. Despite being unable to identify the car, or even the brand, Isaac figured that it was probably made before the start of the millennium, and has been heavily modified since. Since the race was ending where it started, Isaac found a spot to lie low until the race was over, where he could then confront and try to make contact with the wolverine. Still able to see the starting line, the lion watched patiently as the racers got in their vehicles and set about preparing for the start, then lining up more evenly. As the race started, the modifications made to Gauss' car became pretty clear, despite them being beneath the hood. The sleek 2-door seemed to jolt from the starting line, rocketing past the competition. Most of the engines were nearly deafening, though Isaac noticed Gauss' to be... nearly silent? As far from car savvy as Isaac was, he could tell in an instant that the car had been modified to use electric motors while accelerating, if it wasn't entirely electric.
Before the rest of the cars even had a chance to catch up, Gauss had turned the first corner, leaving Isaac a little surprised, though also admiring the wolverine's handiwork. Isaac checked the time on his phone: 8:39, late enough to make the lion a bit worried about being out, but early enough to consider the night young still. He recalled that the end of the sprint was a few blocks away, though the race itself did not follow that path. Conveniently, though in no way coincidental, there was a small meetup at the end of the race, which the sprint was intended to lead right into. As unnerved as Isaac was being out alone at this time, he was determined to make a move tonight, and so he began walking to the location of the meet. He tried 'rehearsing' what he'd planned to say to the wolverine while he walked, but found it made him come off as unnatural, or at least just.. weird. Isaac eventually settled on essentially winging it, and going with whatever leads he could grab a hold of to make it work, coming to this conclusion just as he arrives at his destination. Looking to the right, he saw a decent sized car lot, next to what he figured was a department store of sorts, though it was really only the groundwork for such. Seemed as though construction had just halted, for whatever reason. Regardless, the space seemed more than suitable for a meet, and a few cars had already parked, though none of which were in the sprint. Walking onto the lot, Isaac checked his phone: 8:42.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, the lion made his way over to one of the cars, checking it out idly as he waited for the sprint to end. Isaac, again, wasn't all too familiar with cars, though he could certainly admire the thought behind the design of certain parts, or the construction of others. He noticed that, although he didn't feel particularly welcome, that was only due to his own preconceived notions of what a group like this might be like. Watching many of the other car owners chatting and laughing about things, he figured the group was surprisingly tight knit, despite most folks being strangers to one another, or even rivals. Although, he didn't get to ogle for too long before he heard, and then saw the end of the sprint, Gauss' car leading the pack, slowing down and turning into the parking lot. It seemed that he'd won, and Isaac grew more impressed at that, though this was almost all beside the point. It took a few moments for everything to settle down, the new participants of the meeting parking in open spots, most getting out of their cars afterwards. Gauss was no exception, and he leaned on his car, the LED display on his helmet showing an animated yawn as he tilted his head back, presumably doing the thing his mask was emulating beneath it. Isaac milled about for a few more minutes before steeling himself and approaching the wolverine, doing his best to nonchalantly strike up some conversation.
"Hey, I saw the start of that race and, well, it was pretty impressive. Is it all electric?"
That helmeted head turned to the lion, causing him to seize up a bit, now getting quite nervous. Gauss didn't seem to react in any particular manner to the lion's 'vibe', responding in a casual tone. Isaac saw that an ellipsis was displayed when the wolverine spoke.
"No, not entirely. I'm not exactly a mechanic... I just strapped two motors to the front axle, really. Works well enough for now, but the batteries are heavy."
Isaac nodded, easing up as he settled into a relatively comfortable (for him) conversation about the pros and cons of the car's current setup. Isaac ended up giving some advice that was useful to the wolverine, or at least he assumed it was, judging by the wolverine's acknowledgements. After a few minutes, Isaac ran out of things that his engineering expertise could touch on, and so he decided he'd try and make his move before he ran out of steam.
"Well.. Speaking of wiring, that helmet is really cool... Mind if I look at it? I... I mean, doesn't have to be here or anything, I presume you've got it on for a reason. It, uh, it'd be cool to see what's under too."
He'd stumbled over his words a bit, and realized just after he'd said it that it seemed like flirting more than anything else, worrying that he kinda blew his shot. His cheeks flushed red a bit, and he figured that didn't help his case, but, it ultimately did. The wolverine chuckled a little, and although the helmet didn't show it, the smirk beneath it was obvious to the lion. To Isaac's surprise, the racer was almost... eager to show off, as though he craved attention from a 'fan' of sorts. The lion's ears flicked some, catching a quiet rumble from the other male.
"You got a place you're stayin'?"
"Uh.. Yeah.. I do, yeah."
"Tell ya what... Get in, tell me where to go, and you can look as much as you want."
Isaac was pretty shocked at the result of what he believed to be a faux-pas; Turns out his nervousness helped sell his 'interest' in the wolverine, regardless of what the lion truly felt. If he thought too much, he might've been weirded out by it, but his urgency prevented that. He nodded, carefully opening the passenger side door and getting in, looking around the inside of the car. It was nothing if not spartan, with most things stripped out of the inside, presumably to make up for the batteries in the back. Despite how 'deconstructed' the interior was, the passenger side seat was comfortable, and the large lion relaxed in it as the wolverine got in the driver's seat, starting the car and carefully pulling out. Over the next few minutes, the lion directed Gauss on where to go, and they arrived at his hotel a little after 9. Isaac's nerves started getting to him once more, his tail tip flicking some. Despite this, he got out of the car, waiting for the wolverine to do the same before walking into the hotel.
The lobby was nearly empty, with few more folks at the bar. Isaac had already checked in, and so he pressed his phone to the card reader beside the elevator door, which opened a moment later with a satisfying buzz from his phone. The two entered, and the lion waited as the doors closed, the elevator automatically lifting to the 3rd floor, according to his reservation. Gauss was quiet the whole time, though didn't seem offput or anything of the sort, just... quiet. However, once in the room, the wolverine was eager for some attention, still. The smaller, stockier male sat down on the edge of the single bed, and looked up to the lion, who was still standing, a little unsure of what to do.
"Well? You said you wanted to see."
"A-ah, right.. sorry."
Catching a quick breath, the lion moved forward and, placed his large paws firmly on either side of that sleek helmet. Slowly, and ever so carefully, Isaac pulled that helmet up, and off of the wolverine's head. He placed it down on the bed rather quickly, not giving himself time to look at the wolverine's face, and then, looking right into those eyes, then around them. Isaac recognized almost instantly... The color of his eyes, and the bright orange, albeit small, marking in that fur. He let out a bated breath, saying softly to himself, "It... It really is you...." Gauss' ears flicked curiously at this, and he cocked his head some.
"Uh... Huh?"
Isaac took a few deep breaths, then looking into those eyes one more time and stating, with more conviction than anything he'd uttered to the wolverine previously:
"I... I helped make you."
This is my first time writing something of this caliber in... well, ever. Feel free to comment with constructive criticism, or spelling mistakes, etc. More information about Isaac can be found here