SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Copyright 2004 © Vasanthan Senguttuvan

Chapter 6

For two days after Rajan told me the news, I worked hard to get something on that. I couldn't find any documents on that. It is handled in a real core level. I didn't let others know what I'm doing. I even searched Madhu's dressing room.

It was 7.00am in the morning. I was going through the news paper. There were running pictures and lot of different kind of 3RD assistants in that paper. Very few read newspaper those days. I used to read because I woke up early in the morning and I don't do any other work on that time. I was going through the paper but I didn't concentrated on that, as I was thinking about the new bill.

Shanthi gave me a cup of coffee, when I was holding the paper. I folded the papers towards each other and through it in the air. My 3RD assistant Gini appeared above my head and caught the paper. It was above my head and I didn't notice that. As the newspaper was only a 3D image, paper disappeared in the air.

I looked at her when she gave me the coffee. She could help me by someway and so I asked “Are you able to solve most complex problems?”.

She wondered and responded after a while “Well, not as powerful as humans but I'm more than ordinary robots”

Now I looked at the coffee, thinking how to formulate the problem. The problem I'm thinking for two days. I was easily confused when I tried to formulate as words, and so I asked her a simple question “Will you ever want me to be your slave?”.

Her expressions was constant. She smiled gradually and turned towards the kitchen. She turned her head alone and said “Hope you had a nice coffee”, she wasn't stopping her movement at that moment.

“Hey...” I called her, but she went into the kitchen. I swayed my head with little disappointment. I took the coffee as fast as possible. I don't have any mode to taste that coffee. I placed the cup on the table in front of me and slowly slanted myself on the sofa closing my eyes. The floating table raised a little as I stretched my legs. As I woke early I felt little sloppy. I began to think of her, she will talk like this, not much different from my wife.

Suddenly I felt some pressure on my forelegs. It wasn't painful but the feeling was persisted. I woke up and saw Bask was running here and there. When I realized that the two Kg machine ran over my legs, I said “Oops”. Bask was not listening to that, but seemed that he was searching for something.

“What are you searching” I questioned with a surprise.

“Nothing, master, that small remote control”

“Keep searching other rooms also”

I didn't helped him to find out as I want to give him a work. If doesn't have any work it forecast some troubles ahead. Bask was a child robot. The remote control belongs to a old fashioned 2D screen where some images are displayed. They were much same as what my father was using. He calls something like 'TV'. I wondered what they get from a 2D image. We bought that 2D TV for Bask alone. It somehow helped Bask to spend time. And especially we avoid the breaks in our sex. It will be mostly wake up in midnight and call us. I will cover myself with a bed sheet and will open the door. When I opened the door Bask will tell “Come and play with me master”. It was difficult for me to convince Bask in the middle of love time. So I bought a 2D TV with a great difficult.

“Master I could not find that here” Bask shouted from my bedroom.

I sighed. May be Shanthi would have kept it hidden. She was arguing that it was not good to watch random pictures so frequently. She argued it was an self adapting amateur robot, and it could easily turn out to kill me. So I decided to let Shanthi take care of Bask. When I had asked Shanthi to take care of Bask I felt little guilty, as I'm asking a robot to brought up other robot.

Bask seems to intensify its search. Its not going to change its mind until it finds out the remote control. It was irritating for me to see that, so I decided to find for him. I thought Gini should be knowing the place and I called him.

“Gini, where is the damn remote control” I asked in a low voice. Gini pretend as if though it was thinking and responded “Its under this sofa”. I sighed again and then lifted up myself from the sofa.

“Gini lift this sofa” I commanded. As Gini could control my house, it could easily do that by reducing the gravity on that particular place. I took the remote control and shouted “Its her Bask”.

Bask came from the other room. I threw the remote as soon as I could see it. It caught the remote and went into its place. I have place the 2D screen next to my room, it was 32inch in diagonal. I saw it went into the room and I tried to seat myself on the sofa again. The sofa came down to normal position spontaneously. Before I get seated I thought I could spend some more time with Bask. So I walked towards the room where Bask was.

When I entered the room I saw Bask was holding the remote with its four arms and pushing the buttons with the extra arm in front of it. It held the remote well above its heights and operated it. I was watching its activities without its knowledge of my presence. I was standing by the door itself.

There are lot of entertainment informations sent for commercial purposes. Bask was getting trouble finding out its favorite 'Tom and Jerry show'. Its rate of pressing the buttons increased. Sometime later it pressed some settings without knowledge and the images turned out to be upside down. I smiled when I saw it got trouble in understanding what had happened. After a while it began searching and succeeded in getting the channel. Still it displayed upside down. I decided to help it and so I began to move towards bask. But bask did another job. It threw the remote somewhere and place the left side arms in the floor. Then with the other hands it made push up on the other side. In two tries it got itself upside down. It began to watch 2D screen upside down.

“Are you comfortable?” I asked with a little laugh.

“yeah, fine” It replied without change in its attention over the screen.

There is no more attention diversion, for some more time and so I decided to go back to hall.

When I reached the hall I thought its time to take bath. I made a turn and went to bathroom. “I will take bath and come” I told louder so as Shanthi could hear.

“Fine, Viji” She replied back with the same phase. But she was still in the kitchen.

When I moving towards bathroom I remembered my wife. She will hide as soon as I tell “I gonna take bath”. Once I tell like that I won't go to bathroom instead I will directly come to kitchen. Maya would take bath early at least before cooking. I will come stand behind her to tell “Come and help me to bath”. Once I said like that she will tell any one of “no time”, “no way”, “I have work”. No matter what she tells I will not listen. I will wait there for some more time, by that time she will be in agitated state. I relish her tension that looses her concentration on work. She would turn back and watch me frequently to check if I left for bath. Sometimes I would left but sometimes I will slowly comeback when she doesn't watch me and I will took whatever available from the kitchen. Especially I prefer to take oil preservatives. I will open the container in a moment I will pour a little on her, little enough to make her bath again. Mostly her back will be my target. She will get anger when I did like that. She would use whatever in her hand to beat me. But as she doesn't changed the way she tries to beat me, I will catch her hand as soon as she turns back to attack me.

I will catch her right hand with my one hand and I will hold her hip with the other. When she tries to remove my left hand from her hip I will catch that hand also, supporting her with my left hand itself. She had to slant a little as she can't stand when I drag both of my hands towards me. I would see her with a little closed eyes and say “Dear, don't worry I will help you to take bath, unlike you” She will be still angry but she can't release her from me and slowly she will give herself to take control. “I have many works, please” She would plead. Once I got mood I won't listen any words, and I will take her to the bathroom lifting her. If she talks too much I will rise her to my head and I would kiss her in her lips.

I got severe pain in my forehead when I hit the wall. I was thinking of my wife and turned a few steps away from the bathroom door. Now that day dream went off and there was pain in my head. I turned again and went into the bathroom. It was a big room and I reconstructed my bathroom so as to look like a jungle. There will be a water fall in that room. When someone enters for the first time they will be really surprised to see the bathroom with lot of plants and trees. They are all artificial greeneries. The room will have little light but the climate can well be changed. If I bring my wife to take bath it will take more than half an hour to complete the bath. She mostly has her 3RD assistants with her. Even when we took bath they will fly around her. It would be a fantastic day to watch her, when she blew her wet hair and the splashing water from her hair and those butterflies tries to catch the droplets thrown from her hair. Her laughs at the time would be precious to me, more than anything. It was the reason I would bring her to take bath with me.

I cried when I felt I lost my precious. I shouted as loud as I can. It would not been heard outside. I slowly came back to my normal mood. I stood under the water falls with no excitement or nothing. I stood there for sometime and then moved out of the falls. I wasn't wearing anything. I stood up in a stone like place in the bathroom, where I have kept the air blower. When I stood there a little stream of hot air blown over me. Within a minute I was completely dried up. Feeling of Maya corrupted me slowly and slowly but day by day.

I came out of bathroom wrapping a towel over me.

“Here is your cloths” Shanthi gave me the full set of dress.

I took that and turned towards the dressing room.

“Wait” She stopped me and combed my hair without my permission.

“Thanks”

“What do you mean by thanks?” She hesitated a little.

I gazed for a moment.

“OK, I won't tell again” I told when I moved towards dressing room. After two dozen steps I reached my dressing room. As soon I was standing before my dressing room I felt lose of my wait. I slowly entered into the room after the automatic doors opened themselves.

My dressing room has different gravitational force and so whoever enters into will float to the center of the great sphere. It was made of full of glasses. I can see every part of my body from there. I threw the towel and I looked me once, suddenly I remembered that I should meet Vasanth. I wore my cloths. I saw myself again. A five and half feet and 80Kg body was there. I placed both my hands on my face and I tried to remember what was my original face. I couldn't remember how was I originally be. “May be my father would have some photos of me” I thought. I saluted myself with a style looking at the glass and I came out of the dressing room.

It was 9.00am, and if I have to go to Vasanth house it will take two more hours before I could reach the council. I have to negotiate Madhu Mitha, a hard thing or I have to catch other route to get permission. I preferred short root and I called her with digital messenger. Gini was holding some portrait like image, inside that I could see Madhu Mitha. Her fairy would also display something like this.

“Madhu, how I'm looking?”

“Well not bad” She told after looking me top to bottom.

“I didn't wake up far past two days. What did you gave to me that day?”

“Nothing Madam, You were tired of long travel, thats it” I saw her face doesn't show any satisfaction

“Even I have completed your two days jobs Mam” She showed some improvement in her face. She enjoyed pushing works to others.

“By the way I would like to give you a surprise, Madhu” I was inducing a seduction in my words. “If you could allow me for a day” I added.

There was no response. She then finally decided and turned towards me. “OK but try to come as soon as possible” She told in a constant voice.

I quickly turned off the messenger by commanding Gini. It asked me “What is the surprise? Viji? If you could tell I would note it down to remember you”

“Who knows” I told when I put my shoes.

“Shanthi, Will be back soon” I told and started towards Vasanth house taking my car.