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"By the Creators," the unicorn answered. Well, naturally. I had to ask.
"Who are the Creators?"
"Steven and Katrina Ashton." Obviously. I must remind myself to think before I speak. So I thought for a moment. "So you were created to protect me. Is that all?"
"I am also programmed to protect your brother and any friends you might have with you. My maximum efficiency range is five people. If my single efforts are not enough I can combine with my counterpart, Dragon zero-zero-six, to form stage two."
"Is that Dragon 006," I asked as I pointed to the other machine.
"I am," answered the dragon. That gave us a little start. "Why are you surprised? The activation signal was sent to both of us so that we could activate at the same time. Where are the Creators? Who activated us?"
"I did," Bria told him (I had begun to think of them in more human terms; talking with something can do that to you). "Steven and Katrina are missing. We came down here to find out where they might have gone and I happened to stumble and touch the unicorn. Are you two robots?"
"We are not." The unicorn almost sounded offended. "We are androids; a much higher form of intelligence."
"Can you actually think," Jon asked. "And if you (he pointed to the unicorn) are programmed to protect Jade then are you (he pointed to the dragon) programmed to protect me?"
"We can and I am," the dragon answered.
This was way cool. We had our own personal android bodyguards and they could talk and think almost like a normal person. I repeat, this was way cool. I wondered what kinds of things they could do. Then a more serious thought came to my mind.
"Can you find our parents," I asked.
"Yes. If they have their SA (Satellite Assistance) watches I will be able to pinpoint their exact location at this moment. But they do not have their watches with them."
"How do you know?"
"The watches on that desk are the ones I was talking about."
"So then you can't find them." I somehow accepted this calmly.
"There are other ways to find them," the dragon said.
"What ways," Jon asked.
"We have just been activated for the first time and we are not fully on-line and networked yet. We are currently at half percent. It will take a couple more minutes for us to be at optimum because we must run diagnostics on all of our systems to be sure that they are running properly."
"Ok," Bria said. "Let's go upstairs for a little while, guys. We can wait a few minutes."
"That sounds good. I need to think about all this," Jon replied. So the three of us went back upstairs. Jon and Bria went into the family room to listen to music. I told them I needed a nap then headed upstairs to my room. Just before I closed the door I heard the voice of Rebecca St. James traveling up the stairs.
Music was good for thinking so I decided to turn the radio on low. Mom must've been cleaning again 'cause the station was a Christian one. Some preacher was talking. I was gonna switch it, but then he said something that stopped me. He was talking about human nature and why we do what we do. That was part of what I was thinking about. Like, what were Mom and Dad working on? Were those robots, excuse me, androids part of their work? Probably. But what were they doing that was so dangerous that they thought we needed protection? And why would someone kidnap our parents (we had all decided that's what happened) and leave all of their work here? How could someone kidnap our parents at all? I just didn't understand why anyone would do this. I listened to the man on the radio.
"So when we say human nature we mean something that we can't help doing, something that takes a conscious effort to correct.
Well, you may ask, why don't criminals take that conscious effort to fix themselves? Because, once you give in to bad habits it takes a great amount of will and self-motivation to get back on the right track. The bottom line is they're just lazy. Some of them want to be bad; they like being bad and I really don't know why except maybe they want to be different from everyone else and they don't know any other way to do it.
Everyone needs love, peace, and joy. Everyone wants love, comfort, and happiness."
That's true, I thought. I want love, comfort and happiness. But what's the difference between comfort and peace? And happiness and joy?
"Even most criminals," the guy went on "want these things. They just think that the wrong way to get them is easier. But there are those who hate love, peace and joy. I don't know why except maybe something went wrong when they were young. Maybe they were taught the wrong things. Maybe some of them just have a mental problem."
That sounds right, I thought. That's probably what it is. Only someone who was mentally wrong would want hate and conflict and sorrow. Only someone with something wrong would kidnap my parents.
Where were they right now? Were they scared? Were they hurt? No. Dad wouldn't let anyone hurt him or Mom if he could help it.
I realized how much I had underestimated them and taken them for granted. Well, when we found them I would tell them how much I loved and appreciated them. After telling myself to remember this I sat on my bed. Then I noticed music. The guy had finished talking. Someone was singing; it was Rebecca St. James.
Sometimes my life just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big, and my faith just seems so small
And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul, there must be blisters on my heart
(chorus)
Hold me Jesus, I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory, won't You be my Prince of Peace
Hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory, Won't You be my Prince of Peace
This was something to fall asleep to. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling Jesus hold me. Feeling at peace.
Surrender don't come naturally to me
I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want
Than take what you give that I need
Surrender don't come naturally to me
And I beat my head against so many walls
And I'm falling down, falling on my knees
Saying hold me Jesus
Please hold me Jesus
As I listened to the chorus again I felt my worries and my fears slip away, and I fell asleep under a blanket of peace.
When I opened my eyes sunlight was streaming through my window.
As the thoughts of yesterday came back to me I determined not to let them bring me down. I would be brave and strong. The sunlight gave me a courage I had not felt yesterday.
I suddenly noticed the unicorn sitting a few feet away. When she saw that I recognized her she spoke.
"Good morning Jade. Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. Thank you. Did you really want to know or were you just programmed to ask?"
"In a way the answer is both. I am programmed to look after your well being. Several pieces of my hardware are for monitoring your health. In fact, it would help if you could put these on." As she spoke, a panel that I hadn't seen, opened on her chest and a stack of skin colored disks in a little holder came out.
"What are they," I asked, eyeing them warily.
"They are monitors. They tap into your nervous system and tell me how you are doing."
"Oh." I digested this before asking, "They won't hurt at all?"
"No. After a little pin prick you won't feel a thing and they are designed to blend with your skin so that no one will know you are wearing them."
"Ok," I said, remembering that my parents would never make anything that might hurt us.
Unicorn showed me where to put them. Four went on my chest in the shape of a cross. One went on each side of my head at the temples. One went at the bottom curve in my spine, one in the middle of my spine, and one on the level of my shoulders. One went on the bottom of each foot. One on the back of each ankle and each knee. And finally, one at the base of my skull. For that last one Unicorn, with one of her many hidden tools, shaved a little circle where the disk would go. Bria, who had come upstairs while Jon put his on, put that last disk on for me since I couldn't see to put it on myself. After that Bria and I put on clean clothes.
Bria told me that while I was sleeping they had discussed what options we had and they had decided we would go to Mom and Dad's work headquarters just to see if they knew anything. The androids knew the way, so Jon would drive and Dragon would give him directions.
"It's a good thing he got his license because I don't think the androids can drive," I said.
"How come you didn't get yours," Bria asked as she helped me pack a small bag of stuff. We didn't know how long it was going to take to find Mom and Dad so we were planning for a road trip. I hoped it wouldn't take too long.
"It's just a little scary. I mean you're moving a machine that's ten times your size at very fast speeds. I guess it's kind of daunting," I replied.
Just as we finished putting all our stuff for the trip in the family room (there was a door connecting it to the garage) the police arrived. We had decided to tell them that the government would take care of finding our parents since they were employees. Dragon and Unicorn stayed in the family room while we talked to the officers.
"Have your parents contacted you at all since we were last here," the first officer asked us right away.
"No," Jon answered him. We had nominated him to be our speaker.
"Do you remember them saying anything about going somewhere? Did you find any note that might explain where they went," asked the second officer.
"No and no."
"And you said this isn't normal for them, they're normally here all day," the first officer asked.
"Right. They were very stay-at-home parents. Besides, they left all their work out on the tables and they never do that. They're very neat and organized.
"The girls and I have discussed this and we're sure our parents' employers will take care of everything. Our parents worked for a government research facility and the government probably has better means for finding our parents, so you guys don't have to worry about it anymore."
The policemen were quiet for a moment as they took in this information. Then the first one spoke.
"Are you sure your parents' employers will help?"
"Yeah. Our parents would check in with them every week at the same time. In fact, the people are probably wondering at this very moment why our parents haven't called yet."
"Then why haven't they called to see what's wrong?"
"Mom once told me that they give them up to 24 hours delay," I told the officer. "They'll probably call after lunch."
"Yeah," Jon added. "They probably will. We could call you after lunch and tell you what they say."
"Ok. I don't totally agree with this, but I don't want to mess with this when the government is involved. You be sure to call us. Ok?" His look told us it was not a request.
"Yes sir," Jon said. "We will. Thank you for helping us." We saw the policemen to the door then went back to the family room to make sure we had everything we needed.
After lunch we sat at the kitchen table and waited for the phone to ring. Then Bria pulled something out of her back pocket.
"Hey. I just remembered. I found this downstairs when we were looking through your parents' stuff." The book she put on the table was one of the composition notebooks that our parents used for logging their project information. This one said: Project Diary 016b: 006 - 008.
"That book explains how we were made," Unicorn told us.
"Well, it does say project diary," I replied. Then I had an idea. "Maybe it tells why you were made. If it does then we can figure out who kidnapped Mom and Dad." I picked up the book and opened it to the first page, but before I could read anything the phone rang. Jon picked it up.
"Ashton residence. How may I help you?" Bria and I huddled next to him and he held the phone so we could all hear.
"May I speak with one of your parents please," said a serious yet pleasant voice.
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Donald White; your parents' boss." We all looked relieved.
"Mr. White, I have some bad news. Our parents have been missing since yesterday afternoon."
There was a short silence, then, "I see. So you have not seen them since yesterday morning?"
"Yes. So, are you going to search for them?"
"Of course. They are very important people. Does anyone else (besides you) know that they are missing?"
"We did tell the police, but then we remembered that our parents work for the government so we told them that you'd take care of everything."
"You did the right thing. Would you be willing to come here and answer some questions?"
"Sure. We don't want to stay here anyway. It's kind of creepy with our parents gone. So, should we come today?"
"Yes. As soon as you can. Could you bring your parents' latest project diary with you? It might help in some way."
"Is it the one that says 016b: 006 - 008?"
"Yes. That's the one."
"Ok. We also found something else we think you should see."
"Good. You can tell me all about it when you get here. By the way, do you have our address?"
"Don't worry. We found very clear instructions on how to get there."
"Oh. I see. Well then, I guess I'll see you later. Good bye."
"Bye." Jon hung up the phone. "Well, let's get the car packed."
After we finished packing the car we gathered in the kitchen to make sure we had taken care of everything.
"Ok," Jon said. "Is everything we might need packed?"
"Clothing, sleeping bags, pillows, little extras, toothbrushes and such. . . I guess so," Bria answered. "We don't need a first aid kit 'cause we have two walking health monitors with us. We don't need the laptop or the cell phone or even the MP3 player (they told me they have one built in). All we have to do is make sure everything's turned off, lock the door, and leave."
Jon went down to the basement to straiten things up and make sure we didn't forget anything, Bria checked all the windows and the front door to make sure they were locked, and I made sure everything was turned off. When Jon came back upstairs he had those two watches of Mom and Dad's. He said he would give them to our parents when we found them. Then all of us piled into the car and we were off.
As we traveled to Washington DC I wondered what we might find there. Would our parents' headquarters be in some big fancy office structure, or an out of the way, nondescript building? And their boss sounded nice on the phone, but what would he look like? Would he be surprised to see the androids? Would he let us look for our parents or would he insist that we leave it to the professionals? I hoped it wouldn't take too long to get there.