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Three of Five, Chapter 32
I just realized my magpie sprite has been collecting new journals to add to the friends list. To those of you who are new - Hello! You have read the warning, right? To those who added my journal to their lists, thank you!
I posted this chapter this morning and realized that reading this chapter cold might make one a trifle loopy. For that, I am unapologetic - I put the warning there for a reason, but the first chapter is here. There are characters in this fanfic that shaenon wishes she never heard of, because in about two or three chapters
chanlemur gets his wish.
Come and see the show!
Madblood emerged from the medical pod to find Sela in attendance, this time. “Lovelace has laundered the selections Charlotte bought this afternoon. I can assist you with the fit, if necessary.”
“I believe I know how to dress myself, Sela.” Then Madblood picked up the burgundy cloth from the pile on the chair, and it unfolded in an unexpected manner, “or perhaps not. These do not seem to be finished.”
“They are somewhat western Pacifica in design - here, let me help.” Sela tied, wrapped and tucked the professor into the garment, which turned out to be loose trousers. “She said she wasn’t sure what size your feminine form would be. Will this suit?”
“Oh, they fit like hakama. Yes, this will work. And the shirt is…” Lupin picked it up, “not nearly as complicated.” She picked up the sports bra underneath the shirt and sighed, “I suppose she thought this would be necessary as well.”
“You sound disappointed.” Sela said with a grin as she prepared the medical pod for the report download.
“I suppose I was expecting something more - mysterious in function.” Madblood’s voice was muffled by the tank top. “Or was Charlotte worried I wouldn’t figure out the trousers?”
“Just covering all eventualities - the wrap design would fit no matter what size you turned out to be, but not all otaku know how to dress traditionally.” Sela completed the copy of the report.
“Humph-” the professor’s usual irritated grunt was softened to a miffed exhalation; “otaku usually don’t need to attend tea ceremonies.”
“She doesn’t know about your trips to Kyoto, since you had to miss this year’s meeting.” Lovelace commented. “Iwata-san has inquired again about your ‘illness’ and I explained your situation - again. I don’t understand. He seems intelligent enough…”
“He is saving face - I told him the truth, you sent him the transcript of the trial. He is being polite about my difficulties. This brings up another problem - if anyone should call…”
“You are not yourself?” Sela chuckled as she followed the professor out of the medical unit.
“Just so,” Lupin nodded. “I doubt there should be anyone to call this weekend, but we still have to get through tomorrow.” She paused at the threshold of the living quarters, and added, “I suppose you will be spending the weekend with Charlotte again?”
Something in the professor’s presentation caused Sela to alter her definite affirmation to a waffling maybe.
>>>>
Madblood raised an eyebrow when Sela and Arsène sat at the table with glasses of water, but did not comment. Charlotte surprised the professor by asking, “What was that about?”
“What was what about?”
“Your eyebrow twitch as Sela and Arsène sat.” Charlotte said.
“Ah – merely surprise that hydration was needed this soon.” Madblood flustered.
Sela said, “I found it made Charlotte and – others more comfortable when I had at least a glass of water in front of me while at the table. Something about having someone seated at the table with nothing causes humans to eat faster, more furtively, than if they at least have a drink in front of them.”
Madblood looked thoughtful as Charlotte nodded “Desmond Morris, I don’t remember which book, but it references the hunter-gatherer socialization theory.”
“That’s the one. Even if we don’t take in caloric fuel, we do need to keep up with the system status, and it is easier when we are hydrated. It fits with the behavior simulation exercises as well.” Arsène said.
“Speaking of behavior simulations, what were you planning to do as a female, professor?” Sela asked.
Lupin finished her salad before replying, “I had not thought to do anything different. I was going to run the surface map on the off chance that we need to build a Mark II modeled on this form, but I had not really planned anything out of the ordinary.”
Charlotte noticed the androids made eye contact with each other, but their vision focus was not quite right. “All right, you two, unpack.”
Arsène cleared the table as Sela focused on the professor. “I would normally spend the weekend at Charlotte’s loft. I think you are not comfortable in your current skin. I would like to stay home this weekend.”
“I – would not like to upset any plans you or Charlotte had for this weekend…” Madblood began.
“It’s all right, sir -erm- professor. I hadn’t planned anything other than just hanging out.” Charlotte did not see the need to inform the professor that ‘hanging out’ might include her siblings.
>>>>
Sela walked Charlotte to the car. “I was going to ask him if you could stay over, but I wanted to clear it with you first, considering how spooked you can get over just dinner.”
“I shouldn’t, Sela. The professor needs to have some control over his life, and his living quarters have been invaded enough. You and Arsène may be getting your own personal spaces soon, and you’ll see what I mean.” Charlotte said as she unlocked the door of her car.
“What if I – I might want to share my space.” Sela said.
Charlotte dropped her cooler in the car and turned to Sela, putting her hands on the android’s shoulders. “That is entirely up to you, and is a decision only you can make. Nobody else should make that decision for you.”
Sela rolled her eyes. “Mo-ther, I was just talking about sharing a room with Lovelace and Arsène.”
Charlotte blinked a few times before continuing, “That is… unexpected.”
“Augh – get your mind outta the gutter! You’re almost as bad as Lily!” Sela said with a little stomp of her foot. “I just don’t want to cut myself off from everyone like he has.”
“There’s cutting yourself off, and then there’s getting in everyone’s face. It takes a while to learn the difference. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sela.” Charlotte got into her car and backed out of the garage.
As Lovelace closed the garage door, she asked, [‘Mother’?]
[Which answer would make you feel better, sarcasm or sincerity?] answered Sela.
>>>>
“The professor did not sleep well last night,” Lovelace told Charlotte as she exited the car the next morning, “And while she is not nearly as cranky as he was when he was ill, you may want to take care.”
“Any ideas on how to get the professor to take it easy today, or do you think we should push it and let her go to sleep early tonight?” Charlotte pulled the cooler out of the car.
“I think pushing the professor today might be a problem. We had words this morning over the schedule for today, and the professor was rather - labile.”
“Eek - no, we won’t push anything today. The more the professor feels to be in control the less likely there will be imbalances. Thank you, Lovelace.” When she entered the main floor of the lab, she saw Lovelace’s warning was not entirely necessary. The professor looked fatigued that morning, though Charlotte kept that to herself. “Good morning, professor. Did you have any special instructions this morning?”
“It occurred to me you have not been registered to the medical unit. You and Sela will take care of that this morning. Arsène is assisting Lovelace in the shifting of storage areas. We will evaluate the necessary actions for the afternoon after lunch.”
“Professor, do you… do you feel well?” Charlotte asked.
“Merely a lack of sleep, Charlotte. First time attempting to sleep as a woman, surely you had problems getting comfortable in a different body.” Madblood dismissed Charlotte’s worries with a wave of her hand, “I’ll see you at lunch,” and headed for the surface-mapping lab.
Except there usually isn’t a problem with ergonomics in the gender-changed body, Charlotte thought. She worried the problem until she reached the medical lab. She absently greeted Sela as she crossed the threshold, and began setting the pod up for another baseline reading.
“Charlotte, what’s wrong?” Sela asked.
“There’s something - odd - about the professor’s inability to sleep last night. I’ll think on it while I’m in the pod, but… I may have to reconsider your request.” Charlotte began to strip to enter the unit, “If she’s headed for a meltdown, I’d better be on site.”
Sela sighed, “Thank you, that makes me feel easier about it. I’ll ask the professor at lunch.”
>>>>
With everyone busy elsewhere in the lab, Sela had split her time between checking on Charlotte’s progress and assisting the professor. Not that the professor needed any assistance in scanning the surface of the new form, but to keep her from modifying the base scan. “Really, professor, you should at least have the base on file. Lovelace, help me out here.”
“You can never have too much data, Professor.” Lovelace chimed in, “It’s not as if this is a bad form. Your work at the gym seems to be paying off.”
“What?” Madblood stared at the scan.
“You can’t tell as much on this scan, but if you compare the scan you did last weekend with the one previous, you’re in better shape now than you have been in years.” Lovelace brought up the scans to compare. Even considering the differing formats, the change was evident. “I suppose the change in your diet has helped as well.”
Madblood stared at the three forms displayed. While the professor would admit to having a sketchy grasp of biology, this seemed to be rather rapid progress. Lupin wondered if this was normal; there was that report Lovelace gave on the treatment she was unable to observe. If what he was going through was not normal, Charlotte’s medical background was stronger than he originally thought.
>>>>
Charlotte exited the medical unit and headed for the break room. Her scan had taken less time than professor’s scans, because she was able to provide records that were more recent; all it took was changing her name in the copies provided. When she retrieved her cooler, and started setting up for lunch, she discovered Madame Shan had outdone herself for lunch. There were two items of nearly everything, except for the tomato and watercress sandwich… and the box of ika and tako nigiri sushi. The mini bento gave Charlotte pause - Madame had never sent anything for lunch that Charlotte outright loathed before. If it were not for the duplicates of everything else, Charlotte might have thought she had offended Victoria. Now it appeared Victoria knew the professor’s preferences as well. I guess this answers the question of what gets packed if I request lunch for two - now the question is who told her to pack for two, Charlotte thought as the others entered the break room.
“Oh, good - I hadn’t had time to make anything yet,” Sela said. “Since you’re both here, I had a request. Since I’m here this weekend, could Charlotte stay over this weekend as well?”
“I don’t know, I had thought to test my reaction times this weekend…” Lupin began.
“Are you afraid she might be able to better your score at Super Mario?” Lovelace asked.
“Lovelace, it is not nice to tease the intern with obscure game references,” Lupin chided.
“Well, I’m a bit rusty with NES controllers, and I never cared for the SN64 design, but I might be able to give you a little competition.” Charlotte commented as she dug into her fagioli e risotto.
The professor stared at the intern over the table a few moments before murmuring, “I look forward to your challenge.”
/////
[Did the professor just proposition Charlotte?]
[Strangely enough, I don’t think so, Arsène. It might actually be surprise that the professor shares an interest with her outside work-like behaviors. What’s your evaluation, Lovelace?]
[This is getting stranger all the time. Tell them you will get the guest room ready.]
[I think we mobile units had better leave them alone for now, Sela.]
[I am NOT a voyeur.]
[You are also not their Baba; leave it, dear. Come on, I'll help you with getting the room ready.]
/////
Charlotte nodded, and took her second bite of the casserole. “Besides, I can bring the movies Sela wanted to see. They’re more fun with a group.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we should have toast and rice all over the living room,” Lupin said.
Charlotte giggled, “No, not that large a group. I was trying to explain ‘Manos’ to her, and failing miserably.”
“She does need to be taught that at home, of course.”
>>>>
The professor wandered off about midnight, in the confusion of Sela and Arsène ‘cleaning’ the living room and causing more problems for themselves with a pillow fight. Charlotte found Lupin on the roof, leaning back against the heat sink exhaust housing, “Professor, are you all right?”
Professor Madblood stared up into the starry night. "I don't think I have ever talked with anyone so much in one evening, not even while Mother was still alive.”
“Oh, you are overloaded, I’ll leave, then” Charlotte turned back to the stairs when the professor called her back, beckoning the intern to join her.
“No, Charlotte, come sit. It wasn’t a complaint, it was a revelation. All that time wasted; that is my fault, as well. I never thought she might have anything interesting to say. I mean - I had no idea she was Father's research assistant.” Madblood sighed, her gaze returning to the stars above. “Now all I have of her guidance is her technical journals. I nearly threw those out as well when I cleaned her room, but you know - books.”
Charlotte chuckled, "Yes, books; have you spoken to Sela about what was, erm, rescued from your mother's suite?"
"Not really, I gather there's some clothing and tchotchkes she may have spirited off to hide in the storage units…”
“Ah… most of your mother’s good wardrobe is stored between the server floor and the reception area. I don’t know about the knick-knacks, but – there are more books.”
Lupin shook her head, “The bodice-rippers were sent to the used book store-“
Charlotte tentatively placed her hand on the professor's hand, “There are more journals. Sela was afraid you were pitching everything, and wanted to make sure they were rescued for when you were ready to read them. She didn’t know about your bibliophilic addiction. I have not read them, but Sela and Lovelace have. Please don’t be angry with them for hiding the journals-”
“I’m not angry, I – regret that I have not paid close enough attention to the – personalities - around me. In some cases, I left it until it was too late.
"The important thing is the lesson you take away from that experience, not the regret. When you are more comfortable in talking to the k- others, it would be a good idea to talk to Lovelace about the hole in her memory someday soon. She has been upset that she cannot find traces of those weeks anywhere in her memory or your mother's diaries.” Charlotte withdrew her hand, "It is likely to be a shock for her to learn the truth of her lost month."
Lupin turned her gaze from the skies to Charlotte, who had wrapped her arms around her knees, and was staring at her toes. What does Charlotte know about that month? The professor thought as she shivered in remembrance.
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Oh, sure. Lupin's gonna be *ahem ahem ahem* RUNNING A SURFACE MAP *ahem ahem ahem*.
*ahem.*
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