The Iron Hallway

Chapter 8

After peeling myself from the ladder, I cast my eyes about the brightly-lit workshop. In the corner of the room waited several unconventional vehicles of different shapes and sizes. The purpose of several of them wasn't at all readily apparent. Paradoxically, the less functional they appeared, the more aesthetically pleasing they were. 

A row of well-stocked shelves lined every wall, filled to excess with gadgets, wires, and miscellaneous scraps of all varieties. Some were run-of-the-mill objects like remotes, charging chords, and car bumpers, while others were strange of appearance, with unknown makeup, and equally unknown purpose. 

"This way, Baird." Aaron called, snatching me out of my silent scrutinization of his workshop. 

"Y-yes, of course." I answered, taking my place in the back of the line following him. 

We walked down the length of the large workspace, and I continued to study the shelves as we went. As I glanced over a half-finished drone, I realized the shelf ended there, and the room with it. We stood before a wall, and Aaron stared up at it for absolutely no reason. 

"What's this?" I asked, "You took us down here to see a wall? Cool." 

Aaron glared at me as the wall slowly rose up and revealed another section of the workshop beyond. "No, you idiot, I was doing a retina scan. This is where I keep my real treasures." 

"As if all those vehicles back there aren't treasures..." I muttered to myself. 

Only Hannah heard me, and she gave me an exaggerated roll of her eyes. After we continued walking for a bit, she gasped in delight and broke out of the line to study a black robot of humanoid build. On its chest was engraved the following letters and numbers: "43-S1LA-36". 

The robot whirred to life and took a step forward. The clank of its metal foot hitting the concrete drew Aaron's attention and prompted him to spin around. 

"You're sleek, what's your name?" Hannah asked the robot with a high-pitched voice as if she were talking to a baby. 

The machine refrained from answering, but instead mechanically rotated its head to face Aaron. 

"That's 43-S1LA-36." Aaron answered proudly. 

Hannah smirked. "I dunno 'bout all that." She turned back to the robot. "I'ma just call you Sila." 

"But that's a '1'." I remarked. 

She shrugged. "So?" 

I turned to Aaron. "Anyhow, what's it do?" 

"It's still a bit of a work in progress, but I intend to make it a doctor robot, of sorts. See, living out here has its benefits, but it does mean we're far away from any convenient medical facility. Risky, at times." 

"Wait a minute, but you made this thing. Can it really do any more procedures than you can?" 

"Well, I'm developing a learning system for it, where it can watch footage of a thing being done, and immediately be able to do it for itself. That way, I don't have to watch the gruesome surgery videos, but instead make...Sila do it, and then before long, we've got a medical professional in our very home." 

Khemera and I exchanged a skeptical glance, but offered no further objection. 

"Anyway," Aaron began, "that's not what we were here for anyway. Let's carry on." 

With that, we reformed a line and followed the brawny engineer. Heavy, metallic footsteps behind me informed me that Sila had decided to follow as well. We passed by a row of worktables, each having a spotlight hanging above it, and each with the pieces of an ongoing project sprawled across them.