Broken Things - Chapter Two -
#2 of Broken Things
Sheppy works on repairing the Cervine Synthetic, hoping to be able to do more good than harm...
Broken Things
Chapter Two
© Cederwyn Whitefurr
28thMarch, 2023
All Rights Reserved.
Finally, Bucky's quivers faded and he went limp, his power cell running down.
"Poor Synth," Sheppy murmured, as he stroked a paw lightly over the Deer's cheeks. "You deserve to know happiness again. I don't know your history - yet there's subtle hints. No, little one, you weren't discarded because your owner didn't love you - of that, I am certain..."
Gently, Sheppy lay the synth of the mattress and plugged him into a barely functional solar grid array.
"It's not much, I'm sorry, but it's all I can manage at the moment."
Bucky lay still and unresponsive...
Again, Sheppy looked down at him, before gently stroking the Synth's cheek again.
"There are more emotions than fear..."
Quietly, he pushed aside the askew door, wincing as the rusted nails pulled a little further out of line with a screech like claws on a blackboard....
*
Bucky twitched, a minuscule flicker of a silicone hoof...
A small movement of a leaf-like ear...
"Mmmm..." Come the barely heard whisper - mice had louder voices, than the one that come from the vocoder.
A touch... somewhere...
A...paw... on neck, touching...caressing...
Bucky's leg moved a millimetre, positronic brain commanding silicon muscles contracting the slightest touch before locking.
Confusion.
Fear.
Processing... insufficient data...
Something, moisture, warm...
Water...
Sensor feedback from... accessing memory...
Sensation... tactile response...
Pleasing...
Processing...
Fingers... fingers touching, caressing... gently squeezing...
Processing...
Tactile feedback registered. Sensation... programming fragmented...
Focus.
Sensor cluster activated in belly sector.
Analysing...
Tactile sensors responding... increased conductivity and warmth due to presence of...
Processing...
Fur... leathery skin, rough...
Processing...
Stimulation of specialised sensors
Sen...
With a loud, electronic squeal, Bucky snapped his hips forwards, then Sheppy grunted and chuckled.
"Definitely a buck synth..."
Bucky lay quivering, feeling like his entire body had been overcharged with electricity. His LED eyes gleamed in the early evening twilight, as Sheppy put away a few tools and rubbed his paws on a rag.
"What did you do to me!" Bucky's electronic eyes were wide, then formed into a bewildered look. "I feel..."
"That...was pleasure..." Sheppy nodded and gently caressed the quivering synth. "Well, a small sample. It felt nice, didn't it?"
Bucky was a few moments processing the confusion and muddled code in his positronic mind.
"You...it...your paw..."
Sheppy sat on his haunches, then rested his paws on his knees. He watched the confused synth for a few moments, mindful of how awkward this would be, if it all went the wrong way.
"I only wanted to check something - I didn't hurt you, just, well, I'm sorry, I did not expect, well, _that..._response!"
Wrinkling his nostrils, Sheppy lifted his right paw and sniffed his palm and fingers.
"Urgh..."
Grumbling, he smacked the wall again until the water began to flow. Washing his paws thoroughly, he used his elbow to turn off the faucet before fluttering his paws up and down to try and dry them off better.
"You...there..." Bucky spoke in a bare whisper, his eyes showing even higher confusion. "I..."
With a sigh, Sheppy walked over, then slid his paw underneath Bucky's throat and rolled him onto his back.
"What are you doing?" Bucky squealed, then silenced as a paw was placed over his speaker.
"Be still, cease movement of legs!" Sheppy spoke quietly, his voice pitched in a strange way, that made the Synth's eyes flicker.
To Bucky's surprise, all four legs instantly become powerless and folded down against his body.
"I don't want to get accidentally kicked..." Sheppy smiled nervously, then placed a paw on the polymer chest plate. "Alright, now - command seven-one-one-five-alpha-niner."
Bucky's entire body went immobile, as his display port blanked and was replaced by incomprehensible code.
"Let's see..." Sheppy murmured, as he touched two places on the Synth's cheek plating, then felt it disconnect as he lifted it away.
*
Bucky twitched, then he felt programs initialise and he blinked, feeling unease and confused.
"Bucky, easy..." Sheppy spoke quietly, placing a paw lightly on the back of the Synth's neck. "Give yourself a moment."
"What..." Bucky squeaked, his ears rotating back and forth, before he moved one leg, the other, then continued his self-diagnostic. "I appear to have significant chronological discrepancy... explain please?"
Sheppy nodded. "I - "
Bucky's LED eyes, naturally dimmed, looked up at the King Shepherd expectantly.
How do I explain it to him? I'm no Artificial Intelligence scientist! How do I explain I put blocks on certain memories, so as to not cause him discomfort and corruption? I saw what I -
"I - " Bucky blinked again, before he rose and a tremble rippled through his silicone body from ears to hooves. "I have missing...thoughts? Memories? Files have been destroyed and..."
Sheppy sighed quietly, then knelt before the Synth, gently taking the cervine muzzle between his paws, making it look into his eyes.
"I've fixed some corrupted files. I'm sorry, I'm not a professional, I hope I did not cause you significant discomfort."
Bucky frowned, his ears swivelling, as he swiftly performed secondary self diagnostic.
"I appear to be operating at adequate..." Bucky paused, then his LED eyes formed a frown.
Slowly, he stood up, then titled his head down, so he was looking upside down under his own belly. Staring at the large silicone sheath, Bucky's ears pressed against the stained mattress as he continued staring.
"WHAT'S THAT?" Bucky's electronic squeal pealed forth.
_Oh dear...maybe I deleted one file too many... _
_ TO BE CONTINUED..._