Part 2 It was quite strange when Zelmo first spoke. I had no idea he was "intelligent". When he reached a full charge after more than forty years in dormancy, he asked what I wanted for dinner. Seems he had been quite the domestique. From doing the work on the farm to being cook and cleaner. I stayed up the entire night hearing about his history. The next day, I helped clean him up and when he entered the house for the first time in all those years, he started asking questions, lots of questions. I explained what my laptop computer did, showed him my digital camera and let him listen to my CD player. He knew about airplanes, but when he saw a photo of a jet, in the newspaper, he asked about that and almost everything else in the paper. Zelmo said that Uncle Chester hadn't allowed him to read the paper or books. When he timidly asked if he could, I thoughtlessly pointed to the bookcases and told him to help himself. I was still in shock at this entire discovery and all the money that was out in the barn. I slept well that night, thinking about all those stories Chester used to tell and knowing that there really was a Zelmo. The next morning, it wasn't the rooster that woke me, put the strains of Mozart from a violin. Upon opening the barn door, I saw Zelmo playing the old violin from the hall closet, with incredible dexterity. Seems he taught himself in about an hour. Would wonders never cease? Then, I noticed over in the corner, a flickering of tv screens. There were three computer monitors and a couple of large computer towers, another smaller one and all the accessories. On the floor nearby, were a few dozen books from the living room. Not knowing where to start, I asked how all this stuff suddenly appeared overnight. Shrugging, as a robot can, Zelmo said, "I went into town last night and got it." Sounding as if it should be obvious. "This "internet" process is most interesting." Zelmo said as I stood looking dumbfounded. "H-how did you get on the internet?" I asked. "The satellite uplink on the roof." he said, nodding upwards. "Quite easy, actually. Read about it last night and was very anxious to try it." I think I understood, right there, why Chester had not allowed Zelmo to read. And now I had opened the door to an unlimited source of new knowledge. He had broken into several stores in Crosley and taken whatever he wanted. I explained that whatever reasons he and Chester had for robbing banks, back in the 30's, it was no longer the case. Saying that he had hurt the shopkeepers in town, by breaking in and stealing, I told Zelmo that we would have to figure out a way to return the goods without being arrested. Thinking on this, I decided to reimburse them for damages and the missing items with the cash that had been stolen in Zelmo's original crime spree. No matter how I looked at things, I knew that I was involved in a risky business. Here I had been a respectable law-abiding citizen, now hooked up with a very intelligent mechanical man with a insatiable thirst for knowledge and a taste for crime. ***
Made Zelmo in Amapi Pro and assembled and made poseable in Bryce. The terrain books, boxes and calender are mine, chairs by Tony Lynch, computer stuff and violin are from 3DCafe and the room with furnishings is by Meski. Thanks, Bob. Oh, that's a robot head and not a coffee pot.