literature

Five Years Old

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Literature Text

Nos flew to the top of the tree, the tallest on their property, at the centerpoint of the largest area in their gardens. He tossed streamers down to hang in the branches, slices of every color that caught the light and made the shade glitter. Below, Two set up tables and chairs on the grass, tying bunches of balloons to the legs and spreading out poppers and other party favors. Fletcher sat on the cobblestone wall around the base of the tree, tugging at a loose string on his new cape, one of the gifts his parents had given him that morning. It was emerald green, with a golden buckle centered beneath his head port. When he moved, little flickers of gold stitching shone around the hems.

Two finished adjusting the centerpiece on one of the tables and looked over at the hybrid. She couldn’t help smiling ‒ he was staring out at nothing again. Thought seemed to bubble from his processors, his visor glazed, but his eyeforms fixed on something only he could see.

Five years old. That doesn’t make any sense, it hardly seems like he was born yesterday... Two thought. At the same time, she felt like she’d known him her entire life. How incredible was this little probe that she and Nos had brought into the world together?

“What are you thinking about, Fletcher?” she asked.

He blinked and turned his eyeforms toward her, leaning back on his hands. “How long is it going to take me to grow up?”

Nos laughed from the treetop. Fletcher scowled.

“Don’t mind him, honey, Daddy hasn’t quite grown up either,” Two dismissed with a wave of her hand.

“I don’t mean grow up like that, I mean, like, actually grow,” the hybrid elaborated.

“Oh... well, that’s hard to tell. You know, when you were born, you ‒ ”

“ ‒ ‘were hardly as long as my arm.’ I know, but I’ve only grown a foot,” Fletcher rolled his eyeforms.

“That sass’ll stunt your growth even more,” Nos called down.

“So my growth is stunted?”

“Well, not exactly,” Two hummed, “Robots don’t have regular growth rates, so there’s nothing to compare yours to. You’re growing exactly as fast as you need to, and Dr. Darickson has to follow your system’s schedule to give you upgrades. If he tried to make you taller than you were ready to be, nothing would work right.”

“But why? You can make other machines bigger and they still work.”

“Yes, but we’re not just machines,” Two hovered up to Fletcher, putting her finger on his forehead, “Everything you are is right here, and we can’t risk altering that just so that power can reach your extremities before you’re ready. Even if we could, I wouldn’t let them risk it.”

“Risk what?” Fletcher blinked, taking her finger off his head and holding her hand.

Two smiled and squeezed. “Changing a single byte of the data that makes you who you are! You are perfect, and you don’t need to make anything happen faster than it needs to. Just look at your precious little hands!”

Mooooom,” Fletcher groaned and tried to pull away, but he couldn’t hide his smile. Two kissed the top of his head before she let him go.

“Go on and grab the fireworks from inside, alright? Everyone’s going to be here soon!” she laughed.

“Cool, thanks!” Fletcher grinned. He lept up from the wall and extended his wings, flapping for altitude before taking off over the gardens.

Nos came down to stand next to Two, watching Fletcher disappear over the roof of the library.
Ficlet #31

Oh... Fletcher... :heart:

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate Fletcher's birthday today! Here he is about to celebrate his birthday with his family. ^u^

Fletcher's mental state as he starts his 5th year of life is comparable to that of your average 15-year-old human, though his emotional index is probably closer to a 10-year-old. This is only due to the disparity between robot and human development.

Also, his mini pies turned out pretty great!



If you are confused, please refer to the timeline featured on my profile.
Disclaimer: All elements of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Wall.E (c) Disney/Pixar.
All stories are subject to change of any kind at any time.  There is no such thing as truly finishing a piece of writing, so don't be surprised if you notice something that you didn't see before.
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stalker034's avatar
Absolute gorgeous epic!