Roku
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 8:41 pm
It was a warm day in Takadanobaba, and a quiet day inside of the Ministry of Science, since Ochanomizu Hakase was out. Reno walked back from a local takeout shop, carrying a Bento for his lunch. He found an empty bench outside of the Ministry, not far from the street delivery entrance. He opened his Bento and picked up a piece of grilled fish with his chopsticks. Staring at the traffic going by in the street, he slowly chewed his first bite. Suddenly, a large Rolls Royce automobile made a sharp turn onto the entrance road to the ministry. The powerful vehicle roared past him, and turned towards the main entrance of the building, coming to a stop under the covered driveway.
The chauffeur got out of the car and stepped quickly towards the rear to open the door for his passenger. Meanwhile, his assistant in the left front seat made his way to the vehicle's boot. While the chauffeur assisted an elderly woman from the passenger part of the automobile, the co-driver removed a long, narrow box from the rear of the vehicle, and extended its built in hand truck wheels and handles. The chauffeur handed the keys to the Rolls to the valet on duty in front of the Ministry, and the three occupants of the limo marched into the lobby.
Reno quickly wolfed down the rest of his lunch and ran towards the buildings main entrance. He arrived just in time to see the elevator doors closing. He watched the lights above the elevator, and noticed that it stopped on the same floor as Ochanomizu's office. His curiosity engaged, Reno ran up the stairs and made it to his supervisor's office just as the door was closing.
Yuko Kisaragi was standing between the two men and the woman, and the door to the professor's office. The elderly woman had a graying head of dark hair. She wore a pair of dark square framed glasses which highlighted her dark brown eyes.
“I'm sorry, but Hakase isn't here today,” Yuko explained. “He's out attending a conference, and will be back late this afternoon. Perhaps you could wait for him, or come back later?”
“I'm sorry Kisaragi-Chan,” she sighed, “my schedule doesn't allow it. My I have my assistants leave this package for Hiroshi in his office?”
“Hai”, Yuko nodded, finding the keys to Ochanomizu's office in her purse. She opened the door and allowed the large box to be wheeled into the office, and then locked the door.
“You'll let Hiroshi know I've been here,” the elderly woman insisted, “He'll know what to do with the contents of that box.”
She raised her right hand over her head and snapped her fingers. The two uniformed drivers quickly escorted her towards the elevator.
“What was that all about?” Reno asked.
“I'm not sure, but we'll find out when Hakase returns.”
The sun was swimming on the edge of the horizon by the time Professor Ochanomizu returned to the Ministry of Science from his day spent at the conference center. Yuko Kisaragi looked up from her desk as Hiroshi entered the office suite. “You had a visitor while you were out, she left a large crate in your office.”
The professor opened his office door and looked inside, “who was this visitor?” he asked.
“She didn't leave a name, but she arrived with her personal chauffeur, and assistant. Reno mentioned seeing her Rolls Royce automobile pull into the valet parking area.”
“Really,” Ochanomizu muttered, eyeing the large box standing up on its narrow end in his office. He removed an envelope that had been tapped to the side of the crate and opened it, extracting a hand written letter from within.
“My God!”, he muttered, “It's from Ran! I haven't heard from her in decades!”
“Ran?” Yuko asked.
“My sister,” the Professor explained. “She hung around the university while Umataro and I were doing our thesis work in Lab #7. She tinkered with the robot parts that we discarded and built her own rather capable androids. She actually graduated from the same university as I did, and with a slightly higher GPA than me. Ran left Japan to work for a company in California, after which I'd lost track of her.”
“What's in the box?”
The Professor turned to see both Reno and Astro standing outside his office.
“You were here when this was delivered?”, Hiroshi asked Reno.
“Yes, I was. It's been bugging me all day trying to guess what might be in that box.”
“Well I have no idea,” Ochanomizo laughed. “But being that this came from Ran, it could be a huge pile of old robot parts.”
The professor looked the box over and then rummaged around looking in several of his desk drawers. “It looks like I'll need a crowbar to get this box open, but I don't seem to have any suitable tools.”
“Allow me,” Astro laughed. The boy robot laid the box on its back, and then wedged the lid open easily with his bare hands. The crate opened slowly with a creaking noise.
“Oh my God!”, the professor gasped upon seeing the contents of the box. “If only Umataro were here to see this!”
The chauffeur got out of the car and stepped quickly towards the rear to open the door for his passenger. Meanwhile, his assistant in the left front seat made his way to the vehicle's boot. While the chauffeur assisted an elderly woman from the passenger part of the automobile, the co-driver removed a long, narrow box from the rear of the vehicle, and extended its built in hand truck wheels and handles. The chauffeur handed the keys to the Rolls to the valet on duty in front of the Ministry, and the three occupants of the limo marched into the lobby.
Reno quickly wolfed down the rest of his lunch and ran towards the buildings main entrance. He arrived just in time to see the elevator doors closing. He watched the lights above the elevator, and noticed that it stopped on the same floor as Ochanomizu's office. His curiosity engaged, Reno ran up the stairs and made it to his supervisor's office just as the door was closing.
Yuko Kisaragi was standing between the two men and the woman, and the door to the professor's office. The elderly woman had a graying head of dark hair. She wore a pair of dark square framed glasses which highlighted her dark brown eyes.
“I'm sorry, but Hakase isn't here today,” Yuko explained. “He's out attending a conference, and will be back late this afternoon. Perhaps you could wait for him, or come back later?”
“I'm sorry Kisaragi-Chan,” she sighed, “my schedule doesn't allow it. My I have my assistants leave this package for Hiroshi in his office?”
“Hai”, Yuko nodded, finding the keys to Ochanomizu's office in her purse. She opened the door and allowed the large box to be wheeled into the office, and then locked the door.
“You'll let Hiroshi know I've been here,” the elderly woman insisted, “He'll know what to do with the contents of that box.”
She raised her right hand over her head and snapped her fingers. The two uniformed drivers quickly escorted her towards the elevator.
“What was that all about?” Reno asked.
“I'm not sure, but we'll find out when Hakase returns.”
The sun was swimming on the edge of the horizon by the time Professor Ochanomizu returned to the Ministry of Science from his day spent at the conference center. Yuko Kisaragi looked up from her desk as Hiroshi entered the office suite. “You had a visitor while you were out, she left a large crate in your office.”
The professor opened his office door and looked inside, “who was this visitor?” he asked.
“She didn't leave a name, but she arrived with her personal chauffeur, and assistant. Reno mentioned seeing her Rolls Royce automobile pull into the valet parking area.”
“Really,” Ochanomizu muttered, eyeing the large box standing up on its narrow end in his office. He removed an envelope that had been tapped to the side of the crate and opened it, extracting a hand written letter from within.
“My God!”, he muttered, “It's from Ran! I haven't heard from her in decades!”
“Ran?” Yuko asked.
“My sister,” the Professor explained. “She hung around the university while Umataro and I were doing our thesis work in Lab #7. She tinkered with the robot parts that we discarded and built her own rather capable androids. She actually graduated from the same university as I did, and with a slightly higher GPA than me. Ran left Japan to work for a company in California, after which I'd lost track of her.”
“What's in the box?”
The Professor turned to see both Reno and Astro standing outside his office.
“You were here when this was delivered?”, Hiroshi asked Reno.
“Yes, I was. It's been bugging me all day trying to guess what might be in that box.”
“Well I have no idea,” Ochanomizo laughed. “But being that this came from Ran, it could be a huge pile of old robot parts.”
The professor looked the box over and then rummaged around looking in several of his desk drawers. “It looks like I'll need a crowbar to get this box open, but I don't seem to have any suitable tools.”
“Allow me,” Astro laughed. The boy robot laid the box on its back, and then wedged the lid open easily with his bare hands. The crate opened slowly with a creaking noise.
“Oh my God!”, the professor gasped upon seeing the contents of the box. “If only Umataro were here to see this!”