Phocus and Chimera.

“So where is this guy?” I asked.

“They haven’t seen him either,” Etand replied.

Suddenly, we all heard a metallic clicking noise along the far wall. Luci got a little frightened and hid behind Etand. “What is it, Evan?” he asked.

I looked intensely through the darkness to see the shape of an animal watching us from a distance. “It looks like a dog,” I said in a confused tone. Suddenly, the sound of a charging generator interrupted my thought process. Gradually, the lights began to come on as well.

“I am over here,” said a scratchy voice in the corner.

“Are you Phocus?” Etand asked.

“That would be me. I apologize if Chimera startled you, but I like to work in the dark. It helps me… well, focus.” I looked over some machines and an automobile chassis to see a large individual hunkered over a table in front of a mirror. He followed his inadvertent pun with a slight laugh. It almost sounded computerized, like the voice of someone who had lost their larynx to disease or war. However, when he turned around, we quickly noticed that Phocus did not suffer from any of those things. He was a machine, himself. He was a robot.

Of course, this revelation did not sit well with the easily-unnerved Luci. She continued to latch on to Etand as Phocus introduced himself.

“There is no need to be afraid, I assure you,” he said.

“What are you,” Luci asked.

Phocus extended a mechanical, but human-like hand in an offer of friendship. “I am what you might refer to as an android, a prototypical humanoid robot.”

Etand appeared surprised. “But you are self-aware,” he commented.

“Affirmative. I embody programming that allows me the miracle of consciousness, and I have been a reliable member of this community for many years.” It was apparent that he had even adapted to the manner of dress and appearance of Humans too. His construction was crude, but he did look like a regular person. At first notice, I doubt anyone could tell he was robotic. The main visual difference was in his face, a metallic plate with eight lenses arranged four by two along a symmetric vertical plane, much like a Human face. It was partially obscured by tubes and wires that ran from the top of his head, most of which were tucked under a dirty baseball cap. To complete the look, he even wore clothes, a pair of oil-stained overalls that covered the majority of his other parts. “What can I do for you?” he asked

Etand seemed to trust him right away, and demonstrated his confidence by offering up a bit of information. “Mr. Nard of the visitors’ centre told us you could help us with buying a car or some other type of vehicle,” he said.

“Certainly,” Phocus replied, “but my cars are not inexpensive. I am known for developing new creations from scrap and spare parts.”

“How do we know it will last?” I questioned.

“Do you see Chimera over there?” he asked, gesturing to the robotic canine we saw earlier. “I built him with the information and skill given to me by my creator. The Good Lord will not allow me to deliver poor quality, for so as man was created in His image, so shall I create in mine.”

Soren walked over to pet the creature, which resembled a blend of Doberman and Labrador breeds. “No!” Luci shouted.

“Do not worry. He does not bite, nor is he malicious,” Phocus said, at which point Soren proceeded to put his wallet full of money inside Chimera’s mouth.

“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed. “That’s our money for the car.”

However, instead of attempting to devour it, Chimera calmly walked over to Phocus and delivered the wallet into his hands.

“He meant you no harm. He knows better anyway.”

“Well, I didn’t want to risk him eating our only cash supply,” I stated.

“Soren has a thing about feeding dogs,” added Etand, referencing Soren’s earlier episode in the wooded cabin.

“I do not understand, but that is all right. Please, have a seat and help yourselves to my pantry. I always keep food stored for visitors.”

Soren was excited to hear that news, and he headed straight for the food. Luci and I followed him, but Etand stuck around with Phocus. I could overhear the first part of their conversation.

“I see you are a man of God,” said Etand.

“Very much so,” answered Phocus.

“He has given you a wonderful gift, and I mean no offense, but I’m curious – why does a mechanical man such as yourself have such faith?”

“We, as Robots, have a closer relationship to God, for we have been endowed by our creator with the knowledge that, although we are the products of Man – great beings, though imperfect as they are – we are second generation lifeforms who function as the conduits of Man’s relationship with the Lord.”

His statement was profound, especially coming from someone like him. I was not particularly a spiritual person, but what he said made an impact on me that left me quite intrigued and hungry to find out more.

A few minutes later, I went to Phocus as he was beneath the “Frankencar” he was putting together for us. On the outside, it was a cross between an imported luxury sedan and the classic American sportscars I remembered. It was odd to me that I would think of so many elements of my past without knowing the core details, but I chose to ignore that for now. I had questions for this person.

“So, you’re 100% robot?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Phocus.

“I couldn’t help overhearing your discussion with Etand a while ago,” I said.

“Are you one of the faithful as well?”

“No,” I answered. “Not really.” Phocus said nothing, but continued working. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing when we came in?”

“One of my eyepieces failed, so I had to replace it. You may have noticed the assortment of cameras on my work table. I keep a supply of optics around for just such a reason.”

“Really? Etand, the older one with me, is blind you know. Can you do anything for him?”

“I’m sorry, but my surgical knowledge is limited to myself and Chimera.”

I thought back to what he said earlier. “You built Chimera all by yourself?”

“Correct.”

“That’s amazing. He’s so well put together, like a real dog.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you name him, too? Chimera, like the animal built from a bunch of other animal parts?”

“I can tell you are well read. I admire that.”

“Thanks.” I kept watching him work, handing him tools when he requested them. The others were off in their own worlds. Luci and Soren were looking through a large stack of books next to Phocus’ work table while Etand felt his way around the perimeter of the garage. Chimera followed him, curious like a real dog would be. “So if you built your dog,” I said, “then who built you?”

“I was built by a man. I did not know him though. He disappeared not long after giving me the gift of life and the ability to enhance myself.”

“Enhance yourself?”

“Correct. Like the lenses on my table, I relied on various parts to make me appear and function the way I do today. At my birth, I was little more than my programming. Over time, I learned to repair myself, and eventually augment my body and CPU.”

To me, this was incredible. “Then who was it that first programmed you?”

“I never learned his name.” he revealed.

“Hmm… did he name you Phocus?” I asked.

“No. I appropriated that name from one of my earliest visions, the inside wall of an optic that read ‘Intellephocus, Ltd.’ Intelligent…Phocus. I hoped it would suit me.”

“I guess without knowing your actual creator, you developed an attachment to a higher power, right?”

“Incorrect. I know of my creator, but as I said to your friend I believe I am a later version of the modern man, built by the ones who were built by God.”

“Well then, do you know anything about the guy that made you?”

“The only item I could recover from the ruins was a photograph. You might have seen it when you came in. It sits on the counter by the door.”

I never noticed the picture he was referring to, so I went back to the door of the garage. There I saw a framed portrait, hidden by draped candle wax from some sort of ceremonial shrine. I picked the wax away from the picture a little at a time, and I was shocked and very surprised by the visage of the person underneath. It looked a lot like my dad, but it wasn’t him. Then I realized…it was me, only older. Phocus had to have been talking about this image, but it didn’t make sense on two levels. Why would he have a picture of someone who’s not me, but obviously is at the same time? And how could I possibly have been the one to build him? There are so many questions that came to my mind that I couldn’t even fathom half of them. I thought again about what Croche Nard suggested to me; that I should get to the Tzoid. “Maybe there,” I thought, “I would find the answers I was looking for – not just for me, but for all of us.”

Phocus only requested about half of the money for his work, but we all insisted that he take more. He did to outstanding work, and we were extremely grateful to him for it. I personally was honored that he was one of the first few people we’ve encountered in this village.

“Take it easy on the clutch,” he said. “It wants to stick.”

“We cannot thank you enough for your assistance,” Etand said.

“You are very welcome,” Phocus replied. “I have dedicated my life to the service of others. As the Lord assists those in need, and as the horse-men helped reassemble me in the sand, so shall I assist you.”

I was the one behind the wheel. After getting a quick feel for our means of transportation, I slowly pulled out of the garage to merge with the traffic on the boulevard. Chimera, in all of his canine essence, chased after us briefly before returning to Phocus. In the rear-view mirror, I saw him wave goodbye.

It was a good car. I suddenly had a wave of optimism flow over me as I looked ahead to what awaited us, but the “horse-men” comment stayed with me. Did Phocus wash up on the shore too?

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