Tomorrowland: Frank and Athena

Chapter 10 - Explorations

The videophone rang in the other room as Athena sat at her desk studying Japanese history. At first she paid only a small amount of attention to it, until she heard her mother say Frank's name. She amplified her hearing and listened intently.

"Frank! It's good to hear from you. Is everything going all right?"

"Yes, thanks!" she heard Frank say. "It's been great so far, I've just been looking around the area. And thanks for all the stuff you sent over, like the clothes and everything. I guess jumpsuits are in style in Tomorrowland." She heard Frank laugh at this.

"You're welcome!" her mum said. "Yes, they're made of an organic polymer that's extremely durable and easy to clean, in fact made here in Tomorrowland from processed native plants. You can get separates if you wish, but the jumpsuits are pretty common. Oh, and don't miss the fact that the color or pattern can be changed by plugging them into your T-Net terminal; there's a function with pre-made designs or you can make your own."

"Whoa, whoa, what?" Frank said incredulously. "How can that even work?"

"Oh, yes," Caroline said. Athena could hear the grin in her voice. "They have tiny colored magnetic pigments suspended in the material. There are small wires that run through the cloth and move the pigments, making them visible or invisible. In fact, I think I think the kids these days are rigging up animated clothes."

"I know one of these days you're going to just make up something extra crazy, just to mess with me and see how gullible I am," Frank said.

Caroline laughed. "How do you know I'm not now? But enough about fashion. What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was hoping to speak to Athena," Frank asked.

Athena perked up at this.

"Athena? Of course, sweetie," Caroline said, who sounded surprised; normally she didn't get calls unless they were recruiting related in some way. "Athena!" she called. "Frank is calling for you."

She walked into the other room, seeing Frank's face on the phone. They greeted each other, Frank looking very pleased to see her.

"Hold one moment, Frank," she said.

She looked at her mother, hoping she would give them privacy. Frank still didn't know she was an animatronic, and though she knew he'd need to be told eventually, her time with him was so stimulating that she hoped to have more with him. But she was concerned that he would say something that would cause her mother to reveal her nature.

Caroline looked interestedly between Athena and Frank several times. When she noticed Athena waiting, she said, "Oh! Um, Athena, I have something to do in the other room. I'll leave you to your call."

Athena smiled at her and turned back to the videophone as Caroline walked away. But knowing her mum, she would most likely be surreptitiously listening in, so she put on the privacy headset. This was very unusual; the only time she normally used it was when her mother was napping or otherwise didn't want to be disturbed. No doubt this would make her mum suspicious that something was up, but she felt the risk was worth it.

"Hello, Frank," she said again. "I'm happy you called."

"These videophones are amazing," he said. "I've heard of experimental phones like this, but it's cool that we can do it whenever we want."

"Yes, when I've used telephones back on Earth, it's more difficult to understand people without seeing their facial expressions," she said, which was true. Her ability to judge facial expressions was a crucial part of interacting with humans, though she could manage without it if she had to.