Tomorrowland: Frank and Athena

Chapter 8 - A Visit to the Farm

After leaving Frank at his hotel, Athena returned to her apartment, where she found her mother waiting for her impatiently. Caroline didn't waste time getting to the point.

"All right, Athena, so what exactly happened with Frank?"

"Dr. Nix forbid me to evaluate candidates," Athena said. Her mother narrowed her eyes at this. "I was frustrated, so I decided to just monitor the candidates from afar. When Frank came up, I couldn't help myself. I moved up close, evaluated him, and he scored the highest I have ever experienced."

"He does seem like a remarkable boy," Caroline agreed.

"But Dr. Nix didn't give him much of a chance. He rejected him out of hand. I simply couldn't allow Frank to be cast aside like that," Athena said. "So I talked to him, gave him a pin, and told him to follow us on the sly."

Caroline sighed. "Well, given what you've told me and what I've observed myself, I supposed I can't blame you. But this does make things awkward with Dr. Nix. I'll have to find a way to convince him that your little rebellion isn't going to be a regular thing."

"It won't be, mummy," Athena assured her. "This only happened because he was so stubborn about allowing me to perform my job."

"I know, sweetheart," Caroline said. She reached over, gave Athena a hug and kissed her forehead. "And you did a fantastic job of finding Frank. I must admit, I didn't think you could do something quite so sneaky – at least, not this soon."

"Will Frank be able to stay?" Athena asked. She wanted him to stay very much. Having a human friend was one of the most novel experiences she'd ever had.

"Well, I'm still figuring that out," Caroline said. "There are a lot of practical problems having to do with his age, and not least, whether his father will even allow him to stay. We have to respect his wishes."

"But you want him to stay, don't you?" Athena persisted.

Caroline gave Athena an odd look. "You seem more invested in this candidate than usual."

Athena shrugged, not wanting her mother to know – yet – that her relationship with Frank was much different than her typical candidate, who was normally told she was a machine as part of her recruitment protocol. "He is the best candidate I have ever evaluated. He scored high in intelligence, optimism, confidence, work ethic, innovation and practicality. And mummy, he's a dreamer. He wants to make the world a better place."

Caroline chuckled. "Well, with a résumé like that, we can't afford not to have him here, can we?"

Athena smiled and shook her head. "No, we can't."

* * *

Frank spent the next morning exploring the hotel and walking around the area, generally amazed at everything, though his amazement was tempered by the knowledge that he could be sent home at any time. He'd received a message from Athena, who said she'd pick him up that afternoon at two o'clock, so he tried to see as much as he could in the possibly short time he had left.

He was excited by the possibility of staying, but a small part of his mind was also feeling very intimidated. The more of Tomorrowland he saw, the more he burned to stay, but he also wondered if he could really make it on his own as he'd portrayed himself to Caroline. Certainly he did most of the household chores at home. And he thought he was fairly bright. But back in his mind, he heard his father's doubts, particularly about his jetpack, which had been the first project he'd really invested himself into – and it ultimately didn't work. At least, not without some robots fixing it. And it certainly didn't help that Nix seemed to echo the doubts as well.