Machine Age

Part 1

I was sitting in the kitchen smacking my Froot Loops with the back of my spoon. The milk was making interesting patterns on the table. I was not happy. I looked up as dad came down the stairs.

"Hey buddy," he said. "What are doing dressed? It's Saturday. Did you forget?"

"You're taking me to work with you," I pouted.

"Oh'" dad smiled. "One of those mornings."

Mom called from the living room, "Yeah one of those mornings. You're taking him with you because if you don't the chances of him still being alive when you get back are about 50-50. Oh and you'd better pick up your coffee on the way."

Dad looked at me. He was smiling kinda. "What did you do?"

"I wanted to see how the coffee maker worked. There's a ton of pieces. Think I lost a few."

Dad went into the living room to kiss mom goodbye. "Whoa, that is a lot of pieces."

Mom said, "See if you can find a passing band of gypsies or a circus you can sell him to."

Dad laughed. Mom didn't.

We drove in silence. I had my arms wrapped around my knees and I stared out the window. We drove in silence because the car radio was in the back seat in pieces. Lot's of pieces.

Dad said, "Barn why do you do this stuff?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. Bored."

We drove up to the factory gates  -  the plant dad called it - and an old guy in a cap leaned out the guardhouse.

"Good morning Dr Davis. See you got your assistant with you again." Dad was important.

"Hi Benedict," the old guy smiled. "Being good."

"No," I said. The old guy chuckled.

Then he raised the gate and we drove in. We got to park right next to the door. The parking space had dad's name on it. I followed him inside.

"I'm going to be really busy for a couple of hours and please be a good boy and don't disturb me. You did remember your laptop right?"

"No," I said. "Don't you remember you guys confiscated it after that thing with the DVR. So what am I supposed to do while you're very busy?"

Dad looked around and then he said, "Um OK here."

He sat me at a bench in front of this microscope thing and grabbed a box of microchips. I thought to myself this is going to suck dick.

Dad said, "I'll pay you ten dollars an hour ok. Here let me show you."  He grabbed a couple of chips and put them under the scope. "What I need you to do is check each one for breakage. See this one is a good and this one's defective. Do you see the crack?"

I didn't know what fuck he was talking about. I said, "Yeah I see it."

Dad said, "So you put the good chips in this box marked "good" and the bad ones in the box marked "bad." And here's some cash for the vending machines. I'll be done in an hour. Promise."

Dad shut himself in his office. I picked up a chip and looked at it. I threw it in the good box. I picked up another and threw in the bad box. I was right it sucked dick. I headed off to the lunch room.

It was empty thank God. So I was standing in front of the vending machine looking for what didn't suck because there were no pop tarts and then the door opened and this grizzly bear in a suit walked in. Honest to God he was the biggest man I'd ever seen.