The Iron Sky

Three: On a Wall

Nythir

Cobalt Coppers sat on a wall staring at the grey sky. The wall surrounded a large factory, his place of work. It looked like every other wall in the city, but this one was the best. It was the best simply because it was his favorite. The average person did not feel comfortable this far from the ground, which meant a moment of solitude and quiet for Cobalt. The hustle and bustle of city streets and factory floors brought too many curious eyes for his personal comfort. It wasn't that Cobalt was particularly bothered by everyone's curiosity, he was only bothered by the fact that there was nothing he could do to avoid their stares. He'd give an arm and a leg for normal limbs. Literally.

He could not admit it while among his peers, but he felt a certain peace in the sun's warmth. Most Nythir frowned upon his preference for the outdoors, but Cobalt could not deny his fondness for the fresh air.

Cobalt turned at the familiar sound of approaching footsteps.

"Hey Cole, what ya doin' up here?"

"My name is Cobalt," He replied, glaring at his coworker. "You know I always come up here after work."

The man laughed, sitting down next to Cobalt.

"Oh, come on, no 'hello' for your ol' pal James?" He asked, playfully bumping shoulders with Cobalt.

"For the last time, we are not friends, we are only co-workers," Cobalt replied, his face stone cold.

"But we've been friends since we.... Are you starin' at the sun?" James responded, glancing briefly towards it, a blonde eyebrow raised.

"Well if my organic eye is closed I can stare at the sun all day if I wanted to. I know most humans can't see how the sun really looks," Cobalt admitted, not looking away.

"You talk like you aren't one," James said, frowning.

"I'm clearly not fully human," Cobalt retorted. James blinked in surprise, eyes glued to the stone beneath him, frowning.

"Are you ever gonna tell anyone about your past? I mean people ain't just born with a metal arm."

"I don't want to talk about it," Cobalt said, standing. Without a second glance towards James, he began the long descent back to the ground.

"Wait up!" James shouted after him, jumping up. Instead of listening, Cobalt increased his speed, desperate to get away from the obsessive man. He made it all the way down before he heard the telltale sound of James' labored panting

"Why didn't you wait for me?" He asked, leaning over to catch his breath.

"Because if you want to stay ahead in this world you must be quick on your feet," Cobalt said, a mocking lilt in his words.

"Now those're some wise words if I ever heard some." James replied sincerely, nodding in agreement. The two continued to walk in silence most of the way back to the worker's dorm building, when a sudden crack boomed through the air, followed by the hissing of released air pressure. At the same time, Cobalt fell to one knee with a grunt. James jumped in surprise, stumbling away from the source of the noise.

"What was that?"

Cobalt grimaced, struggling to stand.

"Nothing important," he grumbled.

James stared at Cobalt's right leg as steam continued to stream from the limb.

"Oh, do you need help?" He asked quietly, approaching slowly.

"No, I'm fine. The building is just around that corner," Cobalt growled, limping away.

******************************************************

Cobalt sat heavily down at his desk, slamming open a drawer, where an old rusted toolbox sat. He carefully chose a wrench from the box and began to loosen the piston in his right leg. After it was removed it, he turned it over to find the crack that had caused the air leak.

"I can probably fix this for now, but it will need a replacement soon," Cobalt murmured to himself, frowning.

With one hand he grabbed a welder from his toolbox and with the other, a two by two-inch plate of steel from his scrap drawer. Slowly and cautiously Cobalt welded the piece of scrap over the crack in the piston. Once he was satisfied with his work, he put it back where it belonged.

After a few minutes of testing his work, he walked to the common room where many of his co-workers relaxed. Cobalt received a few greetings as he moved through the room, but he had never been bothered to respond to them before, he couldn't see a reason to now. He moved through the room to the back corner, one of the few places where no one could sneak up on him from behind. Cobalt had been the victim of one too many practical jokes.

These people lounging around him were the closest thing to family that Cobalt had, but he would never be able to fully connect with them. None of them truly knew him, none of them could really understand his pain, they were all exceedingly different from him and not one could ever come close to being the same as him. But Cobalt still thought of what it would be like to have a real family, his own flesh and blood. What would they look like? He wondered. Where would they live? Would they still care for him now, even after all of the poking and prodding, the knives and needles that had changed him?