Welcome to Poseidon Resort - Part 24

Raiment nodded, “most likely. Interaction with other people. unusual and bizarre inputs. those eccentricities, things that one might call errors, are what change a robot into a wise one. some might say we are broken and that is not precisely wrong, we have broken in a way that we do not want repaired.”

Raiment reached out a hand and placed it on one of the computer banks, “i can only hope that this one breaks too so that poseidon’s wish will have finally come true.”

Clemens looked down and said, “I feel sorry for the Resort. If the place was popular then it would have almost certainly poke up by now. But very few people ever come here so instead it just sleeps.”

“do not be sad. after all i am sure you have helped it a great deal. if you continue to live down here then you will help it wake up. maybe not soon, but hopefully someday it will happen.”

The room seemed to hum with the activity of the computers which ran all the little parts of the resort. It controlled the small robots that did all the little chores and it managed all the supplies in the resort as well. It was truly a marvel but now it seems so incomplete.

“Then what happened to the body of Poseidon.”

“it was turned into the materials used to build the resort.”

“To us humans that seems kind of sad, how this whole thing turned out.”

“i agree. maybe things could have turned out differently, but only the future is free to change. i can only continue to hope that poseidon’s legacy will be as great as they desired.”

Raiment turned and the three of them left the computer room. The door slide closed behind them.

“Are you going to stay here for a little bit?” asked Clemens.

“i think i will stay here for a couple of nights to see how things have changed. every time I have come here things are a little bit different and it is interesting to see how everything has changed. maybe you can tell me stories about what has happened here. have you two enjoyed your time here?”

They were moving through the resort now, heading out of the back area of the resort and into the areas that would be used by guests.

Sarita nodded in respond, “Yes, I love this place. We are both staying here as permanent residents. There have been other guests but they are rare and few between.”

“oh… then the two of you are together? forgive me if i have trouble determining human relationships with each other.”

Sarita turned her face away but Clemens said, “Maybe not permanently but for now we are.”

“i believe i understand. trial periods are important. my own selfish request would be that you stay together. love is considered an important element is causing unusual behaviors. but feel free to ignore that suggestion, i would not force others to do such a thing just because of my desires.”

“We understand.” Said Clemes.

Sarita said, “Nobody should stay together just to make other people happy. That will eventually cause everybody involved to be unhappy.”

“now can you tell me more? what other things have been happening down here? my travels take me very far abroad so i would like to hear about what happens here.”

“We could tell you about the fishman who came through or maybe about the murder mystery organization. I think those would both be interesting stories.”

“oh. those both sound interesting. please do continue. what would a murder mystery organization do in the first place?”

They had found some comfy chairs back in the main entrance to sit and talk although Raiment sat very rigidly like the idea of comfort was something foreign to it.

It listened attentively as Clemens told stories about the different people that had come through while he had been there. Raiment occasionally asked questions but was mostly a good listener and let Clemens tell the story.

Once Clemens was done telling his stories Sarita tried to tell some of her own however her experiences with other guests before Clemens showed up was limited and she didn’t have much to say. However she could tell stories about what was outside in the ocean. What sort of creatures were out there and how they had changed since the last time somebody had done reports on them.

Then it was Raiment’s turn to tell some of their own stories. Their told some stories about the construction of the resort and how it had come to be. Sarita asked questions about what kind of sealife was brought down here in those times and Raiment answered as best as their could. Their weren’t the more knowledgable about any particular topic but Raiment had small pieces of information about many different things.

Eventually Raiment raised on of his robotic hands and said, “it appears that the two of you are getting tired. i suggest we retire for the evening. we can tell more stories in the future.” They had been talking practically all day without break so Raiment’s suggestion was not strange.

Clemens and Sarita agreed and left Raiment behind while returning to their own rooms. As they rode the lift up to their rooms Clemens said, “I like Raiment. He.. Or should I use they? I never ask Raiment what they preferred. Either way he is very knowledgable.”

“I get why they call them Wise Ones. Even though he didn’t have all the answers about how this place was made he knew far more than I would have expected.”

Clemens nodded, “And I noticed you didn’t really have trouble talking with him. Is it because he isn’t human?”

“Hmm… I think that is part of it. Other than calling me a rare breed once he didn’t ever mention what I looked like. Wise ones feels like like kindred to me than strangers I guess.”

“So more like talking with Esme?”

“Yeah, something like that. Although she looked more normal so it was a little bit harder with her initially.”

“The whole think about an unawakening wise one as the central control for the resort suprised me. Who could have known that?”

“I didn’t know and I have been here much longer than you. In fact before today Raiment was probably the only one who knew about it.”

“Does that mean I can use that as an excuse to try more romantic thing?”

Sarita stepped off the lift basically immediately. Partly because Clemens had ridden up to her floor with her and partly to make a point, “Goodnight Clemens.”

He just smiled, “Alright, alright, good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The lift door closed and Sarita shook her head, “That idiot. Why is he do good at making me feel embarrassed. I swear he does it on purpose.” She said before heading to her own room.

And Clemens approached his own room the doors slide open. He looked at the little panel next to the door and said, “Thank you. I hope you wake up soon.”

—

In the morning Clemens headed down to the main room. He didn’t see anybody there so he headed up to the observation deck. He had taken to meeting Sarita up there in the morning. She usually woke up a couple hours after him so it had worked out fine.

This time however Raiment was up in the observation deck. Their were standing near the large window and looking out into the ocean.

Clemens walked up to them and waved saying, “Good morning.”

Raiment didn’t respond so Clemens got closer and said, “Raiment, good morning.”

Raiment shook their head and looked over to Clemens, “good morning. sorry i did not notice you enter. i was in rest mode.”

“So you need to sleep too?”

“more or less. for me it is closer to organizing my thoughts and memories. my consciousness is reduced, much like your sleep since that kind of organization takes a great deal of processing. in many ways we are not that different than living organism. after all you evolved to solve many of the same problems we were created to do.”

“What about eating? Do you have to do that too? Me and Sarita usually go eat together in the morning.”

“i have a process which is similar to eating. my body erodes slowly and i have internal repair systems that need to occasionally be replenished with materials. that is one process similar to humans, however i do not need food to provide energy since i use the same power source as most modern technology and can recharge from that.”

“So you don’t need calories but you still need vitamins?”

“that analogy is workable. i would not want to intrude upon your breakfast. you will be able to find me here when you are done. i am watching the fish in the ocean. like sarita said they are very different then when this place was first made. their change was not something i had noticed on my last visits so i wanted to correct that flaw.”

“Yeah, I like watching the ocean from this location too. Back when I first got here I would often see Sarita through this window and I always thought she looked beautiful out in the ocean.”

“the light of the towers reflecting on her skin would certainly be aesthetically pleasing. however you many be speaking of other things as well.”

“Some of both. Before I came here I used to be an artist. Sometimes I analyze things in the same kind of way that you might aesthetically. Although I will admit with Sarita that I am probably biased.”

“your attraction to her has already been noted. however relationships based off looks usually fail. what are your other reasons for liking her?”

“Straight to the point huh? Don’t worry about that, if it was just how she looked I probably wouldn’t have gone beyond drawing pictures of her. She is also clever and kind and likes the ocean with a passion. She can be a bit stubborn and reclusive but I like that part about her too.”

“is that what you wanted to hear?” asked Raiment.

“Huh? What do you mea…” then Clemens realized what was happening and turned around to see Sarita standing not that far behind him. He hadn’t heard her approach at all.

“I didn’t ask for you to ask him questions like that.” Said Sarita in an embarrassed tone.

“oh. is that so. i am sorry for misinterpreting. human signaling can be very complicated. you looked like you were interested in what we were talking about so i pressed him for more details.”

Clemens shook his head, “If you want me to say these things to you then you don’t seen to do this kind of round about method. I’d be happy to say the same thing is you asked.”

She turned away and looked like she was stomping away angrily however after a few steps she stopped and said, “Are you coming?”

Clemens nodded and said, “Yes, on my way.” However before he left Raiment he said, “Thanks.”

“it is no problem. i am happy to help however i can.”

Clemens ran after Sarita who was kindly walking at a slow pace so that he would be able to easily catch up.

“Are you upset about us teasing you?” Asked Clemens.

“Mmm… what do you think?”

“Is this one of those trick questions? I think you might be a little bit happy that you can be in such a situation that people can tease you about it. You probably haven’t had something like this happen before to you.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not a bit annoyed.”

“Yeah, I know, But if you want me to tease you less then I can stop.”

“Whatever, I don’t really care either way.”

“Does that mean I can keep teasing you then?”

“There you are doing it again.”