Dusty Old Books (Moon)

It was a quiet day at the library. Too quiet. Usually, Charity liked to talk to people. She didn't know why all the 'no talking' signs were everywhere. Wouldn't people rather talk to each other than read a bunch of boring books? She was doing them a favor. But today there didn't seem to be anybody to talk to.

She had told her parents on the way over here that she would try to find some good coloring books. Her dad told her that there were no coloring books at the library. He said that you could only 'read' a coloring book once.

So here she was, bored while her parents looked for boring books without any pictures.

But wait, there was one other person here. A teenage girl, who seemed to have been imprisoned behind a large stack of books. Charity grinned. She needed to be rescued!

The child walked over to Opal, bouncing as she walked. "What are you reading about?"

Charity giggled and put her hands behind her back. She hadn't intended to scare the red haired girl.

"Sorry about that. Robots, huh? Are you trying to build a robot? Are you sure that's a good idea? I saw this movie where robots took over the world. Well, the evil ones did. There were some good robots, too. I'm Charity, by the way. What's your name?"

Charity nodded. This teenager knew what her name meant. That was kind of exciting. "Yeah, exactly." It was a bit more true than anyone would expect, but Opal wasn't asking about all that.

Opal, huh? "Isn't Opal like...a rock? I mean, it's a nice, shiny rock. Right?"

She was trying to understand a robot? Understand, as in they spoke different languages and it was hard for them to communicate? "Maybe I can help. I'm pretty good at understanding people. Although, you said it's not a person, it's a robot. But still."

Charity's eyes got big, suddenly. "Wait, but then that means you've actually met a robot? It wasn't that remote control robot made out of pop bottles at the museum, was it? Because he's not real. Wow, tell me about this robot that you know. Please?"

Opal seemed to know an awful lot about rocks. Or, at least about 'minerals.' "Well I think it's a very nice name," Charity said in response.

Charity sat next to the other girl. What a nice person!

A stick? As books started to fly in the air, Charity realized what it was. A magic wand! Her face didn't look too surprised, however. She had seen a lot of...interesting things in her life. Many of them could be rightly called supernatural.

"Oh wow. That's a cool trick."

Charity was actually more impressed by Opal's ability to write with both hands at the same time. How exactly did this girl's brain work?

Opal explained more about the robot, and Charity nodded. Opal wasn't just trying to understand what the robot was saying. Apparently, he didn't even speak at all. Instead, she was trying to understand things about him. The robot had proven itself to be kind, and Opal had reason to think it possessed a will of its own. A soul. "I don't think it sounds crazy at all. Why can't a robot have a soul? Everybody has a soul, but does anybody actually know where souls come from? It can't come from nowhere, because nothing comes from nowhere. So then, where? If we can't even answer that question, then we shouldn't be surprised if a robot has one." Charity smiled, and blushed a little bit. "I'm sorry if I'm talking too much. You seem like a really smart person. You probably already know everything I know, and more."

Opal dropped the books, as well as her face, on the desk and groaned. Maybe she had been trying to answer that very question. Charity put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Before she could ask if Opal was alright, a cat showed up. A cat? Charity didn't think they were allowed in the library. She also didn't think they were allowed to talk, but this one didn't seem to have a problem with it. Again, Charity wasn't as much startled as pleasantly surprised.

"A talking cat! Well that's wonderful!" She was genuine. She loved when animals talked in movies, but hadn't met any that actually talked in real life. "I just said something about how nobody knows where souls come from. I think she's trying to figure that out, though."

She gave Opal a hug. "But I really meant it. You're really smart. I can tell. If anyone could find the answer to that question, it would be you." She let the girl go. "But, if you want to understand the robot, shouldn't you be...you know...with that robot? Books are okay and everything, but you're just understanding books more by reading them. If you want to get to know someone, you have to hang out with them."

Opal didn't know where the robot was. Star City was a really big place, so Charity couldn't blame Opal for her hopeless statement. Where would you expect to find a robot? Charity had never met the robot, so she didn't know much about it. Robots didn't need to eat, but...maybe they needed to recharge their batteries or something.

"He has to have a scientist or someone who built him, right? If you could find the people who are building robots in Star City, maybe you could find him."

Charity pulled out her smart phone. It was her new, shiny present from her parents for turning 10. A few seconds later, she was looking at a website for a local robotics company.

"Star Scientific has some robots. Some of them dance. It's on the other side of town, though."

Charity pocketed her phone.

"How big of a secret can he be if he be if you've already met him? Either he escaped, or he is just free to do move around the city. Still, I think Star Scientific would be a good place to start. I'm sure you'll find Robert, and I'm sure you'll come to understand him and become good friends."

Charity noticed her parents were waiting for her over by the library door. "I better go. My family's waiting. I was so glad to meet you, Opal. I hope we see each other again." The girl gave her new friend another hug, and then skipped off towards the entrance.