Machine Man (serial)

CHAPTER THREE

My boss visited me the day before I was due to be discharged. Until this point, the only contact I’d had from him had been via e-mail. “Hey, Charlie,” he said weakly, his eyes shifting away. I made him uncomfortable. Not because of the stump. He had felt this way about me forever. “You’re doing great, they say.”

“I’m ready to go back to work.”

“You want to…” He swallowed. “Get back on the horse, then.”

“Yes. Can’t let a little accident derail everything.”

“Accident.” He nodded. “Exactly. That’s just what it was.”

“Also, I have a new project.”

“Ah.” His lip trembled. “Well.”

“I am entitled to perform free-ranging research,” I said. “That’s part of my spec.”

“Of course it is. You know we’ll support you in whatever you do.”

“I want to get back to work.”

“Some of the labs… they’re not equipped for a… for someone with your… able-bodied… issues. I mean, we’ll take care of it. It’s just—”

“Don’t bother,” I said. “I won’t need any of that. Oh, except for tomorrow. If you could arrange for someone to carry me down to the labs, that would be great. But after then, I’ll be fine.”

My boss went silent for a few moments. His name was D. Peters. I forget what the D stood for. E-mails from him just showed up as D. Peters. “Charlie, if you want to take a few months—”

“I don’t,” I said. “Just get someone to carry me, thank you.”

9.