BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

Little Mary Jones was so mad. Her mommy and daddy had brought her to Jennings County Indiana because her daddy had a new position at the Indiana branch of Trans-Allied Robotics and Advanced Cybernetics, whatever that was. All Mary knew was that she had to leave her friends behind. Yes, she could chat with them online, but it just wasn't the same. So a little 10 year old girl who liked painting, coloring and fishing had to find new friends.

#

Mary cast the line from her pole and smiled as the lure made a soft splash in the creek. The one saving grace in her whole ordeal was this; there were miles of rural beauty for her to roam. Of course, her parents had made her bring Uncle Jim, a caretaker synthoid, to protect her, but their was no one to protect her from. House after house were filled with happy, smiling faces and kind hearts. And there were a whole colony of Wisslerites! She loved the Wisserlites and wanted to know more about them. She was glad they were nearby. As she was lost in thought a fish was nibbling her bait. She finally noticed it but was saddened when, upon retrieving it, she discovered her lure was mangled. Probably some dumb robo-fish that a big teen had dropped in the creek. Robo-fish were large robotic fishing tools that roamed through the creeks and waterways gobbling up fish. It was both lazy and illegal, and Mary thought about going home to tell her daddy about it when she saw a little Wisslerite girl on the opposite side of the creek. The girl waved her hand and smiled broadly. Mary looked up to see that Uncle Jim was eyeing the little girl as a potential threat.

"Uncle Jim, stand down."

"But, young miss, she may be a threat." At this Mary giggled and playfully poked Uncle Jim.

"She's no more a threat than I am. Stand down." Jim did as ordered and Mary heard the slow whine as his servo-motors shut down. She smiled at the little girl and cried out. "Come over! There's a bridge near here you can come across!" The girl quickly found the bridge and was happily skipping over it, swinging her silvery lunch pail. Mary was hoping there was enough in it to share as she'd forgotten to bring any food with her. The girl looked like a typical Wisserlite, her A-line Maxi skirt turned into a split skirt, a white blouse tucked in, a vest made from the same material as the skirt covering the blouse and her hair in a ponytail. She beamed happiness and her voice, high and clear, cut through the humid air.

"Hi! What a beautiful day God's given us! Let us rejoice, and be glad in it!" Mary was surprised as this outburst was something she just wasn't used to. Her parents didn't go to church and her mother, unwilling to lead her daughter astray, had given her a New King James bible for her to read and decide for herself. At eight. She loved her parents but often wondered if they truly understood how old she was. "My name is Julia Miller and I'm 9."

"I hate to ask," Mary began "but would you happen to have any extra food?" At this Julia's face lit up and she reached into her lunch pail. Out came a chicken leg and a bottle of chocolate milk, which Julia handed to Mary. She gratefully accepted them but worried that Julia had given her everything she had. With a happy sigh she saw that it wasn't as Julia brought out a chicken leg and a bottle of chocolate milk for herself.

"I always carry extra food." Julia said happily. "Jesus gave us His life. The least we can do is share our lunch." Mary laughed at this and the girls ate like old chums.

#

Mary had made it home before dark, the only rule besides taking Uncle Jim that her parents had, and was just about to tell of her adventure when her daddy spoke up.

"Mary, honey, we know you've been lonely. That's why we've gotten you this!" With a sweep of his arm her daddy introduced her gift; a companion synthoid. It looked like a young girl of 10 and was silvery skinned. Her daddy went over, flipped a hidden switch on its back and watched as the little companion awoke.

"Hello, I am your synthoid companion. My designation is BR-1Z1Z, but you may call me Zeze." Mary was not sure what to say. She knew her parents meant well, but how would she explain Zeze to Julia. This was a pickle. Before she had a chance to explain her predicament her mommy called her and her daddy to the kitchen.

"Time for supper, small one. It's soup night!" Indeed it was, and Mary was thankful that she had potato soap, fresh bread, good milk and wonderful parents.

#

"Zeze? We're going to the creek."

"Why, Mary?"

"We're going to meet up with my friend."

"I thought you didn't have any friends?"

"I didn't, until yesterday." Zeze said no more and Mary thought, for a few seconds, that her feelings were hurt. But Zeze was a synthoid, and synthoids don't have feelings. This was real life, not science fiction. As they headed to the creek Mary was secretly hoping that there were two extra pieces of fried chicken in Julia's lunch pail. Mary didn't get to taste meat very often. Her mommy and daddy were vegetarians. They did allow for eggs and dairy so that Mary would get plenty of protein, along with fish, but beef, chicken and pork were meats that Mary never tasted. She was sure that Julia was blessed indeed.

"Mary?" Julia's voice sounded troubled and she pointed to Zeze with a look of confusion in her eyes. "Who's that?" Mary knew the time had come and so, taking a deep breath, she began.

"This is my synthoid companion. Her designation is BR-1Z1Z. Her chosen name is Zeze." At this Julia laughed, a sound not unlike bells, and she grabbed Zeze's hand.

"Hi, Zeze! My name is Julia! I'm Mary's friend, and now I'm yours as well." Zeze looked relieved and the three friends merrily skipped down the lane that led to the creek. "Hey, Mary, Zeze! Do you guys wanna come to my house? We could play with my dolls!" Mary was all for this, and surprisingly, so was Zeze. They walked down the lane that led to Julia's house. A lovely house it was, with white siding, black trim at the windows and gray shingles on the roof. In the front was a flower garden, alive and in full bloom. And on the porch was Julia's mom, Aimee. She was rocking Julia's baby brother, Issac, and Julia's other brother, Isaiah, was playing with his toy tractors. Her dad was in his rocker reading 'The Diary', the newspaper that kept all of the Wisserlite colonies connected. Mary was very happy that the home life for Julia was so cozy. Julia's dad looked up and smiled.

"Hello! You must be Mary, Julia's new friend. And who is this?"

"Papa, this is Zeze. Say hello, Zeze."

"Hello, Zeze." At this Mr. Miller roared with laughter. He stood up and approached the girls.

"I'm so glad Julia has more friends. She's our precious darling." He wrapped his strong arms around Julia and held her close. He then led all three girls around the house to see Julia's 'surprise'. There, in the back yard, surrounding an old oak tree, was the fanciest tree house that Mary had ever seen. It was almost like a castle, and Julia was its queen. The girls thanked Mr. Miller profusely and all three ran with wild abandon to take in the sights, smells and sounds of Julia's domain. Mr. Miller had placed all of Julia's dolls in the schoolroom and each girl took turns playing teacher, with Zeze being the best at it as she had so much knowledge stored in her positronic matrix. The girls spent the rest of the day in play and, when suppertime came around, Mary's parents came to pick her up. The Millers invited the Jones to stay. The invitation was gladly accepted and both families enjoyed each others company, especially Mary, Julia and Zeze, best friends forever.