I had begun to notice something. Every time I made some sort of movement, no
matter how small, I made a sound. It varied from a low whirring to a loud clang, but
either way, I wished it would stop. People in the streets of Coruscant stopped to look
around every time I made a noise. I also noticed that it was NOT impossible for a
bio-mechanical robot to blush, as I had been doing it increasingly as more people stopped
to stare at me.
I followed the Queen through the streets and alleys as she led me through a
shortcut to the Jedi Temple. Today they were supposed to give their approval of my
knighthood. I nervously ascended the stairs, Brenda in the lead. She had been very
supportive of me, even though I felt sort of like an idiot, bumbling around with all these
“gadgets” popping out of me.
When we reached the Council chamber, I took a deep breath and entered. Brenda
followed close behind, but I knew if this didn’t go well, she wouldn’t be able to convince
the Masters any better than I could.
Master Yoda’s wise eyes looked us over incredulously. “The Jedi robot, you are?”
he asked, glancing in my direction. I stepped forward nervously and bowed.
“Yes, Master. My name is John-Wan Kenobi.”
“Hmmm,” he said, looking from me to Brenda. “The creator, you are?” Brenda
stepped forward and bowed, imitating my own reaction.
“Yes,” she answered, nodding. “I saved John-Wan from dying by making him like
this,” she added, gesturing toward me as I cocked my head and heard more whirring.
“Hmmm!” Yoda seemed surprised by the sounds I was making, so I tried to
remain perfectly still. Doing that and trying not to blush at the same time took all of my
concentration. Yoda noticed the stiff expression on my face and looked at me quizzically,
but said nothing. I began to worry. I glanced over at Brenda with a look on my face that
said, “He’s not liking this”. She nodded slightly but said nothing.
It seemed like an eternity before Yoda spoke again. When he did, his voice was
seeping sarcasm like a leaking refresher unit. “Wish to be a Jedi Knight, you do? To
defeat the Sith single-handedly, yes? How use the Force does a robot?”
I opened my mouth to say something, then clamped it shut and looked at my feet.
This was something I hadn’t thought about. How could I be a robot AND a Jedi? But
Brenda had thought of everything, and she stepped forward again.
“The chip in John-Wan that allows him to function has a built in device that lets
him use the Force....or, at least, something close to it. It demands his concentration to
work, just like the real thing.” She watched the little green alien, looking for a change in
expression, SOMETHING to show he was impressed, or at least he accepted it. But
Yoda still wasn’t convinced.
“A Jedi you cannot be if truly living you are not.” His words stung worse than the
time I dropped a vibroblade in my lap. “Ready your first assignment will be in a week.”
He waved he aged hand, dismissing us. Brenda and I bowed, and left the chamber.
Brenda looked over at me expectantly, but I looked away, a little hurt about the
outcome of the meeting. It wasn’t as if I WANTED to be this way. I hadn’t had a choice
in the matter. Would I really have to sacrifice my life as a Jedi just to go on living?
Also, I didn’t like the way Yoda had said “assignment”. He made it sound like I
was a janitor or something.
“This’ll all work out,” Brenda assured me. “You’ll see.”
“I hope so,” I replied, shrugging. I was irritated to hear a winding noise as I did
so. I was about to ask Brenda if there was any way to turn the sounds off or something,
but that seemed silly.
As we approached my apartment, I thanked her for accompanying me and asked if
she’d like to stay for dinner. She politely declined, seeing as it was past dinner time and
she had already eaten. I tried very hard to believe her.
When she left, I heard a loud screeching below my window. I looked out to see
the Gadget Speeder pulled up beside the building. He had sensors designed to look like
eyeballs, and they were staring up at me. Take it from me, it gives you a very eerie
feeling.
“Quit hittin’ on the Queen!” he shouted up at me. “You ain’t nothin’ but a
Padawan!”
“I was NOT hitting on her, simply being polite.” I snapped back. We both knew I
was lying, but hey, I tried, right?
