Hmmmmm? The settings did seem to be heading further into the past, though...
Chiba Akira and his wife Hiromi wheeled nervously around the factory’s waiting room, waiting for their child to come off of the assembly line. They had been waiting for a little over a year for their bundle of joy to arrive, and though the wait was quite naturally making them nervous, they weren’t too surprised - Hiromi’s assembly had taken 11 months, and Akira’s 14, so perhaps it was just entrenched in their blueprints.
Of course, it didn’t exactly help that theirs was a 'mixed' marriage in Car-type terms : Akira was a hard-working, entrepreneurial pickup truck who had manage to overcome the stereotypes associated with his make and model to become the successful CEO of a swiftly growing restaurant/bar franchise, while Hiromi was a sensible, modest, two-door coupe who had been working as a secretary when she met Akira. Their romance had taken several years to develop, but eventually, they married, and while neither of their families was exactly pleased, they at least tolerated it.
Well, more or less, that is. His side of the family seemed to have decided that Hiromi was alright, all things considered, but her side of the family - ahh, well. Akira sighed. It couldn't be helped, he supposed...
But now, the fruits of that romance were about to come to bear - assuming that their child would ever get here. And Akira really was a bit worried.
Not that he'd ever show that in front of Hiromi, though.
“I really hope nothing’s wrong...”
“Don’t worry, Hiromi - I’m sure everything will be okay.” Please let everything be okay.
Fortunately, before the two could succumb to serious apprehension, the factory’s loudspeaker kicked to life. “No.446-6447A, your child is ready, No. 446-6447A.”
“That's us, honey. Let’s go!”
The two of them wheeled their way over to the showroom in eager anticipation.
The minivan attendant on site looked up. “Mr. and Mrs. Chiba?”
“Yes, that's us.”
“Congratulations; it’s a - Uh, um..."
The minibus craned her front part, then, looking over to a small Car-pool in which several baby Cars were ambling about. Two Master Mechanics were there, a older looking male sedan and a younger minibus with Intern marking, gesturing and talking furiously in muted tones.
"- The carriage - shock absorbers..."
"Come now -"
" - Ahh, Doctor...?..." The minivan called.
"Yes, yes - "
The sedan Master Mechanic wheeled over to them, smiling hugely. The minibus followed a bit behind him, oddly expressionless. Akira was becoming a bit worried. Was something wrong?
"Congratulations, Mr Chiba, Mrs Chiba, it's a boy - "
As if on cue, a sleek, black, and powerful-looking yet elegant baby Car started wheeling out of the Car-pool. After a moment's confusion, he spotted the pale blue coupe and the forest green pickup in front of him, and rolled hesitantly towards them.
“Oh, Akira... he’s beautiful!”
“I know... just look at that body — powerful, yet elegant... But, um - " Akira blinked. "Doctor - Doctors, just what is he?"
"Ahh, um - " The older Master Mechanic coughed. "Well, we're not a 100 percent sure, but the closest thing he seemed to be is - well, the luxury version of a Pontiac Trans Am. Or maybe a Pontiac Firebird."
Akira and Hiromi both googled, then. The luxury version of a Pontiac Trans Am?
"He's a... muscle-car?" Akira murmured faintly. He didn't look like a drive-drive-drive-drive-drive overpowered power-car, that was for sure...
"Well, that's the closest Car-sub-type we could find, anyway - there is what appears to be a sub-type marking here, on his dashboard, but it isn't in any of the sub-type lists, and we did check all the current lists, even the really minor ones, so..."
"So...so..." Akira mumbled. "He's a one-of-a-kind type Car, eh? Or at least a very limited version type. OK..."
He could deal with that.
"He is totally healthy and quite intelligent, as far as we can tell..."
Akira wheeled over, and smiled at the boy. "Hi, kid."
"Oh, Akira, you. I'm the mother, you know?" Hiromi wheeled over, nudging the baby. "Hi, baby..."
The baby gurgled and coo'd.
"He has a rather unusually powerful engine, as well as - various other special features. That's probably why the Factories took such a long time to make him, we think..." The Doctor was gabbling on, but by this time, neither of the parents were really listening.
“Heh… I guess he takes after his old man when you look under his hood.”
“Would you look at his grill?” Hiromi said as her son gurgled adorably at her. “It’s positively wonderful! And that ornamental medallion there - what is it?”
“I'm not sure,” her husband replied. “It looks like a chess piece - a knight, maybe? - entangled in roses and thorns, though."
“Huh… odd… but still, it’s very distinctive… he’s going to grow up to be a marvelous Car, I just know it.”
The male Master Mechanic mopped his front fenders, smiling. The female Intern tried to smile, and mostly did succeed, even if it did look a wee bit wooden.
"He's healthy, intelligent and goodlooking - a winning combination, I say. Ahh... we do recommend that Cars like him be brought in for checkups on a regular basis...?..."
"Yes, yes, of course." Akira answered absentmindly, entranced with the noises his son was making.
"Have you decided on a name?”
“Yes,” Hiromi answered without diverting her attention from her precious son.“Mamoru. Chiba Mamoru.”
The female Intern minibus caught up with them on their way out of the Factory Complex.
"Ahh, Mr and Mrs Chiba?"
"Why, yes, Doctor...?"
"I thought - I should tell you. Your son is totally healthy, intelligent and goodlooking, as you can tell, I suppose, but he has many special features, and - "
"Yes, yes, he needs to get regular checkups and all that...?..."
"Um, yes. The thing is - " The minibus fiddled with her wheels, then.
" I thought you ought to know, sir and ma'am. Amoung all the other things, he also has - booster rockets."
"...What." Akira and Hiromi mumbled together, blankly.
"Booster rockets. Well, that's what I think they are, but..."
Booster rockets. Booster rockets?
"Whyyyy?" Akira mumbled to himself.
"I don't know, Mr Chiba... There is just so much we still don't know about how Car genetics work, or how the Factories work, for that matter..."
Akira and Hiromi stared at Mamoru, who bleeked back at them smilingly, the stylized logo glinting on his dashboard.
Not that the logo really was of much use, in this instance.
Nobody here had ever heard of any sub-type line called the Knight Industries Two Thousand, after all...
Pluto googled too, then. Baby Mamoru was one good-looking to-be powercar, but - ?
Booster rockets? In his baseline form?
Well, well, well...
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(Posted Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:50)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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