The Unchained Melody of Life

This story is yet another variation of the Astro Boy origin story. More emphasis has been placed on Tobio in this version than on Astro, for reasons that will become apparent as the tale unfolds.

NOTE: Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka.

Chapter Eight

Dr. Tenma re-entered the robotics laboratory to find Dr. Ochanomizu and Poindexter Drake standing over Atom. The robot still had the same peaceful look on his face, and was lying still on the operating table. A computer monitor hanging overhead displayed code usage and was now indicating a large loop within the initial system bootstrap.
"It's been five minutes so far and his AI hasn't initiated itself. So far the behavior is exactly the same as it was on the simulator. The Kokoro is bootstrap is stuck in the initiation loop. He's not waking up." Drake said with his head bowed.

"Give it time. Some of my more complex AI systems sometimes took hours to run though their initialization loops on the first boot. Atom's processor is much faster and more powerful than those, but this AI system is also many orders of magnitude more complicated." Tenma answered.

Several hours passed but Atom failed to wake up. Tenma decided to leave the robot as it was hoping that the AI function would eventually run though the initialization functions and become sentient. He understood now what the problem might be. Poindexter had noticed the catch-22 issue right away. In order for the AI to achieve Kokoro it had to solve increasing more difficult problems, each one providing the answer seed to solve the next. The problem was that in order to solve the very first one a small seed of self awareness was required. It was a chicken and egg problem. The algorithm was convergent, but so very slowly.

"You guys better get ready for dinner! The catering order should be here soon. Poindexter, Ms. Knight will be waiting in the lobby by now. I'll keep watch here, all night if necessary!" Uma yelled out to his companions. Dr. Ochanomizu, and Drake left the laboratory headed for the dinning hall. Tenma sat at a terminal with his back turned toward Atom lying on the operating table. He keep studying the AI code, looking for an idea.

"Tezuka Catering!" the voice on the other end of the phone answered.

"I'd like to confirm the order for the Institute of Science," Boon replied.

"Hold on a sec, … , Yes we have it ready to go shrimp over rice, sushi assortment, ramen with curry, vegetable broth soup, steak cubes, green tea. The delivery man should be on his way in a few minutes."

"Very good. Oh, what's the license number of your delivery vehicle. We have increased security here." Boon asked.

"Hold on, let me look out the window, . . . , BJ9973"

"Thank you. I'll leave a nice tip for the driver." Boon laughed.

"Well that was easy!" Boon thought. Now all he had to do was wait for the caterer's delivery van and hijack it. The evening dinner's delivery would be his ticket into the complex.

Tobio stood next to Atom, lying on the table. Why had his father failed at bringing it to life? What was wrong? He felt connected to the robot somehow. Suddenly Tobio remembered something the poltergeist had told him. Something about being able to enter a willing person's mind and share their body. It was how a ghost could briefly experience life again. Could he do that with the robot?

Tobio sat down on the edge of the operating table. He lay down next to Atom and tried to roll over and enter the robot's body. He felt a strange feeling as he got close to Atom, it was like the two of them were one and the same. Tobio's being slipped into the robot and connected. He could feel the table beneath him with Atom's sense of feel. Tobio took a breath using Atom's lungs and he could taste the ozone still hanging in the air of the laboratory.

Tobio opened Atom's eyes and he could see the ceiling of the laboratory vividly. He drummed Atom's fingers on the table and he could feel the rough fibers of the cloth covering. Tobio felt for Atom's muscles and raised his head and back. He sat up on the operating table and saw his father still paging through the code that had failed to initialize.

"Dad?" Tobio called.

Dr. Tenma turned and saw Atom sitting up, and he almost had a heart attack.

"Atom?" he asked "you woke?"

"No. I'm Tobio!" Tobio answered using the robot's voice.

"Drake, Get over here, now!" Tenma called into the intercom.

Poindexter was halfway to the dinning hall when he heard the intercom and ran back to the laboratory. He got there to see the robot standing next to Tenma.

"He insists that he is Tobio, not Atom. He claims that he has taken over the robot, that he is my son's spirit." Tenma said.

"I can test for that!" Poindexter said. "Wait a minute."

Poindexter ran back to his office. He dug though a closet and found a modified digital camera he had built years ago for an experiment. He returned to the robotics laboratory with the device in hand.

"This camera was modified to perform Kirlian Photography. It can capture the aura of a living thing. I once used it during an experiment in a haunted house to take pictures of ghosts." He said.

"You're crazy!" Tenma laughed.

"Like a fox. It actually captured the images of several spirits that night. I still don't understand it, but there is something to these ghost stories. Hoshie might have actually felt your son's spirit"

Poindexter dimmed the laboratory lights and connected the camera to a monitor. He pointed it at the robot.
"This imager shouldn't be able to see an aura around a robot, even one with a fully functional AI, because it is not a true life force. On the other hand …."

Tobio's aura appeared on the monitor surrounding the robot. Tenma gasped and Poindexter smiled. The boy's spirit was present and inhabited the robot. Tenma walked toward Atom and embraced him.
"Tobio!"

Tobio hugged his father for the first time in weeks. He started to cry and felt the tears flowing down the robot's cheeks.
"Dad!"

"Come, let's surprise your mother!" Tenma cried.

Boon waited a few blocks from the IOS for the delivery van. He soon spotted it and he confirmed the license tag number. While the van stopped for a red light, Boon ran up to the vehicle and pointed his Luger at the driver, and motioned for him to get out.
"Hand me your wallet and ID cards!" Boon told him.

The driver complied. "Your jacket too!" Boon added on a second thought.

Boon used the grip of the gun as a Blackjack on the driver's head to knock him out, and left him sitting on the sidewalk. He got into the van and drove off.

The robot security guard at the gate checked the company ID card's RF ID tag and let Boon drive in to the parking lot. He opened the back of the van and grabbed the insulated container labeled as the order for the IOS. Boon entered the building and proceeded toward the office area. He knew where Tenma's wife would be, in the doctor's lounge. Boon found the bedroom suite and tried the door. It was ajar and he entered. Hoshie was sitting on the futon waiting for Uma to return. Boon grabbed her and pressed the luger to her side.

"Keep quiet Mrs. Tenma and I won't have to hurt you. You are going to be my guest for a while."

Boon dragged Hoshie with him toward the door leading toward the parking area where he left the van. Hoshie tried to break free from him and knocked some of Tobio's mementos off the dresser top.

Atom/Tobio and Dr. Tenma found the door to the bedroom open and Hoshie gone. The room was a mess as if a struggle had taken place.
"What the?" Tenma said.

Atom/Tobio discovered he could increase the gain on the robot's ears by at least 1000 times. He cranked it up and heard his mother's voice crying. He cupped his hands to his ears and turned his head to locate the source of the sound. Atom/Tobio started to run for the front door of the complex with Uma following. They passed by the dinning hall entrance where Drake was standing with Ochanomizu. Drake saw Atom running and followed them.

As they exited the building, they saw they were too late. Atom/Tobio saw Boon throw Hoshie into the van. He hit the accelerator and speed off.
"You take off after them, and I'll follow you in my car." Uma told Atom/Tobio. "I can track your position via network."

Uma looked at Poindexter and told him, "Go to my office and get my laptop computer. It has a tracking receiver for the transmitter inside of Atom. Meet me in the parking lot."

Atom/Tobio ran after the van, but boon was moving too fast for him to keep up on foot. Tobio discovered the robot's jet ability and he jumped into the sky. Atom/Tobio flew over the speeding van, waiting for Boon to stop someplace.

Boon drove the van toward the edge of town, heading for the industrial area where his hideout was located. He left the downtown area, and passed the point where the subway commuter rail line emerged from its tunnel, and the tracks ran on a raised right of way that ran parallel to the road.

The van's engine started to sputter. Boon looked at the dashboard and saw that he was running out of gas. He was still a ways from his hideout located on the other side of the tracks. Boon used the last of the van's fuel to get him close to the rail line. Night had fallen, and it was quite dark as there were few street lights.

Dr. Tenma drove one of the Institutes automobiles in the direction that Boon had taken off in. Poindexter had the computer sitting on his lap with the tracking program open. The laptop displayed a map of the area, a blinking icon showed Atom's position. It had just stopped moving, and was located on the edge of the city.

Boon dragged Hoshie out of the van and walked toward the railroad tracks. He climbed the gradual incline leading from the street level to the tracks, with the intention of getting to the other side. Hoshie had a hard time keeping her footing on the gravel lining the right of way. Atom landed a few feet away and glared at Boon.
"Let go of my mother!" He yelled, and then blinded Boon in the glare of his eye's searchlights. His arms morphed into cannons which he aimed at Boon's head.

Boon pressed the luger closer to Hoshie's head.
"Keep back or the woman gets it!" He shouted back. "I mean it!"

In the distance the head lights of an approaching automobile rounded a turn in the road. From the car, Dr. Tenma and Poindexter could see the stalled van in the distance. The doors were open and the van was empty.

Atom/Tobio slowly took a step toward Boon. Boon took a step back and climbed a bit higher up the embankment, dragging Hoshie with him. He reached the top and stood on one of the track cross ties. Atom kept him in his spotlights.
"Damn you! Let go of my Mother!" he yelled.

Boon held the pistol even tighter against Hoshie. Atom/Tobio gauged the distance, Boon's likely reflex timing, and his own speed. His arms morphed back to normal, and he suddenly lit his jet engines and flew toward the man. Before Boon could pull the trigger, Atom/Tobio had grabbed Hoshie clear of him and had her safely behind the van.

The force of Atom/Tobio's flight knocked Boon off his feet. He stumbled and the gun discharged into the air. Boon fell onto the tracks and his left hand landed on the third rail. 1000 volts of electricity passed though his body and he lay there rigid as the current paralyzed him. His teeth clenched and blood oozed from his mouth. Smoke wafted from his nose and ears. Sparks shot up from the track.

Atom/Tobio flew back to where Boon lay, now a charred, smoking corpse.

Boon's spirit climbed out of his dead body and looked around. Tobio saw Boon's ghost with his own eyes and felt satisfied. Before Boon could do anything, the ground between the two tracks opened up to reveal a bottomless pit. The smell of brimstone rose from the opening and several dozen hideous looking dark creatures climbed out of the crevasse. Just as they had Skunk, the demons dragged Boon toward his final destination, deep within the bowels of the earth. After the last of the foul creatures had jumped back into the pit, the hole in the ground closed up as if it had never been there.

Dr. Tenma and Poindexter found Hoshie standing by the side of the van. Atom/Tobio quickly landed by her side. Hoshie got her first good look at the robot and saw Tobio's face again. She cried happy tears and hugged the android.

Suddenly the sky above them started to glow. A column of light descended from the clouds and took the shape of a long staircase extending from the ground, about fifty feet in front of them, up to the top of the clouds. The glow was a pleasant one to the eyes, not a bright glare, but not faint either. It sparkled with a heavenly radiance. Several dozen angelic creatures descended from the clouds and took their positions along the staircase. They seemed to beckon to Tobio.

Atom/Tobio took on a blue glow. Tobio's aura became visible surrounding the robot's body. Tobio felt a strange and wonderful warmth throughout his being. He felt love coming down from the heavens to fill his soul. He suddenly knew that God had not forgotten him. He was being called home now, his mission on earth was finally finished.

"Mother! Father!" He cried running towards them. Tobio/Atom gave his parents a final hug goodbye. He looked over his shoulder and saw the glow of the staircase pulsing and calling him louder and louder.

Hoshie released her son and cried happy tears. Suddenly Atom fell toward the ground as Tobio's spirit released him. Tobio's aura glowed brightly and was visible to the three people standing in front of him. Tobio turned and slowly walked toward the light. He looked back and waved a final time from the staircase as he ascended to heaven. The staircase rose from the ground and disappeared into the clouds. There were several cloud to cloud lighting flashes and then all was quiet.

Poindexter, Uma, and Hoshie stood in awe at what they had been privileged to witness.

Suddenly Atom's body opened its eyes and sat up.
"Mother?" he asked, looking at Hoshie.

Hoshie put her arms around Atom and hugged him.
"You're back" she cooed.

Poindexter face palmed and smiled.

"That was the key!" He told Dr. Tenma. "The presence of Tobio's soul in the robot was the seed needed to bootstrap the Kokoro AI. He left an imprint of his memories in Atom when he left. As soon as your son's spirit departed the robot, it rebooted and the Kokoro AI fully initialized!"

Uma, Hoshie and Atom returned home. The Super Robot had all of Tobio Tenma's memories. Hoshie's maternal instincts attached to the android and she accepted it as her son. She called him Atom, so as not to confuse him with her real boy who was now with the angels. Uma remained devoted to his wife and family. He never forgot Tobio, and sometimes would become teary eyed when Atom acted just a bit too much like his real son.

Atom remembered who he used to be, and tried to figure out what he was. The world would soon depend on his abilities, and to the end of his days, he would never let mankind down.

The End

Author's Notes:

This was a very emotional story to write. Not only was it a tragic story, but also a story of a mother's love for her child. In case you haven't guessed by now, I was very influenced by the plot of the 1990 film "Ghost". I didn't consider this a cross over because none of the canon characters from the movie appear in this story (well, maybe the nameless poltergeist). I did use some of the movie's plot themes, but this story is still basically the origin story of Atom. I made use of a few of Tezuka's star system actors in their type case roles, and introduced one important original character, Poindexter Drake. He's been in a few of my previous Astro fan fic's, though this time he is a 'good guy'. The name Drake is sometimes given by Tezuka to his character 'Lamp'.

Finally, Hoshie Tenma is here, and Dr. Uma Tenma is no longer the self centered fink that Tezuka has him. I think the guy deserves some respect for a change.