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A Hoshie Story: DNR

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:55 am
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Professor Ochanomizu noticed that Astro seemed to be in a somber mood. In fact, he had been down in the dumps for a week now. The Professor had little doubt that Astro's recent visits to Dr. Tenma's abandoned house tied in with the boy robot's current mental state, though he wasn't sure which had been the cause, and which the effect. He'd always known that Astro had some of Tobio's memories buried deep in his A.I. somewhere, and that they sometimes surfaced at the oddest moments.

It was known that Tenma had raised his son Tobio by himself ever since his wife Hoshie had left him. No one really knew what had happened to Hoshie, Tenma alternately mentioned her death from cancer, and her running away in the middle of the night. Inspector Tawashi was never able to shed any light on the mystery, and none of the hospitals within a 200km radius had any records of a Hoshie Tenma ever being there. It was as if she had simply vanished into thin air one night. Then there had been the tragic accident that took Tobio, and caused a guilt ridden Tenma to slip into insanity. It was during his transition from a slightly absent minded scientist, into a raving lunatic bent on world domination that he had created the robot Tobio. After his creation had seen through his father's insanity and rebelled against him, Tenma set fire to his laboratory, trashed his house, and abandoned his deactivated robot son in a storage locker at the Ministry. Tenma was eventually captured and locked up in a mental hospital, it was only then that Hoshie reappeared.

Astro had noticed the woman dressed totally in black through the window of Tenma's old house the first time that he'd been exploring there. She had a dark veil over her face and walked quickly away as if she'd noticed Astro staring at her though the front window of the house. Astro ran out of the house quickly, but the woman in black was gone.

Each time Astro had been back to dig through the rubble of the old house he thought he'd noticed the same woman wandering around outside of the house. Astro never got a good look at her, but he thought she reminded him of someone he'd once known. So he kept returning to the abandoned building often, hoping to catch a better look at this person.

Ochanomizu was awakened in the middle of the night by a crying voice, coming from Astro's room. It wasn't Astro's voice, but Tobio's coming from the robot's mouth. “Mother!” Tears were streaming down Astro's cheeks as the Professor shook him to awaken him from a dream. Astro quickly snapped back to the real world, but he was confused.
“What's happening to me?” he asked.
“I think a memory from Tobio has managed to surface while you were sleeping.” Ochanomizu said. “In your dream state you were talking out loud in Tobio's voice.”
“That's weird” Astro said.
“We'll have Reno look at you in the morning.” Ochanomizu suggested. “He has a better understanding of your AI than I do.”

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:58 am
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Hoshie Tenma had lived a difficult life. Her parents had gone though a messy divorce and she had been bounced around between grandparents and aunts. When she reached the age of 18, Hoshie ran off with a boyfriend who ended up cheating on her. After breaking up with him, Hoshie moved to Metro City and found work at a florist shop. She enrolled in a community college with the idea of getting a teacher's certificate. Hoshie met Uma-taro Tenma when the scientist-engineer came into the florist shop to buy flowers for his secretary. Dr. Tenma struck up quite a conversation about flowers with Hoshie, and ended up with a dinner date, in addition to a large bouquet for his office mate.

It should have been the turning point in her life that she had been long waiting for. Certainly, Uma-taro had finally found a human being that he could interact with, and develop feelings for. Hoshie and Dr. Tenma had a short, but intense courtship and were married. Things might have gone well for them if the current head of the Ministry of Science hadn't chose that moment to suffer a fatal heart attack. Dr. Tenma was selected as the new head of the Ministry just about the same time as Hoshie discovered she was pregnant with Uma-taro's child.

Dr. Tenma really did try to be a good husband and a good father. However, he simply couldn't devote any less than 110% of himself to his work. For five years, Hoshie tried to convince herself that Uma-taro really did love her and Tobio, but she finally reached a point where she simply couldn't bear to be in the same room with him. Hoshie was working part time while Tobio was in school. She wasn't allowed to do any of the housework at home, Uma-taro had installed robots to those jobs, so she made use of her spare time in earning 'rainy day' money. Finally one day, she simply snapped. It never made any sense to Dr. Ochanomizu that a mother would abandon her child to get away from her husband. Perhaps she was actually afraid of Uma-taro, maybe she thought that Tobio wanted his father more than his mother. In any event, on a day when Tobio was out of school to spend the day with his father at the Ministry, Hoshie disappeared.

Years later, Dr. Tenma made the evening news reports when he nearly started a robot rebellion in Metro City. After her husband was committed to a mental hospital, Hoshie returned to find her former home damaged by fire and boarded up. She also noticed a small child that resembled her Tobio hanging around the house. She wanted to make contact with the boy, but was afraid to do so for some reason, so she just stood in the shadows, dressed in black. She continued the ritual for a week, when the dizziness returned.

Hoshie had been having bouts of lightheadedness on and off for the past few years. Sometimes it was accompanied by ringing in her ears, or seeing spots before her eyes. She was afraid of seeing a doctor, and usually her symptoms would disappear just as she was ready to seek one out. Now that she was back in Metro City, the malady was back again.

Having finally found herself the courage and the will, Hoshie had decided to make contact with the boy who looked like Tobio. She was dressed in plain clothes, instead of the dark black lace covering her features, and on her way to the old house when she suddenly had another attack. Hoshie felt dizzy and fainted away onto the sidewalk.

Dr. Tezuka was on his way to work when he spotted the slender woman keel over on the sidewalk. He quickly aimed his car toward the curb and jumped out, leaving the engine still running. The Doctor saw that her pupils were unresponsive to light and that her pulse was irregular. He feared the worst, and called for an ambulance on his cell phone. Hoshie was rushed to Metro City Hospital and admitted through the emergency ward.

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 5:01 am
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Reno went through the motions of examining Astro like he was a physician. Astro was fooled by his friends pantomime, but Professor Ochanomizu chuckled under his breath. Finally Reno got serious and began to explain things.

“Professor, as you know, Astro has this unique ability to tell if a person is good or bad.” He said. “But do you know how he can do this?”

“I always thought it was a function of his A.I.” The professor said. “He must pick up on subtle clues such as voice stress, or nervousness.”

“Yes, Astro does that.” Reno said. “He can pick up on the same clues that the police polygraphs do, but it goes far deeper than that. Astro is actually empathic, and somewhat telepathic.”

“I can read minds?” Astro gasped.

“You just might be able to do that with a firmware update.” Reno said. “You have a strange sensor buried in your head that I've never figured out the purpose for. I always assumed it was a gyro sensor for use in space of something. Now, I think I know what it is. It seems to be a brainwave transceiver.”

“That almost makes sense.” Professor Ochanomizu said. “I remember Dr. Tenma once explaining the theory of such a device to me, I didn't realize he'd actually built one and installed it into Astro when he built him.”

“I'd have to hook Astro up to the Ministry's mainframe computer and run some diagnostics on him to prove my theory,” Reno said “but if I'm right he does have the ability to tune in on a person's brainwave patterns and get a good feel for what they are thinking. Astro usually only does this in a very subtle manor, just deep enough to know if the person is good or evil. I think he could go much deeper, and even see what a person is seeing in their mind's eye.”

Astro stared hard at Reno and zoned out. His eyes were crossed and his forehead was scrunched up, pushing the widow's peak tuft of hair down to his nose. He suddenly snapped out of the trance and shook his head back and forth to break the spell.
“I couldn't get anything out of you except a feeling that you need to scratch your ass” Astro said.

Reno and Ochanomizu laughed.
“Yeah, my butt actually DOES itch!” Reno laughed at Astro. “Look, you probably need to learn how to access that sensor of yours. It will take practice and lots of concentration. You probably won't figure it out until you really need to. I suspect that Dr. Tenma has a hidden BIOS routine planted somewhere in your lower brain functions and that those subroutines can't be called until some other process unlocks them. Sorta a security override.”

“So I just have to wait for a real reason to do it.” Astro said.

“Yeah, like an adrenaline reaction in humans.” Reno said.

“Reno, back to the reason I asked you to examine Astro?” Ochanomizu asked.

“Yeah, about that.” Reno said. “I think Astro did pick something up when he saw that mysterious woman outside Tenma's old place. Astro must have picked up something from her brainwaves that triggered an old memory he inherited from Tobio. That could have given him a real emotional reaction.”

“You know,” Ochanomizu said, “There is only one person that fits the description Astro gave us that could have triggered such a memory.”

“My Mom.” Astro sighed in Tobio's voice.

“Hoshie” Ochanomizu replied.

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 5:04 am
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Hoshie held Tobio's hand as they walked toward the school. The boy was always excited about going to school, he loved learning and discovering new things. The smells of the city filled the air as they walked along the busy streets. Hoshie didn't understand why the world about her seemed so intense. It was like she had never really noticed the color of the sky, the odors of the auto exhaust fumes, the feel of the hard concrete under her shoes. She was also startled by the sparkle in Tobio's brown eyes, and really noticed the cowlicks in his hair. Everything about her seemed so, new and vibrant. She didn't understand why.

As they crossed the street, Hoshie could hear a very loud noise that almost sounded like an electronic drum of some kind. She looked about thinking there must have been some construction machinery nearby, it was reverberating like a jack hammer inside of a cave.

As the patient was rolled out of the MRI chamber room, Kurō Hazama lifted the her eyelids and shined a flashlight quickly into each eye. He sighed and made a note on the chart. He looked at the prints made from the MRI images and quickly scanned though the blood work results. Dr. Tezuka looked at him with a question in his eyes.
“Not very encouraging” Kurō said.

“Isn't there anything you could do as a surgeon?” Tezuka asked.

“I'm afraid not.” Kurō sighed. “This appears to be a major hemorrhagic stroke, deep within the brain. It's not reachable by my scalpel. There might be some new drugs you could try, or maybe a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.”

“I think I'm going to have to contact Professor Ochanomizu” Dr. Tezuka sighed. “He's the closest thing to a relative that Hoshie has. I bet he doesn't even know she's back in town.”

Professor Ochanomizu placed the telephone receiver back on the cradle.
“That call was from Metro City Hospital.” he said. “It seems that we were correct about that woman's identity, though I would prefer not to have heard about it this way. Hoshie suffered a stroke near Tenma's old house. She's lucky that a doctor was driving by and spotted her fall, the quick medical treatment was probably the difference between life and death. She's still in grave condition though.”

“I want to see her.” Astro sobbed.

“There's something you should know.” Ochanomizu said. “Years ago when Tobio was born, Dr. Tenma and I were close friends. I was asked to be Tobio's god father, and I accepted the honor. Hoshie then took me aside and made a request of me. She handed me a signed document in an envelope with the request that I would see to it that her instructions were carried out if she was not able to make them clear personally.”

“A living will?” Reno asked.

“Yes, exactly.” the professor said. “Hoshie didn't want any kind of extraordinary medical care should she be in a near death situation. I queried her about this, and she doesn't want any respirator, feeding tube, or similar measures should she be in a long term coma like condition. I think that may be exactly her condition at the moment.”

“But, it's too soon to know that!” Astro cried out.

“As her proxy I have the right to evaluate how to carry out her wishes.” Ochanomizu said. “I think we can give the doctors some time to properly evaluate her condition.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:39 pm
by tailz
Sweet. Another fan fiction. :)

btw Tetsuwan Penguin, what happened to the days of you submitting your stories on FF.net? Lost interest or site access or something?

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 3:22 pm
by Tetsuwan Penguin
The ancients thought that the seat of our being was in our hearts. The function of the brain was unknown until for many years, though there is some evidence of early (successful!) attempts at brain surgery by early native Americans.

When the brain dies, what was once the person is gone, even if the heart still beats and the blood still flows. Brain death is now the official definition of death. But what does THAT even mean? Stroke victims can lose the ability to talk, see, and move. They may need help being fed, or even to breath when their muscles become paralyzed by the broken neural pathways. But, is the mind still there? In theory, you can be self aware even if all of your senses of the outside world are cut off. You still originate thought, you still have your memories. Maybe you are technically living in your own dream world at this point, but isn't that a kind of being?


Astro stood by the side of the bed and gently squeezed Hoshie's hand.
“I'm here mother.” He said. “Do you know I'm here?”

Uran and Professor Ochanomizu stood back a few feet and watched. Uran didn't recognize the woman lying in the hospital bed. She hadn't been created with any of the memories from Astro's past. Uran did sense her brother's feelings and knew that Astro was in pain.

Hoshie was breathing with some labor on her own, she had an oxygen cannula over her nose and an IV drip line in her left arm. Her facial muscles twitched now and then, and she drummed the fingers of her right arm on the bed.

Dr. Tezuka walked into the room. He saw Astro trying to communicate with the patient.
“Hoshie drifts in and out of consciousness.” He said. “There's been quite a bit of damage the sensory parts of her brain, and she's probably paralyzed on her left side.”

Astro placed his hand on Hoshie's forehead. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“Mom, I'm here.” he said in Tobio's voice. Astro seemed to freeze solid as he remained motionless. His breathing slowed and a smile slowly widened on his face.

“He's doing it.” Ochanomizu said. “Astro's making direct mental contact with Hoshie.”

Astro found himself back on the streets of Metro City as it had appeared years ago when Tobio was eight years old. He looked up and saw Hoshie holding his hand and dragging him along on the way to school.

“Mom!” he cried out “I love you!”

“I love you too, silly boy!” Hoshie answered back. “Hurry up and quick dragging your feet, or you'll be late for school!”

“I don't want to go to school.” Astro said “I just want to be with you!”

Hoshie looked down into her son's eyes and smiled.
“Something the matter?” She asked.

“No, I just need you.” Astro sighed.

Hoshie picked him up and hugged him.
“I'll always be here for you, Tobio!” She said. “Don't worry. I'll be waiting for you at the school gate when the day is over.”

“Please!” Astro said. “Just today?”

“OK.” Hoshie sighed. “let's spend the day together then. Just don't tell your father, OK?”

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 3:23 pm
by Tetsuwan Penguin
"tailz" wrote:Sweet. Another fan fiction. :)

btw Tetsuwan Penguin, what happened to the days of you submitting your stories on FF.net? Lost interest or site access or something?


Not at all. I have one up there now in the crossover section (between TV/Supercar and Anime/Astro Boy)

BTW, my 86 year old mother suffered a stroke on Valentine's Day and is pretty much in the same condition that I've depicted Hoshie to be in. We are still praying for any form of a recovery, even if she is wheel chair bound. This has left me thinking of what the meaning of life might be, and I'm exploring that vein of thought in this story. I'm also giving Astro a new "power" as a result.

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 3:37 pm
by Angel of the Stars
This is really amazing so far!
I love your stories, Tetsuwan Penguin~ :D

Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 4:20 pm
by tailz
"Tetsuwan Penguin" wrote:[QUOTE=tailz;221789]Sweet. Another fan fiction. :)

btw Tetsuwan Penguin, what happened to the days of you submitting your stories on FF.net? Lost interest or site access or something?


Not at all. I have one up there now in the crossover section (between TV/Supercar and Anime/Astro Boy)

BTW, my 86 year old mother suffered a stroke on Valentine's Day and is pretty much in the same condition that I've depicted Hoshie to be in. We are still praying for any form of a recovery, even if she is wheel chair bound. This has left me thinking of what the meaning of life might be, and I'm exploring that vein of thought in this story. I'm also giving Astro a new "power" as a result.[/QUOTE]

I'm soo sorry to hear that Tetsuwan Penguin. I will be praying for your mother's recovery. Image

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:16 am
by Prettywitchiusaka
Great fic so far! Looking forward to the rest, Tetsuwan. Also, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Hopefully, she'll get better soon.