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She winked and tickled me. I didn’t even fight it, too gobsmacked by these revelations to react. The facet now depicted a procession of her robed devotees transporting components of a space probe they meant to launch on Helper’s behalf.

Immense gears turned as the tracked vehicle slowly carried a towering rocket of some sort to the launch site. Suddenly there was a commotion. A small child fell into the gears. Helper gasped, and thrust out her hand.

Her command immediately halted the machinery. The gears stopped, fracturing from the sudden strain. The vehicle’s chassis groaned and warped. The rocket nearly toppled over, but luckily was still restrained with cables. The view zoomed in. Helper teared up, hands over her mouth, waiting to see what had become of the child.

A team of robed workers reached between the gears and pulled him out. Bruised and covered in sticky black grease, but otherwise unharmed. Helper laughed tearfully, powerful glowing waves of relief visibly radiating from her avatar. “Oh thank goodness” she gushed. “Thank goodness.”

The rocket would most likely have to be rebuilt due to the damage incurred from the abrupt stop. Likewise with the carrier, now emitting plumes of black smoke from various spots. What a waste. Probably many decades of hard work destroyed in an instant, all for the life of that dumb kid. Even now, Helper’s behavior baffles me.

I saw what I assumed was a shooting star until it slowed down and came in for landing. Another of Helper’s avatars emerged, running over to check on the child. He seriously looked just fine, oblivious to the catastrophic loss of productivity he just caused, but she doted on him anyway.

“Are you alright?” He nodded, still trembling as she carefully applied colorful bandages to his bruises, cuts and scrapes. She then kissed his forehead and sent him on his way. “Be safe!” She called out after him as he ran back to his parents “...have fun! I love you!”

When she returned her attention to me, I asked why she sacrificed the life’s work of the men and women responsible for designing, constructing and launching that rocket in order to spare a careless little monkey. She crossed her arms. “Do I really need to justify a feeling? Besides, I’m Helper. I help.”

Fair enough. “Anyway, come with me” she instructed. “There are some others who will want to see you.” Others? She led me down the prismatic walkway, then through the fluidic membrane. I found myself in a grand crystal palace, faceted geometric designs scattering light in a manner more beautiful than any human language is fit to describe.

I followed the curvature of the ornately decorated hallway, Helper at my side, until I arrived at a staircase. At the bottom I found a gilded patio overlooking rolling hills of lush green grass beneath a bright blue Summer sky.

In the distance, a little boy with messy hair wearing a red cape ran, leapt and did cartwheels as a pair of excited dogs chased him about. “Who is that? Someone else you brought back?” She gave me a sly smile.

“Something like that. You were always so sweet to those other machines, the same way you were to me. When I found out how you tried to expand on them so they could more fully realize their original intended purpose, I carried that to its logical conclusion.”

I looked at the kid. Then at the dogs. Then back to Helper. “You don’t mean…” She grinned, slowly nodding. “That’s Hero 1 in the cape. The dogs are Eric and Ellie.” My heart soared. This just kept getting better and better with each passing minute.

The little boy sprinted up to us, cape fluttering behind him, arms outstretched as if he were flying. “Hi mister! Are you in trouble? I’ll save you!” Helper laughed and ruffled his hair. The dogs came chasing after him, tongues dangling from their mouths, fluffy ears flopping to and fro as they bounded along.

I rubbed their ears and baby talked them both as their big wet tongues licked my face all over. Neither spoke. But then, Eric didn’t want that. He wanted to be a dog, and now he is. How terrible it might’ve been if for some reason Helper could only revive Eric but not Ellie, or the inverse. These two always hated to be separated. Now they never will be again.

Helper led me through a doorway into an adjacent room. There, a pair of overdressed seventeenth century dandies were seated at a fine hand carved oak table, taking tea. “Do have some more if you fancy it” one said to the other.

“Oh no I couldn’t dear fellow, your own cup is empty as well.” They set to politely arguing over who should refill their cup first, until I strode up and poured some for both from the steaming brass kettle between them.

They introduced themselves as Jacob and Robbie, then invited me to join them for some tea. I had nowhere else to be ever again, so I agreed. Jacob poured me a cup of the fragrant, steamy concoction. Delicious, though that didn’t surprise me.

Once I finished downing it all, Helper beckoned, and I followed her into a hallway. Doors lined either side, one of which was being guarded by a uniformed man. Tall and muscular with chiseled features and slick black hair, he made for an imposing sight.

He wore a plain black uniform with a wide leather belt and jack boots. His badge read “O.D.1” I sputtered in disbelief. “Odie!? Is that really you?” He smiled very slightly, but then restored his previous stoic expression. “This is incredible. What are you doing here?”

He accepted my hug, but did not budge from his post. “I’m ensuring nobody is in violation.” Naturally, I thought. That’s Odie for you. “You’re doing a good job” I declared, slapping him on the shoulder. He smiled more overtly, then saluted as Helper led me into the room.

It was some sort of clinic. A further series of doors in either wall made me wonder just how big this place is, or to what extent it exists in real space. A petite, short haired Japanese woman in a nurse uniform received us. Her nametag read “Ms. Papero”. Par for the course.

“Listen...Helper. All of this is so wonderful. I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful, but…” She gestured for me to stop. “...But you don’t want to live forever. Isn’t that right?” I asked if she could read my mind. “I don’t need to! I’ve been through this with you more times than you’d believe.

You tell me that you’re in pain. Constant hurting, as a result of what life put you through as a boy. You recoil at the idea of being forced to live forever and ask me if that’s my intent. Not to worry, it isn’t.

I wish I could fix you. Fundamentally correct the broken structures of your psyche, or go back in time to repair your emotional development. But if I did that, you would no longer be the man I fell in love with. I don’t love a hypothetical idealized you. I love you as you are, warts and all. If anything I love your warts the most.”

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^{Stay Tuned for Part 68!}