A Tale Of Absolutes
an excerpt

Skats’ right leg was twitching. He had taken a slip on the cobbled street earlier in the night, and his leg was crushed under the wheel of a passing cart. The porcelain that covered his leg was cracked, and several of the small pistons that allowed his leg to move had become dislodged. He was made of sturdy stuff, but this injury was a hindrance, so there was only one option available. Like all s-Ka1 automatons, Skat was built with an internal programming, telling him to return to point of origin whenever he needed maintenance. Here the similarities with his fellow standard issue automatons ended. Skat was unique.

He had the appearance of a domestic cat. Commonly he was mistaken for one when someone glimpsed him from the corner of their eye. His hind legs were (when not requiring repairs) heavier and stronger, like a panther or jaguar. His front legs finished in delicate paws with slender fingers and opposable thumbs, for grip and dexterity. His tail was elongated, and based on the skeletal structure of a monkey that was stuffed and mounted in the Alchemists study. Because of this, Skat could hang upside down using his tail, to get into the more tricky places that other Automatons could not. His face, though similar to a cats, was cast in shining white porcelain, and his eyes were black glass. It was true that Skat didn’t need eyes to see (all Automatons used a form of sonar sensors to move around), but the Alchemist believed the soul lived in the eyes. He argued that the major flaw of the s-Ka1 model was not giving them windows to their souls. The eyes were only one of many modifications the Alchemist had made while experimenting with the automaton’s ‘life’.

He limped down the alley, his back leg spasming and making light clicking noises. His progress was slow, and several times the thrust from his leg made him loose his grip on the slick cobbles, and he took a few moments to right himself again. There was no-one else around; the late hour and pouring rain were not a good combination for anything that was not made of metal and ceramic. This was a good thing, a damaged automaton was easy to catch, and one such as Skat was worth his weight to a collector.

As Skat reached the end of the alley the rain stopped. He paused, lifting his head seemingly to look at the sky. His internal workings adjusted to the change in environment, and he opened his small hinged mouth and let go a very metalic “Mee-Yow”. The moon emerged from behind the heavy cloud bank, reflecting off Skat’s glazed face and pitch eyes. A nearby rat squeaked in terror at the illuminated predator, and scurried home to its den.

The alley was a dead end. Skat sat back on his hind leg gently, and stretched his long front leg up to rest on a lever set into a dark brick wall. He pulled on the lever, and was rewarded by the sound of whirring gears. He let go and waited as a small metal cage descended from far up the wall and came to rest on the cobbles beside him. He stood, and waiting for his leg to stop jerking. Then with a spasmic grace he stepped into the cage and began to ascend.