Advanced Robotics

CHAPTER 3

Latveria, 20 years into the future, is now not as desolate as it was
before. It is a booming city of trade and commerce, and is now its own
country. In 1991, the Soviet Union crumbled under the weight of the
people, and Russia and other republics were ruled freely.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the bright future that the Americans had in
plan for Russia. Dr. Ivo Robotnik had created artificial intelligence
and did manufacture androids to work for the Soviet people and they
were perfected, but before they could be put into service, Premier
Gorbachev resigned and the Soviet Union was broken into territories.
The members of the Latveria Convention saw Dr. Robotnik's idea as a
new economic power and due to Russia being a capitalist nation,
decided to sell these robots for profit. Dr. Robotnik did not agree to
this plan, as he had made these machines for the Soviet people who
felt abused by the government. Selling them to the same people wasn't
the proper thing to do, as they were supposed to be used for farming
and laboring. Unfortunately, Dr. Robotnik passed away before he could
stop the production of his creations. The chechnyan, Ukrainian, and
all other former soviet republic governments used their collective
funds to purchase Romanov Corporation soldier robots and in 2009
invaded Moscow, and overpowered the unorganized, anti-nuclear Russian
army. All of Russia was taken over, and the whole country was split
into different independent states. The Siberian Confederacy warred
among themselves and soon after much famine, nobles and serfdom was
reintroduced. Only Latveria stood among the states due to its robotics
industry. The separate states and countries of Europe and Asia traded
with Latveria, and soon the state became a single city run by the
owner of the Romanov Corporation, Alexi Romanov's daughter, Lord
Luther Romanov. The state overpowered all the smaller countries and
soon led to mob rule of the entire Siberian Confederacy. Latveria
traded with the Americans and they had a steady friendship. All was
peaceful, except in the country of Latveria, where Romanov's machines
replaced the farmers and workers who once worked for the Soviet
government.
The story takes us away from Latveria and to the United States, in
the city of Chicago. Before the end of Russia, the family of Joseph
Craninov, a young man studying in U of Illinois in mechanics and
engineering, who had been born in the United States but whose parents
had immigrated from the Soviet Union. He never really understood his
parents, and was gothic and depressed since seventh grade. His parents
didn't care, they seemed to care more about something else, something
they had never told him. He was away from them for college for four
years, and then received his bachelor's degree in robotics. He was
longing for his old home and drove home to the northern suburbs. He
came to his home, a small one-story home where he grew up alone with
his parents. He knocked on the front door, yet nobody answered. He
looked through the window, yet he saw nothing. Eventually, the door
opened and an old, bald, crooked man. He looked up and down at Joseph.
"Hey, dad, I'm home!"
"Huh, who are you?" asked the old man, looking at Joseph like a stranger.
"Well, dad, it's me, Joe. I'm home. Remember?"
"I don't know no Joe. Get offa my property." He slammed the door in
his son's face.
"Damn it all," sadly muttered Joe, "I knew this would happen." He
walked to his car.
The door reopened. "HAHAHAHA! Oh, my god! Four years of college and
you still fell for it! Holy crap, it's good to see ya, son! Come on
in! Mom's made us salmon!" The old man walked back in the house, and
the disgruntled and embarrassed Joe followed. He saw his mom in the
kitchen, an old woman with gray streaks in her naturally blonde hair.
"Joseph, baby, how are you," she screamed as she ran up to hug him,
"it's been so long!" Joe backed away from his parents.
"Okay, what the hell's going on, why are you guys acting like this?
You wouldn't do this before I went off to college, you never talked to
me. What, you want some money?"
"No, son, we love you, and we bring great news! It seemed that while
you were gone, about a month ago, we got word from your uncle Zaroff!
He's living in Hawaii, and we thought he was dead! We are all going
out to meet him, and he especially wants to meet you!" shouted his
mom, but Joe just got even more confused.
"What, you want a freakin paid vacation, god, you guys ruined my life
and you want something for it? Fuck you! I came home to say I got a
bachelor's degree in engineering, but you guys totally ruined it for
yourselves. I'm going home to my apartment." Joe walked out the door,
and drove away. His parents looked on at him, then his father turned
away with a sigh.
"Don't blame yourself, dear, it's not your fault," tenderly said the mother.
"Yes, it's all your fault you crazy old blonde." She got all red and
slapped him.
"Oww, quit it Jen," said the father, "I'm just saying you should have
told him about it."
"I wanted him to grow up to be a good kid with his own dreams, Lupin,
can't you see what would have happened if he knew about our past?"
Lupin thought for a moment, then ran for the closet and pulled on his
overcoat.
"Lupin, what are you doing?"
"Something we should have done many years ago. He has to know what happened."

Meanwhile, Joe walked into his small, dark apartment in the heart of
the city. He threw down his bags and fell down on his bed. He grabbed
his headphones and turned on some Linkin Park, reminiscing about what
his whole life was about. He knew his parents missed him but he didn't
care. He could make it by himself. There was a small rapping at the
door. He took off the headphones and sat up. "Who is it?" he called.
"Can I come in, son?" called Lupin.
"Do whatever," called Joe as he picked up a ball and threw it against
the opposite wall, "it's a free country."
"You bet your ass it better be," muttered Lupin as he walked in the door.
"Listen, dad," said Joe apologetically, "I didn't mean to walk out on
you like that, it's just, well, you guys acted all weird, and I
thought you were high or something."
"Hah! I wish, those were the days," said Lupin dreamily.
"What did you say?"
"Erm, nothing. Listen, this is my fault, Joe, I was really excited,
but you must understand, we just got the most important news we have
ever had in the last twenty years. We wanted to share it with you."
"Yeah, right. You guys never shared and never cared. It was hell." Joe
lied down and turned away from Lupin. Lupin leaned over and talked to
him.
"You really got a bachelor's degree in mechanics? I'm proud of you.
That's more education there than I ever got from my old professor."
Joe still wouldn't talk. Lupin sat up and started walking towards the
window.
"You feel left out, like you weren't told anything about something
very important."
"Gee, pops, wherever did you get that idea! It couldn't have been me
always trying to walk in on you whenever I heard noises in the
bedroom."
"That's a totally different subject and it doesn't involve you! I'm
talking about your past, my past."
"What past?" stammered Joe as he sat up and looked at his dad.
"Your mother and I kept it a secret from you, for we thought that it
would cause you pain, but mostly your mother kept it secret, it's her
fault!"
"Allright, dad, what the hell are you talking about?" Lupin hesitated,
he took a breath, cleared his throat, and prepared for "the talk" with
his son.
"Listen, I'm not really good at telling stories that don't involve
huge fish, but I got a good idea of who can."
"Mom?"
"Oh, hell no! She's worse than I am!"
"Then who?"
"You remember that guy we got a letter from today?"
"Uhh, yeah, uncle Zargon, or something, wasn't it?"
"Uncle Zaroff! That's it! Well he could tell you all of it, and he's
looking forward to meeting you."
"Yeah, about that, you see, umm, WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?!!"
"Okay, could we pause for just one second? We've given you all you
need to know! Listen, you are offered a trip to a fabulous island
paradise, where you will no doubt meet the girl of your dreams and
fall in love, plus you will meet a mysterious relative with secrets
you want to know, and tons of adventure will follow! What the hell
more do you want?!"
"Yeah, dad, except you don't know one freakin part of my life. You
see, I'm engaged to the love of my life, we're going to get married
without your help, we're going on honeymoon to England, and we have
the perfect life right now! I don't need your help!"
Just then he checked his answering machine with one message.
"You have one new message. 'Hey, Joe, it's not working out, sorry, but
I'm breaking up with you.' To erase this message, press one now. To
send a crank call to this person, press two now." Joe just sat down,
and was quiet for a minute. He suddenly started bawling like a baby.
Lupin came to him.
"Oh my God, am I good or what! Come on, let's go to Hawaii!"