Rusty had lost track of time. At first he let his mind
wander from fish to fish as the swam by the window he was parked at, then a
maintenance worker appeared to work on a piece of pipe. The bright light of his
welding torch blinking on and off. Far from bored, Rusty felt himself relax
both physically and mentally.
On the other side of the hallway, the conference room door
opened and Ophelia appeared along with a member of the Baceten. “Rusty i'm
sorry we took so long.” She said entering the hallway. Rusty refocused and
turned to meet Ophelia He was not expecting the android. “Rusty this is The
Third Guy. The Third Guy, this is Rusty.”
The pair shook hands. “I've never met an android before.”
Rusty stammered. The Third Guy smiled.
“She told me to tell you that I have never met and extra
terrestrial before. But that is not true.” The Third Guy let go of Rusty's
hand.
Rusty glared at Ophelia. “She thinks she's funny.”
Ophelia stuck her tongue out at rusty. “I am funny.” She
spat.
“I have yet to ascertain why she finds what she finds to be
funny. It is, perplexing.” The Third Guy offered.
“Humor isn't something I would have expected an android to
be even remotely interested in.” Rusty offered.
“On the contrary.” The Third Guy corrected. “The Baceten
encourage pursuits in any and all areas of personal growth. Laughter is very
rarely a pre meditated action. It is not controlled by the active mind. I have
found that I enjoy eliciting genuine autonomic responses from an audience. For
instance you may have asked yourself why I have such an unusual name.” He
turned his head ever so slightly indicating that he was waiting for Rusty to
ask the question out loud.
“Why do you have such an unusual name, The Third Guy?” he
asked.
“I am glad you asked, it is a funny story. Nearly a thousand
years ago, there were three scientists on earth, actually there were many more
than three but this story pertains to three individuals so for the sake of
brevity I will refrain from giving the actual number of men and women engaged
in scientific pursuits at the time.” Rusty snorted a laugh and Ophelia hit his
arm. The Third Guy continued undaunted. “Sir Arthur Eddington was incredibly
skilled in the area of physics and specifically the scientific theory of
relativity hypothesized by another scientist named Einstein. When approached by
a third gentlemen named Silberstein at a meeting of the minds, he was
complimented as one of the three minds who truly understood the theory. He
remained silent as Silberstein was fishing for a compliment in return,
Silberstein demanded that Eddington not be so modest to which he replied “who's
the third guy?” Hence my name.” The Third Guy. Because I understand the theory
and it is funny because Sir Arthur Eddington could not have been referring to
me.”
Rusty nodded slowly. “Kind of a long name though, don't you
think?” he asked. The Third Guy nodded.
“You are correct. In order to create a greater sense of ease
among my human companions I respond to 'Third' which is also funny because it
is one third of my full name.” He smiled, pleased with himself.
Ophelia's tablet beeped. She opened the note and then
entered into the conversation. “The boys are back from their sub trip. I gather
there was a bit of a commotion.”
Third nodded. “Yes I received notice that your friends were
rescued from a combat situation almost fifteen minutes ago. I am quite glad to
hear that no harm came to them or your property.”
“Third, is comedy something your entire race was programmed
for?” Rusty asked.
Third shook his head. “None of us were programmed for
comedy. It is a passion I pursue of my own volition. It is a rare and often
unappreciated skill set among my people.”
Rusty nodded. “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is
king.”
Ophelia led the pair down the hallway toward the submersible
launch bay. “Ophelia, Rusty think's I am funny.”
“Shut up Third.”
“He does not think you are funny.”
“I hate you both.”
“You're making her mad Third.”
