Dr Jew

them more than anything in the world.
    As he left the lab, he put the remote control in their cage.
    "I love this chocolate because it gives me the same state of mind I had as a child!" said the TV.

XXII.

    That night Adam awoke from a dreamless sleep. The room was dark but he heard the sound of Arnie, a small robot that cleaned the laboratory. Why was he rolling about in the middle of the night?
    "Arnie!" whispered Adam, not wanting to wake Eve. "What are you doing?"
    "Oh, M ister Adam, hello. The doctor has asked me to check on the platypus. It has been having digestive issues lately."
    "It needs food now?" said Adam.
    "That is what I will check," said Arnie.
    "But… you have the keys for the cages? Dr. Jew never lets a robot handle those."
    "I have keys," said Arnie.
    Adam couldn't believe it, but their ticket out of the cage was just a few feet away. He also knew Arnie would not give them the cell key if his orders forbade it, which they most certainly did.
    "Arnie!" said Adam.
    Arnie halted. "Yes, Mister Adam?"
    "What, Arnie?" said Adam.
    "What, M ister Adam?" said Arnie.
    "What?" said Adam.
    "What?" said Arnie.
    "I can 't hear you, Arnie. You'll have to come closer."
    Eve awoke. "What's going on?" she said.
    "Shh," said Adam. He heard Arnie rolling toward their cell.
    "Can you hear me now, Mister Adam?"
    "No, Arnie. Come closer."
    The wheels rolled and Adam could finally see Arnie now, just beyond his reach.
    "How about now, Mister Adam? Can you hear me?"
    "Did you say something, Arnie? Couldn't quite make that out."
    "Adam," said Eve, "What are you – "
    "Quiet," said Adam.
    "Mister Adam –"
    "Got ya!" said Adam, lifting the robot into the air. It frantically tried to escape. Adam turned it upside down and shook it, and something rattled to the ground outside the cage. "Eve, get those keys!"
    She understood and felt the dark floor with her hands. "I've got them, Adam."
    "Good," he said. "Now for you, Arnie. I'm sorry for this. I know you're just a stupid metal beast. I also know you don't feel pain, so I won't let this bother me too much."
    Adam s wung the robot to the ground and smashed its "head" to bits, smithereens. It took a few swings.
    "Nyeeeeeeeeh!" the robot squealed.
    "Quiet him or you'll have the doctor on us," said Eve.
    "I 'm trying," said Adam.
    With his next swing the robot splintered conclusively and silence returned to the lab.
    "Do you think Dr. Jew heard you?" said Eve.
    "Give me the keys," said Adam.
    Their hands found each other and even though it was impossible to see in the dark, they paused a moment.
    "Is this really it?" said Eve.
    She heard him searching for the lock and trying the keys. His breathing. Metal sounds. His breathing, breathing metal sounds.
    A firm click and it was over.
    "It's open," he said. "Let's go."
    "Adam – wait. Are you… are you sure you want to do this?"
    "Don 't tell me you're afraid. Not of him ."
    "No, not him. Just – I'm not sure I'm ready for what we'll find out there. We can never come back, can we?"
    "Back? Are you crazy, Eve?"
    His hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the faint glow down the hall. She had looked toward the hall a million times. This was her first time walking down it.
    "It 's so different –"
    "Quiet!" said Adam.
    They passed several rooms until they came to an ornate office. Eve thought it looked like a lawyer's office on TV mixed with a go-go bar. A door off of the office was cracked open, and they saw a light from within and faint sounds like paper being handled. Adam held his finger to his mouth and pointed to the room – unnecessary, because it could only be the doctor.
    On Dr. Jew 's desk was a stone bust of Julie Andrews. Adam picked it up and walked toward the light of the doctor's bedroom.
    "Adam, no!" Eve whispered, squeezing his arm.
    He turned on her and raised the stone head for an instant, and Eve's eyes were a mirror that let him see something horrible.
    He tried to speak. "I…"
    "Please, let 's just go. Please, Adam."
    He looked at the smiling fa ce of Julie Andrews and nodded. He set the stone back on the desk.
    Adam and Eve opened the office door in the other direction and made their way into the world. They had no money and no clothes, but they were warm and young.

    A few minutes after they had left, Dr. Jew came out of his bedroom and looked the office over. He returned a frayed copy of Dr. Sax to a bookshelf. As he went back to his bedroom, he paused, and looked at the bust of Julie