Thomas Bach and His Robots

It is the year 3050 A.D. Thomas Bach is a poor forty-year-old man living in a country suburb of Little Rock, Arkansas. He an inventor and an only child, except for his adopted brother Samuel Wipple, who is a bully. Thomas lives in a small one- floor, three-room house in the dirty, dangerous part of the city. He cooks and eats in one room, sleeps in another and works on his numerous inventions in the third. He is a devout Catholic. The only time Thomas comes out of his humble abode is for early Mass in the morning, and once a week he goes to the grocery store.

One evening as Thomas went to bed he was wondering if there was something he could invent to help people. As he drifted off to sleep he dreamed he was in a dirty, crowded market street in the year 1865. He noticed there were both white and black people there, but the blacks were being treated very badly, and whites just the opposite. Thomas thought, “ That’s not fair! The blacks are human beings God’s creatures, just like the whites. They should be treated equally.” The look on the black people’s faces was so anguishing that Thomas couldn’t stand it anymore and he woke up. It was a long time before he slept after that.

The next morning Thomas could not stop thinking of his dream. Then he thought, “ Couldn’t I do some thing to help all people, not just blacks?” Then he had it, robots. “ I know! I’ll make robots to help people.”And that’s just what Thomas did. He made robots that could cook, clean, run businesses, read, write, drive, shop, you name it , they can do it.

Soon Thomas became famous and very wealthy. He was happy, and was every body else in the world. But not Samuel Wipple, Thomas’s adopted brother. He was really envious. Soon Sam came up with an expert plan to kill Thomas so he himself could inherit the fortune. One morning as Thomas was at Mass the priest announced that next day’s Mass would be in the evening instead of the morning. Next night, as Thomas was walking to Mass in the darkness, lo and behold who should step out of the darkness but Sam!

Uh, Hello…

Part 2

One morning as Thomas Bach was attending early mass Father George (the parish priest) announced that the next day’s mass would be in the evening instead of the morning.

The next day Thomas worked tirelessly on his invention, trying to improve it. His robots could already do a countless number of things, but Thomas still wanted them to do more. He began trying to add things onto it some for pure pleasure like a stereo built into its stomach, some for helping like trying to make them push a wheelchair by voice commands.

After his noonday meal Thomas went out to check his mail. When he came back inside he looked at his few pieces of mail. Most of them were bills, but there was one strange letter. It was a dirty, soiled envelope with no return address or stamp. The only words on it were in the middle of the envelope. It read in very messy handwriting : Thomas Bach. When Thomas opened it found a small note that said:

Thomas pleez come to my howse for

Dinner I haven’t seeen yoo in awile

I ahm poor but I hav food miss yoo

Sam wipple

Thomas thought this note was very strange because Sam had always been jealous of him and very rude. The idea came across him that perhaps Sam wanted his money, but he decided to go to Sam’s house after mass anyway.

Part 3

That night, just as Thomas Bach was getting ready to leave for Holy Mass, he heard an urgent knocking at his door. "I wonder who is visiting me at this time of the evening?" He wondered. "It really is an inconvenient time, and they're knocking as if there is a fire!" When Thomas opened the door, there stood his young next door neighbor, panting for breath. Johnny Richards was his name and he was about twelve years old.

"Why Johnny!" exclaimed Thomas. "What in the world are you doing here?" Johnny replied quickly, " I heard your brother talking. Please don't go to his place for dinner tonight!" "Why Johnny?" Thomas asked, but the boy was shaking with fright so he didn't answer. Thomas asked him to sit down and try to explain what he meant. After a few minutes, Johnny began to tell his story, and Thomas did not interrupt once even though it made him late for Mass. "Well, I was going to the drugstore to get Mama some aspirin 'cuz she had a headache and on my way back I took a shortcut. I was gonna go straight home 'cuz Mama told me to, but I heard some men talking loud in a side alley. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, truly I didn't, but I heard one of them say Tom Bach so I stopped and listened. And I heard em' say that Sam only asked you to supper so he could kill ya and get all the money you're making off them robots." When Johnny had finished, Thomas stood up and said, "I believe you Johnny, and thank you for telling me. However, you need to go home now, and don't you worry about me, I'll take care of everything. When Johnny had gone Thomas called the police and arranged for a few officers to come with him to Sam's house.

After Mass Thomas met the police officers and went to Sam's house. Thomas went inside but the officers stayed and hid themselves outside. Thomas awkwardly entered Sam's house and they began to eat the poor meal in silence. After they had finished eating Tom and Sam sat down and Thomas awkwardly tried to begin a conversation. "So, uh, well are you still in the Church?" Thomas blurted out. Sam said nothing but Thomas could tell he was mad. Then Sam silently and suddenly opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a loaded pistol. Thomas's pulse quickened and just as Sam pointed the gun at him Thomas reached into his pocket and pulled out a whistle, quickly blowing three shrill blasts. That was the signal the police officers had been waiting for. Caught offguard, Sam yelled "What the-" But he had no time to finish because the police came in and grabbed him, knocking the gun onto the floor.

After the officers handcuffed him,they questioned Sam for a little while and then took him away to jail for a trial. Thomas Bach silently walked home in the dark, thinking and praying for Samuel.

Part 4

When Thomas Bach got up from bed the next day, he felt extremely happy to be alive. As Thomas went around, doing his morning prayers and work, Johnny Richards suddenly came into his thoughts. As Thomas remembered Johnny's heroic deed, he thought to himself, " Shouldn't I reward him somehow for being so brave and valiantly good?" Thomas Bach then thought of all the money he was getting from making and selling robots. Originally Thomas had planned to keep just enough of the money to pay taxes and buy food , giving th rest to charities and poor people, but now he thought of poor Johnny Richards and his mother. Johnny had no father that Thomas knew of, but he lived in small house taking care of his invalid mother and managing to buy food and other things by doing odd jobs around town. Mrs. Richards couldn't do anything herself because a long ago sickness had left her lame and now she could not walk. As Thomas thought of what he could do for Johnny, he thought not money would be a good present, but he would get a wheelchair for Johnny mother because Johnny never thought of himself, but would be most happy if his mother was comfortable.Then Thomas' face brightened with an idea and he hurried out to the store.

The next evening as Johnny Richards was preparing his mother's dinner, he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door Thomas Bach stood there smiling with a shiny new wheelchair and some other things piled in the chair's seat. Openmouthed, Johnny let Mr. Bach in and received his presents, which were the following: A nice new wheelchair for his mother, alot of good food (because they always had very poor meals), and a three hundred dollar check in the name of Johnny Richards. Johnny and his mother were so happy they cried.

For the rest of his life Samuel Wipple was in and out of prison for various crimes, and he was never quite happy. Thomas bach lived the rest of his life praying, making robots and giving money away to charities, poor people and Johnny Richards. Sam was always in Tom's prayers. Johnny Richards grew up to be a great husband, man, father and a famous poet, but in all his fame and glory he always stayed humble and kind toward his mother and everyone else in his life,never forgetting Thomas Bach.
So, as the year 3050 came to a close everyone was extremely happy in their life, especially Johnny Richards and Thomas Bach.