Chapter 1: Of All the Nerve

“Lilli? I urgently need your help. Now! Please?”

“Sure, Cindy, what do you need? I’m just toying with my Doll-drama. Not important. Anything you need just ask.”

“Joey’s dead.”

“Oh, Gawd, No! Please no. Dead? How?”

“Shot twice. He lived a short while then died in my arms. His last words were, he loved us all. I want to store his body in one of the kitchen deep freezers. Maybe someday he can be revived, it’s possible, who knows when. And until he can be brought back, I want to 3D print a full-scale replica of Joey. For all of us and display it in the gallery, so he’ll be with us, always. I want detailed pictures of him for printing the model. Will you assist me? Please”

“You have some macabre ideas, Cindy, but yes, (sniff, blubber) I’ll help. Let me just get my VGA camera. Okay, (sob) I’m ready, take me to him.”

“I put him here in his dressing room. This is one of his favorite chairs, he has another like it at his desk. My thought is, he looks so peaceful now, I believe he will look like he only dozed off naturally like, relaxed in his chair. Help me lift him into it and pose him.”

“It is a natural pose for him. Why don’t you cuddle on his lap? We can depersonalize your figure by a little airbrushing, so all his kids can identify with it. It will prevent them from actually sitting on the manikin’s lap. Let me adjust his head to lean against yours. Perfect.”

“Looks good in the review finder. Let’s get him in the freezer.”

“Let’s empty one and bring the freezer here? We can spare one a while until we buy a replacement. Someone looking for an ice cream sandwich, and they accidentally discovered daddy’s frozen corpse, wouldn’t be a pleasant experience, I think.”

“Now who’s being macabre? Okay, we bring the freezer here and keep both it and his body hidden. Let’s move”

“Okay. What temperature do we need to keep him at?”

“As low as it will go. I’m going to call my re-constructionists immediately, and ask their thoughts on possibly reanimating daddy.”

“Re-constructionists?”

“They’re the doctors who put me back together. We keep in touch. According to them, I could simply come unglued at any time. They insist upon status updates on my general health and an annual complete physical checkup.”

“That’s something I wouldn’t want hanging over me!”

“Me either, but it isn’t my choice. Makes every moment that much more precious though.’

“I bet. Anything else I can help with, Cindy?”

“Yes, the 3D printing.”

“My printer can’t handle creating full-sized components. Even the Doll House printers at the ranch can’t. Joey has a large printer in his Nerve Center, but I doubt even it is big enough for what you want.”

“I’m certain Joey won’t mind if I take over his nerve center. Do you think anyone else will object?”

“Joey doesn’t object, why should anyone else? That’s the response I recommend if someone does intrude and object. I doubt anyone will even notice. Someone might ask, what you’re doing in there. You can suggest they take it up with Joey. You only answer to him.”

“Thanks, Lilli. Will you help me with the program setup? I’ve never 3D printed anything.”

“I’ll work with you on it. How’s that? I’m not sure if I can do it. It would be best to start with a couple of less ambitious projects first. Hone our skills as we go. Your project is going to require hundreds of pounds of material. We could go in together on bulk purchases to save some money. I don’t need much myself, but I’ll contribute.”