Cogsworth Pennington III's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Cogsworth Pennington III adjusted his bow tie and stepped onto the small wooden platform he'd built behind the Brass Theater District. His brass fingers trembled slightly as he opened his joke book. He wanted to become the most renowned comedic performer in the district, but first he needed to practice. A squirrel paused on a nearby branch, watching him. Cogsworth cleared his throat and began telling his first joke about a clockmaker who couldn't find the time. The squirrel twitched its tail and scampered away. He sighed, his optical sensor dimming for a moment, then turned the page to try another routine. He needed a better way to test his material. Real feedback from actual people. Cogsworth spent the next three days in his workshop, assembling gears and copper tubes. His metal fingers twisted wires and connected circuits. When he finished, a small mechanical dog stood on his workbench. Its brass body gleamed under the lamplight. Glowing eyes blinked to life as Cogsworth activated it. He programmed the dog to carry his jokes written on small cards and deliver them around town. People could read them and react naturally. The mechanical dog trotted through the streets, stopping at gathering spots and leaving joke cards on benches and windowsills. Cogsworth followed at a distance, watching people pick up the cards. Some smiled. Some laughed. Others crumpled the cards and tossed them aside. He recorded each reaction in his notebook, learning which jokes worked and which ones fell flat. His optical sensor brightened with each genuine laugh he witnessed. By week's end, Cogsworth had filled twenty pages with notes. He knew which routines made people laugh the hardest. Now he needed a real stage to perform them. He'd heard whispers about the grandest venue in the district, a place with iron-barred boxes where the most important audience members sat. That's where the legendary performers worked. That's where he needed to be. Cogsworth tucked his joke book under his arm and headed toward the theater to learn how performers earned their spot on that stage.