Doc looked at me even more suspiciously than Sheriff, fortunately I didn't look like a stock car, and that seemed to lower his guard a little.
"And what's your problem, kid?" he asked in a dry tone, already turning towards the clinic and walking back inside slowly, without stopping to stare at me.
Following him, I slowly entered the clinic and explained: "Mater found me on the road unconscious and with no memories, I don't know why and I don't remember anything that could help solve it."
Doc looked at me sideways and analyzed me, as did the Sheriff. "That's new... in all the years I've been at Radiator Springs, you're the first one to show up like that. Tell me, do you even remember if you like running?"
As he spoke, he pointed with a flick of the hood for me to fit into the center of the clinic and open my own.
Even though I knew this wasn't the reason for my 'amnesia', I answered honestly: "Yes, I've always liked speed."
The answer made his eyes narrow and a little of his mistrust return.
In order not to let the silence weigh me down, I decided to open my hood, curious to see how it would work.
It felt strange, almost too intimate, as if I had exposed something I shouldn't have. The cold air touching my engine sent shivers down my spine, showing that those parts were part of me.
If this were my previous world, I believe that opening the hood of a car would be like opening a person's brain, and as someone who loved biology and mechanics, I was dying to know how that blended together in this world.
When I managed to open the hood, it felt strange, almost too intimate. It was as if I had contracted a muscle, opened my chest and left my heart exposed, a movement that didn't seem natural but that, somehow, my new body did with ease.
The cold air touching the engine gave me an internal chill, showing me that I could even feel the parts in my hood as if they were part of me.
Doc leaned over to look at my engine and, for the first time, his eyes widened slightly.
"Hm. That's no amateur assembly, do you know what's in there, kid?" he asked, alternating his gaze between the engine and me.
Theoretically I knew every original and custom part that should be on this hood, since I customized everything myself in the other world, but here I wasn't sure, so I just nodded in denial.
Doc looked at my engine again and described it:
"This RB26 is clean... with original block and head, but someone has messed with its turbines and cooling system. The work has been done well, it looks like the work of a professional. It puts you far above the average sports street car, very close to professional competitors... the question is, why do you have an engine like that...?"
This ending was said in a low voice as if he was just talking to himself.
Then he came to my side with a calm look on his face, but I could sense a slight surprise. "Whoever tampered with this knew what they were doing, are you sure you don't remember?"
Closing my eyes to remember the engine of my car, I asked a little uncertainly. "By any chance... are the coolant hoses positioned at a double angle? Maybe I remember changing that to reduce the heat at the top of the block..."
Doc looked again and nodded. "Yes, they are. And well adjusted."
He commented thoughtfully as he looked around. "You don't have an accident mark, so it could have been the system itself. Maybe you pushed it too hard and it overheated. If so, your memory should come back slowly."
Listening to his theory, even I thought it made sense for a convincing excuse.
Closing my eyes, I tried to remember something about my engine that could corroborate this theory and remembered the last change I'd made to the car, something I'd done to test the car on a track day next weekend at the racetrack, but which never got a chance to be put into practice.
"Can you see if the intercooler has been resized? I remember creating a bigger one, so big that it almost touched the radiator..." I asked curiously, unfortunately unable to see the contents of my own engine.
Doc leaned over, looked at it calmly and snorted softly in surprise. "Hm. Your intercooler really is bigger. Something that big requires a lot more pressure and cooling... with how hot it is outside, I'm not surprised you blacked out."
"I guess I'll have to be careful with that for now." I said a little embarrassed, realizing that this really is a dangerous thing for me to do, even more so now that this engine is my body. "Until I remember where my home and workshop are, I'm going to have to control myself well enough not to overheat."
Doc was silent for a moment as something changed in his gaze.
"You'll need to be careful, kid. And if you think of anything useful... you can come and find me." He looked away, almost hiding his interest.
That surprised me. He really was curious about what I knew.
But remembering that Doc would probably die in two or three years because he had become obsolete, if I could adapt my knowledge from the other world and merge it with their knowledge in this world, it wouldn't be impossible to repair the man and make him live for a few more decades, right?
I had already repaired several old cars to the point where they looked new again, I could do something like that in this world too.
And I wouldn't only have to limit myself to repairing cars that were about to die, but also customize power parts for speed enthusiasts or aesthetic parts for cars focused on looking good... as long as I understood the structure of cars in this world and how close they were to my other world, none of this would be impossible, right?
At this point, my inner scientist got very excited, and I felt like I was studying the potion to double human life expectancy again.
"Kid, is everything all right?" Doc asked suddenly, looking at me with a little concern when he realized I'd been lost in thought.
I blinked, waking up. "I'm sorry, Doc, I think some memories are coming back and I got confused."
He nodded, without changing his tone. "This will happen often over the next few days, just don't let it happen at high speed. And you don't have to call me Doctor, just Doc. Doc Hudson."
Smiling, I also introduced myself. "I'm Harry, Harry Steel."
Doc nodded slightly and spoke. "All right, Harry. What I'd advise you to do now is rest, avoid exertion in the sun and don't strain your engine. For rest, Sally's Cozy Cone is the best place. To refuel, Flo's V8 is where everyone ends up. Welcome to town."
"Thanks, Doc. Sally's already invited me to stay at the Cozy Cone Motel, I think I'll stay there for a few days until I get my memory back. How much was the consultation?" I asked curiously.
Doc looked at me seriously for a moment. "Normally, eighty dollars. But in your case..." He narrowed his eyes, as if assessing me again. "Consider it paid if you use that time to get your head, and your engine, in order. And if you show up here to talk about how you made those changes, it'll be paid off."
After that he simply turned and walked back into the clinic and closed the gate, leaving me outside with no chance to refuse.
'He was very interested in my performance changes... why is that?' I wondered curiously.
From what I remembered, Doc hated racing because of his past, the fact that despite winning several Piston Cups, he was still forgotten by the media after a star rookie emerged.
'Well, considering I'm going to have to stay here for a while, I think I'll be able to figure out his motive at some point, now I just need to figure out what the difference is between this world and the world of the original movie.' I thought as I slowly made my way to Flo's V8 Café.