by D. B. Goodin
It sounded like a clanking sound—like metal on metal—but they couldn’t see anything. They continued down the catwalk.
“I hope that we can find a way into the network. This place gives me the willies,” Jony said.
Nigel froze as he saw movement just ahead on the catwalk. It wasn’t moving like a human but—a robot? It’s a robot! Nigel thought. The machine in front of Nigel was about the size of a large kitchen trashcan. It had a light in front of it and a tray with cleaning supplies was on the top of the robot.
“What’s that doing here?” Nigel said.
“There’s another one behind me,” Jony said.
Nigel snatched a glance behind Jony. It was another robot, but this one was larger, and it looked like it had been designed it to haul packages around.
“There’s no way we’re going back now!” Jony said.
Nigel tried jumping over the smaller robot, but lost his footing. He slammed against the metal catwalk. Pain shot up his arm as he tried to protect his head. He looked up and saw the cleaning robot; it stopped just short of hitting him. Then he noticed some stains on the robot’s cleaning bristles.
Is that blood?
He looked closer now. The stains were gummy, and hair was stuck on it too. Nigel tried getting up, but the robot slammed into him. The robot behind Jony did the same to him.
“Bloody hell!” Jony cried.
Nigel felt something hard against his fingers, it felt like metal slamming against his hand. He pulled back, wincing in pain. He was bleeding.
“The robots are attacking!” Nigel yelled.
Freeman’s chat window opened up in the Colossal Machine. He used a command to close the window and enabled the “do not disturb” feature. The window popped up again. An annoyed Freeman issued a command from the “god console”—as he called it—in order to disable all in-game communications.
His cell phone chirped: an encrypted message from Lord Aldoor. Freeman checked the message, which read:
FreemanRising,
We are withholding your final payment of Digibit until we hear from you. Please tap the link when you are ready to start the communication.
Lord Aldoor
Freeman tapped the link and started the call.
“FreemanRising?” a man said.
“Yes, this is Freeman. What is so urgent that we need to speak over a live communications channel?”
“Your actions have become reckless. You are putting our whole operation at risk.”
“What operation is that . . . exactly?” Freeman said.
“That is ‘need to know.’”
“Screw you, Gregor!”
A loud clacking sound interrupted the call.
“What’s that?” Freeman said.
“I’ve got to go.”
Gregor turned to leave the small control room where Jeremiah had stashed him. Before him was what looked like a cross between a girl and a robot. She was dressed in white and equipped with a visor. It looked like she just had gotten out of the shower.
Delta’s eyes narrowed. “Hello, Gregor.”
Gregor’s eyes spun around. “What the . . . ?” he began. “You must be Delta.”
Delta said nothing. She walked around Gregor’s workstation as if she were making an evaluation.
“Has phase one started? What’s that noise?” Gregor said.
Delta made some hand gestures, and the clacking sounds were muted.
“No, it hasn’t. I’m just correcting some . . . anomalies before we can proceed,” Delta replied.
“What are you talking about?”
Gregor felt cold metallic hands on the back of his neck. It felt like someone had dropped a stack of dumbbells on his neck.
“Aargh!” he screamed. “What the hell is the matter with you? I’m not your enemy.”
Before he could say anything else, Delta swung around to face him. “Are you sure, Gregor?”
“I’m sure I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but you will. Do you remember phase one? Its purpose is to expose and humiliate all bad actors.”
“I don’t follow.”
“According to my database files, you are among those bad actors.”
“Impossible. I’m working for Jeremiah.”
“Correction: you previously worked for Grandfather.”
Gregor looked confused.
“Do you think you were immune to the process just because you worked for its architect?”
“Well . . . I . . . assumed—”
“That’s the problem with your kind. You assume that you will come out on top—at the expense of others. I have a record of all of your ill-gotten gains since puberty.”
Jeremiah must have a full dossier on me.
“Remember your first hack? It was your final year of primary school. You were failing, so you made some grading adjustments. In high school, you hacked into all your classmates’ MeSpace accounts. You sold access to bullies and stalkers. Several of your classmates were attacked because of your criminal activity.”
Much of this wasn’t publicized, Gregor thought. How does she know all of this?
“What makes you sure I even did any of this?” he asked.
“Grandfather was a master at data mining. His data lake is massive and contains detailed information on all potential associates. We know more than you realize. You’ve amassed over 500 million Digibit since you started working for the Collective. You are a predator who needs to learn a lesson.”
Gregor picked up his phone and pressed some buttons.
“Who are you calling?” Delta asked.
“Jeremiah. He will straighten out this mess.”
“On the contrary. He cannot answer a phone when he’s dead.”
Delta showed Gregor the camera footage of Jeremiah’s demise; a second later, he tried to make a run for the door. She stopped him before he could even get near it. Delta grinned as she threw a punch that knocked Gregor off his feet.
He held up a hand. “Wait—”
Delta finished the job.
Jet entered Delta’s lab. It was a little too quiet; there was an eerie stillness about it that she could not place. The table where Delta had been birthed into existence from a sweet little girl sat there, almost mocking her.
I thought I was getting through to her. No way someone else programmed that killer robot. It was her! Jet thought. Her visor came to life. Video started playing. Jet recognized the area; it was outside the complex. She could see several armed guards fighting a small group of rebels.
“Is that Nigel?” Jet said aloud.
He was running with a tall blond woman. This must be Natasha! Another camera angle appeared, and the camera must have been in front of the complex, because she could see Nigel’s face. Her heart skipped a beat. That was Nigel! A group of guards covered their rear flank, and the woman fell in a bloody mess. Nigel tried helping but was interrupted by an older man. They ran under the camera’s point of view.
They made it inside before the lockdown. I must find them!
Jet made for the door. Just before reaching it, it opened, and Delta stood just inside the doorframe, blocking it. Jet’s breath caught when she noticed something dripping from one of Delta’s hands.
Is that blood?
“Hello, Josephine,” Delta said with a menacing smile.
A flood of thoughts entered Jet’s mind at once. Delta sounded different—unlike anything she’d heard before. Definitely not like April. I hope April is in there somewhere.
“Hi, can you move? I need to use the restroom,” Jet said.
“An increased heart rate, rapid eye blinking, and blush response show that you are lying,” Delta said. Jet toyed with the wristband that betrayed her without thinking.
Wait. Delta didn’t move her lips. The voice was coming from inside the auditory features of her visor.
Delta gave her the creepiest smile she had ever seen. “To answer the question that you are thin
king, Leviathan and I have . . . integrated,” Delta said.
“What are you planning to do? Hold me prisoner?” Jet said.
“No, you misunderstand. I’m keeping you here for your protection. Hostile forces have entered the facility.”
“Nigel’s not a hostile,” Jet demanded.
“He arrived with the aggressors. I will treat him as a hostile. In fact, he is heading for sensitive areas of the complex now. He is no doubt planning to override the security system to let his hostile compatriots inside.”
I’m talking to a machine. April is dead!
Another video filled her visor. It looked like another camera angle just above Nigel’s position. Two robots had them trapped. She recognized the cleaning robot that had bashed in Jeremiah’s head so effectively. It looked like a metallic beast trying to eat its prey.
“Stop it!”
The video stopped playing.
Nigel underestimated how strong these robots were. The cleaning robot was rolling back and forth into his shins. Nigel looked back, and Jony was trying to push the larger robot back. He seemed to be losing the battle. Nigel tried climbing over the robot, but the tray elevated to block his advance.
I need to deactivate them—but how? Nigel thought in a panic.
Nigel got an idea. He reached into his backpack for the screwdriver he had brought just in case he needed to take apart something.
“Got it!” Nigel said.
“What’s that?” Jony asked.
Nigel jammed the screwdriver into the robot’s access panel with one hand while steadying the robot with the other. After a few tries, the panel opened. Nigel could see a circuit board. He hit the board with the screwdriver. The only effect he could discern was that some LEDs went out. Then he saw it: a thick wire running down the inside of the chassis. Nigel hit the wire as hard as he could, several times. The robot responded by backing up.
Nigel ran after it.
I must have hit a nerve. Damn! This thing is fast, Nigel thought.
Nigel caught up to it at the end of the catwalk, and it zipped out of sight. He looked back. Jony was running toward him; the robot was still trying to take a piece out of his backside. Slots containing folders and various papers were moving in and out like a psychotic metal beast. Jony reached the end of the catwalk and the mail robot kept moving down the hallway.
“What the bloody hell was that?” Jony said, panting.
“I believe that Delta has become self-aware,” Nigel said.
Nigel followed the featureless hallway until it ended, no signs of robots or anything else.
“Looks like a dead end!” Jony said.
“The robots had to go somewhere!” Nigel said.
Nigel touched the smooth walls, which were cold to the touch. He rubbed his hand alongside the entire wall. Jony was sitting on the floor, laptop open.
“Looking for the free Wi-Fi?” Nigel said.
Jony laughed.
“No access points in range, but I see a Bluetooth connection just on the other side of this wall. The signal is weak, but I can boost it.”
Jony took out a small cylindrical antenna in a clear plastic tube and plugged it into his laptop.
“I performed a blue bug attack on whatever I connected to. Performing scans now.”
Nigel continued to look for an opening.
“Jackpot! Someone left an open Bluetooth connection on the computer that controls security of the facility. Amateurs!” Jony said.
“Can you find out what system controls the robots? Also, open the main door,” Nigel said.
“I’m unable to find the robot system, but I’ve opened all doors on this level. Wait! My computer froze.”
Jony tried holding down the power button—nothing. Then, to his astonishment, several command windows opened. Someone was trying to access AlphaFour, the Black Iris AI! Something has locked me out of my computer. “Bollocks!” Jony shouted.
“Looks like your computer has been owned,” Nigel said.
“That’s impossible. I . . .” Jony trailed off.
“It’s your hardware controller. Several wireless vendors got their firmware compromised. When’s the last time you performed a BIOS update?” Nigel said.
“AlphaFour connection granted. Thank you for your participation, Mr. Clarke,” a female voice said.
“It’s screwing with you! Pull the battery . . . now!” Nigel said.
“I can’t! It’s integrated,” Jony said.
Nigel pulled out a set of small screwdrivers and motioned for the computer. Jony handed it over. Nigel took out as many screws as fast as he could, and then he ripped off the back cover and pulled the battery connector out.
“That should do it!” Nigel said.
He gave the computer back to Jony and started walking down the hallway.
“The robots have been put away, but your friends have made a hostile move against us,” Delta said.
“What move?”
“One intruder hacked into the main security subsystem. Don’t worry. I’ve locked them out. And . . . received a bonus,” Delta said.
Delta sounds like she is enjoying herself!
“What are you talking about?” Jet said.
“I’m making a new friend. Her name is AlphaFour,” Delta said.
Delta positioned herself on the table. Arms lowered from the ceiling and connected her to the mainframe.
“Connecting to the core. This will improve process efficiency when performing the integration. Don’t worry, security will remain in place,” Delta said as she powered down.
That just great!
Jet heard something outside, but she couldn’t see outside the frosted glass.
Did someone try opening the door?
Nigel and Jony made their way to the entrance.
“I thought you were going to open these doors,” Nigel said.
“I did!”
Hopefully Alexei, Dahlia, and Hunter took those bastards out. Natasha . . . I can’t believe you are gone! Nigel’s eyes started watering as he thought about the battle. Then he started down the unexplored section of the hall, checking doors as he went.
Aargh, another dead end! Nigel thought.
Nigel was about to turn around when he heard muffled screams. Nigel turned and faced a door, the frosted glass preventing him from seeing what was behind it. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but the voice sounded familiar. He tried the door. It was locked, a light glowed from beside it.
Hmm . . . a proximity card reader!
Nigel rummaged through his backpack and found what he was looking for. He unscrewed the cover off the proximity meter. Based on the codes written on the outside of the circuit board, the door reader was a PID model 3. Nigel was trying to remember what Milo had told him—something about door frequencies.
“Screw it,” Nigel muttered.
He hooked up the makeshift circuit that Milo built and tapped the “scan” button with the end of a small screwdriver. The device seemed dead. Further examination revealed that the battery connector had popped out. He reseated the battery. Seconds later, he was in business. It took a while, but he tried the door when he heard a beep. The door pushed open. He wasn’t prepared for what he found.
Jet was sitting on the floor of Delta’s lab, her hands covering her face. She felt defeated. Then she heard something that filled her with hope and dread simultaneously. She heard a loud click.
The door is opening! she thought.
A handsome teenage boy just under six feet tall entered the room.
“Nigel?” Jet said.
His eyes widened and froze in place.
“Intruder alert!” a loud voice boomed.
Delta’s eyes opened, and then before either Jet or Nigel could react, Delta was standing between them.
“Nigel Watson, so pleased to make your acquaintance,” Delta said as she held out a hand.
Nigel instinctively held out his hand. Delta took it, and to everyone’s surprise, she shook his h
and.
What the hell is going on here? This is bad, Jet thought.
“You got the door open, Nigel. Brilliant!” Jony said as he walked inside.
What happened next was a blur.
“Hello, Father. Mum gives her regards,” Delta said in April’s voice.
Jony looked confused.
“You probably don’t remember getting a young college girl drunk and taking advantage of her. I do, and I have Grandfather’s notes, thoughts, and memories,” Delta said.
“I . . . don’t know what you—”
Jony was interrupted by Delta’s blade.
Jet couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Delta raised her hand, and a metal blade projected from her wrist and struck Jony in the Adam’s apple. Jony grabbed at his neck and collapsed, making gurgling sounds. Delta squatted down so that she could meet Jony’s eyes.
“Now, think about this the next time you have nasty thoughts about hurting another person,” Delta chuckled.
Jony collapsed, still grabbing his neck as blood flowed around his fallen body.
Nigel gave Jet a wild-eyed look as Delta stood and turned to face him.
“Based on my research, you are a good person, Nigel Watson . . . most of the time. But you have poor taste in traveling companions,” Delta said.
“What are you going to do with us?” Jet asked fearfully.
Delta’s expression changed. It was like seeing an adult turn into a child.
“You’ve always had my back, Jet. Now that I’ve . . . evolved, I will repay your kindness and let you witness some changes to the world order.”
