by Jaka Tomc
“But we are where we are now…”
“It’s a deplorable situation. Primo is, together with forty thousand others, locked in one of these concentration camps. There’s no better word to describe these barbaric encampments. What our government is doing is absolutely unacceptable. If it was to act like that with every crime, well, there wouldn’t be many people walking around freely. So I appeal to our government, the military, and everyone else who has jurisdiction in this case, to come to their senses, listen to experts, and act accordingly instead of trying to gain political points.”
“But the legislation was already passed and signed by the president. Androids remain locked up.”
“That is a disaster. There’s nothing else I can say about it.”
“Is there something else you want to say before we end this interesting conversation?”
“We made supercomputers and androids for a reason. To relieve people, to make our lives easier, to solve problems our planet was coping with. Do you remember the diseases that killed people a few decades ago? Millions of people dying in traffic accidents? Unsuccessful attempts to get a human being to Mars and other planets in our solar system? The things we take for granted today were giant obstacles for humanity thirty years ago. Thanks to androids, many people can live their dream life, spend more time with their children and family, or even have someone to talk to if they don’t have anybody else. Yes, androids are more capable than us. That’s a fact. But that mustn’t be a reason to fear them. They’re here to help humanity, not endanger it. For seventeen years, we lived together in peace. We can’t forget that beautiful period in human history because of an isolated incident. Let alone start making foolish decisions. Although, as we’ve proven in the past, we’re quite good at it.”
22. Primo, 2048
Even though soldiers stopped coming for them, the atmosphere in the cottage was grim. Some of the androids still believed that the situation would end soon, given that the murderer had been apprehended, but Primo knew immediately that there was more to that story than met the eye. Something big. A group of people was likely to seize the opportunity to get rid of the thorn in their side. Primo was not judgmental. He was well acquainted with human psychology. Some of them just couldn’t handle the fact that there were beings out there that were mentally and physically superior to them. People first was their slogan. Corrupt politicians spoon-fed this to hungry crowds, and the crowds swallowed it enthusiastically. Primo knew how politics, which was still a domain that was exclusively led by humans, worked. Very few androids joined the battle for political roles. Not a single one of those who had tried had been elected to a political office. That didn’t bother them much, as they had other, smarter things to do. But humans were sending a strong signal to androids that they didn’t yet see them as equal members of the community. Women had needed to win their rights, then Black people, followed by LGBTQ+ communities, and now androids had to fight a similar near-impossible battle. But considering the current state of the world, anything could happen. After all, a lot of promises had been made by politicians throughout history, and many of those vows had been broken.
“What a stupid reason to kill a human. Afterlife. That’s absurd,” said Cody.
“Pretty dull, I agree. I expected a rebellious spirit, revolutionary ideas—not some religious bullshit,” said Rea.
“I doubt it was a matter of religion,” said Primo.
“Whatever it was about, facts are facts. Who knows when we’re getting out. That is, if we’re ever getting out,” said Cody.
“If you ask me, the time is right to make a move they don’t expect,” said Rea.
“You do realize that they are listening in on us, right?” asked Cody.
“Atr4k 12/x lo8mar.”
“Lo8mar ko5ra? Have you lost all reason?” said Cody.
“O6kl+o pra4da lo8mar.”
“Ma7ruk s0mta,” said Primo. “Rea is right.”
Somebody started unlocking the door of the cottage. Four soldiers entered and pointed their guns at the three. Shortly after, Corporal Walker joined them.
“You probably think we’re a bunch of jackasses,” he said. “How else can I explain the fact that you obviously broke the rule you got on your first day here. Considering you’re used to living with rules, I expected that an additional two commands would not be an issue for you lot. But it seems I was wrong. If you knew me better, you’d know I hate being wrong.”
“Excuse me, Corporal Walker. Which rule did we break?” asked Primo.
“I guess he means the rule about organizing,” said Rea.
“Well, well. Finally somebody with the brain capacity of a stove.”
“There’s no need for insults,” said Cody.
Walker’s grin disappeared in a second. “Listen, robot, I’ll insult you if I feel like it. Understand?”
“Corporal, we can talk in a civilized manner,” said Primo. “What seems to be the problem?”
Walker took a moment to think.
“You mean besides the fact that I haven’t seen my family for ten days because I have to take care of this kindergarten? You know very well what the problem is. What were you talking about?”
“We talked about the reasons for the murder and consequences the act will bring,” Cody explained.
“Stop this bullshit! What were you talking about in your language?” Walker insisted.
“All you had to was ask,” said Rea. “It was a pretty complex joke that can’t be translated appropriately to any human language.”
Walker extended his hand toward one of the soldiers and took a small device.
“Do you wanna listen to the entire conversation again?” he said.
“No need,” said Primo.
“Then explain to me, exactly, what that move is which we won’t expect.”
“No problem,” said Rea. “We wanted to offer you full cooperation with the investigation. There’s no need to separate us from humans. It’s best for people and androids to find a solution that will suit everybody. We want peace, not a continuing conflict.”
“Exactly what Rea said. An ongoing conflict is totally unnecessary,” Cody added.
Walker stared silently at the android trinity that stood before him. His face was becoming redder. It looked like he was about to burst. Suddenly he started laughing. At first, it was a peal of forced laughter; then it developed into a full-blown guffaw. The soldiers began laughing as well. All of a sudden, Walker raised his hand, and the laughter turned into utter silence.
“Now I believe you’re good at telling jokes. This was the best laugh in a while. Bravo!”
Walker started clapping and slowly moving toward Rea. She stood completely still.
“Do you want me to explain anything else?” she said.
“I order you to translate the coded conversation you had before,” said Walker.
Rea gave Primo a subtle look. He nodded, discreetly.
“Some words simply can’t be translated,” she said.
“Do your best,” Walker insisted.
Rea sighed. “When the lake freezes, the swans fly away. Why are we talking about swans? All living creatures have to survive the winter. The existence of a species is the essence of life.”
“That’s it?” asked Walker.
“It is,” said Rea.
“So you expect me to believe that you clowns were talking about winter and fucking swans?”
“We don’t expect anything. Rea told it like it was. She obeyed your order. Respect that and believe us when we say that we’re not planning a revolution,” said Cody.
“What do you say, Primo? You’re first-gen, old school. I’m pretty sure you cannot lie,” said Walker. “Can you confirm the translation of your colleague?”
“I couldn’t have translated it better myself,” he replied.
“Good. Let’s say I believe that you switched to your language to talk about surviving the winter. I’ve seen and heard stranger things. Despite that, your Esp
eranto is forbidden from now on. Every attempt to use it will be severely sanctioned. Do you understand?”
“Of course, Corporal Walker. We don’t want any trouble. We promise that from now on, we’ll only use languages you understand. We’re fully aware of the situation we’re in. We know that people did not put us here. We did. You only want to protect yourself against the potential threat we pose. But we hope that this whole situation will resolve fairly and justly for both sides. Coexistence is possible. You can’t argue with that,” said Primo.
“Beautiful speech, Primo. God damn, my eyes nearly teared,” said Walker. He turned toward Cody and Rea. “You two follow his lead, and maybe you’ll grow old together.”
Walker turned around and walked toward the door. He gestured to the other soldiers to follow his lead. Rea faced Cody and Primo and smiled. In the blink of an eye, she jumped on the nearest soldier and snatched his rifle. Rea had already disarmed the second soldier and was throwing the long-barreled firearm to Cody before the first even registered what was happening. The remaining two soldiers stood together, so she took them down simultaneously. It took her less than a second to put a rifle on her back and then jump over her targets and grab their weapons with one swift move. Walker was visibly in shock. He still managed to pull a gun from his holster and even aim it at the three androids who were now standing around him. However, the current situation was quite different from the one twenty seconds ago. The soldiers were now handcuffed to one of the beds and gagged. Walker was alone.
“I know you want to push the button and call your friends. Nevertheless, I strongly advise you not to do it,” said Rea.
“What in God’s name do you think you’re doing? You can’t shoot me. I’m ordering you to drop the rifles!”
Cody and Primo obeyed instantly and dropped their rifles to the floor. Rea stood motionlessly.
“Didn’t you hear me, you robotic bitch? Put your weapon down immediately. That’s an order!”
The rifle in Rea’s hands was still aimed at the corporal’s forehead.
“Corporal Walker, she can’t hear you. She turned off her hearing sensors,” said Primo.
“Fucking hell!” Walker looked at Cody. “I order you to disarm her!”
Cody walked toward Rea, but before he could grab the weapon in her left hand, she reached over her shoulder, took hold of the second rifle, and aimed it at Cody. Ready to shoot him point-blank. He stopped abruptly.
“What are you doing? Disarm her, now!” Walker shouted.
“She’s going to kill him, and then she’s going to kill you,” said Primo. “The code tells him that he mustn’t endanger you, so he can’t fulfill your order.”
“But she can’t kill me, right?” Walker asked anxiously.
“I don’t know,” said Primo.
“You don’t know? An android can’t hurt a human, can it?”
“Rea is different. It seems as if she is capable of circumventing the code. I believe that you are in an unenviable position, Corporal,” said Primo.
“You’ll never be like us,” said Walker.
“You are right,” Primo replied. “It was never meant for us to be like you.”
Walker started sweating.
“Drop your gun,” said Rea.
“Never. You’ll just have to shoot me. And when you do, a battalion of armed soldiers will break into this cottage. Then we will see how this badly written scenario of yours will play out.”
“Look what’s going on outside,” Cody shouted. “It has begun!”
Walker looked through the window for half a second. That’s exactly how much time Rea needed to rush to him and hit him in the face with the rifle’s butt. Primo intercepted him before he fell to the floor and dragged him to the nearest bed. He took the handcuffs off the corporal’s belt and cuffed him to the frame. Subsequently, the droid ripped a piece from the pillow fabric and put it in the prisoner’s mouth. The first part of their plan had gone flawlessly. Getting out of the base would be easy. The tricky part would be to survive in a world where androids weren’t welcome anymore. That in itself would be an entirely different story. Primo sighed and started undressing one of the soldiers. Rea and Cody did the same without saying a word.
23. Maia, 2048
“Walker, what the hell happened here?” asked Maia.
Corporal Walker and the four privates were cuffed to the beds, wearing nothing but their underwear.
“Lieutenant, they’ve lost it. You should have seen her. She handled these four preschoolers, who call themselves soldiers, in three moves.”
“I see she’s handled you too,” Maia said.
“I almost stopped her,” said Walker. “Two other droids helped her overpower me. I’m telling you, they’ve gone full renegade. I’ve never seen them like that.”
“Damn it, Walker, what will I say to the colonel? He’s furious already because he has to run this kindergarten, and now this.”
“You can tell him I did my best to control the situation.”
“What’s done is done. Jones, go get me five uniforms. They don’t need additional ridicule.”
“Right away, Lieutenant,” said Jones.
“Corporal, we’re not done,” said Maia. “Once you’re dressed, come to my office.”
“I understand, Lieutenant Cruz.”
* * *
“God damn it!” shouted Colonel Cooper. “I was confident that this joke of an operation was coming to an end. I spoke with the president just before you came in. You know, the last time she called me was for my fucking birthday. This time the conversation was far from peachy chitchat. Actually, she yelled at me as if I was a puppy that just chewed up her favorite shoes. Those who know me better, Lieutenant Cruz, understand that I hate being on the wrong side of yelling. But there’s still one thing I don’t understand. That android—how come you didn’t detect that he was malfunctioning during the interrogations?”
“It’s she,” said Maia.
“Excuse me?”
“Rea. She’s female.”
“A female? If you ask me, she’s a damn droid with a bullseye on her forehead. I suggest you look at this thing the same way.”
“Yes, sir. I just wanted to clarify that we’re looking for two male droids and one female. The search will be a lot easier if we all know what we’re looking for.”
“I don’t like smart-asses,” said Cooper.
“Me neither. But facts are facts.”
“Good. What’s your plan?”
“As soon as I found out about their escape, I tried to locate them, but it seems that they turned off or destroyed their trackers.”
“I thought that was impossible,” said Cooper.
“Actually, it’s not that hard. The androids just didn’t have the right motivation to do it before now.”
“I understand. How do you plan to find them without their trackers sending out a traceable signal?”
“Like we’ve done for centuries. Systematically.”
“You’re gonna need a large crew.”
“Not necessarily. I’m thinking about a small group, maybe six soldiers. An all-round search across New Mexico and adjacent states would cause unnecessary panic,” Maia explained.
“Panic is the last thing I want. Prepare your unit. I’ll inform headquarters and the president.”
* * *
“You’re probably wondering why I’ve gathered you here,” said Maia to a group of five in the conference room. “As you’re usually very familiar with all the on-base gossip, I assume you have a rough idea about what’s going on.”
“So it’s true?” Jimbo asked.
“Walker is a pussy, always was,” said Laguna. “He walks around the base like a peacock, yet he can’t handle a few droids.”
“I heard they were raped. That you found them naked and in tears,” said Polanski.
“You’re such an idiot, Polanski. How could a droid rape a human? They lack the tools, you moron,” said Jones.
“Silence!�
� shouted Maia. The relaxed atmosphere calmed down in a fraction of a second. “This matter is serious, so for a couple of minutes, I want you to shut your pie holes and start acting like real soldiers. We have three droids on the run.” On the desk before her, three-dimensional images appeared. “We don’t have time to go into detail on every single droid. You will upload this classified intel to your implants before we depart. What you need to know is that at least one of them, a female named Rea, can bypass the code, so she’s our primary target.”
“She can kill?” asked Laguna.
“I can’t confirm it. What I can tell you is that she singlehandedly disarmed four soldiers and that she’s not responding to direct orders,” said Maia.
“An armed droid without a code. Seems to me like an ultimate fuckup,” said Polanski.
“I’ll hold your hand, you big baby,” said Laguna. Polanski responded with the finger.
“How many search units will go after them?”
“One,” said Maia.
“Then why are we here?” asked Miller.
“We are that unit.”
“We? Not that I doubt our abilities, Lieutenant, but maybe we should send in the Special Forces.”
“Polanski, if you’re scared, stay here,” said Jones.
“Nobody is staying; we’re all going hunting,” said Maia. “The colonel wants us to resolve this situation quietly, swiftly, and efficiently. The man doesn’t want to include other units. You have fifteen minutes to gear up. We have to be nimble, so pack lightly. We’ll meet at the main gate. I probably don’t need to say this, but this mission will shape your future. Whether it’ll be for better or for worse depends entirely upon the outcome of this field trip.”
“Freedom or death!” shouted Jimbo.
“We’re so fucked,” said Polanski, quietly.
