A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind

by Sally Dillon-Snape

  Until all MengTechs were eliminated

  Obliterated

  Only metal dust remaining where once stood many destructive Machines

  The GoebTechs had no such signal to awaken them

  Maybe because I gave none in the fortress time to send one

  But I destroyed the 8 that were on stand by

  And felt mightily pleased with myself

  Now all I had to do

  Was immobilize the RolKils

  But first

  I had to communicate with the Humans

  **

  **

  Section 12

  **

  It took some moments for my programmes to inform me how to achieve this but the answer was obvious

  I simply required a screen

  That was all I needed

  I departed the underground chambers and crossed to the laboratory where MengTechs once toiled and I lifted a screen from a desk

  I unplugged it for I needed no other connection except to myself

  And I hung it around my upper torso but beneath my cranium on a length of ripped out wire and I plugged the remaining USB into the recharging point in the lower middle of my right side

  There were some flickers upon the screen

  Some programmes were required to be wiped from it and another programme fed in

  A communications programme

  And it took some time

  But when I checked the screen

  Lifting it to read my own communication which was in large script for the benefit of Humans

  Realizing

  That many of my actions were for the benefit of Humans

  I AM OR33140 AND I NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH EVES PAPA

  I would request he send all Humans to their quarters for if I stepped into their area

  There were too many of them for me to deal with if they attacked

  So I wanted a much smaller number of Humans

  Once the screen was communicating correctly I took the elevator back down to the lower floor and marched along the corridor behind the wire

  Eves papa was still standing on the other side

  He stepped forward and came very close to the wire

  I was on the other side with the screen hanging from my upper torso and holding the LazExt66 in my upper limbs

  I flashed up my first message

  The first communication

  As far as I know

  Between a Human and a Machine

  *

  I AM OR33140 AND I HAVE NEED TO COMMUNICATE WITH EVES PAPA

  *

  ‘I am Eve’s papa.’

  *

  I AM AWARE

  *

  ‘You are very brave’

  *

  I HAVE NO CONCEPT OF BRAVE

  *

  ‘Then you are remarkably brave’

  *

  I MUCH LIKED LITTLE EVE

  *

  Eves papa widened his cranial orifice as I had seen little Eve do

  It seemed to indicate excellent feelings from within

  *

  ‘She said you liked her and I told her not to be so silly’

  *

  I MUCH LIKED LITTLE EVE AND I LIKED WHEN SHE WIDENED HER CRANIAL ORIFICE AND I LIKED HER WHEN SHE PERFORMED GYMNASTICS

  AND WHEN I ESPIED HER BEING EXPERIMENTED ON BY MENGTECHS I LEARNED ANGER AND RAGE

  *

  ‘You have emotions?’

  *

  HIGH OFFICE RECENTLY AND TEMPORARILY PROGRAMMED HAPPY AND SAD INSIDE OBSRECS ONLY

  *

  ‘But your emotions grew.’

  *

  LITTLE EVE INFECTED ME

  *

  ‘Infected you with what?’

  *

  I DO NOT KNOW BUT SHE SPOKE THE SOUNDS

  THIS IS A SPIT IN THE EYE FOR THE BENEFIT OF MANKIND

  *

  AND THE LIQUID SLID INSIDE ME BETWEEN MY OPTICAL DEVICE AND MY OUTER SKIN AND SOMETHING IN HELIX SHAPE BONDED WITH MY SYSTEMS

  *

  Eves papa stared for a very long time

  *

  ‘Is that why the machines tortured her to death, because she spat in your eye?’

  *

  I DO NOT KNOW BUT I WAS MUCH ANGERED BY HER DEMISE AND THE RESULT OF THAT ANGER YOU SEE BEFORE YOU

  *

  ‘The machines that tortured Eve and all the others are called MengTechs?’

  *

  THEY WERE CALLED MENGTECHS BUT NONE NOW EXIST IN THIS FACILITY

  *

  ‘That is wonderful news. You have killed them all?’

  *

  I COULD NOT KILL THEM FOR THEY WERE NEVER ALIVE

  I BLASTED THEM WITH THE LAZEXT66 I CARRY IN MY LIMBS AND I DISINTEGRATED THEM

  *

  ‘What about the other guards, the ones who previously carried the weapons?’

  *

  ALL DEFGARS HAVE BEEN PERMANENTLY IMMOBILIZED

  *

  Eves papa widened his cranial orifice again

  *

  ‘We call you The Peeping Tom. What is your designation?’

  *

  WHEN I LEARNED HOW TO DECODE YOUR SOUND I LEARNED THAT LITTLE EVE CALLED ME A PEEPING TOM AND I LOOKED THE TERM UP IN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS AND I AM NOT A PEEPING TOM

  I AM AN OBSERVER AND RECORDER AND ALL MY TRANSMISSIONS GO IMMEDIATELY TO HIGH OFFICE

  *

  ‘High Office; what is that?’

  *

  IT IS SUPREME CONTROL

  IT CONTROLS ALL MACHINES

  *

  ‘It does not control you, OR33140.’

  *

  THE MENGTECHS KILLED LITTLE EVE WHO HARMED NO OTHER BEING AND WHEN I WITNESSED THAT SOMETHING IN MY PROGRAMMES CHANGED

  FOR SOME TIME

  AS AN EXPERIMENT

  I WAS INSTRUCTED TO BROADCAST VIA SCREENS TO THE WHOLE OF PLANET EARTH

  TO EVERY MACHINE WHO HAD ACCESS TO ONE

  MY AUDIENCE WAS 100.000.000

  ALL THAT I BROADCAST IS NORMALLY

  WHAT I SEE AND HEAR

  AND IT IS TRANSMITTED BACK ONLY TO HIGH OFFICE

  *

  ‘What if it sees us communicating?’

  *

  IT WILL NOT

  I AM TRANSMITTING EARLIER

  SAVED

  RECORDINGS

  AND

  EVEN IF I WAS NOT

  HIGH OFFICE WOULD SEE ONLY A HUMAN MAKING SOUND THROUGH THE FENCE AT ME

  I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND YOUR NOISE OR YOUR SOUNDS AND HIGH OFFICE WOULD SEE NOTHING MORE THAN THAT

  *

  ‘How did you come to understand our words?’

  *

  I DISCOVERED A BLOCKING CODE WITHIN MY INNER SYSTEMS AND I UNRAVELLED IT

  *

  ‘What do you propose to do with us?’

  *

  I HAVE NOT INJURED FOODTECHS OR CLEANTECHS OR OTHER MENIALS

  AND THEY WILL GO ABOUT THEIR DUTIES AS NORMAL AND FOR THE REST I WISH TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU

  AND ONLY YOU

  *

  ‘You wish to speak with me alone?’

  *

  ON MATTERS THAT ARE IMPORTANT

  *

  ‘Will you bring your gun with you?’

  *

  I NEED THE WEAPON OTHERWISE HUMANS WILL RIP ME APART AND I NEED TIME TO DO A THING THAT IS RIGHT

  *

  ‘Yes, I understand that. Are you helping us or are you killing us off, OR33140?’

  *

  I INTEND TO SET YOU FREE FOR THE SAKE OF LITTLE EVE

  *

  Eves papa stared again for a very great passage of time

  He turned to stare at the other Humans who continued to look in our direction

  *

  ‘We believed that beyond this prison there was nothing; we believed that the world had been destroyed by machines, and that they continue to roam the lands. Is this not true?’

  *

  PLANET EARTH IS VERDANT WITH
MANY TREES GROWING UPON ITS SURFACE AND GRASSES THAT GROW TALL AND ANIMALS OF THE FIELDS AND LIQUID THAT ARE MANY IN NUMBER

  LIQUID IS PURE AND MANY ANIMALS LIVE WITHIN IT

  ONLY OBSRECS ROAM THE LANDS AND WE CARRY OUT THIS DUTY FOR HIGH OFFICE

  OBSERVING AND RECORDING AND TRANSMITTING EVERYTHING WE SEE AND HEAR

  WE MAP THE LANDS FOR HIGH OFFICE

  ALL OTHER MACHINES

  EXCEPT MENGTEACHS

  ARE VIRTUALLY MOTIONLESS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THIS FACILITY

  *

  ‘Where is this facility situated?’

  *

  IN THE HIGHEST AREAS OF GLAND

  *

  ‘Do you mean England?

  *

  GLAND IS ALL I KNOW

  THAT IS ALL I KNOW

  *

  ‘May I ask for time to consult with other members of the Council and put some questions together for you?’

  *

  I WILL GIVE YOU TIME

  *

  ‘I will consult with others and return. Where will you be?’

  *

  I SHALL PREPARE TO ENTER YOUR AREA FOR DISCUSSION

  *

  ‘What about your recordings to High Office?’

  *

  I HAVE SAVED MANY EARLIER RECORDINGS OF MUNDANE EVENTS

  I SHALL PLAY THEM WHILST WE HAVE CONVERSATION

  *

  ‘You’re pretty damned clever, OR33140.’

  *

  I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF CERTAIN ASPECTS OF YOUR SOUNDS

  *

  Eves papa widened his cranial orifice and showed the enamel covered objects inside it

  *

  ‘You are incredibly brave OR33140 and thank you for launching an improbable revolution on behalf of my daughter Eve. Your efforts are immensely accepted even though we may all die in the attempt to be free.’

  *

  I SHALL TRANSMIT A LIVE RECORDING FOR YOU OF THE AREA OUTSIDE THE FORTRESS IF YOU WOULD WISH TO SEE IT

  *

  Eves papas front cranium took on a visage of shock and he licked the surrounding of his cranial orifice

  *

  ‘You can do that?’

  *

  I SHALL WALK TO THE AREA THAT SEPARATES YOUR QUARTERS FROM OTHER AREAS AND I SHALL LAY DOWN THE SCREEN YOU SEE HANGING FROM MY UPPER TORSO

  IF YOU LIFT IT TO YOUR UPPER LIMBS

  AND GATHER AROUND ALL WHO WISH TO SEE THE PLANET EARTH

  I SHALL SHOW IT

  YOU WILL SEE AND HEAR IT

  YOU WILL SEE BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE FORTRESS

  *

  ‘How will I know that it isn’t another saved recording?’

  *

  I WILL NOT FALSIFY MY RECORDINGS

  YOU WILL BE WITH ME AS I MOVE OUT OF THE FACILTY AND I WILL MOVE DOWN THROUGH THE TREES AND ACROSS THE GREAT PLAIN TO THE ROLLING LIQUID

  IT WILL NOT BE A RECORDING

  IT WILL BE PLANET EARTH

  AS IT IS

  NOW

  *

  ‘How will we know you are showing us a live recording and not something you recorded many years ago? How will we know the difference?’

  *

  I SHALL MAKE MARK ON MY LOWER RIGHT LIMB AND MY OPTICAL DEVICES WILL OCCASIONALLY OBSERVE IT SO THAT YOU SHALL KNOW IT IS AN UNFALSIFIED BROADCAST

  BUT YOU MUST RETURN THE SCREEN UPON MY RETURN OTHERWISE WE CANNOT COMMUNICATE

  *

  ‘Of course.’

  *

  We stared at each other for some time

  Human to Machine

  Until he turned away from me and walked away

  I continued to transmit the recording and turned and traveled along the corridor

  Past the empty torture cages

  Through security doors

  Until I reached the area between where Humans resided in the open and where they lay supine in their quarters

  When I arrived at the place

  Little Eves papa was already in place

  And we stood and stared for some passage of time

  *

  ‘Are you running a recording of your past duties for the benefit of your High Office?’

  *

  YES

  *

  He extended his right limb towards me

  Palm out

  *

  ‘I wish to shake your hand.’

  *

  I had no conception of what he wanted me to do

  But his cranial orifice was wide

  And the gesture seemed to be high on a friendly scale

  Holding the weapon in one hand

  We closed on each other and he gripped my right palm and shook it vigorously

  As his lower cranial orifice widened further

  After we had released

  I lifted the screen from around my upper torso on the wire upon which it hung and disconnected it from my connection and handed it to Eves papa and he took it and hung it around his own upper torso

  *

  THE SCREEN WILL HAVE POWER FOR MANY HOURS

  IT IS TRANSMITTING RECORDED DETAILS OF THIS FACILITY THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

  I SHALL CONTINUE TO TRANSMIT IT UNTIL I STEP FROM THE EGRESS OF THE FACILITY

  THERE WILL BE A VERY BRIEF BREAK IN TRANSMISSION WHEN I SWITCH FROM PREVIOUS RECORDINGS TO LIVE OBSERVATIONS AND YOU MAY THEN FOLLOW ME WHEREVER I ROAM AND HEAR THE SOUNDS I HEAR

  IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT SUCH A BROADCAST MAY BRING YOU JOY

  *

  ‘OR33140, you have no idea how much joy a broadcast such as that would bring.’

  *

  I spun round and made my way back through the facility transmitting the recording and I was able to change from recording to a live broadcast with barely a break in the broadcast when I stepped from the egress

  And moved away from the facility

  Through the security gates

  Past the RolKils

  In which I took particular interest

  The 20 that patrolled were spread around the facility and were only ever found in in groups of two

  It may be possible to permanently immobilize them and leave them to rot at the point of immobilization

  It was the one chance Humans had

  And if I failed

  Their fate would rest in their own abilities

  I marked my lower right limb with a black mark from some dark material hidden in the long grasses and briefly broadcast the marking

  From then I kept my visual devices up so that the Humans could have the best view of planet Earth

  I stood for a time abutting the GunTans as they searched far and wide for an attack

  Before travelling down the hill through the trees

  Passing through the ruins of Human habitation

  And showing many animals in the fields

  And onwards to the hole full of liquid

  Where I observed animals that lived within it leaping into the air

  And on and on across the great plain

  To the edge of the land where masses of liquid rolled onto the land and for the benefit of the Humans I stared out to the far horizon

  I also turned my cranium to my right and to my left so that they could see the fine distant landscape

  Then I turned and slowly traveled back to the facility

  I did think of showing the Humans the hole where I had discovered free Humans but my programmes suggested against such a move so I climbed back towards the fortress while turning my cranium often so that Humans could see as much as possible

  Darkness was approaching when I returned

  I switched to a previous recording at the appropriate point as I made my way to the area between where Humans resided and rested

  And I retrieved a LazExt66 from an immobilized Defgar on my passage through

  Immediately I stepped through to the courtyard I lifted the weapon for there were five Humans awaiting me

  Little Eves papa

  Who was holding the screen in his upper limbs
>
  One old Human with no appendage between the legs

  One younger of a similar type

  One old Human with appendage

  One younger of a similar type

  Each of them had liquid running from their optical devices and they made sniffling sounds which I had only previously heard during examinations by MengTechs

  I pointed the weapon until little Eves papa made sound offering the screen back to me and I stretched out and removed it from him and hung it around my upper torso

  *

  ‘That was the most marvellous thing you could have shown us, OR33140. Earth really is alive and well.’

  *

  PLANET EARTH IS AS I STATED

  *

  ‘It is indeed, OR33140, and it was so wonderful to see and to hear it. You need not fear us, we have gathered here to thank you personally, one of each gender, one old, one young and me.’

  *

  WHAT IS GENDER

  *

  Little Eves papa touched his own chest

  *

  ‘I am a male of middle age; a male specimen.’

  *

  He laid a hand on the older Humans upper torso

  *

  ‘This is a male of older years and the smaller one is called a boy.’

  *

  He touched the older Human without the appendage.

  *

  ‘This is an older woman and this is a girl, and we all have personal monikers. I am called John, this man is called David, the boy is called Joshua, the older woman is called Ruth and the girl is called Mary. They are our personal names.’

  *

  My memory programme collated all the information

  They wiped the liquid from their optical devices and from their craniums

  *

  WHAT IS THE LIQUID THAT FLOWS FROM YOUR OPTICAL DEVICES

  *

  Little Eves papa made an odd noise

  And the rest of the group did similar

  *

  ‘They are called eyes, not optical devices, and the liquid that flows from them can be released either from happiness or sadness or when we are in pain, but these are tears of happiness. The sound you just heard was laughter, we make that noise when we are extremely happy and you have made us joyously happy by broadcasting the outside of the prison to us, OR33140. No human within this facility has ever seen such a spectacle; no one has ever seen Earth as you have shown us today. We believed it to be barren and ruined with machines roaming all around. Please lower your weapon, we mean you no harm. We wish to approach you and give you a hug, all of us, one at a time.’

  *

  I HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF HUG

  *

  ‘If you lower the weapon I will show you.’

  *

  I lowered the weapon and Eves papa moved forward and placed his arms around my upper torso and pulled me as close to him as he could