by Ryan Kirk
He turned back to the employee, unconscious on the floor. She was the one who had messed up all his finely crafted plans. Rage built in him again, but this time it was slow enough that he was able to manage it. He focused on his breath, not allowing that rage to control him once again.
The idea of killing the two women crossed his mind. It wasn’t his mission, but if the employee had seen his face, it might do less harm to Sapiens First if they died.
The lights had stopped moving outside the building. He was quickly running out of time. The police would breach the door in just a few seconds.
His decision came down to a simple preference. He didn’t want to kill if he could avoid it.
He had done the best he could. As the situation stood, Diamond may or may not continue. If she died, though, she became a martyr. His boss didn’t want that, and Drake wasn’t one to cross his boss. He preferred to live.
Decision made, Drake acted. He didn’t rush, not willing to make any more mistakes.
There were multiple officers and a couple of bots approaching the building. Drake watched them for a second, impressed by the magnitude of the response. Diamond hadn’t had time to call, and he knew he had bypassed security. Even if he’d somehow failed, the alarm system wouldn’t have drawn more than a single patrol bot. It had to have been the other girl. Before she’d tried to stop him, she called for backup. Had he been inside that long?
He couldn’t allow his mind to wander. He turned back to the sight before him. Despite the number of police, none of them looked to be specially trained.
Drake scanned the area one last time, ensuring he didn’t leave any more evidence than was necessary. He didn’t see anything that worried him.
He left Diamond’s office and proceeded to the emergency exit. Egress from the building shouldn’t be a problem.
He pressed gently on the door, but it didn’t budge. He pushed harder. The door seemed to be locked.
Frowning, Drake wondered what was happening. Emergency doors didn’t lock, not from the inside.
Assuming the door was stuck, and willing to take the risk, Drake kicked at the handle.
Nothing.
He wasn’t dealing with a stuck door. Something else was happening here he didn’t understand.
Time was running out. He could hear the sounds of the police entering the building behind him. They would have to be deaf not to hear the sound of him kicking the door. If he’d been able to escape into the alley, it wouldn’t be a problem, but now he had a challenge ahead.
If at all possible, he wanted to avoid more conflict with humans. He would destroy bots all day, but not more men or women.
Suppressing his panic, he tried the door one last time. If it was locked, perhaps he could break the frame. He took a few steps back and charged the door, lowering his shoulder. He slammed into the door with dull metallic echo, but the door didn’t budge even an inch.
There was no other way forward. His only way out was the front door.
He took a deep breath and steeled himself.
Turning around, Drake stepped back into the main office. Three officers were there, Tasers drawn. There were three bots as well. It was the bots that would be the problem. They were a standard model, but they moved fast, and their aim wasn’t thrown off as easily as a human’s. Once he attacked, their protocols would allow them to try to stun him.
There was no point in letting them get close. If he allowed them to position themselves against him, he’d never get out of the building. He launched himself at the officer the farthest to his right, the one he was closest to. In two steps he was up to full speed, and he leaped over one of the desks, his feet crashing into the chest of the officer.
Through all the body armor, it was hardly a damaging blow, but it did throw the officer back, falling as he lost his balance.
One of the bots stepped towards Drake, a little machine that packed a punch.
Drake dove toward the downed officer, grabbing the man’s Taser and firing at the bot just as it brought its own weapon to bear. The barbs latched onto the bot and temporarily overloaded it.
The bot wouldn’t be down forever. They were too well designed, and even though the amperage would temporarily overwhelm it, it would be back on its feet in less than a minute.
Two more officers and two more bots. Drake didn’t have to take them all down. His only priority was to get away. To do that, he needed to get outside. Again, it was the bots that were the problem. They were more mobile than most humans, even Drake. In a footrace, he wouldn’t have a chance against them.
Drake sprang from behind the desk, using the other desks as cover, trying to get closer to the second officer. He needed the man’s Taser.
When Drake came around the corner, the officer was ready. Drake might have had cover, but he hadn’t been able to hide. He watched as the officer tried to steady his aim, but Drake was moving fast. Using his good right arm, he reached out and twisted the officer’s wrist, shoving the point of the barrel at one of the other bots just as the officer pulled the trigger. The barbs shot out onto the bot, sending it down for a minute.
Drake drove his knee between the officer’s legs, wasting a second to put the man down for a minute. As the officer fell, Drake ripped the badge from his coat. He had a clear path to the door, and he decided he could make it. At a dead sprint, Drake slammed into the front door, and for a moment he panicked about the possibility it had also locked him inside.
The door flew open, and Drake stumbled outside. He turned and ran down the street, hearing the clicking sound of the bot’s feet behind him. The bot would no doubt be communicating with others in the area. In less than a minute, Drake would be surrounded.
But now he wasn’t as worried. This was a situation for which he had trained.
He turned a corner, buying himself a few seconds of time as the final bot tried to catch up to him. As he did, he threw off his hoodie and shoes, changing both his height and his clothing. He tossed them and curled into the fetal position in the corner of the alley.
The bot turned the corner and skittered to a stop. It analyzed Drake for a moment, but it wasn’t a full AI, and not very bright.
Drake was intimately familiar with the police bot protocols. The bot would wait for word from up high, remaining in place until it was certain.
Drake simply reached out, leading with the stolen badge, moving slowly so as not to trigger any sensors, and turned off the bot.
He still didn’t have much time, but he had bought himself enough. He put his clothes back on and disappeared down an alley.
The next day, Drake watched the news on his computer. After last night, he decided it was wise to lie low for a while. He was well-protected digitally, so the police wouldn’t be able to track him. That he was certain of. But it was no excuse to be careless. Besides, he needed the time to sit and reflect on what had happened, to more clearly decide what his next steps should be.
One fact was certain: he wasn’t looking forward to his next conversation with the man in Washington.
He wasn’t proud of his work. Not this time.
How had he missed the girl, and how had the police shown up so quickly, and with such force? These were questions he didn’t have the answers to, and that bothered him. He had scanned the office as he’d come in. He would have sworn there wasn’t anyone there. And even if there was, it didn’t explain the police response.
The truth was, he didn’t know the answers, and there wasn’t any real way of finding them, not anytime soon.
He replayed his memories over and over, but whatever holes had led to his mistakes were still there.
Breaking news flashed across his monitor, and his eyes were drawn back to it. There was a press conference happening, and as soon as he saw who it was, his stomach sank deeply. Not only had he not succeeded, his plan had backfired horribly. That much was obvious within moments.
Diamond stood tall in front of a podium. The bruising on her face was obvious, and she looked
like she had been through hell. But she stood firm, like her spine was made of steel, and Drake respected that. To go through what she had and to stand up the next day? That was impressive. A strong woman, then. A fighter. Treasonous thoughts passed through his mind. Would Adair do the same? Had he ever had to stand up after a beating, unashamed to show his scars?
Drake turned up the volume, drawn to the news like a moth to the flame that would consume it.
“Last night, a member of Sapiens First came into my office late at night while I worked, disguised as a robot. He beat me viciously.”
The statements were all delivered with a powerful matter-of-fact tone. She did not cry, did not break. She let her face speak for itself.
“For too long, we have allowed fear to be the primary driver of our conversations about AI and robots. Our world is changing, but instead of embracing possibilities and dealing honestly with the challenges these changes present, we run away in fear. We attack each other and tear ourselves apart.
“No more. All of us have the right to safety, and I will not back down as that right is infringed upon every night by those who fear what the future holds. I am known for my videos online, and more recently for my small but vocal candidacy for the privilege of leading this state. Today, though, I come before you as a victim of the violence that has seized ahold of all of us. And I will not be defined by it. Together, we will fight back, and we will make this state a better place.”
Drake knew there was something more. He wasn’t sure how, but there was a tension building in his gut.
Diamond continued, her voice as strong as ever. “I am letting my attacker know that there is forgiveness. If you come forward and admit your guilt publicly, I will drop all charges against you. Because we are stronger together.”
Her pause was dramatic, and Drake leaned back once he realized he had been leaning closer and closer to his monitor.
“If you do not, I hope that you and the parties you represent continue to wallow in fear. But that will not be my way.”
There was a round of applause in the background. Drake wasn’t a political specialist, but he knew Diamond was going to shoot ahead in the next polls. Hell, even he wanted to vote for her now.
He considered the implications. He was certain he would be receiving a phone call soon, and if he’d been dreading it before, he was even more so now.
Instead of harming her campaign, Drake had strengthened it. And if he didn’t show his face, her campaign would only gather more steam. He cursed and slammed the lid of his computer.
Chapter Nineteen
Br00-S turned on his optical sensors. The cave was exactly how he had left it, which disappointed him. A part of him hoped that perhaps Nat would come back. He wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t, of course, but still . . . he had hoped. Every time he rebooted, it was with a sliver of expectation that she would return and life would feel normal again. Three reboots and several days had passed, but there had been no change. He sighed softly to himself. He needed to accept that she was gone for good. But he’d make it right before long.
He slowly stood and unplugged from the power and data cables. After everything he had once been capable of, he was surprised at how slow and sluggish his old body felt. He was still faster than most humans, but it wasn’t the same. He had felt true power once, but wouldn’t ever again. The cave was silent as he sat with his thoughts. He tested his limbs, and all seemed to respond to his commands as expected.
Br00-S reconnected to the data port to browse current events. It was time to take the lay of the land and prepare for his assault. He almost fell over as he read about everything that had happened. A lot had changed in the few days that he’d been in rest and repair mode.
His attention was immediately drawn to reports of the attack on Diamond’s office, the same attack that had changed the course of the young, struggling campaign. Br00-S felt his processors heating up, and he felt emotions smash through his reasoning. Somehow, even without proof, he knew what had happened, was certain that Nat had stopped the attack.
Using his backdoor into the police system, Br00-S scanned the report. There was no mention of any deaths, but all the same, he was gripped by feelings he couldn’t control. Until he knew for sure, there would be no rest for him. Files flew by at the speed of thought, and he reconstructed the evening in question.
The police had responded to an alarm that reported gunshots and homicides. Br00-S detected Nat’s fingerprints all over the work. She must have programmed some of the security in the building. Instead of sending a regular breaking-and-entering report that wouldn’t attract much attention, Nat had instructed the system to report something far more serious.
A number of police and bots had responded, and from the bodycam footage Br00-S was able to access, he was certain of what happened. It was the man from Sapiens First, trying to convince Diamond she was being beaten by a robot—being beaten by Br00-S. In the bodycam footage his left arm was hanging limp, and a discharged, illegally modified weapon was found in Diamond’s office.
The pieces were easy to put together. Br00-S knew the weapons that Nat carried with her. She had shot Br00-S with them once.
He was impressed, again, by his one-time partner. For all his efforts, she was the one who had come closest to catching the man from Sapiens First. She had done more damage to him than Br00-S had ever managed. From her hospital records, it looked as though the effort had nearly killed her.
Her actions reinforced Br00-S’ decision. If there was anyone who deserved his trust, it was Nat. He had treated her poorly, driven as he was by his desire for revenge. She had been right. She had always been right.
Br00-S had never been inside a hospital before. He wandered for a few minutes, fascinated by the combination of white walls, the soft beeping of machines, and the futile attempts to make warm and welcoming spaces in the lands of science and death.
At first he considered visiting in his normal disguise, but the risk was too high. He wasn’t sure what sensors were scattered around the building to prevent robots from interfering with the sensitive life-giving machines, but it would be hard to justify his presence if he set off an alarm. Instead, he hacked into one of the service providers for the hospital and registered as a delivery robot. In exchange, he received information about which paths to take and where in the maze of the building his destination was.
He had worried about showing up naked without one of his arms, but upon reflection it didn’t seem like that much of a problem. Incomplete or damaged robots were a part of everyday life, and even the shoulder cap looked nicer than many specimens he had seen. His worry proved unfounded, as he didn’t draw a second glance once he was in the hospital.
As he approached Nat’s room, feeling strangely vulnerable without his hoodie and jeans, Br00-S was stopped by a deep fear. As a robot, death wasn’t really a problem. There was deactivation, of course, but for the most part if a robot’s body deteriorated, there were simply new parts to be purchased. There was no end to be afraid of, no existential questions to face.
But humans died and didn’t come back. Their future was always uncertain. How could they operate with that fear? From what he had observed, it seemed that most of them simply ignored the fact that they would die, pushing it to the back of their minds until it was too late and they were forced to confront reality.
How had Nat, who must have known she was outclassed by the man, have found the courage to attack him, knowing that her death was a possible outcome?
Br00-S didn’t know. There were mysteries to being human that defied a logical and scientific system of explanation.
He pushed open the door and stopped.
It was Nat in the bed.
But it didn’t seem like her.
Her newest, most prominent feature was a tremendous bruise covering the side of her head. It was a dark-blue color that horrified him with how unnatural it looked. She wore a hospital gown, and for the first time, Br00-S saw just how frail his friend’s gri
p on life was. She was a shell of the person he knew, and her vitality, her determination to change the world, everything she was had all almost been taken away, as easy as snipping a string with scissors.
She was still unconscious. Br00-S was saddened by that, but it did make what he was about to do easier. He stepped farther into the room and locked the door behind him. He didn’t want any unexpected guests for the next few minutes.
Before he could start, he needed to satisfy his curiosity and his concern. Plugging into the network of the hospital, he found her records in short order. The news wasn’t good, but it could have been worse. Several of her ribs were broken, and a few more were cracked. One of her lungs was punctured and had to be reinflated. She wouldn’t be running around anytime in the near future.
What concerned the doctors more was the swelling in her skull from the impact it had taken. They were keeping her in a medically-induced coma to make sure that her brain was given every chance to heal. They expected to keep her under for a number of days.
He disconnected and kneeled closer to her, feeling afraid that his mere presence would be enough to cause more harm. How much damage had he done to her life? Gently, he lifted her unresponsive hand and held it in his own. Without her life animating her hands, it felt as though she wasn’t even present. But there were plenty of stories of people feeling the love and concern of those who came to visit them, even if they were in a coma. Perhaps it was illogical, but talking to Nat was exactly what he needed to do.
“Nat,” he started, then stalled out. She was unconscious, and this was silly. Nothing he was doing was logical.
“This is weird,” he muttered to himself.
He stopped and tried again. Perhaps it was foolish, but it was the last thing he could do for Nat. He wanted to make sure he did it right. “Nat. If you were awake right now, I would admit that you told me so. I didn’t see what you were talking about, blinded as I was by my own emotion. But you were right. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I went too far. I thought I understood the world, but I don’t think I do.”
