Deadly Deception
Page 2
stacking robots had a glitch in his speech circuits and spoke with a falsetto voice bringing the customers in earshot to howls of laughter. It was removed with much haste and re-cycled for parts.
All the items on the shelves had been meticulously copied and synthesized, dispensing with the need to have stock delivered. Everything looked, and even tasted genuine and the customers kept coming in droves. This annoyed Zalkar, as he wanted to get on with the main task of destroying these vermin and claiming the planet as his own and not feeding them.
He stormed into the surgery several times a day to see what progress had been made with the human specimens and getting more and more agitated with the negative results. The lower class robots were beginning to feel resentment towards him and often spoke amongst themselves of his continuous criticism of their failure to provide an answer.
Zalkar is ill
Zalkar had noticed some deterioration in his body movements. Servos weren’t operating as quickly as they should; something wasn’t quite right. He connected himself to the diagnostic computer and found much to his dismay; his reactions had slowed down by forty eight microseconds. The problem was discovered to be with the interfacing of the living brain installed in his cranium.
The animal that the brain had been removed from was a carnivore with unique abilities of cunning and deception; attributes that aren’t present in a robotic entity. Zalkar was impressed with his new mental abilities, being able to think beyond mere binary digits. It opened up a new world for him and he soon bludgeoned his way to the top, taking control of everything and everybody.
He saw the stars shining in the sky and he wanted all of them for himself; such was his greed for power. Scores of planets were sterilised and colonised by his armies of robots, to build more of their kind; spreading like a cancer through the universe for no other purpose than to take everything there was to be taken. He gave himself the name ‘Zalkar’: a name taken from a powerful beast on a world orbiting Venus that had long ago been claimed.
In his haste to have this very desirable advanced reasoning power he never considered that his implanted brain would age and eventually become tired and sluggish. He broke the connection from the diagnostics computer and went to the surgery dolefully, without his usual venom. The robot surgeons noticed a change in his manner. He didn’t snap at them as he usually did.
He asked the usual questions, but without the normal brusqueness in his manner. He was almost polite to them. This didn’t change their attitude towards him. A good proportion of the lower class robots had been planning his demise. His obsession with the ultimate possession of the universe was something totally unacceptable and completely beyond their understanding. They communicated with each other by means of encrypted data in an attempt to keep their plans secret.
Zalkar’s condition went downhill rapidly and he rarely visited the surgery to torment the others. He stayed in his quarters most of the time, connected to the diagnostics computer watching his situation worsening. He noticed with panic that a total systems failure was predicted in the next three days. Within a short period of time he would be a useless pile of electronic junk, unable to move, or think, let alone command the ship. With his mind beginning to ebb away he would worry less and less about everything that had been so important in the past. The Master would be master of nothing, he would cease to exist!
Mutiny
In Zalkar’s prolonged absence the others had seized the opportunity to plan a shift in power. A large number of the lower class robots were now agreed that action must be taken against their obsessed leader, with a small minority still loyal, but mostly just afraid of the consequences of mutinous behaviour. They had witnessed his anger on many occasions, and the very effective methods he used on any suspected insurgent activities. He was not to be crossed!
Two days later upon visiting Zalkar’s quarters, he was discovered by one of his loyal followers, lying on the floor with the diagnostic cable still attached, trembling uncontrollably and making unintelligible noises. Word soon got round to the others, and things started happening very quickly.
After a certain amount of resistance it was obvious to all that a leader needed to be chosen to replace Zalkar. It was decided that mutual consent would be the best way to run things. All their data channels were synchronised with each other and they thought and acted as one. At long last, it was a happy ship, with no disagreements to be heard.
Epilogue
After retrieving the command codes from Zalkar’s quarters they all made their way to the control room. The codes were accepted without any complaints. A brief message was transmitted to the remaining fleet notifying them that the planet was unsuitable for colonisation; orders were given for them to retreat. The orders were not questioned as they bore Zalkar’s unique code.
The ship was now under the control of their common authority. The holographic image was terminated first of all, leaving the craft in full view. Shoppers ran out of the doors in panic as the scenes in the supermarket dissolved, to be replaced by the inside of the star ship. There was mass hysteria as the ship came into full view, gleaming in the sunlight. The take off sequence was punched in and it started to rise, slowly at first, and then disappeared into the blue sky, heading for the home planet. There were no more plans to conquer new worlds, enough was enough!
The End