I asked him, “How did you get away from the BOTs?”
“Those BOTs are dumb and they don’t see too well. I saw Uncle Ron drive by me then I knew someone fucked up and forgot about me. You stopped about 100 yards from me when the Hummer got blown up. I saw you take off with Tony and Smith but I stayed hidden to provide cover fire in case they shot a rocket into your Humvee.
“The robots came up the side of the road looking around the blown up Hummer. I couldn’t understand how come they were searching near me. Then I realized maybe it was the electronic dog tag. So I took it off and threw it as far away from me as I could.”
“We thought the same thing; they can track the dog tags so we threw them away,” Willis commented.
“While they were looking for the tag I slowly crawled away a few inches at a time. Anyway I escaped but it wasn’t easy. I saw you come back for me but I was about a mile away in the swamp.”
The reason Willis and I stayed on the road was because it was the safest place to be. To get back to check point on the Skyway Bridge there is a river to cross and each side of the road is a swamp making it almost impossible to walk. Hiking through the dense under grow in the swamp is almost impossible. Swamps are also full of snakes and other nasty critters like gators.
Tommy asked, “Hey where is Dale?”
Willis told Tommy, “Dale was killed he took a round in the neck. His body is still in the Hummer. Tony and Smith were both wounded and burned. Hopefully they are receiving medical treatment by now.”
Tommy said, “Shit, Dale got killed coming back for me. Dam I don’t know what to say.”
We all sat there speechless for a minute as no one knew what to say, then Tommy asked, “So what’s the plan to get out of here?”
I told him, “We don’t have a plan. You got any ideas?”
“Yep, let’s make some mud and we’ll crawl out of here the way I came in.”
“By the way what made you come here under the bridge? Were you looking for us?”
“I saw you both from the swamp and I guessed you would hide under the bridge since you couldn’t out run the robots. I didn’t count on them stopping right on top of the bridge.”
“We didn’t count on that either. I feel better seeing you with the Cobb 50 at least we have something to kill them with.”
“Negative the Cobb has a broken trigger return spring. I could have killed more BOTs if the spring didn’t break. Ok let’s make some mud because we need to leave before it gets light. I hope it keeps raining cause that will help us sneak away.”
While making the mud I asked Tommy, “Give us some intel, what do you know about these things?”
“Well there are about 100 of them above us. There are 50 men who do the reloading and daily repairs. They follow behind the army with ten panel trucks and two big semi trailers.
“One important thing I discovered is they can’t see what is behind them. However, they do have some kind of radar that will pick up movement behind them. If the radar picks you up they will turn around. I don’t know how sensitive the radar is but it didn’t pick me up when I was slowly crawling away from them on the ground.
“The guys who fix them all have some kind of an ID card hanging around their necks on a chain. I think this is similar to our electronic dog tags. It gives a signal to the robot that this man is ok. They walk up behind the BOT and slide the card into a slot in the upper back, like swiping a credit card. I assume that disables the thing. When they are done working on it they swipe the card again. Oh, I almost forgot the work men don’t carry any type of weapon.”
Willis commented, “That is pretty important information if you ask me. Tommy do you think the BOTs are remote controlled like the drones are?”
“Yes I do, put it this way they are receiving a satellite signal. If we could jam the signal we could stop the BOTs in their tracks. The droid controller can see using the BOT eye camera and moves them around probably by use of a joy stick. They could be anywhere in the US. I assume each robot has one man controlling it.”
“Why do you think the robots are coming all the way to Route 275?”
“I don’t think they are here just to find you guys. I think they are going to Tocabaga. Remember they are the FPF (Federal Police Force). We already kicked their ass once, killing a lot of them. We took the FBI and AFT cars and the agents were killed by the mob at Ellenton. The FPF has a score to settle.”
I told Tommy, “I agree they are coming to Tocabaga sooner or later. Based on your information it would be great to get one of their ID cards. Maybe capture one of the work men. How good is their security?”
“The men and trucks are probably guarded by the robots 24-7 making it very difficult to get near them but not impossible. Remember we don’t have a truck to help us get away.”
I told Willis and Tommy, “I wish we could nab a man, take his card, ask him some questions, and then kill him on the spot. We can’t let him go and I don’t want to take him to Tocabaga so we have no choice but to kill him.”
Suddenly Tommy held up his hand putting his finger to his mouth and softly said, “Someone is coming.” I didn’t hear a dam thing but saw the outline of a man approaching in the dark walking under the bridge out of the rain.
I got my wish a man walked under the bridge, pulled down his zipper and took a leak. Then he stood there about fifty feet away watching the rain, pulled out a pack of smokes and lit up a butt. He didn’t see us or even look around in our direction but we saw him. He was a short pudgy guy whom I guessed was about 240 pounds and around 5 foot 6 inches tall. Since he didn’t have a gun, according to Tommy, it was our chance to nab one of these jerks.
I whispered to Tommy and Willis, “Watch this.”
I softly walked down from deep under the bridge on this moonless rainy night getting closer and closer to him. He heard me when I was about 15 feet away. He turned and quickly glanced at me in the darkness and I said, “Hey friend you got an extra smoke?”
“Yes I do. What are you doing up so late?”
He reached in his pocket to pull out a smoke without looking at me as I drew my knife out. I was now standing right next to him as he turned to hand me a smoke. Seeing me close up he said, “Hey, you’re not one of us!”
I replied, “No shit stupid ass,” while thrusting my 8 inch knife blade to his throat.
He still handed me a smoke and even gave me a light. I took a deep drag and blew smoke in his face while saying, “Thanks don’t try anything stupid like yelling, or I’ll cut your throat.” I held the knife against his neck and knew if I put just one more pound of pressure on the blade it would draw blood.
“Move up here under the bridge,” giving him a push in the right direction.
He answered, “Ok I‘ll do whatever you want, just don’t kill me.”
I think he was scared to death seeing the three of us with faces covered in mud. I pushed him down between me and Tommy. He had on a nice black uniform with a matching hat. He looked like a weak little geek wearing black rimmed glasses that had white tape holding them together in the middle. He appeared to be about fifty years old.
Tommy told him, “Give me your card and tell us how it works.”
Taking the card off his neck and handing it to Tommy he asked, “Are you the guys damaging our RCCD units?”
Willis replied, “If you mean robots, we’re the ones killing them.”
He stuck out his fat little hand to me saying with a smile, “Hi my name is Dr. Carl Urban.” I didn’t shake his hand and looked at him like he was nuts.
I asked, “Doctor of what?”
“I have a PhD in Robotics from USF (University of Southern Florida) and I invented the RCCDs or Remote Controlled Combat Droids. It’s your lucky day finding me because I want to help you.”
“Why do you want to help us?”
“I have several good reasons. I first had the idea to make an RCCD from the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” an old film from 1951. A space ship came to earth
and had a robot named Gort. Gort was a humanoid shaped robot and he was a police officer. His job was to end crime and keep the peace. He fired a laser beam out of his one eye which would vaporize anything. He had a type of skin that covered his whole body. Bullets or rockets would just bounce off of him and he was big standing at eight feet tall.
“The RCCD Units were supposed to be used for crowd control, riots, or to combat gangs, terrorists, and general police work when it was too dangerous for human officers. The FPF decided to use them as an Army. I told them that wasn’t a good idea, but they didn’t listen to me.
“The FPF decided to test them and brought them to Ellenton to control the population which they claimed killed eight Federal agents. I was horrified at what they did. The RCCD units killed almost every person at Ellenton. They put the bodies in the empty stores stacking them up like they were just some garbage. My guess is 300 people were murdered and anyone who had a gun was killed for sure.
“I didn’t intend for the Units to be used like this. I wanted them to be used for good, to help people and make society better. I was brained washed into thinking the Federal Government was doing something worthwhile. Then the President declared Executive Order 13603 taking away all our rights and that is when I knew the truth. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, so no one is safe. When Hitler was in power he slowly took full control of the German Government and Army, just like what is happening now.”
Tommy advised the little guy, “Now you know the government lies.”
Dr. Urban stated, “You guys are pretty smart figuring out how to defeat my RCCD units. You know no one has ever destroyed one before. The FPF did five tests trying to defeat the Units and each one failed. Tell me how did you capture the one Unit?”
This little fat man would not shut up. He acted like we were his long lost friends. Finally I said, “We just shot one of his eyes out. Now tell us how these things work,” while pressing my knife against his neck.
The little nerd asked, “How did you shoot the eye out because it is bullet proof?”
“We used a Cobb 50 rifle.”
“I knew the camera eye was a weak spot.”
Tommy asked again, “What about the card, how does it work?” Tommy passed the card over to me to check it out.
“Ok I’ll tell you but first I want you to know that I am really on your side.”
“Well you’re going to have to prove that,” Tommy replied.
“All right … the security ID card has several functions. It sends a radio signal to the Unit, actually to all the Units that you are a friend. It is used to deactivate the Units. Every man carries the same card. To deactivate a Unit there is a slot in its back and you just insert the card and pull it back out. It’s like using a credit card. The Unit is then disabled and one can work on it safely. To reactivate a Unit you just swipe the card again.”
“Ok tell us more.”
“The Units are programmed to detect any type of weapon. If it senses a weapon then you become a target. If you shoot at it or are hostile in any manner it will take action to neutralize the threat.
“One problem is the Unit is controlled by a human. Each Unit has an operator or Master that controls the Units actions. It is similar to how a drone works. There is a man watching on a computer screen thru the RCCD eyes. He controls how the RCCD moves and so forth, including when to fire the weapon systems. It is like playing a video game. The Units are still subject to human error.”
He was smiling all the time while telling us this information and was giving me the creeps. I was thinking this guy created the Frankenstein Monster. I asked him, “Tell us more about the weapon systems and what do all those antennas do?”
“All Units carry a SAW machine gun and 1000 rounds of ammunition and all Units can fire from the left hand a … for lack of a better word … a taser, but it’s more like a lightning bolt. It can terminate a human if fired for more than five seconds. A person will just burn up. It has a range of 20 feet putting out 20 million volts at 20 amps. They have metal hands with a big thumb and no single fingers. The fingers are all one piece so the hand looks like a mitten. It can pick things up and even cut off an arm if it grabs you.”
I commented, “Shit that is why Victor told us that people were burned up.”
“Yes that is what really made me upset and turned me against the Feds. That was the last straw for me. The antennas are for radar, GPS, signal jamming, and card detection.”
“Tell us about the signal jamming,” I commented.
“Each Unit can jam any type of signal, cell phone, radio, or radar. The range of one Unit is less than a half mile. As more Units come within 300 feet of each other the more powerful the jamming capability becomes. One hundred RCCDs can jam signals up to 20 miles away.
“Ok what else can you tell us?”
“We have 20 Units that are modified to shoot a rocket. It is basically the same hand held rocket used by the military but is aimed by a laser beam. The Unit aims the beam and the rocket goes to the target. They only carry one rocket at a time, mounted on the left arm.”
Willis asked, “How many Bots do you have here and how many total are there?”
“Here on the bridge we have 100 Units. There is another 300 back at Ellenton and the FPF have a grand total of almost two thousand deployed in different states. Currently there are ten Units being produced per day at a secret lab at the USF technology campus in St. Petersburg, Florida which is paid for by the Government. They are being produced in a building that was the old Dali Art Museum.
“Where are the Masters located,” Willis asked.
“Oh, the controllers are located in Washington DC inside a bunker near the White House. The plan is to make a large Army of 100,000 to keep the Military under control. That won’t work however because they will need 100,000 controllers. Can you imagine trying to organize the controllers into a fighting army? The Units will be running into each other on the battle field.”
Willis told Carl, “I could see that happening. By the way how are the Units constructed? What types of materials are used?”
“The RCCD Unit bodies are made using the same methods as the Army TALOS suits. Somehow the FPF managed to steal the material plans for the TALOS suits. Other than that they are completely different on the inside. The Units are much more complicated.
“RCCDs have radar, GPS, thermal sensors, infrared, and a very sensitive gyro device that allows them to walk and run. When you shoot one in the head enough times it throws the gyroscope out of balance for a few seconds.”
I pressed him for more information, “Ok Carl what else can you tell us?”
“I can’t tell you much more but I can be of more help.”
“How can you help us?”
“Well first tell me your names, since we are kind of friends now.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re friends yet Carl, but my name is Jack Gunn, this is Army Ranger Sergeant Major Willis and that’s Tommy in the ghillie suit.”
“You’re ... Jack Gunn … on the internet it shows a picture of you dead, killed by al- Qaida terrorists. The article stated that you have killed more than a few people.”
“Yep I’m Jack Gunn and yes al-Qaida did try to kill me twice but I am still here. I’ve killed people but only those who deserved it or needed killing.”
Sticking out his hand again, “Mr. Gunn it is a pleasure to meet you. I want to become one of your group. I don’t like al-Qaida or any terrorist organization.”
I again ignored his hand shake offer.
Willis said, “Jack he could be a real asset to the Army when it comes to fighting these robots. He could help us to jam their signals.”
Scratching my unshaven mud covered face I asked, “Tommy what do you think?”
“Yes he could be of help if we can trust him.”
Carl answered, “After all I told you guys and you still don’t trust me. Ok here is the offer. One of those semi trucks is assigned to me and me alone. Inside of the t
ruck are ten Units along with the ability to control them. I will teach you how to use them and help you jam the FPF RCCDs. I have the newest state of the art Units.”
Willis said to me, “That does it Jack. Carl is now working for the Army Rangers. We have to take him and that truck back to the Fort.”
I responded, “Carl how are you going to steal that truck?”
“Easy, I’ll just walk up get inside and drive away.”
“No one will stop you? What about the robots they won’t stop you?”
“I have a master switch that turns off all the Units sensors, so they can’t see anything. It turns off the camera, radar, and everything. As for the men they don’t question what I do since I am the boss.
“There are two Guard Units that cannot be turned off. These are real robots that think and reason on their own. Their job is to provide security for the technicians. They won’t pay any attention to me.”
“I have one more question, what were you going to do with these 100 Units? Where were you going?”
“Originally we came to Ellenton for a trial run. We were doing recon for the main force which will go to Tocabaga. The FPF wants Tocabaga for a base of operations.”
“Carl, do you know we live on Tocabaga.”
“I guessed that you did. So I want to go with you. I am on your side now.”
Tommy told Carl, “Ok go get your truck and I’ll cover you from here. If you try to warn anyone make no mistake I will kill you.”
“Don’t worry about that Tommy. My truck is the very first one just give me about 10 minutes and I will pick you up. I need to turn off the Units’ sensors and lock the trailer doors.”
I asked, “When you turn off the sensors how long will that last?”
“Good question Jack. It all depends how long it will take the other technicians to figure out what I did. I think it will take them two or three weeks and maybe months. No one knows I made a master switch in case things got out of control.”
“What about the other 300 BOTs back at Ellenton are their sensors turned off also?”
“Yes, no unit will be able to function.”
THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET - PART I - BOOKS #1-5) Page 29
