Love in the Robot Dawn

by C. W. Crowe

  He'd only heard my side of the conversation, but he understood what I was planning - or at least part of it. "I can't speak about it," I said. It was true.

  He sighed. "You actually lived with robots and you mentioned your programming. They did something to you, didn't they? What was it, some kind of hypnosis?"

  "Yeah, something like that. They tried to turn me into their puppet but a brave man stepped in and told me about myself, who I was and what they'd done to me. The robots don't know it though - they still think I'm under their control."

  Riley looked up at the stars. "That brave man, who was he?"

  "That man was a hero. He made what comes next possible. It was Nick Presser."

  Chapter Fifty-Two: Reflections

  As soon as we walked in the door, Karen squealed and jumped into Riley’s arms. I’m sure she kissed him, but I didn’t see because I was too busy being hugged by Lucy.

  The girls had been up the whole time we were gone, talking. Now Karen insisted that she make me and Riley a hot drink. We still had instant coffee and I’d grown to kind of like it. Lucy went with her into the kitchen and returned in a couple of minutes with my cup. “Don’t get used to being waited on,” she warned, but her noises sounded like contentment.

  “So tell us exactly what happened,” Karen said when were we all back in her living room. She sat on her legs, holding Riley’s hand.

  He looked at me as if to ask what he should say. “Tell it all,” I said. “They need to know and it’s too hard for me to do it.”

  So he did. He told them exactly how we’d used the robot to establish a connection with the robot Channel. He described how I’d talked to it. He repeated almost verbatim what I’d said.

  Karen and Lucy knew most of it already, but the timing parts were new to them. Lucy shifted to try and get comfortable. “So you set it up so that if we shut down the signal at any time other than 4 p.m. they’ll think they are in immediate danger so they’ll move their ship to what suddenly is the only safe place - right over us here.”

  “Right,” I said.

  But Riley was frowning. "I've got some questions, but here's the most important one - why is this just us? Why not tell Parker? Or some of the GI's?"

  Lucy and Karen and I had discussed this countless times and we'd all agreed. We couldn't tell the people down below because of their easy acceptance that fighting the robots was impossible - even Parker had gone along with that conclusion. I thought it was because they had missed the carnage that happened when the robots attacked humanity. They hadn't seen the bombs fall and the people die right before their eyes. They hadn't seen Lucky's broken body or had to kill a little dog who didn't understand what had happened to his world.

  The people down here - scientist and soldier alike - hadn't experienced the pain sticks or the terror of raptors tearing flesh like tissue paper. Or the dead eyes of their fellow humans who had the Freezies.

  Instead, they had decided that none of that mattered, that their little place where humans survived was enough. Well, it wasn't enough for us. Not by a long shot.

  *.*.*

  I explained it all to Riley and he seemed to understand. I could tell it hurt, but he knew we were right - it had to be us.

  But he had other questions, “Okay I understand most of it, but you’ve got to restore the signal once they’re overhead. How can you do that if you destroy the globe?”

  This had been the hardest part to explain to Lucy and Karen as my implant completely refused to let me just come out and tell them. It took the pictures Lucy had taken with her tablet to finally make them understand. “Do you have it?” I asked.

  All the scientists and soldiers were used to seeing Lucy with her tablet. That made it easier for her to take pictures, and record audio and video. It had been a great help. It was sitting on the coffee table and Lucy handed it to me.

  I brought up a picture of the area inside the alien ship where the globe was positioned. It was a small alcove in a room of its own, looking almost like a shrine where you could pray or meditate. The globe was a black thing, perfectly round and it sat on a cube shaped object that appeared to be a solid piece of the same material as the globe itself. The pedestal had an indentation so that almost half the globe was below its smooth surface. The crack ran across less than half of the visible surface.

  “See? It almost looks like one big piece, but it’s not. The globe and the nest are separate. The scientists actually just used their hands and lifted it once, but it had some weight to it and they almost dropped it. But that’s the key.”

  Riley said, “Well wow Melly. I must be a dunce because I still don’t get it.”

  “We’re going to lift it up, Riley. Then we’re going to turn it 180 degrees and sit it back in its nest - but now the crack will be down below the surface of the pedestal and the signal, I think, won’t be able to get out.”

  He jumped up, “And the robots will see that the signal has stopped and come running! And when they’re overhead, we’ll flip it back around and . . .”

  I cut him off. “And we’ll all run outside to see the mother ship burn up as it falls into the atmosphere.”

  *.*.*

  It was a good plan, but there were a lot of things that could go wrong. Still, even if the plan failed, we were no worse off that we were now - living here in Area 51 in relative safety and abundance.

  I was waiting in bed for Lucy, but she was taking her time in the bathroom. She always did that. What was she doing in there? Staring at herself in the mirror?

  I had just about decided to call out to her to make sure she was all right. That would, I knew, receive a scathing reply, but it was worth it because I was getting worried.

  Just before I did, she turned out the lights and came to bed. I was tired from being up most of the night and I knew she was too. Dawn was only a couple of hours away, but neither of us had to be up early.

  She slid in beside me. Our bed was at least a queen size, but we didn't use nearly all of it.

  I started to wish her a good night when she said, "I'm worried, Leo."

  I turned to her so that our faces were inches apart. "About what?"

  "About this plan. You've had it laid out for months, but there was always something else we needed to know or something we needed to steal - the gun, the handcuffs, it was always something. But the robot was the last thing. You're going to do it tomorrow, aren't you?"

  Tomorrow was Lucy's day off. No one would expect her to be down below in the lab areas. "Yeah, if things work out."

  "I'm going with you."

  I felt a pain deep in my chest. I stared to say "No, you can't," but instead what came out was "I wish you wouldn't."

  "Yes I am, Leonard Smith. And don't even think of trying to talk me out of it. I'll be there as will Riley - I know you need him to do the heavy part. And unless I'm wrong about her - and I'm not - Karen will be there too. You thought up the plan, but Karen and I did a lot to make it happen. We're going to be there, Mister Smith, so you may as well get used to the idea. We're not helpless women, clutching our pearls and getting the vapors. You can just get that idea right out of your head."

  It really wasn't fair because I'd never had such an idea in my head. I'd seen Lucy shoot the gun out of Cory's hands. I'd seen her struggle with a man trying to kidnap her. I'd seen her lay still and silent while I used a sharp knife to remove her DRP. I'd seen her save our lives by catching a single leaf. There was no chance I'd ever think of her as a person who needed shielding - I loved and respected her too much for that.

  She took my silence for stubbornness and slipped over closer to me. Her voice was a purr. "Now tell the truth, Leo. You knew I'd be there. Someone has to be the guard in the globe chamber and you can't do it. We already talked it out; she's going to be outside, watching the entrance to the alien ship, making sure the scientists stay out of our way. I'll be inside with the gun - just in case. And besides, if anyone is going to put you in handcuffs, it'll be me."

  I coul
d feel her lips curl into a smile as they brushed mine. There was nothing else to be said.

  Chapter Fifty-Three: The Act

  The next day it was raining in the desert. I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one. It had been a blazingly hot day, but just after noon, dark clouds had formed and they soon let loose a torrential downpour.

  Riley told us to expect a rare sight; Groom Lake would, for a little while, be a real lake covered in water. "It'll only be a couple of inches deep and it'll be gone in an hour or two, but it'll look like the real thing."

  Our conversation had been dragging as Karen, Riley, Lucy and I picked at the lunch Karen had prepared. All of us told her how good it was, but her feelings weren't hurt by us not eating - she was as anxious as any of us about what was ahead.

  Karen turned to Riley, "You're sure about Cory?"

  He nodded at her. "It's all set. I've got Linda Prescot to watch him. She's a good trooper and Cory likes her. They'll be at her quarters - way across base and a long way from the entrance to the underground labs. He'll be fine."

  Karen nodded, but her face was still showing worry. She stood up from the table. “I’d . . . I’d like to say something.”

  She sniffed and then smiled a rueful smile. “I should just apologize for being weak – always crying. Look at me now, just trying to say what’s in my heart to the people I love has me tearing up.”

  My first thought was to say something supportive, but Lucy took my hand under the table and squeezed it until it hurt. That meant I should keep my mouth shut.

  Karen walked over to Riley and bent down in front of him so that their faces were inches apart. “You asked me to marry you and I cried, remember? What I should have done was say ‘yes.’ If the offer is still open, I’d like to accept it now because I do love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Riley smiled and kissed her. When they pulled apart, Karen wiped her eyes and walked over to Lucy and me.

  “And you two,” she started, “You gave me my life back – mine and Cory’s. I love you guys, but I’ll never be able to repay you, so I’ll ask a favor instead.”

  She was having trouble going on until Lucy let go of my hand and took hers, “Go on, Karen, just ask.”

  “It’s those little white houses with the green yards and the trees and the places where kids can grow up happy. We talked about it and I’d like to ask if Riley and Cory and I can go where you go – have one of these houses near yours, babysit for you sometime and maybe, if we’re lucky, you can babysit for us sometime too.”

  Now Lucy’s eyes became shiny. “Sure, Karen, and you too Riley, I think I’d like to go back to Ft. Smith. It’s got nice houses and maybe even electricity. Leo and I talked about it for us - but having your family there would be a blessing. We’ll watch out for you guys and you watch out for us.”

  Karen reached down and hugged Lucy. There wasn’t anything else to be said.

  *.*.*

  I stood because it was time to go, but I asked Riley one more question. "And the remaining robots in storage - they're secure?"

  "Yeah, I checked an hour ago. No one has been there and I changed the combination on the door and left the radio transmitter inside. The room is more like a vault - they might get out if they tried long enough, but they'll be trapped in there for a while, for sure."

  I nodded. The robots would wake up the second we cut off the signal and they'd immediately start "calling home" on the robot Channel. That way, the mother ship would know exactly where we were. We'd also be able to hear them as they moved around due to the radio transmitter. That would be our confirmation that the signal had actually stopped.

  That was the plan anyway. I stood and everyone followed suit. Riley carried a cloth bag with the items we'd need inside. "All right, if we're all ready, we've got some robots to kill."

  Riley added, "Each and every one of them."

  Karen wiped at her eyes, "And humanity to save."

  I could hear Lucy's noises change as she said, "And children. We have children to raise."

  I looked from one set of eyes to the other. They all showed one thing - determination.

  *.*.*

  The rain turned out to be lucky for us after all. Because of it, many of the scientists who worked down below were up on the surface, looking at the sight of all that water and wading in it, barefoot.

  So when we arrived at the alien ship, no one was around to even notice us. We'd planned on sneaking in one at a time, but that hadn't been necessary.

  We went inside the ship as a group. I'd seen pictures of it, but it was smaller than I'd imagined. I had to stoop slightly so as not to hit my head. The entrance was some type of air lock - there wasn't really much to see here. This was where Karen was going to be stationed. She had a hand held radio with her.

  Lucy and I looked away as Riley faced her. "You know what to do, Karrie. If anyone comes, tell them that Parker ordered no one to enter because an experiment was in progress. If Parker himself comes along, tell him that Doctor Beth needs him to come to the medical lab right away. Tell him you heard it on the radio, that it's an emergency."

  "I know," she whispered. "I'll do my part. Now go on and good luck."

  *.*.*

  Our next stop was the entrance to the little room that contained the globe. That was what the handcuffs were for since I had no idea how the actual sight of this room might affect me. It was at least possible that my muscle functions might be totally taken over by my implant; that I might be made to run, grab the globe and throw it down, destroying it.

  I needed to be here to see it happen; I simply had to be here. But we couldn't take a chance, so Lucy took the handcuffs from Riley's bag and gently snapped one on my left wrist. "Too tight?" she asked, her eyes suddenly watery.

  "No. It's fine," I said as I smiled at her. "Go ahead, Lucy, it's the moment we've been waiting for."

  There was a pipe running along the wall of the little room. She snapped the other end of the handcuffs on it.

  *.*.*

  I felt slightly disoriented at the smallness of the room. It had enough height for me to stand, but from the doorway to the back wall with the globe and pedestal couldn't have been more than a dozen feet. I stood just inside the entrance as Riley opened his bag again and handed Lucy the gun. It was the one we'd traveled with for so long and it was loaded with fifteen 9mm rounds, though it was only to be used to keep any busybodies away while we did what we had to do. He then took out a hand held radio that was tuned to the frequency of Karen's radio and to the one left inside the robot’s room. Riley had set it up to also receive any signals from the soldiers topside, but they would not hear our transmissions.

  All our preparations were in place and now it was time. Lucy took her station right inside the doorway and Riley went over to the globe. He put one hand on each side and lifted, at first tentatively, obviously gauging the weight.

  I could see him gaining confidence as the globe rose in his grip. Just then, something snapped inside me. I wanted to run over to Riley, to grab the globe from him and throw it to the ground. It was a strong compulsion, but I was surprised that I could resist it. The implant tried to force me to do things, but my brain issued its own commands - human commands, not robot. My human brain was also attached to my muscles and its commands were stronger than those from the implant. I realized that the cuffs weren't actually needed since it seemed I was able to control myself. I looked at Lucy and smiled at her.

  I don't think she noticed because she was watching Riley so intently. Slowly, he spun the globe in his hands and then lowered it back into its indentation. It took less than a minute and the job was done.

  We all looked at each other for a second and then, in unison, all three of our heads turned to the radio. It was emitting only its normal hiss sound, meaning it wasn't receiving anything.

  But, almost immediately, that changed. The radio started to emit new sounds - at first it was a small scratching noise, almost too quiet to
hear. And then other noises joined in, sounds of movement, a sound of something starting to spin at a high rate of speed.

  It was the robots! They were waking up.

  "Do you hear that?" It was Karen.

  I picked up the radio with my free hand and pushed the transmit button. "Riley did it, Karen. The signal coming out of the crack has stopped and the robots are waking up. The mother ship will arrive soon. Wait a few minutes and then I think you should come back in here with us. It won't be long now."

  Chapter Fifty-Four: Despair

  Lucy came inside the room with us. "How long do you think it'll be?"

  We'd talked about this, of course. The time it would take the mother ship to reposition itself was unknown. They'd traveled at half the speed of light for millions of years, but it had to take some time to get up to that kind of speed. Our consensus estimate was that it would take at least ten minutes for it to move from wherever it had been to directly over us here in Area 51.

  And how would we know the ship was up there? We couldn't be totally sure, but if they landed robots in large numbers here in Area 51, that meant they'd bought into our story - they believed that this was the only safe space left for them and they needed to capture and interrogate the humans here to learn where the other globes were. They couldn't just bomb us - they had to make sure we were alive for the torture they'd certainly use on us.

  So the plan was to wait until the soldiers on duty topside reported over the radio that a large force of robots was landing. At that point Riley would again lift the globe and return it to its original position. So now we only had to wait to hear that the robots had arrived.

  I stared at the radio, willing it to come alive with the sounds of humans reporting the landing of robots. There were initially no such sounds, but I wasn't concerned - it had only been a minute or so since the signal had been interrupted - not long enough yet.