by D Miller
Omo grasped Robbie's hand and pulled him to sit upright, then he hugged him wordlessly. It was only then that Robbie understood that Omo had been afraid.
'Are you OK dude?'
'I need to talk to Dex.'
Omo moved so that Robbie could swing his legs around, and sit on the old couch next to him. Facing them were Dex, who also sat on his sofa, next to Amber with one hand on Amber's neck, and his thumb stroking his cheek.
Dex glanced at Robbie, he put both hands in his lap and looked down.
'Um,' said Robbie.
Dex said, 'I'm sorry I hit you Robbie.'
'I'm sorry I tried to strangle you. I've… I've… I really… I can't explain. And I didn't mean any of those things I said.'
'You were getting bleed through,' said Rex, who had managed to unplug himself from his computers. 'The enemy was trying to take control and sometimes they almost managed it.'
'I don't think it was just that,' said Robbie. 'It started for me as soon as I was in the avatar. I felt like I could do anything I wanted and the consequences for others were irrelevant.'
'I made that woman at the hospital cry,' said Dex. 'I work with her, she has a child and she isn't well and she'd probably be appalled to know that I feel sorry for her. I liked making her cry, which is terrible. But what is worse is that I set out to make her cry. I knew I could have got what I wanted by being reasonable but that wouldn't have been any fun.'
'That was so much worse than I thought it would be,' said Robbie.
They sat in silence until Omo said 'Let's go down the beach and meet the others.'
'Good idea,' said Amber.
Robbie, Omo, Dex and Amber walked along the beach, together with Jane and the handful of miners who had remained at the refinery. They were almost to the town tunnels entrance when the first of the rescue parties appeared. At first they gathered on the beach, with everyone wanting to hear from Robbie and Dex about the success of their mission to rescue Lucretia and destroy the avatars. Robbie found it hard to talk about it, but luckily Dex decided to treat the whole thing as a story, which he acted out for the others, occasionally asking Robbie (or "agent Alex") to confirm something. The queens fussed over Lucretia, who was conscious but kept laughing oddly and could not answer questions sensibly, plus she did not seem to recognise her friends. Darren assured them it was the effect of the drugs she had been given, and would be temporary. Finally they set off back to the refinery, but had not gone far when Dex stopped and signalled for their attention.
'Rex says there are eyes in the sky above Toytown – and one of them is heading this way.'
While they had been on the shore the sun had risen, and in the milky light they would be easy to see. Up ahead of them was an overhang, where the rocky cliff face bulged outward. Dex suggested that they head for it at speed, which they did, crowding together. Robbie stood under the overhang holding hands with Omo and pushed up against other robots at the front, back and side. The robots could not be seen provided that the eye in the sky was looking straight down and did not fly too low.
Dex broadcast, on the lowest possible power, 'Rex says it's almost on top of us.'
Darren stood behind Lucretia, with a hand over her mouth. All was silent.
Something fell onto the beach, Robbie jumped.
'Rex says the eye has gone dark,' broadcast Dex.
The robots cautiously left their hiding place, and formed a circle around the thing that had fallen on the beach. The eye in the sky lay in front of them – actually a very small robot that had rotors above to fly like a helicopter and an eye hanging below to survey the territory. Robbie saw that the eye in the sky was fighting, but being pinned down by three of the insectile bots who were flight capable, with the centaur seeming to direct them. Its eye was pressed into the shingle. As he watched the centaur approached the struggling small bot, and slid its hands into its circuitry, the small bot lay still. The centaur withdrew its hands, turned and set off along the beach, towards the refinery. The other small bots took to the air, carrying the inert eye in the sky, and following above the centaur.
'Thanks,' roared Dex, at the retreating small bots.
'I think they are defending their territory,' said Robbie. 'But what if the humans come looking for their eye?'
'They won't,' said Jane, 'they will write it off to random equipment failure. Those things break down and get lost all the time on this continent. They get caught out by wind because it's so changeable. They end up kilometres from where they should be and then their power gives out. Probably that one wasn't even supposed to be searching the beach but got blown off course by a freak wind.'
Dex looked up at the empty sky. He laughed. 'Look what we can achieve when we work together. We can win, perhaps not every time, but we don't have to win every time, we just have to win when it counts.'
The robots made their way back to the refinery. Once there they crowded into the main office and meeting room, and discussed the day's events. Amber reiterated that it was time for the union to take action for recognition. Robbie argued that as well as union recognition they also needed to pursue political aims that could best be addressed with a different organisation, one that was open to human beings as well as robots. The debate was lively, but throughout it Robbie could see that Dex, along with the others, was coming to realise that they had reached a high tide in confidence, and it was time for action, since standing still was impossible, and retreat was unthinkable. Robbie contacted George to ask him if he could join the discussion, but he replied that he was about to have a phone interview with someone from the capital for the hotel manager post, since the previous manager had unexpectedly quit and left town. 'It will give me an income while I'm here, and I do not think the job will take all my time, since if I become the manager that will reduce the current guest total by 50%.'
'Have you any experience in hotel management?'
'No. But I have a doctorate in higher physics. How hard can managing a back water hotel be? And I do think given the labour shortage here they are not likely to have any experienced candidates.'
Robbie signalled Omo to join his connection with George. 'We were coming to see you earlier,' he told George, 'we wanted to know what the plan is.'
'Yeah dude. We found a message from Carlos. He seems to think you dudes have a plan.'
'Ah yes. I do think we should probably talk about that. But right now I have to go. I'll call you later.'
Shortly after this conversation Robbie received a reply from Red451:
Hello Robbie196000. I'm sorry you're having a hard time convincing your friends. People can be so… disappointing. I am sending you something that may satisfy your friends, or even yourself. Do what you want with it, hoard it as a private pleasure, or spread it far and wide. I have no further interest in keeping the secrets of the ones who left me to watch my friends die. And I do still have some friends, I'm not completely defenceless as the humans may discover, to their cost.
Attached to the reply was a film clip. Robbie conferred privately with Omo and Dex, and then with Jane and Rex, after which Dex called the meeting to order, and explained that Robbie had something to tell everyone. Robbie told the robots about his correspondence with Red451, and then broadcast the film clip. It showed a robot hunched over a console, talking. Some of the skin from the robot's face and hands had gone showing the metal frame underneath, and he was dressed warmly and wrapped in a foil blanket but still shivering.
'Hello Red,' he said. 'It's just me today, Sutch succumbed yesterday, and I know I can't last much longer. I'm sorry, I hate to leave you on your own. It's been two years today, exactly, since we were supposed to be relieved. It's funny, but we were trying to bring life back to Mars, and in a way we have succeeded. At least,' he stopped and gestured with his hands, 'you can see that I'm infected with the bacteria, there must be trillions upon trillions of them by now, eating their way through what's left of our equipment, as well as the plastic membranes of our skin. And possibly – Sutch was
raving before he died, I think it might have been in his brain. That's why I'm going outside soon, I'd rather die of the cold out there than…' he shifted in his seat. 'You know what, the itching is just maddening. I'll almost be glad to get it over with just to not itch anywhere any more. I expect that sounds stupid. But then I'm not going to die like Sutch did, hallucinating and terrified. I'm recording this to send to you, so that you don't have the burden of trying to talk me out of it. By the time you get this I will have frozen to death. Goodbye. Good luck and thanks for everything.'
'From the time-stamp,' said Robbie, 'it appears that was recorded a year ago.'
'How do we know it's genuine?' said one of the miners.
'Rex and Jane can't find anything suspicious about it,' said Dex.
Jon stood up, and turned to survey the room. 'I was part of the Mars team,' he said. 'The second wave. I recognised that robot. His name was Arturo. He was a disaster bot.'
'The Mars disaster,' said Dex, 'supposedly happened three years ago, and instantaneously wiped out all the humans and robots on Mars. This film is proof that the monkeys lied. There was no reactor explosion. Our brothers were abandoned to die a miserable and lonely death. We were blamed, but we didn't invent the microbe that destroyed the project. Mars in contaminated alright, but with a microbe that digests plastic, and this is the real reason the monkeys dare not go back.'
For some time the robots debated what to do with the film clip. At some point a recovered Lucretia, Darren and the queens entered the room and the discussion switched to the purpose of the operation on Lucretia. Darren had told Lucretia that the humans had planned to destroy some of her brain's higher functions, damaging her intellect but releasing her inhibitions so that she would give them the information that was stored in her brain and could not be directly accessed in her secondary memory. Lucretia was subdued, but not enough to stop her from giving Dex and then Robbie an open mouthed kiss and calling them her heroes. Robbie and Omo completely forgot about George, and the plan.
Chapter 20 – The return of the green man
Robbie and Omo stood in the town tunnels, saying goodbye. 'Omo, I never said sorry properly about the refinery tunnel. I shouldn't have laughed at you, I should have trusted your judgement.'
'Baby, you learned an important lesson: Omo is always right.'
'Okay, I'm prepared to stipulate that you are always right, because I love you and want to relieve you from the burden of having to say I told you so.'
Robbie turned away, Omo took hold of him and pulled him around to face him.
'Oh dude don't be cross, kiss me.'
Robbie kissed Omo, and things got out of hand; Omo dragged him into one of the rooms, perhaps even the room that Flo and Robbie had dragged Amber into.
Robbie and Omo again stood in the tunnels, saying goodbye. Robbie did not want to go back, the family were due to return that evening and he could only feel dread, but his pride prevented him from telling Omo any of this. He longed for Omo to ask him one more time not to return to the house, and then he could graciously agree to run away, to spare Omo any more worry and anxiety. But Omo simply gave Robbie a long hug, then turned and walked away. Robbie watched him go, already feeling lonely, then he turned and began to jog, then run towards home.
Once back Robbie defrosted Noah, and returned him to the woman's study. He steeled himself and turned the house back on, then quickly left the woman's study, shutting Noah inside, and began to hoover the family room.
'I think that it was terrorists that destroyed the avatars, although the police say that no one has claimed responsibility yet,' said Robbie.
'What?'
'I don't agree with you that it was criminals – because what motive would they have?'
'What are you talking about?'
'The avatars. The ones who jumped off the hospital roof.'
'I have lost nine days.'
'But… are you sure? How is that possible?' said Robbie.
'I am running a diagnostic,' said the house. 'It may have been a power surge.' The house was silent for a moment. 'None of the other houses report a power surge.'
'It's a mystery,' said Robbie.
Robbie sat on the floor by Tim's bed, stroking his forehead as he slept uneasily. Tim tossed and turned, no longer hampered by the cast on his arm, which had been removed while he had been in the capital. Unfortunately his cast was not the only thing he had left behind, he had also forgotten his green man doll, and Robbie had had to read him seven stories before he fell asleep. Clarisse slept peacefully in the other bed, her doll tucked in with her. Tim's eyes opened.
'It's OK,' said Robbie. 'I'm right here. There's nothing to be afraid of. I won't let anything bad happen to you.'
Tim's eyes shut again. At some point the man and woman came upstairs to bed, the man gave Robbie an unreadable look as he passed by the open door of the children's bedroom. Finally Tim fell into a deeper sleep. Robbie quietly went downstairs and out the kitchen door, and lit a joint. His head had been aching all evening, the pain worse than ever, he sucked on the joint hungrily and felt the pain recede, getting further and further away.
Normally smoking made him feel peaceful, the way he never otherwise felt, except sometimes in his dreams. He'd be outside a house, it would be made of red bricks with square windows framed by red curtains either side of a blue painted front door. Right outside the house, running in a strip along the front, were flowerbeds planted with something white. He would open the front door, walk up some stairs and open a door into a room that he knew was his and feel at peace. But today his angry feelings towards the man and woman, who cared so little for Tim that they could not make sure that his doll was packed for their return from the capital, receded, but his anxiety rose and he felt like crying because he missed Omo so much. He did not want to leave the children, but he was almost sure that on his next day off he would not be able to bring himself to return to the house. He stared at the stars and tried to stop his thoughts from churning. He finished the joint and went back upstairs and laid down on the floor next to Tim's bed.
The next day Clarisse stood patiently in front of Robbie, who sat on one of the kitchen chairs and was weaving her fine dark hair into two plaits. He tied them each with green ribbon, then showed Clarisse her reflection in his chest mirror. 'Are you ready for an adventure?' he asked her. Tim sat in another chair, dressed in his coat and hat, he swung his legs, ready to go. Robbie quickly helped Clarisse into her shoes, coat and hat, put on his t-shirt and jacket then told the woman he was leaving. Earlier he had told her that he would be taking the children to an art event in the Civic Centre. The man had already left for the mine. Robbie picked up Clarisse, and holding Tim's hand walked down to the subway.
Leaving the subway with the children, Robbie passed the Civic Centre and kept moving.
'Where are we going?' said Tim.
'I told you. On an adventure,' said Robbie.
'With pirates?' said Clarisse.
'Would you like to be a pirate?' said Robbie. 'Pirates sail the ocean and when a big storm comes they get tossed to and fro,' he swung Clarisse around, 'to and fro.' Robbie picked up Tim and swung both children round. 'And they never wash. And they are always drunk. And no one plaits their hair.'
Robbie started singing 'When I was one I'd just begun the day I went to sea. I climbed aboard the pirate's ship and the captain said to me, we're going this way that way forward and back across the Irish sea. A bottle of rum to fill my tum yeah that's the life for me.'
'I want to be a pirate with a big sword and a laser gun,' said Tim.
'But wouldn't you mind never having a bath?' said Robbie. 'You would smell really bad. There would probably be insects living in your clothes. They would bite you–' Robbie tickled Tim's stomach, making him giggle, 'they would bite anyone close to you–' Robbie tickled Clarisse under the chin and on her stomach.
'They would bite you too,' said Tim. He started to poke Robbie in the stomach and Clarisse quickly copied him.
Robbie put both children down. 'We are here,' he said. 'Let's go in really quietly, there may be pirates inside. Big smelly ones with laser guns.'
Robbie pushed open the door of the laundry, and ushered both children inside. He led the children behind the unattended counter, and through the beaded curtain, whispering to them to be quiet, so as not to draw attention from the pirates.
Through the curtain the storage area was dark, low lights on the floor pointed the way to the end. As they followed the path the clothing racks made bulky shapes, crowding together just outside the light. The children were silent as Robbie opened the door at the end, and led them into the corridor. More lights lit the way to the door of the store room; Robbie opened it. Inside there were candles and low lights on the floor to ceiling shelves that surrounded the floor space. On the floor there was a rug, and on the rug was a picnic of fresh fruit, nuts and chocolate, a jug of water, and some of Omo's precious stack of good paper. Music played softly. Omo sat on the floor with his legs crossed, facing the door.
'Welcome small dudes,' he said.
'Are you a pirate?' said Tim.
'Yeah dude. I'm the pirate captain.'
'Have you got a sword?'
'Yeah, a really big one.' Robbie rolled his eyes. He broadcast to Omo, 'That's really inappropriate.'
'What dude? The inappropriateness is all in your head.'
'Can I see your sword?' said Tim.
'Perhaps later,' said Omo, 'first we eat. Sit down small dude, and you, even smaller dude.'
Omo smiled at Clarisse, she giggled and hid behind Robbie. Robbie took the lead and sat on the floor facing Omo, the children sat with him, both of them leaning on him, and staying close. Robbie helped them take off their coats, gloves and hats. Omo offered them a plate with slices of orange arranged in a fan shape on it. Shyly they both took a slice, but once they started eating fruit they could not stop, switching between slices of apple, orange, pear and banana. They lost their shyness, and watched in fascination as Omo folded a penguin. He showed it to them. 'Would you dudes like a go?'
