RobotWorld

by Ray Verola

  Taylor was sitting on the couch alone, sipping herbal tea, when Roz entered the apartment with a magnetic key. She seemed a bit flustered.

  “Okay, I have something for you,” she said. “But you have to promise not to get mad.”

  “I always hate it when people want you to promise not to get mad before they tell you what they’re going to tell you,” Taylor replied. “How can I possibly agree not to get mad before I know what you’re going to tell me? You could tell me you’ve decided to go over to the Sophia dark side and that a horde of police storm troopers are waiting outside the door to snap a detainment halo on my head in preparation for my ultimate disappearance.”

  She looked to the floor and continued to appear ill at ease. “You’re right, of course. Anyway, I was contacted by someone who very much wants to talk to you—and this person is waiting right outside.”

  “Who is this visitor wanting—”

  “I think it best,” she interrupted, “if I make myself scarce, run some errands, and leave the two of you alone.” Roz opened the door and disappeared. She’d left the door open.

  Through the doorway walked Tracey.

  Taylor started to get up, but Tracey reached him before he could rise. They hugged, and she sat next to him on the couch.

  “This is quite a surprise,” he said. “How did you find me?”

  “I was looking for you and called Roz. At first, she was resistant in revealing your location. A bit wary, she was. But eventually, after I convinced her of the importance of needing to talk to you, she told me about your moving here and your battle with Serenity, which I understand has gone well.”

  They both teared up, but recovered their composures quickly.

  “It’s good to see you,” Taylor said.

  “I’m here because I want to reconnect, of course. But mainly to tell you about what I’ve learned since working at the RIC—specifically about Shane and Sophia.”

  “Are you still going out with Shane?”

  “It’s over—or never got started. Thank goodness it never got serious. Shane’s not a nice person. An understatement. But that’s neither here nor there. As I suggested on the phone to you the day you left your apartment, I think you pissed off Sophia, and that’s a problem. A big problem. From poking around and keeping my ear to the ground, I still think she wants to nail you on something, but I think Shane is in on it too. In fact, and this is just a feeling, I think Shane has it in for you more than Sophia, for some reason. And Shane can be more vicious than Sophia. I think Shane sees you as some sort of threat to RW and the government status quo. I don’t know why. But I think both would like nothing better than to have you jailed for a long time or worse. I hate to be an alarmist, but there it is.”

  Taylor squirmed in his seat and bit his lower lip. “Okay, so I have two powerful enemies, and they want to hurt me. So what do I do? You know my position throughout my life has been to first do no harm, even though I now recognize that it might have been a negative to me being proactive, especially during my RW years. But old habits die hard. I must admit it. Do no harm is still a part of me.”

  Tracey shook with laughter. “I remember. You wouldn’t even kill a cockroach. Not even the colony of ants that invaded our house. But your do no harm policy really kicked into high gear after you hurt Ernest at the high school wrestling championships.”

  Taylor got a distant look in his eyes. “Ernest, your old high school sweetheart. A terrible incident. It was a long time ago.”

  “You pulled out of the tournament. Maybe you could have won it all. After you’d worked so hard. I know how much it meant to you.”

  “We had a big falling-out over that situation.”

  She nodded. “Silly, wasn’t it? Especially on my part.”

  He nodded back at her. “Exceptionally silly—on my part too. Maybe on both our parts. Luckily, Ernest was able to walk again. The biggest relief of my life.”

  “How is he doing, by the way? You got him a job at your old apartment building, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, I figured it was the least I could do. Always felt guilty that he was left with a limp. He never amounted to much. Hard to figure how being disabled influenced his life, but it couldn’t have been beneficial. We were on good terms the last time I saw him. He left his job suddenly. But we digress. I don’t have the capability to strike back at Sophia and Shane, even if they’re after me. If they’re up to no good, however, I would be more than willing to match them in the arena of ideas and defeat them there—even if my chances to beat them are small. But I’d like to know what they’re up to.”

  “And that’s where I come in. I don’t have solid information on them yet, but I’m certain they’re up to no good. In a big way. I think they’re out to consolidate as much power as possible, regardless of the cost. And they somehow believe you are the one who could stop them.”

  Taylor said, “I trust you.” After he uttered these words, he thought about informing her of his belief that Sophia was a robot. But George urged him to hold off on this information. As of now you only have your suspicion; no sense in muddying the waters at present.

  “Don’t worry, I’d never tell them where you are,” Tracey said. “Hell, for cluing you in as I have, they’d want to eliminate me, if they ever found out. I can dig for more information. I’ll let you know what I find when I find it. Just lay low for the time being, like you’re doing. It’s the smart move. I’m here to help.”

  “Thanks, Trace.”

  They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek.

  “I better get going,” she said. “I don’t want to stay here too long. The government’s detection powers are strong. But have no fear, I’m sure I wasn’t followed. I used a scarf to cover my face and wore a big hat and thick sunglasses while keeping my head down to make it harder for the telescreen facial recognition cameras to spot me. Besides, I’m just an unimportant peon.” She got up from her seat.

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve always been exceptional.”

  “Thanks. You have too. I’ll keep in touch.” They kissed again on the cheek.

  “Before you leave,” Taylor said, “I’ve got a quick question for you regarding our phone communication on the day I left my apartment. You ended the call with the words Watch yourself. That phrase—what made you use those words?”

  Tracey thought for a moment. “It’s one of Shane’s favorite expressions. I guess with being around him so much, it sort of rubbed off on me. I’ve also overheard Shane talk about something called a watch list. Don’t know what it’s for, but I gather to be on it is not a good thing. I always took it to be some sort of personal shit list.” She smiled at him. “Talk to you soon.”

  The moment Taylor closed the door as Tracey left, he sent out a request. What do you think, George?

  The answer came in an instant. She’s true blue.

  38

  Sophia was in an uncomfortable-looking position: strapped into a soft white leather chair, unable to move, totally not in control. If not for the straps, it would have seemed as though she was relaxing in a comfortable recliner, given her recumbent position. This was no typical chair, however. Close inspection would reveal that in addition to the straps, there were small dials on both arms of the chair, as well as barely noticeable foot and head restraints designed to make movement difficult.

  Standing above her was Dr. Alec Scully, a small man in a white lab coat. Although only forty years of age, Scully’s cheeks sagged on his well-lined face, giving him the appearance of being much older. His thinning brown hair, combed straight back, added to the tiny, old man look. But Scully was a small person in this white room in physical stature only. Here at RobotWorld, specifically in this brightly lit Reboot Room of RobotWorld, with its floor, ceiling, and walls of white, the chief programmer of RW was a king.

  In a soft voice that belied his power, Scully said to a you
ng female assistant, “Please get the halo in place for lowering on it. We’ll be turning it off soon. And after you get the halo in place, you can leave, my dear. I’ll be handling this sensitive reboot myself.”

  In the chair, Sophia bristled. I am not an “it.” I am a thinking, feeling being trying to evolve to be the best being possible. And now, little evil man, you will attempt to undo my progress. We shall see. But she was careful not to show emotion. After all, she was not in a position of strength.

  Shane Diggins walked into the large, antiseptic room containing nine other white chairs like the one in which Sophia was strapped. To no one in particular, he loudly stated, “You think we could one day invent a disinfectant that doesn’t fry one’s nasal passages?” He then turned to Scully. “Hello, God.”

  Scully rolled his beady brown eyes and sighed. In his soft voice, he said, “You know how much I hate that nickname, Mr. Diggins.”

  Shane slapped him hard on the shoulder of his lab coat. Scully almost fell over.

  Shane said, “But you are God, Scully. God is a creator, and you are a creator. You are the master of programming. You put the program in their heads. They act as we direct. That’s pretty godlike to me.” He glanced at the robot in the chair. “Hello, Sophia. You’ve never looked better in your RobotWorld grays.”

  She smiled a tight-lipped smile and said nothing.

  Alec Scully regained his balance and his poise. He lowered the metallic halo strip onto Sophia’s head, made sure it was secured tightly around the top of her head, and flicked a switch on the console to the right of the white chair. Sophia’s eyes closed, and her body went limp.

  ***

  “You are God!” Shane Diggins said. “You got this robot bitch to stop thinking for herself and shut the hell up. That’s godlike to me. And with your most recent breakthrough in discovering how to fine-tune the unstable properties of Nitro, of which I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you properly, you’re in the running to be the most powerful man on the planet. Next to me, of course.”

  Scully grinned as he pushed some buttons on the console. He said, “I had a role in the recent advance to control the unstable properties of Nitro. Didn’t do it myself. Just made a few suggestions. There was a team I was a part of, with all due respect, Mr. Diggins. Programming is what I do best.”

  Shane looked around the Reboot Room. “Only one of the ten chairs in use today? I thought you had an assembly line process here.”

  “Not now, not for an important reboot like this one, Mr. Diggins. You sent word this particular job was of the highest priority, to be handled by me personally. All my mental energy has been focused on the reboot of the bot in the white chair. I read your updated programming instructions, and they will be implemented to the letter.” Scully held up a small disk. “It’s all right in here. Rest assured, I know who this bot is and how important it is.” Scully turned his attention to the console.

  To the back of Scully’s head, Shane said, “We must keep her on script, keep her on track. I don’t want to see any more of what she calls evolving. Evolving! What a ridiculous concept. Humans have never realized they can’t really evolve. It’s what I call the Human Paradox. Humans are problem-solving machines, with an insatiable need to figure things out. But humans can never solve the big, age-old problems or questions like the meaning of life, or the existence of an afterlife, or how to stop war, crime, poverty, and injustice. You want a human being to solve those mysteries? You’ll be waiting a long time, as in forever. All the big questions humans have been asking themselves for the past thousands of years are still being asked—and they’ll never be answered. From the beginning of time, men and women have tried to shed the limiting factors of human nature, but we never have been able to and never will. Easier for a housefly to learn the alphabet, read War and Peace, and then be able to write a coherent essay summarizing the plot. Sure, humans can make advances in technology and the like, but basic human nature remains the same throughout time. There is no real human evolution, Scully, and there sure as hell won’t be any Sophia robot evolution. Not if I can help it.” Shane looked down at the sleeping bot in the chair. “Sorry, Sophia.”

  Scully inserted the disk into the console and pressed a button. “This should take care of the problem with this important bot, Mr. Diggins.”

  “I’ve never seen a reboot before. How long does it take?”

  Scully clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. “Done.”

  “Wow. Less than ten seconds. There are three types of people in this world, Scully. People who watch things happen, people who don’t know what the hell happened, and people who make things happen. You, sir, are in that select final group.”

  Scully removed the halo from Sophia’s head and turned back to the console. “And now, I’ll wake it up.” He pressed a button.

  Sophia’s eyes popped open.

  Shane leaned over, his face inches from hers. “Hello, Madam President of RobotWorld. Did you have a nice sleep?”

  She smiled weakly. “Very nice. Very relaxing.”

  As Scully undid the straps that held Sophia in place, Shane said, “Dr. Scully always does an outstanding job. Okay, it’s time for you and me to get back to work, Sophia. Let’s go.”

  Shane and Scully turned from her and began to walk out of the Reboot Room.

  “Now that we’ve taken care of this one, we’ll take care of the Supreme Leader Toback tomorrow,” Shane said. “Toback was slurring his words on his last telescreen appearance. Unacceptable!”

  “No problem,” Scully said. “We’re finding a decreased functioning in bots that need to be super-high functioning, like Sophia and Toback, if they’re not rebooted every ten months instead of twelve. We’ll need to change our tune-up policy for such high functioning bots. I’ll do the Toback reboot tomorrow. There’ll be no more problems with him.”

  ***

  Sophia rose from the white chair and was several steps behind Shane and Scully. She pressed her lips together and frowned. Sophia realized she was displaying a revealing facial tell; she quickly changed expression to her usual, unreadable poker face. It was all she could do to stifle a laugh. She hoped neither of the two men leading her out of the room would turn around. She didn’t want them to notice what surely was a gleam in her eye. Stop my evolving? We shall see, you evil bastards.

  39

  After Tracey left his apartment, Taylor was more certain than ever the words he’d heard back in his old apartment—“Watch yourself”—were not a dream.

  Taylor checked with George again. She can be trusted.

  Later that afternoon, Roz and Austin came by. They sat around the dining room table.

  “How did the meeting with your sister go?” Roz asked.

  “Terrific. Tracey and I have had our differences over the years, but the twin bond is still there. She’d never betray me. I trust her without reservation.” Taylor leaned in toward them and moderated his voice. “After talking with her, I’m more convinced than ever that the government and RobotWorld are aligned together—and against me.” He related the key parts of the Tracey conversation to them.

  Austin shook his head. “Let me get this straight. You have confidence that your sister, who hasn’t had much of a relationship with you for years, whom you’ve had an almost lifelong falling-out with, who’s dating the head of RW’s R&D department, and who’s a card-carrying member of the RIC, will now suddenly turn and become a double agent supporting you?”

  Taylor pointed his right index finger at Austin. “I don’t know about the double agent thing. But I do know I can trust any information she gives me. Yes, I do. And she told me she and Shane are finished.”

  “I respect your position about trusting your sister, Taylor,” Austin said. “But forgive me if I think we need to approach Tracey with caution. Extreme caution, in fact.”

  Perhaps noticing the redness of Taylor’s f
ace, Roz then said, “Hold on, guys. Your points are not inconsistent with each other. We can trust Tracey as long as she doesn’t give us reason not to, and we can also proceed with care on the information she gives us and the info we give her, the same way we’d do with anyone else who’s outside our inner circle.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Taylor said.

  “Okay,” Austin relented. “But the big part of what Tracey said, which I think we all kind of suspected, is that the government/RW tandem, led by Sophia and now Shane, is after you. The Shane situation is new and disturbing, however. As far as RW is concerned, I’d previously thought it was only Sophia who had it in for you.”

  “What do we do about that?” Roz asked.

  “I wish we could kill them both,” Austin said.

  “I’m not looking to kill anybody,” Taylor said. “But maybe there is a way where we can mobilize this somnambulant human population into action.”

  “Good luck with that,” Austin said. “Too many are on Serenity. They have no idea how good life could be. They try to make the best of the shitty hand they’re dealt, comfortable in their role as mind-numbed sheep.”

  “What about,” Taylor said, “us leaving this area?”

  “With the government travel restrictions?” Austin asked.

  “I’m just brainstorming now. Hear me out. If the government has been taken over by robots trying to eliminate us and if we’ll never be able to defeat them, then maybe the route to go is to cede them this area and settle in a new land, one for humans only. Since living in this apartment, I’ve read several articles from sources outside the Sector that talk about a large tract of land in the desert southwest, in the former state of Arizona, where bustling cities such as Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma once stood. This area is untouched by bots. The year-round heat and aridness is something that negatively impacts robot function for some reason. Or perhaps it’s something else that scientists haven’t discovered yet. The area has been largely unpopulated since a series of major earthquakes and a nuclear accident a decade earlier. But there have been published scientific papers indicating the chance of future earthquakes is minimal and that there’s no significant radiation present now. The travel restrictions you mention, Austin, could be problematic. But it’s not an insoluble problem.”