Revolution 19

by Gregg Rosenblum

  “There are no plague gangs,” said Cass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Well, even the plague itself, without the gangs, is bad enough,” said Lexi. “The bots are the only ones who have the cure.”

  “There’s no plague,” said Cass.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Lexi. “You mean your Freepost never got the plague? Red boils, fever, bleeding from your eyes, highly contagious, usually fatal?”

  “I think I’d remember that,” said Cass.

  Lexi shook her head. “Maybe just not in your Freepost. Maybe you were lucky.”

  “I’m pretty sure nowhere,” said Cass.

  Lexi just stared at Cass, apparently too shocked to respond. Eventually she just shook her head silently.

  Nick tried to maintain a sense of their location as they walked. They headed generally north. The buildings here were still the identical concrete-and-glass two-story structures, the only difference being the address numbers on each doorway. Lexi led them to the east once to avoid passing too close to a checkpoint. “Gotta avoid the CPs,” said Lexi. “This one’s for a construction zone; they’re putting up some new administration building. Any CP, they’ll scan anyone trying to go through. And you can’t just walk up to one and then change your mind and turn around. Bots don’t like suspicious. You get an infraction, you cross a CP, it’ll scan for your chip, and it won’t be happy when it doesn’t find one.”

  A sphere bot floated into view a block ahead of them. All three Freeposters froze. Nick stepped in front of Cass and Kevin, his fists clenched.

  “No,” whispered Lexi urgently. “Keep walking. You don’t give it any reason to care about you. You’re Citizens. You’ve seen these bots every day of your life.”

  So they walked on, safely passing the sphere a mere twenty feet away, pretending not to notice it even though Nick’s heart was trying to pound out of his chest.

  They walked for another ten minutes. Lexi set the pace—“As fast as we can go without looking unusual,” she explained. Once, she quickly ducked down a side street when two men with identical red shirts appeared a few blocks ahead of them. “Neighborhood patrol,” she said. “Come out mostly at night. They’ll sniff out your strangeness and have Peteys here in two seconds. Gotta keep you away from those bot lovers.”

  They walked a while longer. Each street looked identical to the next, with gleaming facades and perfect fake-looking green lawns, each the exact same-size squares of grass. Nick could see no personal touches on any of the houses they passed. No welcome mats at the door or garden gnomes like his neighbors in the Freepost.

  Lexi stopped in front of a building that looked like all the rest, set back from the street, with a small patch of grass and driveway. “Here we are,” she said, gesturing dramatically with her arm. “Twenty-three-fifteen Third Street. Home.”

  “Shoes off,” she continued as they stepped inside. “Mom’s crazy about keeping the carpet clean.”

  Nick stood unmoving in the entryway, frozen by the strangeness they had walked into. The walls were a uniform off-white and perfectly flat, with no bumps or cracks or seams. The ceiling glowed, illuminating the room with a strip of recessed lighting tucked behind molding that ran along the upper walls. The furniture in the front room—a couch, two chairs, a coffee table—had metal arms and was bright red. And the floor—it wasn’t wood, it wasn’t earth, it wasn’t fur; it was some sort of tightly woven synthetic with a bit of soft give, like stepping on moss.

  Cass bent down to feel the floor. She pushed with her fingers, feeling it compress then spring back. “Amazing,” she said.

  “I guess, if you’re into cheap carpet,” said Lexi. “Come on, shoes off.”

  Everyone took off their boots, and Lexi wrinkled her nose. “Oh, God, I should have just let you track mud. Did you people rub your socks in skunk?”

  “We’ve been in the woods a while,” said Nick.

  “Yeah, I can smell that.”

  Kevin walked slowly over to a large black rectangular object mounted on the wall in the living room. He touched it reverently. “Wall vid?” he asked. “Tom told me about these. I can’t believe I’m really touching one.” He ran his thumb gently along the bottom edge. “Does it actually work?”

  “Course it does,” said Lexi. “Just two-D, though, if you can believe it, and we get nothing but boring newsfeed. We don’t even turn it on much, but it’s required; we’ve all gotta have at least one.” She waved her hand in front of her nose and made a face again. “All right, enough. There’s time before my parents get home to wash your clothes and take a shower. Rock star, we’ll find you something from my dad. Cass and Kevin, you can borrow something from me.”

  “Wonderful,” said Kevin. “A pink dress? A skirt?”

  “Sweatpants and a sweatshirt,” said Lexi. “You’ll live.”

  “I want your dad’s underwear,” Kevin said. “I’m drawing the line at wearing panties.”

  Lexi laughed. “Deal.”

  CHAPTER 11

  THE THREE SHOWERED, CASS THEN KEVIN THEN NICK, AND CHANGED INTO the clothes Lexi found for them. Cass wore a pair of Lexi’s jeans and a green long-sleeved T-shirt that fit her reasonably well. Kevin, as promised, got a pair of too-large boxers from Lexi’s dad, with sweatpants and a sweatshirt. He still wore his filthy baseball hat; he had refused to let it out of his sight. Nick wore khaki pants, too loose in the waist but held up with a belt, and a heavy brown button-down flannel shirt. He felt like a fool, but at least he was clean.

  They sat in the living room, waiting. “Those soldier robots,” said Cass.

  “You mean the Peteys?” asked Lexi.

  “Yes. Why are they called Peteys?”

  “It came from P.D., which means Police Department, which used to be real people enforcing laws, pre-G.I.,” said Lexi.

  “G.I.?”

  “Really?” asked Lexi. “You’ve never heard of the Great Intervention?” She paused, then continued when she saw the blank look on their faces. “You know, the Robot Revolution.” She spoke in a sarcastic monotone, as if reciting: “The Great Intervention. When the robots realized that in order to help mankind realize Peace and Prosperity, they would have to Protect us from ourselves. And voilà”—she gestured around the room and out the window—“Peace. Prosperity. Protection. The City.”

  “Peace?” Nick closed his eyes, seeing the smoke and fire, hearing the screams, their fellow Freeposters, friends and neighbors, lying in blood on the ground. “Those Peteys burned down our home and killed our friends,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at Lexi. “How is that peace?”

  “You’re right, it’s not,” said Lexi. “But living out in the woods, fighting the wild animals and other survivors.... It seems pretty wild.”

  “I don’t know where you get this stuff …” began Cass, and then the front door opened and they all jumped up. Nick looked over at Lexi. For a moment, she seemed as nervous as everyone else, but then she smiled and regained her confidence. Lexi’s parents walked into the room. Her father was Nick’s height, with thick brown hair that added a few inches, and had a bit of a paunch, which explained the loose pants that Nick wore. Her mother looked much like Lexi, with the same jet black hair, same nose, and same eyes, her mother’s behind a pair of red-framed glasses.

  “I didn’t know we had company,” said Lexi’s mother. “Who are your friends?”

  “Well—” began Lexi.

  “And why,” her father cut her off, “is your friend wearing my shirt? And are those my pants?”

  “And are those your sweatpants?” asked Lexi’s mother incredulously.

  “It’s not her underwear, though,” said Kevin. “It’s, uh, it’s yours, sir.”

  Nick shoved Kevin on the shoulder. “Idiot,” he said.

  Kevin shrugged. “I thought he should know.”

  “Lexi,” said her father, “what the hell is going on?”

  Lexi took out her comm, pulled up the picture of Nick, and sh
owed it to her parents. “I found them at the diner. I’m sure they would have been detained soon if I hadn’t helped.” She paused. “Nick, Cass, and Kevin. They’re freemen. They’re from the woods.”

  Her parents said nothing. Nick felt trapped, painfully aware that Lexi’s parents stood between him and the door. He had decided to trust Lexi, had brought his brother and sister into this house, and now these people were standing there, blocking the exit, deciding whether to help them or hand them over to the bots. Nick rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. If they pulled out those comm devices, he’d get Cass and Kevin out that front door, no matter what he had to do.

  “It’s what you always talk about,” said Lexi. “Resisting the robots, regaining our humanity.”

  “Quiet, Lexi!” said her mother urgently.

  “Freemen, Mom! These are three real-life, unchipped, robot-killing freemen standing here, and they need our help! For once you can finally do something other than just complain!”

  “That’s enough, Lexi!” said her father. He walked up to the kids. “May I … may I feel your necks?” Nick nodded. Lexi’s father felt Nick’s neck first, then Cass’s, then Kevin’s. He walked back to his wife and took her hand. A moment of unspoken communication seemed to pass between the two, and then she gave a small smile and squeezed his hand.

  “So,” Lexi’s father said, turning to the kids. “How did a bunch of freemen end up in my living room, in my underwear?”

  Nick hesitated. “I’m sorry, Mister … uh …”

  “Jonathan. Jonathan Tanner. And Olivia.”

  “Look, Mr. Tanner,” said Nick, “I’m sorry, but can we trust you? I mean, Lexi has already threatened to turn us in.”

  “Lexi!” said her mother.

  “I was just making a point!” said Lexi. “About how easy it would be for anyone to turn them in. They didn’t get it.”

  Mr. Tanner sat down. “Sit,” he said. “Please.” When everyone was seated, he leaned toward Nick and continued. “You need to understand the terrible risk our daughter is taking, bringing you here.”

  “Dad—”

  “Lexi, wait.” Mr. Tanner cut her off. “I’m not angry. I’m not criticizing. I’m proud of you.” He turned back to Nick. “But listen. We will be killed if we’re caught helping you. Or re-educated, and permanently separated from each other.” Mrs. Tanner reached over and grabbed his hand. “I should be telling you three to get the hell out of my home,” he continued. Nick tensed and began to stand. Mr. Tanner gestured for him to sit back down. “But instead, if Olivia agrees, I’m going to offer you food and shelter, and if you tell us what you’re doing, we may be able to help.”

  “Why?” asked Cass.

  Mrs. Tanner let go of her husband’s hand, stood, and began pacing. “We know many people who have been through re-education,” she said. “The robots spend so much time telling you how bad it was before their Great Intervention. How humans were killing each other in war after war. But now …” She paused. “I can barely get myself to say this to strangers … you don’t say this out loud very often … but now, it’s true, we’re not killing each other, but we’re like zoo animals. Do you understand?”

  Cass shook her head no.

  Mrs. Tanner sighed. “Honey, this City, the robots … this isn’t life. Life may not always be pretty, but at least it’s life. Some of us know that. We can’t say it, but we know.” She sat back down.

  “We’re here to rescue our parents,” blurted Kevin. “I found something in the woods. It just seemed like a fletch piece of tech. But it signaled the bots, and they came and destroyed our Freepost.” He blinked hard and cleared his throat. “Our parents are here, because if they’re not here they’re dead, and they can’t be dead. So we’re here to rescue them.”

  The room was quiet, and then Cass said, “It took us days and days to get here. Walking. We thought we’d never find it.”

  “So now you know,” said Nick, leaning forward. The truth was out there, and it couldn’t be taken back. “Can you help us? Find our parents and get them out of the City?”

  “How old are you?” asked Mrs. Tanner.

  “I’m seventeen,” said Nick. “My sister is fifteen, and my brother is thirteen.”

  “Almost fourteen,” said Kevin.

  Mrs. Tanner smiled. “Almost fourteen,” she repeated. Her smile dropped away. “If your parents are in the City, they’re being re-educated. They’re being taught how to be Citizens.”

  “What do you mean by ‘taught’?” asked Cass quietly.

  “Usually it’s just lessons,” Mrs. Tanner said. “Lessons, over and over.” She paused. “Sometimes, it’s more.”

  “More?” asked Kevin.

  “They’ll be fine, I’m sure,” said Mrs. Tanner. “Most people come through just fine, or maybe they’re off for a little while afterward but then they come back to themselves. I’m sure your parents are smart, and strong, and not too stubborn. They’ll choose their battles wisely.”

  “Eventually,” said Mr. Tanner, “when the robots decide they can be peaceful and productive, they’ll be chipped and given jobs and a home. And then you’ll be able to find them.”

  “What if the bots decide they can’t be good Citizens?” said Nick. “What if they are too stubborn?”

  Mr. Tanner said nothing.

  “What happens then?” Nick insisted, even though he didn’t really want to hear the answer.

  “Then they’ll be killed,” said Mr. Tanner.

  The word killed seemed to hang in the air. Cass pulled out the notebook page she had stashed in her back pocket. She unfolded it and set it on the coffee table for everyone to see. Nick felt something twist inside of him as he squinted and realized what was on the piece of paper. It was a sketch of their parents’ faces, drawn in pencil, smudged a bit at the edges but still amazingly lifelike.

  “This is my mom and dad,” she said. “The people who raised me when my birth parents were killed in the War.” She reached down and smoothed out the edges with a shaky hand. “I can’t let the bots kill my parents again.”

  CHAPTER 12

  IN THE MORNING, DURING A BREAKFAST OF CEREAL THAT HAD KEVIN ecstatic, Nick asked Lexi to take them to the robot re-education site. Mrs. Tanner had told them they’d be out soon enough, and that new Citizens were usually given an apartment around the re-education center for a while afterward, but Nick wasn’t about to sit around patiently waiting.

  “My parents wouldn’t like that, rock st—”

  “Nick! It’s Nick. Enough with the ‘rock star.’”

  “All right, all right, Nick,” said Lexi. “But, Nick, it’s not smart. My parents are right. You need to just keep your head down for a while.”

  “We’re not going to do anything stupid,” said Nick. “Just take a look around. Your parents said they’d be gone for a few hours. Besides, I’ve got my stolen hat and your sunglasses, so we’re all set.”

  Lexi grinned, then looked thoughtful. “We can’t get too close,” she said. “That whole zone is CP’d, of course. Too far to walk and get back before my parents, and the trans is not an option.... Neighborhood patrols shouldn’t be much of a problem during the day, unless we really get unlucky …” She pulled out her comm and started typing. “I’ll get Amanda to come. Me and Amanda on our scoots, each taking one of you, and then one of you can go alone.” She looked around the table. “Which one of you thinks you can handle a scoot?”

  Kevin dropped his spoon into his bowl with a loud clank and raised his hand. “That would be me. That would so be me.”

  “Forget it, kid,” said Nick. “The bots will definitely notice us with you crashing into them. I’ll do it.”

  “Nick,” said Cass, “I don’t think, with your vision …”

  Nick felt himself flush and glared at Cass. He didn’t want her talking about his bad eye in front of Lexi. “I said I’ll do it.”

  However, after an evaluation in the quiet alley behind Lexi’s house, it was Cass who was th
e natural. Nick kept getting confused between the brake and the accelerator and almost ran Lexi over; Kevin couldn’t keep his balance or ride in a straight line. Cass listened carefully to Lexi’s instructions, hopped on, and immediately rode like a City-born Citizen.

  Amanda pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, and they came out of the house to meet her. “They slept at your house?” she said to Lexi.

  “Where were they supposed to sleep?” asked Lexi.

  “Well, you could have told me, instead of making it a big surprise.”

  “No,” said Lexi. “I wasn’t about to comm anything about them.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” said Amanda grudgingly. “But first things first. Apologize. And mean it.”

  “Amanda, you just agreed I couldn’t say anything about them …”

  “Not about that,” said Amanda.

  Lexi sighed. “Amanda, I’m sorry I was mean to you at the coffee shop. It wasn’t fair.”

  “Okay, forgiven,” Amanda said after a moment. “So, you said you wanted to go for a ride …”

  “Yeah, you can take Kevin, I’ll get Nick, and Cass can follow on her own. Wait’ll you see her ride, Amanda—it’s like she’s been scooting forever. I mean, she’s never ridden in her life—”

  Amanda cut Lexi off. “Yeah, fine, she’s a natural, she’s amazing, I get it. So where do you want to go?”

  Lexi cleared her throat. “We’re thinking, you know, maybe just a quick trip to check out the area near the re-education center.”

  “What?” said Amanda. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Look, Mandy, we won’t even get off our scoots. They just want to see.”

  “Lexi, it’s too dangerous.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, even though there was nobody in sight. Her eyes darted up to the darkened windows of the neighbors’ houses. “They’re not chipped. What if a bot stops us?”

  “Like Lexi said, we won’t get off our scoots,” said Nick. He looked back and forth between the two girls. “We’ll be careful.”

  “No way,” said Amanda. “It’s just stupid.”