Revolution 19

by Gregg Rosenblum

“Come on, Cass,” said Farryn, pulling her up and holding her shoulders to keep her steady. “I don’t know how long this will last. Let’s get your parents. Lexi, you know how to get there?”

  Lexi was staring at the haywire bots, tears running down her cheeks. “Amanda,” she said. “It’s my fault …”

  “Lexi!” said Farryn.

  Cass put her hand on Lexi’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “The bots killed her, not you.”

  Lexi wiped her face with a shaky hand and nodded. “I’ll get us there.”

  They made their way carefully past the bots, almost tiptoeing. The bots ignored them, continuing to bob erratically and spin and walk in circles. Once past the bots, they took off at a jog, with Lexi leading.

  In the ten minutes it took to get to the address of their parents, they saw five more disabled bots—three spheres and two Peteys, all ignoring them and acting as if their circuits had been scrambled. They still gave the bots, especially the Peteys, as wide a berth as possible. Even with fried circuits, their lases might go off accidentally.

  Cass and Kevin stepped up onto the building stoop and pressed the buzzer. “Remember, Kevin,” said Cass, “they probably won’t recognize us.”

  “So how exactly are we going to get them to come with us?” said Kevin.

  “I don’t know,” said Cass.

  They heard footsteps approaching, and the door opened, and their mother and father stood in the doorway. Their hair was chopped brutally short, and they had dark circles under their eyes, and their skin was very pale, but it was them. Cass’s heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. They stood frozen for a moment, staring at Cass and Kevin.

  “Mom?” said Kevin quietly. “Dad?”

  Their father ran forward, gathering them into a hug. “Oh my God!” he said. “You made it! You’re here!” Their mother just stood there, looking confused. “Nick … I saw him at the center,” said their father. “It took everything I had to pretend not to know him, to keep him safe.... It was horrible, the pain in his eyes. Is he okay? Is he still in re-education?”

  A huge surge of relief broke over Cass—her father remembered her—and she felt tears running down her cheeks, hers or her father’s, she wasn’t sure. But then she realized her mother was still standing apart, watching them quizzically, and she felt her stomach lurch. She broke away from her father’s hug. “Mom?” she said.

  Her father shook his head. “She’s … she’s hurt, a bit. She’s getting better, though. But she’s not herself right now.”

  “Mom!” Kevin said, rushing forward and embracing her. She returned the hug awkwardly, patting him on the back.

  “I’m your mother?” she said.

  Kevin began to cry. He held on tightly to their mother.

  Lexi said, “Guys, I’m sorry, but we have to go …”

  Cass wiped tears away from her eyes and pulled Kevin away from their mother. There was no time for her to break down, even though she wanted to just sit down on the sidewalk and weep. Not now. “She’s right. We have to get to Doc’s. Nick will be waiting for us, hopefully.”

  “We can’t go,” said their father. “We’re chipped. That means the bots can track us …”

  Kevin let go of his mother and wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. “I know what it means, Dad,” said Kevin. “Believe me, we’re way ahead of you.”

  Farryn stepped forward. “Sir, I’m sorry, but we really do have to hurry. I don’t know how long the bots will be disabled.”

  “Disabled?” said their father. “How? And who are you?” he added.

  “Farryn,” said Cass. “And Lexi. They’re helping us. But there’s no time for questions. We’ll try to explain on the way.”

  Their father took their mother’s hand, and she let him lead her meekly down the stairs.

  CHAPTER 36

  DOC WAS WAITING FOR THEM AT THE DOOR, WEARING A SURGEON’S WHITE gown. He smiled and spread his arms out wide. “So, parents, who’s ready for some experimental surgery?” he said. They hurried up to Doc’s apartment.

  “Is Nick here?” said Cass. “Is he here yet?”

  Doc shook his head. “No.”

  “He should’ve been here ahead of us,” said Cass. She pushed down the panic that threatened to rise up—he got to the mainframe; the bots were disabled; he would make it. It would just be stupid for them to get this far and not have him make it.

  “Were you followed here?” said Doc. “Are you tracked?”

  Cass shook her head. The trip to Doc’s had gone quickly—their parents had two scoots, and their father stole a third from a neighbor. Cass and Kevin had managed to fill their parents in on the basics as they rode.

  “They I.D.’d me and Lexi, but the system’s down,” Farryn explained. “We’re good, at least until they manage to fix it.”

  “I need my chip out, too,” said Lexi. “After the parents. And Farryn, you, too. We’re dead if the system ever goes online again.”

  Farryn nodded.

  “So that’s what, four orders of never-before-tried chip removal surgery?” said Doc. “No problem. No group discounts, though.” He disappeared into his bedroom and came back with a large black handbag that he set on the coffee table. “In all seriousness,” he said, “this is dangerous. The chips may be implanted fairly deep, and it’s hard to know until I’m in there how tangled they are with muscle tissue, nerves, and, most importantly, blood vessels. I may not be able to get them out of all of you.”

  “We don’t have a choice,” said Cass and Kevin’s father. “I’ll go first. I’ll be your guinea pig.”

  “Okay then,” said Doc.

  The front door buzzer sounded, and everyone in the room jumped. Doc tapped on the vid screen by the front door, revealing Nick standing on the outside stoop, leaning heavily against the wall.

  Doc and Nick’s father rushed downstairs to let him in. Nick’s father crushed him in a hug as soon as he stepped inside, then quickly let go when Nick let out a groan of pain.

  “Oh my God, what happened to you?” he said, taking a look at him.

  Nick’s left earlobe was ripped, and dried blood had crusted in a trail down his neck to the shoulder. His cheek was bruised and swollen. His clothes were ripped in numerous places, and shallow cuts ran all up and down his legs and arms. The bandages on his thumbs and right hand were dangling loosely. He stood hunched over, favoring his bad ribs.

  “Dad?” he said. “Dad, you remember me?”

  “I’m so sorry, son,” he said. “I had to pretend, to try to keep you safe … but your mom, she doesn’t remember much right now …”

  “Come on,” said Doc. “Reunion upstairs. My neighbors don’t need to hear this.” They went up to the apartment, where Nick hugged everyone, including his mother, who returned the hug without enthusiasm.

  “You did it,” said Kevin. “The overload worked.”

  “Amazing,” said Lexi. She gave Nick a quick kiss on the lips, then stepped back and gave him an appraising look, sucking in her breath in sympathy. “The earlobe—that’s not a good look for you,” she said.

  “I’m so sorry about Amanda,” Nick said.

  Lexi turned away. “I shouldn’t have dragged her into any of this,” she said quietly.

  “No,” said Nick. He wanted to say more, something, anything to help, but they had to hurry. “Listen, we don’t have much time,” he said. “The system is backing itself up. We’ve got about an hour.”

  Nobody spoke for a few moments, absorbing the fresh blow. It was Doc who broke the silence with a chuckle.

  “Four surgeries, one hour,” said Doc. “A bit tight, but what the hell.” He grabbed his black handbag off the table. “First victim, come with me, please.”

  Their father stood and kissed his wife. “Back soon,” he said. He followed Doc into the bedroom.

  Nick gingerly kneeled down in front of their mother, who sat quietly. “Mom?” he said. “Do you remember me?”

  Their m
other leaned forward, reached out, and touched Nick’s cheek, then let her hand drop. “I think … I’m not sure … you do seem familiar … I’m sorry, so sorry …” Her eyes began to well up with tears.

  Nick felt like he had just been given a fresh punch in the stomach. He kissed her on the cheek. “It’s okay, Mom,” he said. He eased himself down into a chair, and Lexi sat on the floor next to him, leaning against the chair and holding his hand.

  Cass began rummaging around the living room, opening every drawer of the one cabinet in the room until she found what she needed—a sheet of white paper and a pen. She kneeled down over the coffee table and began to draw.

  “What are you doing?” said Farryn.

  “Paying my debt,” said Cass.

  “Actually, you know, I’m thinking maybe you can just owe me,” said Farryn.

  “Shut up and let me work,” said Cass. “And stay away until I’m done.”

  Ten minutes later their father and Doc came out of the bedroom. Their father had a bandage on the back of his neck. He looked even paler than before and was a bit unsteady on his feet, but he gave the room a thumbs up.

  Doc held up something small, about one inch square, between his thumb and forefinger. It was green and silver and streaked with blood. “Your dad’s chip,” he said. He set it on the table. “Okay, next,” he said, waving at their mother.

  Their mother squeezed her husband’s hand. “What’s happening, dear?” she said.

  He nodded at her. “You’ll be fine,” he said. Doc led her into the bedroom.

  “You okay, Dad?” said Nick.

  “Better than you,” he replied. “You look like hell.” He raised his eyebrows. “Your eye … my God …”

  “Present from the bots,” said Nick grimly. “Long story.”

  Their father blinked hard, suddenly looking like he might cry. “I’m proud of you,” he said. “Of all of you. It’s incredible, what you’ve done.”

  “Piece of cake,” said Kevin. “Nick was the muscle, I was the brains, and Cass played dodgeball.”

  “Shut up, Kevin,” said Cass.

  “Kids,” said their father with a smile, “be nice to each other.”

  “Dad,” said Nick, “what next? Once we get out of the City?”

  Their father shrugged. “We find another Freepost. Our best bet should be to the north. And then we start over.”

  “So we just wait for the bots to come and destroy ‘Revolution 20’?” said Kevin. “Or maybe if we’re lucky we last a few extra years and become 21 or 22 instead?”

  “We have to survive,” their father said. “It’s all we can do.”

  “We can fight,” said Kevin. “Look what we did here.”

  “In forty-five minutes the bots will be back online, and the City will be back under their control,” said their father. “Look, kids, it really is incredible what you’ve accomplished, but you didn’t do any lasting damage.”

  “But we can,” said Kevin. “We can figure it out.”

  “How?” said their father.

  “Dr. Miles Winston,” said Nick. “The Consciousness. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Their father frowned. “Miles Winston? Where did you hear about him?”

  “Tech Tom,” said Nick. “Right before the bots executed him.”

  Their father hesitated. “Damn … poor Tom. Dr. Winston … he’s the father of this whole mess. Famous man. Brilliant roboticist … he designed many of the early war bots, and created the first communications networks for them. That’s what he called the Consciousness.” He shook his head. “But he died in the Revolution, supposedly.”

  “That’s not what Tom thought,” said Nick. “He said something about flock messages, and another Freepost.”

  “First we have to get to safety,” said their father. “Then maybe we’ll talk about hunting down ghosts.”

  Ghosts … Nick was suddenly struck by a memory. “Dad …” said Nick.

  “Yes?”

  “A dog. Was there a black dog when I was a kid, the day we escaped?”

  Nick’s father blinked, then nodded. “We saved it from the rubble. A poodle. It died a few days after we got out. An infected leg.”

  “I remember,” said Nick. “I remember the dog.”

  “You wanted to name it,” said Nick’s father. “I wouldn’t let you, because I knew it was going to die.”

  “It still deserved a name,” said Nick.

  “Yes,” said Nick’s father, looking away. “You’re right.”

  CHAPTER 37

  TEN MINUTES PASSED, AND THEN FIFTEEN, AND THEIR MOTHER STILL didn’t emerge from the bedroom. Everyone in the room grew more and more nervous. Finally, their father said, “I’m going in.”

  Just then Doc appeared in the hallway, supporting their mother, who was ghostly white and leaning heavily, almost in a full slump, against his shoulder. Their father rushed over to help. Nick pulled himself to his feet, and Doc and their father set their mother down in the chair.

  “I couldn’t get it out,” said Doc. “I’m sorry. She lost a lot of blood, and the chip is too tangled in blood vessels—she’d bleed to death if I cut it out.”

  “What do we do?” said Cass.

  Their father bent down and held her hands. “Kids,” he said, looking back at them over his shoulder, “you’ll need to go without us.”

  “Dad, no!” said Cass. “We can’t!”

  “Yes, you can,” said their father. “Look what you’ve already done on your own.”

  “Your chip is out,” said Kevin.

  “I’ll be fine. You can put it back in, right, Doc?”

  “Definitely,” said Doc. “Maybe.”

  Their father nodded. “We’ll find a way to get Mom’s chip out, and then we’ll come find you. Head north. Find a Freepost. Get to safety.”

  “Dad, we did all this work just to find you,” said Nick.

  “We can stay and fight the bots,” said Kevin. “We can hide, and fight.... I’ll make more overloads …”

  “Nick, kids, you need to go,” said their father. “Now, while you have the chance. I’m not leaving your mother, and she can’t leave the City with her chip.”

  Nick nodded, taking a deep breath. He gave his father a hug. He fought hard to keep from crying.

  Their father hugged Kevin and Cass and pushed them gently toward the door. “You don’t have much time,” he said. “Go north. We’ll find you.”

  “No,” said Kevin.

  “Kevin,” said Doc, “listen to your father. Get to safety. I’ll let the nearby Freeposts know you might be coming.”

  “How …?” began Cass.

  “The flock,” said Kevin. “You lied.... They’re not just City birds, are they? They’re true carriers!”

  Doc smiled. “Guilty.” His face grew serious, and he put a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Now listen to me,” he said. “You’re right, you can fight. Never forget that. Got it?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Good,” said Doc.

  “Now get out of here,” said their father.

  “We’ll wait for Lexi and Farryn,” said Nick. “They can’t stay in the City once their chips are out. It’ll just be a few minutes.”

  “No,” said Lexi. “There’s no time to waste. Go now, while you know you can. We’ll find you.”

  “You don’t know a thing about surviving outside the City,” said Nick.

  “I’m tough,” said Lexi. “Haven’t you figured that out by now?” She kissed him. He held on and didn’t let go until she pushed him away.

  “North,” he said. “I’ll be looking for you.”

  Lexi hugged Cass and Kevin, and then Farryn stepped forward to shake Nick’s hand. “Good luck, Nick,” he said.

  “Thank you, Farryn,” said Nick. “Thank you for all your help.”

  Farryn turned to Kevin. “The second most talented tech hacker I know,” he said, shaking Kevin’s hand.

  Kevin grinned. “Same to you,” he said.

&
nbsp; Then Farryn turned to Cass and smiled. “Well, Cass, be seeing you soon again, I hope.”

  Cass kissed him on the cheek, then handed him the artwork she had been sketching. It was a portrait of herself, rough around the edges because she had been working so fast, but still obviously her.

  Farryn stared at it, saying nothing for a moment, then cleared his throat and said, “Thank you, Cass.” His smile slid into a grin. “You still owe me something I can sell, though. This one I’m keeping for my private collection.”

  “Find me, and we’ll negotiate,” said Cass.

  They each hugged their mother and father one last time. Nick looked at everyone in the room one last time, burning their faces into his memory—Doc, Farryn, Lexi, his parents—in case he never saw them again. Then Nick, Cass, and Kevin left. They scooted north along the quiet City streets, reached the City limits, and continued on, heading back toward the woods.

  EPILOGUE

  THE SENIOR ADVISOR CAREFULLY CHEWED A SMALL PIECE OF STEAK. THE sensors he had recently installed in his mouth registered the salt content of the meat, the temperature, the exact amount of pressure required by his plastic alloy teeth to tear the flesh. He could even analyze the basic nutritional information of the food—the percentage of protein, fat, carbohydrates, iron, trace minerals.

  But how did the steak taste? The Senior Advisor spit the chewed meat into a small china bowl set to the left side of his place setting. He couldn’t swallow. He had no esophagus, no stomach, no intestines—there was nowhere for the food to go. He stared at his plate, filled with a filet mignon, baked potato, and asparagus. He sighed—he had been practicing his sigh—set his fork and knife down, and pushed the plate away from him. It was yet another human mystery, this sense of taste, this “flavor” from which humans seemed to derive so much pleasure.

  One of the two lieutenants in the dining room quietly removed the plate from the table. It left the room, and the other lieutenant stepped forward. Now that the “meal” was complete, it was time for the Senior Advisor’s debriefing.

  “Sir,” said the bot, “City 73 is still without mainframe access. Backup will be complete in seventeen minutes.”