by Anh Do
‘Shut up and do it, Higgins!’ Ferris hissed back.
The other agent left the room as Penny continued typing on her phone. The agent returned and leant in close to Ferris’s ear. ‘They’re ready to trace the message,’ he said.
Ethan hid inside the back of a navy-blue van as agents and police combed the area for him. He fought to catch his breath. They got Penny! What’s gonna happen to her? What am I going to do?
Ethan fought to stop himself panicking. Okay. Step one, find more information.
He sent his powers out to find Penny’s phone. Phew, it’s still turned on, he thought. He saw that there was a message on the screen – Penny had clearly typed it but not sent it.
She knew I’d go straight to her phone. She knows me pretty well. Ethan felt a blush cross his face. He read the message.
Ethan, I’m fine. They won’t harm me – they need me to work on Gemini. And that’s exactly what I want to do. We saw him save that child today. He ignored what they wanted him to do so that he could save someone! Part of him is still the healer, and I need to protect and strengthen that part. To do that, I need access, which means I had to give myself up.
I’m sorry to have to leave you this suddenly. You still have a lot to deal with, and I hope to be able to help, but for now I need to stop Bonner and the government from turning my creation into nothing but a weapon.
You’re smart, Ethan. And strong. Just keep your head down as much as you can, and keep your wits about you, and you’ll be fine.
Good luck!
Penny
Ethan read the message again, and then he grew angry. She chose that machine over me, he thought. She’d rather help a bunch of metal and wires than an actual person!
Ethan felt tears welling up in his eyes, which made him even angrier. He wiped the message from Penny’s phone, then climbed into the front of the van and into the driver’s seat. This can’t be too hard, he thought, looking at the steering wheel and all the other controls. I’ve played driving games on the computer before.
Ethan started the van and slowly, awkwardly, drove out onto the road.
In the arena, Penny watched as the message erased itself from her screen. She gave a small, sad smile, turned the phone off and handed it to Ferris.
Ferris watched as Agent Higgins radioed headquarters, trying to find out E-Boy’s location. Higgins looked confused, then walked up to Ferris.
‘No trace,’ Higgins said. ‘Apparently Doctor Cook didn’t actually send any message.’
Ferris grunted with annoyance and grabbed Penny by the upper arm, leading her away.
The next morning, for the first time, Penny stood in the lab beneath the Robofight arena. Gemini was being repaired and recharged by the technicians, as Doctor Ross looked over the screens showing Gemini’s condition. Standing with three agents, President Bonner watched everyone work, giving Penny the occasional dirty look.
‘Gemini,’ said Doctor Ross, ‘why did you leave the battlefield yesterday?’
‘There was someone in the crowd who needed urgent medical help,’ said Gemini, staring at the ceiling.
‘But your mission was to defeat Arachnatron and win the fight,’ said Ross.
‘Yes, but my core programming is to save lives. No lives were lost by my leaving the battlefield, but at least one would have been lost if I had stayed to fight. Are you saying I did the wrong thing?’
Penny stepped forward and put a hand on Gemini’s arm. ‘No,’ she said. ‘You did the right thing. A good thing.’
Gemini looked at Penny as President Bonner barked, ‘Hands off government property. You’ll start work tomorrow, back at the capital. This “core programming” rubbish needs to stop.’
There was a knock on the door. An agent opened it, and another agent poked her head into the room and said, ‘Mr President, your flight leaves in an hour, sir.’
Penny looked Gemini in the eyes. ‘Do you know me?’
Gemini saw that Doctor Ross was watching. ‘No. Should I?’
Doctor Ross looked at a readout that showed Gemini’s processor heat increasing with that last statement. Why would Gemini be working harder just to say that? he thought, then his mouth fell open. Did Gemini just lie?
Gemini’s memory had been wiped and damaged several different ways. Even so, an image of the woman who had just spoken remained in his databanks, although with different hair.
A good thing, Gemini thought, as Doctor Ross touched a panel on the back of Gemini’s head. If following core programming is good, does that make following other missions … bad? Is my directive to terminate E-Boy bad? Do I—
Gemini powered down, leaving the thought unfinished. ‘Ready for transport, Mr President,’ said Doctor Ross.
‘Box it up and let’s go,’ said Bonner. ‘And don’t think we won’t be watching you, Penny. We own Gemini, and with a tonne of criminal charges over your head, we own you, too. You will do the right thing.’
That’s exactly my plan, thought Penny, although I think we have different ideas about what the right thing is.
Ethan hadn’t slept much, but at least he had been in a more comfortable bed.
Many of the guests at Lloyd Towers had checked out as soon as the Games were over, and Ethan couldn’t stand going back to the shabby motel he and Penny had stayed in. One night in luxury won’t kill anyone, he thought. But it didn’t bring him much peace, either.
Now, Ethan sat in another sports car – electric blue this time – getting familiar with all of the controls and systems. Last night’s van drive had been pretty slow and jerky, but he was starting to get the hang of driving. And with no one nagging him to keep a low profile, he had taken a car that wouldn’t just get him around, but that would make him feel better while he did it.
I’ll show Penny, he thought. President Bonner, Agent Ferris … I’ll show them all. Time for E-Boy to show the world what he’s about!
Ethan drove out onto the street and stopped at a set of traffic lights, where another driver was looking at him strangely. Ethan looked back, confused, then realised: he had been driving just using his powers. Everyone else was using the steering wheel.
Ethan turned his eyes to the road ahead and brought his hands up to the steering wheel. As the lights turned green and the traffic started to move, anxiety welled up inside him.
Where exactly am I going? he thought.