I counted to 3
For that was how long it took RolKils to power up their weapons
And I leapt extremely high into the air
Knowing that although RolKils were deadly in their attacks
They could only fire their weapons to a height of themselves and I knew I could leap higher than that
While I was in the air
The RolKil fired thousands of lazer shots which passed beneath me and thudded into a tree towards which I was rushing
The lazer hits cut the tree from its roots and the monstrously high organic growth began to topple
All firing ceased
And I curled into a ball and crashed into the undergrowth as the tree fell beside me
No matter how deadly RolKils could be
1 had now destroyed a tree and knew its punishment would be severe when High Office learned of the offence
The trouble was that I was transmitting a recording showing all activities being quiet at the facility
With no problems arising from any acts
So High Office would not of the offence
How different the recording was from live events
I scrambled around on my hands and knees and peered through the grasses at the RolKil who had destroyed the tree
It stood totally still and was firing lazers no longer
Two further RolKils appeared around the corner of the building and rushed forward and noticed the destruction caused by the other RolKil
They eradicated it for the crime it had committed
No trees were to be harmed
A High Office law
There were only 12 more RolKils to immobilize
Only 12
I was never going to accomplish it
I hid in the grass and watched events outside the facility
The two remaining RolKils rolled over to the other immobilized Machines and could not solve the problem of what had happened to them
They spun on their legs searching for the 1 who had damaged the Machines but I lay very low in the grass
Other RolKils began to appear
More
Yet more
Until the remaining twelve were all gathered outside the ingress to the fortress
All of them active
All of them now armed and powered up
All of them emitting the alarm and the message to eradicate the Humans
And I became worried that I may have missed 1 RolKil who would kill all the Humans
I had to get back into the fortress
But there was no way I was going to be able to do that in a short time
I waited in the tall grasses for darkness to fall and replenished my energy levels for darkness would aid me
I had better night site that the RolKils
They were
After all
Simply killing Machines that rolled forward and repeatedly fired 100.000 lazer shots from their weapons until they were depleted
When they would power up again and begin dispensing another 100.000
They were not designed to see in the dark
They were designed to kill in the dark
To kill anything in their path
And Humans could not run away fast enough
They could not use night sight
They could not spin and twist as an ObsRec could
It was no wonder that they were massacred in their 1.000.000s
I moved very cautiously in the tall grasses and through the bushes and brightly colored plants
Finally finding a place where I could lift myself vertical while hiding behind a large tree
The 12 RolKils were all still circling in tight circles and I thought I might try and entice 1 or 2 down into the trees
As I knew they would not just open fire
I stepped out in full sight of them
They all primed their weapons but I ducked behind the tree again and moved away in the tall grasses
They did not fire
They understood the law just as much as it did
But I did achieve something
Because 2 RolKils began to move forward to the edge of the forest
Being very cautious
Moving very slowly
I beckoned them on by allowing them another brief sighting of me
They rolled into the forest
I had the Bastard Machines
Because they had to move slowly so as not to cause too much damage
And as they did so
I did something that I had never done before
I climbed a tree
Pulling myself up with my palms
Hiding from the RolKils
Who still moved cautiously
Unable to use their speed or the power of their weapons
They could only fire if they had direct sight of me
And when they fired
They had to strike me
If they hit a tree they would suffer the same fate as the other killer Machine
I swung up into the tree and watched the two RolKils approach
Closer and closer they came
Closer still
Moving directly beneath the tree in which I was hiding
And I leaned forward and hooked my legs over an outgrowth of the tree and I hung directly over them
The Machines were very close together
Boom
I struck them with the full power of the signal of companionship
And they collapsed to the ground
But the power of the strike knocked me out of the tree and I fell between the Machines
Probably the closest any Machine had ever come to RolKils and survived
As I fell I reached out with arms and legs and knocked both Machines over in the long grass
Instantly
I scrambled away until I found a place of safety from which to view the remaining 10 RolKils
They seemed to be in a high state of agitation
Fully powered
Emitting their localized alarm louder and louder but receiving no response to it
Probably wondering what was going on
If they did wonder
I was half way to my target
10 down
10 to go
When I was settled
I exposed myself to their view again
But this time no RolKil came forward though all turned their weapons towards me
None entered the forest
They remained in front of the egress and blocked my passage to the Humans
I would have to go after them
I climbed another tree and waited for darkness to fall
How were my Humans
I thought
Were they worried about me
For I had been gone a whole darkness period and now most of a light one and shortly it would be dark again
I tried not to recognise their concerns
Though I had enough of my own
It was odd to settle in a tree for a long period for I was a Machine of perpetual movement
Eternal movement
And sitting in a tree was not a natural thing for me to do
Though it was gloriously warm
Animals of the air were chirping and flitting all around me and I was most content
And it was this concentration on animals of the air and a feeling of contentment that distracted me and almost cost me my existence
But I was alerted just in time that 2 more RolKils were in the forest
Rolling in almost complete silence towards where I was hiding in the tree
I climbed higher up the tree and I climbed quickly
Away from the Machines
That
I almost learned to my personal destruction
Could work on strategies
And could creep as well and move at 100 kilometres an hour
I looked down from high above in the tree and the Machines eased their way around the tree
&nb
sp; Circling it in almost total silence
And stopping when they thought they had me
Only to discover that I was now gone
I decided to something brave at last
From my high position
I dived from the tree
Out into the air
With my arms out like the appendages of the flying animals
RolKils could not see upwards
So I was safe until I came into their sight
But before I arrived at that point
I began to Boom out the signal of companionship
And it took 3 Booms for each Machine before they collapsed on to their six limbs
Immobilized
Dead in the forest
Except I was worried beyond belief to realize that the RolKils were becoming immune to the signal
3 Booms
How many would it take to immobilize the remainder of them
While I was worrying about this
I crashed into the bushes and long grass
Rolling into a ball
And actually rolling down the hill upon which the trees stood
Not stopping until I was blocked by another tree which shook me to my core
And for a moment I quite enjoyed simply lying on my back as I unrolled myself
As I stared at the blue skies through the growth of the trees
After some moments I climbed to my feet and began tracking up the hill again
Using the trees as cover
8 more to go
I recharged my energy
I was going to need all the energy I could garner
**
**
Section 14
**
Internal Transmission
*
From my vantage point high up in a tree I could see the 8 RolKils gathered together moving slowly through the tall grass outside the ingress into the fortress
And I could not work out why they were gathered in such a place
They had worked out that I was an enemy but why were they blocking my way in
They would be better letting me enter then trapping me along with all the Humans
But they had a strategy and they were keeping to it
They had ceased sending out the alarm or ordering the massacre of all Humans but there was no way they were powering down their weapons
They remained at the top level of readiness with all their LazExts armed
I considered that they may like to charge down into the forest but were restrained by the disappearance and immobilization of those they had sent in
And they were no doubt confused by their enemy
An Observer Recorder with no history of violence in all the history of Machines
They must be exceedingly confused
I climbed down the tree and made several efforts to entice any
Or all
Of the RolKils into the forest but though they aimed weapons directly at me they made no attempt to enter the trees
Or fire their weapons
One dead tree was quite enough for them
The light period drifted into duskiness and then darkness
Now was the only time I was ever going to get
*
I began to creep upwards through the forest
Honing my night vision to see the RolKils, who remained where they were
Rolling slowly with sinister intent
I decided to approach them from a different angle and moved laterally along the forest
Initially
Away from the deadly Machines
But
Eventually
Slipping out of the forest to hide in the long grasses that inhabited the whole of the outer shell of the facility
The RolKils were now ahead of me and not above me as I slithered along in the grass towards them
I needed to spilt them up
I could not kill 8 at one time
I had to have them in groups of 4 or less
Except they were rolling in a circular motion very near to each other
Tight circles
An almost unbroken wall of terror and fear
As I slithered along very close to the surface of Earth I moved over a lump of it
A small particle
But it gave me an indication of something I could do
I lifted the small lump of Earth and threw it in the air and it landed with an incredible amount of noise in the silence that we were all keeping
Me and the RolKils
When the noise was made all the Machines wheeled round to face the sound and two of them released a short volley of lazer power towards where the lump of Earth fell
While they were all focused on that noise I crawled quite quickly towards them finding myself up against the wall of the facility again
Hidden in the tall grasses
With 1 RolKil very close indeed
I boomed out the signal and immobilized that one and curled into a ball and rolled away
Leaving the other RolKils totally confused as to where the signal had come from
They began firing anyway
Striking the outer fabric of the fortress while I lay totally still and as close to the surface of Earth as I could
Some of the strikes were only just above my head and tiny particles of building materials cascaded down on me
I could not believe I had been so foolhardy
Creeping up on them and immobilizing just 1
It was hazardous in the extreme
I was working without a plan because it was a time of darkness and I thought I had the advantage
But I was becoming careless
Though I only had 7 more to immobilize
The remaining RolKils were circling in wider circles moving ever closer to the trees
Widening their search for me
So I moved away from them
Finally back into the forest where I felt safest
And I watched
And the Machines had a plan
As they slowly widened their circling motion
Moving ever closer to the edge of the treeline
What were they planning
For it was something
Then the circling came to a halt and all 8 RolKils were lined up along the tree line weapons aimed
Or so I thought
At the trees
But I was wrong
I had once again underestimated the planning strategies of the RolKils
Because they began firing their lazers on very low power and set fire to the bushes and the long grasses
Neither of those things were covered by a law from High Office
They were
With great care
Removing my cover
And that removal would leave me nowhere to hide
As a Machine in conflict with them
I was very impressed by the RolKils and the way they worked together
They must have been a devastating sight to Humans during the wars
Rolling along
Working together to herd and to surround many thousands simply to eradicate them
I slipped further down the hill
Lower down through the trees but I realized that my efforts were futile
For
Eventually
The RolKils
With their gentle light firing of their lazers were going to remove all cover from the forest
And they would not hurt or damage a single tree
It was very clever
I speeded out of the forest and momentarily along the plain
But I turned to my right and speeded along adjacent to the forest
Swinging past it and climbing the hill at another point
Coming to the fortress from a rare and seldomly used route
The RolKils being on the other side of the building from me
I speeded round to the edge of the fortress where I could espy the RolKils continuing with their mi
ssion
And I decided on an action that would surely lead to my ultimate destruction
All RolKils were concentrated on destroying the cover in the forest
In effect
They had their backs to me
Their blindsides
So I stepped out from the building and speeded alongside it
Nearing the RolKils that were all lined up
Side by side
Quite quickly I reached my maximum speed which
In relation to almost all except RolKils
Was considered to be very quick
And as I speeded past them I boomed out the signal
1 down
2 down
3 down
4 down
I speeded around the corner of the building just as the remaining RolKils spun round to face me and fire
Their lazer took out great chunks of the fabric of the construction
Though I did not cease my flight to look
I kept on speeding at top speed
For the RolKils would be after me
Only 3 remaining
But 3 was enough to eradicate not only everyone in the fortress
Plus myself
But enough to eradicate all the remaining Humans
Wherever they may be
Through my rear eye I saw the 3 remaining RolKils speed around the edge of the building and they immediately began to fire
I threw my hands into the air and my left hand took a direct hit from 1 lazer beam and my hand disintegrated
Leaving wires dangling
All other lazer shots passed beneath me
And I curled into a ball
Hit the ground
Rolled to the edge of the building again
And leaped to my feet as I cleared it
Speeding off along the shorter length of this side
Because we were all moving so quickly
The RolKils were not closing the gap on me as much as I may have expected
Maybe my speed was equal to theirs after all
But I didn’t have a single weapon
The only immobilizing device I had was the overpowered signal of companionship
It was all I had
My rear camera showed them speeding around the edge of the building behind me
And they had closed the gap between themselves and me just a little
But they began to fire the moment the appeared
There was only one thing I could try
I ran at the fabric of the building and I ran up it diagonally
Using my speeded motion to keep me above the firing line of the RolKils
The lazer hits took massive chunks out of the fabric but they were all below me
As I arced higher and higher
A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind Page 15