by David Sloma
“Amazing!” I admitted.
“Oh, yeah!” He took off the pinchers and set them down.
“My turn?”
“Go ahead!”
I put my hands into the pinchers and felt their power as the electricity began to run through them. I checked that they both had green lights, then I moved over to the ragged door and tore a strip of metal from it.
“See? Easy,” he said.
“It is very easy, yeah.”
I put the pinchers back on the bench and admired them. “How many pairs do you have?”
“Just those so far.”
“Just these?” My mind was boggled.
“I’m going to make a lot more; we’ll need them. I’m waiting for more parts. I’ll make another set for you, first, as soon as I get the parts.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. It would be good to have a defense against them, the robots.”
“No problem. But I can’t do anything without more parts.” He shrugged.
“No, I guess not. And we can’t very well be mounting an all-out assault without the weapons. I’ll see what I can do to speed up the delivery of those parts for you.”
Somehow, he had assembled the pinchers from bits of scrap metal and electronics that had been discarded in the great dump outside the city. A few of the garbage men were friendly with us rebels, and let us take any parts we wanted. But we were going to have to step up our supply, and quickly, before the robots discovered what we were up to.
“Good, and I’ll have them ready as soon as I can. Believe me, I want to see every last robot destroyed,” he said, then turned away, back to the coffee pot. But not before I started to see some emotion moving over his face.
I’d heard that his wife and children had been killed by robots during the first uprising attempt many years ago, when the city was first being sealed off. He and his family didn’t want to go into the city, so they had been attacked. They had fought back, but the robots were much stronger than humans, even then, and it had been hopeless. Many humans lost their lives at the same time.
I didn’t want to ask him about it, and he probably didn’t want to talk about it, so I just accepted another mug of excellent coffee from him.
Then we drank it and talked of our plans to overthrow the robots.
***
Even though our lives were mostly controlled by robots, us humans still tried to have our regular lives, if that was even possible. We did the best we could, still going about tasks, duties, and social things. And it was good for me to go along like a regular person, as it afforded me good cover for my rebel activities.
Being a young man in my twenties, I had a natural interest in the opposite sex. I had a date coming up with a woman I had met at school. Her name was Jackie. Now that our studies were over, we had more time to socialize.
She had invited me to a birthday party for one of her friends, as her date. We had been out a couple of times and enjoyed each other’s company, so I accepted the invitation. Now, I just had to get my hair cut and my clothes ready! Also, I thought I should bring something to the party, a bottle of wine or a dessert, so I had to go shopping for that.
I had some money to spend, as after I graduated from my high school program, I had gone to work in an office. My job wasn’t glamorous, just helping with some general office things, but at least I worked with mostly humans, otherwise I don’t think I could stand it. Jackie had a similar office job. It seemed all the humans worked in offices these days, as nearly all of the manual labour was done by robots. Robots even handled most of the medical care.
The evening of the party came, and I had gotten myself ready. But I still needed to go to the local bakery and get a dessert. I went for that rather than the wine, as most people drank hard stuff these days, or did designer drugs, and both of those were very expensive.
I exited my apartment and looked at the cameras in the halls. I hated being on camera in my building; it was bad enough most everywhere else. I remember a time when cameras were not everywhere, and robots were not in charge…I’ll have to write out my memoirs before I go on another mission, as I might not be coming back. I want future generations to know how it was, and how it could be again.
I took the elevator down to the street and went outside. The air was getting more and more polluted all the time. A lot of people wore masks on the street. I didn’t like going out most times when it was like this, as my nose got stuffed up and my lungs hurt. I hailed down a robot cab, one that advertised “air filtration” on the side, and got in for the ride to the bakery. The streets were crowded, like they always were. It was not yet that hot out, thankfully, so there was that.
After a quick trip into the bakery, and the robot cab waiting for me with the meter running, I jumped back in and gave it the address for the party. It was across town, and would take a few minutes, so I closed my eyes. All of the stress of running with the rebels, leading my dual life, was starting to get to me. I’d be glad when it was all over, one way or the other; either we’d defeat the robots or die trying.
I made it to the party with a few moments to spare and walked slowly from the cab up to the building. The robot guards outside asked me who I was there to see, and if I had an invitation to the party. I showed them my ticket and they let me through. More and more of these high-class buildings were getting robot guards. Soon they would be at all buildings unless we stopped them, I had no doubt. I didn’t like it one bit, no matter what some people said, that they made them feel more secure. Sure, only until the robots turned on them. That time was coming, fast.
Jackie met me with a kiss and a hug in the apartment of her friend. There were balloons around, and a table loaded with food, and another one with gifts. Looked like it was going to be a good time. I resolved to try and enjoy myself, even if it was one of the last nights humans might have on Earth. After all, if we couldn’t have some good times, what was the point of trying to stop the robots?
One of the gifts given to the birthday girl was a very old book, so old it was falling apart. But it was still majestic, with illuminated pages filled with intricate drawings, and a thick leather binding. The cover, too, was wonderful, deeply carved and inlaid with gold lettering. It was a history book, telling about great countries that were no more, having been swallowed up by “progress,” and old cities torn down for modern cities to be built upon them, that had nothing of the grandeur of the former places. The tale was familiar.
Paper books hadn’t been produced for many years. This one was a relic of the distant past and proved there had been another way of life, when things were made by humans by hand. It must have cost a lot. I held it in my hands, wondering where it had been found. I imagined there were still vast libraries of such books, hidden away. Maybe we would find them again one day.
After the party, Jackie and I decided to go for a walk, as we were in a rich area near a nice park. The park, and all the sidewalks, were “supervised” by robots, but we didn’t care; green, lush parks with real grass and trees were a rare thing these days.
We walked hand-in-hand, until we came upon a small crowd. I thought at first that it might have been a busker of some sort, a juggler or something, drawing their attention. But no, it was a man standing on a rock giving a talk.
It turned out the man was a teacher from one of the universities and I recognized him from my classes! He was going on about the state of the world, and how things were getting worse. People in the crowd looked around nervously, as that sort of talk in public could get you hauled off by the robots.
I pulled Jackie away, even though I agreed with what the man was saying, as I didn’t want us to run into any trouble. I especially had to keep myself out of the robot’s grasp, as I had my mission to do. As we walked out of the park, I heard a commotion and looked back to see a couple of police robots dragging the screaming man away. We had left just in time.
My phone beeped and there was a message, in code, from my contacts in the underground. They were telling me that I was to g
o and meet the workman, Sarvan, again. I felt a surge of excitement, as I knew this must mean that my pinchers were ready! Maybe he had gotten the supplies he needed. Maybe he had made a bunch of them! If so, it meant we were one step closer to overthrowing the robots.
I saw Jackie home but declined to spend the night when she asked me to, as my mind was elsewhere. We did kiss for a while in the lobby of her building—there were no robots there. Finally, I tore myself from her and bid her a goodnight.
I took the tube to the end of the line on the outskirts of the city, into the rundown area that had not yet been rebuilt. It was a bit dangerous there, with some real characters on the dirty streets, but I liked it because it still had some heart, some feeling to it, however gritty. I walked past old, abandoned buildings, feeling sad that these interesting structures would soon be pulled down and replaced with generic, sanitized sameness, repeated to the point of nausea. I walked until I found the old factory that had the entrance in it to the tunnels below.
I retraced the route I took last time to find the workman, being as careful as I had been the first time. The tunnels were deserted, as usual, the lights in them constantly buzzing away to the empty air. My footsteps echoed, due to the dress shoes I was wearing. I crept along more carefully. It wouldn’t do to get caught before I had fulfilled my mission.
My mission was everything, for everyone. If we didn’t overthrow the robots very soon, life wouldn’t be worth living, if humans were even left alive.
***
I knocked on the workman’s door and the slot at the top slid open.
“You look like you’re going to a funeral,” the electronic voice joked.
“Very funny. I just hope it’s not my own,” I said, looking at the camera lens.
“That makes two of us!”
Sarvan quickly opened the door and ushered me inside, giving me a wink.
The pinchers that had been made for me worked wonderfully. They cut right through plate steel like it was nothing!
“So, when do you think you’ll have the rest of them built?” I asked, as I wore my claws, testing them, watching their movements.
“Probably a couple of weeks, at least. Now, you’ve got to leave those here, so you don’t go off on your own or anything. That’ll be a suicide mission, I’m warning you. It’ll also give away our plans before we have a chance to strike in force,” Sarvan said sternly.
I pulled off my pinchers and put them on the workbench. “I wouldn’t,” I told him, even though I felt like doing it. I really did. I’d have to be patient, as our uprising wouldn’t work otherwise.
“I know it’s hard to wait. I was your age once, believe it or not.” He smiled kindly.
“Just do me a favour and keep these things locked up where I can’t get at them. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold myself back,” I told him, my face fixed with a hard look, thinking of my hatred of the robots, and how much I wanted to protect our freedom and future.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll do that. And I understand how you feel. I don’t think anyone wants those robots wiped out more than I do.”
“No, I imagine they don’t,” I nodded, remembering his family that had been slaughtered by the robots.
Jackie and I had talked about getting married and having children, but we’d decided to wait until the mess with the robots was over. I don’t know how I’d keep it together if my family had been killed by robots. I suddenly admired the workman more than I could say. I shook his hand and gave him a half-hug.
“Thank you for your work, and God keep you safe until we meet again,” I told him.
“And you.”
I left him to his work, as he was in the midst of building more claws when I interrupted him. I stepped back into the damp, cool corridor and hurried to the surface.
***
It was a few weeks before I got the next message to go and visit the workman.
I thought something must have been wrong, as it was taking so long. I wasted no time in going back down into the tunnels to meet with him.
But when I got to his workshop something was wrong.
The door was smashed in and all his equipment was gone. “Oh, no!” I said, as I walked through the destroyed room where we had met before. “Now what are we going to do?” I asked myself.
I quickly left, making sure the tunnel was empty before I stepped back into it. I was starting to get the feeling that this was a trap. Maybe there were micro-cameras and I was being watched right now. I was sweating and ran out of the tunnels as fast as I could.
Luck must have been on my side, as I reached the daylight world without incident. I was pretty shaken up and went right home.
I lay on my bed in the dark, trying to think. There were no other messages coming through for me, so I had to assume that no one else knew about what had happened, yet. Or if they did, they were keeping quiet.
I had no way to send a message to my contact in the resistance, I could only wait until they got in touch with me. That’s how it was done, to keep the tightest security. But there must have been a break in the chain someplace. I prayed that the workman had gotten away.
I worried for our future, but maybe this was for the best. Even if we had managed to get a bunch of the claws made, how many could we really expect the workman to make, even with some assistants? A hundred or two hundred? There were thousands of robots in our city alone, and many thousands more in the cities around us.
If we were able to take out the robots near us, those in other cities would surely hear about what happened. Then, they would have a chance to strengthen themselves before we attacked or they could just destroy our whole city and be done with us.
It seemed hopeless, and I was sad and afraid. But I did have faith in God, and that we would make it through this. I prayed to God the Father, asking for protection for Sarvan, and for guidance for myself, in the name of Jesus. I pulled out a copy of the Bible and did some reading to boost my spirit.
It worked after a few minutes, and I felt better. I wasn’t going to give up. As long as there were other rebels, I knew we would keep looking for a way to stop the robots, no matter how long it took us.
My phone rang. It was Jackie. She didn’t know about any of the rebel stuff, and I wanted to keep it that way. No sense in worrying her, and telling her would only put her in more danger; she was already in danger just knowing me. I forced a smile and answered her call, trying to sound chipper.
“Hello!” I said.
We made plans to meet for dinner that evening.
I shut off the phone, my heart heavy. I knew I should tell her about my rebel involvement, after all. I might not come back from some of the things I would be doing. She had a right to know that. She also had a right to know what I was doing in secret that would carry a heavy price for both of us, if discovered.
I got up slowly, not looking forward to the discussion I was going to have with her that night. She might very well dump me over it. But it had to be done.
I stepped into the shower and let the water wash over me, wishing it was as easy to clear away the problems in our world.
###
More From David Sloma:
MIB Files: Introduction - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Strange Dreams - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Movie Time - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: UFO in the City - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Time Loops - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Bigfoot Hunter - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Meltdown Liquidator - Tales of the Men in Black
MIB Files: Driller - Tales of the Men in Black
Brainjob (novel)
Greyland: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bases) – Book 1
Oceandeep: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bases) – Book 2
Rescueplan: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bases) – Book 3
Moonbase: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Under
ground Military Bases) – Book 4
Wormwood: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bases) - Book 5
Destroyer: D.U.M.B.s (Deep Underground Military Bases) - Book 6
Deathsun 2012 (novella)
David Sloma - Short Stories Volume 1
Chewy, Gooey, Fruit Things (screenplay)
DEATHSUN 2012 (screenplay)
BOI MEETS GRL - a vampire screenplay
ONE JOURNEY (short screenplay)
The Cask Of Amontillado (a modern screenplay of the Poe classic)
KHAOTICA (screenplay)
A Conspicuous Medium (poems)
Nonfic 1 (nonfiction collection)
Robot Town (novella)
Saving My Rotting Cactus (a guide)
Cyber – Parts 1 to 4 (short story series)
Taken Away – Parts 1 to 3 (short story series)
Plus, several other short stories.
Get the latest titles on the author’s Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/David-Sloma/e/B00CIC65S4
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Find out more at: http://www.davidsloma.com
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