Des looked down, knowing there was no talking to a man who was so set in his ways. Bracken had never taken the time to sit down with an Outlander, to see what one of them was really like. If he genuinely wanted to see who these people were then he would see that they were different, yes, but that they ultimately wanted what everyone else wanted. But Bracken didn’t want to see them as people. He wanted to see them as scum. He wanted them to be the enemy. Because with no enemy, Bracken would have no purpose.
When the door opened on the other side, Des looked up quickly. Another robot walked through and whispered something in Bracken’s ear. The microphone must have been shut off because Des couldn’t hear anything through the thick glass. He watched Bracken’s face turn angry with a snarl at his lips. He said something to the robot that Des couldn’t determine, throwing up his arms at the same time.
Bracken seemed defeated when the robot left. He looked up at Des like he wanted to kill him. Des knew Bracken had already wanted to kill him, but this was different. There was a level of disappointment that Des had never seen in Bracken before.
Des waited for an explanation, but it didn’t come, at least not from Bracken. The man stood from his seat, opened the door on the other side, and walked out.
A few minutes later, one of the robot guards leaned over Bracken’s table and pressed a button. Des looked at the robot’s identification tag on his shoulder. It read N1063. “You have been requested at a meeting within the next few minutes.”
“With whom?” Des said.
The robot hesitated, probably unsure if he was supposed to give out such information. “With the president.”
“Which one?”
“Both of them.”
Good, Des thought. At least Vaughn would be on Des’ side. He had never encountered President Morris, but he didn’t think he would get very far with the man he nearly ruined five years ago. Because of Des, the man had lost some of his power and now had to share it. Because of Des, Morris had spent the last five years playing catch up. Des, of course, didn’t take all the credit for it. There were a lot of factors and Des had been one small, but very important part.
On the other hand, Lester Vaughn owed Des. Without him, Vaughn would still be starving in the wilderness, barely surviving on Mainland supply raids.
“N1063,” Des said.
The robot hesitated. “Yes?”
“Do you feel like you are treated fairly? Like a person?”
N1063 looked at the robot behind him, but the other offered no show of support.
“We’re really not supposed to talk to detainees.”
“I’m sure,” Des said. “But I am no ordinary detainee.”
“I am aware.”
“Have you never heard of me? Des? Prototype D?”
“I really can’t talk to you.”
“Yes, but you have free thought. You have the ability to think for yourself. Who are they to tell you that you can’t talk to me?”
N1063 looked at the other robot again and the other robot shrugged. “All your questions can be answered in the meeting, I’m sure.”
“Have you ever heard of Esroy?” Des blurted out.
N1063 stared at Des, not moving his hand from the microphone. “Yes. I have.”
“What do you know about him?”
“Sixty-three,” the other robot said. “I think we should go.”
Sixty-three didn’t move. “He is the first of us.”
“Is he still alive?”
A long moment stood between Sixty-three and Des. The two stared at each other while the weaker robot contemplated Des’ question. Sixty-three wanted to answer, but he didn’t seem to think he should.
“What if I told you that I was Esroy?”
“I wouldn’t believe you,” he said.
Des leaned forward in his chair. “Why not?”
Sixty-three shook his head and moved away from the microphone. He motioned for the other robot to leave the room with him and the two shut the door behind them.
Des was left alone in the room until another set of robots would come in and take him to this meeting. He wondered if he would be heard or if they were just going to kill him.
20
“You have no right to take Prototype D out of my custody,” Bracken seethed, standing above Nolan.
But Nolan didn’t back down no matter how much the general tried to tower over him. “I have every right,” he said. “It’s my job to carry out the president’s wishes. When he tells me to do something, I do it with his authority. Des is no longer your problem.”
Nolan brushed past Bracken and made his way down the hall. Bracken stayed close on his heels. “And what exactly is happening?”
“Well, I imagine you will be reprimanded for your display of lunacy in the Southern Zone today,” Nolan said. “You might want to think about that next time you decide to light up a house.”
“Oh, I get it, I might have hurt your girlfriend, is that it?”
Nolan spun on his heel to face Bracken, and Bracken nearly ran into him. Nolan held up a finger. “You don’t have as much power as you think you do. You can’t just go around shooting at people like it’s nothing. That’s not how this place works.”
“What do you know, Outlander?” Bracken said the word as if it was a foul thing to say, his top lip curled as the word escaped his mouth.
“I know that it’s your antics that are going to start another uprising,” Nolan said. “But that’s probably what you want, isn’t it?”
“I never shy away from a chance to kill Outlanders.”
“And that’s the problem,” Nolan said. “You’re pathetic.”
Bracken stepped forward. This time when he spoke, his voice was low and menacing. “What’s pathetic is this administration. Two presidents, are you kidding me? It doesn’t work. If it was dysfunctional before, it’s broken now.”
“That’s it isn’t it? You’re trying to force the Outlanders into fighting you?”
“I welcome the opportunity.”
Nolan shook his head. “It’s people like you that make the world hell. People like you set the world on fire.”
“You’re wrong,” Bracken said. “People like me rebuild worlds after they burn. It’s people like you who hinder the rest of us.”
Nolan set his jaw firm and continued down the hall with Bracken following. He wished the general hadn’t been invited to the meeting. It didn’t matter. Des was about to be set free. Then it would be business as usual—another day of simply trying to keep Mainland from erupting.
This was an odd meeting. At the large, rectangle table sat the two presidents, Morris and Vaughn, opposite of each other. Nolan sat next to Vaughn across from Bracken who was still fuming. At the end of the table was an empty chair that waited for a robot that had no idea what was truly going on. Truth was, Nolan didn’t really get it either.
The meeting was Vaughn’s idea. Something about clearing the air. A question still loomed in Nolan’s mind: who ordered Des to be arrested? He looked at each person at the table when he asked.
“It certainly wasn’t me,” Lester said. “I had every intention of bringing Des in for questioning, but not in this fashion.”
“I brought Prototype D in on my own,” Bracken said with a stuffy smile. “It was reported that an unmarked robot had robbed the drugstore.”
“So, naturally you thought of Hazel and the prototype robot she made five years ago,” Nolan said, nodding sarcastically. “There couldn’t have been any other explanation. On top of that, you thought it best to lay waste to her house.”
“There was some resistance,” Bracken said.
“So, if we went to every one of your men,” Nolan pressed, “then each one would tell me that Hazel and her father, a blind old man no less, were resisting?”
“Without a doubt,” Bracken said. He stared at Nolan with cool eyes that dared him to keep going.
Nolan nodded as he bit his lip. “Makes sense why you don’t usually work with robots.
Your men will lie for you.”
“That’s enough,” Morris said, glaring at Bracken. “Both of you. I’m sure this isn’t why you called this meeting.” He looked at Lester.
“Of course,” Lester said. “If I may introduce our guest.” He stood and motioned at one of the robot guards in the corner. The robot nodded and went out the door.
“You’re bringing Prototype D in here?” Bracken said, a scowl on his face. “To kill the two of us, no doubt.”
Lester Vaughn didn’t acknowledge Bracken’s words. Instead he kept his eyes fixed on the door until they opened. In came Des surrounded by four robots, each with his wrist barrels aimed at him. Nolan smirked, thinking the robots assumed they were safe. Des could break any of them in half and be out of custody in minutes. But to ease the minds of Morris and Bracken, a set of handcuffs—a special kind that could only be removed through magnetism—were secured around the robot’s wrists tightly. Nolan wasn’t sure if they were strong enough to restrain an angry prototype like Des, but it seemed to calm Morris who had wide eyes when Des first walked through.
“Des,” Vaughn said, motioning to the chair at the end, “please have a seat.”
“I am surprised that you have all made time for me,” Des said as he walked across the room and sat gently in front of the others. “I hope we can resolve some outstanding issues.”
“And just what do you hope to resolve?” Bracken said. “The only satisfactory resolution is to deactivate you. You are a rogue who cares nothing for the law.”
“And when have you, Bracken, shown admiration for the law?” Des said.
“Enough,” Vaughn interjected.
“In answer to your question,” Des said, “I am hoping we can resolve the issue of the nuclear bomb—the explosion that killed my people.”
“Listen to it,” Bracken said. “Talking about people as though he were born like the rest of us. You don’t have people, robot, you were made to serve people.”
“I’m curious why I’m just now hearing about any of this,” Morris said. The pale skin of his brow creased below his slicked back hair. His deep set eyes had dark bags under them, showing his exhaustion. Nolan thought the man probably hadn’t slept well for the last five years. He motioned toward Des. “I learned of the situation with the bomb, but only about twenty minutes ago,” Morris said. He looked toward Lester Vaughn. “Another reason this partnership isn’t working are the secrets. We can’t keep hiding things like this from each other.”
“There was no hiding,” Vaughn said. “Only verification on our part.”
“There is little doubt in my mind,” Nolan said, “that the coordinates for the nuclear strike were changed in the last minute before the launch. That means it was done on purpose. Someone within our administration knew there were people out there and they were targeted.”
“Well, I hope you’re not looking at me,” Morris said. “I never thought launching the missile was a good idea.”
Lester glared at Morris, but didn’t say anything. Nolan shook his head. “Something has to be done.”
“And just what do you think needs to be done?” Bracken snapped.
“Did you get footage of the blast zone?” Des asked Lester.
Lester nodded. “We did. What you have told us is true. We don’t know why it happened, but we can, in fact, tell you that it happened.”
“Then you need to own up to it,” Des said. “All of you. You need to play the footage to the people and show them what you’ve done.”
The room was silent. Even Bracken didn’t say anything. Each of them just stared at Des either like he was crazy or just stupid.
Morris was the first to break the silence. “You know that can’t happen, don’t you?”
“Why not?” Des said. “This government has a history of corruption. This is an opportunity to continue to show the people that you take ownership of your mistakes.”
“The city would tear us apart,” Bracken said. “It would be chaotic.”
“You would tell the people and then you would resign,” Des said. He looked toward Lester and Nolan. “All of you.”
Nolan was surprised to hear this coming out of Des. He knew the robot was unhappy, but if he expected them to just go along with his terms, then the robot was truly malfunctioning.
“Why are you here, Des?” Lester asked the robot. “You know you’re coming in here with a request we aren’t going to grant. We’re not just going to give up our positions. We have work to do. We are trying to accomplish something.”
“Tell that to the people in the Southern Zone,” Des said. He nodded at Bracken. “Tell that to Hazel and John.”
“Well,” Morris said, “we don’t agree with what you want.”
Des nodded. “I understand. I simply wanted to give you the opportunity to accept what I had to say.”
The room fell silent again, each person looking at another briefly as they shifted in their seats. Finally, Lester Vaughn cleared his throat. “Des, I know you are a person who desires peace. Above all you are a person who desires justice. But what it sounds like to me is that you want us to expose the truth about what happened and resign, or you are going to do something about it. It sounds like you’re threatening us.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” Bracken said sharply.
Lester held up a hand. “Let Des speak.” He turned to Des. “Is that what is going on here? Because, frankly, I don’t think you’re in much of a position to be dealing out threats.”
Des held up his bound wrists, showing the thick pieces of metal to the group at the table. “You are right,” he said, “you have me as a prisoner. There is little I can do if you want to keep me here or deactivate me. But am I wrong when I say that robots have rights? I have not been formally charged with any crime.” He turned to look at Bracken. “You took me in, but never charged me because you don’t want the publicity. How would that look? Robot who stole medicine for a dying man is arrested…” Des shook his head. “You would make more people angrier than they already are.”
All at the table were silent again. None of them could dispute Des’ words, but Nolan wanted the robot to shut his mouth. What Des didn’t realize was that he was building a case against himself. He knew Lester Vaughn probably wouldn’t do anything to Des, but Bracken and Morris would have Des deactivated in a heartbeat. Was that what he wanted? Was that what he was trying to do?
“You started a revolution,” Des said, looking at Lester and Nolan, “but you never finished it. You got into a position of power, but your people are still suffering after five years. What happened to you? How is it that I left after the Outlanders’ heroic efforts only to come back and find them even more oppressed than before they came here?”
“Everything takes time,” Lester said.
Des shrugged. “Time is up. Change is happening no matter what you do. I fear it’s too late for any of you.”
“We don’t have to sit here and listen to this,” Morris blurted. “Change is coming for you, Des. Not us. Thanks to Bracken here, we’ve got a backup system. We’ve got the robots. There won’t be any rise against us with our military power.”
“And what happens when the robots rise against you, too?” Des said. “What happens when they realize that you’ve been wiping their memories with your so-called updates?”
Nolan looked up at the robots in the room who glanced at each other. He wondered what they thought of this conversation. Was Des recruiting them then and there right under their noses?
Lester must have had the same thought, because he leaned back from the table and shouted at the robot guards, “Leave us for a moment. Close the door behind you.”
The robots looked at each other again and did as they were told. Lester pulled himself back to the table and sighed. “Des, we have a backup plan for things like that. We knew it was a possibility from the beginning.”
Nolan looked at Lester, his eyebrows turning downward, but Lester didn’t acknowledge him.
“Ar
e we not on the same side?” Des asked Lester.
“That’s up to you.”
“I expect all of you to admit what you did. That you made a mistake.”
“And we admit it,” Lester said.
“Publicly.”
Lester shook his head. “Impossible.”
“Then we are not on the same side,” Des said.
The room fell silent again and the awkwardness of it was getting to all of them. Morris looked agitated, Bracken seemed angry like always, Nolan felt nervous, and Lester was somber, maybe even sad.
“Des, do you know how we deactivate robots?” Lester asked.
Des shook his head. “No.”
“Do you know what an EMP is?”
“Are you referring to an electromagnetic pulse?” Des asked.
Lester nodded slowly. “I am. You see, we take a robot and set it in a room. Then we activate the EMP. Now, these rooms are self-contained and the EMP doesn’t affect anything beyond the walls. In each of these rooms, we have a small EMP generator and we flip a switch from a remote location. Once the switch is flipped, the generator shoots an electromagnetic pulse through the room and it fries any electronic circuits within.” Lester shook his head. “The robot doesn’t survive and nothing from its memory is recoverable. Whatever that robot used to be, no longer exists.”
“Sounds terrible,” Des said.
Nolan watched Lester, wondering why he was telling Des all this. What was the point?
“These are delicate times, Des,” Lester said. “And we can’t just cater to every robot who wants to threaten us. That’s not how things work around here.”
This didn’t sound like Lester, Nolan thought. This was more like Morris.
Lester leaned forward and pressed a button on the intercom. “Guards. Come in.”
The doors opened and the robots came through, ready to take Des away.
“I want you to restrain Des,” Lester said. “And take him to a deactivation chamber.”
Des’ eyes went wide. Two robots grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Des didn’t offer much resistance, not that he would have had time to anyway before the metal netting bound him from the top of his legs all the way to his neck.
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