All the men at the table stood from their chairs and watched as the robots started to drag Des out of the room. Nolan was stunned, his chest beating hard at the injustice he had witnessed, and by the order of Lester. Anger and sadness filled Nolan at the same time.
Finally, the robots pulled Des to his feet and Des walked with tiny steps toward the door. Before reaching the doorway, he stopped and looked back at them, specifically Nolan and Lester.
“Your Outlander invasion was meaningless,” Des said. “You did not care for your people. Just for power.” The robots then shoved Des through the door, and closed it behind them.
Silence hung in the air for a long moment until Bracken turned to Lester and shook his head. “And I thought I was ruthless.”
“I don’t understand why you had to tell him about the EMP,” Morris said.
“He may just be a robot,” Lester said, “But he deserves to know how he’s going to die. I owe him that much.”
“I want a live video feed,” Bracken said.
Lester nodded.
Morris laughed. “I’m surprised by you, Vaughn. I thought you might be partial to the prototype.”
Lester didn’t say anything. Nolan continued to stare at the table.
“I for one,” Morris continued, “am glad this problem with the nuke is resolved. No loose ends, right?”
No one answered.
Finally, Bracken and Morris left the room, patting each other on the back, a show of celebration as another one of their enemies had fallen.
Then it was just Nolan and Lester. Nolan felt like he was in the room with a stranger.
“You want to tell me what that was about?” Nolan said. “I’m seriously interested why you think it’s okay to deactivate Des like that.”
Lester turned his head toward Nolan, a look of worry spread on his face, a droplet of sweat running next to his eye. “Des was right,” he whispered. “Our time is up.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Things can’t keep going this way,” Lester said. “There can only be one leader for these people. What we’ve done is atrocious. Two leaders, two groups of people. We need to truly unite. And I’m not going to let the people unite under Morris and Bracken.”
“What does that have to do with Des?” Nolan asked.
“Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.” Lester sighed. “I’ve got a job for you.”
Nolan wasn’t sure he wanted to do any more jobs for Lester. Could he trust a man who would so quickly turn on Des—their past ally? But Nolan and Lester had been through so much together. Working against him would seem so foreign.
“You don’t have to be a part of this if you don’t want, but if you’re willing to help me I could really use you,” Lester said.
Nolan shook his head. “Use me for what exactly?”
“To continue the revolution,” Lester said. “It’s time the Outlanders claim the city—break free from the Southern Zone.”
“And you think that’s better served with Des deactivated?”
“No,” Lester said. “But Des goes by another name, right? Prototype D?”
Nolan nodded.
“That means there was a Prototype A, B, and C. And they were never programmed with Soul.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is, if Bracken and Morris want a live video feed of Des being executed in an EMP chamber, then we should let them watch it until their hearts are content. Prototypes A, B, C, and D were identical. Get A, B, or C, and Des can go free. Then, we can finish our revolution.” Lester sighed and placed a hand on Nolan’s shoulder. “You have been my closest friend and ally,” he said. “But I’ve been keeping a lot from you. It’s time we talked openly. But not here. Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
21
Four Years Ago
Esroy didn’t know what was worse, being stuck inside a computer terminal or being stuck in a sewer. With his new robot body, he looked around the giant room, its darkness invading every corner but for a small light coming from a computer screen set on a table in the middle. Bracken stood in front of the screen, testing the computer’s connection to the network.
“This is your idea of freedom?” Esroy said, looking around the room. His voice sounded strange to him as it echoed off the walls—raspy and mechanical. He sounded so much like a…like a robot. His body was pathetic, feeble. Wires stuck out in every direction along his arms and legs. His memory core was exposed through the back of his head. One of his legs was shorter than the other. His ocular sensors were not even outfitted with night vision, so everything looked as dark as it actually was. He was less advantaged physically than a human. But no, this was better than being inside a computer no matter how pitiful he may have looked or felt. But he didn’t mind giving Bracken a hard time about this ‘new’ robot body. There was nothing new about it. He was made of parts from various other robots. Failed prototypes of assorted models. It would have been too simple for Bracken to put Esroy into one of the regular soldier robot bodies. Bracken hadn’t wanted to give Esroy a body at all. He said Esroy would serve better in a computer terminal. But Esroy had insisted that he would never be a slave like that again.
Bracken gave in and put together the least effective body imaginable. But Esroy didn’t mind. He didn’t want to look like the other robots. He didn’t want to talk like them. He wanted to be set apart. Different. They needed to see Esroy as a newly risen figure who was picking himself back up. They needed to make Esroy a new body.
Esroy understood this was just Bracken’s way of keeping himself safe from a stronger, more powerful being. If Esroy had been outfitted with the same kind of body that had faced off against Des a year before, then he would be a danger to Bracken. Esroy knew he could have negotiated for something better, but he agreed with Bracken anyway. The decrepit, feeble-looking Esroy offered his own sense of power and mystery. Could he be toppled by a stiff wind? Sure. But his aura would be great, and once the robots learned of who he was—the original, the Adam of intelligent robots, they would make his body. Once they made it, then they would truly be his followers. But like everything else, these things took time.
“I think it’s nice down here,” Bracken said with a shrug. “Drafty, but nice.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Esroy said.
“There,” Bracken said, typing in a command. “You should have unfettered access to the network. Using this terminal, you can talk to me any time, so long as you use the proper channels.”
“What about programming?” Esroy asked.
“Final approval goes through me as we agreed,” Bracken said. “But you work out the robots’ archived memory as you see fit and we will discuss it with each update.”
If Esroy’s face had allowed him to smile, he would have. However, he was fine that it didn’t. His face wouldn’t ever give away his emotions. No one would be able to tell if he was sad or happy, frustrated, or content. For now, this was good. He knew Bracken didn’t know about programming the way Esroy did. Bracken having the final say in whatever Esroy programmed was a joke. This was why it was good Bracken couldn’t see him smiling.
The plan was simple in thought, but complicated in action, and it went something like this:
1. Each robot soldier in every position will go on shifts, just like a human might need a break. But the break times are meant for robots to receive charges if needed, ammo refills if needed, and firmware updates.
2. Firmware updates included a memory wipe of everything non-essential. Esroy will write programming to determine essential and non-essential memories.
3. Each robot will have a limited archived memory. Their memories are limited to:
—laws of the land.
—how to enforce those laws.
—the identification of each robot within each robot’s sector.
—general government operation and official information.
—that General Bracken is their utmost commanding officer.
; 4. Human soldiers will be phased out.
This was the plan. Though, Esroy knew that in the coming years, there would be numbers 5, 6, 7… It was inevitable. What those were, he didn’t know. At least, not for Bracken’s part.
Bracken was out for himself. Esroy was out for himself. But for now, they benefitted from having each other. Esroy knew of Bracken’s plan, for the general was very open about his plans with the robot. Eventually, Bracken wanted to be president. Or at least the dictator over Mainland. And he didn’t want to share power. Sharing power would be lunacy.
And Esroy wanted freedom.
But everyone has their own hidden agendas, Esroy thought to himself. He couldn’t read Bracken’s mind, but he knew the man would try to phase out Esroy eventually. That was the nature of this kind of situation. But for now, he needed Esroy to keep the robots under control.
It was imperative that the soldiers be programmed with Soul. It allowed the robots to make realistic decisions; they could be in charge of a situation without the intervention of a human supervisor. This saved human lives and brought down costs over the years. But with true-to-life human emotions, the robots might see the error of Bracken’s ways and revolt. That was where Esroy came in. He would write the programming in such a way through updates, making Bracken seem greater than he was. He could embed stories of propaganda about Bracken and his heroism. Through coding, he could make the robots think that Bracken’s exploits were something they should keep quiet about as a form of reverence, that it was in bad taste. Esroy would do this in exchange for freedom.
And this…was freedom. The underground of the city was no place one would go looking for a robot programmed with Esroy. There would be no way he would be discovered down here.
Before they had come down here, before the body, almost a year ago, Esroy had asked Bracken what the end game was. At what point would Bracken be finished with Esroy and what would freedom actually look like?
Bracken had sighed and thought for a moment. Then he answered: When I am leader of Mainland, I will give you a new body. A real one. And then I could make you my general or give you some other position of power.
Esroy wasn’t sure he wanted to be Bracken’s general, but he took the information in stride. Esroy’s freedom still revolved around Bracken’s ascension to the throne of Mainland. Esroy was happy to help Bracken rise to power. It meant little to him. He could program the robots to think whatever Bracken wanted.
But Esroy was smarter than Bracken. He knew how to program things that Bracken would never see. He would start slowly. The changes would be so small that Bracken would never find it. But in the end, the robots would die for Esroy, not for Bracken. In the end, Esroy would rule the city, and Bracken would be under his foot. Esroy would be unstoppable. He would destroy all threats to his power. That included any man, woman, child, or robot who opposed him, within the city or away from it. That also included a certain robot who no longer inhabited the city, but instead left it in a feeble effort to find other people who might be suffering in the wilderness.
Esroy would destroy every enemy. He would not be stuck in a box. He would never be left in a computer terminal again. Bracken thought Esroy was on a road to freedom. But Esroy was already free. The road ahead of him led to many things, but freedom had already come.
He was glad Bracken could not see his smile. It might have given away his thoughts.
22
Nolan didn’t have much time. Bracken and Morris were salivating at the thought of witnessing Des’ deactivation. It was strange. Petty, in a way. There was no ceremony. No trial. Just the orders and it would be done. Tonight. That meant Des’ life was in Nolan’s hands and he had less than an hour left.
He rushed through hallways and corridors and snuck past offices and training rooms. He didn’t want to be seen scurrying around, looking like he was up to no good. All he wanted was to get to the robotics lab.
Lester had revealed a lot of things to him, and Nolan’s head still felt heavy with all the new knowledge. Lester had ordered Des’ deactivation as a way to keep Morris and Bracken from suspicion and to buy some time. But more than that, Lester still needed Des. The second president hadn’t told Nolan everything because time was short, but it seemed that the Outlander revolution was not yet over, or was at least about to start up again.
At the end of the long, dark hallway there was a set of double doors. Nolan pulled out his keycard and swiped it against the sensor next to them. He waited for the confirmation and then the click noise of the door unlocking, then he entered.
The giant room was a mess. This was where the military developed and tested prototypes for the new army. This was where it had all started for Des. Pieces of broken machinery were scattered all over the tables. Legs. Arms. Heads. Bolts. Screws. Tools. It was a wonder anyone could find anything in this place, much less develop sophisticated technology like Des.
A few of the lab technicians looked up and took notice of Nolan when he walked through the room. Nolan called out to a man who was about a foot shorter than he was and wore glasses so thick Nolan wondered if they were actually goggles.
“Where’s Roger?” Nolan said.
“Who are you?” the technician asked defiantly.
Nolan shook his head. It was interesting that people were starting to forget his face. Good. But different. “I’m someone who has a keycard to get in here, so that means I have a right to ask for Roger without being questioned. I don’t have time to talk to you about this. Where is he?”
The technician scowled and pointed to a closed office on the other side of the room. Nolan nodded at the technician and started walking through the maze of wires and other parts until he was in front of the door. He knocked loudly and then twisted the doorknob without waiting for an answer.
The man sitting at his computer looked up sharply, a wild expression on his face as Nolan stood over him. Nolan could tell this guy recognized him. The look of fear was that of a man who knew Nolan for who he once was rather than for who he was now. Even though Roger had met Nolan on several occasions, Roger still feared him.
“What did I do?”
Nolan shook his head. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry. He kept a serious look on his face and stared Roger down. “You didn’t do anything,” Nolan said.
Roger’s face didn’t ease into comfort, and he stayed in his seat, his hands in front of him as if he was ready to deflect a blow to the head.
“I need something from you,” Nolan said.
“I don’t know what I can give you.”
“How difficult would it be for you to access Prototype A, B, or C?” Nolan asked.
Roger’s hands slowly fell to his lap as he contemplated Nolan’s question. His hair was messy and stuck out in all directions as if he had just gotten out of bed. His eyes were sunken and dark. “That’s a strange question. I mean, it wouldn’t be that hard.”
“Are they functional?” Nolan pressed.
“They were failed prototypes. They weren’t very functional.”
“Can they walk? Talk? Move around?”
Roger shrugged. “They might be a little dusty but I don’t see why they wouldn’t still work.”
“Get me one of them,” Nolan said.
“Come again?”
“This is from President Vaughn. I need one of those robots.”
“That’s fine,” Roger said. He spun in his chair and faced his computer screen. “I will still need to clear this with General Bracken. This is his department after all.”
Nolan clenched his teeth together and grabbed Roger by the shirt. He pulled the man off his seat and shoved him hard against the back wall. There was a loud thud and then Roger started coughing wildly. “What—” cough, cough, “are you—” cough, cough, “—doing?”
“This one stays off the books,” Nolan said, his fist pressing deeper into Roger’s chest. “You contact Bracken and I will kill you.”
Roger’s eyes widened and he seemed to forget that he ha
d been suffering from a coughing fit.
“If I find out that Bracken learns of this I will personally make sure your entrails hang from the side of this building.”
Roger swallowed, but his face hardened. “You would do that wouldn’t you, assassin?”
Nolan held to Roger’s shirt with both hands now and he pulled Roger off the wall and slammed him back into it. Roger crumpled forward, but Nolan shoved him upward again.
“You aren’t going to say anything about this robot, are we clear?” Nolan pointed a finger just an inch from Roger’s face.
“We’re clear,” Roger said.
Nolan could feel the man shaking underneath his grip and he hated the feeling. Nolan wasn’t a bully. Never had been. But this was important and he was running out of time. Des was running out of time.
Roger didn’t say anything as he shoved past Nolan and opened the door to his office. He kept his head low and Nolan trailed quickly behind, avoiding the eyes of the technicians throughout the room. He hoped no one had heard their little conversation, but he would be in and out of the robotics lab before anything could be done.
Roger led Nolan to a room in the back. He flipped on a few light switches and moved junk out of the way as he pressed on toward a wall full of floor-to-ceiling lockers. Roger parked himself in front of a terminal and typed in a few commands. Within seconds, three of the lockers opened and Roger and Nolan turned to see three robots being pushed out on a pedestal supported by an extendable arm from within the locker. Each of the robots looked exactly like Prototype D, but these were shiny and pristine. Nolan thought this might be a problem. He turned to Roger.
“Are these the only robots of this design?”
Roger nodded. “Prototype D was the last of his kind.”
Nolan bit his lip. “I don’t suppose we could scuff these up at all?”
Roger looked at Nolan and shook his head. “Things would be a lot easier if you would just tell me what’s going on. You know, forcing your way into my office and pushing me up against a wall probably wasn’t the most effective way to get me to do what you want.”
Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2) Page 14