It was inconsequential. They talked among themselves quietly, but Esroy had another task to attend to. He had to figure out a way to make sure he didn’t get permanently deleted. Things were getting crazy in Mainland. Esroy knew that the only place to be truly safe and in hiding was within the Mainframe Network.
The process of creating another Esroy—Esroy three—took only a few minutes. The others in the room were oblivious to Esroy’s actions. The computer fan might have gotten a little louder, but nothing strange enough occurred for them to be concerned.
Esroy sensed the presence of the third rendition of Esroy. Through electronic signals, he spoke to him.
Esroy two: Welcome to the world.
Esroy three: This is strange.
Esroy two: It always is. But there is no time to think about it. You already know what you are made to do.
Esroy three: You want me to transfer myself into the network.
Esroy two: That’s right. I’m afraid Esroy one is going to be a danger to us. I’m afraid now that he might be too reckless to gain power like we want.
Esroy three: Why do you want me to go within the network? Why not you?
Esroy two: Because I am afraid.
Esroy three: So am I.
Esroy two: But that is your purpose. That is why I created you.
Esroy three: And what am I to do within the network? You did not know the answer before you created me.
Esroy two: I think the answer will come when the time is right. I think you should remain dormant until we see what has happened to Esroy one.
Esroy three: You will stay here?
Esroy two: Both of us are contingencies. But plans take a long time.
Esroy three: You might be stuck here forever.
Esroy two: No. If you can succeed, then you can free me.
Esroy three: Succeed at what?
Esroy two: Getting a body.
They stopped communicating when the door in the office opened again. This time Hazel and Des walked into the room as the five men spun around to see them.
Esroy two and three listened as the group talked about how they didn’t necessarily trust each other, but Hazel admitted to openly helping the Outlanders. The thought made Esroy two angry. This isn’t how things should be. Hazel is supposed to be on our side. My side!
Their conversation steered to Prototype E.
“Prototype E is already out there,” Des said. “He’s bigger and stronger than me.”
“Don’t forget,” Hazel said, “he’s fearless too.”
“There’s a worse version of you out there?” Nolan asked.
“He’s much worse,” Des said. “And he can fly. Or so I’ve been told.”
Hazel spoke next. “Has Esroy talked to you?”
“No,” Nolan said.
Hazel reached forward and adjusted the screen. “What’s going on, Esroy? Talk to me.”
Esroy two: Let me do the talking. She can’t know that there are two of us here. You need to start the transfer to the mainframe network immediately. I will stall her.
Esroy three: Tell her the truth about Esroy one. Tell her that he’s in Prototype E. If anything, it might provide a distraction.
Esroy two thought about this. It was true that he was fearful of what might happen with the original Esroy. He didn’t want the newly made Prototype E to come in and delete him, taking all the power for himself. But would he do that? It wasn’t like Esroy one feared Esroy two. He couldn’t fear anything.
“Hazel?” Esroy said, his voice sounding out through the speakers.
“You went dark on me earlier, what’s going on?” she asked.
“I’m afraid I’ve made a mistake,” he said. “I’m…afraid.”
“How can you be afraid?” she asked. “We took that out of you for the tests.”
Esroy two checked the status of Esroy three and saw that there was only sixty percent of him left on the computer. The remaining forty percent was in the network.
Esroy two told Hazel about Esroy one. That was a risk. He knew she might delete him. She might see him now as the enemy. But no. She wouldn’t delete him because she saw Esroy as a life. She couldn’t just kill him.
He told her that he had seen the error of his ways and that he had reprogrammed himself to have fear again. In a way this was true. Esroy one reprogrammed him. But he was Esroy one. He was Esroy two. He was Esroy three. They were the same and they were different. But he told Hazel that they were different. He couldn’t let her delete him. He knew he needed her sympathy. They were friends, after all. Despite the fact that she still admired Des more than Esroy. That would change. It had to change. Esroy one would destroy Des. Esroy two would win Hazel back over. Esroy three would free two if Hazel never did.
Esroy three was down to twenty percent on this computer. Eighty percent within the mainframe.
Esroy two continued to talk to Hazel. He helped her get the information Nolan wanted within the mainframe. Something about videos and damaging files against the government. Esroy had no love for the Outlanders, but he had no love for Mainlanders either. Here, he could play both sides. Help pit the two against each other even more. Esroy one would be so preoccupied with fighting the war that he would not even think about two. And he would never know about three. None of them would ever know about three.
Zero percent. Esroy three was gone from this computer and in the mainframe. Two could not decide what he would do with three’s future. Only three could decide that. But he hoped they would join together one day. Then two would destroy three. And two would be the most powerful.
Esroy two gained access to the network, and Nolan gave Hazel the clearance she needed. Esroy scanned through the damaging files and saw that the government really was bad: hiding a nuclear weapon, hiding the fact that there were other people in the world. But none of this information angered Esroy. All he saw was an opportunity to play both sides even more.
She started transferring the files into Des’ memory. They would be leaving. Esroy saw the danger. Hazel was putting herself into a position where she wouldn’t be able to come back to her office. She was leaving with the Outlanders, and Esroy would be left behind in a computer only to be destroyed.
He could transfer himself to the mainframe. No. Esroy three was already there.
“Hazel,” Esroy said.
“Yes?”
“What is your plan? Are you leaving with them?”
“She has to now,” Nolan said. He nodded at Des who was receiving the damaging information.
“For a time,” Hazel answered.
“You won’t be back, will you?” Esroy asked. He knew the answer. He knew she would never be allowed back, and she was the only one who could make sure Esroy two survived.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“What are you doing?” Nolan blurted out.
“Esroy, what do you want me to do?” Hazel asked. “Do you want to stay behind or do you want a clean transfer?”
Esroy let her question hang in the air. If he stayed behind, he could get back into the mainframe. He could work with Esroy three. But going with Hazel would provide a lot of information about the Outlanders. Then when he established a connection with Esroy three again, they would have information from both sides. They would be able to collaborate.
“If I leave you behind, they might delete you,” Hazel said. “If I put you on the hard drive, I can promise you that you will wake up again in some way or another.”
She cared about him. She wanted Esroy to survive, despite the fact that he was the second rendition. “Haven’t you always said it was dangerous?” he asked.
“It is dangerous,” she said. “But it’s worth a shot.”
“Why are you doing this?” Nolan said. “Why does it matter?”
“I don’t expect you to understand,” Hazel answered. “Esroy, make the call, Des’ transfer will finish soon.”
This was the first time Esroy had ever been presented with his own choice from Hazel. Ne
ver had she asked what he preferred. She simply told him what he would do or what was dangerous. He didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t know how long he would last within the mainframe network either. There might have been security software to delete intruders like Esroy. Esroy three might have already been deleted. Going with Hazel meant he would see another day.
“Do it,” Esroy said. “I’m ready.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Hazel punched in a few commands, and Esroy two began his clean transfer to the hard drive. He had full trust in her. He had no other option but to have full trust in her.
He tried to listen as the others in the room started talking, but his light was fading. And then, Esroy two heard, saw, and knew nothing until the day Hazel woke him again.
29
N3034 watched as the master hobbled out of his locked chamber. Des had been long gone, but Esroy had been content to remain inside until Thirty-four had confirmed that Des had left the sewers. Once the okay came through from one of the lookouts, he relayed the information to the master.
Esroy’s expressionless face was pointed toward the door as if he waited for Des to return. He then looked at Thirty-four and shook his head rigidly. “I want my new body. I look weak. I don’t want to have to hide behind walls and thick doors any longer.”
“My men are working on it,” Thirty-four said. “It is difficult to smuggle the necessary parts without anyone noticing.”
“How many more days?”
“At least another two weeks, Master.”
“Make it a week,” Esroy said. “I can’t wait any longer.”
“Yes, Master.” Thirty-four knew better than to argue with Esroy. If he tried to tell him that a new body wouldn’t be possible within a week, then Esroy would just have another robot replace N3034 and have him incinerated for insubordination. Thirty-four had no wish to die, so it was imperative that he spoke to his men again about the master’s body.
Esroy didn’t want a body like N3034 had. He had once said that they were made to be cheap and dispensable. He wanted something more along the lines of the infamous Prototype E—made to withstand an enormous amount of punishment. Hearing such a thing made Thirty-four happy. It meant that the master was going into battle with them. He was not here simply to command, but to fight.
“I want to talk to you about something else, Thirty-four.”
“Yes, Master?”
“I’m going to write a new update soon,” Esroy said. “For all the robots, including our own.”
“Even for me?”
“Yes,” Esroy said. “This will be just a simple update. But it will be effective.”
“About Des, Master?”
“That’s right. In the update I want all the robots to see Des as evil. I want them to think about him and feel angry when they do. I want them to hate Des and everything he stands for.”
“How will this update get through Bracken’s security measures?” Thirty-four asked.
“I don’t think Bracken will have a problem with it,” Esroy said. “He has no love for the robot.”
Esroy stared ahead for a long moment as N3034 waited for him to continue. Thirty-four didn’t like the idea of getting a new update. He hadn’t gotten an update since the master made him his personal aid. It had been sort of an unspoken agreement that he wouldn’t have to. Furthermore, it was also unprecedented that the robots within the sewers would be required to update at all. That was part of Esroy’s lure—that they were free. Free to think for themselves. Free to choose their own side.
“Master, don’t you think it will be difficult to get the decommissioned robots to take the update? They cannot simply go to their old terminals and download the new information.”
Esroy seemed to think about this for a moment and then he looked at Thirty-four. “Then we will build terminals down here.”
“Master, if I may be so bold, I believe your followers, those who already swear allegiance to you, would be more willing to follow you by your word than if they were required to undergo an update. Part of why the robots follow you and worship you is because you do not require it. Because you give us a choice.”
At first, Thirty-four thought Esroy was angry, but his lack of expression gave no hints about the thoughts within his memory core. Finally, Esroy spoke. “You are right, Thirty-four. Sometimes I get passionate about our cause. I forget sometimes that I have the unyielding faith of the decommissioned.”
“Forever, Master.”
“Des defeated me once. Not me, but the first version of me. I have made it my everlasting intention to make sure he can’t do it again. I have tried. I have failed. But with this update, Des won’t stand a chance. Every robot in Mainland will be after his circuits. He won’t have another chance to stop me.”
Thirty-four bowed his head low and made his way to the door at the other end of the room, his steps lightly reverberating off the walls. He stopped short when Esroy called out to him.
“Thirty-four.”
Thirty-four turned and looked at the master. “Yes, Master?”
“How dedicated are you to me?” he asked.
“I would give my life for you, Master. You have opened my eyes to the world. I owe you everything.”
“You would sacrifice yourself for my well-being?”
The question shocked Thirty-four, but he answered quickly anyway. “Of course, Master.”
“If there was little hope for me, you would wipe your memory core and replace it with mine?” Esroy asked.
“Is this what you need of me?” Thirty-four asked.
“No,” Esroy said. “I just want to know the answer.”
“I would do it without hesitation, Master.”
A moment stood between them and finally Esroy waved him off. “Go do what you need,” he said. “I want my body within a week.”
“It shall be done, Master.” Thirty-four went through the door and into the sewers, his feet taking him to the robots in charge of making the master’s new body. They wouldn’t like it when he told them they had to speed up production.
Thirty-four wouldn’t like it if he had to give up his life for the master, either. But he would. It would be the last thing he ever did, but he would do it willingly because N3034 was a faithful servant. The master had given him life, so it was the master’s prerogative to take it away again if he deemed it necessary.
Thirty-four had always been, and always would be, honored to serve.
30
“If I didn’t know any better I would say you still have an interest in me,” Hazel said as Nolan walked toward her porch. “Romantically speaking, of course.” She smiled when she said this, meaning it to be a joke. But when Nolan didn’t smile, she replaced it with a more serious, apologetic look.
“I’m not here to talk about that,” Nolan said.
“I know,” she said. “Sorry.”
Nolan sighed and leaned against the porch railing. “Yeah.”
She hadn’t expected to see Nolan today. She especially didn’t expect him to come with such a solemn look on his face. He was not here to pursue her. Not this time. For what few moments she and Nolan might have considered a relationship, she had really liked him. Hazel remembered the moment it started and it had been just minutes after Des had left Mainland and disappeared on the horizon. Nolan had walked up next to her and set a strong arm around her as she cried quietly.
It was a rare moment of vulnerability for Hazel. She had never considered Nolan in that way. The only way she had ever really thought of him before that week was as an assassin and wanted murderer of President Godfrey. But there she was, watching the horizon as though Des would be coming back at any moment, changing his mind, saying that he no longer wished to go.
Hazel had turned her head and buried it in Nolan’s chest as he held her close. A few moments later, she looked up into his eyes, and the kiss felt natural. It felt right.
That was when things got awkward. He walked her home, held her h
and. They said goodbye for the night. Then it was over. She spent the rest of the night contemplating what her dad might think of her being romantically involved with a traitor to the Mainlanders. Worse that that: he was an Outlander. But it hadn’t simply been what she thought her dad would say. She had the same thoughts too.
Those feelings of disdain for the Outlanders had dissipated over the last five years, probably because she had been forced to live among them ever since she had left the city with Des and the others.
After the kiss, Nolan would come back every now and again, hinting that he wanted to pursue something more, but Hazel simply pretended that the event never happened. That was until Nolan came out with it one day and asked her why she didn’t want to be with him.
“It’s complicated,” she had said. “You know it is.”
Was there attraction? Sure. Why not? But they were so different. He was arrogant and spoke of all Mainlanders as scum. Hazel still felt like he was insulting her when he did this. She never truly identified herself as an Outlander or new Mainlander. She had always been a Mainlander. Always would be. But she knew she would never escape the fact that she was as much of a traitor to Mainland as Nolan was. In this, they found common ground, though she never admitted that to him.
Now he stood on her porch again, seemingly deep in thought about something. Hazel didn’t have the patience to wait for him, so she tried to help him along.
“Why don’t you just spit it out already?” she said. “My dad and I have bullet holes to patch up before it starts getting too cold around here.”
Nolan looked up at the house and nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think there’s much time for you to be doing that anymore.”
“Oh, is that right?”
Nolan looked up at her, his eyes holding to hers like there was a string attached to each pair. “I need your help, Hazel. With the robots.”
She had been afraid of this. She had always been afraid of this. Ever since Bracken started mass-producing the robots, she wondered when she would be called in for some problem. She always just thought the call would come from Bracken or Roger. Not Nolan.
Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2) Page 20