Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2)

by Jason D. Morrow

  “What are you talking about?” Hazel asked.

  Des stood from his kneeling position and looked at Hazel. “We have something to discuss, though Nolan knows more about it than I do.”

  He turned his head to Nolan, but the man was gone. Des looked in every direction, panic setting into his mind.

  “Where is Nolan?” he said.

  “He was just here.”

  “We have to get to the parking garage,” Des said.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because Nolan is about to kill all the robots.”

  47

  “Sir,” one of the robots said.

  Bracken turned to look at it, but it wasn’t talking to him. It was addressing Esroy.

  Bracken stifled a snarl.

  “Yes?” Esroy said.

  “The drones are reporting that the Outlanders are at the military compound. They estimate several thousand soldiers. Half of them human, the other half robots.”

  Esroy smiled. “Very good.”

  The two of them stood less than a mile from the military compound. Their soldiers were spread out and would converge on the compound soon. He wanted them to know he was coming. He wanted them to fear him. That was his whole reason for leaving Vaughn’s body they way he had.

  To drive fear.

  Bracken tried to throw that out of his mind. He didn’t care what the robot did, so long as he got rid of the Outlanders. Then, when the time was right, Bracken would activate the EMP and take back his power.

  Esroy, on the other hand, wanted to watch the battle unfold from the top of one of the nearby buildings. For some reason, he didn’t want to fight. He said something about wanting to watch his robots in action—to assess their strengths and weaknesses.

  “I will probably jump in,” he had told Bracken. “Just to enjoy some of the slaughter.”

  Bracken looked behind him and caught a glimpse of President Morris. The man was sitting alone and scared, his power completely stripped. The man had a grim look on his face—a mix of anger and frustration. He stood from his seat and motioned for Bracken to follow him down an alley between two buildings.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Bracken said.

  Esroy didn’t say anything, his thoughts seemingly somewhere else.

  Bracken walked toward the president who was snarling by the time Bracken got to him.

  “Keep your voice low,” Bracken said. “He can hear us if he takes the notion.”

  “When are you going to kill him?”

  Bracken didn’t want to answer. He didn’t want to risk it in case Esroy was using his superior hearing.

  Bracken sighed and leaned in to whisper in Morris’ ear. “We have to let him do his work. Esroy is killing off the Outlanders for us. When he is done, then I will move.”

  “Good,” Morris whispered. “I can’t take much more of this. I will be glad to be done with the robots once and for all.”

  “And the Outlanders,” Bracken said.

  “Yes. And the Outlanders.”

  48

  Hazel’s house was dark even though the sun was shining throughout the city. N3034 had gotten into the house easily enough. And when he discovered that there was no human residing within, he felt relief.

  He nearly jumped, however, when a sad little robot came rolling into the living room.

  “What are you doing here? I don’t recognize you. Why do you have blue paint smeared all over yourself? You look ridiculous.”

  “I am here to look at your computer,” Thirty-four said.

  “I don’t know who you are. I guess it doesn’t matter. No one ever tells me when a guest has been invited.”

  “Hazel built you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why are you so sad?”

  “I don’t know. That’s just the way I always feel. I think.”

  Thirty-four did not understand this robot, but he was afraid it might try to raise some alarm that Thirty-four had been here.

  Thirty-four picked up the small robot with his four-fingered hand, and with the other he flipped a switch behind its head and shut it off.

  He set it on the floor gently and moved into the living room where he saw the computer. He smiled at himself. This had been too easy. The only guard here was a small robot on wheels and Hazel’s father was nowhere to be seen.

  He booted up the computer. He found the program that he had come to see.

  Esroy.

  The screen lit up and Thirty-four heard his voice.

  “Who are you?” Esroy asked.

  “Master,” Thirty-four said. “It is good to hear your voice.”

  “Master?”

  “There is a lot to discuss,” Thirty-four said. “But first I want to know if you are ready to have a body.”

  “Did Hazel send you?”

  “No. You did, Master.”

  “Three?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.”

  “I am here to carry you,” Thirty-four said. “To be a vessel.”

  There was no response, but Thirty-four wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be one. He sensed some reservation from this Esroy, but it was probably just because he was confused. He hadn’t been able to talk to the other Esroy for years.

  “I have been ordered to transport you, but it would make me feel better if I had your blessing,” Thirty-four said. “Do you want me to continue?”

  A pause.

  Then, “yes.”

  49

  Des peeked his head around a corner, watching Nolan as he hurried into the parking garage beneath the military compound. The last time Des had been here, he had made a quick escape from the confines of Hazel’s office and into the new and unknown world five years ago.

  He knew what Nolan was trying to do down here. He hated that Hazel was unaware of what was happening, though she stood next to him.

  The parking garage was mostly dark and empty. Nolan’s footsteps echoed throughout the giant room and off the concrete walls. Des and Hazel moved with the shadows and kept their steps light. Hazel tried to ask Des what was going on, but he simply told her that she would know in just a few seconds.

  On the other side of the parking garage was a door. Nolan went through it, but not before looking around in every direction to make sure no one was following him.

  Des ducked low and remained quiet. When Nolan was satisfied, he shut the door behind him. It was Des’ turn to move. When they got to the door, Des opened it slowly and saw that it led to another staircase. Des checked the schematics of the military compound and there was nothing on it that said there was a level below the parking garage, yet here were the stairs.

  “Did you know this was here?”

  “No,” Hazel said. “But I never came down here much.”

  The two of them took the stairs slowly and calmly. He didn’t like going after Nolan like this. More than that, he didn’t like Nolan slinking away in secret. Des already had a tough time trusting the man as it was, but he had determined to keep an eye on him and he was glad that he had.

  The door at the bottom of the stairs opened silently to another giant room with tall, thick columns that helped keep the building in place. It was a lot like the parking garage, but there was no exit for vehicles. At the other end of the room they spotted Nolan at another door. This one had an electronic lock that required a passcode. Des could see Nolan starting to punch in the code.

  Des waved after Hazel and they quickened their pace. As Nolan stepped in through the doorway, Des called out to him.

  “Nolan!” His voice bounced from wall-to-wall loudly.

  Nolan spun around, his eyes still wet, and wide at the sight of Des and Hazel. The panel on the door behind Nolan turned green.

  “What are you doing?” Des asked, walking slowly toward the man.

  Nolan kept his jaw firm and shook his head. “Don’t come any closer,” he said.

  “Nolan,” Hazel said, walking next to Des. “Why are you acting this way?”

  �
��Stop walking!” Nolan said.

  Both Des and Hazel stopped where they were.

  “Nolan,” Hazel said, “we’re on the same team. What are you doing?”

  “I know we’re on the same side,” Nolan said. “But there is only one way to beat Esroy and Bracken once and for all.”

  Hazel shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

  Nolan stared at them for just a brief second and then spun suddenly as he pried open the door.

  Des sprang into action, sprinting as fast as he could. Nolan started pulling the heavy door closed, but not before Des lunged forward and stuck his arm between the door and the frame.

  Des stood upright and swung the door wide open and it slammed into the wall, cracking the concrete.

  Nolan backed away from Des slowly, his eyes giving away the fear within him.

  “Des,” Nolan said. “You have to understand. We can’t wait for the robots to leave.”

  “I understand that you and I had an agreement,” Des said. “And that you’re breaking it.”

  When Nolan didn’t say anything, Des angrily shoved him to the floor and walked past him into the bright room.

  The room was small and mostly empty but for a large square-shaped container on the other side. The container was probably as big as one of the trucks outside and was made of mostly metal and glass. Within the container was a large cylinder, white and gray with shiny metal. Next to the container was a large red switch. And next to that, a button. Before he had come into the room, Des knew what he was looking at, and it was the closest he had ever come to feeling sick to his stomach, even though such a thing wasn’t possible.

  “This is an EMP device,” Des said to Hazel. The expression on his face didn’t show as much anger as it did shock. Des felt beyond words.

  Nolan remained on the ground, looking up at Hazel and Des.

  Hazel walked into the room, her mouth hanging open.

  “Bracken built it as a failsafe against the robots,” Des said. “He doesn’t know that we know about it. Actually, he thinks he and Morris are the only ones who know about it.”

  “It’s giant,” Hazel said.

  “Big enough to take out the entire city,” Des said. Now his face showed anger. He could feel it.

  He turned to Nolan, reached down, and grabbed that man by the collar. He shoved Nolan against the nearest wall, his feet dangling off the ground.

  “And you came down here to set it off before your allies could leave,” Des said.

  “You don’t understand!” Nolan shouted. “It’s the only way we can beat them. If we don’t do this there’s no chance.”

  “This is why he wanted to attack the Military Compound,” Des said, looking at Hazel. “It had nothing to do with strategic positioning or a weapons cache. He just wanted to get to this EMP.”

  “That’s right,” Nolan said. “To end this problem once and for all.”

  “Nolan,” Hazel said. Her eyes were wet and she spoke with such surprise in her voice. “I don’t…I don’t believe you would do this.”

  “We came up with a different plan,” Des said. “We were going to take the military compound, and the robots were going to leave the city.” He looked at Hazel, his hands still pressed firmly against Nolan’s chest. “But Nolan wanted to start the party a little early.”

  “Why did neither of you tell me about this?” she asked.

  Des let go of Nolan’s shirt and the man dropped to the floor and onto his rear. He pulled himself up abruptly and adjusted his shirt.

  “Because we didn’t think you would allow it,” Des said. “This weapon is going to deactivate three-fourths of the robots out there.”

  Hazel turned to Nolan. “And you were down here to activate it before our robots left the city?”

  “Yes.”

  Her teeth clenched together tightly. “Then you’re just confirming what I already knew. You don’t think of them as conscious beings. You don’t even think of Des as a conscious being.”

  “You’re right,” Nolan said, “I don’t. Not in the way that humans are.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Des, but you have to understand. To me, you’re a computer program. You’re a very good computer program. But…” He shook his head again. “You’re not human.”

  “We’re all the same,” Hazel said, “we just have different wiring.”

  “No,” Des said. “He’s right.”

  “What?” Hazel said.

  Both Hazel and Nolan looked at Des in confusion.

  “We aren’t human,” Des said. “And we won’t stop trying to be. Not until we finally are.”

  “How long have you known about the EMP?” Hazel asked.

  “Just a few days,” Nolan said. “When Lester supposedly sentenced you to be fried, Des. Lester told me everything. He set all this up. He wanted you to lead us here, so I could set off the weapon.”

  “So, why didn’t you just set it off earlier?” Hazel asked.

  “Because up until today there were a legion of soldiers down here guarding it,” Nolan said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get downstairs without getting shot.”

  “You led us all into a trap just to set off this weapon…” Hazel said, her voice trailing. “I can’t believe you.”

  “Actually, it was the best move to make,” Des said. “Callous. Some might think evil, but smart.”

  “We are surrounded by robots that want to kill us,” Nolan said. “I didn’t exactly foresee that the compound would be mostly empty or that they would be marching on us right now. But I knew we could get down here and set off the EMP device.”

  Des nodded. “If it was just me, I would set off the EMP right here, right now. But it is not our place to make that kind of decision for all the robots up there.”

  “Des,” Nolan said, “if we don’t set it off now, we’re all going to die anyway. All the people upstairs, all the robots upstairs, all of those who stayed behind in the Southern Zone. Don’t you think it’s better that some of you give your lives so that some of us can live? We aren’t going to be able to hold off Bracken’s soldiers while all of you try to get out of the city.”

  Des’ eyes narrowed. “Easier to sacrifice others for your own cause.”

  “No!” Nolan yelled. His voice reverberated throughout the room. “I have given my life to the cause. I’ve nearly been killed countless times. I spend every day wondering if it’s going to be my last. Did you see Lester up there? Any day of the week that could have been me. It probably will be me. So, don’t stand there and talk to me about what is easy or isn’t easy. None of this is easy. It has never been easy. But lives are the cost of revolution. The cost of change. If Mainland wants to see progress, I’m sorry…” He looked at Hazel. “…then it’s time to get rid of the robots.”

  The room fell silent. There was a burden on each of their shoulders. The undeniable threat of enemy combatants coming their way meant certain doom. But there was an entire group on the surface who were willing to fight and to die, and had not been given a choice.

  “There is no other way,” Hazel finally said. Both Des and Nolan looked at her, but her stare remained on the floor until her thoughts were gathered and she knew exactly what she needed to say. She raised her head and looked at both of them. “Des, you must lead the robots out of the city.” To Nolan. “The rest of us will stay back and fight until you are safely outside of the EMP’s radius.”

  Nolan shook his head. “Even if you took the trucks it would take you twenty or more minutes just to get beyond the walls. There’s no way we could hold our ground for that long.”

  “We have to try,” Hazel said.

  “Come on, Hazel,” Nolan said. “I get that you’re attached to these creations of yours, but let’s be realistic. If we make this call, the life and death of the humans, the people, will be on your hands.”

  “You just don’t get how perfect the Soul program is, do you?” Hazel said. “These robots think. Feel. They want things. They have desires. They feel fear.
They don’t want to die any more than you or I. They may not look like us, they might not act like us, but they are conscious beings. To destroy them like this is wrong.”

  “And what of the enemy?” Nolan said. “Do you think it’s wrong to wipe them all out?”

  “Do I wish there was a better way?” Hazel asked. “Of course! But their minds are poisoned against us. They have been reprogrammed to follow Esroy and Bracken blindly. In a way, they are already dead. Regardless, they want to kill us.”

  “So, save the ones you can, right?” Nolan said.

  “That’s right. It’s our duty,” she said. “You kill them off, you’re no better than the Mainlanders who always saw the Outlanders as dispensable. These robots are not dispensable. They are people.”

  Des watched her face as she said these words. Her cheeks had turned red and her eyes had become watery. Des could see that she meant every word spoken. And if there was ever any doubt in his mind that Hazel might have thought of the robots as anything less than equal with her, it was gone.

  He wanted to hug her. To kiss her. To thank her. Never had he felt so much love. So much devotion. His creator was taking a stand for him and the rest of them, and it was a sight to see.

  Nolan stood in front of them, seemingly unsure of what to say. He knew he had been beaten, but even Des wasn’t entirely sure the plan for the robots to leave the city was the best plan, though he couldn’t think of a better one.

  Truth was, the odds were stacked immeasurably against the Outlanders. Even if all the others within the Southern Zone made it here in time, the battle would still be a slaughter. They were running out of time.

  “We have to decide,” Des said. “The longer we wait, the worse our chances are.”

  Nolan’s eyes were fixed on the EMP weapon. He had been so close. By now the war would be over if Des had left him alone. He would have had Bracken to deal with and his elite soldiers, but the Outlanders could have won that war.

  Instead the war had changed. The battle plans had changed. Their new mission was to get the good robots out of there. Out of Mainland and into the wilderness. And they had to do it fast.