Prototype Exodus (Prototype D Series Book 2)

by Jason D. Morrow

  Des and Hazel waited for Nolan’s answer. Des glanced at Hazel who had a firm grip on her rifle. He knew she was waiting for Nolan to make his own decision before she was forced to make the decision for him.

  But in the end, Nolan relented on his own accord.

  “I think it’s suicide,” Nolan said. “But if this is the new plan then we better get to it.”

  “I will assemble the soldiers,” Des said.

  He started toward the door but stopped when he reached it. He looked to Nolan and Hazel and motioned for them to walk through.

  “After you,” he said.

  50

  It had been a tough speech to give, but Hazel gave it gallantly and with as much passion as the one she had given to Nolan only minutes before. Both robot and human seemed confused by the new information, however.

  Nolan was on comm with the soldiers within the Southern Zone and the robots that had been left there were already on their way out toward the edge of the city.

  The soldiers here, however, were more confused and a lot less keen on the idea of sending away more than half of their troops. But that sentiment was shared by humans and robots alike. The robots wanted to stay and fight, and the humans didn’t wish to be overrun.

  “But we are going to be overrun, regardless,” Des said.

  “Coming from a robot,” someone shouted out.

  “Coming from a robot who is going to stay and help you,” Des said.

  Hazel turned her head sharply. “What? No!”

  Des held up a hand and spoke to her quietly. “This is not a discussion. I have already decided.”

  “But…”

  Des shook his head and turned back to the crowd. “Our scouts are saying that the enemy is about twenty minutes out. If the robots leave now, the rest of you will only have to hold for ten minutes.” Des stared out over all of them, trying his best to look each of them in the eye. “Ten minutes,” he repeated. “You can barricade yourselves within the compound. Make it as hard for the enemy to get through as possible. And I will be there with you.”

  People throughout the crowd looked at each other, mumbled to each other. Ten minutes didn’t sound as impossible as thirty minutes.

  “Are you sure there is no other way?” a voice shouted from the crowd. It was an N-series robot, covered from head to toe in blue paint. “We want to stay and fight. We want to fight with you!” A resounding yell of agreement boomed through the crowd of robots.

  Hazel stood beside Des and set her hand in his. He looked down at her, happy to feel her warmth.

  “When I look at all of you,” Hazel said, “I don’t see human or robot. I see Outlanders, because that is who all of you are. Some of you were born with skin. Others of you were born with wires and metal. But all of us were born with a consciousness. All of you were born into oppression. Some of us will die in the next half hour. But if we don’t go with this plan, all of us will die in the coming days. I don’t see this as a choice, rather I see it as the only way.”

  The crowd remained silent as if they had to let the information sink in. Des watched them. There was no anger here. No one was yelling out that the robots were cowards. The simple fact was that the robots would not live if they stayed. This was their only chance to beat Bracken and Esroy and each of them knew it.

  A man near the front of the crowd walked up the stairs, and about midway he stopped, sniffed, and turned back to the crowd. “Ah, for crying out loud, let’s stop wasting time and get on with it!”

  The crowd erupted in agreement. The robots headed for the vehicles while the humans started up the stairs.

  Hazel spun toward Des. “You’re not staying here,” she demanded.

  “It isn’t your choice,” Des answered.

  He walked past her, coldly walking toward the entrance of the compound.

  Hazel remained where she stood, but Des did not look at her.

  “You can’t do that,” she said.

  Des could hear that a lump was forming in her throat as her speech strained.

  “I made you to live, not to die.”

  Des stopped near the entrance and turned to look at Hazel. Her eyes were wet and tears had drawn trails through the dirt on her face. “You have to go with them. They need a leader. They need someone to take them out of here. They don’t know as much as you do. What if they get trapped? They will need you, Des.”

  Des looked from side to side and then took soft steps toward her. “I have sworn to myself that I would protect you,” he said. “I’m not going to leave your side in a battle like this. Esroy and Bracken are coming and they are lethal. Esroy doesn’t care about you anymore.”

  “I don’t need your protection, Des. I just need you to lead the robots out of here as soon as possible. The sooner you leave, the sooner our battle is over.”

  “I’m staying,” Des said. “I’m sorry.”

  Des turned to go back through the entrance, but he came face-to-face with Nolan.

  “Stop being such a jerk, Des. Can’t you see it will break her heart?”

  “Better a broken heart than her death,” Des said. He shoved past Nolan.

  “And there it is!” Nolan shouted.

  Des stopped again and turned toward Nolan.

  “That is exactly what makes humans and robots different.”

  “What?”

  Nolan shook his head. “Robots have no concept of love.”

  “And what about me?” Des said. “You don’t think it’s love that drives me to stay behind and sacrifice myself to make sure Hazel is safe?”

  “It’s devotion, that’s for sure,” Nolan said. “But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. I think you don’t want to live. I think you’re tired of seeing so much loss and pain. You’re afraid to keep going because you know that you might not ever get the chance to die.”

  Des said nothing as Nolan walked toward him.

  “Staying behind is the coward’s way out,” Nolan continued. “You want to stay behind because you’re afraid of what the future looks like. You would rather die saving Hazel because you can’t imagine living if she isn’t.”

  Nolan’s words stung. How the man could speak with such perception was something that Des did not understand. He spoke mostly the truth, but it was a truth that Des had not necessarily accepted until now. It was true that he didn’t want to live in a world where his maker was no longer alive. But that was the nature of being a robot. Death didn’t come through natural causes. Des would live forever and everyone else would pass on. To die today would be his release—that emotional release that he so desperately needed. This was his way to be human.

  But there was another part of it. Nolan wasn’t entirely correct. He did, for some reason, feel a strong duty to Hazel. He felt like it was up to him to keep her safe. He felt like that was the true reason why he had been made.

  “Des,” Hazel said. “There is a strong chance that the robots will be overtaken as they try to exit the city. They don’t have the experience you do. You know how to fight. You know how to get out of here better than they do.”

  “I think you underestimate them,” Des said.

  “No,” she said. “You underestimate yourself.”

  Des stood there as the two of them watched him. He had to make a decision. The robots were already driving away toward the outer wall.

  “Please, Des,” Hazel said. “If anything, do this for me.”

  “Fine,” Des said. “I will take them out of the city, but under one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We make a copy of me.”

  The three of them rushed through the halls. Des wasn’t so far behind the robots that he couldn’t catch up, but if he didn’t get out soon, he wouldn’t have much of a choice but to stay.

  Nolan and Hazel were out of breath by the time they reached the robotics lab. Des broke open the door and jogged into the dark room. It was empty of people, but the junky room still looked like it was in need of a good cleaning.
Junk piled in every corner, electronics rested on desks that were filled to capacity.

  “Des, what are we doing?” Hazel said, trying to catch her breath.

  “I think I know what’s going on,” Nolan said.

  “Where do they keep the old prototypes?” Des asked hurriedly.

  “Follow me,” Nolan said.

  He ran toward the back of the small warehouse until they reached a large room.

  “Which one do you want?” Nolan asked.

  “Prototype B,” Des said.

  “What are you doing?” Hazel asked as she walked into the room.

  Des sat on a table as Nolan typed in a command on one of the computers. On the other side of the room, a large compartment opened from the wall and a nearly identical robot to Des stepped out into the open.

  “I seem to be having a malfunction with my optics,” Prototype B said.

  “What about Prototype C as well?” Nolan asked.

  Des shook his head. “C had trouble figuring out his enemies.” He looked at Hazel. “Right?”

  She shrugged. “It’s a problem that might have been fixed with Soul, but I’m not sure.”

  “Too much of a risk,” Des said. “Prototype B, come over here,” Des said.

  The blind robot did as he was told. There had been three prototypes before Des: A, which had been fried in an EMP chamber more than a week ago, B who had never past initial testing because of optic corruption, and C whose programming was screwed up when it came to differentiating enemies.

  “Don’t say my name until you’ve finished what you need to do,” Nolan said. He looked at Hazel and shrugged. “Old archived memory. Still thinks I’m a wanted man.”

  Prototype B stood in front of Des. Des was pleased to see that the robot didn’t stumble. There were ways for it to see without having to use its eyes. Heat sensors, frequency monitors, advanced hearing, and superior hand-to-hand combat programming made it possible for this to do just about anything but shoot at a target. Even then, Des was sure he could handle the task.

  “We’re going to program you with Soul,” Des said to the robot.

  Des inserted a transfer cable into the back of his own head and another into the back of Prototype B’s. Then there was a connector cable that joined the two together and straight into the computer terminal where Nolan and Hazel stood.

  “I think this is more your area,” Nolan said to Hazel.

  She stepped in front of him and took over the controls. “Des,” she said. “You do know what you’re doing, right?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “You’re making a copy of yourself that is meant to die,” she said.

  “I know,” he answered. “And he will know, too.”

  “You are staying within your Prototype D body,” Hazel said. “Your copy is going into Prototype B.”

  “Yes,” Des confirmed.

  Hazel shook her head. “I don’t like this. We’re still creating another being. It’s still you that is dying.”

  “Just one of me,” Des said with a smile. “I will remain alive, however.”

  Hazel sighed. Des knew this wasn’t what she wanted, but these were the conditions of him leaving. He had to leave a version of himself behind that would take care of her. That was the end of it.

  The copy finished, and Prototype B stood in front of Des, seemingly perplexed.

  “Prototype B,” Des said. “Can you hear me?”

  “Of course I can hear you,” B said. “I can’t see you, though I can sense you.”

  “We have to be clear,” Des said. “What is your main objective?”

  “It’s me, Des,” B said. “I am you.”

  “What is your main objective?” Des repeated.

  B looked toward Hazel and could register her heat signature. Des knew he could sense the objects in the room as well. He was fully capable, though he did have a disadvantage.

  “To keep Hazel safe at all costs,” B said. “And to set off the EMP when the robots are safely out of the city.”

  “And we will be on the s—”

  “Same comm frequency to make sure we are in sync with each other, yes.”

  Des was satisfied. But one question remained. He knew that this was a different being altogether. Already, this Des, Prototype B, was having a different experience than Prototype D. His experiences would shape who he would become. B would have anxiety about his impending death. D had no reason to fear that any longer.

  “You know that you were created just to die,” Des said. “That your life will be only a few minutes long?”

  There was a short pause as B seemed to reflect on Des’ words. Des tried to think about what he might be feeling on the other side of this conversation.

  “I understand,” B said. “This is what I was made to do. This is my duty.”

  Des nodded and looked toward Hazel and Nolan. It was time to leave.

  51

  The open-backed trucks rumbled forward. Bracken and Esroy stood together near the front of the convoy. But it was more than just a convoy. There were hundreds of vehicles, spread out among the streets as they converged on the compound. Their pace wasn’t fast, but steady. The night before, Esroy had ordered the mufflers removed from every vehicle so their coming would be loud and pronounced. He wanted to drive fear into their enemies.

  Bracken saw this as a pretty good fighting tactic. And surrounding their enemies like this had been a bold, and perhaps smart, move. But that didn’t change the fact that Bracken didn’t like it one bit.

  The more authority Esroy gained, the hungrier he became for the death of the Outlanders, the more Bracken’s influence slipped away. He knew that Esroy would try to kill him at some point. First there was Vaughn. Morris would be next. Then Bracken. The end game was for Esroy to take out all the leadership and steal power for himself. Esroy hadn’t said as much, but Bracken knew. He knew mostly because that was his own plan.

  But Esroy wanted to work with Bracken for now, and Bracken assumed it was for this battle, and maybe for the next battle where they would wipe out the Southern Zone.

  Bracken’s plan had been a simple one. Allow Esroy to destroy his enemies, then Bracken would destroy the robots. He now realized, however, that the longer he waited, the less chance he would have of actually getting to carry out the mission. Therefore, he needed to get to that EMP as quickly as possible. Though Esroy would be successful at destroying Bracken’s enemies, the robot would soon realize that his need for Bracken was limited, and that actually keeping him alive was a risk.

  But Bracken had given no indication of his thoughts. He had shown some natural displeasure at Esroy’s taking of command, but mostly he had stayed back and let the robot do what he wanted.

  Esroy stood next to him in the bed of the leading truck. There was a smile on the robot’s face. Bracken knew it was because everything had gone to plan and everything would go to plan. This battle had already been won before it had even started. The Outlanders were never a match for the sheer force of robots against them. They had tried to upload the new program into all the robots, but Esroy had been quick and the Outlanders had gotten some of the robots on their side. Bracken supposed there was no other way but to fight it out. Fight until they died.

  Bracken, along with Esroy, was more than happy to send them on their way.

  “I wish I could have seen their faces when they found Vaughn sprawled across the floor,” Esroy said.

  Bracken looked up at the robot and tried to hide his disgust. To think that Esroy was dwelling on that fact disturbed Bracken. Why wasn’t Esroy thinking about tactics and the way to victory? Instead, he was musing about the reaction to a dead body. This was where Esroy’s personal feelings got in the way. Though driving fear into the enemy was good, Esroy seemed more concerned about reveling in their reactions, rather than the strategic advantage it would gain.

  “I’m sure they are terrified,” Bracken said.

  Esroy held up a finger and turned his head. He was getting a comm
signal on a different frequency than the rest of the convoy. This was a personal message from somewhere else.

  “What do you mean the robots are leaving?” Esroy’s hand balled into a fist. “It’s a diversion. They—” He paused.

  Bracken tried not to look up at him, but he kept his ears alert.

  “I see,” Esroy finally said. “Thank you for letting me know, Thirty-four.”

  The comm must have cut out, because Esroy stopped talking. He stared straight ahead for a long moment before turning to look at Bracken.

  “That was Thirty-four, my insider,” Esroy said. He stared down at Bracken with intense, robotic eyes. Bracken had never seen a robot shake with anger before, but that is what Esroy seemed to be doing.

  For the first time, Bracken felt genuinely afraid for his life. The trembling within his own fingers came back.

  “He tells me that the robots are breaking loose from the main group,” Esroy said. “They are leaving the city from both the Southern Zone and the military compound.”

  “I don’t understand,” Bracken said.

  “I think you do. They are leaving because they found something underneath the military compound.”

  Bracken stayed silent.

  “An EMP weapon. Large enough to take out the city.”

  Bracken swallowed, and he hoped Esroy couldn’t see his shaking hands.

  “You knew about this all along,” Esroy said. “You told me it was another nuclear weapon.”

  Bracken continued to stare straight ahead. The vehicles were getting closer to the compound. He was only minutes from it.

  “It was a failsafe created a long time ago,” Bracken said.

  “Then why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “Because I wanted—”

  “To use it against me,” Esroy cut in.

  “No!” Bracken said. He tried to keep his anxiousness at bay, but he was failing. He knew the robots could sense a rise in blood pressure, a change in breathing patterns. Esroy could see right through him even atop the rumbling truck. “I just…it was just a safety measure.”