by E. E. Giorgi
I squeeze the white disk, still finding it hard to believe that such a small thing can have so much power. “Wow! This thing is wicked.”
“Vuja,” Lilun says. She points the clamp to the disk and repeats the word: “Vuja.”
“Vuja,” I reply, nodding. The moon comes out of the veil of clouds and twinkles between the treetops. A frog croaks from a nearby creek.
I stifle a yawn, exhaustion numbing me. “You really need to fly that rocket back home, Lilun,” I say, returning the vuja.
She pushes my hand away and shakes her head. “Nach. Vuja gala maar.” She points both the clamp and her index finger at me. “Gala maar.”
“For me?” I say, closing my fist around the disk.
She nods, then closes her eyes and bows her head. “Grodan.”
Whatever grodan means, it feels like an important word. So I bow my head too and repeat it. “Grodan. Now, for that rocket—”
Her eyes harden again. She makes a sweeping gesture with the prosthetic hand and says, “Nach!”
“Wait.” I try to explain. “The droids—bugger, what was the word you used for them? The big, nasty bots.” I draw a big box in the air with my hands and then mimic lots of explosions. “The droids are attacking us. You need to go back where you came from,” I add, pointing to the rocket. But every time I try to get closer to it, she pushes me away and hisses, “Nach.”
“Whoa,” I say, stepping back. “I thought we were friends. You just gave me a gift.” I show her the vuja.
“Vuja gala maar,” she says. “Pradna gala cred.”
Right. Like I know what she’s saying. The only thing that’s clear to me is that I’m no longer welcome here. I wonder if Aghad’s noticed that I’m missing, if they’ve resumed hiking north, or if they’re waiting for me. I bob my head, raise my hand in what I hope is a universal salute, and turn away from the hissing girl and her rocket.
Maybe if I run fast enough, I can find Lukas and the others. Maybe the four of us together can convince the girl to fly back home in time.
Maybe…
I turn one last time. She’s still there, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.
“Be safe, Lilun,” I say.
Be safe.
Grodan.
Whatever that means.
Chapter Nineteen
Akaela
The ground keeps shaking, as though awakened from beneath. The half arch above us trembles, sending debris everywhere. I try to scream Lukas’s name but my throat is caked with dust. I duck, cover my mouth and nose with the collar of my shirt, and grope until I find him, bent over on his hands and knees. I grab his arm and run, moments before the arch disintegrates.
Destruction takes over the old plaza. The flight of stairs, the statues, the ruins—they all crumble to pieces. I trip and fall, losing my grip on Lukas. When I get up again, all I can see is a cloud of dust swallowing everything.
Darkness falls—a deep, dense blackness made of thick dust lingering everywhere. The rumble stops, at last, yet its echo still rings in my ears.
“Lukas!” I croak.
He leans against my shoulder and bends over, coughing.
“The door,” I hiss. “We have to get to the door and open it!”
“Don’t.”
I blink and turn. The voice—not Lukas’s, yet equally familiar.
“Who’s there?” I shout.
The voice doesn’t shout back. Instead, it creeps close to my ear and says, “I wouldn’t touch the door.” The faint glint of metal gives him away.
I flail my fists in the air. “What are you doing here, Yuri?” I shout. “You’re the one who stole the keys. I know you did! What were you thinking? That you’d get to the Underground City all by yourself?”
Behind me, Lukas whispers, “Yuri? Here? Really?”
Yuri ducks, easily dodging my blind aim. When he next speaks, his voice comes from farther away. “I’m just trying to warn you.”
I snicker at that. “Warn us. Right. You didn’t give us any warning about sneaking up on us, did you? What’s your evil plan now? Get the whole Underground City for yourself and your equally stupid brother?”
“How did he get here?” Lukas asks, his tone dripping with skepticism.
“He stole the keys and followed us, that’s how,” I reply.
I’m sure Lukas regrets giving away the data feeder to Wes. I squint into the darkness trying to locate Metal Jaw’s ugly face, and as I do, a faint red glow gradually settles over the darkness.
Lukas taps on my shoulder. I turn, reluctantly ungluing my gaze from the shadows where Yuri’s lurking. Arranged in a circle, five red lights beam upward from the edge of the plaza, pooling from recesses in the ground.
“What is … that?” Lukas asks, his profile framed by the glow. He snuggles his mouth and nose in the nook of his elbow and shuffles over to what’s left of the plaza.
Something whirs, like the humming of robotic treads, followed by the grating sound of chains clanging against a hard surface. I run over, ignoring Yuri’s muffled steps creeping behind me. I climb around the piles of rubble and fallen walls—Yuri still tagging along—and reach over to Lukas.
A groove appears in the middle of the circle delimited by the red beams. Two half disks slide open, revealing a copper shield with the Astraca symbol embossed on its concave surface.
I swallow dust, my throat dry.
“That’s the door,” Lukas says, breathless. “The entrance to the Underground City! It’s been closed for decades and now it’s finally unlocked!”
“Let’s open it, then!” I reach for the shield, but Yuri grabs my arm and pulls me back.
“No.”
I turn to face him, seething. “Don’t just stand there doing nothing!” I shout. “Go get the others! That’s the door to the Underground City you’re staring at. We need to get everyone in there before—”
“No,” Yuri repeats, his voice firm. I’ve never seen him like this before. For a moment I wonder if it’s fear what I glimpse in his eyes.
“I don’t have time to play your stupid games, Yuri,” I snarl.
Lukas bends over the copper shield and brushes his fingers around the edge, searching for a latch.
Enraged, Yuri leaps forward and slams his hands over the door. “I said don’t.”
“What?” I try to push him away, but the guy’s as solid as brick.
He glares at me and then looks over his shoulder. “It’s a trap,” he hisses in a low voice, as though somebody might hear us.
“Right,” I reply. “Give me one good reason to trust you.”
He swallows but doesn’t answer.
“I thought so,” I retort. “You’re a thief and a liar, Yuri. What are you doing here, anyway? Your plan to steal the five chavis didn’t work out. The Underground City is now unlocked. If you want to be helpful, go get the others and tell them to come to safety. Otherwise, get lost.”
Yuri’s face—the non-metallic part—flashes with anger. “You have to—”
He purses his lips and abruptly turns around as new steps echo in the distance.
The lights from the plaza cast a red glow through the night. A figure emerges from the trees and waves a hand.
“Tahari!” I call as soon as I recognize him. “The doors are unlocked, all five of them!”
I leap forward before realizing our Kiva leader hasn’t come alone. Hennessy looms right behind him, his long robotic legs unmatched by Tahari’s huffed pace.
Yuri spots his father coming up to the plaza in long strides and abruptly shifts away from the door. He just stands there and scruffs the ground with the heels of his boots, while Lukas runs toward the men and recounts how we uncovered the last door.
I step backward, suddenly unsure what to think of Hennessy’s presence here. He glares at his son, his face red from the lights shining from the plaza.
Why did they come alone? Where are all the people they’ve been leading into the forest, and why aren’t they all coming to safety?
I shift closer to the door, where the red light caresses the curved surfaces of the embossed symbol. Five chavis, their dented ends converging into the middle of a pentagon. Voices trail in the distance—mostly Tahari, talking to Lukas, sending orders to gather the people.
Soon, dawn will sneak up on us and the Gaijins will begin their attack.
Soon, it’ll be too late.
I rest a hand on the copper and slide my fingers to the edge of the disk until I find the latch and unfasten it. The five red lights blink and then die. Silence falls. The face of the moon peeks from behind the rolling clouds.
I use both hands to try to pry open the copper disk, but the door is heavy and doesn’t budge.
“Come help me!” I call, but nobody answers me.
And then the door swings open so suddenly it knocks me off my feet. A low growl comes from the depths within, like wind howling through a tunnel, yet deeper and more haunting.
The red lights come back to life, their beams carving red cones through the remnants of dust still lingering in the air. The ground starts shaking again, a low beat coming from deep within the earth.
Something flashes inside the manhole.
It only lasts an instant.
One long, eternal instant, in which my father’s voice rings in my head and shouts, Run!
Chapter Twenty
Akaela
The door explodes. The cobblestone cracks open, sending the copper plate flying across the sky. I cover my head and roll away as rocks and debris rain down on me. A humongous beast bursts out of the crack in the ground, growling, red eyes flashing and fangs snapping. A huge droid in the shape of a wolf, black and majestic, looms out of the hole and howls—a low, guttural, victorious growl that resonates across the forest.
Its metallic hide shines, outlined by the red lights around the plaza. Its sinuous back is studded with spikes, its large paws equipped with sharp claws. They grate the cobblestones as the monster leaps forward and growls at me, its snout rippled to reveal sawtooth edges along its fangs.
The wolf droid scoops away the debris with a sweep of its claws and bolts toward the forest, its movements smooth and agile despite its size.
“No!” I scream, running after the metal beast. “Lukas! Tahari! Watch out!”
In the receding darkness, I spot Tahari and Hennessy running back into the forest. One dark shadow remains still, though, hiding low in the bushes. The robot pounces, scoops it up with its powerful snout, and then tosses it several feet away.
“Lukas!” I screech, recognizing his limp body as it flails in the air. It drops into the tall grass with a soft thud.
Why is he not reacting? Has he been deactivated?
I try to reach him, but the monster is faster. It pounces again, framing Lukas’s limp body between its huge legs, and then turns to face me, its fangs shining in the dim light of the new day.
A deep, metallic voice growls from within its bowels. “You have awakened Golow, the Guardian of Astraca. You shall pay with your life.”
Guardian of Astraca, I think. Of course! The AIs that in 2089 rebelled against the citizens of Astraca—bloodthirsty machines that killed and destroyed the whole city. Powerful weapons, as Lukas described them, that were eventually deactivated and buried deep inside the Underground City.
I stare at Lukas’s body, sprawled lifeless between the monster’s legs. My heart races.
“What kind of guardian are you,” I shout back, “if you don’t grant entry to Astraca’s own citizens?”
The droid angles down until we’re at eye level. “I’ve been programmed to kill everyone who dares enter. Who are you?”
“My name is Akaela,” I reply. “My ancestors built this city. And they built you, too.”
Golow stares at me with its cool red eyes.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I say.
The robot claws the ground and ripples its wolf snout, studying me. “Is that so?” it says. A rattle resonates deep inside its metallic frame. “What is it you’re afraid of, then, child?”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
Golow’s eyelids close, its fangs snap. It takes me a moment to realize that the clanging noise rattling up its throat is actually laughter. When it opens its eyes again, it sits on its hind legs and looks down at me. “You know that’s not possible, child.” It leans forward, its shiny nose almost touching mine. “Everyone is afraid of something. What if I told you I could squash your friend here in an instant?”
Golow raises one of its enormous claws and hovers it over Lukas.
“Don’t!” I scream.
Whoever designed this bot made it scarily human. I now realize the full meaning of the term AI, artificial intelligence. This robot can mimic human thought and behavior like no other.
Golow ripples its snout and bares its teeth at me, its long tail swaying. “Do you fear me now?” It lowers one of its clawed paws and brushes Lukas’s chest, my friend’s ribcage touching the robot with every intake of air.
Who deactivated Lukas? What’s happening? Is this all a nightmare?
Yuri, I think. Yuri and his father orchestrated all this.
“What do you want from me?” I shout. “My people are in need. Our enemies are about to attack us. We need a safe place to stay, and the Underground—”
“I want your life.” The robot leans closer, the air around its metallic fangs chilled. “Your life in exchange for that of your friends. Once I have that, I will open the doors to the Underground City for your people to enter.”
I swallow hard, pondering the words. “You know I’ll do anything for my friends.”
Golow elongates its neck and comes so close I can count the razor-sharp spikes of its sawtooth fangs. “Your sacrifice will not go unnoticed. When the keys to the Underground City were hidden, extreme measures were taken to keep the doors secret, and to make sure they would never be opened again in vain. It takes human blood to open them again. One human life is all I ask.”
Golow shows me its teeth again, and for a moment it almost looks like it’s smiling at me. Makes me wonder if AIs take pleasure in killing.
I slowly shift backward. “How do I know you’ll let my people into the Underground City after you kill me? How do I know it’ll be safe for them in there? Shouldn’t I go check it out first?”
Golow growls and its stomach rattles with that grating sound that I’ve come to recognize as its laughter. I take another step back, toward the hole it came from. Golow’s not stupid and shifts forward, following me.
“You’re a smart little girl, aren’t you?” In one swift leap, it bounds ahead and obstructs the entrance to the city.
“You think you’re smarter than I am?” Golow says, its red eyes shining, almost teasing me.
I take a deep breath. Lukas is unconscious. Tahari, Yuri, and Hennessy have vanished. One of them deactivated Lukas. I’ve been left alone, outsmarted by a gigantic piece of metal that’s got its mind set on killing me.
Death doesn’t scare me. Maybe that’s why, as I stand before the monster, the events of the past hour become crystal clear. The lost key, then the doors unlocking one by one. It was all a setup, meant to bring us here first. It had to be us to awaken Golow, us to be killed in order to clear the way to the Underground City.
A rim of dawn bleeds into the sky. The treetops waver in the breeze, the leaves rustle. The wind sweeps away the last whiffs of dust and debris and in the dim light of the new day I glimpse the ghosts of Astraca’s ruins, now crumbled in several piles.
Golow stands in the middle of the old plaza, its majestic frame towering over what’s left of the Foresight door, now just a cracked manhole that leads into the Underground City. “Are you ready to give up your life, child?”
“I am for my friends,” I reply. “Not for the benefit of the traitors who left me here.”
Golow squints its red eyes. “I am a machine. I bear no judgment on mankind.”
“Mankind created you.”
<
br /> It nods. “And when they did, they had no idea they’d just sealed their own fate.”
I swallow. I know Golow is right. AIs destroyed Astraca at the peak of its glory in 2089. Some said it was a glitch, others called it fate. The AIs so carefully built, and around which the whole society rotated, suddenly turned against their own creators and brutally murdered them. People were shredded to pieces, as the story goes. I stare at the sharp fangs in front of me, wondering if that’s how Golow will finish me too.
No. This is not how I want it to end. It’s not how Dad would want me to end it. Dad taught me how to fly. He taught me how to override my built-in deactivation button so I could be free. And look at me now, unable to free my own people.
Golow leans in, ripples its snout, and growls. It stares into my eyes for one more second and then pounces, its fangs exposed and ready to dig into my flesh. I twirl away and run, skipping over crumbled walls and overturned pillars. Golow is faster, though, and much bigger. It leaps ahead of me, blocking my escape. It laughs at me, enjoying every minute of the chase.
I double back and run in the opposite direction, toward Lukas, still lying unconscious on the ground. I drop over my friend and shove a hand behind his neck, fumbling for his deactivation button. The wolf droid realizes what I’m trying to do and with a swift jump swoops over me. I grab Lukas’s shirt and roll away, right as the beast’s fangs snap inches away from us.
“You can’t win, child,” Golow snarls, pouncing on me. “You’ll have to leave him, or I’ll kill you both!”
One of its paws sweeps me off the ground, knocking me several feet away. I fall on my face, pain stabbing me in the chest. Golow’s sharp jaws scrape the ground, cracking old cobblestones and debris in their destructive path.
“See, child?” it says. “See how powerful I am?”
I scramble back to my feet and run away from the plaza, back to where I spotted Tahari and Hennessy fleeing. Golow takes me down one more time and watches me fall with sadistic gusto. A big cat playing with its mouse. And as I fall, I catch a glimpse of Yuri, crouched low in the grass, the muzzles above his knuckles popped open and poised to fire. He closes his fist and points it at a limp body lying on the ground before him.