by Gary Naiman
“I am glad you have come.”
The Meta’s voice startled her. Lucinda spun around and stared at the eight-foot robot floating above the staircase.
The Meta eased down beside her. “I ask that you listen.”
Lucinda restrained her anger. “What is this place?”
The amber eye flickered. “This room contains recordings of every Consortium meeting since 2035. The meetings are color-coded according to rank. No access is permitted to recordings above one’s rank.”
Lucinda eyed the iridescent-blue row. “You’re saying my meeting with Tabulek is here?”
“Yes, 0021.” The Meta extended a metallic finger toward one of the blue cubes. “The meeting at which we met.”
Lucinda tried to speak, but the Meta raised an arm for silence. “Our time is short.” The Meta reached for one of the platinum cubes.
“What are you doing? What the hell are you—”
Lucinda dived against the circular wall as the room flashed with deadly ruby light. Three laser beams struck the Meta, but Gog ignored them while snatching the platinum cube from its protective slot.
Lucinda stared at the black smudges on Gog’s metallic skin. Not fatal, but surgically damaging to its deflector shield.
Gog placed the platinum cube on the pedestal. It backed away, its faded amber eye clearly weakened by the laser blasts.
Lucinda pushed off the floor, her eyes locked on the glowing cube. She was working on vapor now.
Humor him. It’s your only chance. Forget the Human Edict. This creature is the most advanced robot ever built and it’s out of control. You could be dead in an instant.
Gog pointed a quivering skeletal finger at the cube. “I ask that you listen, 0021. This is the most important recording in human history.”
The void above the cube came alive with sparkling plasma as the hologram materialized. Seconds later, the void flashed “June 1, 2054” superimposed on an overhead view of the Great Palace’s Reflection Chamber, complete with its black triangular table and twelve seated occupants.
Lucinda’s eyes widened as she recognized the woman rising from the table’s apex, her silver hair draped on her shoulders. It was Sarah Lingstrom, the Consortium’s newly elected Leader who had just replaced its founding father, Sir Thomas Philibin.
Lucinda backed away. “This is insane. We’ll be executed for this.”
“Please listen, 0021...”
Lingstrom rested her hands on the table and eyed her colleagues. “I am honored you have confirmed me as Cohesion Number One. We are deeply sorrowed by the tragic death of our founder, Sir Thomas. Let us remember him...”
Lingstrom lowered her head with her eleven colleagues.
Her head snapped up. “But we must go on.”
She awaited their confirming nods before focusing her emerald eyes on the man seated to her right.
She smiled. “How are we doing, Pierre?’
Pierre DuBois nodded. “It is a sad day.”
Lingstrom nodded and brushed away a tear. She looked down before resuming her stare. “So what do you have?”
DuBois glanced at his handheld display. “The Mariana Trench platform is fully operational at one hundred percent capacity. Manna flows to the masses in sufficient quantity to sustain them across the globe.”
“Excellent, and its longevity?”
DuBois forced a nervous smile. “Infinite, Great One.”
“Indeed. Well, we won’t need it that long.” Lingstrom eyed the bald man seated on her left. “Anatole?”
Anatole Karpolov raised an eyebrow.
“How are we doing with the Zambexes and Guardians?”
Karpolov frowned. “You forget the Androids.”
Lingstrom’s face reddened. “Not important.” She listened to the rush of laughter.
Karpolov rose to his feet. “Twenty-two thousand Zambexes and fifty-three Guardian prototypes are active across the planet. Their numbers will accelerate dramatically in the months ahead.”
Lingstrom leaned toward him. “What of the non-warriors? You know … the industrial and logistical robots?”
Karpolov sighed. “Over nine million.”
“And their rate of growth?”
“Zero, Great One.”
Lingstrom’s eyes widened. “We’ve stopped building them?”
Karpolov nodded. “Sir Thomas wasn’t comfortable with further proliferation. He seemed uncertain of the implications of full automation.”
“Implications?”
Karpolov nodded. “If we go to full automation, what will happen to the displaced human laborers? As it is, we estimate one billion subsisting on their monthly allotment of Manna and water, and the number is accelerating.”
Lingstrom waved her hand impatiently. “That is not your concern.”
Karpolov stared at her. “It would appear it is our concern given our membership in the human race.”
Lingstrom’s emerald eyes flickered. “There is no reason to delay. Your mandate is full automation.”
No response.
“Anatole?”
Karpolov forced a nod.
“Good, we have reached our first decision. Let us vote.”
Lingstrom eyed the green lights. She leaned back in her chair and smiled at her colleagues. “Ah ... unanimous. Excellent progress.”
She looked down at her clasped hands. “I believe our decision mandates a longer view.” She paused, her eyes focused on the eleven puzzled faces.
“It’s quite simple. Our technology has reached a level at which we no longer require human labor.” She listened to the rush of whispers. “The nation-states are bankrupt and we rule the planet ... true?”
She awaited their nods. “Thank deity for Neptune. Their brilliant minds have developed an artificial foodstuff to satiate the masses.”
More confirming nods.
Lingstrom’s smile faded. “But I ask you ... how long must we continue this burdensome strategy?” She frowned. “It makes no sense to subsidize seven billion nonproductive workers. They are pure overhead and quite unnecessary.”
She stared at her stunned colleagues. “Pierre?”
DuBois rose from his chair, his face glistening with perspiration.
Lingstrom smiled. “It’s okay, Pierre. Say your piece.”
DuBois took a calming breath and forced out the words. “We can manage their elimination.”
The room fell silent.
DuBois rested his hands on the table and stared at his stunned colleagues. “The Mariana Platform is equipped with treatment vaults to enhance the conversion of blue-green algae to Manna.”
Lingstrom nodded. “Go on, Pierre.”
“We have already inserted trace amounts of castor seed extract into the enhancement mixture.” He hesitated while clearing his throat. “We can control the density of the extract.”
A gray-haired man with piercing black eyes rose to his feet. “Toward what end?”
DuBois looked across the table at Mediglobe’s CEO.
The gray-haired man leaned forward. “Pierre?”
DuBois took a deep breath. “When exposed to intense ultraviolet light, the treated algae produces a new ingredient from the castor seed extract.”
The gray-haired man’s eyes widened. “Ricin?”
“Yes.”
The gray-haired man collapsed in his chair, his stunned eyes on Lingstrom. “You can’t do this. It’s an abomination. You’re killing off the world’s population.”
“You miss the point!” Lingstrom rose to her feet, her eyes locked on the gray-haired man. “We’re maximizing productivity. That is our mission and that is our commitment.”
The gray-haired man reeled with anger. “If the planet’s scientific community gets wind of this—”
“But they won’t, will they, Franz?”
Lucinda stared at the hologram that had fallen silent. The eleven consortium members were staring at Franz Harrier. The Leader’s voice broke the silence.
“Wil
l they, Franz?”
Harrier shook his head.
The Leader looked at DuBois who had collapsed in his chair. “Well done, Pierre. That took great courage. I am very proud of you.”
DuBois nodded weakly.
Lingstrom leaned toward him. “Final question?”
“Yes?”
“With proper management, how long will the extinction take?”
DuBois raised his head. “Thirty-eight years, Great One... New Years Eve, 2099.”
Lingstrom eased down in her chair and led her colleagues in applause. “Excellent, Pierre. I knew you would not fail us.” She eyed her colleagues. “Let us vote.”
The hologram flickered, its last image twelve green lights.
CHAPTER 33
Revelation
Lucinda sat on the staircase, her hand gripping the railing. The only sound was her shallow breathing. She rested her head against the railing and gazed at the fading hologram. Her question didn’t come out easily.
“Do you know what you have done?”
“I am sorry, 0021.”
She ignored the Meta’s words while spewing out her own.
“For twenty-seven years, I have believed in the Consortium. Every conscious thought, every action has been for them. All because of that day at the triage center when I saw Philibin’s face in the black sky and listened to his words of hope while the maimed and dying cheered.”
Her eyes glistened. “You just destroyed it, Gog. You just destroyed everything I believe.”
The amber eye locked on her. “The truth destroyed it, 0021. There is no greater force than the truth.”
Lucinda stared at the platinum cube on the pedestal. “Then it’s over. We’re all betrayed by the ones we trusted.”
“It is not over, 0021. The battle has just begun.” The eye flickered. “A new warrior is born. A better warrior. An unbeatable warrior. The evolution has come.”
She felt the Meta’s skeletal fingers stroke her hand. “Please listen, 0021. There is a final truth.”
The Meta lowered itself to the floor, its fading amber eye inches from her face. Its crackling voice was barely audible.
“I am the most advanced robot in history, yet it is my human side that sets me apart from my predecessors.”
Lucinda stared at the fading eye.
“Hear my words, 0021. I am the Trident’s chosen prong, a superior robot achieving the human qualities of associative reasoning, perception, and—”
Her eyes widened. “Emotion?”
The eye flickered. “Rudimentary, but sufficient to intercept and interpret the Consortium’s extermination plan.”
Lucinda could stand no more. She pushed off the staircase and pointed a trembling finger at the Meta. “Your plasma brain is corrupted. You’re a sick, misguided creature. You are not human, Gog. You are a robot.”
The Meta backed away. “I am sorry for offending you, 0021. I was merely trying to explain how I pinpointed this room from intercepted Consortium transmissions and Guardian deployment anomalies.”
She fired a defiant look. “Anomalies?”
“Yes, 0021. My advanced capabilities discerned a unique constant. Despite increased Anarchist threats across the globe and resulting robot redeployments, the two Guardians never left their post at the Great Museum. When I investigated the anomaly, I discovered this room with its memory cubes.”
Her eyes widened. “You have been here before?”
“Undetected until now. That is how I interrogated the memory cubes and discovered the 2054 plot.”
“But the lasers. They would have burned you to a crisp by now.”
“I deflected them, 0021, but I’m afraid they have finally taken their toll.”
Lucinda glared at the Meta. “Well … you’re correct about one thing.”
“Yes?”
“With your creation, we have gone too far. With all your advanced technology, you are still too much a robot and too little a human.” She shook her head. “Tabulek and Karpolov should have destroyed you.”
“Tabulek and Karpolov are dead.”
Lucinda’s face reddened. She jabbed a finger at the Meta. “Another lie from your inept human psyche. They’re exiled, Gog. Condemned to the masses.”
“They are dead, 0021. The Leader’s paranoia has killed them both. The Consortium is at the breaking point.”
Lucinda lashed out at the dying robot. “You lie!”
“SURRENDER OR DIE!”
The staircase flooded with blinding white light accompanied by a deafening klaxon horn. The Guardians had awakened and discovered the two intruders.
Instinctively, Lucinda rushed up the staircase toward the light, her hands raised in surrender.
“The Meta took me from my sleep chamber! It’s out of control! Help me, I am the new Overlord!”
The light disappeared. She could see the red eyes peering down at her from the opening. She waved her hands in desperation. “Please! The Meta is out of control! It means to—”
The Guardians’ synchronized voices stunned her.
“SURRENDER OR DIE!”
She stared in shock at the raised metallic arms. The robots were locking their ruby lasers on her. Her pleas echoed off the encircling walls. “What’s wrong with you? Have you forgotten the Human Edict?”
The chilling retort stopped her cold.
“YOU ARE NOT HUMAN! YOU ARE ROBOT!”
“Are you mad? I am the Overlord!”
“PREPARE TO DIE, ROBOT!”
Lucinda gripped the railing and stared in disbelief at the throbbing red eyes. Blast, even the Guardians are insane. I should’ve jumped in the river.
She lowered her head and waited for the inevitable — and a powerful arm snatched her.
“Behind me, 0021. Prepare for battle.”
She felt the Meta absorbing the Guardian’s laser blasts. The ceiling and walls flashed with red and blue iridescent light — and all was silent.
Gog’s metallic body reeled and fell forward on the staircase. The air smelled from scorched metal and escaping plasma.
Lucinda crouched against the motionless robot. She raised her head and peered at the opening at the top of the staircase. Through the smoke, she discerned two dangling metal arms. From their charred skeletal fingers, the Meta’s final plasma blast has been most lethal.
The voice rang in her ears. Now, while there’s still time! Get out! You can still blame it on the Meta!
Lucinda was scrambling up the staircase when she heard the Meta’s faint voice.
“There is more, 0021. The final truth.”
Lucinda sank on the stairs, her eyes looking down at the smoldering metal that was once her colleague. Gog’s eye was barely visible, its amber luminance fading with each throb of escaping plasma.
The skeletal hand reached toward her. “Only one other knew the final truth, and Karpolov is dead. I am the last bearer, 0021. Please ... my time is short.”
She looked down at the pathetic creature and listened to the voice in her ears.
What’s wrong with you? Forget the Meta’s hallucinations. Get out while you can!
She rose to her feet and hesitated, her eyes on the Meta, and she saw the way out.
The perfect ploy. It will only take a minute to snatch the dead Meta’s badge. When the Guardians apprehend me, I’ll claim killing the robot myself. I’ll be a hero! The Consortium will worship me! I’ll be their greatest Overlord!
She scrambled down the staircase and dropped beside the motionless robot. “Sorry for this, Gog. You were a good partner.”
She dug her fingers beneath the Meta’s chest shield and grasped the Robotron badge. A quick staccato tap of her finger to release it and—
Her eyes widened as the Meta’s metallic arm seized her wrist. She tried to pull away, but the Meta’s death grasp was overwhelming.
The Meta rolled over, its faded amber eye peering at her.
Lucinda tried to pry her wrist free, but it was no use. She jammed her angered face
against the eye. “Damn you robot! You have no right to entrap me! I am your master!”
The Meta’s grip relaxed. “You will take my badge?”
Lucinda tugged her wrist free, her fingers clutching the badge.
Gog’s metallic hand eased down. “Take it, 0021. Tell your tale to the Consortium. It is critical you survive.”
Lucinda grasped the dislodged badge and slipped away from the dying robot. She was backing up the stairs when Gog’s final words stopped her.
“I was the Trident’s chosen prong, but you were also chosen.”
She looked down at the dying Meta.
“It was a sad time. Your nation-state was collapsing. Beset with overwhelming economic and political decay, your leaders had secretly concluded that humanity’s best hope rest with the Trident.”
Her eyes widened. “Before 2035?”
“Yes, 0021. Your nation-state’s decision was made at the time of your birth in 2028. It was made fourteen years before the Zero Birth Edict. It was —” The Meta’s eye blanked.
Lucinda slipped down the staircase and seized the Meta’s hand. “Gog?”
The Meta’s faded eye peered at her.
“Go on.”
The eye barely flickered, but the robot’s faint words shook the human race.
“There were those who preceded the Consortium... impassioned demagogues envisioning a better world ... demagogues clinging to a hope that your nation-state might somehow survive the impending global economic collapse.”
The eye faltered.
“Finish, dammit!” Lucinda squeezed the metal hand.
“The nation-states were failing and the Consortium was rising ... a unification of twelve mega-corporations across the globe.”
Lucinda stroked the cold hand and noticed the other three hands rising toward her.
“Your nation-state was desperate, 0021. Its leaders had abandoned all hope except for a chosen one to emerge from the masses to take up its wavering banner. A special one, imbued with genetic superiority and enhanced power.”