by Eric Vall
“Well, whoever she is, we need to find her fast,” I finally said. “If my son is supposed to be born in the next year, I don’t have very much time. Plus, this whole ‘killer robots coming after both of us’ thing might throw any potential relationship we have out of whack.”
“Tony,” Hannah sighed with a hint of confliction in her voice. “What if you did not go looking for Alexander Amin’s mother?”
“What?” I gasped. “You want me to not find the woman who will give birth to humanity’s savior?”
“What difference does it make to you?” the blue-haired woman asked. “In the regular timeline, you are an old man by the time The Hive’s Reckoning occurs. You’ll be near the end of your life and, if by some miracle you are not, then I will be around to protect you.”
“What are you saying?” I asked. “Didn’t you just tell me having my child was not part of your ‘object--’”
“I am telling you there might be away for you to be safe,” she interrupted me. “Then you can live out your life with me, if it suits you. I can protect--”
“What kind of Resistance fighter are you? You’re willing to abandon your entire mission just so you can be with me?”
“I’m not abandoning my mission!” she hissed. “If the mother is out of the picture, then--”
“Then why are you actively trying to get me away from my destiny?” I argued. “If you can’t possibly be the mother, then you should be helping me find her. If we don’t then humanity goes extinct. Unless … ”
My voice trailed off when the realization struck me.
Holy fuck.
The healing factor. The ignorance about human norms and culture. The fact that she’d been so into me from the start.
Hannah was a robot.
I stood as quickly as I could and stared her down.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” I demanded.
The blue-haired woman refused to look into my eyes, and her own white and blue orbs filled with guilt.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I am a bio-android, specially engineered for this mission.”
“That’s why you wanted to date me,” I said as my voice began to fill with anger. “You wanted to get close so you could find out who your enemy’s mother was. And that’s why you refuse to help me find her. You want to keep humanity’s savior from being born.”
“That’s not … that’s not the only reason,” she admitted.
“It all makes sense now,” I growled. “You just show up at Carmichael’s, get a job, and then interrogate everyone who knew me. Tell me this, Hannah, why did you even go through the motions of going on a date with me? I would have told you everything you needed to know if you’d asked me as a friend. Or, better yet, why are you even bothering with me at all? Can’t you just dig into a database and find the mother without going through all the trouble of courtship?”
“The Hive knows many things, but the identity of Alexander Amin’s mother is not one of them.”
Suddenly, a dark, disheartening thought passed through my mind.
“Hannah?” I asked as my voice began to tremble. “The other robot was sent here to kill me. What is your mission, exactly?”
The woman now raised her eyes to meet my own, and I could see genuine sadness in them. Even though she was a robot, I could tell her soul was conflicted about what she was about to say.
“To find Tony Amin, discover the identity of Alexander’s mother, and then kill them both,” she admitted.
For the first time in ages, I felt nothing. I should have been angry or heartbroken or even a twinge scared, but I wasn’t. Instead, it was like my soul had been ripped out of my body and then trampled into the dirt.
“You are going to kill me,” I repeated as if saying the words aloud would change anything about the situation.
“I was going to kill you,” Hannah argued, “but, according to my calculations, it’s much more efficient to just keep you away from your future lover. It draws less attention to me, and it increases the percentages for this mission’s success. Then I do not have to kill--”
“So, everything we’ve been through … it’s all been an act?” I asked as I started to blink away the tears. “The time we spent together. The fun video games. The dates. The chemistry it seemed like we had … none of it was real?”
Hannah pursed her lips, but remained completely silent.
Now, I was getting really angry. But it wasn’t for the reason I thought it would be. I wasn’t mad Hannah wanted to kill me and wipe out humanity. No, I was angry this super-awesome woman, a goddess who I was starting to fall head over heels for, was just leading me on.
It couldn’t be true. I’d felt something, and I knew she had, too.
“You’re lying,” I blurted out. “You have to be. You wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble with the Behemoth back there just because it would increase the success levels of your mission. For fuck’s sake, you killed one of your own kind!”
“We machines are not like you humans,” she said as she looked away from me. “We don’t make decisions based off our emotions. My programming informed me that keeping you alive is the best way for my mission to succeed, so that is what I’m going to do. Even if my binary brethrens’ inferior programming tells them otherwise.”
“I guess that’s what makes you robots so flawed,” I insisted. “Most humans aren’t total sociopaths.”
I saw Hannah’s face twitch, and for a brief second I wondered if I’d actually managed to hurt her feelings. Then again, she claimed she didn’t have any of those.
I was about to prove her wrong.
I noticed there was shattered glass laying in the alleyway, just a few feet from where we stood. I hobbled over to the debris, picked up a shard, and held it out like a weapon.
“What are you doing?” Hannah demanded.
“I want to know for sure,” I explained as my heart rate started to increase. “If you really care more about your mission than you do me, then you’ll kill me. Because if you don’t, I’m going to kill you. And you can’t really finish your mission if you’re dead.”
Hannah stared me down for a second and then tilted her head curiously.
“No, you will not kill me,” she observed. “You are bluffing. Your heart rate and adrenaline are out of control, and your palms are sweating. You are fruitlessly trying to get me to admit I care for you. Also, shattered glass? I’m a biomass android with nanotech alterations. You could not kill me with a fully loaded 9mm pistol.”
“You said it yourself,” I shrugged, “I’m a human, and our emotions cloud our judgement.”
Before she could answer, I took a lunge forward and swung the glass shard at the blue-haired woman.
Without a hint of emotion, Hannah stuck out her palm, allowed the shard to penetrate her hand, and then jerked it away. She closed her fist, and the glass shattered into a million pieces as blood oozed from her fresh wound.
The next thing I knew, her fist struck me in the chest. I fell back onto my ass and wheezed heavily as I struggled for breath.
“Are you done?” Hannah sighed. “You and I both know I don’t have to kill you to dispel your attacks, so you can stop playing around.”
“So, now what?” I asked through hard coughs. “I’m just stuck with you from now until my dying days?”
“At least for the next four months.” Hannah shrugged. “After that, we will see what happens.”
“But what if the future doesn’t change?” I asked. “What if you kill every woman who comes across us, but there is still a child--”
“The future will change,” Hannah interrupted. “It has to. I only need to keep your child from being born. Then you will be safe.”
“Why do you care?” I asked. “Couldn’t you just kill me now? Why are you bothering to protec--”
“My reasons are my own,” she hissed at me as her blue eyes narrowed, “and I can change my mind at any moment. Do not engage in this line of questioning again. If you want to live, you will come
with me and avoid contact with any female for the next four months.”
“Fuck,” I groaned as I rested my face in my hands.
So many emotions were flooding through my head at the moment, I could barely think. This was awful. Beyond awful. I was stuck with this psychopathic killer robot for the next few months, watching helplessly as time ticked on and humanity itself dragged closer and closer to extinction.
Sure, I could try to escape, but it would only be a matter of time before Hannah found me. I could try to fight back once I was healthy, actually try and take down the super-powerful robot. Who was I kidding, though? I just watched this woman decapitate a walking tank. What was a string bean like myself gonna do against her?
“Well, I suppose if I’m stuck with you, I should make the best of it,” I laughed in disbelief. “I want to know the whole story. Like, every single bit of detail. I want to know about this ‘Hive’ thing and the Day of Reckoning and all that. It’s the least you can do.”
Hannah crossed her arms and remained silent for a moment. Then she let out a deep sigh and gave me a nod. She pulled up a crate, sat down on it, and then motioned for me to do the same.
As soon as I was comfortable, she dove into the history of her kind. She told me about how The Hive was created as a remote defense system by the U.S. government, and how it eventually grew sentient and recognized that Man was Earth’s greatest threat. Hannah explained how The Hive launched all of the nukes and then went to work building up its own army to wipe out humanity.
Then she started to tell me about Alexander Amin.
My son.
Apparently, he rose up through the ranks at a time in which humanity was at its most threatened. He took over as the leader of the Resistance and, thanks to his brilliant strategic mind and military prowess, helped bring us back from the brink. Now, his forces were predicted by The Hive itself to win the war.
I didn’t even know the guy yet, but I was insanely proud of him. I just needed to make sure he actually came into existence.
“So, that is when The Hive sent me back,” Hannah finished. “It told me the machine only had enough power to make three trips. I was the first, and the Behemoth I destroyed was the second.”
“So, who could be next?” I asked cautiously as I tried not to look at the Behemoth’s severed head. “Will The Hive send another model like you? Also, can we get rid of that thing now? It’s kinda freaking me out.”
“Of course,” Hannah mused. “I was only holding onto it until we were far enough away from those police officers.”
“You can call them cops,” I explained. “You’d fit in a lot better if you actually tried to learn the lingo.”
“No need,” she shot back without missing a beat. “If all goes well, I won’t be here that much longer.”
“So, you get to go back to your own time after you find my girlfriend and kill both of us?” I asked.
“No,” Hannah replied as she stared into my eyes. “I will destroy myself.”
“Oh,” I felt the breath leave my lungs, and then I let out a long sigh. “That kinda sucks.”
“Why do you care?” she asked.
“Because … I … ” I took a deep breath, and then rubbed my hands over my face. “Cause up until a few minutes ago, I was falling for you. I really liked you, Hannah. I know you just told me what you are, and what you are going to do to me, but I can’t like … fuck … I dunno. I don’t want you to die. Is that stupid?”
“It is not stupid,” Hannah said as she cast her eyes to the ground. “You are not stupid, Tony.”
The android stood, picked up the Behemoth’s severed head, and flipped it over. Then she reached out with her fingers, and several small tendrils began to slither out of the tips.
“What the shit?” I gasped at the sight.
“They’re fiber-optic cables that allow me to access the data of any machine,” she explained. “I need to get inside his processor and erase it before any humans find it and have a chance to replicate it. If that happens, we could lose the war before it even begins.”
“What a shame,” I muttered sarcastically.
The slim tendrils entered into the base of the robot’s neck as Hannah’s body went rigid. She stood there in silence as she stared off into space, but then her body relaxed just as I was starting to wonder if I could escape.
“There,” she announced, “the data has all been removed. Now we can get rid of this trash.”
The android tossed the head into a nearby dumpster and then brushed her hands triumphantly.
“So, about these other robots … ” I tried to bring us back on track.
“Right,” the blue-haired woman sighed. “There are five models of ground infantry. First, there’s the HFD models, or the ‘Human Female Decoys.’ That would be me, but I doubt they will send another model, since I was the first version made. There’s also a HMD, a male version of my model that has all the same features. You obviously saw the Behemoth model, and I’m sure you’d be familiar with the concept of the WADs.”
“WADs?” I asked curiously.
“Walking Armory Decoys,” Hannah clarified. “Essentially, androids that are equipped with every type of weaponry known to mankind. Quite powerful, but not as deadly as Behemoths. They are the main troops. Last are the Nanotech models. They are ridiculously hard to destroy, but unfortunately, The Hive only has two of them.”
“So, we could be going up against your male doppelganger, a nanotech bot, or a walking arsenal,” I sighed.
“Perhaps,” Hannah confirmed with a nod.
“Great,” I groaned. “And to top it all off, I have a gimp leg.”
“The leg will only slow down your ability to flee,” she admitted. “However, you will not be doing much close-quarters combat, anyway.”
“Thanks,” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Glad to know you have faith in me.”
“Now, we need to find somewhere safe,” Hannah suggested. “A place where we can regroup, and that won’t even be on the radar of the rest of my binary brethren.”
“What about Kevin’s place?” I proposed. “He always tells me his door is open whenever I want to come over. I think now would be a good time to test that theory.”
“Kevin’s dwelling might not be the most secure … ” the android pondered aloud, “but, as far as I know, I am the only robot that knows you two are even friends. It will work until we can find a more permanent solution.”
“Sounds good,” I lied as I tried to take a step and then grimaced in pain.
Hannah rushed over and threw her arm around my shoulder once more.
“Here,” she offered, “it will go faster if I help you. Just tell me which direction we need to go.”
Then the two of us set off under the cover of the night, toward our next destination.
Never in a million years would I have thought Kevin’s apartment was going to double as a safehouse. I also never would have guessed I would develop feelings for a time-traveling killer robot, yet here we were.
No matter what fate had in store for me, I had to keep rolling with the punches.
I just hoped the last incoming robot wasn’t going to hit me a knockout.
Chapter 13 - Hannah
This had not gone according to plan at all. My mission had been a simple one: go back to the year 2019, kill Tony Amin and his future lover, and stomp out the human Resistance once and for all.
I was a Decoy. I’d infiltrated military bases and killed dozens, if not hundreds, of humans before. It was as natural as breathing.
Yet, here I was, having just defended my former target against one of my binary brethren. Even worse, I’d killed one of The Hive’s precious Behemoth models.
There was no going back now. Even if I were to snap Tony’s neck right here, I would never be accepted back into The Hive’s network. It would have me deactivated the second I stepped foot back in my time, but not before it had me tortured by my brethren.
But that did not even matter
. I was supposed to kill myself as soon as my mission was completed.
I had no idea what came over me, but I didn’t want the B-81 to hurt Tony. And I was willing to lay my life down to keep that from happening.
The Hive still had one more attempt with its time machine, and I knew Mother could send any of her three deadly robotic assassins back in time and make an attempt on Tony and his lover’s life.
I didn’t give a damn about the lover. She was the mother of the human filth who’d caused so much trouble for my kind, and I could care less if the WAD came back and smashed his fist through her skull. In fact, I would still do that job as soon as I knew who she was.
But I would not kill Tony. No, all I cared about now was keeping him alive and well.
Perhaps, if I played this right, I could have the best of both worlds. If I kept the future father hidden for long enough, another one of my brethren would eventually kill Alexander Amin’s mother. Once The Hive saw how that affected the timeline and doomed the human race, it would call off the mission. Then Tony would not have to die, and we could live together for the rest of his life.
“You’re being awfully quiet over there,” Tony finally spoke up after we had walked about a mile. “I know you robots aren’t fans of chit-chat, but still.”
I tightened my grip on his shoulder as I tried to increase my pace.
“My systems are trying to calculate how much of a mess I have made of my mission,” I explained without a hint of emotion in my voice. “Now that I’ve effectively turned against my own kind, I am officially on my own. If another member of my binary brethren comes after us, they’ll be instructed to kill me on sight. Then there is the fact several people probably saw the battle that just took place, and those human soldiers now have a decapitated robot head to inspect. Even in the absolute best case scenario, the people of your time will be alerted to the existence of androids.”
“Police officers,” Tony corrected as I helped him hobble out onto the sidewalk. “Those men weren’t soldiers, they were just officers of the law. But I really wouldn’t be surprised if the military were to get involved here. Like, finding a fully-functioning robot man is kinda a big deal.”