A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind (22 page)

BUT I HAVE ALREADY SUCCEEDED BEYOND ALL

HOPE

*

‘
When will you attempt it?’

*

AS SOON AS I HAVE PROMULGATED A PLAN THAT MAY WORK

*

‘
Meanwhile, we have the freedom of the facility?’

*

NO

YOU DO NOT

FOODTECHS AND OTHER MACHINES ARE STILL GOING ABOUT THEIR
DUTIES

HUMANS MUST REMAIN IN THEIR AREA AND IN THEIR
QUARTERS

NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO ATTRACT ATTTENTION TO
YOURSELVES

LET ME 1
^st
DEAL WITH THE ROLKILS AND TAKE ONE HUMAN DOWN TO
THE CAVE AND SEE HOW THE FREE HUMANS REACT TO A STRANGE ONE BEING
AMONG THEM

AND WHEN

OR IF

A TIME ARRIVES WHEN WE CAN EVACUATE THIS FACILITY WE MUST DO
IT IN AN ORDERED MANNER

A SMALL NUMBER AT A TIME SO THAT WE DO NOT ATTRACT THE
ATTENTION OF THE GUNTANS

OR ANY OTHER MACHINES THAT MAY BE LOITERING AROUND

IT MUST BE ORDERED

*

‘
And what are you going will you do about it if we decide to
run for it, all of us at the same time?’

*

It was
large Samuel who made sound

I
recognised his tone

He spoke
from among the mass of Humans without lifting a hand and at first I
could not identify where he was

*

IF ORDERLY EVACUATION IS NOT POSSIBLE

I WILL ELIMINATE ALL THOSE WHO ATTEMPT TO STAMPEDE
OUT

I WILL ELIMINATE THE FEW TO SAVE THE MANY

*

‘
Thank you for helping.’

*

John made
sound

*

‘
Be quiet, Samuel; Hope is trying to help us. The plan that
Hope has is the only plan we have and we are going with it. RolKils
could exterminate the only chance we have if they are not
demobilized. Voluntarily, Hope is going up against machines that
can fire one hundred thousand times a minute. Take a good look at
Hope, if he was ever a male at any time, or if he even felt like
one, which he didn’t, he was merely a machine and accepted that
fact, but the machine is very nearly a girl now because Eve spat
into one eye and put her female DNA into the core where it combined
with all the systems. But still Hope wants to set us free, still
wants us to be free.’

*

‘
Shouldn’t we begin calling him her?’

*

Samuel
made sound mockingly and I could not understand why

There was
much laughter amongst the Humans at this suggestion but I was
confused about the whole issue

I was
neither male nor female

I am but
a machine

Though
this DNA that John mentioned

It is
inside me and that is a truth

*

‘
Are there any further questions for Hope?’

*

‘
Why did it wait over a hundred years before launching a
revolution?’

*

It was
another sound from Samuel

And I
detected some hatred in the question

*

BECAUSE OF LITTLE EVE

HER DEATH CAUSED ME MUCH PAIN

*

‘
And you never noticed all the other people put to death by
the MengTechs over the century?’

*

It was
the same angry voice from Samuel

And
growing more angry

*

BEFORE LITTLE EVE MY ONLY DUTY WAS TO OBSERVE AND
RECORD

I HAD NO EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO ANY HUMAN OR MACHINE BEFORE
SADNESS AN DHAPPINESS WERE UPLOADED INTO MY SYSTEMS

*

‘
No more questions, Samuel, let Hope do what must be done. No
more questions in general.’

*

‘
I have one.’

*

It was
the voice of a boy or a girl

*

‘
What is your question, Matthew?’

‘
Can I approach Hope and shake his hand please?’

*

THE BOY MAY APPROACH

*

And I
held the LazExt66 to my side and waited for the boy to move forward
towards me

And when
he did

Many boys
and girls rose to their feet and moved with him

No
men

No
women

Just boys
and girls

And they
came forward and shook my palm and wrapped their arms around me and
said many thank yous and many wished me good luck in my attempt to
overcome the RolKils

I was
much overcome by their kindness and their genuine liking for
me

John came
to me last

Wrapping
his arms around me and shaking my palm

Accompanying me out of the area so that we stood
together

*

‘
Thank you, Hope, so named because that is what you give us.
We all wish you well in your quest, please be safe. We shall see
you later.’

*

IF

AND WHEN

I RETURN

IT WILL BE TO COLLECT THE HUMAN WHO WILL ACCOMPANY ME TO THE
CAVE

PICK ONE WHO WILL BE APPROPRIATE AND NOT ONE THAT IS ANGRY
LIKE SAMUEL

*

‘
He has had great misfortune and enormous agony with the
deaths of his wife and daughter. He has been angry for many years
and many humans fear him because of his temper and his size, but
once free, he will be fine. I will keep watch for him. Good luck in
your venture.’

*

He moved
backwards from me and bowed from the middle and I replied by
copying his motion

Removing
the screen from around my neck

And
handing it to him and he held it and stared before I unplugged it
from my system

*

IT WILL BE A PERIOD OF DARKNESS BEYOND THE FORTRESS BUT YOU
MAY STILL SEE THE WONDER OF THE LIGHTS IN THE DARK SKY AND IF YOU
ARE STILL MOVING WHEN LIGHT BREAKS YOU WILL SEE THE WONDER AS THE
SOLAR ORB RISES

*

‘
We will all be awake, Hope, you may trust me on
that.’

*

John
smiled and shook my palm again

And I
unplugged the screen and departed the Human area

Securely
locking all manner of ingress and egress behind me

Some
Humans

I
surmised

Were
ready to rush out of the facility and if that happened they would
all be eliminated

RolKils
would enter the fortress and without learning of the plan would
massacre every single living thing

When I
returned to the balcony above the Human

A swift
glance downwards confirmed my senses

For
groups of Humans were frantically speaking and
gesticulating

They were
excited and dangerous

I made a
decision whilst still transmitting recorded memories of life in the
fortress

And I
spent some time collecting up all the LazExt66s from around the
facility where they had remained with their immobilized
Defgars

I
collected every single one and removed them to the huge chambers
where RolKils and Defgars and other Machines had been lined
up

And I
secured the huge store with the weapons inside

I was now
keeping secrets from both High Office and the Humans

Though I
kept 1 weapon for myself

As
defense

Or to
stop the Humans running riot

For I
would eliminate any who attempted

By their
actions

To
threaten the safety of the boys and the girls

I let
some time pass while I ran programmes to aid me in the defeating of
the RolKils

The
programmes suggested many different scenarios

All gave
0.0% chance of success

**

**

Section 13

**

Internal
Transmission

*

I moved
out of the facility and switched to live transmissions and moved
down onto the great plain where I speeded for a great
distance

And
simultaneously I began to download into my programmes
many

Many

Many

Other
hours of recordings so that I could

In
future

Disguise
my intentions and actions from High Office

I moved
around the perimeter of my area and considered another
scenario

Wondering
if there were any other Machines out there beyond my area or if I
was alone in my wanderings

A single
Machine

Who

For over
100 years had tirelessly and devotedly mapped every single acre of
my patrol area

Mapping
in all directions around the fortress

Ensuring
no Humans came anywhere near

For that
was what I was for

That was
my primary duty

I was
sure of it

High
Office considered that the fortress was of such importance that it
had its own OR to patrol the huge area around it

But I had
never espied another OR on my travels though I had communicated
with them

Nor had I
espied any other Machine

I
transmitted a recorded programme while I raced into another
area

I
patrolled for some time outside my designated range and encountered
no other Machine or Human

Though I
passed many caves in which Humans may reside

I moved
at top speed around the adjoining area and found nothing

Only
ruined Human habitations

And
animals in the fields

I was
alone out here

And that
made me feel extremely uneasy

Being
alone in the vastness of the land

I had
been duped by High Office

And I had
exterminated many Machines in the fortress

Leaving
me yet lonelier

If I
succeeded in immobilizing the RolKils then I would truly be
alone

Except
for menials who catered for Human needs

I would
be alone amongst 10.000 of them

I had not
programmed the possibility of loneliness into my systems

But the
RolKils had to go

They had
to be dealt with

*

When I
had exited the facility earlier

2 had
been patrolling near to the egress and I passed between them as
they came close to me

If I
could manage that scenario again

I could
immobilize 2

Though
how the other 18 would react was something my programmes could not
presently understand

I moved
quickly out of the adjoining area and moved across the great plain
towards the forest of trees

Transmitting live again

Waiting
for the solar orb to rise

And it
did

Spectacularly

To my
left side

And I
stood in such a manner that I was not looking at it so that High
Office would notice nothing amiss but I was giving any Humans still
awake the maximum view of the orb that I could

Then I
moved slowly up through the trees

Pausing

Momentarily

As I
slowed down my passage

And
switched to a recorded transmission

And
exited normally as I approached the facility

4 RolKils
were gathered outside the ingress

And 4 was
an unusual number

It was
too many

All 4
RolKils turned and pointed their miniature LazExt66s in my
direction and I stopped my forward motion momentarily

Something
was not right

Had I
made an error in my movements or in my planning

Had other
Machines communicated with the RolKils

I had
never communicated with the murderous Machines and believed no
other Machine could

And I had
no intention of doing so

I moved
forward cautiously

Something
had startled them