A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind (33 page)

*

IF I HAD FAILED

JOHN

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO SURVIVORS

THE WEAPON WOULD HAVE BEEN USELESS AGAINST THE
ROLKILS

*

‘
It gave me great confidence, Hope, having it, holding
it.’

*

MAY IT GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE WHILST WE MOVE ACROSS THE
PLAIN

WE MUST GO

*

He
gathered up his people again and we slowly made our way down
through the forest out into open country

The
children surrounding me

Taking it
in turns to hold my hands

And they
were laughing and dancing and feeling free and crying and they
chased animals in the field and some came to them and were
kind

It was
wonderful sight to espy

And again
it took some time to transport the Humans to the cave

But

On this
occasion

Only
females were stationed at the entrance to welcome them
in

And there
was further wailing and very much hugging

John
handed me back the LazExt66

*

‘
I would not want to pull the trigger.’

*

I DID NOT WANT TO PULL THE TRIGGER EITHER

IT IS A FORMIDABLE WEAPON

*

‘
We are going down into the cave, Hope, are you accompanying
us?

*

YES

*

The women
who had welcomed John’s Humans into the cave led the way and we all
made swift progress to the lake where I was approached by another
Leader

*

‘
Hope, we have spoken to our Government and they agree that
you may bring your Humans down five hundred at a time.’

*

THAT WILL NOT BE TOO MANY FOR YOU TO ACCOMMODATE

*

‘
We are gearing up for those numbers; all our systems are
ready to deal with them. Will you be safe bringing that many people
down from the hill?’

*

NUMBERS WILL NOT BE A PROBLEM

EXCEPT ON THE LAST TRIP THREE ROLKILS APPEARED ALONG THE GREAT
PLAIN

MOVING QUICKLY

*

‘
You dealt with them?’

*

I DID

*

‘
By using the weapon?’

THE WEAPON IS USELESS AGAINST THEM

I HAD TO USE STEALTH

*

‘
You did very well.’

*

I AM PLEASED YOU CONSIDER THAT TO BE TRUE

I DO MY BEST FOR HUMANS

*

‘
Yes, I know you do. Nobody is going to accompany you up the
hill, Hope, will you be all right on your own?’

*

I HAVE WANDERED THESE LANDS ALONE FOR OVER 100
YEARS

I WILL BE FINE

*

‘
Will you leave now?’

*

I WILL

GOODBYE

*

I turned
and moved quickly from the cave and speeded up the hill stopping at
the fallen RolKils to ensure that they were dead on the hill and I
pushed them so that they rolled further down towards the great
plain

The
offended both me and the trees

I moved
past the other dead RolKils outside the ingress to the facility and
entered

Making
directly towards where the Humans waited

THE CAVE
HUMANS SAY I CAN TAKE 500

The
committee began organising Humans immediately and as they did I
patrolled the fortress and ensured that nothing was
amiss

And
discovered that all was well

When the
500 were ready to go I moved them out without incident

And 20
movements later I had emptied the fortress of Humans

It took
two turns of light and darkness to move them and many

Many

Tears
were shed both by the cave Humans and those from the
fortress

The cave
Humans were very

Very

Efficient

In moving
the fortress Humans along from their village

On the
little carriages

That ran
on tracks

And
fortress Humans disappeared along the passageways in great
numbers

All the
Humans I had watched grow to full height

All the
children who had collected around my legs and waist whilst I was
moving them down to the cave

All of
them disappeared along the passageways

Children
shedding tears when they said their goodbyes

Families
moving on after saying goodbyes to those they had befriended in the
fortress

A whole
community being broken up with some efficiency

I
considered that eventually they would be happy and I decided to try
and help in that regard

*

JOHN

DO YOU KNOW IN WHICH DIRECTION THE NEAREST ALTERNATIVE CAVE TO
THIS ONE IS

*

John
turned to look at me

*

‘
Why do you want to know, Hope?’

*

I WILL VISIT THAT CAVE AND ATTEMPT TO SET UP A SAFE ROUTE FROM
ONE CAVE TO THE OTHER SO THAT HUMANS CAN PASS FROM ONE TO THE OTHER
ON THE SURFACE AND BE ABLE TO ENJOY PLANET EARTH WITHOUT INJURY OR
HARM

*

He stared
at me for a moment before moving with speed to consult with other
members of his community and with Leaders of the free
Humans

After
communicating

A small
group approached me

3 woman
and 2 men

And they
asked me to repeat what I had communicated to the Leader

And I
repeated the communication

They
communicated more

Then John
made sound

*

‘
If you could do that it would be the most wonderful act you
could do, Hope, it would be much more wonderful that simply
reuniting two communities of Humans. We could have the safety of
the caves with the freedom of the surface. Would you attempt to do
it, Hope?’

*

THAT IS WHAT I COMMUNICATED

*

A Leader
of the free Humans made sound

*

‘
Okay, Hope, the nearest cave to this one is thirty miles to
the north. I have been informed that a message will be sent and you
will be expected. See if you can find a safe route.’

*

Another
free Human approached carrying many white metal spikes which he
made clear that I should take

I could
not carry the LazExt66 and the spikes so

Once
again

I passed
the weapon to John and took the spikes

And set
off to complete the task of finding a route from one cave to
another

I turned
north outside the cave

Staying
close to the large lumps of planet Earth that I kept to my left
side

And I
planted the first spike

Following
my understanding of the land

I
discovered a route from one cave to another that did not include
crossing water

Or
negotiating any other obstacle that would prove troublesome to
Humans

The route
led across open ground rarely and passed through many large
forests

All of
which I had patrolled

The tress
providing perfect cover in the event Humans espied other
Machines

Preferably not RolKils

I planted
the spikes at regular intervals

Until I
arrived at another large hole in the surface of planet
Earth

Two tall
Humans stood almost concealed in the darkness of the cave and I
approached them

When I
entered

The
Humans stepped forward and hugged me and I hugged them
back

And they
knew my title when the oldest of them made sound

*

‘
Hope, we welcome you, and I see you have used all the spikes,
did you find a safe route?’

*

I DISCOVERED A ROUTE THAT PRESENTED NO PROBLEMS THAT HUMANS
COULD NOT OVERCOME

NO WATER TO TRAVERSE

NO HIGH PEAKS TO CLIMB

AND MANY

MANY

KILOMETRES OF FOREST THROUGH WHICH HUMANS COULD BOTH TRAVEL IN
SAFETY AND MAKE THEMSELVES INVISIBLE IN THE EVENT OF ESPYING OTHER
MACHINES

*

‘
You are an absolute genius, Hope. Would you like to come down
and meet our community?’

*

I WOULD

*

And I
descended into the deep cave and met other Humans who gathered
around me

The
children again touching me and laughing and dancing around
me

And for 2
years I did no other duty but discover safe routes from many caves
to other caves

And I
became astonished at the way the Humans had made life beneath the
surface

Travelling far and wide

Meeting
again some Humans from the fortress

Who came
forward and hugged and shook my right palm

And I had
many feelings of excitement inside me when I espied them

On
occasion I visited the fortress which had been my place of
employment for over 100 years and it seemed most odd to be vacant
of Humans

Though
the FoodTechs still operated and menials still kept the facility
most clean and dead RolKils and Defgars still littered the facility
and its surroundings

And I
performed gymnastics often as I crossed plains that were greater
than my original one

Joy

One of
the emotions High Office had integrated into my systems grew within
me as did the DNA of little Eve and I felt most happy

Much as
little Eve may have felt had she lived to see the full results of
her life

My
repeated programmes still ran through the GoebTech terminal and all
seemed well

Until one
day that was most inclement

And I
returned to the first cave I ever entered and espied
John

Who had
taken up residence with that community?

And who
had become a Leader

When we
met he made sound

*

‘
Hope, I have been waiting to see you again for a wonderful
thing has happened.’

*

WHAT WONDERFUL THING

*

‘
The Government has asked to meet with you. We believe it is
to honour you for all the great things you have done on behalf of
humans. The message arrived this morning at all villages and the
first one to espy you was to pass it on.’

*

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

THE GOVERNMENT WISHES TO MEET WITH ME

*

‘
It means just that, Hope. The Government, the overall power
of the underground humans, has asked to meet you.’

*

WHERE DOES THIS GOVERNMENT RESIDE

*

‘
They live and work in a very large tunnel beneath the seas
surrounding England, one that connects the land to continents. You
are to go there as soon as possible, now if you wish.’

*

I WILL VISIT THIS GOVERNMENT

HOW DO YOU WISH I SHOULD TRAVEL THERE, JOHN

*

John
laughed

*

‘
Oh Hope, we have a plan that you could travel by our train
system, through many villages, allowing many underground humans to
see the greatest hero of our time. I shall travel with you, as will
many leaders from many villagers and many citizens too. It will be
a great celebration, you will be greatly honoured.’

*

DO WE DEPART AT THIS MOMENT

I HAVE NO DUTIES TO DO AT THIS TIME

*

‘
Yes, yes, Hope. As soon as we are ready we shall depart. Let
me speak to other leaders and organise some food for us, for the
trip may take some time. Will you remain here?’

*

I SHALL REMAIN HERE

*

John
moved away and children began to gather around me and Susan and
Ann, from my trip to the fortress, came forward and hugged me and
brought young men along with them and informed me that they were to
be married and I felt great joy for them