“We
bring you members of the press here today to announce our plans for the recent
outbreak of human criminals and changes within our criminal law,” President Aron began.
Mia and I arrived at work the next day as expected. We stood behind President Aron who was speaking
into a mike to two members of the Lunar Lakes press who streamed live to anyone tuned in on their
television.
“As
you are all aware, our first priority is to keep the citizens of Lunar Lakes
safe. When safety is involved, sometimes
we have to make tough decisions that may not be acceptable to everyone.”
“But
whether you agree with my decision or not, please be aware that a lot of
thought went behind it…”
“…and
all the pros and cons have been seriously weighted.”
As
the live press conference was being streamed, Lunar Lakes was practically at a
stand still. Everyone stayed close to
their televisions awaiting President’s Aron announcement regarding the fate of Frida and other humans who
resorted to stealing. Chas was among
those waiting for President Aron to get to the point.
“Will
the human criminals be executed or not?”
One of the reporters asked impatiently interrupting President Aron’s speech.
“Uh…”he said, sounding shocked that he had been interrupted.
President
Aron recovered quickly
and attempted to continue, “I will take questions at the end…as I was saying,
some will not agree with my decision, however-”
“My
vice president and other members of my cabinet and I agree that executing the
humans at this time will-”
“So, the humans will go free?” The reporter once again interrupted.
President
Aron continued his
statement in lieu of acknowledging the reporter’s interruption and answering
the question,“-be counterproductive and may cause further uproar and danger
within our community. The humans will
instead spend their sentences working the Crystal Mines of Lunar Lakes.”
“There
are some members of the bot community who have
threatened to kill the humans themselves if they are not executed legally
through judicial means,” the reporter said in response.
President Aron paused in response
to the reporter’s statement. Mia and I
had a tough time concealing our concern over the threat.
“Vigilantes
will not be tolerated in our community and the humans will be under maximum
security 24 hours a day within the Crystal Mines.”
“Their
labor there will help to keep our streets lit up by increasing our crystal
energy supply and-”
“…and
our homes will be free and safe from criminals due to the level of security
that will be in place to keep criminals where criminals belong…off the
streets.”
“There
have been changes made to our criminal law that reinforces our ability to
punish criminals to the full extent of the law. No criminal will go
unpunished.”
“I
will now take questions from the press,” President Aron said.
The
female reporter spoke up once again,” To many bots that I have interviewed,
full extent of the law means execution.
Why is execution not being used in these cases?”
“As
I said, I feel that execution would only lead to further civil disobedience
among the human race.”
“There
are some bots that would argue that the solution to our problem is to just
eliminate all humans and continue on as a bot only society.
Would that be plausible?” The reporter asked.
“Perhaps,
but we were sent to Lunar Lakes to make this area habitable by humans. Annihilating the human population here would
surely trigger retaliation by the humans that still reside on earth.”
“Also
as I stated in my campaign before taking this position, I believe that we bots
can benefit from human labor.”
“Because
of the superior intelligence of the bots and their ability to work in high
capacity positions, we need the inferior humans to work the lower skilled
positions.”
“Without
human labor, business owners within Lunar Lakes could not afford to stay in
business because of significantly higher labor costs that would come with
hiring only bots.”
“Yes,
but the humans are reproducing at a very high rate. Before long, we will surely run out of jobs
for them and crime will only increase exponentially. How do you plan to address that, President Aron?”
“The
problem will correct itself with our new criminal laws. The more humans that turn to crime, the more
free labor we will have to keep our crystal mine workforce thriving.”
“You
see, it is a win-win situation. Either
the humans stay in line, or they will be sentenced to years in the crystal
mines. More humans equals more criminals, which in turn equals an increase in
our crystal energy supply.”
“I
am sure that this solution will satisfy everyone in the community once they
think about the benefit to all bots in the long run.”
“I
want to extend my thanks to you members of the press who came to hear my new
plan. I also want to send a plea to the
bots who are watching this. I can assure
you that this plan will work. I beg you
all to be patient and you will all see the benefits of what I have put into
place.”
With
that, the reporters thanked us for our time and left.
“I
do not think that went very well,” President Aron mumbled as he began walking toward his office.
Mia
and I stood there replaying the whole thing over in our heads.
None
of us knew exactly what to expect from this announcement. All we could do was wait and prepare
ourselves in case we found ourselves face to face with a storm.
Labels: Metallic Heart
