When
we bots had completed our crystal mining mission and started working on
building up Lunar Lakes, Memories of Sunset Valley Park was one of the first
parks we completed. It was designed
specifically for the humans to enjoy; giving them a piece of their Earth
home. There are five different parks
here named after five major Earth cities.
The
parks project was complicated, because to enable plants from Earth to survive;
a dome and a system of pipes had to be constructed to allow for the proper
amount of nutrients, atmospheric
pressure, sunlight, soil balance and moisture to nourish the Earth
foliage. Earth plants cannot survive
outside of the domes. These parks are
currently the only area of Lunar Lakes that humans can feel free to roam.
It
is very unusual for a bot to visit the
parks. Therefore, it was the perfect
place to meet with Noella, away from prying bot ears.
Noella arrived a little
while after I got there. “Sorry I am
late. I got here as soon as I could,”
she explained as she walked over.
“No
problem, thanks for coming,” I answered.
“Any word on the president’s murderer?”
“No, the police are worthless. I think I
may do a bit of investigating on my own.”
I
continued, “But that is not why I asked you to meet
me.”
“No?”
“Noella, is it possible to
spread a software virus through an emotional exchange?”
“It
is the best way to spread a virus. There is no other form of direct connection
between bots that would be more effective, besides of course actually opening
up a bot’s head plate and
inserting the virus manually.”
This information paired with Chas’ reaction to my question made me think that
perhaps Chas did know that he was spreading a virus. “Would the scientists know that?”
“Definitely. It is basic Bot science 101…what is going on Ardis?”
“I do not know. Chas and I had an
emotional exchange and afterward I received a system
alert.”
“Wait…wait…,” Noella began.
“Are
you telling me that Chas attempted to infect you with a system software
virus?”
“I think so…but I am not sure if he meant to.”
“Did
you ask him about it?”
“Not
directly, but do you remember the compassion software information that you
discovered when you scanned my system? I
asked him about that.”
“And what happened?”
“He
went absolutely berserk…it was so terrible.
But here is the thing…he said that compassion was an
upgrade.”
“Upgrade? Like a software upgrade?”
“He
did not specify…Noella, I really need your
help.”
“Sure…anything. What do you need?”
“I need you to help me break into Chas’ lab.”
“His
lab? Are you serious?”
“Chas
is hiding something…something big and I need to know what it is.”
“Wow
Ardis…that is going to be
very difficult. They have the highest
security measures and firewalls in place there.”
“I know Noella, but I really need
to get in there.”
“Wow,”
Noella said one more time
for emphasis.
“I hate to get you involved in this, but can you do it?”
Noella smiled her most
confident smile. “Yes, of course I can
do it.”
I
let out the closest thing to a relieved sigh that a bot could manage, “Thank
you Noella.”
“I will need time though. As I said,
everything in that lab is secured and encrypted. I will have to figure out how to hack into
the system and gain control of everything from the door locks to the security
bots.”
“I
do not have a lot of time. I will be
expected to give a speech in a few days and I want this taken care of before
then.”
I
continued, “Can you get what you need in two days?”
“I
will not lie, it is a big job, but I think I can do it in that time.”
“How
will you do it?”
“Well, I will have to spend a lot of time surveying the building, trying to get
as close as I can to it.”
“So
how do we start?” I asked.
“We will need a plan. Have you ever been
inside of the science building?”
“Once
for a reception, but that took place in the lobby.”
“Well
lucky for us I once applied for a position at the labs and was given a
tour. I know that Chas’ lab is located
in the basement and the only way to get there is by elevator. That is a start.”
“Yes,
that sounds right. I remember Chas
talking about his lab being flooded after an underground water pipe
busted. He was afraid he would short out
if it ever happened again.”
“Good…and
do you think you can survive without your cell phone for a few days?”
“I
can try…why?”
“I
will need to reprogram your cell phone to deactivate the security cameras and
the bots that patrol the halls. I also
need to add a walkie talkie feature so
that we can communicate while you are in there.”
I
pulled out my cell phone to hand it to Noella.
“Wait…not here,” Noella said looking around.
“Follow
me. We need to do this away from these morts. I would not be surprised if there are some
human spies around, plus we still cannot rule them out as being responsible for
the president’s death.”
I processed it and decided that Noella was right.
Noella moved over under a
tree where the approaching darkness partially hid us. “Ok, we should be more secure here.”
I
pulled out my phone and handed it to Noella. “You might want
to purchase a second phone and text me with your new cell number so that I can
give you a meeting place once I am ready,” she instructed.
“Ok,
I will get one right away,” I answered as Noella grabbed and concealed my phone quickly.
I
felt so grateful to Noella for risking herself
to help me that I did something totally out of character for a Bot, except with their bot mate; I grabbed her into a
hug.
Although
I am sure that I caught her off-guard, after a brief hesitation, she responded
by hugging me back. “Thanks again Noella. Sometimes I think that you are my only
friend.”
“OK,
you had better get out of here,” Noella said after our brief embrace.
I turned and sped off on my jets.
“See
you in a few days,” she called after me.
Labels: Metallic Heart