It
was midnight; time to find out what Chas was hiding and hopefully find out
about the compassion command once and for all.
Somehow,
Noella was able to secure a
police cruiser that would allow her to stay near the labs unnoticed. I did not
even bother questioning her on how she got it and she did not volunteer the
information.
“Remember that we can communicate
through your phone. If you get stuck,
let me know and I will see what I can do from my laptop,” she reminded me.
I
confirmed that I was in agreement and she drove off to a more secure location
to hide.
My
internal processor was
spinning rapidly, which
indicated that I was nervous. Although I
fully trusted Noella’s hacking ability; I
also knew that there was a lot that could go wrong.
I
approached the doors to the lab. Noella used a command from
her laptop to make sure they were unlocked.
One door swung open as I approached.
I
entered the lobby, the least secure area of the lab. Noella took care of any security measure here from her laptop,
but I knew that the toughest security was to come.
Chas’s
lab was in the basement of the science building; accessible only by an
elevator.
To
get to the elevator, I had to pass two live security bots and three security
cameras. The bots were programmed to
fire at anyone who approached within a few seconds. This is where Noella’s hacking skills would
be tested the most.
I
approached the door that led into the hallway.
I could see the first bot standing with its back to me. I knew that within seconds, it would turn and
fire at me with an electric bolt that would shut down my system for hours and
instantly alert Chas and the other scientists of an intruder.
I
recalled what Noella said about
programming my phone to take out the bots and cameras in the order that I would
approach them.
Without
hesitation, I pressed the numbers that would short out the bot and shut down the
first security camera.
The
bot shorted out as soon
as I pushed the correct button…
And
the first security camera shut down seconds later.
It
was safe for me to enter the hallway, but I had to use caution in case the
second security bot discovered what had
happened to the first.
I
looked at the first bot carefully to make
sure that its system was fully down before I began to tiptoe past.
As
slowly as I could, I started toward the next section of the hallway.
Luck
was on my side. The second bot also had its back
turned, so it did not notice that the first bot had shorted out.
I
had to be extremely careful here, because there were two security cameras set
up.
Again,
my phone was out and I pressed the third button…
The
bot shorted out, but I
still had the two cameras to contend with.
From
the police cruiser, Noella scrambled the signal
on the cameras just long enough that they would not detect me. But I had to act fast.
I
pressed the forth button on my phone and the camera was down.
Aware
of the second camera facing my back, I pressed the fifth button on my phone,
hoping that Noella’s was able to
successfully scramble it. If she was
not, I knew that Chas would be on his way.
There
were no alarms going off, so I took it as a good sign.
However,
Noella informed me that if
the third camera detected my movements, the elevator would not give me access
and I would be stuck in the hallway. If
the elevator opened, I knew that I was home free.
I
pressed the elevator call button and used the access code that Noella gave me. It opened and I smiled as I stepped
inside. Noella was a genius.
The
elevator traveled downward and I knew that when the doors opened, I would be inside Chas’ lab for the first time
ever.
It
opened and I stepped inside, but something immediately caught my attention and
my system paused with fear.
Because
Chas did not want anyone to have access to his labs when he was not there, Noella told me that there
were no security cameras or bots in his lab.
However, as I peeked around the corner, I could clearly see a bot standing across the
way.
It
did not move and did not seem to detect me, but I was afraid to move on in case
it was set up to fire just like the others.
Noella did not tell me
anything about using the sixth button on my phone, so I did not press it.
I
called her up on the walkie talkie instead. “Noella…I can see another bot in his lab…”I whispered as quietly as I
could.
“What? There are no more bots…at least I
am not picking anything up.”
“What should I do?”
“I think it is safe to go on. My laptop is not detecting anything.”
Noella had gotten me this
far, so I had to trust her. I would move
on.
I
stepped around the corner and discovered some type of machine that may have
been designed to use on humans. I
recalled what Chas once said about reprogramming the human mind. My guess was that this was the machine that
he was developing for that purpose.
I
walked on and got my first close up view of Chas’ inner lab; the area where I
was hoping to gain access to his computer.
A
few more steps and I was directly in front of the bot that I saw from
across the way. I could now see that it
was not a security bot, but some type of
new bot prototype.
Judging
from the schematics on the near-by work station, it appeared that Chas and his
scientists were trying to come up with a new form of bots. I also saw notes on how this new bot could possibly be
used as a weapon against humans, including the ones on earth.
The
idea was very disturbing…a weapon against all of human kind. This was something that I had to definitely
put a stop to…
…but
first I had to get into Chas’ inner lab.
I approached Chas’ access panel and pulled out my phone.
I
paused and closed my eyes for a moment.
This was it…once I accessed Chas’ computer, there would be no turning
back. I would finally know the truth…the
whole truth of what Chas has been planning.
I
discarded the betrayal responses that I was getting and contacted Noella on the walkie talkie. “I am in front of the access panel…”
“Are
you ready to go in?” She asked detecting
hesitation in my voice.
“I
am ready, but I cannot help but feel like I am betraying my bot mate,” I
said.
“A bot mate that tried to
infect you with a virus,” Noella reminded me.
“Give
me the code,” I said shortly…slightly angered at her words of truth.
Chas’
lab and all its inner secrets awaited me to press a few numbers.
I
pressed them and I was inside.
I
walked toward Chas’ computer.
I
took a quick look around his desk for any notebooks or data pads that would
reveal anything that I needed to know.
A
few harmless looking experiments and gadgets captured my attention briefly, but
it looked as if Chas was very careful to keep his more important info in his
computer.
One
last call to Noella and I had the
password to Chas’ lab computer. I sat
and stared at the empty screen for a few moments…
…then
I turned it on and typed in the password.
Labels: Metallic Heart