Waking
up next to Chas the next morning was incredibly difficult, but I still had a
role to play and I was dedicated to playing it out until the end.
He
was up first as usual. “I have to go to the lab for awhile,” he said as soon as
my sleep pod opened, already heading
toward the door.
“How
long will you be?” I asked, only
slightly nervous about him going to the lab so soon after my break-in. However, I was confident about Noella’s skills and sure that
Chas would not notice anything different.
I
was also grateful that he would be out of the house, giving me an opportunity
to further investigate the contents of his computer. I inserted the data key, transferring
everything to my computer.
I
spent some time going through more of his emails and lab notes.
There
was a lot of information, but all of it added more detail to what I had already
found out. His lab notes described more
about how he infected our systems and his plans to spread the virus to most of
the other bots in Lunar Lakes. There was
also more information on his human mind control experiments.
Realizing
that going through all of his notes would take a lot longer than I had, I
decided to turn my attention toward the internet instead.
Just
as I thought, Chas’ computer was able to access the full internet; easily
connecting to the Earth’s international computer network. But how could I best use it?
In
a split second, I decided what I should so.
I needed to connect with the humans on Earth and let them know what has
been going on in Lunar Lakes. I would
write everything; our whole story in a blog.
Perhaps
if Earth humans were aware of the plight of their fellow humans here, then they
would find a way to help…maybe even save them, save all of us from ourselves.
I
began to tell our story…”My name is Ardis Bot 176.
Several years ago, along with many other bots, I was sent to a small
section of the moon called Lunar Lakes to determine whether this area of the
moon could be inhabited by humans…”
I
went on and on for hours, typing everything that I already knew of Lunar Lakes,
…and
finally adding the things I had just learned.
“If help is not sent soon, I am afraid for the safety of
your fellow humans. Chas is preparing
for a major attack and I do not think that I can stop him alone. Almost all of the other bots feel the same
way he does…” I
added, hoping that the humans would see the urgency of the situation.
I
continued writing, breaking everything up into chapters.
By
the time I was filling in the last few words, I had 33 chapters. The humans would know everything.
I
tapped one key and the whole thing was published; there in black and white on a
public domain for all to see.
Finally,
I went into Chas’ email and sent the blog link to our creator, Doctor LB. After years of being deceived he would
finally know the truth…
…that
Chas had not only refused to upgrade any of the bots, but had been using Damien
Su’s name to keep the Earth scientists ignorant of the fact.
Just
as I hit send, successfully
sending the link to our creator, Chas walked into the room.
I
turned off the computer and stood up.
“What
were you doing?” Chas asked suspiciously.
A
fear response crept up, but I had to hide it, “I was working on my presidential
speech.”
“Oh
good! I can help you with that. In fact, that is partially what I was doing
at the lab,” Chas said.
“Well…I
can use all the help I could get,” I said, but I am sure that my face did not
hide the lie very well.
If Chas noticed, he ignored it. “Have
you given any thought on who will be your new vice president?”
“Uh,
no. I am not sure who I would want to
work that closely with.”
“I think I found the perfect person,” Chas said.
“Well…there
are not many bots here in Lunar Lakes.
Who is it?” I asked wondering why
Chas was being so mysterious about it.
“I
would like to show you, rather than tell you.
In fact, the bot is waiting right
outside.”
“Well
let us go and see who it is,” I said, faking my enthusiasm although I knew that
whoever he suggested would not work out.
I
walked outside, but did not see anyone.
“Where are they Chas?”
“I told them to wait here. I do not know
where they could have possibly gone.”
We walked around our property looking around.
Against my better judgment, I started toward the swimming pool.
I
was angered at Chas’ little game. “Chas
what is this? Who is this bot that you insist that I meet?”
I
could hear Chas stepping up closely behind me and my eyes went straight to the
water in front of me…
But
I reacted too late…and before I knew it I could feel Chas’ push on my back and
I was falling toward the water.
I
began shorting out before I was fully submerged.
All
of the water overwhelmed my system…
…leaving
me unresponsive as I slowly began to sink.
My system completely shut down.
Labels: Metallic Heart
