If I told him that, why would he still be asking me as his brain leaked out of his ear?” Seemed a reasonable question to me though recently, no question was unreasonable. We have been freezing, scared stiff wondering when the next man was going to come for us. Wondering when the next time we would have to take another man’s life.
“Then they are beginning to know more. Their learning curve is shrinking.”
“I know that. I am aware.”
These bots, mutated forms of humans in an aluminum can, were evolving rapidly. When Teddy and I were at the main station it was asking to push near threshold to have a bot get you cup of coffee and your messages. There was always some kind of interference with each different machine. Now, surrounded by walls of old alarm clocks, coffee makers, macintosh computers but still vulenerable to a section 2 bot inserting himself inside our fortress via a relocation beam, the time was forging forward. Teetering ever close to panic time.
“If they can beam themselves inside here, what chance do we have?” Teddy’s enthusiasm for a world of glass half empty will always give me pause. In a job like this, where the living are the excpetion to the lineage of men that have come through the Arries program rather than standard practice, seems a guy would at least need some kind of hopeful outlook just to have any reason to make it through.
“Buck it up, we stopped the last one.”
“Only cause he beamed right into your line of sight.”
“Luck’s just as good as skill sometimes.” Teddy did not believe my sentiment and I don’t say I have much belief either. That bot could have beamed in any other location in the room. Blended in and wait for a vulenerable moment. That would have been that.
“We should move.” Teddy is nearly finished packing and is ready to disappear.
“Not yet.” I stand from my chair. Replace Teddy in his own. “That was a level two. They do not have those just lined up at the ready for ragtags like you and me. We are just minor spots on a giantanicly mad planet.”
“Speak for yourself. Why, I flew twenty-three missions in and around some of the most dangerous lands fighting people that had no religion.”
“Do you think that bot was given that intel when he beamed in?” I throw my arms about the room. “You and are I good as dead now. That’s a fact. In the meanwhile though, why should we just sit in this room and wait for the end to come?”
“They will be looking for us.”
“Not for a while again. Level two bot. That’s nearly a perfect war machine. No way you and me could do anything but surrender easily. They’ll think he went to one of those five and dime houses. Find him some companionship while he is out in the vortex.” Teddy drops his head into his hands. “We should go over to the Gold Club.”
Teddy pops to his feet. “Don’t be screwing with me.”
“I want to enjoy my last few ticks usefully. No different than you.”
One last glance at this metal capsule Teddy and I have been sharing for the last four weeks. Hiding out. Waiting to see if anyone would care to look for two mid-level fuck ups who happened to take a few hundred thousand of valuable commodities from the storage room at PFA. Guess someone does. Care.
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