Why Bot - Why Not Chapter 11

Chapter 111

Adora, she had told Cynthia earlier it was indeed her given name (apparently her parents thought her adorable), wobbled through the room. "You'll see that this house is only the best for a middle class family, three bedrooms, a luxurious kitchen, and you should see the master bathroom. It's a steal at merely forty-five percent of your combined income. All utilities and furnishing included, of course." The woman grasped the front of her dress and lumbered up the stairs.2

"I am more concerned about the neighborhood." Cynthia watched her carefully. "It was rumored that there is a large amount of radicals in this area." 3

The plump woman stopped dead in her tracks. "What in heaven's name do you mean?" Cynthia noted her voice sounded just a little strained.4

"You know, people who dislike our current living conditions, revolutionaries. You didn't know that there was a movement against our beloved government? I just couldn't live in an area where people have malevolent thoughts towards the Council." Cynthia improvised, fishing for people who might help her take down Estevez. She saw a possibility in Adora, if she wasn't among those that disliked the government. It was conceivable she could be formed and molded like clay to follow their line of thinking.5

Adora turned away and started walking up the stairs again. "Of course. There's none of those unmentionables around here. Our area is free from the intolerable lower class. Present company excepted. Anyone whom a middle-class person would take as a spouse must be terrific, isn't that correct, deary." She turned back now completely composed.6

Cynthia could see there was much more to this woman, that she was brighter than she was leading them on to think. Perhaps she did see right through Cynthia. This might be a positive turn of events. "Absolutely, and I think we'll take the house."7

Adora nodded but insisted she show them the rest of the house, which included a lovely patio with a charming view of a small lake with clear water and a waterfall off to one end. Cynthia found she really did like this house.8

***9

Quitting time approached at the Ministry of Energy, owned by the All Brazilian Electric (ABE), founded by Abraham Delgado CEO, as the sun slid behind the horizon. The androids had initiated their own plans for their part of the movement. Jamil Salim approached his fellow worker whom he had met earlier in the day named Pedro. 10

"I am tired of being transferred from place to place."11

The short native Brazilian nodded. "How'd you luck out being transferred here, to our lovely energy department, senhor?"12

"Luck had nothing to do with it, but I really do not know. My Boss merely handed me the transfer orders. I did not do anything wrong, and I was quite happy where I was." Jamil sighed somberly.13

"Poor senhor, transfer orders of that kind are not uncommon. It's just the way our government works. The Bosses have all the money, and so they can do anything they please." The Brazilian walked with Jamil out of the building he seemed to phrase his words carefully as they passed the doorman.14

Jamil endeavored to act surprised. "You do not agree with our government?"15

"Who does? Not even the Bosses can agree amongst themselves."16

"Do you ever wish you could change the way we are run?"17

"Ah, but of course. The only problem is it's just a dream." He shrugged his shoulders as if renouncing the idea. 18

Jamil gestured around them. "What if it wasn't? What if it is real, just as real as the city and the people around us? Just a few people can make a difference, you know."19

Pedro looked down to his feet as he walked. Very quietly he said, "You should not talk of such things in public, senhor. Perhaps that is why you have been transferred so many times."20

"Well, if I can not talk about it in public, where can I talk about it?" He was hoping to be able to get into some kind of meeting where others talked of the future.21

Jamil's hopes dashed with Pedro's reply, "Senhor, I'm afraid that information is not within me." A single patrol revbot sped by, and the man fell silent for the rest of the trip.22

***23

Cynthia took her time walking. Her new house was farther away from the Robonotics building than her apartment. Larry hummed at her shoulder and Julion stayed at the house to "hold down the fort." Now she began to wonder what exactly her next step would be. 24

Unbeknownst to her, that step had already been decided. She rounded the corner of the street and her destination was in sight. Not one of her anthropoid friends were in sight. She decided maybe she could risk a quick trip inside. Perhaps she could end this before it began.25

She had to push her way through the large number of people leaving the doorway and the doorman paid her no mind. She walked slowly through the lobby and stopped when 10NUD called her over. "The Boss wishes to see you, Ms. Aldin."26

"What for this time?" Cynthia wondered aloud to keep the façade of being Linda. "Don't answer that. I know you don't know." She turned to Larry. "Stay here and wait for me."27

She stepped inside. It was dark as before. The bright light hit her face and she went blind. Shutting her eyes and turning her head away did not help the light go away. It somehow seemed brighter than it had ever been. She stood waiting, unmoving until he spoke. "Which one are you?"28

She tried to shade her eyes and stepped forward. "What do you mean?"29

"Are you the human or the android?" His question was simple.30

"My name is Cynthia. I've come to talk-"31

He didn't give her a chance. 32

"It doesn't matter why you're here. You are going to die. You are a nuisance and your creator has apparently fled." He reached for the desk, this time he picked up not the swatter but a laser gun. He walked in front of the light and was silhouetted in the brightness. The light was too bright for him to see her.33

Cynthia ran not just from the light but she hid herself behind his desk even as he moved out from it. He spoke to her again as he started to move around the lighted area. 34

"I have more androids. You are expendable. Your friend Loda is helping me with the rest of the work."35

Carefully and quietly she told him. "You do not have all the anthropoids, and the ones you do have won't work for quite a while. Even then, you don't have any more security overrides to keep them under your control." 36

Cynthia watched as he pinpointed her location behind the desk. He aimed his gun and fired. The desk immediately caught fire. The blast went straight through the desk and it caved in. 37

Cynthia moved to the other side of the desk slightly before he fired. Estevez rounded the desk to assess the damage. He discovered she was not there, scanned the rest of the desk and could not find her. She heard his fist slam into the desk when the door opened to let her out. Without hesitating, he fired in the direction of the door. Too late -- the beam struck the door and spread, heating the door and causing sparks to fly, but nothing more. Cynthia safely on the other side of the door heard him screaming over the sizzling sound of the laser.38

"Let's go!" She grabbed Larry by the arm and started running for the door. "Oh, no!" 39

As they ran forward, four revbots blocked their escape. Each prepared to fire. Larry prepared to use his weapon. Before the other bots had a chance to fire, he fired at their tires, only one shot made contact, the bot toppled backwards, immediately after the others began firing. 40

"Climb aboard." Larry instructed.41

Cynthia, hiding behind Larry and using him as a shield was dumbfounded. "What?"42

"Climb onto my back." He increased his vocal volume to be heard over the sound of the weapons going off around them. She figured it was worth a chance and wrapped her arms around his torso. He flew almost to the ceiling. Cynthia's legs dangled and she closed her eyes hoping they wouldn't hit it. Larry opened his thrusters to full force propelling them over the crowd very quickly. 43

Larry had to maneuver them closer to the ground to get through the door, but there were enough people around that the bots were not able to shoot. A couple took pot shots that neither touched the crowd nor the two flying above them. The people in the doorway screamed and fell to the ground as they saw the two coming. As Cynthia and Larry dipped down and through the door, the doorman fired at them but was unable to make a hit.44

Cynthia yelped with glee as she realized they made it past the security bots alive.45

Larry didn't share in her revelry. "There will be time for celebrating later, at the moment there seems to be more bots to deal with. Look behind you." 46

She glanced over her shoulder. Her yellow hair swatted her in the face. Brushing it aside she saw approximately two hundred meters behind them were two flybots closing fast. "Try to lose them." Following her orders, Larry cut his engine and both fell with a scream into the crowd.47

***48

Sergio paced impatiently around the building. He walked casually by the entrance of the Robonotics building for the third time trying his best to stay unnoticed. However, he couldn't help feeling the doorman's sensors looking upon him. He picked up his pace and walked off. He hoped to find another android soon to escort him to their current hide out.49

It was not an android that he found, but rather a bot came floating up to him. It only took him a moment to realize it was no ordinary security bot. It was Larry. 50

"Mr. De Souza, plans have altered slightly. If you will follow me, I will show you to our new home." 51

They walked north a few blocks and joined a small group of androids. "Glad you could join us, Sergio." Cynthia walked alongside him as the group started moving again, home this time. "That is all of them isn't it Larry?"52

"Yes." Larry grunted.53

She nodded to Sergio. "He's been like this since we fell into a group of workers. It was his idea to lose them by blending in with the workers, but he got a couple nicks in his frame and he's blaming me." She sighed. "Were you able to get anywhere with any of the employees?"54

"I am afraid not." Sergio replied. "I did not have much time for talk in that labor camp. I am very familiar with how people feel in this type of situations. It was much the same way as with the working conditions back in my time."55

"I realize that. I'm sure you realize that talking to those people and convincing them of our purpose is more important than the job. More important, is that each one of us is expendable. Let's just hope these people start rebelling before any of us must die." Sergio noted she really wasn't talking to him any longer. It wasn't that he wasn't listening, she seemed to be lecturing herself, convincing herself that what she is doing is right. He didn't believe it was working. At least it wasn't for him, and if she couldn't convince one of her own people she was right, he wondered why anyone else would follow them. 56