Disclaimer: As I said before in "Aftermath", I do not own The Zeta Project,
and since I'm not getting one red cent from these stories, there's nothing
to sue me for. Oh, well. And now, here's the long-awaited sequel...
By the way... thoughts are indicated by (), and disc recordings by ^^. OK?
Chapter One
^...Truth is I never had the stomach for building weapons, so I put an
extra module in Zeta: a conscience, to make him rethink his
programming...^
Commander Lemac replayed the scene over and over again, and he still could not believe what he was seeing.
When the first Infiltration Units were being designed, he was led to believe that these would be the ultimate weapons against crime. Robots that could pose as targeted individuals, enabling them to infiltrate their criminal territory and with a built-in arsenal that could rival a small army destroy it from within.
Among these ultimate weapons was Infiltration Unit Zeta.
After all the testing and target practice, Zeta seemed no different than the others. It was doing its job and doing it well for a good while. So when Zeta was assigned to infiltrate Brother's Day, the NSA was confident that this organization would be stopped in no time. But somewhere along the way, Zeta stopped following orders. It just ran off in the middle of the assignment. And all attempts at retrieval and reprogramming had failed.
For more than two years Agent Bennet and his team tried to track down Zeta with the belief that it had been reprogrammed by Brother's Day agents. Why else would a robot stop following its prime directive? And then, three days ago, Bennet returned with a disc proving that Dr. Selig, the man who created Zeta, was the one who reprogrammed him all along. Since then, Lemac has been struggling to maintain his composure while he examines the data, which contradicts all previous reports about the renegade robot.
(Unbelievable!) Lemac thinks to himself. (People laughed at the idea of robots being able to live like human beings, and I was one of them. And now I am looking at proof that a robot can not only have a conscience, but it can also have emotions and, stranger still, nightmares!)
^Don't deny it, Zeta. If you had done your job in the first place,
none of this would have happened. The Nosis would not have blown up,
Rowen would not be a wanted fugitive, and Dr. Selig would still be
alive if you had just done your job! ^
^No! It wasn't like that! ^
^This is your fault, Zeta. ^
As Lemac scans the disc, he hears Zeta arguing with Bennet, but he can't see anything. The screen is pitch black. When Bennet was questioned about this scene earlier, he swore he had not spoken to Zeta at that time. He was busy putting Brother's Day agent Titus Sweete in prison. Even Bennet was surprised. Zeta, a machine, was actually having a nightmare.
^It's your fault... your fault... your fault...^
^Zee! Wake up! Wake up...! Please, Zee. Wake up! You're having a
nightmare.^
^Ro... It... it was...^
^It was just a bad dream, Zee. Everything's alright.^
^It was... my fault, Ro. It was all my fault.^
And then there's Rosalie Rowen, a runaway juvenile who's been sticking to Zeta like glue since they met in Spring City. It is so much easier for Lemac to believe that she's some kind of evil accomplice, but according to Zeta's memories, this girl has taken it upon herself to be its guardian, helping it out every step along the way, teaching it how to behave like a human being. And when Zeta was having nightmares, she suddenly became its psychiatrist.
^Zeta! Listen to me! This is not your fault, and I can prove it. Think
about this: Bennet and the NSA believe you were reprogrammed by
terrorists, right?^
^Right.^
^Well, Selig said he placed that module in you while you were being
made. You had been reprogrammed from the very start. The problem was
he didn't tell anyone about the module, not even you. If he hadn't
kept it such a big secret, he could have been notified about your
change in behavior.^
Commander Lemac couldn't argue with that statement. (How can such a smart- aleck street kid seem so wise beyond her years?)
^So to your knowledge, you destroyed people who were guilty. And once
you discovered Dolan was innocent, the module kicked in, making you
realize that killing an innocent man was wrong. You've been programmed
to understand right from wrong. And you've been doing it ever since.
Every time you notice something wrong, you'd do something to make it
right...^
Lemac begins to wonder if this is what Selig had planned for Zeta all along. (Was Selig trying to create a superhero?)
^But, Dr. Selig is gone. Bennet will never believe me. I can't prove
anything Selig said to us.^
^Yes, you can. Remember how you showed me what went on in that lab
when you. lost control of yourself? Those images came from your
memory. Our encounter with Selig is in your memories as well. What if
you were to download a copy of that onto a disc? We could send a copy
to Bennet, and he could see for himself what Selig said about that
module.^
(Is Zeta... hugging her? I might as well be watching a soap opera.)
^Thank you, Ro. Once again, you've given me hope.^
"Well, Selig," Lemac says to himself, "I hope you're proud of yourself. Millions of dollars was spent on creating what we thought was a killer robot, and thanks to you, all it wants to do is fall in love with a teenage girl!"
Lemac leaves his desk to look out the window. He can't stand to look at that disc any longer, but the images remain fresh in his mind. (How can such a tiny module cause a world of trouble? On one hand, Zeta is government property and supposed to be working for us. On the other hand, Zeta's built-in conscience prevents him from wanting to kill. He'd rather live like the human he pretends to be... Listen to me! Now I'm calling it a 'him'.)
(And then there's Rowen, a street kid who knows he's a robot, but is willing to do whatever it takes to protect him.) Lemac can't help but smirk. (Let's face it; she's got what it takes to make a great agent. I should probably recruit her.)
Lemac's train of thought is interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "Commander Lemac. What...?! How did this happen...? I want every available agent on this, understand?" He hangs up and dials a number. "Bennet? This is Lemac. I want you in my office on the double."
Five minutes later, the office door slides open allowing Bennet to walk inside.
"Commander, sir, does this involve your decision on Project Zeta?"
"I'm afraid Zeta is the least of our problems right now. I just received a call concerning Agent West."
Bennet can already feel the chill running down his spine. (What has that idiot done now?)
Commander Lemac continues, "Since your report on Project Zeta, I've had your team reassigned to keep them busy while I reviewed the evidence. Rather than having West growing mould behind a desk, I sent him to help transport a prisoner for a courtroom appearance. The transport team has been ambushed en route. Apparently stealth vehicles had run the transport car off the road, crashing it into a ditch. I don't yet know the extent of the injuries. I'm hoping West will explain after he's been treated. But the fact of the matter is... The prisoner has escaped."
Bennet's chill becomes colder with each second. "Sir? Is the prisoner who I think it is?"
"Titus Sweete."
By the way... thoughts are indicated by (), and disc recordings by ^^. OK?
Chapter One
^...Truth is I never had the stomach for building weapons, so I put an
extra module in Zeta: a conscience, to make him rethink his
programming...^
Commander Lemac replayed the scene over and over again, and he still could not believe what he was seeing.
When the first Infiltration Units were being designed, he was led to believe that these would be the ultimate weapons against crime. Robots that could pose as targeted individuals, enabling them to infiltrate their criminal territory and with a built-in arsenal that could rival a small army destroy it from within.
Among these ultimate weapons was Infiltration Unit Zeta.
After all the testing and target practice, Zeta seemed no different than the others. It was doing its job and doing it well for a good while. So when Zeta was assigned to infiltrate Brother's Day, the NSA was confident that this organization would be stopped in no time. But somewhere along the way, Zeta stopped following orders. It just ran off in the middle of the assignment. And all attempts at retrieval and reprogramming had failed.
For more than two years Agent Bennet and his team tried to track down Zeta with the belief that it had been reprogrammed by Brother's Day agents. Why else would a robot stop following its prime directive? And then, three days ago, Bennet returned with a disc proving that Dr. Selig, the man who created Zeta, was the one who reprogrammed him all along. Since then, Lemac has been struggling to maintain his composure while he examines the data, which contradicts all previous reports about the renegade robot.
(Unbelievable!) Lemac thinks to himself. (People laughed at the idea of robots being able to live like human beings, and I was one of them. And now I am looking at proof that a robot can not only have a conscience, but it can also have emotions and, stranger still, nightmares!)
^Don't deny it, Zeta. If you had done your job in the first place,
none of this would have happened. The Nosis would not have blown up,
Rowen would not be a wanted fugitive, and Dr. Selig would still be
alive if you had just done your job! ^
^No! It wasn't like that! ^
^This is your fault, Zeta. ^
As Lemac scans the disc, he hears Zeta arguing with Bennet, but he can't see anything. The screen is pitch black. When Bennet was questioned about this scene earlier, he swore he had not spoken to Zeta at that time. He was busy putting Brother's Day agent Titus Sweete in prison. Even Bennet was surprised. Zeta, a machine, was actually having a nightmare.
^It's your fault... your fault... your fault...^
^Zee! Wake up! Wake up...! Please, Zee. Wake up! You're having a
nightmare.^
^Ro... It... it was...^
^It was just a bad dream, Zee. Everything's alright.^
^It was... my fault, Ro. It was all my fault.^
And then there's Rosalie Rowen, a runaway juvenile who's been sticking to Zeta like glue since they met in Spring City. It is so much easier for Lemac to believe that she's some kind of evil accomplice, but according to Zeta's memories, this girl has taken it upon herself to be its guardian, helping it out every step along the way, teaching it how to behave like a human being. And when Zeta was having nightmares, she suddenly became its psychiatrist.
^Zeta! Listen to me! This is not your fault, and I can prove it. Think
about this: Bennet and the NSA believe you were reprogrammed by
terrorists, right?^
^Right.^
^Well, Selig said he placed that module in you while you were being
made. You had been reprogrammed from the very start. The problem was
he didn't tell anyone about the module, not even you. If he hadn't
kept it such a big secret, he could have been notified about your
change in behavior.^
Commander Lemac couldn't argue with that statement. (How can such a smart- aleck street kid seem so wise beyond her years?)
^So to your knowledge, you destroyed people who were guilty. And once
you discovered Dolan was innocent, the module kicked in, making you
realize that killing an innocent man was wrong. You've been programmed
to understand right from wrong. And you've been doing it ever since.
Every time you notice something wrong, you'd do something to make it
right...^
Lemac begins to wonder if this is what Selig had planned for Zeta all along. (Was Selig trying to create a superhero?)
^But, Dr. Selig is gone. Bennet will never believe me. I can't prove
anything Selig said to us.^
^Yes, you can. Remember how you showed me what went on in that lab
when you. lost control of yourself? Those images came from your
memory. Our encounter with Selig is in your memories as well. What if
you were to download a copy of that onto a disc? We could send a copy
to Bennet, and he could see for himself what Selig said about that
module.^
(Is Zeta... hugging her? I might as well be watching a soap opera.)
^Thank you, Ro. Once again, you've given me hope.^
"Well, Selig," Lemac says to himself, "I hope you're proud of yourself. Millions of dollars was spent on creating what we thought was a killer robot, and thanks to you, all it wants to do is fall in love with a teenage girl!"
Lemac leaves his desk to look out the window. He can't stand to look at that disc any longer, but the images remain fresh in his mind. (How can such a tiny module cause a world of trouble? On one hand, Zeta is government property and supposed to be working for us. On the other hand, Zeta's built-in conscience prevents him from wanting to kill. He'd rather live like the human he pretends to be... Listen to me! Now I'm calling it a 'him'.)
(And then there's Rowen, a street kid who knows he's a robot, but is willing to do whatever it takes to protect him.) Lemac can't help but smirk. (Let's face it; she's got what it takes to make a great agent. I should probably recruit her.)
Lemac's train of thought is interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "Commander Lemac. What...?! How did this happen...? I want every available agent on this, understand?" He hangs up and dials a number. "Bennet? This is Lemac. I want you in my office on the double."
Five minutes later, the office door slides open allowing Bennet to walk inside.
"Commander, sir, does this involve your decision on Project Zeta?"
"I'm afraid Zeta is the least of our problems right now. I just received a call concerning Agent West."
Bennet can already feel the chill running down his spine. (What has that idiot done now?)
Commander Lemac continues, "Since your report on Project Zeta, I've had your team reassigned to keep them busy while I reviewed the evidence. Rather than having West growing mould behind a desk, I sent him to help transport a prisoner for a courtroom appearance. The transport team has been ambushed en route. Apparently stealth vehicles had run the transport car off the road, crashing it into a ditch. I don't yet know the extent of the injuries. I'm hoping West will explain after he's been treated. But the fact of the matter is... The prisoner has escaped."
Bennet's chill becomes colder with each second. "Sir? Is the prisoner who I think it is?"
"Titus Sweete."