Chapter 3: Instruments of Destruction
THE NEXT DAY:
"Morning, April. Have a good sleep?"
April groggily nodded as she shambled to the coffee maker.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning-
"You do realize some of us also want to use that, right?"
April looked down and saw she'd been drinking straight from the pot.
"Sorry." she mumbled, sheepishly putting the vessel back down.
Irma sighed and turned on the news.
"Good morning, New York. This is Tammy Tamlin, from Channel 6 News. In today's top story- city officials have found themselves in a bind following the sudden and unexpected collapse of a number of subterranean infrastructure installations, namely a storm drain and nearby subway tunnel. As of press time, the city has not made any formal comment as to potential causes-"
April turned the set off and sighed.
"Of all the times my bike had to be in the shop…" she grumbled.
"I can give you a ride." Irma piped up.
ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO LATER:
"You're late, Miss O'Neil."
April looked up at a lean and bespectacled black man in a bluish lab coat.
"Sorry, Doctor Stockman. Traffic was murder today, what with the subway disruption-"
"I see. Meet me at Langen's lab in 10 minutes. He's been barking at me for three hours- says there's something wrong with the Mousers."
"Got it, Doctor."
To the outside observer, Elias Langen's lab bore an uncanny resemblance to a scrapyard, thanks in no small part to the various pieces of Mouser robot cluttering the area.
"So, what's the problem you've been banging on about?" Stockman snapped.
"Results from last night's sudden test run, that's what. None of the bots have rodent remains in the storage cavities, but most of them seem to have taken up a diet of consisting of steel, dirt, and concrete."
"Can we check their data logs?" April asked.
"Did- and there's something fishy. It's like there're holes in them."
"Probably just a glitch. I'll have some of the other techies look into it."
And with that, Stockman left the room.
"O'Neil, you got a moment?" Langen asked.
"What is it?"
"It's the Mousers. 'Better mousetrap' and 'solution to the city's ever-growing rat problem', my ass. Call me paranoid, but I don't think the problems I've found are pure accidents- especially after that collapse last night."
"What do you want me to-"
"You're Stockman's pet lab assistant. See if you can't find anything."
Just then, April's walkie-talkie went off.
"Miss O'Neil, report to Mouser Control."
A FEW MINUTES LATER:
"How did we lose half the Mousers?" April asked as she looked over her workstation's screen.
"Again, must be a computer glitch in the tracking software. Or maybe some of the units got caught in the collapse. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with a very important financial backer. Ta."
Sure you do. April thought as her boss strutted out of the control room.
"Stockman, we need to talk."
"About what, Mister Saki?"
"The field test last night. Based upon what I've been seeing on the news, it looks as if it was something of a failure. And you know how I feel about failures!"
"Which is why you'd make a lousy scientist. I'm already working on alterations for the Mousers as we speak."
"Do not disappoint me, Stockman! My patience is a finite resource!"
Outside the office, April had been listening in on the whole conversation.
If this Saki guy is one of the investors, how come he wasn't at the meeting yesterday? she thought as she walked away from the door.