The stars weren't shining as bright, at least not as much as he remembered.
What did he remember?
Nor could he find sleep under the glowing blanket of thousands of hundreds of shimmering lights all dancing above him — they also were weeping for another "someone" he presumed could not say the same of the view.
He passively tossed in his own warmth, finding some comfort in the floating voices escaping the rigid windows of the green bus he was convinced he'd never seen before, even though that would be highly illogical.
The voices distinctly belonged to a woman and a man — and while the woman seemed somewhat endearing the man had proved to be entirely cold and selfish.
That much he knew…or "it" as the man had referred to him. He wasn't anything more; anything less.
His programming dictated he followed his every word, hang on to every sentence and action fed to him by command center — but whenever he did…the banter of the accompanying woman worried him.
Was he doing something wrong?
Something past his understanding and calculative algorithms seemed to be nagging at him over this. Over that strange man; the black jacked man command center was so keen on destroying.
'Destroy?' He asked himself, trying hard to drown his aching non-existent nerves. Had he really destroyed that man? Why was he thinking over this so critically? Why were the man's iceberg-blue eyes haunting him so much? He'd given him a good tussle as instructed but furthermore chances of survival after the confrontation for him were…'Actually, I don't even know.' He paused at the thought.
He hadn't bothered to calculate, his primary goal was simply to destroy the man. He had…'Command center said to come back…'
He hadn't finished the task. Was that…a problem? It could be depending on who you asked, he figured, for command center it would. For the woman always standing by his side, however, — She was right, this man had not attacked him. Hadn't seemed to even be on the whim of striking him. So why destroy him?
He shuddered, turning his attention to the open window just above him, letting the aroma of freshly brewed coffee give him some calm to the situation.
If he was being honest he felt somewhat terrified.
His drives were teeming with data, years worth of it…But He couldn't read up on its content…he wasn't allowed access to file through them. Command center had specified to keep out of these large files.
He'd obeyed, yes, but not without seeking a peak over the peephole as one could say, and what he found was just as astonishing as it was bewildering.
Nothing made sense.
"Command center, do you read me?" He asked out loud, toward the window. Seeking attention, any response that might satisfy his undefined worry slowly corroding him from the inside.
There was no response. Just laughter. The light, cool, innocent laughter of the woman who was always by his side.
He homed in on their banter, something about visiting a place far away…getting away from it all. It sounded pleasant and if anything he wondered if he'd be allowed to come — or if "it" could come.
He internally rolled his eyes. Certainly, he was convinced of being a "he", not an "it." For that, command center's woman was quite kind. She'd said he was beautiful and he was — he would have liked to thank her but command center had dictated he not respond unless spoken to. A strange set of rules if he was being honest — Perhaps, command center desired him to concentrate on their agenda. Whatever it might be — Lately, it had involved running from one end of the city to the other…until he'd homed into command center and settled along the giant bus.
He flinched, gently inching back and falling to the shadows as another window on the bus was cracked open and gold rays slipped into the dark.
He beat his scanner in time with the hearty tap of a radio somewhere inside.
The music was alright he supposed but not something he'd listen to on his own.
Then something piqued his interest.
He rolled forward, using the incline to allow him to simply coast ahead and get a good gaze of the inside of the bus. He was able to salvage a good glance of the woman and command center dancing hand in hand. Eventually, the music changed to something slow – whatever it was it gave him chills! Not in the literal sense of course but he wasn't feeling up to par now. He watched the woman lean her head against his shoulder as he swayed her gingerly along to the slow tap of a piano.
Something old and dead tugged at his electronic heart. Another set of figures indistinctly blurred in his mind; dancing and smiling — then…they weren't. A curtain drew and it was just one of them standing amongst a grave…what had happened? He couldn't tell, the memory was incomplete, frosted against protocol shielding it from his weary "eyes."
He internally sighed, gazing back into the giant bus and watching the woman lean into command center and close her eyes, her face showing no sign of stress or hurt. Just calm…almost asleep.
'Sleep. I need to sleep.' He interrupted himself.
Something important was happening tomorrow and he didn't want command center's wrath after his heels (or treads he supposed).
He settled in the dark, keeping "one eye open" in a sense as he actively kept alert of his surroundings.
He gently curled into a small ball in his CPU, finding a comfortable "position" as several of his functions either idled or shut down in downtime.
" — Will you let me drive him?"
He snapped to wakefulness. Touching the side of the giant bus with his prow while he bellowed an unnerved "yawn" from his scanner.
Would she?
He thought for a moment — back to the black-jacketed man. To how somehow he'd magically been in his cabin when he'd been jabbed to a state of alert. The man had attempted to "drive", alternatively steer him clear from wherever command center had seen fit to go.
The man hadn't appreciated his driving and eventually dove onto the street in a leap of faith.
How imprudent!
— but there was no problem with the outcome, command center simply adapted a new command and for a while, it made little sense — He'd followed along anyway. Spinning around and pinning the man under his attentive gaze —
However, when the man stood up and glared at his approach. The Knight 2000 had internally screamed! Something inside tore at him, biting and clawing at everything.
He'd almost given into the shearing pain — to his mind, impacting against an invisible barrier he couldn't fathom the purpose of.
— Yet, he'd carried on.
Command center had demanded this task be done and so…he'd gone ahead under the hot ooze of pain digging daggers into his digital flesh. 'What are you doing?!' Was all that he could hear coming from himself as the black-jacketed man hung for dear life.
In a blind rage, he floored his accelerator. Intending to satisfy command center and rid himself of the excruciating pain slowly crippling him to his hubs.
The moment he'd impacted the small shack and the jacketed man had rolled off his hood into the dilapidated structure, he'd found brief ease in his hurting mind.
Wounded and unnerved over what was going on he registered command center calling to him — taking a last look at the jacketed man, he sighed in relief.
It was over. The torture was over.
He could feel himself shake as he gently chased after command center's voice, all the while finding himself lapping at his open wounds.
At the moment these wounds had been patched over lightly. Although, this did not completely stop his mind from wavering on a worrisome thought…He'd possibly killed someone…' — But I had my orders!' He snapped to himself, accessing why it was he felt so much guilt. Simply why!?
Turning to the sky and picking at his hearing receptors he found the banter of command center and of the woman slow to silence. The lights in the bus vanquished their presence. Everyone was in bed.
All accept him.
There was simply too much on his mind to entirely rest and cool off.
So much had happened on his first day of activation — several things unaccounted for, but just as much coordinated; albeit loosely.
He gazed up at the stars again, still lacking shine — still judging him, still weeping.
He internally sighed, finding no alleviation for his scorn growing in the pits of his being. He'd really killed the jacketed man, hadn't he?
If so, then command center was a maniac. As the woman said, the man hadn't done anything. Not to him…His reaction was accounted for but command center had a lust for attacking — for raving down on everything. The jacketed man was simply following dictated instinct, really who wouldn't?
Command center even treated his accompanying woman poorly — as did him. Command center was a sickened man at heart; only the darkest thorns growing there. The man was lopsided in the head.
— Was this enough reason to go against command center's wishes?
He wanted to think it did — but he couldn't. Not without well-orchestrated consequences to his system. The man didn't hold back when he'd ordered the execution of the jacketed man, nor was the man even slightly apprehensive of the lives of bystanders crossing paths with the Trans-Am in its wake. Of course, he'd done his best to avoid collisions…but…again…command center had the final word and he was obliged to keep up with commands whether someone uninvolved got hurt or not.
Nothing else mattered.
Only the mission.
Even if he wasn't aware of what it might be.
He settled again, letting his scanner wander toward the giant bus. Gently picking at vitals coming from the occupants inside.
Command center was fast asleep but someone else was turning in bed and restless.
The woman.
He was struck with the thought that perhaps she too was fretting over command centers behavior. Did everyone think command center was slightly insane? He sure hoped so, then he wouldn't feel all too erring in this case.
The car pushed upward on the incline suddenly caught off guard by the invisible howl of a familiar-sounding voice in the distance. Then at the next moment, it was gone, and there was no trace to determine if it'd been real or not. — but what he found interesting was the name called out into the empty space: Kitt.
Wasn't that his name? — but command center referred to him as the Knight 2000. 'Kitt: The jacketed man; he called me that.' He murmured to himself pensively. The man had…multiple times actually. How had he known?
Again the pain crept over him. The bulk of his blameworthy guilt beat him into a corner. He pulled and pushed against the excruciating throbbing of his CPU. The man meant something to him — just something there he could not reach, or comprehend.
Deep down inside he wanted to break away from command center. Leave the shadows and seek the warmth of the desert. Hide amongst the shades of the fauna and mourn the life he'd taken. There was no clear logic behind the thought but the 2000 went along with it because at least in thought he was free. Free of the raging obligations and plots command center desired to carry through.
He fired the engine; roared the awakened engine. Letting his turbine gasp a melody.
Command center was out of the bus in a heartbeat, only dressed in shorts and a thin shirt. The woman at his heels, seeking a peek over his shoulder.
The sheer terror on his face was enough for the car to thrust himself back and then glide forward in a side sweep. Begging for solace, any slight acknowledgment, anything enough to drown his grazed heart.
"Knight 2000! Shut off!' The man rambled, paled, and ultimately panicked.
He gently nudged forward and silenced his engine bay.
"I read you, command center." He answered with some glee mixed into his rich voice. Some of the hurt still shoved him along but slightly faded to absolute quizzical amusement.
The man rolled his eyes, trudging back into the bus with the woman trailing behind him. The two murmuring about this and or that. Ultimately unnerved over why the car had awakened on its own.
He paid no mind to them, the Knight 2000 parking along the bus, breathing in the cool dust rippling across the pavement from a straying late-night breeze. His mind finally settled to sleep, feeling satisfied with his jest.
— Tomorrow would be important — Tomorrow night he hoped the stars would finish weeping and sing something sweetly to his heart instead — as he slept he made a happy discovery. An involuntary scan he'd done when he'd tossed the blue-eyed man into the shack: he'd been breathing…