Next segment will come real soon. Don't know why, but I am on a roll here. Thanx for following along, and for your encouragement. - Bry
Alive
A fan fiction in progress
by Bryan Harrison
Part 20
1
The passageway was large enough for a cargo truck. The floor was dry and level. The rays of sunlight coming from the entrance behind David were sufficient to light his way. So why was it so hard to move forward? Once again he found himself facing the strength of his new human emotions. Each step was more difficult than the last. Yet there was no obstacle before him… but the one in his head.
And his heart.
Relax, he told himself. 'Don't forget why you're here. You've come to find out Mommy's whereabouts. The rest is over now. Unimportant. Leave the past behind.' But even as he thought these things, he knew it was impossible. He was only here because of his past. It was tied to the present. And to his future.
"My son was one of a kind."
The words sprang up unexpectedly from the dark pit of David's memory. The emotion that followed almost caused him to turn around. He had almost forgotten the encounter. Where had these thoughts been lurking all this time, just to resurface here?
"You are the first of a kind."
David was forced to stop this time, and wipe a sudden tear from his cheek. But it was not sadness that moved him. What was it? Anger? Fear?
"Are you ok, David" Teddy said, its robotic features twisted into a simulation of concern.
"I'm fine," David said quickly. Too quickly. He was fighting something, but not sure what. He breathed deeply to settle himself. "Sorry Teddy. It's just that I…" but he decided he did not feel like explaining anything to Teddy. He couldn't anyway. How do you explain such a complex web of emotions to a toy?
"Let's keep going," David said.
They moved deeper into the building. The light faded, and their footfalls became more pronounced as the sound of the ocean receded. Soon David could barley see at all.
"It's too dark for me, Teddy," David said, once again frustrated by his body's limitations. "What do you see?" He heard the Supertoy's head whirring softly in the dark beside him, as it adjusted its eyes.
"There's a large door ahead of us, David" Teddy said.
"Lead me," David said.
Teddy guided David into the darkness until they met a large metal barrier. David ran his hands over the surface. It was dusty and corroded, smelled of salt water and mechanical grease. He began searching for a handle.
"No, David. Over here," Teddy said, guiding the boy's hand to a protrusion in the wall. David felt the object blindly, wondering what it could be. It was oval, with small buttons on its center. Was it a doorknob? He wrapped his hand around it and tried to pull. Then he felt one of the buttons depress.
The buzzing of an alarm pierced the darkness and echoed though the empty passageway.
"Oops," David said and started backing away. He blanched when a metallic voice erupted in the dark.
"Hey! This dock is closed. Who in the heck is out there?"
David stammered, looking for the right words. But there were none. A whirring sound came from the space above him.
"I seeee you," the voice said. "You're in a restricted zone. You better have some identifica…" but the voice stopped mid-sentence. David heard the camera whirring again.
"Oh, not again," the voice said, anger obvious in its tone. "You stay put!" Then the connection went dead.
David was locked in indecision as the old cargo lift started whirring. Even if there was another way inside, they had seen him now. There were probably cameras all over the building.
"Should we run, Teddy?" David said.
"I don't know, David." Teddy replied.
David turned to see that the entrance was now just a dot of light far behind them. How long would it take for the man to get here? If he started running now, maybe they could… But then he heard the lift's gears grind to a halt, and the metal door began to creak open slowly.
"Too late," David muttered.
A sliver of light appeared at the foot of the old cargo elevator, and grew slowly as the door opened. A man was standing there, illuminated in the stark florescent light on the ceiling. His face was obscured by the shadow from his cap, so David could not read his expression, but he wore a gray uniform with the word 'Security' written above the chest pocket. The man stared at the odd couple for a moment, saying nothing, his hands resting on his hips.
"Hello," Teddy said, waving a paw. It was an automatic response.
David shrugged innocently and deployed his 'disarming smile'.
The Guard clucked his tongue and sighed.
"Now how in the heck you two get out here?" he said, shaking his head. Then he reached out suddenly, and roughly yanked them both inside.
"Be nice!" Teddy commanded.
The man laughed at this. But there was no humor there. It was a weary and frustrated sound. He looked at David with the eyes of a man whose work is never done.
"You brat bots gonna cost me my job one of these days," he said as the elevator door closed and it began to ascend.
2
"Don't tell me 'no way', it's standing right here!" the Guard said. "Got a little toy bear with it. Found 'em in the old sea level loading dock. I told you guys we ought to board that place up, but nobody listens."
They were in a large room now, with a wide array of screens on the walls, showing various points around the building. David and Teddy were seated in large comfortable chairs while the Guard argued with a dark haired man in one of the screens. The man in the monitor was dressed in a white lab coat and wore small oval glasses. He pushed his glasses up higher on his nose and scratched his head.
"A toy bear?" the man in the monitor said, confusion in his voice. "Well, what model is the mecha?"
"How the heck would I know?" the guard blurted. "That's outta my pay scale. I do security. Remember?"
"Just describe it for me," the other said, impatient now.
"It's one of those brat bots; the 'David' things," the guard replied, glancing over his shoulder. "But it looks like a custom … or else somebody's been tinkering around when you guys are browsing Facebook. Either way, I don't care what model it is, it's not supposed to be running around loose in the facility."
The man in the monitor looked mystified.
"It sounds like something out of marketing. But they already wrapped up inventory on the Davids. Everything that wasn't shipped out yesterday is accounted for." He sighed and glanced at the watch on his arm. "Look, those guys are gone for the day, and I was just leaving. Can't you just… ya know, stash it in a closet until tomorrow? We can figure out where it goes then."
The guard had enough. "Hey, I ain't doing the heavy lifting for anymore of your run-a-ways," he yelled. "Now you get someone down here to retrieve this thing or I'll write it up and you can explain to the Professor why you can't keep your chickens in the coop!"
"Ok. Ok. Bring it down a notch," the monitor man said. "I'll send someone." He walked away from the screen, swearing under his breath.
The guard sat back with a satisfied grunt.
"What model is it?" he snickered, mocking the lab man. "Do you believe these damned lab-geeks." He swiveled his chair around and shot David a sour look.
"This place is like Oz, ya know what I mean?"
"No sir," David replied, keeping his face as expressionless as possible.
"I mean, it makes a real good first impression," the Guard said, "but when you look closer, you realize it's just a big freak show run by a huckster and populated by midgets and fairies!"
He laughed and kicked out so that his chair rolled backwards to a large console where he started punching buttons. The images in the monitors began changing rapidly. The guard went into a rant as he scanned the images.
"Hobby's got thirty-five full time lab-geeks in residence who spend most of their time diddling around the net when he ain't lookin'. In between playing games and browsing porno, somehow they manage to crank out enough of you little brat bots to justify their salary. Then they toss half of you in storage just to keep the market price up.
"Got fifty service bots in this facility. Twenty-five gofers to maintain the labs, Fifteen for dusting and cleaning commodes for the geeks. Five assistants for the Orga chefs they bring in for the little monthly soirée's Hobby throws his investors. And then they got five clueless security bots that spend all day poking around 200 empty rooms."
He turned to face David again "Five!" he said, letting the word linger as if he expected some reaction. David smiled blankly and somehow managed not to laugh. The man turned back to the console.
"Hobby kids himself, thinking this remote location makes security optional. I only got two other humans watching the monitors with me; a tired old guy who replaces me for the evening shift and a kid who takes graveyard after spending all day hanging out with the tranc-heads and scavengers who live in the ruins over 42nd Street.
"This is a multi-million dollar business. Got virtually no overhead here, pay no property taxes, and still they spend all their time pinchin' pennies!"
He glanced over his shoulder.
"You know what trickles down, kid?" he said.
David shook his head dutifully.
"Trouble! Nuthin' but trouble!" The man made that hollow laughter again, and turned back to the monitor array.
"Aw, what am I talking to fiber-head for?" he said. "I'm getting as batty as the geeks. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't stay in…" He stopped suddenly, his attention drawn to something on the screen. "Hello? What do we have here," he said, staring at a small panel in the array. He keyed a button and the panel doubled in size.
David now saw what the Guard was looking at. It was a boat. There were two people on the deck, and it was floating by an abandoned dock. He had to bite his tongue to keep from swearing aloud.
The man keyed the comm. "Ok, move it along you two!" he said, "This is a restricted zone! No fishing. No salvaging. And no loitering!"
David saw the small figure of Hiro waving to the camera, and Chiyoko moving reluctantly into the cabin. After a moment the boat backed off the dock and floated slowly away.
Well, that escape is gone, David thought. He was grateful that the man hadn't made the connection with Hiro's boat and his appearance in their abandoned loading dock. But now he'd have to make other plans for escape. If he ever got out of this jam, that is. He probably should have planned this better, he thought. But than again, how could he have known what to expect. Fate had been with him so far. She probably wouldn't fail him now.
The guard made a disgusted sound and turned to face David again. "I seen those two before," he said. "Salvagers. Always trying to find scraps in the sunken sections." He clucked his tongue and shook his head, as if the idea was somehow pitiful.
David maintained his flat smile, but he hoped they would come fetch him soon, whoever they were, because it was getting difficult to keep up his lifeless appearance. The room was getting warm. He felt sweat beading on his forehead.
The man must have noticed this, because his eyes squinted in curiosity. He began seriously looking David over for the first time. The tan. The sun bleached blonde hair hanging to his collar. The worn clothing, hands calloused from work.
The Guard shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"That's weird," he said slowly. "So, uh… You must be some new thing 'eh?"
'You have no idea, mister' is what David wanted to tell him. "Yes, sir," is all he said though.
The man seemed about to say something more when a door hissed open behind David. The Guard looked up, relief in his face.
"Took you long enough," he said, and pointed at David. "There's your cargo. Dump it upstairs with the others." Then he went back to examining his monitors.
David turned to see who had come to retrieve him. It was a blonde haired man. He stood in the elevator door, arms folded behind his back. He appeared to be in his 30s and was dressed in a servant's uniform. He had a flat generic smile on his generic face.
David felt his spirits lifting. This couldn't have worked out better.
He rose, picked up Teddy from the chair beside him and approached the Mecha. The flat smile faltered as he neared. Its eyes followed him as he passed and took a place inside the elevator. Now it was gazing at him with open suspicion.
It knew, David realized. It knew he was Orga. Of course it would know.
The Mecha turned towards the Guard, and was about to say something when David hissed under his breath.
"Get inside the elevator."
There were a few things David remembered from his other life; rules that were hardcoded inside the brain of every Mecha, and could only be removed by extensive and illegal reprogramming. Chief among them was to always obey a direct command from an Orga. It was part of the Asimovian code. This bot would be no different.
The service Mecha turned to face David again, its conflict clear in its expression. It was torn between two obligations: either obey the direct command, or alert the closest authority figure to the presence of a stranger. Its decision would depend entirely on what security measures it had been implanted with.
"Get inside now," David hissed, just loud enough that the Mecha would hear. Still the thing hesitated. Only seconds had passed but it seemed much longer as the two stared at each other in silent confrontation.
"Hey!"
The Guard's voice erupted from across the room, interrupting their standoff. They both looked to see the man glaring at them from his console.
"You two go on stand-by or somethin'?" the man said.
"Sir," the service Mecha began, "I believe you should be made aware that-"
The Guard pounded his fist on the console "Get that brat bot outta here!" he yelled. "Thing gives me the creeps."
David managed not to gloat as the Mecha entered the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he let out a sigh of relief. Fate had not yet abandoned him.
3
They ascended in silence, the service Mecha standing motionless, staring blankly ahead. The Guard had inadvertently saved David's mission by giving the Mecha a direct command, one that backed up his own. But he knew the moment the Mecha had a chance, it would follow its default obligation and report him to an authority figure. He had to avoid an encounter with any of them.
"Tell me your name," David said.
The Mecha hesitated a moment "I am called Alfred, sir," it replied finally, without looking at him.
"Stop the elevator, Alfred" David said.
Still caught between two conflicting obligations, Alfred reluctantly reached out and pressed a button on the control panel. The elevator stopped its ascension. Still, the service Mecha would not look at him.
"Where is Alan Hobby?" David said. When the bot did not respond, he changed his approach. "Take me to the office of Alan Hobby," he commanded.
"I cannot access that floor without permission, sir," Alfred quickly replied.
David thought for a moment. This was a game of strategy. He had the advantage since, unlike any creature before; he had existed on both sides of the board. He knew what was happening in Alfred's brain. But what barriers had been erected to prevent the bot from acting on its own volition? He would find out.
"Well, I am giving you permission," David said at last.
"You do not have authority, sir," Alfred said.
"I am giving myself authority."
"You cannot authorize yourself to give authority."
David noticed that Alfred had not said "sir" this time. And its voice was becoming testy. So there was some variation in its programming after all. He remembered what Hiro had told him. Did Alfred have the option of disobedience? He felt a touch of guilt for what he was about to do.
"Look at me," David commanded.
Alfred slowly turned to face David. Its face betrayed no emotion, but David knew its mind was reeling in indecision
"Who am I?" David said.
"I do not know your name."
"If you do not know my name, then you do not know me. If you do not know me, you cannot possibly know if I have authority or not."
"You are a stranger, and a stranger cannot-"
"I am Orga!" David interrupted. "And your prime directive is to obey!"
"David, be nice!" Teddy complained.
"Shut up, Teddy!" David snapped. "And do not speak again until I give you permission." He turned his attention back to Alfred. "Do as I say."
"I am obligated to obey only the proper authority," Alfred said. "And since I cannot ascertain your authority, I will have to consult with someone who can."
Then it reached for the control panel.
"Do not touch that button!" David ordered. The robot's arm fell back to its side.
"Look at me," David commanded. Alfred obliged again. David knew its brain was calculating a logical way out of this predicament. The mind games weren't working like he hoped they would. It was time for a change of strategy.
"Who am I?" David said again.
"I do not know your-"
"Who do I appear to be," David interrupted.
"You appear to be a child replicant of the variety known as David."
"Yet I am Orga. How do you explain that?"
Alfred did not respond. A strange look came into its eyes. Just for an instant. Had he not once been Mecha, David might not have noticed it. But he did, and he knew he had struck a nerve in the Mecha's limited logic.
It was time to go for the throat.
"Yes, Alfred, I appear as David because I am," he said. "But not a copy. Not a simulation. I am Orga; I am the flesh and blood son of Alan Hobby. Heir of your highest authority: your creator. I have fought my way through fire and water to see him and it will be done! Whether or not you think I have the right to speak with my own father doesn't mean a damned thing to me. I do have authority to see that you are shut down and dismantled, and I will use that authority if you fail to obey me again!"
If Alfred had been capable of emotion, David might have seen fear in its face. That and awe. They stared at one another for another timeless moment. Then the service Mecha turned back to the control panel.
"Yes, sir," it said as it pressed the button for the 27th floor. They began to ascend.
4
David remembered this room; the stark angles of the furniture, the cold light breaking through the great window, the dark shadows that embraced the corners. And the silhouette of the Cybertronics statue that stood outside on the ledge, its arms spread wide and hands fanned back, like a bird awaiting a lifting breeze.
But the place was empty now. He was alone. His siblings, who had once been draped on the walls or imprisoned in boxes that stood in the center of the room, were now being stored elsewhere in the building.
He turned to see Alfred standing attentively near the door to the elevator.
"Wait here until I return," he said. The Mecha nodded obediently and folded its arms behind its back. Then David looked down at his friend.
"You wait too, Teddy," he said. "You can't help me now." Teddy's head dropped, but he obeyed and went to the service bot's side.
David turned and stepped across the threshold of this unavoidable encounter.
It was silent. Only the distant, unending rumble of the Lions could be heard. Across the room lay the glass doors he had once disobeyed his creator to pass through. Beyond those doors lay the room where his creator had revealed the truth that broke his innocent Mecha heart. The pain was still there. It would likely always be there, like the remnant of a childhood wound that would occasionally wake to torment his silent moments.
What was his plan now? How was he to approach this man? The same way he had done before, when his innocence had left him vulnerable?
Yes, he decided. He would confront him directly. But it wouldn't go the same as before. Things had changed. He was no longer innocent. He was no longer vulnerable.
And now he was truly unique. Truly one of a kind. The only one.
"Professor Hobby?" David said as he approached the door.
There was no reply, just the moan of distant thunder that competed with the roaring lions.
The storm was coming.
"Professor Hobby?" David said, louder this time, feeling the surge of expectation arise in him. He peeked through the doors and saw the books lined up on polished wooden shelves. Beyond them was the other door, one with words cut into its surface. They were backward now, since he was looking from the inside. But he knew what they said.
"Come away o human child, to the waters and the wild…"
He didn't need to recall the rest. It had all been a trick. A treachery.
He started to open the doors. Then he heard it. A voice. It was not in the study before him, but coming from behind. David turned and saw another doorway across the room. He approached it slowly. As he neared it, he could hear a man speaking in soft measured tones.
He knew that voice. It had once broken his heart.
David approached the door and pulled the handle, gently, as if he were opening the door of a sacred shrine. The room beyond was the hues of dark polished wood. There were luminous displays on the walls, and charts depicting his siblings in various states of construction.
Sitting in a couch on the far side, its legs folded, its eyes downcast, gazing at a book it held in its lap, sat one of his twin brothers. It was draped in the white robes that he had once worn in his own Mecha infancy; smiling in the same lazy way he had once smiled. The sight made David's heart jump with a new, strange emotion. That was once me, he thought.
The voice came again. David followed the sound. There, sitting in a desk by the window, his back to David, sat his creator. The man was leaning back in his chair, speaking softly to someone out of his line of sight. David could not see his face, but he was silhouetted in the now faint light breaking though the window.
There was a distant rumble. The storm was getting closer.
David entered the room, quietly. The man in the chair did not hear him, did not notice his entry. He stopped near the rays of fading light that streamed into the room, his heart now racing with anticipation. And something else was inside him; something powerful was beginning to stir in his chest.
The Professor still did not notice David. He was lost in his thoughts, speaking to a computer screen, which was transferring his words into text.
"… and considering your breach of trust, Cybertronics can no longer be affiliated with the product…" The professor stopped. "No. Erase last entry to line twenty five," the man said. David watched the words disappear from the screen and then reappear as the professor began dictating again. "And in the light of these pending charges, we must refrain from any further association with your product… for the time being."
Hobby continued his dictation. David listened curiously for a moment. Apparently someone had broken his trust and he was sending them an official notice. How ironic, David thought. There seemed something pathetic about him now; sitting alone in his study, dictating his business transactions to machines that would talk to other machines and then to distant Orga whose decisions would have real effects on the lives of real people.
Hobby talked on, failing to see his tragic creation watching from the shadows nearby. His brother noticed though. It raised its head and stared. After a silent minute, it turned to look at its creator, and then back to David. But it said nothing and soon decided to go back to the book.
What lesson are you learning, little brother, David thought. Are they teaching you about love and loss? Desire and pain? These are the things that make you real.
David stepped into the light.
Alan Hobby looked up from his work. There was another David standing beside his desk. But something was wrong about this one. It was taller than standard issue. Its skin was tanned, it hair sun bleached and too long. The clothing was frayed… scuffed and stained here and there. And the look in its eyes! There was something intense about that look.
"Well, hello there," Hobby said with a chuckle. "What happened to you?" He looked David up and down and then laughed aloud. "Oh, what are those goofs up to now?" he said, scrutinizing David as if he were some new promotional device. Then he craned his head around like he was expecting to see someone else in the room.
"Marcus, is this your doing?" Hobby said with a chuckle. "Come on, I know you're out there."
David realized that he must have thought it all some sort of joke; that his employees, 'the geeks' as the Security man had called them, were just having him on. Time to wake up, Professor, David thought.
The rumble of distant thunder filled the room. The storm had arrived.
"It's me, Father," David said.
Once again he watched the amazing transition of human realization. Hobby's smile faltered. Then it disappeared altogether. He uncrossed his legs and sat upright slowly, his face darkening, brow closing in sudden anger.
"That is not funny," he said, a tremble in his voice. "Marcus!" he yelled. "I don't appreciate this type of humor! Marcus!" When no one answered he turned his attention back to what he had mistaken for an inappropriate joke. He pointed over David's shoulder.
"You go back now, down to the lab and tell Marcus that he went too far this time. I am not amused! You tell him that! Go on now."
David was amazed. The man still didn't see, did he? Even when the truth was standing right before him, he missed it. Like so many other things he failed to see; Like the suffering of his Mecha children. And how poorly equipped were men to play at being Gods.
"Don't you recognize your own flesh and blood?" David said, softly. He stepped closer; the light from the window now washing over his face and body.
Hobby was dumbfounded, his mind caught in the turbulence of disbelief and denial.
Thunder cracked again. Closer now. Raindrops began to strike the window.
David moved towards the man. Hobby seemed unable to move. He was visibly trembling now, his face twisted in confusion. He held up a hand as if to ward David off.
"This is not funny. Not funny," he kept repeating. But it was just a whimper, the mantra of a cowering child afraid to look under the bed lest he find the monsters in his imagination waiting there.
Realization was setting in.
"You're right, Father," David said. "It's not funny. Because it's not a joke."
Then he reached out and gently touched the face of his Creator.
His Father.
His betrayer.
The man shrieked and pulled away. David watched in fascination and … delight? Could it be that? Yes, David decided, it was delight he felt as he watched Alan Hobby try to rise too quickly, then slip and fall to the floor where he began scooting away, arms held out protectively, eyes wide in shock, mouth opened in a scream that could not seem to escape.
Now David knew what the feeling was that had been stirring inside him since he had set foot in the building. Revenge. Sweet and simple revenge. That most vile and most human of emotions. It flooded up from the core of his soul and erupted into the world.
"How does it feel, Father?" David yelled, a sudden tear forming in his eye, his heart aflame with this new savage joy. "How does it feel to be alone with your fear? Like you left me? Alone!"
"No-no-no…" Hobby sputtered, blinking his eyes rapidly as if this might wash the awful apparition from his sight. "You… you can't be. You can't be my son!"
Thunder cracked. A torrent of water fell and cascaded over the windows, blurring the view to the outside world.
"Oh, but I am!" David said, as Hobby recoiled in horror.
"I am David!" he screamed, triumphant. "I am special! I am unique!"
"And I am alive."
"Alive!"
(cont...)