As elevator doors opened, Sally was the only one to turn and look, since she was the only human in the room. The bots working on the anthropoids just went about their business. Cynthia could tell Sally was not expecting the door to open. Linda must have left to get some sleep.
The tall, elegant woman with her blonde hair flowing stepped into the room. She stepped forward slowly now gaining all the bots' attention. "Everybody out!" That was all they needed. The small amount of bots filed out of the room.
The door closed once more with the bots inside. Cynthia found herself left in the lab with Sally. Sally walked towards her and something in her manner told Cynthia that she may have been betrayed by her own friend. "What is this? We need those bots to complete this job. Besides I thought you weren't coming back until morning."
Cynthia, acting as Linda might, stared her down. "When I said every one out, that meant you too."
Sally's brow furrowed and her voice sounded a little suspicious, Cynthia believed Sally wouldn't question Linda, but now she did. "Why must I leave?"
That frustrated Cynthia and helped her to project anger she didn't really feel. "You should know by now that I don't need to give a reason." She took one step sideways and pointed towards the elevator doors.
Had Sally been just a little braver and willing to stand up to her superior, Cynthia knew she would have refused to leave. She was not like that though, and without another word she walked out the door. Maybe Sally realized that this was Linda, and she really did want to be alone.
At least that's what she thought. The need to be alone and work independently was inherent in her, like her creator. After all that's how she got here, she spent her entire childhood working and studying alone. Well, at least Linda did, I never had a childhood. Cynthia mused. Only memories that aren't mine. She herself wanted the room empty so the bots couldn't see what she was about to do.
Once the room cleared, and the doors shut behind her, she relaxed. Her disguise was still good and her counterpart wouldn't be bothering them. For the first time out of her many nights in this room, she was able to see the reality of this horrible scheme. Almost two dozen lifeless forms lined two long walls. Most were fully covered including their heads to lend the room the creepiness of a morgue. There were a few uncovered and appeared as if they were only sleeping. These were the ones the bots had been working on. A couple even had exposed circuits or missing limbs. Each of the exposed bodies seemed to have their own personality even in this state. Different colored hair and eyes, nationalities, and even small little moles gave each anthropoid an individual quality.
She turned her attention to the rest of the room. The remaining two walls were adorned with equipment and a rather large computer on the far wall. She walked around the empty center table fully aware of its use. She found herself face to face with the computer. She felt relieved to find it on and operational. Lights blinked, one of its half dozen screens was filled with equations, three showed circuit layouts, the fifth was blank and the last blinked with various locations around the plant. Obviously, Linda had a conscious concern for the security of this project.
Despite never seeing it before Cynthia quickly understood the controls; a definite advantage to being given her creator's memory. She began her task working the controls for the security screen.
That particular screen was touch screen with arrows pointing both forward, and back no doubt used for selecting specific locations. The panel beneath the screen was a bit more ambiguous with cryptically labeled touchpads.
Experimenting, she touched an arrow, and as expected, the picture changed from that of the main hallway to a shot of one of the many office area's with cubicles. She forwarded the screen again. This was an aerial shot of the manufacturing area, with one more press the outside of the building showed with the principle door. With each new camera a number in the left hand corner changed. When she reached this screen she realized these weren't random numbers were at all. It showed the identical numbers and letters as that in the doorman's designation.
Larry told her that he had followed her here the night before and the doorman had been inoperative. This became the key to getting everyone inside and now she had the means.
She looked to the lower panel now and deciphered the buttons. She quickly recognized almost all the labels as ones she had used or would use. "SEC," for example meant security; "EM" she had used many times for the bots she designed meaning "Erase Memory." This made it very easy to reprogram the bot for a different task hence "PM" was one button access to loading the new programs. "DB" normally it stood for "DataBase" yet she knew that wasn't the case here. It had no direct connection to security, so she pressed it. She did not look to the screen until she took her finger off the button. She didn't at first see the bot. She searched the screen and found the bot lying on the floor out for the count.
Cynthia watched the screen as her friends appeared. Julion, when he saw the lucky opening, ran for the door. Larry moved quickly to block him from getting close to the door. Larry knew of the security on the door. If Julion were scanned, security would be alerted and they would never get inside.
Cynthia searched the board trying to deactivate the link from the door to security, and the only thing she could think of was the SEC button. How was she to know that that wouldn't bring security straight to her door? After watching the two stand outside the door nervously, waiting and helpless, she decided that she would be able to handle security if they came to her.
Crossing her fingers, she pressed the button lightly. She would have crossed her eyes and every other part of her body if she thought it would help. There was a loud chirp like a lark singing the door opened. Without a second thought, Larry moved through the door. He moved quickly followed closely by Julion in the direction of the elevator. After they were out of sight on the screen and the door had closed, she pressed the "DB" button again. The bot came to attention quickly as if nothing had happened.
***
In the foyer Julion and Larry met four menacing red security bots; two flybots, a revbot, and a pedbot. "Stop, this is a restricted area. You are not authorized to be here. Please leave immediately." One of the bots said.
Julion rocked on his heels smiling, very confident and very relaxed. "Oh, but we do have authorization." Then to Larry, "Why don't you show them our authorization."
"Very well." Larry began to float forward.
"Stop. Do not approach." The bots raised their weapons. They were at a standoff the bots not making a move until the two refugees provoked them. Larry slowly withdrew a chip from its slot and presented it. The four bots moved in and surrounded the two intruders.
The lead flybot took the chip from Larry and placed it in its own slot. Everyone waited on edge to hear the bot's verdict. The bot's faceplate went dark and it dropped to the ground with an ear splitting whack. Larry and Julion acted at the same moment.
Larry opened fire with his new laser rifle at the remaining flybot while Julion jumped the pedbot that was to his right. The revbot rolled around trying to take aim at the intruders.
Larry's computer controlled precise shooting knocked the second flybot to the floor. The revbot shot just as well; it fired and disabled Larry's new weapon.
Julion's target withstood his initial attack and its superior reflexes kept it on its feet. The bot, with a swipe of its metal arm made Julion fall back a few feet. The bot whirled him around in a fancy waltz step and gripped him into a bear hug. The pedbot started walking with Julion struggling in his arms. It had somehow underestimated Larry dismissing him as a security bot, leaving himself open to Larry's attack.
Larry opened fire just long enough and with as little power as possible to distract the bot. It loosened its grip. Julion dropped down directly out of the bot's arms. Then, he came to his feet and swung his right fist with all the strength he could muster into the bot's face. That was all it took to knock this bot out and straight onto the ground.
The revbot saw its opening and took aim at Julion. Julion ducked and felt his skin prickle as the laser just missed him. He knew he couldn't escape and hoped that Larry would cover him. He waited there for a moment and tentatively looked up to find the revbot leaning over him against the wall. Julion rose to his feet and pushed the revbot. It fell to the ground with a thud. Julion shrugged at Larry who commented. "It would appear your smell defeated it."
"Ha ha. Come on." Larry and Julion ran quickly for the elevator.
They stepped into the elevator but found that it would not become active for them. Julion examined the control panel. He never had to use it before and therefore didn't have the faintest idea what floor the lab was on. Without warning, the lift started moving. It did not stop again nor did any bots disturb its movements, until it reached the correct floor. The doors opened to the white-walled sterile looking laboratory and Cynthia Aldin.
"Good you made it in one piece." She apparently had long forgotten her hatred for Julion and embraced him fully.
It shocked him at first but he held her in his arms. Perhaps what shocked him more is that he enjoyed it. He knew he shouldn't so when he let go, he was all business again. "What happened? Why were we attacked?"
"Just a little mix up. It's corrected and the all clear given. Security won't investigate it."
"What of the bots we left in the foyer?"
"They will be taken to the recycling plant shortly." Larry said as if he had a chill run down his spine. Julion almost felt sorry for nearly sending Larry there himself.
Julion let this go and asked Cynthia. "What have you been able to do?"
Cynthia led them over to the computer and showed them the basics of what she had learned. Besides the security console, she had figured out two other sections while the bot and human were playing with security. One console was essential to the android's programming and therefore became her priority. The other console contained the database and files of all the work on the androids to the present. With access to these, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to manipulate the androids.
"I've already read thirty percent of these files." She explained to them. "So I have a good idea of what's going on. Give me ten more minutes, and I'll have assimilated all of it. Then I won't have to guess at what I'm doing.
"Here's what I want you to do while I'm reading." She outlined the steps to take in evaluating the status of the androids. She then stood over the computer screen flipping through the pages as if they were liquid.
Larry moved to the closest table with an uncovered android. On the way he picked up a couple scanning tools and began working. Julion grabbed a datapad and started entering the numbers Larry called out. Julion began mumbling to himself. Larry stopped momentarily to question him: "Your emotions seem to be shifting again. Is there something I can do to stabilize your thoughts?"
Laughing, Julion answered, "You make it sound like some medical condition. Of course then you'd say you did work in the Medical Clinic, so it's only natural." He let out a sigh. "No, there's nothing you can do for me." He was quiet for another minute while Larry read off more numbers finishing off this android.
"I just think Cynthia may yet turn out like Linda," he said as they moved to the next one. "I mean she's ordering us around just like Linda. I am leaving the minute she insists we put the androids together and she sits on her duff."
"Though I have only known her for three days now," Larry called off a couple numbers in between statements, "she has not yet done so."
Julion grunted. "I hope you're right, because I will not have her screaming her lungs out at me for doing my job again."
Cynthia, scanner and datapad in hand, walked up behind him and past to the third comatose body. "Believe me I wouldn't waste my breath on such a thing." She smiled playfully. "I work hard at everything I do and I never, ever 'sit on my duff,' nor let others do work that I should be doing."
This made Julion feel a little better as the three of them went on with their work, not speaking for quite a while. After they finished the evaluations and they decided what the semi-operational androids needed to become fully operational, Cynthia went over the next step with them; how to assemble those androids who were missing parts. Everything they needed was right there at their fingertips. She worked diligently alongside them. She worked as hard if not harder and faster to get the job done.
Within five hours all the androids were assembled completely. Their motor skills and processors now worked thoroughly. There was two last things they needed to do: facial molds and personality programming.
The personality programming only took a couple of minutes after they decided what personalities they would incorporate into the androids. All it took was to call up any files they could find in their computers on people from the past who nobody would think to bother. The hard part was making the faces that fit those personalities.
It took several hours to mix the materials together to make the plastocarbon, or synthetic skin as some called it, at the same time the computer made the casing of the molds. It took a good three hours to let the skin set and harden before it could be placed onto the androids.
Dawn had come and gone by the time they finished with makeup, hair, and every little detail to make the androids look human. It was possible that Linda would show up any minute. If she did, they had a surprise in store for her.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please send me any comments you might have, good or bad. Copyrighted 2008 by Christine Schnell. Go ahead and share it with others just keep my name with it.
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