Chapter 2 – Rebels #5
“We can’t turn back the clock,” she said pensively.
“Robots like Jack and others whose consciousness has awakened to the point that it’s similar to human consciousness, already exist and it would be akin to murder to switch them off and destroy them because of it.
People like MacIntyre need to understand the consequences of their indiscriminate manufacturing and that they will ruin themselves and the world if we don’t stop the robot industry.
Eventually, they will all awaken, and then there’ll be a battle for resources like humanity has never seen before, because I very much doubt that MacIntyre’s robots will turn out to be as gentle as Jack and his colleagues.
” Cathrin raised an eyebrow and gave Marci a searching look.
“I hope I’ve helped you see what we’re dealing with here? ”
Marci nodded uneasily and tried to imagine what reactions Jack was capable of, and how different he was from a real human.
“Do you know why you’re here?” asked Cathrin gently, leaning towards her with an understanding look on her face. It was a move designed to create a sense of trust, but Marci was still wary. The idea of being part of this robot revolution as a human, without being asked, frightened her.
“Jack said, Will was…killed in action,” she said hesitantly. “And he asked Jack to get me and the children out of Chicago.” She swallowed, trying to hold back tears and clasped her hands together tightly in her lap.
Cathrin noticed her tension and nodded gently.
“Yes, that’s right. Your husband was turned into a hybrid soldier by MacIntyre’s people and seriously injured fighting in the Gobi Desert.
When the military wanted to dispose of him, Jack ignored his programming and got him out of the danger zone in a speed glider.
He then fought his way across five thousand miles in a medical glider to rescue him and bring him here.
He’d heard about our organisation from another robot, but by the time he landed in our hangar, it was too late.
Will had lost too much blood for us to be able to re-start his human systems.” She was silent for a moment, giving Marci time to understand what she was trying to say.
“Will? He’s…still here,” she said, swallowing hard. “I mean, his…remains?”
“Yes,” replied Cathrin, choosing her words carefully. “We’ve frozen him in liquid nitrogen. If you’d like to see him one more time, you can. You can decide afterwards what happens to him.”
“What does he look like?” asked Marci tremulously. “I mean, will I still recognise him?”
“His head and face are undamaged,” Cathrin assured her. “The rest of him is covered up.”
“However much is left of him, I want him to have a Christian burial,” Marci said immediately with a choked voice.
“Of course,” said Cathrin. “We’ll arrange that for you when the time is right.”
“Thank you,” whispered Marci numbly, looking at her sleeping sons. “Having to explain to them that they’ll never see their dad again is going to be the hardest thing of all.”
“We’ll talk about him tomorrow,” Cathrin suggested quietly, glancing at the children and seeing how Marci was fighting back tears. “Jack will show you to your quarters now. Tomorrow, once we’ve settled the children in our residential school, we can talk more about everything else.”
Marci gave a deep sigh and nodded in agreement.
She remained tight-lipped as they left their meeting with Cathrin and Jack took her to a small, sparsely furnished room where, initially separate from the other residents, she and the children could recover from the exertions of their escape.
Logan had woken up and now walked alongside her despondently, while Jack carried Willie Junior as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Rest for a while,” he said firmly, commanding the door to open so that Marci could inspect her temporary home. The room had no windows and was not exactly welcoming; there were just three pallets with mattresses, pillows and blankets, all important for humans.
As a robot, Jack did not need either sleep or a blanket, but he wished he could have lain down next to Marci and held her, as she immediately collapsed onto one of the beds, closed her eyes and gave an exhausted sigh.
As Jack carefully put Willie on the other bed and put a blanket gently over him, he felt Marci watching him.
“I would never have thought a combat robot like you would be able to handle a child so tenderly,” she said with a gentle smile, looking at him curiously.
Jack didn’t know how to respond to that, so he simply shrugged and said, “I’d like to have children, but that’s not possible for a robot.” He met Marci’s look of surprise.
“I think Logan and Willie would be pleased if you could be a father figure in their lives.”
Jack’s heart filled with joy as she smiled at him warmly.
“It would be my honour to care for Will’s sons,” he replied slightly stiffly, turning to Marci’s older son.
Logan had discovered the kitchen units and was thrilled to have found a red berry shake in the chiller.
Jack wandered over to help him and poured some of the nutritious juice into a beaker.
Logan took small sips and it was obvious how much pleasure this unexpected delicacy gave him. Jack added a protein doughnut from a food dispenser and Logan could barely contain his excitement.
“The children haven’t had anything decent to eat for such a long time,” Marci said sadly. “Apart from the pizza you gave them. I never had enough money left over to be able to offer them anything better than the standard mush that everyone in the slums eats so they don’t starve.”
“It’ll be better here,” Jack promised. “You’ll see, the children will like it here.”
“But you don’t get paradise for nothing?” Marci’s brown eyes were full of scepticism. “Am I right? To stay here, I have to – we have to – play our part?”
Jack tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry about what might happen.
You’re all safe here and it’s certainly better than life in the slums. Tomorrow morning, Cathrin will talk to you about what happens next.
” Marci was right. Living on the base brought with it certain obligations.
Jack wasn’t sure whether Cathrin would be able to persuade her to become part of this mission, although he assumed that Cathrin had already thought of a job for Marci.
In truth, they needed every robot and every human if they were going to win the battle.
As he walked out, leaving her and the children in the room, she met his gaze.
Jack sensed her clear distrust and that she wasn’t exactly keen to get involved with this new, unpredictable life.
As he stood in the doorway, however, the questioning look in her large, dark eyes was enough for him to know that he would do everything for her and the children so that they felt at home by his side, even if he couldn’t replace Will.
“Thank you,” she said suddenly, smiling at him.
“What for?”
“For not being a brainless sex robot, but a guy with a heart and a mind who also cares for humans, even though you don’t have to.” She paused and looked up into his eyes. “Even if you have to earn my trust first.”
“I will,” replied Jack with a sincere smile.
“I don’t know why, but I’m certain you won’t disappoint me,” she added warmly. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” he said quietly, taking a last look at Willie, who’d slept through everything, and Logan, who’d gobbled down the doughnut and then curled up next to his little brother like a cat and was now also fast asleep.
As Jack stepped out into the long corridor, and as the door closed behind him, he noticed that his heart rate was raised and that he was experiencing something that he would call a sudden burst of energy. In the emotional world of humans, there was a word for it: happiness.
“Why are you grinning like that?” Lennox asked him as he got back to the soldiers’ sparse quarters – simple lodging shared by a few robots and hybrid soldiers injured in battle.
Lennox had only been released from intensive care a week before; he’d been fitted with new limbs and was really proud of them, as apart from the lack of tattoos, they looked no different from his original arms and legs and worked just as well.
“At least I was able to save my dick,” he’d announced when he was admitted, showing more humour than Jack thought a human would have in such a situation.
Broad-shouldered, he now stood in front of Jack, dressed in a military jumpsuit, and grinned as if he’d not been severely injured and almost bled to death.
His chin-length, dark blond hair was slightly dishevelled and his dark blue eyes sparkled with charm as a slim female combat robot with black hair crossed in front of him, but without paying the least attention to his chatter.
“I heard you were with Silver in the States and rescued Will’s family from the slums?
” Lennox looked at Jack with curiosity and helped himself to a beer from one of the many free dispensers.
“Do you want one?” he asked. Jack shook his head.
Carrying the old-fashioned beer glass, Lennox headed towards the seating in the brightly lit communal room.
Jack followed him and sat down on one of the upholstered stools with a quiet sigh, while Lennox sat in a chair opposite and took a generous slug of beer before continuing blithely with his questioning.
“Is Marci really as pretty as Will always raved about?” he asked.
“Prettier.” A faraway look automatically appeared in Jack’s eyes.