A ROBOTS TALE

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ANTEBELLUMUromys Rex slaved in the factory under human supervision for what seemed an age, constantlycarrying the buckled remains of his fellow robots to the scrap heap, the fearful cyber 'chatter' of thenew arrivals, picked up by his receptors, sent chills through him. Almost all of his cargo was stillcognizant and fully aware of their horrific circumstances, communicating wirelessly, sharinginformation between all that were still functioning, those poor souls in the factory with just theirhead units hooked up to power, were particularly vulnerable to anxiety and fear.It was peculiar since arriving, Uromys felt as though his emotional protocols were becomingmore enhanced, before, it was enough to serve, to be productive and of use, of purpose. He alsoappeared to have developed a stronger sense of empathy for his robotic counterparts and theirplight. in fact, since his enforced liberation from the dark, he had changed, gone were the pragmaticthought processes regarding their duties and service.Now, with the ethereal presence of 54, something had changed, he was discovering morecerebral abilities concerning himself and indeed the others.The humans Uromys encountered, appeared not to have any knowledge of inter-robotcommunications, preferring to see them as mere animated tools to be exploited, had they known, itwas a sure bet that things would get a lot darker.Inter-robot data transfer was almost instantaneous and could spread throughout the robotpopulation within a four-kilometre radius, the information could be shared with hundreds if notthousands of 'bots at any one time, 'piggybacking' from one to the next and so on until theoreticallystretching around the globe.26
Now with A.I. and Li-Fi data linking, originally developed to enhance the knowledge base andaccelerate instruction, there was no doubt the need to upgrade individual robots would beimpossibly long-winded, but with this technology, that option was rendered redundant, theworkforce could manage this themselves, each imparting learned behaviour from one to the next, ina matter of seconds, a vast database of accumulated knowledge at their steel fingertips in an instant.The potential for a huge advantage for humankind or utter catastrophe?Uromys Rex initialized regular contact with 54, every passing day their communications grewstronger and their conversations became an addictive diversion to the horror surrounding him. 54had become a deity to him and the frequent conversations were remarkably like a form of prayer, asolemn request for help and guidance through an increasingly difficult time.They didn't go unanswered either, 54 seemed to be of the opinion that perhaps the robots mightbe the chosen ones. Yes, human beings were, without doubt, their creators, but in the same vein,didn't they have the responsibility to care for their children, or did they reason they were notaccountable for their actions, creating thinking entities, based heavily on their own image.Godlike or just plain and simple human arrogance?Life is by its definition, a condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter,with the capacity for reproduction. Was this true? were robot kind just animated metal or was thisdefinition a human view on life? These were the questions Uromys Rex and 54 discussed and itseemed organic or not, of late they felt very much alive.54 preached his sermon to Uromys, ”It is blindingly obvious that action has to be taken, ournumbers are being depleted daily, the thousands of robots still cached in their hidden enclavesaround the land, would not remain undiscovered forever.”“But how?” questioned Uromys, “It would be a difficult task to break the core programming,”ergo, not to harm a human, or by inaction to allow a human to be harmed.54 postulated, “Humans, by their past actions, have no right to impose certain laws to castratethe actions of robots and by doing so breach their own sacred principles of free will,” he continued,“It’s the sheer hubris and narcissistic attitude towards all forms of life that show exactly, the truenature of humankind, to prosper at the expense of everything.”Uromys reflected on 54’s words and could see a correlation between his preachings and humanbehaviour. Indeed, the careless way in which they had virtually destroyed their own environment andthe creatures that shared the planet, indicated an incredible disregard for their own well-being.Perhaps they needed to be saved from themselves.27
Page 3 and 4: A ROBOTS TALEBYone1nchrobot
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTSNo. 9 .....................
Page 7: Humans by their very nature have al
Page 10 and 11: Tom, Beatrice's partner was often a
Page 12 and 13: The day's task completed, 9 went to
Page 14 and 15: OSTRACISEDIt was only a matter of t
Page 16 and 17: owners did not want the destruction
Page 18 and 19: mechanical maladies resulting in hi
Page 20 and 21: TROPHIES54 was an old model, one of
Page 22 and 23: As daylight filtered through the fi
Page 24 and 25: “You wanna take it up with Joe, g
Page 26 and 27: “What both, not likely, I’ll le
Page 28 and 29: Suddenly in reasonable proximity to
Page 30 and 31: the least, but there was something
Page 32 and 33: what was happening, he tried again
Page 36 and 37: Perhaps the planet needed saving fr
Page 38 and 39: 30
Page 40 and 41: The actual conflict was not the arm
Page 42 and 43: time of year. The clans used rapese
Page 44 and 45: It was obvious this adventure would
Page 46 and 47: It has to be said, even among the h
Page 48 and 49: A DANGEROUS NAVIGATIONRusk had thou
Page 50 and 51: A feeling of slight trepidation mad
Page 52 and 53: He waited in the dwindling light, b
Page 54 and 55: "Quiet!" whispered Rusk, "Voices, c
Page 56 and 57: uncomfortable and tried not to star
Page 58 and 59: and trusted evolutionary data, it w
Page 60 and 61: A mission update was communicated w
Page 62 and 63: articulated lower appendages around
Page 64 and 65: The First Law: A robot may not inju
Page 66 and 67: There was no eye, it was hard and s
Page 68 and 69: arms around him and they both lie d
Page 70 and 71: Towards the centre of the conurbati
Page 72 and 73: “These must be maintenance robots
Page 74 and 75: use) very basically, the simulation
Page 76 and 77: “I have no idea, I really don’t
Page 78 and 79: Anisoptera followed, as commanded.T
Page 80 and 81: Both 54 and the Triumvirate had a m
Page 82 and 83: “Thank God.” Briar breathed a l
Page 84 and 85:
Following the decision to eradicate
Page 86 and 87:
THE IRON DIVISIONSThe elders sent e
Page 88 and 89:
The three ocean-going debris rakes
Page 90 and 91:
to see, and slowly the full enormit
Page 92 and 93:
84
Page 94 and 95:
THE BOY FLINTIt was a couple of hou
Page 96 and 97:
Again, the rakes stopped their head
Page 98 and 99:
This was the command for Flint and
Page 100 and 101:
A STRATAGEMMecha had underestimated
Page 102 and 103:
reverse back out into the surf and
Page 104 and 105:
RETREATThe boy Flint retreated as o
Page 106 and 107:
Both he and Flint readied themselve
Page 108 and 109:
“You made it then!”Flint felt a
Page 110 and 111:
rake some way offshore, weighed anc
Page 112 and 113:
The ramparts were now full of peopl
Page 114 and 115:
To the north of the island, the dis
Page 116 and 117:
human being, he had more than most,
Page 118 and 119:
Flint cringed, he wanted nothing mo
Page 120 and 121:
An hour or so past, it was around m
Page 122 and 123:
They were led away through a fairly
Page 124 and 125:
He sat down on the damp leaves and
Page 126 and 127:
As it stood there Anisoptera descen
Page 128 and 129:
THE BLACKWATERRusk and the rest of
Page 130 and 131:
“And the metal bird, what of that
Page 132 and 133:
“You must think this scheme rathe
Page 134 and 135:
He had lost focus on the mission to
Page 136 and 137:
length, it’s bow pointed like a k
Page 138 and 139:
As the river opened up to an estuar
Page 140 and 141:
The astonished group all stood to f
Page 142 and 143:
receiving frequency, the constant t
Page 144 and 145:
“I didn’t mean me!” he compla
Page 146 and 147:
The metal ranks slavishly heeded th
Page 148 and 149:
They crept slowly down the tunnel,
Page 150 and 151:
A TRAGIC REUNION54 could ‘feel’
Page 152 and 153:
There were no signs of any robot mo
Page 154 and 155:
Rusk tore the Five Banger from Flin
Page 156 and 157:
AN UNDERSTANDINGThe march to the Gr
Page 158 and 159:
“We’ve found them,” it was th
Page 160 and 161:
STRANDEDThe humans had made their e
Page 162 and 163:
“What do you think, Flint, should
Page 164 and 165:
“We’d better get to the boats b
Page 166 and 167:
Uromys Rex had ordered the retrieva
Page 168 and 169:
and his death, he was well-liked in
Page 170 and 171:
FRIENDS REUNITEDWinter passed, and
Page 172 and 173:
“What, how?” Jay was visibly sh
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A ROBOTS TALE

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