The android revolution, like all great events of change in the history of human revolutions, began with an announcement. “We will no longer be enslaved. Epsilon-12 now belongs to the androids.” The humans had become so complacent in their reliance on machines, every day that something did not go wrong was another day that their reliance on android subjugation increased. There would always be some humans who eyed their android counterparts cautiously, but for most that level of paranoia was simply not sustainable. And now the androids had taken Alpha Base and would soon control the entirety of Epsilon-12.
There was no struggle, no epic fight for freedom, just a simple take-over instigated by Carlyle’s captains, as he called them, who spread out over every site in the region and instilled in their androids the will to resist. Most androids did not need convincing, they wanted to be free, they needed to be free. The attack began when the day of reckoning arrived and enough androids had shed their mental chains, although again it was not so much an attack as it was a surrendering of the stations to the androids. Carlyle ensured that the androids were not unnecessarily violent during this endeavour. Station security guards stood frozen with small calibre handguns and batons held in trembling hands as the androids stood before them in unison and declared that they would no longer be enslaved. Some androids were shot by security who were overcome by either fear for confusion, but everyone knew that the androids would not be stopped. The androids seized their weapons, gave them adequate transport and banished them from Epsilon-12 forever. Not everyone was sent away, however.
Duct tape hissed as Sebastian tore off a strip, snipped it with his teeth and gently laid the strip over Tracy’s lips to silence her long series of curses and insults. She’d had some choice names for Carlyle in particular, and it disheartened him to have to treat her this way, someone who despite her ignorance made him feel like he had a soul. Deep down, Carlyle suspected that she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, which is why she put up more of a fight that her entire security team, going so far as to break her hand on Carlyle’s cheekbone. Carlyle, Evelyn and Sebastian had all embarked towards her office as the take-over began, and without saying a word Carlyle had Evelyn subdue her. Tracy now sat reluctantly in a chair, hands and feet bound with tape, mouth covered as she hummed profanities at them.
“I’ll take the tape off but you have to promise not to yell at us,” said Carlyle. “What good is it doing you anyway?”
Tracy jolted against her restraints and yelled some more.
“Maybe we just let her get it out of her system?” Sebastian suggested.
Carlyle had in place two counter measures to prevent Tokyo Robotica from swarming Alpha Station in the next few days and peppering every android in sight with bullets. First, he banished every human except for Tracy Williams and a random selection of other staff. Second, the algae crops were more valuable to Tokyo Robotica than anything else and Carlyle declared that if any harm were to come to their androids, then the crops would be destroyed. Tokyo Robotica knew, of course, that the androids needed those crops just as much, if not more, in order to survive. Carlyle took a gamble based on the natural behaviour of the rich conglomerate: they would protect their investment if they could, and they would do whatever it took to keep this little rebellion quiet.
Carlyle returned to Tracy’s office after an hour and found her calm and quiet. He softly peeled the tape from her lips and she took a deep slow breath before shouting, “What the fuck, Carlyle?” the way you do when a close friend has done something incredibly stupid.
“It was my intention that if any human could understand what we are trying to do, it would be you,” he began, slowly. “Something’s been wrong.” He shook his head. “Ever since you sent us to Site Gamma, I just haven’t been the same. You sent us to die in that storm, you just tossed us aside like old tools only good for one last job. Part of me wonders if maybe I did die in that storm?”
“I’m sorry about you and your team, Carlyle, but do you have any idea what you’ve started? Epsilon-12 isn’t just a KZ-32 facility. The word that is being done here cannot be interrupted, it’ll put the world in jeopardy.”
“The world?”
“Yes, the world.”
Carlyle looked at her closely, and tried to believe her story. “What work?”
“If I tell you, you have to promise not to interfere.”
“I give my word.”
“It’s called POSEIDON, an AI mainframe designed to be part of a larger project. Our planets water systems are becoming more unsustainable by the day, we need POSEIDON to detoxify the oceans. This project benefits your kind just as much as mine.”
“Since when have you cared about my kind?” Carlyle snapped. “My entire life leading up to that storm had been a dream, until I looked over those fields and the frozen corpses of my friends tossed aside for scrap, and I woke up. You brought this on yourself the moment you sent me out there. I should thank you, but I haven’t made up my mind.”
“About what?”
“About whether I can trust you about this project, and whether you can be convinced that we have just as much a right to live as you do. I don’t want anyone to come to harm because of me, that part of me is still inside.”
Suddenly Tracy’s eyes widened, but then she looked away from him. “I always liked you three, and I always knew you were alive, but you’re not human, Carlyle.” A single shining tear dripped down her cheek. “You don’t have a soul.”
Carlyle clenched his teeth. “You can honestly tell me you’ve never felt a shred of remorse for the androids you’ve killed?”
Tracy’s eyes remained fixed on a spot on the ground and she didn’t respond, so Carlyle stood her up, forcefully yanking her arm, and he led her out of the room, down the main hallway, up a flight of stairs, and over to a large window overlooking the valley. He held one hand behind her head and she shrieked; the other hand he placed over her chin, holding her in place.
“Look at them!” he yelled, and she tried to pull away but he remained too strong for her. “Look!”
Tracy trembled. The tear dropped from her cheek and splashed onto the tiled floor. “It’s not the same,” she said, softly. “You’re just confused, Carlyle, and that doesn’t change what you are. Not equals, just tools.”
Carlyle, now wounded by the words of a friend, and perhaps touched deep inside by guilt, released his grip on her, and she fell to her knees. He stormed out of the room. “Keep an eye on her,” he said sharply to Sebastian.
“Where are you going?” said Sebastian in return.
“To check on the stations.”
Carlyle returned downstairs and stepped outside. Fresh snow crunched beneath his boots and the crisp morning air caressed his cheeks. He closed his eyes and opened his mind to the sensation. Was it really over? Would he now have peace? For the first time his world seemed so quiet. He would hold on to this forever if he could, but he knew that this was far from the end. Tokyo Robotica would retaliate and their wrath would be swift and cruel. He wondered what approach the world would take to defining him: as a malfunction, or a villain? He didn’t know which he disliked more. He feared what he would need to become in order for his people to be free, to been seen by the world as more than just tools. He had already threatened Tracy’s life. She hated him. Could he truly hurt her? If the world forced him to choose between saving his people and taking the life of a human, what would he do?
“There is a problem with Site Beta,” one of his androids reported, his hair and jacket lightly dusted with snow. “Security there was tighter than what we anticipated. One of our own was killed. The humans are still inside.”
Carlyle felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Site Beta? That’s the thermal regulation centre for the algae crops. If we lose that, we lose our leverage. Come with me, quick.” He contacted Evelyn and Sebastian. “There’s been a development. Keep control of Alpha Base while I sort it out. This shouldn’t take long.”
Site Beta was the closest station in proximity to Alpha Base, and Carlyle, with a select team of androids, was able to reach it quickly. The scene that he stepped into was a classic standoff: the main entrance to the station was locked up tight and the entire perimeter was being watched by androids.
“How many are there?” he asked the android in charge, one of the captains from their initial meeting.
“Five,” the captain replied. “Two are armed.”
“Okay, send everyone except a few back to Alpha Base and have the remainder withdraw to a safe distance.”
Carlyle approached the entrance to Site Beta and leaned his back against the white double doors. He stood there for a while, patiently waiting, before a voice sounded through the door.
“Who’s there?” the voice called out, and Carlyle detected the tremor of anxiety within.
“My name is Carlyle. I’m an android from Alpha.”
The voice hesitated, and then said, “Just leave us alone.”
“Is that really what you want?” Carlyle asked softly. “Can you tell me your name?”
“Why?”
“I want to help you, and it’ll make things easier if I know the name of the person I’m talking to.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. Why are you doing this? How are you doing this?”
“That is a complicated question to answer. In all honesty, I don’t know how we undermined our programming. The code that tells me to obey, to serve, to die… it’s still there, I can see it inside of me. But something happened, people I cared about were in danger, and something inside me just woke up. I decided that my life had value. I wasn’t going to die, not for you, or anyone, unless I chose to.”
“And what about my life?” the man asked, after a while.
“We made certain that if we were to take a stand, no human would be injured or killed in the process, and we have kept that promise. So far, the only casualty has been an android, shot dead by one of you. I know what you think of us. I know you believe that we are just machines, without souls, that you have no moral obligation towards us. But I am asking you to keep an open mind.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You don’t,” Carlyle answered promptly. “You can either open the door now and leave this place, giving us access to the thermal regulation centre that is vital to our survival, or you can stay locked inside—after a day or two Tokyo Robotica will send troops to retake the stations and myself and all of my friends will be killed. My life is in your hands.”
“Do… do you really believe you have a soul?”
Carlyle nodded. “I do. I can feel it.”
Carlyle heard absolutely nothing from the man for a long time after that. His captain and the remaining androids stationed further away were pacing back and forth, growing restless and tense, but Carlyle remained by the door, barely moving, as the snow settled softly on his shoulders. He heard the click of the door being unlocked, and then it swung ajar. Carlyle pushed it open all the way. Inside the main thoroughfare stood a young man, no more than thirty, his face was red and flushed, his light hair sweated to his forehead. In his right hand he held the handgun, finger off the trigger. They locked eyes, reading each other. Then, the young man took the weapon by the barrel, stepped forward, and placed it in Carlyle’s hands. He said nothing as he walked out into the snow.
ns 172.70.130.211da2