K. Rowe's Blog, page 3
October 9, 2015
Servo 26:2
Servo 26:2
The next morning I opened my eyes and saw thin slivers of sunlight filtering through the window. Birds were chirping loudly and somewhere I heard a dog bark. Leaves outside the treehouse gently rustled. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and looked over at Rory. He was dead asleep. The night had been long and arduous. I was grateful for the few hours of slumber. “Jonah!” Dad called.I got up and poked my head out the window. “Dad?”“I found Suzette.”“You did? Where?”“She’s at her friend Liza’s apartment.”“Why didn’t you get her?”He came around to the ladder and started to climb. When he reached the top, he clambered inside. Rory awoke.“I can’t get her,” Dad said. “Remember, I’m technically dead.”“Oh, that’s right,” I replied.“Hi, Dad,” Rory said, sitting up and stretching. “You found her?”“Yes, but you boys will have to be the ones to go after her.”“What if she doesn’t want to come with us?”“Just get her outside and I can hopefully handle the rest.”I dug through my pack and found a small morsel of beef jerky. “We’re short on food too.”“I’m working on that. We need to go by a bank.”“How will you get money?”“I may be dead, but that doesn’t mean I no longer have access to your trust fund.”“Oh,” I said softly. “So you can get us money?”“Fairly confident I can.” He went to the ladder. “Come on, we need to get moving.”Rory and I packed our things and climbed down. I surveyed the area and found the park empty. Since it was a weekday, all the children would be in school and the adults at work. I never realized how lonely of a place it could be. A gray and black pigeon landed on the sidewalk. It strutted around, occasionally pecking the ground in search of food. Watching this display, my stomach churned and growled. The bird was joined by several others and they made their way toward a trash can. Someone must’ve been sloppy with their garbage. I spied a half-eaten piece of bread on the ground. The birds converged upon it like piranhas; wings flapping and feet scuffling. The Inner States wasn’t much of a place for wildlife. Everything was kept meticulously clean. A wild animal would have a hard time finding something to eat in this world. Yet there were pigeons, quite a few of them.We walked along, leaving the park behind. Dad took the lead heading us toward the downtown section of Society Hill. That’s where we’d find the bank. The journey took a brief ten minutes. The three of us kept a sharp eye out for trouble. The last thing we needed was a nosy police officer asking us questions. As we approached The Philadelphia Inner States Bank, Dad stopped near the corner of the building. Despite him having no articulate facial expressions, I could tell he was formulating a plan. Without a word, he guided us to the automatic monetary machine or AMMs as they were called. Grandpa said they were the evolution of what used to be called Automatic Teller Machines; except these machines do not dispense paper money, they upload “net dollars” to a chosen device. “Jonah, your tablet please,” Dad said, holding his hand out.“Right.” I fished it from my pack and handed it over. He turned it on and went to work accessing the banking information from the Wi-Fi connection. When everything was set, he pointed to me. “Go ahead and place your hand on the activation pad.”The AMM was equipped with a biometric reading pad. To gain access to an account, you had to place your hand on the reader. Once verified, the customer could then carry out their transaction. “Dad?”“Yes?”“Will this work? I mean none of us kids have ever used it before.”“At birth, a small chip was implanted into your right palm. The machine will pick that up and cross reference you to the database of clients. Your name is on an account in this bank, so it should work.”I gingerly reached out and placed my hand on the pad. A cool blue light flashed behind my hand. The machine beeped and then I watched a message appear on a small screen:
Welcome, Jonah Blackburn, how may The Philadelphia Inner States Bank be of service to you today?
Several options showed up. I selected withdrawal. “Right, Dad?”“Yes.”A keypad showed on the screen.
Please verify your personal identification code.
I turned to Dad. “Umm…”“Type in three-two-nine-one-six-five.”Carefully I entered the numbers. The screen changed again.
Please select your withdrawal amount.
“How much?” I asked.“Get five thousand.”“Will that be enough to get something to eat?”“Yes, and a room for a few nights.”I typed in the amount.
Please direct your selected device at the output port.
Dad held up the tablet with the infrared window facing the machine. The AMM used a combination of infrared and Wi-Fi signals to make a secure transfer of money. The technology wasn’t exactly state-of-the-art, but it was time-tested and proven safe. I leaned over and watched. On my tablet screen was a mockup of a bank “account.” The balance went from zero to five thousand dollars in a matter of seconds. “Ah, good,” I sighed. “I’m starving!”“Me too!” Rory chimed in.Once the transaction was complete, I turned off the tablet and returned it to the pack. We continued on. The apartment buildings were perhaps a half-mile away. The sun was shining brightly and things seemed normal. At least they appeared that way until we turned a corner and Dad slammed to a halt.“Get back!” he yelled, shoving us around the corner.I had no idea what was going on. At the time, I’d been looking elsewhere and didn’t see what he reacted to. “Dad? What’s wrong?”“Battle bot!”“What?!” I tried to look past him, but he kept his arm across my chest, pushing me firmly against the building. “I was afraid of that.”“What’s going on?” Rory asked. “Odd, they weren’t there last night. It looks like they’re gearing up for another war.”“Who?”“The government.”“Against who?”Dad peered around the corner and watched. I was going crazy, I wanted to see. “Is it still there?”“No. But this means we’ll have to be extra careful.”“Why?”“I’m a model 106—ancient in the bot world. If those battle bots see me, they’ll assume I’m a treat and try to destroy me.”“Really?” Rory said.“Yes.”“What can we do?”“Lay low for a while. I need to see what’s going on. They must’ve changed the frequency on the Wi-Fi and I can’t pick it up.”“Could I adjust it?” I said. “I brought a few tools.”“Maybe.” He gestured for us to follow. “Let’s try and get Suz. With her, she might be able to tell us what’s going on.”We picked our way through the streets. Occasionally we’d have to detour onto another street because a battle bot was standing guard. The half-mile took over an hour to reach the building. There was an eerie presence in the air. Despite being born and raised in this world, I felt terribly creeped out. Dad was right, something was definitely wrong. At the door we paused, regrouping. Dad pointed. “She’s in apartment eight-zero-five.”“Okay. We’ll try to bring her down. Where will you be?”“I’ll hide over in those bushes. That should be safe enough.”“We’ll be as fast as we can. I hope she doesn’t throw a fit.”He held out his hand. “Give me your packs. You need to look as natural as possible.” I slid it from my shoulders and passed it over. Rory did the same. Then we looked at each other, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the building. I wondered what kind of reception we’d get. My sister wasn’t always the most rational of people; her emotions might get in the way.
The next morning I opened my eyes and saw thin slivers of sunlight filtering through the window. Birds were chirping loudly and somewhere I heard a dog bark. Leaves outside the treehouse gently rustled. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and looked over at Rory. He was dead asleep. The night had been long and arduous. I was grateful for the few hours of slumber. “Jonah!” Dad called.I got up and poked my head out the window. “Dad?”“I found Suzette.”“You did? Where?”“She’s at her friend Liza’s apartment.”“Why didn’t you get her?”He came around to the ladder and started to climb. When he reached the top, he clambered inside. Rory awoke.“I can’t get her,” Dad said. “Remember, I’m technically dead.”“Oh, that’s right,” I replied.“Hi, Dad,” Rory said, sitting up and stretching. “You found her?”“Yes, but you boys will have to be the ones to go after her.”“What if she doesn’t want to come with us?”“Just get her outside and I can hopefully handle the rest.”I dug through my pack and found a small morsel of beef jerky. “We’re short on food too.”“I’m working on that. We need to go by a bank.”“How will you get money?”“I may be dead, but that doesn’t mean I no longer have access to your trust fund.”“Oh,” I said softly. “So you can get us money?”“Fairly confident I can.” He went to the ladder. “Come on, we need to get moving.”Rory and I packed our things and climbed down. I surveyed the area and found the park empty. Since it was a weekday, all the children would be in school and the adults at work. I never realized how lonely of a place it could be. A gray and black pigeon landed on the sidewalk. It strutted around, occasionally pecking the ground in search of food. Watching this display, my stomach churned and growled. The bird was joined by several others and they made their way toward a trash can. Someone must’ve been sloppy with their garbage. I spied a half-eaten piece of bread on the ground. The birds converged upon it like piranhas; wings flapping and feet scuffling. The Inner States wasn’t much of a place for wildlife. Everything was kept meticulously clean. A wild animal would have a hard time finding something to eat in this world. Yet there were pigeons, quite a few of them.We walked along, leaving the park behind. Dad took the lead heading us toward the downtown section of Society Hill. That’s where we’d find the bank. The journey took a brief ten minutes. The three of us kept a sharp eye out for trouble. The last thing we needed was a nosy police officer asking us questions. As we approached The Philadelphia Inner States Bank, Dad stopped near the corner of the building. Despite him having no articulate facial expressions, I could tell he was formulating a plan. Without a word, he guided us to the automatic monetary machine or AMMs as they were called. Grandpa said they were the evolution of what used to be called Automatic Teller Machines; except these machines do not dispense paper money, they upload “net dollars” to a chosen device. “Jonah, your tablet please,” Dad said, holding his hand out.“Right.” I fished it from my pack and handed it over. He turned it on and went to work accessing the banking information from the Wi-Fi connection. When everything was set, he pointed to me. “Go ahead and place your hand on the activation pad.”The AMM was equipped with a biometric reading pad. To gain access to an account, you had to place your hand on the reader. Once verified, the customer could then carry out their transaction. “Dad?”“Yes?”“Will this work? I mean none of us kids have ever used it before.”“At birth, a small chip was implanted into your right palm. The machine will pick that up and cross reference you to the database of clients. Your name is on an account in this bank, so it should work.”I gingerly reached out and placed my hand on the pad. A cool blue light flashed behind my hand. The machine beeped and then I watched a message appear on a small screen:
Welcome, Jonah Blackburn, how may The Philadelphia Inner States Bank be of service to you today?
Several options showed up. I selected withdrawal. “Right, Dad?”“Yes.”A keypad showed on the screen.
Please verify your personal identification code.
I turned to Dad. “Umm…”“Type in three-two-nine-one-six-five.”Carefully I entered the numbers. The screen changed again.
Please select your withdrawal amount.
“How much?” I asked.“Get five thousand.”“Will that be enough to get something to eat?”“Yes, and a room for a few nights.”I typed in the amount.
Please direct your selected device at the output port.
Dad held up the tablet with the infrared window facing the machine. The AMM used a combination of infrared and Wi-Fi signals to make a secure transfer of money. The technology wasn’t exactly state-of-the-art, but it was time-tested and proven safe. I leaned over and watched. On my tablet screen was a mockup of a bank “account.” The balance went from zero to five thousand dollars in a matter of seconds. “Ah, good,” I sighed. “I’m starving!”“Me too!” Rory chimed in.Once the transaction was complete, I turned off the tablet and returned it to the pack. We continued on. The apartment buildings were perhaps a half-mile away. The sun was shining brightly and things seemed normal. At least they appeared that way until we turned a corner and Dad slammed to a halt.“Get back!” he yelled, shoving us around the corner.I had no idea what was going on. At the time, I’d been looking elsewhere and didn’t see what he reacted to. “Dad? What’s wrong?”“Battle bot!”“What?!” I tried to look past him, but he kept his arm across my chest, pushing me firmly against the building. “I was afraid of that.”“What’s going on?” Rory asked. “Odd, they weren’t there last night. It looks like they’re gearing up for another war.”“Who?”“The government.”“Against who?”Dad peered around the corner and watched. I was going crazy, I wanted to see. “Is it still there?”“No. But this means we’ll have to be extra careful.”“Why?”“I’m a model 106—ancient in the bot world. If those battle bots see me, they’ll assume I’m a treat and try to destroy me.”“Really?” Rory said.“Yes.”“What can we do?”“Lay low for a while. I need to see what’s going on. They must’ve changed the frequency on the Wi-Fi and I can’t pick it up.”“Could I adjust it?” I said. “I brought a few tools.”“Maybe.” He gestured for us to follow. “Let’s try and get Suz. With her, she might be able to tell us what’s going on.”We picked our way through the streets. Occasionally we’d have to detour onto another street because a battle bot was standing guard. The half-mile took over an hour to reach the building. There was an eerie presence in the air. Despite being born and raised in this world, I felt terribly creeped out. Dad was right, something was definitely wrong. At the door we paused, regrouping. Dad pointed. “She’s in apartment eight-zero-five.”“Okay. We’ll try to bring her down. Where will you be?”“I’ll hide over in those bushes. That should be safe enough.”“We’ll be as fast as we can. I hope she doesn’t throw a fit.”He held out his hand. “Give me your packs. You need to look as natural as possible.” I slid it from my shoulders and passed it over. Rory did the same. Then we looked at each other, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the building. I wondered what kind of reception we’d get. My sister wasn’t always the most rational of people; her emotions might get in the way.
October 2, 2015
Servo 26:1
Servo 26:1
It was after midnight when we arrived in New Philadelphia. We’d been on the run for nearly a week. Rory and I were exhausted. The ducking, dodging, and hiding from authorities required far more energy than anticipated. Not to mention our food supply had dwindled the last day and we were ravenous.The train stopped at Frankford Junction, we quietly climbed off and Dad did his best to figure out which way was “home.” We used to live in the Society Hill area. That meant a five mile hike through the city in the dark. And just to make it more miserable: it started to rain. “Just our luck,” Rory said as we slogged along. “We had to arrive on a day they made it rain.”“Sorry,” Dad replied. “I haven’t been able to pick up any of the Wi-Fi broadcasts.” “Dad?” I spoke up. “Why are we going back home?”“Because Suz would go there. That’s where her friends are.”“What if she’s not there?”“Then we’ll keep looking.”“And if we don’t find her?”“We’ll still continue with my plan.” He stopped in front of a building with a large portico. “Look, an update panel.”“Is that such a good idea?”“Jonah, I need to find out what’s going on here.” He flipped open a small door on his right forearm and preparing to deploy the interface probe.“But what happens if the program sees you as a hostile threat? It could attack you with a virus.”“Why would it?”“Because you’re a model that hasn’t been made in decades and the software might not recognize you.”“Mmm, good point.” He retracted the probe. “Did you bring your tablet?”“Yes.”“And a connection cable?”“Of course.”“Can you download the files?”I opened my backpack and rummaged through, producing the tablet. “I can try.”“Just be very careful and make sure you have a separate partition for the data. You don’t want the mainframe scanning your device and finding all the files on me.”“How do I do that?”He gestured; I handed over the tablet and watched while he worked. His golden fingers were a blur on the integrated keyboard. After a few minutes, he handed it back. “That should do it.”“Okay.” I plugged the cable into the tiny port and approached the update panel. With the advent of broadcast Wi-Fi, these service outlets were few and far between. It actually surprised me that we stumbled upon one; let alone a functioning one. They were originally designed to provide system updates to service bots in the area. Now, all bots were manufactured with Wi-Fi receivers and updates sent over the airwaves. “Look, the rain’s stopping,” Rory commented.“Good,” I replied, connecting the tablet to the portal. “We didn’t bring much clothing for rain.” The tablet beeped three times and a login screen appeared. “Dad? What do I type?”He looked over my shoulder. “Hmm, curious. They never used to be logged accounts.”“What do I do?”“Let’s try something.” He stepped in front of me and turned his back, scrunching down. “The manufacture plate on my back…”“What about it?”“Try typing in the model number for the username and the serial number for the password.”“Okay.” I followed his instructions and clicked Enter. A little spinning wheel indicated the computer was processing. We watched and waited for several minutes. Just as it seemed that we were going to be shut out, the portal beeped. A message appeared on the tablet:
Upgrades for Model 106 no longer supported by this portal. Request upgrades with Servidyne Headquarters, Red Lion Rd. Philadelphia, PA.
“Well, that’s not helpful,” Dad said as he stared at the screen. “Let’s keep going. I’d like to reach the apartment building by dawn.”I disconnected and put away the tablet. We slung the packs over our shoulders and we carried on. Dad took the lead, his enhanced vision allowed him to turn night into day. Rory and I could only follow blindly behind. As I surveyed the area, I noticed it was darker than normal. Only one out of every four streetlights was lit. And there were very few cars on the road. Was something going on in the Inner States? After another hour of walking, we’d reached the Society Hill area. It too was dark. And what lighting that shined, seemed dimmer than I remember. I began to wonder if my suspicions would ring true. Is their technology-fed, meticulously clean, and morally controlled society beginning to crumble? Had they reached the pinnacle and were wondering what to do next? I remember grandpa telling me stories of the earlier days of the Inner States. How a select few GEEs took over the government and started deciding what was good and what wasn’t for the society they oversaw. Having been born into that culture, I never gave it any thought. We ate what we were told to eat, went to schools specially designed for us, and already knew what job we’d most likely have by age ten. There was little to no crime, everyone had enough to eat, and technology made our way of life comfortable and informed. Everything we needed was a finger touch away. The dirtyside of industry was walled away in the Outer States. That’s where the iron was smelted for making cars and trains, the nuclear power to run the cities, and countless other businesses deemed too pollution-making to be safely allowed within the sanctity of the Inner States. “How much farther?” Rory said, his voice sounding tired.“Not sure, but I think we’re close,” I replied, feeling his exhaustion. Somewhere there had to be a bed we could lay our heads on for a few hours. And I hoped we’d find it soon. We rounded a corner and were met with a familiar sight: a park that was near our apartment building. The three of us children had spent countless hours playing here; under the watchful eye of one of the service bots, of course. “All right, we’ll stop here for a while,” Dad said, heading over to a bench. “You two stay here; I’m going to the building to search for Suz.”“Why can’t we come along?” I asked.“No need. Just stay here and rest.” He looked up. “Should be no more rain; look, the stars are coming out.”Gazing to the heavens, I saw pin-point glimmers of white gracing the inky black sky. The moon was trying to fight through the clouds. I could see it reflecting off the billowing pillows of water vapor, creating a creamy yellowish contrasting haze. There was ever-so the slightest hint of a breeze. I watched a single leaf flip lazily across the concrete walkway not far from where we were standing. “We really want to come with you,” I reiterated. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember?” he answered. “You’re supposed to be in Nebraska.”“But there’s no law saying we can’t come back to the Inner States.”“True, there isn’t. But at this point in time, I’d like you to stay somewhat concealed—for your safety.” He led us through the park to a massive tree. On one side was a carefully constructed treehouse. “If you stay up there, no one should see you.”“All right,” I said bluntly. “We’ll go there.”Rory and I had spent many hours in that old treehouse discussing the finer points of bio-technology while other children followed less lofty goals of play. Now it would be our temporary home. We climbed the ladder and peered in. I’d taken the liberty of digging out a small flashlight to see what we were getting into. The treehouse looked much the same as the last time we were in it. In one corner I spied a large spider web, something that we’d try and avoid. “Well, it’s not too bad,” I said, climbing in and dropping my pack. “I guess it will have to do for now,” Rory replied, following my lead. “I’m so tired!” “Me too.” I looked out the “window” and watched Dad disappear into the darkness. A large part of me wanted to be with him, searching for my sister, and exploring the world around me. But exhaustion was taking its toll and I needed sleep. I hoped Dad would be successful in his mission.
It was after midnight when we arrived in New Philadelphia. We’d been on the run for nearly a week. Rory and I were exhausted. The ducking, dodging, and hiding from authorities required far more energy than anticipated. Not to mention our food supply had dwindled the last day and we were ravenous.The train stopped at Frankford Junction, we quietly climbed off and Dad did his best to figure out which way was “home.” We used to live in the Society Hill area. That meant a five mile hike through the city in the dark. And just to make it more miserable: it started to rain. “Just our luck,” Rory said as we slogged along. “We had to arrive on a day they made it rain.”“Sorry,” Dad replied. “I haven’t been able to pick up any of the Wi-Fi broadcasts.” “Dad?” I spoke up. “Why are we going back home?”“Because Suz would go there. That’s where her friends are.”“What if she’s not there?”“Then we’ll keep looking.”“And if we don’t find her?”“We’ll still continue with my plan.” He stopped in front of a building with a large portico. “Look, an update panel.”“Is that such a good idea?”“Jonah, I need to find out what’s going on here.” He flipped open a small door on his right forearm and preparing to deploy the interface probe.“But what happens if the program sees you as a hostile threat? It could attack you with a virus.”“Why would it?”“Because you’re a model that hasn’t been made in decades and the software might not recognize you.”“Mmm, good point.” He retracted the probe. “Did you bring your tablet?”“Yes.”“And a connection cable?”“Of course.”“Can you download the files?”I opened my backpack and rummaged through, producing the tablet. “I can try.”“Just be very careful and make sure you have a separate partition for the data. You don’t want the mainframe scanning your device and finding all the files on me.”“How do I do that?”He gestured; I handed over the tablet and watched while he worked. His golden fingers were a blur on the integrated keyboard. After a few minutes, he handed it back. “That should do it.”“Okay.” I plugged the cable into the tiny port and approached the update panel. With the advent of broadcast Wi-Fi, these service outlets were few and far between. It actually surprised me that we stumbled upon one; let alone a functioning one. They were originally designed to provide system updates to service bots in the area. Now, all bots were manufactured with Wi-Fi receivers and updates sent over the airwaves. “Look, the rain’s stopping,” Rory commented.“Good,” I replied, connecting the tablet to the portal. “We didn’t bring much clothing for rain.” The tablet beeped three times and a login screen appeared. “Dad? What do I type?”He looked over my shoulder. “Hmm, curious. They never used to be logged accounts.”“What do I do?”“Let’s try something.” He stepped in front of me and turned his back, scrunching down. “The manufacture plate on my back…”“What about it?”“Try typing in the model number for the username and the serial number for the password.”“Okay.” I followed his instructions and clicked Enter. A little spinning wheel indicated the computer was processing. We watched and waited for several minutes. Just as it seemed that we were going to be shut out, the portal beeped. A message appeared on the tablet:
Upgrades for Model 106 no longer supported by this portal. Request upgrades with Servidyne Headquarters, Red Lion Rd. Philadelphia, PA.
“Well, that’s not helpful,” Dad said as he stared at the screen. “Let’s keep going. I’d like to reach the apartment building by dawn.”I disconnected and put away the tablet. We slung the packs over our shoulders and we carried on. Dad took the lead, his enhanced vision allowed him to turn night into day. Rory and I could only follow blindly behind. As I surveyed the area, I noticed it was darker than normal. Only one out of every four streetlights was lit. And there were very few cars on the road. Was something going on in the Inner States? After another hour of walking, we’d reached the Society Hill area. It too was dark. And what lighting that shined, seemed dimmer than I remember. I began to wonder if my suspicions would ring true. Is their technology-fed, meticulously clean, and morally controlled society beginning to crumble? Had they reached the pinnacle and were wondering what to do next? I remember grandpa telling me stories of the earlier days of the Inner States. How a select few GEEs took over the government and started deciding what was good and what wasn’t for the society they oversaw. Having been born into that culture, I never gave it any thought. We ate what we were told to eat, went to schools specially designed for us, and already knew what job we’d most likely have by age ten. There was little to no crime, everyone had enough to eat, and technology made our way of life comfortable and informed. Everything we needed was a finger touch away. The dirtyside of industry was walled away in the Outer States. That’s where the iron was smelted for making cars and trains, the nuclear power to run the cities, and countless other businesses deemed too pollution-making to be safely allowed within the sanctity of the Inner States. “How much farther?” Rory said, his voice sounding tired.“Not sure, but I think we’re close,” I replied, feeling his exhaustion. Somewhere there had to be a bed we could lay our heads on for a few hours. And I hoped we’d find it soon. We rounded a corner and were met with a familiar sight: a park that was near our apartment building. The three of us children had spent countless hours playing here; under the watchful eye of one of the service bots, of course. “All right, we’ll stop here for a while,” Dad said, heading over to a bench. “You two stay here; I’m going to the building to search for Suz.”“Why can’t we come along?” I asked.“No need. Just stay here and rest.” He looked up. “Should be no more rain; look, the stars are coming out.”Gazing to the heavens, I saw pin-point glimmers of white gracing the inky black sky. The moon was trying to fight through the clouds. I could see it reflecting off the billowing pillows of water vapor, creating a creamy yellowish contrasting haze. There was ever-so the slightest hint of a breeze. I watched a single leaf flip lazily across the concrete walkway not far from where we were standing. “We really want to come with you,” I reiterated. “You’re not supposed to be here, remember?” he answered. “You’re supposed to be in Nebraska.”“But there’s no law saying we can’t come back to the Inner States.”“True, there isn’t. But at this point in time, I’d like you to stay somewhat concealed—for your safety.” He led us through the park to a massive tree. On one side was a carefully constructed treehouse. “If you stay up there, no one should see you.”“All right,” I said bluntly. “We’ll go there.”Rory and I had spent many hours in that old treehouse discussing the finer points of bio-technology while other children followed less lofty goals of play. Now it would be our temporary home. We climbed the ladder and peered in. I’d taken the liberty of digging out a small flashlight to see what we were getting into. The treehouse looked much the same as the last time we were in it. In one corner I spied a large spider web, something that we’d try and avoid. “Well, it’s not too bad,” I said, climbing in and dropping my pack. “I guess it will have to do for now,” Rory replied, following my lead. “I’m so tired!” “Me too.” I looked out the “window” and watched Dad disappear into the darkness. A large part of me wanted to be with him, searching for my sister, and exploring the world around me. But exhaustion was taking its toll and I needed sleep. I hoped Dad would be successful in his mission.
September 25, 2015
Servo 25:2
Servo 25:2
I awoke the next morning to the blaring of the train horn. Scrambling to my feet, I noticed Rory up and peering out the door. A westbound train was streaking past us. “Where are we?” I asked, pretty much expecting not to get an answer.“Iowa, I think,” Rory replied. “That’s good.” I picked up my pack and rummaged for something to eat. There was a few cereal bars I’d managed to pilfer from the pantry. Removing two, I offered one to my brother. “Hungry?”“Yes, thank you.” He took a bar, tore open the wrapper, and demolished it in a matter of seconds. I produced a plastic bottle filled with juice. “Don’t drink it all, we need to save some.”He took the container, opened the top, and had a few swallows. “Mmm, good.”Dad approached. “Are you sure you have enough food?”“Yes.” I held the bag wide. “But I think we should conserve just in case.”“Good idea.”“I grabbed three cans of beans; don’t think Grandma will miss them.”He waved a hand past his face. “Whew! Good thing this model doesn’t have olfactory sensors.”I laughed until my sides hurt. Truly, what he said wasn’t that funny, but it seemed to strike a chord in me. After everything we’d gone through, a little laughter helped with the stress.The westbound train left us in a cloud of dust. Our train marched on. Chicago seemed like a million miles away.“Dad?” I said, sitting down and leaning against the wall. “What will we do when we get to Chicago?” There was serious doubt in my mind that we could simply catch a flight to New Philadelphia.He didn’t look at me; instead he put his hands to the sides of his head and groaned.“What’s wrong?”“Voices, voices, thousands of them.”“You can hear them?”“In my head.” He grunted and groaned. “They grow stronger every day.”“What are they saying?”Dad shook his head. “I dunno, I can’t make them out…But they’re in agony…Screaming and crying, lots of it.”While I didn’t discredit his emotional state, I found it extremely unusual that a robot could have voices in his head. What could be causing such phenomena? This was truly a curious happening in a machine of metal and wires. Everything I knew of robotics went back to the fact they were not living breathing individuals, how could he have dreams and visions? Granted he was the mechanical reincarnation of my father, but the dreams he was having were not of the past. “Are you sure they’re dreams?” I asked after mulling his words over for a few moments.“That’s the best of what I can call them…Except now they are haunting my waking hours.”Opening my pack, I removed a tablet and interface cable. “Should I run a diagnostic on you?”“That would probably yield little data.”“You don’t think something’s wrong with your programming? Maybe a ghost in the software?”“No ghosts, but demons maybe.”“Why would you say that?”“Because of who I was and what I did.”“You built service bots, that’s all.”“And I wrote that over-ride code.”“Dad, you did that because they pressured you.”“And I have to stop it.”I got up and walked around the car, finally stopping next to Rory who was still gazing out the crack in the door. We watched the endless miles of greening fields go by.“We need to help Dad,” I said.“How?”“Whatever it takes.”“And what about Suz?”“I’m sure we’ll find her along the way.”“Jonah?” Dad called.I went to him. “Yes?”“Get your tablet, I need you to copy the virus from me.”“Why?”“Just in case something happens to me, you can complete the mission.”“How would I know what to do?”“I’m going to tell you.”My heart filled with dread. If something happened to him, I couldn’t bear it. But I followed his orders and got my tablet ready. “Do I need to create a new file?”“Yes. Label it: RNV-3614.”I didn’t ask about the relevance of the file name, but created a folder for it. “Okay, ready.”Dad took the interface cable and connected it to a port in his chest. Then he plugged it into the tablet. “Give me a minute to queue up the file.”He seemed to slip into a trance-like state; his eyes staring at nothing in particular. Although with those old kinds of “eyes” the bots looked more like animated corpses. I watched the eyes flicker and dim several times. Glancing at the tablet I noticed a huge file downloading. In a way I kind of envied him for having the ability to directly interface with a computer. Despite years of typing lessons, my skills on the keyboard were still lacking. I wondered if there would ever be a time in my life when technology would advance enough to allow human-computer interfaces on a deeply biological level.“Okay,” Dad said, startling me out of my thoughts. “I need the tablet, please.”I handed it over. He gently took it and rested it in his lap. “Now the final line of code.”“The line that will crash everything?”“Yes.”I scooted over until I was sitting next to him. This was something I had to see.He slowly typed:
\\deboot/rnv-3614/pattern/hh3456/codex990/fatalerror_$7/run
“That should do it,” he said, handing the tablet back to me.“The line of code that will shut them all down?”“Yes. And destroy the Servidyne mainframe computer.”“Wow.”“In order for it to work, you must be connected to a service port in the building.”“How will we get in?” “Leave that to me.”
I awoke the next morning to the blaring of the train horn. Scrambling to my feet, I noticed Rory up and peering out the door. A westbound train was streaking past us. “Where are we?” I asked, pretty much expecting not to get an answer.“Iowa, I think,” Rory replied. “That’s good.” I picked up my pack and rummaged for something to eat. There was a few cereal bars I’d managed to pilfer from the pantry. Removing two, I offered one to my brother. “Hungry?”“Yes, thank you.” He took a bar, tore open the wrapper, and demolished it in a matter of seconds. I produced a plastic bottle filled with juice. “Don’t drink it all, we need to save some.”He took the container, opened the top, and had a few swallows. “Mmm, good.”Dad approached. “Are you sure you have enough food?”“Yes.” I held the bag wide. “But I think we should conserve just in case.”“Good idea.”“I grabbed three cans of beans; don’t think Grandma will miss them.”He waved a hand past his face. “Whew! Good thing this model doesn’t have olfactory sensors.”I laughed until my sides hurt. Truly, what he said wasn’t that funny, but it seemed to strike a chord in me. After everything we’d gone through, a little laughter helped with the stress.The westbound train left us in a cloud of dust. Our train marched on. Chicago seemed like a million miles away.“Dad?” I said, sitting down and leaning against the wall. “What will we do when we get to Chicago?” There was serious doubt in my mind that we could simply catch a flight to New Philadelphia.He didn’t look at me; instead he put his hands to the sides of his head and groaned.“What’s wrong?”“Voices, voices, thousands of them.”“You can hear them?”“In my head.” He grunted and groaned. “They grow stronger every day.”“What are they saying?”Dad shook his head. “I dunno, I can’t make them out…But they’re in agony…Screaming and crying, lots of it.”While I didn’t discredit his emotional state, I found it extremely unusual that a robot could have voices in his head. What could be causing such phenomena? This was truly a curious happening in a machine of metal and wires. Everything I knew of robotics went back to the fact they were not living breathing individuals, how could he have dreams and visions? Granted he was the mechanical reincarnation of my father, but the dreams he was having were not of the past. “Are you sure they’re dreams?” I asked after mulling his words over for a few moments.“That’s the best of what I can call them…Except now they are haunting my waking hours.”Opening my pack, I removed a tablet and interface cable. “Should I run a diagnostic on you?”“That would probably yield little data.”“You don’t think something’s wrong with your programming? Maybe a ghost in the software?”“No ghosts, but demons maybe.”“Why would you say that?”“Because of who I was and what I did.”“You built service bots, that’s all.”“And I wrote that over-ride code.”“Dad, you did that because they pressured you.”“And I have to stop it.”I got up and walked around the car, finally stopping next to Rory who was still gazing out the crack in the door. We watched the endless miles of greening fields go by.“We need to help Dad,” I said.“How?”“Whatever it takes.”“And what about Suz?”“I’m sure we’ll find her along the way.”“Jonah?” Dad called.I went to him. “Yes?”“Get your tablet, I need you to copy the virus from me.”“Why?”“Just in case something happens to me, you can complete the mission.”“How would I know what to do?”“I’m going to tell you.”My heart filled with dread. If something happened to him, I couldn’t bear it. But I followed his orders and got my tablet ready. “Do I need to create a new file?”“Yes. Label it: RNV-3614.”I didn’t ask about the relevance of the file name, but created a folder for it. “Okay, ready.”Dad took the interface cable and connected it to a port in his chest. Then he plugged it into the tablet. “Give me a minute to queue up the file.”He seemed to slip into a trance-like state; his eyes staring at nothing in particular. Although with those old kinds of “eyes” the bots looked more like animated corpses. I watched the eyes flicker and dim several times. Glancing at the tablet I noticed a huge file downloading. In a way I kind of envied him for having the ability to directly interface with a computer. Despite years of typing lessons, my skills on the keyboard were still lacking. I wondered if there would ever be a time in my life when technology would advance enough to allow human-computer interfaces on a deeply biological level.“Okay,” Dad said, startling me out of my thoughts. “I need the tablet, please.”I handed it over. He gently took it and rested it in his lap. “Now the final line of code.”“The line that will crash everything?”“Yes.”I scooted over until I was sitting next to him. This was something I had to see.He slowly typed:
\\deboot/rnv-3614/pattern/hh3456/codex990/fatalerror_$7/run
“That should do it,” he said, handing the tablet back to me.“The line of code that will shut them all down?”“Yes. And destroy the Servidyne mainframe computer.”“Wow.”“In order for it to work, you must be connected to a service port in the building.”“How will we get in?” “Leave that to me.”
September 18, 2015
Servo 25:1
Servo 25:1
I crept along the dark rail yard in Broken Bow. Rory was a few inches behind. If I stopped abruptly, he’d run into me. We were searching for the eastbound train. Dad was hiding at the back of a trash dumpster not far away. I knew he was watching and listening. There wasn’t much activity in the yard, which led us to believe that maybe the train would not come through tonight. Our options were looking slim.“Jonah?” Rory whispered.“Yeah?”“Where’s the train?”“I dunno.”“Dad said it should be here, right?”“Yes…Maybe it’s late.”“Hope that’s the case.”“Yeah,” I replied, surveying the empty rails. There wasn’t so much as a box car in which we could hide. Things were not looking good. If we didn’t catch the train tonight, we’d have to figure out how to sneak back into the house. Unfortunately, Dad didn’t have a contingency plan for a failed operation.“Hey!” Rory said. “Do you hear that?”I closed my eyes and tuned my ears to the faint rumbling. It was so faint I couldn’t discern from which direction it was coming. We’d have to wait. “Come on, let’s get back to Dad.” I was hoping with his enhanced hearing that he’d be able to tell. We picked our way through the jumble of rails and converged upon the dumpster. “Dad?” I whispered.“Yes?”“Can you hear a train?”“Yes. It’s coming from the west.”“The right one?”“Should be,” he said, stepping from the dark into the dim glow of a lightbulb that hung under an overhang. With all his clothing on, he didn’t even shine. “I’m hoping it will stop.”“Why wouldn’t it?”He pointed. “No cars to pick up.”“How do we get on the train?” Rory asked.“We might have to make a run for it.”I looked Dad over. “Can you even run?”“Yes. I snuck out once or twice and practiced running in the field behind the house.”“Can you go fast?” Rory said, high-stepping his feet as if he was running.“I hope fast enough.”The sound of the train grew louder.“We need to get ready.” Dad searched for a good place for us to hide which was close to the tracks. “We wait for the engine and the first few cars to go by, and then we start watching for boxcars with open doors.”“What if the train doesn’t slow down?” I asked.“It has to slow down due to the road crossings.”Rory craned his neck. “Hope it’s a long train.”“Me too,” Dad said as he walked over to a large metal container that sat near the tracks. It was big enough to hide all of us. Despite the size of the rail yard, there was little in the way of cover. “We’ll wait here and see what happens. If I see a boxcar, be ready to run when I say so. Got it?”“Yes,” we replied in unison. I was so nervous my stomach ached. Could we pull this off? Would the train slow up enough for us? And would there be a boxcar open? If we made it, how would we keep from getting caught? I hated scenarios with too many variables. Several minutes went by and finally a glimmer of the train engine’s headlight. At first it was just a dim yellow glow in the distance, but as it neared, it became white with intensity. The rumbling grew louder and I could feel vibrations through the ground. Before we knew it, the train was upon us. The two engines roared by; deep reverberations from the massive diesel motors made it impossible to hear one another. I kept my eyes fixed on Dad. In the dark, his eyesight was far better than ours. He would see a boxcar coming hundreds of yards before we would. We had to trust his judgment implicitly. Car after car passed; most appeared to be the open-top variety used for carrying ore and coal. In the middle, several dark colored tanker cars followed by more ore cars. Would luck not be on our side tonight? Then Dad reached back and touched my leg. “Get ready, I see one.”I, in turn, put my hand back and gave Rory’s shirt a tug. “He sees one!”“Okay!”We waited impatiently until Dad signaled again. “GO!” he hollered and took off running.Rory and I wasted not one second. We burst from behind the container and bolted toward the open boxcar. The train didn’t seem to be slowing. My legs pumped as hard as they could and yet I failed to keep up. I glanced back and saw Rory lagging. Dad was sprinting along and had nearly caught the handrail on the car. I feared we would lose the train.The horn blew, indicating the train was approaching a crossing. To our absolute luck, it began to slow. Digging deep, I sucked in great breaths of air, forcing myself to catch up. Rory was fighting to keep near me. We watched Dad make a flying leap and catch the railing. I doubted I’d have such luck. “Come on!” he yelled, waving to us. “Dad!” I hollered, trying to hold a hand toward him.He reached out. Our hands were mere inches apart, yet refused to meet. “Faster, Jonah!”With everything I had, I willed my body to increase speed. I couldn’t tell if I was, everything seemed a blur. But moments later, I felt the cold metal grasp of Dad. He had me and he wasn’t letting go. I reached back and tried to grab Rory. “Give me your hand!”My little brother strained, his fingertips stretching toward me. In the dark, inches felt like miles. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. That night, my brother showed more grit and determination than I’d ever seen. Sensing that he was losing us, he made a daring leap and caught my hand. I pulled up, trying to keep his feet from dragging the ground. Dad quickly remedied that by flinging us into the open door of the car. We landed in a heap. “Are you okay?” I asked, checking him over.Rory laughed. “Wow, that was fun!”Dad appeared in the doorway. “Everyone okay?”“Yes, we’re fine.”He closed the door most of the way and sat down next to us. “So, our adventure begins.”I dug around in my backpack and produced a small lantern. It was battery operated and I made sure I had plenty of extras. With a small turn of my wrist, the lamp illuminated the area around us. We were in a dark, dirty boxcar with just the clothes on our backs and some supplies. Yes, this was going to be quite the adventure. If we managed to make it to the Inner States, that would only be part of the odyssey we faced. There was another eight-hundred miles to New Philadelphia from Chicago. A journey of fifteen-hundred miles in which anything in the world could happen to us. My stomach still churned. Why did I agree with this crazy plan?An hour or two passed and I grew tired. We had no bedrolls, pillows, or even a blanket. Probably poor planning on mine and Rory’s part, but we figured it was only for a day or two, and the weather was warm. My eyelids felt like lead. We’d moved to the side of the car and Dad was sitting with his back against the wall. I removed a sweatshirt from my pack. The clackety-clack and gentle rolling of the train on the rails only hastened my desire for sleep. I regarded him with weary eyes and he motioned to me. “Come, use me as a pillow,” Dad said over the noise. Without further prodding, I sat next to him, shoved the thick garment against his shoulder, and curled up. He put his arm around me in a protective manner. With my lids firmly shut, I drifted off to slumber while the hulking metal beast headed to Chicago.
I crept along the dark rail yard in Broken Bow. Rory was a few inches behind. If I stopped abruptly, he’d run into me. We were searching for the eastbound train. Dad was hiding at the back of a trash dumpster not far away. I knew he was watching and listening. There wasn’t much activity in the yard, which led us to believe that maybe the train would not come through tonight. Our options were looking slim.“Jonah?” Rory whispered.“Yeah?”“Where’s the train?”“I dunno.”“Dad said it should be here, right?”“Yes…Maybe it’s late.”“Hope that’s the case.”“Yeah,” I replied, surveying the empty rails. There wasn’t so much as a box car in which we could hide. Things were not looking good. If we didn’t catch the train tonight, we’d have to figure out how to sneak back into the house. Unfortunately, Dad didn’t have a contingency plan for a failed operation.“Hey!” Rory said. “Do you hear that?”I closed my eyes and tuned my ears to the faint rumbling. It was so faint I couldn’t discern from which direction it was coming. We’d have to wait. “Come on, let’s get back to Dad.” I was hoping with his enhanced hearing that he’d be able to tell. We picked our way through the jumble of rails and converged upon the dumpster. “Dad?” I whispered.“Yes?”“Can you hear a train?”“Yes. It’s coming from the west.”“The right one?”“Should be,” he said, stepping from the dark into the dim glow of a lightbulb that hung under an overhang. With all his clothing on, he didn’t even shine. “I’m hoping it will stop.”“Why wouldn’t it?”He pointed. “No cars to pick up.”“How do we get on the train?” Rory asked.“We might have to make a run for it.”I looked Dad over. “Can you even run?”“Yes. I snuck out once or twice and practiced running in the field behind the house.”“Can you go fast?” Rory said, high-stepping his feet as if he was running.“I hope fast enough.”The sound of the train grew louder.“We need to get ready.” Dad searched for a good place for us to hide which was close to the tracks. “We wait for the engine and the first few cars to go by, and then we start watching for boxcars with open doors.”“What if the train doesn’t slow down?” I asked.“It has to slow down due to the road crossings.”Rory craned his neck. “Hope it’s a long train.”“Me too,” Dad said as he walked over to a large metal container that sat near the tracks. It was big enough to hide all of us. Despite the size of the rail yard, there was little in the way of cover. “We’ll wait here and see what happens. If I see a boxcar, be ready to run when I say so. Got it?”“Yes,” we replied in unison. I was so nervous my stomach ached. Could we pull this off? Would the train slow up enough for us? And would there be a boxcar open? If we made it, how would we keep from getting caught? I hated scenarios with too many variables. Several minutes went by and finally a glimmer of the train engine’s headlight. At first it was just a dim yellow glow in the distance, but as it neared, it became white with intensity. The rumbling grew louder and I could feel vibrations through the ground. Before we knew it, the train was upon us. The two engines roared by; deep reverberations from the massive diesel motors made it impossible to hear one another. I kept my eyes fixed on Dad. In the dark, his eyesight was far better than ours. He would see a boxcar coming hundreds of yards before we would. We had to trust his judgment implicitly. Car after car passed; most appeared to be the open-top variety used for carrying ore and coal. In the middle, several dark colored tanker cars followed by more ore cars. Would luck not be on our side tonight? Then Dad reached back and touched my leg. “Get ready, I see one.”I, in turn, put my hand back and gave Rory’s shirt a tug. “He sees one!”“Okay!”We waited impatiently until Dad signaled again. “GO!” he hollered and took off running.Rory and I wasted not one second. We burst from behind the container and bolted toward the open boxcar. The train didn’t seem to be slowing. My legs pumped as hard as they could and yet I failed to keep up. I glanced back and saw Rory lagging. Dad was sprinting along and had nearly caught the handrail on the car. I feared we would lose the train.The horn blew, indicating the train was approaching a crossing. To our absolute luck, it began to slow. Digging deep, I sucked in great breaths of air, forcing myself to catch up. Rory was fighting to keep near me. We watched Dad make a flying leap and catch the railing. I doubted I’d have such luck. “Come on!” he yelled, waving to us. “Dad!” I hollered, trying to hold a hand toward him.He reached out. Our hands were mere inches apart, yet refused to meet. “Faster, Jonah!”With everything I had, I willed my body to increase speed. I couldn’t tell if I was, everything seemed a blur. But moments later, I felt the cold metal grasp of Dad. He had me and he wasn’t letting go. I reached back and tried to grab Rory. “Give me your hand!”My little brother strained, his fingertips stretching toward me. In the dark, inches felt like miles. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. That night, my brother showed more grit and determination than I’d ever seen. Sensing that he was losing us, he made a daring leap and caught my hand. I pulled up, trying to keep his feet from dragging the ground. Dad quickly remedied that by flinging us into the open door of the car. We landed in a heap. “Are you okay?” I asked, checking him over.Rory laughed. “Wow, that was fun!”Dad appeared in the doorway. “Everyone okay?”“Yes, we’re fine.”He closed the door most of the way and sat down next to us. “So, our adventure begins.”I dug around in my backpack and produced a small lantern. It was battery operated and I made sure I had plenty of extras. With a small turn of my wrist, the lamp illuminated the area around us. We were in a dark, dirty boxcar with just the clothes on our backs and some supplies. Yes, this was going to be quite the adventure. If we managed to make it to the Inner States, that would only be part of the odyssey we faced. There was another eight-hundred miles to New Philadelphia from Chicago. A journey of fifteen-hundred miles in which anything in the world could happen to us. My stomach still churned. Why did I agree with this crazy plan?An hour or two passed and I grew tired. We had no bedrolls, pillows, or even a blanket. Probably poor planning on mine and Rory’s part, but we figured it was only for a day or two, and the weather was warm. My eyelids felt like lead. We’d moved to the side of the car and Dad was sitting with his back against the wall. I removed a sweatshirt from my pack. The clackety-clack and gentle rolling of the train on the rails only hastened my desire for sleep. I regarded him with weary eyes and he motioned to me. “Come, use me as a pillow,” Dad said over the noise. Without further prodding, I sat next to him, shoved the thick garment against his shoulder, and curled up. He put his arm around me in a protective manner. With my lids firmly shut, I drifted off to slumber while the hulking metal beast headed to Chicago.
September 11, 2015
Servo 24:3
Servo 24:3
That evening after dinner, I retired to my room. Dad was still by the window listening. “Hi, Dad.”He turned slightly. “Hello, Jonah.”“Any more luck?”“Yes. I think I have enough data.”“And?”“Tomorrow night seems to be a good time.”“Oh,” I said with a hint of dismay in my voice.“What’s wrong?”“Well, um, we caught a bunch of crawdads today and Dagwood’s gonna prepare them for us in a few days.”“Crawdads?”“Yeah, crayfish.”“Bleh!” Dad said, the noise sounded more like an electronic fart.I tried not to laugh. “What’s wrong?”“Dirty creatures.”“He said if they soak in clear water for a few days, they won’t taste muddy. And the creek we got them from is pretty clear.”“I’m sure there will be other times to eat crayfish with your friend. We need to get to New Philadelphia.”“You think Suz is in that much trouble?”“I have a feeling there’s something wrong; not only with Suz, but with the country.”“America?”“Yes.” He stood and walked around. “I can’t explain it, and I know there’s no internet here, but I’m picking up things.”“Like what?”“Images—pictures keep popping into my head.”“Memories?”“No, these are of things yet to come.”“Bad things?”He regarded me. “Very.”“Another war?”“I can’t say for certain, but things feel wrong to me.”“Do you want me to tell Rory?”“Tell him we need to leave tomorrow night, but don’t tell him anything else.”“Right,” I said, going to the door. “I’ll make sure he’s ready.” Leaving my room, I went across the hall and knocked lightly on Rory’s door. “Hey, it’s me.”“Come in,” he called.I went in and found him sitting on the bed, staring at his tablet. “What are you doing?”“Nothing.”“Dad told me that we should go tomorrow night.”“He’s sure?”“Yeah.”He set his tablet off to the side. “Okay. What time?”“Just go to bed as normal and I’ll come wake you.”“All right…Jonah?”“Yes?”“Are you scared?”“A little. But Dad seems to know what he’s doing, and we have to trust him.”“I hope we don’t get caught.”I went to the door. “Me neither. That would cause a lot of trouble.”“What would they do to Dad?” “I dunno.” I left his room with more thoughts of doom. We had to accomplish the tasks at hand. Perhaps the fate of the entire country would rest on our young shoulders. That was a lot to bear. But first we needed to escape.
That evening after dinner, I retired to my room. Dad was still by the window listening. “Hi, Dad.”He turned slightly. “Hello, Jonah.”“Any more luck?”“Yes. I think I have enough data.”“And?”“Tomorrow night seems to be a good time.”“Oh,” I said with a hint of dismay in my voice.“What’s wrong?”“Well, um, we caught a bunch of crawdads today and Dagwood’s gonna prepare them for us in a few days.”“Crawdads?”“Yeah, crayfish.”“Bleh!” Dad said, the noise sounded more like an electronic fart.I tried not to laugh. “What’s wrong?”“Dirty creatures.”“He said if they soak in clear water for a few days, they won’t taste muddy. And the creek we got them from is pretty clear.”“I’m sure there will be other times to eat crayfish with your friend. We need to get to New Philadelphia.”“You think Suz is in that much trouble?”“I have a feeling there’s something wrong; not only with Suz, but with the country.”“America?”“Yes.” He stood and walked around. “I can’t explain it, and I know there’s no internet here, but I’m picking up things.”“Like what?”“Images—pictures keep popping into my head.”“Memories?”“No, these are of things yet to come.”“Bad things?”He regarded me. “Very.”“Another war?”“I can’t say for certain, but things feel wrong to me.”“Do you want me to tell Rory?”“Tell him we need to leave tomorrow night, but don’t tell him anything else.”“Right,” I said, going to the door. “I’ll make sure he’s ready.” Leaving my room, I went across the hall and knocked lightly on Rory’s door. “Hey, it’s me.”“Come in,” he called.I went in and found him sitting on the bed, staring at his tablet. “What are you doing?”“Nothing.”“Dad told me that we should go tomorrow night.”“He’s sure?”“Yeah.”He set his tablet off to the side. “Okay. What time?”“Just go to bed as normal and I’ll come wake you.”“All right…Jonah?”“Yes?”“Are you scared?”“A little. But Dad seems to know what he’s doing, and we have to trust him.”“I hope we don’t get caught.”I went to the door. “Me neither. That would cause a lot of trouble.”“What would they do to Dad?” “I dunno.” I left his room with more thoughts of doom. We had to accomplish the tasks at hand. Perhaps the fate of the entire country would rest on our young shoulders. That was a lot to bear. But first we needed to escape.
September 4, 2015
Servo 24:2
Servo 24:2
“Got one!” Rory hollered as he snapped up our makeshift net. “I can’t believe it!”We were ankle-deep in cool limpid water, the hot sun shining on our backs. I approached and gestured for him to open the net. “Let’s see.”He turned the handle on the old tennis racket, allowing the pillowcase to flop open. Inside was a large red crayfish. It had huge claws, long antennae, and spindly legs. “And people eat these things?” he said, peeing inside.“I guess so. Remember seeing them in the seafood case at the store?”“Yeah. So what do you eat?”“Their butts!” Dagwood said loudly. We spun around to find him standing on the opposite bank.“Oh, hi,” I replied, feeling sheepish that he’d caught us being juvenile.“Ya catchin’ crawdads?”“Something to do.”“Can I help?”“Sure!” I waved him down. “I bet you know how to catch ’em better than us.”He kicked off his boots, rolled up his pant legs, and joined us. “How many have you caught?”Rory held out the net. “Just this one.”“Whoa! That’s a monster!” He reached and pulled it out. We shied away from him. “That’ll make some good eatin’!”“And just how do you eat them?”“Boil ’em whole, break off the tails, remove the meat, dip in sauce, and eat!” “Do they taste good?” Rory asked.“When the creek’s not runnin’ hard, they taste better. Otherwise, they can taste mighty muddy.”“Ew!”I inched a bit closer. “So what do they really taste like?”“Ever have lobster?”“Um, no. Seafood was deemed bad for us to eat, so it was never served in the Inner States.”“What?! Not even bluegill and catfish?”“Are those saltwater fish?”“No, freshwater.”“Oh. Well, they have large unpolluted pools where they farmed the fish we used to eat.”“They just don’t go out into a lake and catch ’em?”“No.” I wandered over to the bank and found a fallen tree truck to sit on. “They have a system to harvest the fish in a sanitary manner.”Dagwood played with the crayfish. “Is it all like that?”“What?”“So clean and tidy.”“The Inner States deemed that an antiseptic and hygienic lifestyle was paramount to maximum efficiency in the population.”“That’s no fun.”“Dirt harbors bacteria; bacteria has been shown to make you ill, so dirty is bad.”“If that’s the case, all us farmers should be dead!”I reached down and found a smooth stone at the edge of the creek. “When we first moved out here, I didn’t even want to go outside. Now, I don’t like being inside. I think the Inner States have it all wrong.”“Dirt don’t hurt!” He stood, switched hands with the angry crayfish, scooped his right hand into the creek and sent a shower of shimmering diamond-droplets at me. “The earth is life!”The cool water splashed me in the face. I could taste the mineral-infused liquid on my lips. Finally, I no longer feared the outside, I embracedit. Rory dropped the net and quickly got into the game. We had metamorphosed into what we’d been brought up to hate. In the back of my mind, I began to question governance in the land from where we’d come. What was so wrong with this way of living? Five minutes later and we were soaking wet. It felt good; the mid-summer sun was baking the plains and growing a fabulous corn crop for grandpa. The spring rains had satiated the parched earth, giving it nourishment to support life. I was glad the drought seemed to be over and farmers in the area were once again thriving. Dagwood plopped down on the old log. Somewhere in our exuberant frolicking, he’d lost the monster crayfish. “I’m sorry, I dropped it,” he said, holding his hands up.“Don’t worry,” Rory replied, “we’ll catch more.”We caught our breaths and watched the creek meander by. A dozen or so little minnows darted in and out of shoals while dragonfly larvae skittered for cover under rocks. Watching all these miracles of life, I felt deprived in my early days. These wonders had been shrouded from our existence—deemed too dirty or dangerous. Dagwood was right, the earth was life. And in the Inner States, there felt like there was no life, merely going from one day to the next without giving much thought to it. Everything was clean, tidy, organized, and overseen by the government. They knew what was best for the people, or did they? The cracks in their logic were now gaping canyons. “I got an idea,” Dagwood said.“What?” I replied.“How about we catch a mess of crawdads and I’ll take ’em home. I got a stock tank I can fill with water and let ’em sit a couple days—get any mud out of ’em. Then, we can have Ma boil ’em up and have a feast!”“That sounds really nice. I look forward to trying them.” He stood. “Well, come on, the crawdads don’t just hop in the net by themselves!”
“Got one!” Rory hollered as he snapped up our makeshift net. “I can’t believe it!”We were ankle-deep in cool limpid water, the hot sun shining on our backs. I approached and gestured for him to open the net. “Let’s see.”He turned the handle on the old tennis racket, allowing the pillowcase to flop open. Inside was a large red crayfish. It had huge claws, long antennae, and spindly legs. “And people eat these things?” he said, peeing inside.“I guess so. Remember seeing them in the seafood case at the store?”“Yeah. So what do you eat?”“Their butts!” Dagwood said loudly. We spun around to find him standing on the opposite bank.“Oh, hi,” I replied, feeling sheepish that he’d caught us being juvenile.“Ya catchin’ crawdads?”“Something to do.”“Can I help?”“Sure!” I waved him down. “I bet you know how to catch ’em better than us.”He kicked off his boots, rolled up his pant legs, and joined us. “How many have you caught?”Rory held out the net. “Just this one.”“Whoa! That’s a monster!” He reached and pulled it out. We shied away from him. “That’ll make some good eatin’!”“And just how do you eat them?”“Boil ’em whole, break off the tails, remove the meat, dip in sauce, and eat!” “Do they taste good?” Rory asked.“When the creek’s not runnin’ hard, they taste better. Otherwise, they can taste mighty muddy.”“Ew!”I inched a bit closer. “So what do they really taste like?”“Ever have lobster?”“Um, no. Seafood was deemed bad for us to eat, so it was never served in the Inner States.”“What?! Not even bluegill and catfish?”“Are those saltwater fish?”“No, freshwater.”“Oh. Well, they have large unpolluted pools where they farmed the fish we used to eat.”“They just don’t go out into a lake and catch ’em?”“No.” I wandered over to the bank and found a fallen tree truck to sit on. “They have a system to harvest the fish in a sanitary manner.”Dagwood played with the crayfish. “Is it all like that?”“What?”“So clean and tidy.”“The Inner States deemed that an antiseptic and hygienic lifestyle was paramount to maximum efficiency in the population.”“That’s no fun.”“Dirt harbors bacteria; bacteria has been shown to make you ill, so dirty is bad.”“If that’s the case, all us farmers should be dead!”I reached down and found a smooth stone at the edge of the creek. “When we first moved out here, I didn’t even want to go outside. Now, I don’t like being inside. I think the Inner States have it all wrong.”“Dirt don’t hurt!” He stood, switched hands with the angry crayfish, scooped his right hand into the creek and sent a shower of shimmering diamond-droplets at me. “The earth is life!”The cool water splashed me in the face. I could taste the mineral-infused liquid on my lips. Finally, I no longer feared the outside, I embracedit. Rory dropped the net and quickly got into the game. We had metamorphosed into what we’d been brought up to hate. In the back of my mind, I began to question governance in the land from where we’d come. What was so wrong with this way of living? Five minutes later and we were soaking wet. It felt good; the mid-summer sun was baking the plains and growing a fabulous corn crop for grandpa. The spring rains had satiated the parched earth, giving it nourishment to support life. I was glad the drought seemed to be over and farmers in the area were once again thriving. Dagwood plopped down on the old log. Somewhere in our exuberant frolicking, he’d lost the monster crayfish. “I’m sorry, I dropped it,” he said, holding his hands up.“Don’t worry,” Rory replied, “we’ll catch more.”We caught our breaths and watched the creek meander by. A dozen or so little minnows darted in and out of shoals while dragonfly larvae skittered for cover under rocks. Watching all these miracles of life, I felt deprived in my early days. These wonders had been shrouded from our existence—deemed too dirty or dangerous. Dagwood was right, the earth was life. And in the Inner States, there felt like there was no life, merely going from one day to the next without giving much thought to it. Everything was clean, tidy, organized, and overseen by the government. They knew what was best for the people, or did they? The cracks in their logic were now gaping canyons. “I got an idea,” Dagwood said.“What?” I replied.“How about we catch a mess of crawdads and I’ll take ’em home. I got a stock tank I can fill with water and let ’em sit a couple days—get any mud out of ’em. Then, we can have Ma boil ’em up and have a feast!”“That sounds really nice. I look forward to trying them.” He stood. “Well, come on, the crawdads don’t just hop in the net by themselves!”
August 28, 2015
Servo 24:1
Servo 24:1
After the close call with the police, Dad decided we needed to accelerate our plan for escaping to the Inner States. Rory and I spent the next two days quietly pilfering goods from the pantry and around the house. We managed to stuff three backpacks to capacity. Dad stayed in my room all the time, window open, and listening to the trains. The waiting was driving me nuts.I went upstairs after returning from Dagwood’s. Oddly enough, he wanted my help with his chickens. The state fair was drawing near, and he had to start preparing the birds he intended to show. After that, I decided there was no way I wanted any part of chicken keeping! That job could belong to the real farmers out here. Covered with feathers and chicken poo, I desperately wanted to change clothes. I opened my bedroom door and found Dad sitting by the window—where he’d been for the last two days. He turned his head and looked at me. “Hello.”“Hi, Dad,” I replied, “Any luck?”“Yes.” “Good.”“I heard an eastbound train go by at ten this morning.”“So when do we wanna go?”“Give me one more night to listen.”“Okay.” I kicked off my shoes and quickly changed out of my jeans, putting on some shorts. The weather was quite warm now, and I wanted to go down to the small creek that ran between Dagwood’s farm and ours. Rory and I found some crayfish and wanted to try our hand at catching them. We’d fashioned a net made from an old tennis racket and a pillowcase. I had serious doubts that we’d catch any, but it was something to do. Without the precious internet, we had to find other things to engage our brains. Now that Dad was functioning, I dared not tinker with him anymore. We were wasting time until the big get away. I finished changing and went to the door. Dad was still at his station. “Dad?”“Yes?”“Are you bored?”“I can’t say this is exciting work.”“Sorry. I wish the rules here were different.”“The rules were put in place for a very good reason.”“I understand that now, but you’d think with all the years that’ve passed they would change.”“Truthfully, it’s better they don’t.”“Why?”“There needs to be a refuge from technology.”“But how will they fight if the Inner States wage war again?”He shook his head. “I dunno.”“Could you stop them?”Dad folded his arms. “Maybe.”“How?”“The data sticks.”“What about them?”“Hidden deep in the root menu is a program of malicious code.”“A virus?”He nodded.I rubbed my face. “But I uploaded all those sticks into your memory cores.”“Yes.”“But you’re fine.”“And I will be. The virus needs one last line of code to activate it.”“Oh.”“That line of code is up here.” He tapped his head. “If I could ever get back into Servidyne, I could upload the virus to their computers.”“Would that kill all the bots?”“No, it would simply overwrite the programmer’s codes to ignore the three laws. The bots would have to obey the laws.”“But won’t the programmers just rewrite it again?”“There’s magic in this code. If anyone tries to rewrite the program, it automatically deactivates the bot—permanently.” I shrugged my shoulders. “They’d just put in a new memory core and reprogram it.”“The virus is designed to hide in every sub-system. Replacing a memory core will lead to another infection. The only way to rid the bot of the virus is to destroy it.” He stood and took a few steps toward me. “And when I infect Servidyne’s system, the virus will hide in all of the sub-processors. They can’t get rid of it without building a new master computer.”“Which will cost them billions of dollars.”“Exactly.” He returned to the window. “If they plan to wage another war, than it will be the most expensive war ever.”“Do you think they found out about it?”“Maybe.”“And that’s why they killed you?”“Again, maybe.”“But going back—”“Jonah, I’m not the same me anymore. No one would think an old bot is a threat.”“But you’re old. Someone might be suspicious of that.”“When the time comes, I have ways of fixing that.” I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear Dad’s plan for getting into Servidyne. He was up to something, that was evident. For now, I just wanted to go out and play. I had a feeling that within the next two days, our lives would be upturned again. As much as I missed the Inner States, something inside me feared them.
After the close call with the police, Dad decided we needed to accelerate our plan for escaping to the Inner States. Rory and I spent the next two days quietly pilfering goods from the pantry and around the house. We managed to stuff three backpacks to capacity. Dad stayed in my room all the time, window open, and listening to the trains. The waiting was driving me nuts.I went upstairs after returning from Dagwood’s. Oddly enough, he wanted my help with his chickens. The state fair was drawing near, and he had to start preparing the birds he intended to show. After that, I decided there was no way I wanted any part of chicken keeping! That job could belong to the real farmers out here. Covered with feathers and chicken poo, I desperately wanted to change clothes. I opened my bedroom door and found Dad sitting by the window—where he’d been for the last two days. He turned his head and looked at me. “Hello.”“Hi, Dad,” I replied, “Any luck?”“Yes.” “Good.”“I heard an eastbound train go by at ten this morning.”“So when do we wanna go?”“Give me one more night to listen.”“Okay.” I kicked off my shoes and quickly changed out of my jeans, putting on some shorts. The weather was quite warm now, and I wanted to go down to the small creek that ran between Dagwood’s farm and ours. Rory and I found some crayfish and wanted to try our hand at catching them. We’d fashioned a net made from an old tennis racket and a pillowcase. I had serious doubts that we’d catch any, but it was something to do. Without the precious internet, we had to find other things to engage our brains. Now that Dad was functioning, I dared not tinker with him anymore. We were wasting time until the big get away. I finished changing and went to the door. Dad was still at his station. “Dad?”“Yes?”“Are you bored?”“I can’t say this is exciting work.”“Sorry. I wish the rules here were different.”“The rules were put in place for a very good reason.”“I understand that now, but you’d think with all the years that’ve passed they would change.”“Truthfully, it’s better they don’t.”“Why?”“There needs to be a refuge from technology.”“But how will they fight if the Inner States wage war again?”He shook his head. “I dunno.”“Could you stop them?”Dad folded his arms. “Maybe.”“How?”“The data sticks.”“What about them?”“Hidden deep in the root menu is a program of malicious code.”“A virus?”He nodded.I rubbed my face. “But I uploaded all those sticks into your memory cores.”“Yes.”“But you’re fine.”“And I will be. The virus needs one last line of code to activate it.”“Oh.”“That line of code is up here.” He tapped his head. “If I could ever get back into Servidyne, I could upload the virus to their computers.”“Would that kill all the bots?”“No, it would simply overwrite the programmer’s codes to ignore the three laws. The bots would have to obey the laws.”“But won’t the programmers just rewrite it again?”“There’s magic in this code. If anyone tries to rewrite the program, it automatically deactivates the bot—permanently.” I shrugged my shoulders. “They’d just put in a new memory core and reprogram it.”“The virus is designed to hide in every sub-system. Replacing a memory core will lead to another infection. The only way to rid the bot of the virus is to destroy it.” He stood and took a few steps toward me. “And when I infect Servidyne’s system, the virus will hide in all of the sub-processors. They can’t get rid of it without building a new master computer.”“Which will cost them billions of dollars.”“Exactly.” He returned to the window. “If they plan to wage another war, than it will be the most expensive war ever.”“Do you think they found out about it?”“Maybe.”“And that’s why they killed you?”“Again, maybe.”“But going back—”“Jonah, I’m not the same me anymore. No one would think an old bot is a threat.”“But you’re old. Someone might be suspicious of that.”“When the time comes, I have ways of fixing that.” I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear Dad’s plan for getting into Servidyne. He was up to something, that was evident. For now, I just wanted to go out and play. I had a feeling that within the next two days, our lives would be upturned again. As much as I missed the Inner States, something inside me feared them.
August 21, 2015
Servo 23:3
Servo 23:3
The next morning I was roused from sleep by Dad. “Jonah, wake up!”“Huh? What?”“A police car is coming.”I rubbed my eyes and climbed from bed, joining him at the window. Sure enough, a patrol car was rolling up to the house. My heart started to pound. “I wonder what they want?”“I hope it’s not bad news about your sister.”“Dunno,” I replied, slipping into my bathrobe and heading out the door. Going downstairs, I saw Grandpa making a move toward the front door. Evidently he’d seen them too.“Did you get into some mischief yesterday?” he asked me.“No. Just went to the thrift store in town, that’s all.”“Then I wonder what the police want.” He opened the door and went out. I followed partway, choosing to stay tucked behind the door frame and watch. The officers got out of the car and approached. “Abe?” one said.“Yes?”“We got a strange report yesterday.”“Oh?”“The mailman, Mr. Sodley, said he thought he saw a bot here.”“Bot? As in robot?”“Yeah.”“Impossible. Eliza would never have a bot here after what she went through in the Great Separation.”“He was quite adamant about it. Said he saw it playing with the boys.”“No, there’s no bot here, I can assure you of that.”“Well, I was pretty sure of that, but you know we have to follow-up all possible sightings of an unlicensed bot.”“Yes, I know.”The officer glanced toward the field. “Looks like the rain was good for you. Corn’s looking mighty nice.”“Thanks. I’m glad to finally have a crop. Things were getting mighty thin for a while.”“I read in the paper that the Inner States is willing to pay a good price this year. I guess they’re getting hungry.”“Not my concern. I just want what’s fair.”The officers returned to their car. “Sorry to disturb you, Abe. Have a good day.”Grandpa waved good-bye to them and returned to the house. He caught me spying. “You need to be more careful with your father.”“We have been, but we didn’t know the mailman would be delivering a package.”“Keep him inside from now on—up in your room.”“Okay.” I went up and found Dad peering out the window. “I heard,” he said, not giving me a change to say anything.“Yeah, got to be more careful.”“It won’t matter soon, we’ll be gone.”“Are we going to stay in the Inner States?”“No, you need to come back.”“What about you?”“I’ll come back as well, but have to stay hidden all the time.”I frowned. “That doesn’t sound right.”“And there’s something else.”“What?”“I may be a miracle, but we don’t know how long this will last.”“Forever!”“No. At some point in time the programming will wear out.”“You’ll die—again?” I felt my lip quivering.“Probably.”“I won’t let that happen!”“You must, Jonah; it’s the way of life.”“No!”He took my hands and held them. “Don’t let this upset you. My time of expiration may not be for many more years, but it will happen. It has to happen.”I started to cry. “I won’t let you!”“That is not your choice to make. Granted you brought me back from the dead, but I will not be happy living when all of you are gone. Would you be so cruel?” He reached up and wiped away a tear that rolled down my cheek. He was right and I knew he was right, but at that time I refused to admit it.
The next morning I was roused from sleep by Dad. “Jonah, wake up!”“Huh? What?”“A police car is coming.”I rubbed my eyes and climbed from bed, joining him at the window. Sure enough, a patrol car was rolling up to the house. My heart started to pound. “I wonder what they want?”“I hope it’s not bad news about your sister.”“Dunno,” I replied, slipping into my bathrobe and heading out the door. Going downstairs, I saw Grandpa making a move toward the front door. Evidently he’d seen them too.“Did you get into some mischief yesterday?” he asked me.“No. Just went to the thrift store in town, that’s all.”“Then I wonder what the police want.” He opened the door and went out. I followed partway, choosing to stay tucked behind the door frame and watch. The officers got out of the car and approached. “Abe?” one said.“Yes?”“We got a strange report yesterday.”“Oh?”“The mailman, Mr. Sodley, said he thought he saw a bot here.”“Bot? As in robot?”“Yeah.”“Impossible. Eliza would never have a bot here after what she went through in the Great Separation.”“He was quite adamant about it. Said he saw it playing with the boys.”“No, there’s no bot here, I can assure you of that.”“Well, I was pretty sure of that, but you know we have to follow-up all possible sightings of an unlicensed bot.”“Yes, I know.”The officer glanced toward the field. “Looks like the rain was good for you. Corn’s looking mighty nice.”“Thanks. I’m glad to finally have a crop. Things were getting mighty thin for a while.”“I read in the paper that the Inner States is willing to pay a good price this year. I guess they’re getting hungry.”“Not my concern. I just want what’s fair.”The officers returned to their car. “Sorry to disturb you, Abe. Have a good day.”Grandpa waved good-bye to them and returned to the house. He caught me spying. “You need to be more careful with your father.”“We have been, but we didn’t know the mailman would be delivering a package.”“Keep him inside from now on—up in your room.”“Okay.” I went up and found Dad peering out the window. “I heard,” he said, not giving me a change to say anything.“Yeah, got to be more careful.”“It won’t matter soon, we’ll be gone.”“Are we going to stay in the Inner States?”“No, you need to come back.”“What about you?”“I’ll come back as well, but have to stay hidden all the time.”I frowned. “That doesn’t sound right.”“And there’s something else.”“What?”“I may be a miracle, but we don’t know how long this will last.”“Forever!”“No. At some point in time the programming will wear out.”“You’ll die—again?” I felt my lip quivering.“Probably.”“I won’t let that happen!”“You must, Jonah; it’s the way of life.”“No!”He took my hands and held them. “Don’t let this upset you. My time of expiration may not be for many more years, but it will happen. It has to happen.”I started to cry. “I won’t let you!”“That is not your choice to make. Granted you brought me back from the dead, but I will not be happy living when all of you are gone. Would you be so cruel?” He reached up and wiped away a tear that rolled down my cheek. He was right and I knew he was right, but at that time I refused to admit it.
August 16, 2015
Servo 23:2
Servo 23:2
That evening after dinner, we met in my room to show Dad the clothes we’d bought. He’d done his best to stay away from Grandma, knowing she’d only grow more distant. Deep down inside I wished she could see past his metal exterior and realize he was the same son-in-law that had married her daughter. Except now everything had changed. I unzipped one backpack and pulled out two pairs of jeans. “I hope these fit, the lady at the store was asking a lot of questions, and we had to do some creative lying to get what we needed.”“You lied?” Dad replied.“Well, it’s not like it was hurting anyone. We just didn’t want to raise any suspicion.”“Mmm, I suppose not.” He took the jeans and held them up. “I’m going to need some assistance putting these on.”Rory took the pants, sat down on the floor, and bunched them up. “Okay, Dad, can you put one leg in?”Dad lifted a leg and did his best to aim for the leg hole. Rory had to help him. When one foot was through, they repeated the process. I jumped in to help pull the pants all the way up and then button and zip them. I thought it was a pretty good fit. “What do you think?” I said, digging through another bag, producing a shirt.He looked down. “You boys did a fine job. Thank you.”I unfolded the dark gray long-sleeved shirt and helped him into it. There was no way he could do up the buttons, so I made quick work of them. Rory and I tucked in the shirt. Dad went over and opened the door to my wardrobe. He gazed in the mirror. “Not exactly the kind of clothes I’d wear, but they’re a good fit…Did you find any shoes?”Rory removed a pair of tennis shoes. “I think these’ll fit.” He put them on the floor and assisted Dad into them. “At least they hide my golden toes.”I went to the window and opened it. A light breeze seeped in, gently moving the white lacy curtains. “We watched a freight train today, but it was going the wrong direction.”Rory sat on the bed. “Dad? Do you have super hearing?”He was silent for a moment. “In this model, they’d made some advances in the auditory perception system. But it’s not like the bots of today.”“I didn’t think it was,” I replied, “But have you ever heard the trains going through town?”“Oh, yes, I hear them quite well.”“Good, then keep your ears peeled and let us know.”“Sometimes they go through in the dead of night.”“I don’t care; just wake me up so we can write down the time.”“Why? I can do that. There’s no need to awaken you.”He was right. My metal-bodied father was not totally helpless. He was a service bot, and they were made to help around the house or in businesses. Dad possessed all the basic skills required to function in a home environment. He could manage on his own.I went to the nightstand and opened a drawer, removing pen and paper. “Here, so you can keep a log.”“Thank you. I’m not sure how neat my writing will be, but at least one of us can read it,” he said with a tinny chuckle.Oh, how that terrible voice modulator grated on my nerves! I couldn’t wait to build a better body for Dad and fix his voice.“How long are we going to wait?”He looked at the blank page. “The sooner the better.”“Dad? Can you hear well enough to know which direction the train is coming from?” asked Rory.“I’ll have to see tonight when it’s calm and quiet.”“Dagwood said we can probably get as far as Chicago, but he didn’t know how long it would take,” I said, shoving one backpack under my bed.“My best guess is a couple of days. So you’ll need to find and stash enough food and water for several days just in case it takes longer than expected.”“There’s some bottled water in the pantry,” Rory replied, “I can probably get some when Grandma isn’t in the kitchen.”“Can you get some canned goods too?” Dad asked, “And something to open them with.”“We’ll see.”“You’ll probably be eating them cold, so find things that easy to eat.”I walked around the room, stopping once again at the open window. “Once we get to Chicago, then what? We don’t have any money.”“There’s still plenty in your trust fund, right?”“I guess so. Grandpa only buys what we need.”“We can make it work. I can access the account and get some money.”“How?” I turned from the window.“I created the account; I know all the information about it. All we need to do is get to a money machine and I can remedy that problem.”Rory hopped off the bed. “After that, we can take a plane to New Philadelphia.”“Correct,” said Dad, “the last time I checked it was perfectly acceptable to have a service bot accompany you on a flight.”“Don’t they make you ride in the cargo hold?” I replied. “Yes, but that won’t bother me. I want to get back there and make sure Suz is all right.”
That evening after dinner, we met in my room to show Dad the clothes we’d bought. He’d done his best to stay away from Grandma, knowing she’d only grow more distant. Deep down inside I wished she could see past his metal exterior and realize he was the same son-in-law that had married her daughter. Except now everything had changed. I unzipped one backpack and pulled out two pairs of jeans. “I hope these fit, the lady at the store was asking a lot of questions, and we had to do some creative lying to get what we needed.”“You lied?” Dad replied.“Well, it’s not like it was hurting anyone. We just didn’t want to raise any suspicion.”“Mmm, I suppose not.” He took the jeans and held them up. “I’m going to need some assistance putting these on.”Rory took the pants, sat down on the floor, and bunched them up. “Okay, Dad, can you put one leg in?”Dad lifted a leg and did his best to aim for the leg hole. Rory had to help him. When one foot was through, they repeated the process. I jumped in to help pull the pants all the way up and then button and zip them. I thought it was a pretty good fit. “What do you think?” I said, digging through another bag, producing a shirt.He looked down. “You boys did a fine job. Thank you.”I unfolded the dark gray long-sleeved shirt and helped him into it. There was no way he could do up the buttons, so I made quick work of them. Rory and I tucked in the shirt. Dad went over and opened the door to my wardrobe. He gazed in the mirror. “Not exactly the kind of clothes I’d wear, but they’re a good fit…Did you find any shoes?”Rory removed a pair of tennis shoes. “I think these’ll fit.” He put them on the floor and assisted Dad into them. “At least they hide my golden toes.”I went to the window and opened it. A light breeze seeped in, gently moving the white lacy curtains. “We watched a freight train today, but it was going the wrong direction.”Rory sat on the bed. “Dad? Do you have super hearing?”He was silent for a moment. “In this model, they’d made some advances in the auditory perception system. But it’s not like the bots of today.”“I didn’t think it was,” I replied, “But have you ever heard the trains going through town?”“Oh, yes, I hear them quite well.”“Good, then keep your ears peeled and let us know.”“Sometimes they go through in the dead of night.”“I don’t care; just wake me up so we can write down the time.”“Why? I can do that. There’s no need to awaken you.”He was right. My metal-bodied father was not totally helpless. He was a service bot, and they were made to help around the house or in businesses. Dad possessed all the basic skills required to function in a home environment. He could manage on his own.I went to the nightstand and opened a drawer, removing pen and paper. “Here, so you can keep a log.”“Thank you. I’m not sure how neat my writing will be, but at least one of us can read it,” he said with a tinny chuckle.Oh, how that terrible voice modulator grated on my nerves! I couldn’t wait to build a better body for Dad and fix his voice.“How long are we going to wait?”He looked at the blank page. “The sooner the better.”“Dad? Can you hear well enough to know which direction the train is coming from?” asked Rory.“I’ll have to see tonight when it’s calm and quiet.”“Dagwood said we can probably get as far as Chicago, but he didn’t know how long it would take,” I said, shoving one backpack under my bed.“My best guess is a couple of days. So you’ll need to find and stash enough food and water for several days just in case it takes longer than expected.”“There’s some bottled water in the pantry,” Rory replied, “I can probably get some when Grandma isn’t in the kitchen.”“Can you get some canned goods too?” Dad asked, “And something to open them with.”“We’ll see.”“You’ll probably be eating them cold, so find things that easy to eat.”I walked around the room, stopping once again at the open window. “Once we get to Chicago, then what? We don’t have any money.”“There’s still plenty in your trust fund, right?”“I guess so. Grandpa only buys what we need.”“We can make it work. I can access the account and get some money.”“How?” I turned from the window.“I created the account; I know all the information about it. All we need to do is get to a money machine and I can remedy that problem.”Rory hopped off the bed. “After that, we can take a plane to New Philadelphia.”“Correct,” said Dad, “the last time I checked it was perfectly acceptable to have a service bot accompany you on a flight.”“Don’t they make you ride in the cargo hold?” I replied. “Yes, but that won’t bother me. I want to get back there and make sure Suz is all right.”
August 7, 2015
Servo 23:1
Servo 23:1
We pedaled home from town, our backpacks laden with clothes and other “necessities” that we’d need on our journey. As we neared the train tracks, I listened. Did I hear a train? I stopped the bike and pivoted my head around trying to find the source of the noise.“What are you doing?” Rory asked.“Listening for a train.”I saw him cocking his head oddly about. “I think I hear one!”Checking my watch, I saw it was close to two in the afternoon. “Let’s ride over to the switching yard and see.”It took only a few minutes and we’d arrived at outskirts of the yard. Freight cars were lined up on one track, apparently waiting for a train to get them. We hid behind the corner of a building and watched. In the distance, coming from the east, a train approached. As it neared a road crossing, it blared the horn, causing me to jump. Rory laughed.“Not funny!” I grumbled.“Yes it is.”The train slowed to a crawl and entered the yard. Its rumbling diesel engine caused my insides to vibrate—what an odd feeling. We observed the lengthy train rattle along until the last car was nearly out of sight. Then we heard the screech of brakes. Two men scurried around, throwing heavy switches. A few more minutes passed and the train began to back up. The last few cars changed direction, going onto the new set of tracks. And then a loud crash as the couplings connected. “Looks like it’s going west,” Rory said above the noise.“Not the train we want. Dagwood said east, that should get us to Chicago.”“Did he say how many days it would take?”“No.”“Are you sure this is a good idea? Why can’t we convince Grandpa to drive us?”I knelt down and continued to watch. “I don’t think he’s heartbroken that Suz is gone. And he can’t be caught with Dad, they’d throw him in jail.”“We could hide Dad in the back of the truck.”“Too risky. This is up to us.”We watched until the train began its meanderings down the long iron path toward the west. I returned to my bike and climbed on. “Let’s go home.”“Shouldn’t we wait and see if there’s another train?”“With that one on the tracks, I doubt there’ll be one going eastbound any time soon.”“Mmm, true.”The rest of the ride home we didn’t say much. Arriving at the house, we parked our bikes next to the porch and went inside. I could hear Grandma in the kitchen, but had no clue where Grandpa or Dad happened to be. As I put one foot on the stairs, I heard tinny laughter coming from down the long hall to the back—the library.I changed directions, Rory following me. We crept along, our tennis shoes gliding silently across the old wood floor. Silently, that was, until we reached the last few feet before the door. I placed my left foot down and the old board creaked so loudly I thought the whole house could hear. We froze. The door opened and Dad stood peering at us. “Hello, boys. Back from town?”We nodded enthusiastically.“And did you have luck?”Again we nodded.“Good. Abe and I were just talking about the good ol’ days. How about you go out and play? I’ll come join you in a little bit.”“Right,” I said, understanding it to be our cue to get lost. That night, I was sure he’d join us in my room where we’d show him what we bought. I hoped he’d be happy with the selection. Clothing a robot was not something I ever expected to do. Dad closed the door and Rory turned to me. “Go out and play?” he whispered.“Why not? It’s a nice day. Let’s dump the backpacks and get the football.”We went upstairs, putting the packs on my bed. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a handful of dollars and change, placing it on the nightstand. Having physical money in my hands felt very odd. The Inner States deemed paper and coin money too unsanitary so everything was paid for via electronic transfer. In a way, it was handy—unless you forgot your tablet or phone!Digging the football out of my wardrobe, we tromped down and outside. The weather couldn’t have been nicer. Rory and I spread out, keeping ourselves between the house and barn. I threw the ball with all my might, noticing that it went farther than it ever had. Rory had to back up a few steps in order to catch it. “Good throw, Jonah!” He moved closer and chucked it back to me. His throw was far short and I had to run and dive to snag the ball before it hit the ground. Crashing to the dirt, I stirred up a cloud of dust. A few minutes later, Dad came out. He walked a distance from Rory and held up his hands, wanting the ball. I was curious about his ability to throw, that model of bot wasn’t built with sports in mind. When Dad was alive, he could send a ball seemingly into space. Rory and I would be running for our lives in order to catch it. Were those days back? I threw the ball to him. Dad did his best to catch it, but the stiff leather ball bounced out of his hands. “Oh, that’s going to take some getting used to. I can barely feel it.” He bent over and picked up the ball, studying it. “When we build me a better body, I definitely need some sort of tactile sensory receptors.” “You know how to do that?” I asked.“Sure.” He bent his arm back and threw the ball. It was a pathetic attempt. The ball didn’t even make it halfway to me. Dad went over, snatched the ball, and tried again with the same result. “Okay, maybe I’m not cut out for this right now.”“Jonah!” Rory called, pointing frantically down the driveway. “Mailman!”I spun around to see the small blue pickup truck with flashing light on top approaching. Our mailman, Mr. Sodley, was anything but pleasant. He was old, grouchy, and had been delivering mail in every manner of weather for forty years. I knew he hated this driveway, and the only reason he’d be on it was to deliver a package.“Dad, hide!” I yelled, waving for him to get behind the house. Mr. Sodley wasn’t one of those people I wanted to know about Dad. All it would take was talking to the wrong person and Grandma and Grandpa would be in big trouble.The truck approached. I kept my eye on it, hoping Dad had found a hiding spot. Rory trotted up and joined me. “I hope the mailman didn’t see him,” he said, standing closer to me.“Me too.”The truck pulled up and the cantankerous postal worker stuck his head out the window. “Package for Abe,” he said, shoving a box at me.“Um, thank you.” I noticed him looking past me. Did he see Dad? Before I could say or do anything, he jammed the truck into gear and sped off down the drive, leaving a trail of dust. We turned and saw Dad peeing around the corner. “Do you think he saw you?” I said, heading to the porch.He came out. “I don’t know, I tried to hurry, but these old models aren’t built for speed.”“Let’s hope he didn’t.” After that, we decided to end our game of catch. Dad was in no condition to play with us like he used to. I hoped in time I could remedy that.
We pedaled home from town, our backpacks laden with clothes and other “necessities” that we’d need on our journey. As we neared the train tracks, I listened. Did I hear a train? I stopped the bike and pivoted my head around trying to find the source of the noise.“What are you doing?” Rory asked.“Listening for a train.”I saw him cocking his head oddly about. “I think I hear one!”Checking my watch, I saw it was close to two in the afternoon. “Let’s ride over to the switching yard and see.”It took only a few minutes and we’d arrived at outskirts of the yard. Freight cars were lined up on one track, apparently waiting for a train to get them. We hid behind the corner of a building and watched. In the distance, coming from the east, a train approached. As it neared a road crossing, it blared the horn, causing me to jump. Rory laughed.“Not funny!” I grumbled.“Yes it is.”The train slowed to a crawl and entered the yard. Its rumbling diesel engine caused my insides to vibrate—what an odd feeling. We observed the lengthy train rattle along until the last car was nearly out of sight. Then we heard the screech of brakes. Two men scurried around, throwing heavy switches. A few more minutes passed and the train began to back up. The last few cars changed direction, going onto the new set of tracks. And then a loud crash as the couplings connected. “Looks like it’s going west,” Rory said above the noise.“Not the train we want. Dagwood said east, that should get us to Chicago.”“Did he say how many days it would take?”“No.”“Are you sure this is a good idea? Why can’t we convince Grandpa to drive us?”I knelt down and continued to watch. “I don’t think he’s heartbroken that Suz is gone. And he can’t be caught with Dad, they’d throw him in jail.”“We could hide Dad in the back of the truck.”“Too risky. This is up to us.”We watched until the train began its meanderings down the long iron path toward the west. I returned to my bike and climbed on. “Let’s go home.”“Shouldn’t we wait and see if there’s another train?”“With that one on the tracks, I doubt there’ll be one going eastbound any time soon.”“Mmm, true.”The rest of the ride home we didn’t say much. Arriving at the house, we parked our bikes next to the porch and went inside. I could hear Grandma in the kitchen, but had no clue where Grandpa or Dad happened to be. As I put one foot on the stairs, I heard tinny laughter coming from down the long hall to the back—the library.I changed directions, Rory following me. We crept along, our tennis shoes gliding silently across the old wood floor. Silently, that was, until we reached the last few feet before the door. I placed my left foot down and the old board creaked so loudly I thought the whole house could hear. We froze. The door opened and Dad stood peering at us. “Hello, boys. Back from town?”We nodded enthusiastically.“And did you have luck?”Again we nodded.“Good. Abe and I were just talking about the good ol’ days. How about you go out and play? I’ll come join you in a little bit.”“Right,” I said, understanding it to be our cue to get lost. That night, I was sure he’d join us in my room where we’d show him what we bought. I hoped he’d be happy with the selection. Clothing a robot was not something I ever expected to do. Dad closed the door and Rory turned to me. “Go out and play?” he whispered.“Why not? It’s a nice day. Let’s dump the backpacks and get the football.”We went upstairs, putting the packs on my bed. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a handful of dollars and change, placing it on the nightstand. Having physical money in my hands felt very odd. The Inner States deemed paper and coin money too unsanitary so everything was paid for via electronic transfer. In a way, it was handy—unless you forgot your tablet or phone!Digging the football out of my wardrobe, we tromped down and outside. The weather couldn’t have been nicer. Rory and I spread out, keeping ourselves between the house and barn. I threw the ball with all my might, noticing that it went farther than it ever had. Rory had to back up a few steps in order to catch it. “Good throw, Jonah!” He moved closer and chucked it back to me. His throw was far short and I had to run and dive to snag the ball before it hit the ground. Crashing to the dirt, I stirred up a cloud of dust. A few minutes later, Dad came out. He walked a distance from Rory and held up his hands, wanting the ball. I was curious about his ability to throw, that model of bot wasn’t built with sports in mind. When Dad was alive, he could send a ball seemingly into space. Rory and I would be running for our lives in order to catch it. Were those days back? I threw the ball to him. Dad did his best to catch it, but the stiff leather ball bounced out of his hands. “Oh, that’s going to take some getting used to. I can barely feel it.” He bent over and picked up the ball, studying it. “When we build me a better body, I definitely need some sort of tactile sensory receptors.” “You know how to do that?” I asked.“Sure.” He bent his arm back and threw the ball. It was a pathetic attempt. The ball didn’t even make it halfway to me. Dad went over, snatched the ball, and tried again with the same result. “Okay, maybe I’m not cut out for this right now.”“Jonah!” Rory called, pointing frantically down the driveway. “Mailman!”I spun around to see the small blue pickup truck with flashing light on top approaching. Our mailman, Mr. Sodley, was anything but pleasant. He was old, grouchy, and had been delivering mail in every manner of weather for forty years. I knew he hated this driveway, and the only reason he’d be on it was to deliver a package.“Dad, hide!” I yelled, waving for him to get behind the house. Mr. Sodley wasn’t one of those people I wanted to know about Dad. All it would take was talking to the wrong person and Grandma and Grandpa would be in big trouble.The truck approached. I kept my eye on it, hoping Dad had found a hiding spot. Rory trotted up and joined me. “I hope the mailman didn’t see him,” he said, standing closer to me.“Me too.”The truck pulled up and the cantankerous postal worker stuck his head out the window. “Package for Abe,” he said, shoving a box at me.“Um, thank you.” I noticed him looking past me. Did he see Dad? Before I could say or do anything, he jammed the truck into gear and sped off down the drive, leaving a trail of dust. We turned and saw Dad peeing around the corner. “Do you think he saw you?” I said, heading to the porch.He came out. “I don’t know, I tried to hurry, but these old models aren’t built for speed.”“Let’s hope he didn’t.” After that, we decided to end our game of catch. Dad was in no condition to play with us like he used to. I hoped in time I could remedy that.
