Servo 30:3
Servo 30:3
Later that afternoon and several coats of paint, I had the skullplates done. They looked pretty decent. Not the factory applied polymer composite that was rendered onto the frame of each bot, but a reasonable facsimile thereof. I hoped it would make it by the service intake personnel. Back in the room, Dad was looking a whole lot different. His body was clothed in silver-gray plates rather than shiny gold. He was becoming less recognizable—a good thing. “Dad?” I said, placing my work on the table in front of him.“Yes?” He picked up the faceplate, “Looks good.”“Thanks.” “What?”“Can I go out?”“Where?”“I have an idea.” I didn’t want to tell him about the idea, rather I wanted it to be a surprise.“Idea? For what?”“You’ll see.”“Be careful and be back by dark.” He regarded me. “Why don’t you take Rory?”“I’m tired, Dad, I don’t wanna go,” Rory moaned.“Very well. We can’t chance Otto going out, and Suz looks content to lounge on the sofa.”“I’ll be all right, I’m not going far.” I picked up my backpack and looped it over one shoulder. My tablet was inside, which was most important. Down the street a few blocks was an electronics shop. I hoped they’d have what I needed. If I couldn’t be with Dad in person on his mission, I’d be with him another way. Leaving the hotel, I walked along at a reasonable pace. The store was about six blocks away and every intersection seemed to have a battle bot stationed on it. I still felt fearful despite being logged into the Inner States as a guest. It would take nothing for a bot to have me arrested for the smallest infraction. There was no way I was going to that evil detention center. I wandered along for what must have been twenty minutes. As I passed shops, I’d glance in the windows to see what was there. Many of the stores seemed to be lacking inventory; shelves were nearly empty. Was this the Outer States broadening their protest of low payment for their goods? Or was there something else going on? At last I reached the electronics shop. I entered and found many of the shelves bare. A younger man stood behind the counter, his face drawn and despondent. He leaned against the counter. “Need some help?”“I’m looking for a set of very small two-way radios.”“Only got one.” He stepped from behind the counter and guided me to a shelf. “Here.”“How come things are so empty? I noticed most of the shops have bare shelves.”“You don’t live here, huh?”“No, just visiting for a few weeks.”“From the Outer States?”“Yeah, Nebraska.”“How is it out there?”“Rather peaceful actually.” I picked up the box and scrutinized the product. “I live on a farm with my grandparents, younger brother, and older sister.”“Where are your parents?”“Dead.”“Oh, sorry to hear that.”“My Mom was a GEE and she died of the flaw. My Dad worked at Servidyne, and he died of an accident.”“Servidyne?”“Yeah.”“That place is up to no-good.”“How so?” I was intrigued by the young man’s candor in speaking out about Servidyne.“Have you seen the place?”“Uh, no.”“It’s like a giant fortress—battle bots everywhere! They don’t even let citizens in who don’t work there.”“So what do you do with a bot that’s malfunctioning?”“They have collection stations set up. You have to bring them there.”I nodded slowly, my mind going a million miles a second. “I see.”“And the government is cracking down on any and all types of bot mods.”“Mods? You mean modifications?”“Yeah, especially software and core processor mods.” He gave me a sidelong gaze. “You’re not modding a bot, are you?”“Uh, um, no.”“If you are, don’t let them catch you. I heard it’s three years in the detention center and another two years of government dictated labor.”“Rather harsh.”“They aren’t playing around. Things are getting tense here.”“I can see. All the battle bots on the streets. What on earth is going on?”“There’s talk of the government suppressing the civilians.”“Why? Don’t most people here happily follow the rules?”“They used to. Seems the government is getting greedy.” He looked out the window as if checking for passing bots that might overhear our conversation. “Taxes have gone sky-high, not enough food, lack of electricity, and each day, more battle bots.”“I heard the bots were protection from thieves and looters.”“Who do you think those thieves and looters are?”“I dunno, I thought maybe Outer States people who came here to steal things.”He shook his head. “Nope. The government has taken so much that there are now poor people living in the Inner States.”“Poor?”“Yeah, like dirt poor.”“That used to be unheard of.”“There’s so much corruption in the government, they’re greedy and don’t care who they hurt to get their riches.” He returned to his place behind the counter. “You’d do best to get out of here as soon as you can.”Somehow I felt a connection with the man. He seemed genuinely upset with the current state of things. “We do plan on leaving soon…After…” I let my voice trail off, unsure if I should be blurting out the plan to take down Servidyne.“After what?”“Uh, nothing.”“You’re here for something, aren’t you?”I wanted to lie, but somehow I couldn’t. “Yes.”“What?”“I believe my father was murdered at Servidyne.”“You’re here for retribution?”“In a way, yes.”“Good luck. Like I said, that place is impenetrable.”“It won’t be me going in there.”“Going to hack them?”“Yes.”“Won’t happen. I’ve tried dozens of times. The last time the ministry of cybersecurity almost caught me.”“You’d have done some serious jail time for that.”“Darn straight! But they’re big and powerful and soon we’ll be their slaves.”“I won’t let that happen.”“Yeah? You and what army?”I placed the box on the counter and opened my pack, removing the tablet. “I have a way in.”“You can’t be serious. You’re all of what? Fifteen?”“Fourteen, actually.”“And you’re getting into Servidyne?”“Not me, but a bot.”“You created a bot bomb?”“Not a bomb, per se, but a virus,” I whispered.A broad smile curled to his lips. “Beautiful.”“I didn’t write it, my Dad did.”“Since he worked there, he’d know how to take it down.”“And that’s what he’s going to do.”“I thought you said he was dead?”“He is, mostly.”His eyebrow raised. “Care to explain that?”“Umm, I actually can’t.” I turned on the tablet and accessed the bank account. “How much are the radios?” He looked from side to side. “Shhh, it’s on the house. If you can take down Servidyne, it will be worth it.”
Later that afternoon and several coats of paint, I had the skullplates done. They looked pretty decent. Not the factory applied polymer composite that was rendered onto the frame of each bot, but a reasonable facsimile thereof. I hoped it would make it by the service intake personnel. Back in the room, Dad was looking a whole lot different. His body was clothed in silver-gray plates rather than shiny gold. He was becoming less recognizable—a good thing. “Dad?” I said, placing my work on the table in front of him.“Yes?” He picked up the faceplate, “Looks good.”“Thanks.” “What?”“Can I go out?”“Where?”“I have an idea.” I didn’t want to tell him about the idea, rather I wanted it to be a surprise.“Idea? For what?”“You’ll see.”“Be careful and be back by dark.” He regarded me. “Why don’t you take Rory?”“I’m tired, Dad, I don’t wanna go,” Rory moaned.“Very well. We can’t chance Otto going out, and Suz looks content to lounge on the sofa.”“I’ll be all right, I’m not going far.” I picked up my backpack and looped it over one shoulder. My tablet was inside, which was most important. Down the street a few blocks was an electronics shop. I hoped they’d have what I needed. If I couldn’t be with Dad in person on his mission, I’d be with him another way. Leaving the hotel, I walked along at a reasonable pace. The store was about six blocks away and every intersection seemed to have a battle bot stationed on it. I still felt fearful despite being logged into the Inner States as a guest. It would take nothing for a bot to have me arrested for the smallest infraction. There was no way I was going to that evil detention center. I wandered along for what must have been twenty minutes. As I passed shops, I’d glance in the windows to see what was there. Many of the stores seemed to be lacking inventory; shelves were nearly empty. Was this the Outer States broadening their protest of low payment for their goods? Or was there something else going on? At last I reached the electronics shop. I entered and found many of the shelves bare. A younger man stood behind the counter, his face drawn and despondent. He leaned against the counter. “Need some help?”“I’m looking for a set of very small two-way radios.”“Only got one.” He stepped from behind the counter and guided me to a shelf. “Here.”“How come things are so empty? I noticed most of the shops have bare shelves.”“You don’t live here, huh?”“No, just visiting for a few weeks.”“From the Outer States?”“Yeah, Nebraska.”“How is it out there?”“Rather peaceful actually.” I picked up the box and scrutinized the product. “I live on a farm with my grandparents, younger brother, and older sister.”“Where are your parents?”“Dead.”“Oh, sorry to hear that.”“My Mom was a GEE and she died of the flaw. My Dad worked at Servidyne, and he died of an accident.”“Servidyne?”“Yeah.”“That place is up to no-good.”“How so?” I was intrigued by the young man’s candor in speaking out about Servidyne.“Have you seen the place?”“Uh, no.”“It’s like a giant fortress—battle bots everywhere! They don’t even let citizens in who don’t work there.”“So what do you do with a bot that’s malfunctioning?”“They have collection stations set up. You have to bring them there.”I nodded slowly, my mind going a million miles a second. “I see.”“And the government is cracking down on any and all types of bot mods.”“Mods? You mean modifications?”“Yeah, especially software and core processor mods.” He gave me a sidelong gaze. “You’re not modding a bot, are you?”“Uh, um, no.”“If you are, don’t let them catch you. I heard it’s three years in the detention center and another two years of government dictated labor.”“Rather harsh.”“They aren’t playing around. Things are getting tense here.”“I can see. All the battle bots on the streets. What on earth is going on?”“There’s talk of the government suppressing the civilians.”“Why? Don’t most people here happily follow the rules?”“They used to. Seems the government is getting greedy.” He looked out the window as if checking for passing bots that might overhear our conversation. “Taxes have gone sky-high, not enough food, lack of electricity, and each day, more battle bots.”“I heard the bots were protection from thieves and looters.”“Who do you think those thieves and looters are?”“I dunno, I thought maybe Outer States people who came here to steal things.”He shook his head. “Nope. The government has taken so much that there are now poor people living in the Inner States.”“Poor?”“Yeah, like dirt poor.”“That used to be unheard of.”“There’s so much corruption in the government, they’re greedy and don’t care who they hurt to get their riches.” He returned to his place behind the counter. “You’d do best to get out of here as soon as you can.”Somehow I felt a connection with the man. He seemed genuinely upset with the current state of things. “We do plan on leaving soon…After…” I let my voice trail off, unsure if I should be blurting out the plan to take down Servidyne.“After what?”“Uh, nothing.”“You’re here for something, aren’t you?”I wanted to lie, but somehow I couldn’t. “Yes.”“What?”“I believe my father was murdered at Servidyne.”“You’re here for retribution?”“In a way, yes.”“Good luck. Like I said, that place is impenetrable.”“It won’t be me going in there.”“Going to hack them?”“Yes.”“Won’t happen. I’ve tried dozens of times. The last time the ministry of cybersecurity almost caught me.”“You’d have done some serious jail time for that.”“Darn straight! But they’re big and powerful and soon we’ll be their slaves.”“I won’t let that happen.”“Yeah? You and what army?”I placed the box on the counter and opened my pack, removing the tablet. “I have a way in.”“You can’t be serious. You’re all of what? Fifteen?”“Fourteen, actually.”“And you’re getting into Servidyne?”“Not me, but a bot.”“You created a bot bomb?”“Not a bomb, per se, but a virus,” I whispered.A broad smile curled to his lips. “Beautiful.”“I didn’t write it, my Dad did.”“Since he worked there, he’d know how to take it down.”“And that’s what he’s going to do.”“I thought you said he was dead?”“He is, mostly.”His eyebrow raised. “Care to explain that?”“Umm, I actually can’t.” I turned on the tablet and accessed the bank account. “How much are the radios?” He looked from side to side. “Shhh, it’s on the house. If you can take down Servidyne, it will be worth it.”
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