Servo 32:2
Servo 32:2
The streetlights had been on for a couple hours when we made our way to the grocery store. It wasn’t a far walk, but we had to dodge three battle bots along the way. I swear, each day there were more and more of them. They patrolled the streets like packs of hungry dogs, their dead, red eyes taking in every minute detail. It was obvious the citizens were terrified; few, if any people were on the streets at night, and not many more during the day. The oppression was palpable. I wondered how much longer our stories would be bought by the Enforcement Department. At some point in time they would begin to question our behaviors. I only hoped this mission would be done in the next couple of days so we could make our escape. “Think he’ll show?” Otto said, checking his watch.“Said he would. He was very intrigued.” I replied.Dad stood against the wall in the shadows. “I still hate the idea.”I heard footsteps approaching. We were tucked away behind the trash dumpster, as out of sight as possible.“Jonah?” a male voice said.“Here,” I answered, stepping into the dim light.“Sorry I’m a bit late, had to answer to two nosy bots along the way.”“We had to dodge three ourselves.”Curtis looked around. “So where is he?”“Over there.” I led him around the dumpster. “We wanted to stay out of sight.”“Good idea.” Curtis looked my father over. “Is he supposed to be a Model 209?”“Umm, yeah.”“But what model is he really?”“A 106.”“Good God! That model is ancient!”“We found it in my grandpa’s barn—it was all he had. Bots are kind of illegal in the Outer States.”“And it was like in a million pieces,” Otto added.“So what exactly did you do?” He got closer, scrutinizing our remodel job. “Did you steal parts from a 209?”“Some. The majority of the unit is still the 109.”“And you say your father is in there?”“Well, his memory bank and millions of lines of code.”Up until now, Dad had remained relatively motionless. I knew he was assessing Curtis as friend or foe. “Just how do you know it’s your father? Does he have any present-day memories stored in there?”“I’m sure he does.”Curtis got really close in Dad’s face. “Why doesn’t he say something?”“Because I didn’t have anything to say,” said Dad.“Holy—!” Curtis jumped back. “Jonah says you’ve been helping him.”“Yeah, I gave him the radios.” He approached with trepidation. “So you really are the famous Thomas Blackburn?”“Yes, but not so sure about the famous part.”“I was shocked to hear about your death.”“I was rather shocked to be dead, and then reanimated.”“You had a brilliant career ahead of you.”“Prematurely cut short by someone at Servidyne”I watched Curtis’s mouth hang open. “You were murdered?!”“Yes, but I never saw who did it. And that’s another reason I need to go back there.”“Jonah said you have to stop the war.”“That too.”Curtis reached into his pocket and removed a small plastic bag, handing it to me. “Here’s the camera. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor. If you need any more help, you can count on me.”“We appreciate it,” Dad replied.“You better get back to your hotel, don’t want to get caught by the battle bots.”“Thank you.”“I wish I could stay and get to know you better, but things are too dangerous.”“Should things go bad here and you can escape, we live in Broken Bow, Nebraska. It’s a small town, not hard to find someone. We’d be happy to help you.” Dad offered his hand, Curtis paused a moment before taking it.“I hope you can stop this madness. Nebraska sounds like another world.”“Believe me, it is,” I said, “None of this is going on. It’s peaceful there.”“Sounds nice.” Curtis turned to leave. “See ya.”With that, he disappeared into the darkness. Our journey home was no less perilous. It was everything we could to do avoid four bots this time. Upon returning to the hotel, we collapsed in utter exhaustion. Dad sat at the table fiddling with the camera. I was too tired to install it that night.
The streetlights had been on for a couple hours when we made our way to the grocery store. It wasn’t a far walk, but we had to dodge three battle bots along the way. I swear, each day there were more and more of them. They patrolled the streets like packs of hungry dogs, their dead, red eyes taking in every minute detail. It was obvious the citizens were terrified; few, if any people were on the streets at night, and not many more during the day. The oppression was palpable. I wondered how much longer our stories would be bought by the Enforcement Department. At some point in time they would begin to question our behaviors. I only hoped this mission would be done in the next couple of days so we could make our escape. “Think he’ll show?” Otto said, checking his watch.“Said he would. He was very intrigued.” I replied.Dad stood against the wall in the shadows. “I still hate the idea.”I heard footsteps approaching. We were tucked away behind the trash dumpster, as out of sight as possible.“Jonah?” a male voice said.“Here,” I answered, stepping into the dim light.“Sorry I’m a bit late, had to answer to two nosy bots along the way.”“We had to dodge three ourselves.”Curtis looked around. “So where is he?”“Over there.” I led him around the dumpster. “We wanted to stay out of sight.”“Good idea.” Curtis looked my father over. “Is he supposed to be a Model 209?”“Umm, yeah.”“But what model is he really?”“A 106.”“Good God! That model is ancient!”“We found it in my grandpa’s barn—it was all he had. Bots are kind of illegal in the Outer States.”“And it was like in a million pieces,” Otto added.“So what exactly did you do?” He got closer, scrutinizing our remodel job. “Did you steal parts from a 209?”“Some. The majority of the unit is still the 109.”“And you say your father is in there?”“Well, his memory bank and millions of lines of code.”Up until now, Dad had remained relatively motionless. I knew he was assessing Curtis as friend or foe. “Just how do you know it’s your father? Does he have any present-day memories stored in there?”“I’m sure he does.”Curtis got really close in Dad’s face. “Why doesn’t he say something?”“Because I didn’t have anything to say,” said Dad.“Holy—!” Curtis jumped back. “Jonah says you’ve been helping him.”“Yeah, I gave him the radios.” He approached with trepidation. “So you really are the famous Thomas Blackburn?”“Yes, but not so sure about the famous part.”“I was shocked to hear about your death.”“I was rather shocked to be dead, and then reanimated.”“You had a brilliant career ahead of you.”“Prematurely cut short by someone at Servidyne”I watched Curtis’s mouth hang open. “You were murdered?!”“Yes, but I never saw who did it. And that’s another reason I need to go back there.”“Jonah said you have to stop the war.”“That too.”Curtis reached into his pocket and removed a small plastic bag, handing it to me. “Here’s the camera. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor. If you need any more help, you can count on me.”“We appreciate it,” Dad replied.“You better get back to your hotel, don’t want to get caught by the battle bots.”“Thank you.”“I wish I could stay and get to know you better, but things are too dangerous.”“Should things go bad here and you can escape, we live in Broken Bow, Nebraska. It’s a small town, not hard to find someone. We’d be happy to help you.” Dad offered his hand, Curtis paused a moment before taking it.“I hope you can stop this madness. Nebraska sounds like another world.”“Believe me, it is,” I said, “None of this is going on. It’s peaceful there.”“Sounds nice.” Curtis turned to leave. “See ya.”With that, he disappeared into the darkness. Our journey home was no less perilous. It was everything we could to do avoid four bots this time. Upon returning to the hotel, we collapsed in utter exhaustion. Dad sat at the table fiddling with the camera. I was too tired to install it that night.
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