Here's part 3 of Sentience. It's a bit short, but this part is where the story begins to pick up. Enjoy!
**************
His tablet was starting to lose power, and he'd read most of the interesting articles by now anyway. With a sigh, he slipped it into his pack and stared at his shoes, glancing up every few seconds to watch the passersby. He pretended to search his pockets when he glanced up. A figure in simple clothing walked down the street, not slowly, not quickly. Her red-brown hair was covered by a hat. As he watched, it became evident that her clothing was a uniform of some sort, probably for one of the shops nearby. He did not look away.
Frederick found himself looking into the eyes that were neither gray nor blue, just for an instant. Her-its- eyebrows rose, it looked away, and Frederick dropped his gaze. It was walking more quickly now. He kept watching. The machine was thinking. Learning. It knew, and it turned into the entrance of a department store. The automatic doors slid open, and Marie the machine was gone.
He stood. He had to follow her; no question, and now if he was to ever catch her. He stood, walking quickly to the department store and in. Marie was disappearing up the glass elevator. It was facing away from the door, but he followed up the antiquated staircase that stood in the middle of the store, running. The robot stopped at the third floor and got off, walking toward some tall clothing racks. Frederick kept after it, and it directed a quick glance behind, and he knew he'd been seen.
"Excuse me!" He called to her-it- as she sped up. "Ma'am...excuse me!" He caught up to it, grabbing the upper arm.
The reaction was fast. It spun around and slapped him across his face.
"Leave me alone, creeper." The android pulled away and kept going, seeming panicked.
Frederick was only shocked for a second. He collected himself and fished in his pocket for the strong magnets he'd brought. This would disable it for sometime, if not fry something. He hurled them, connecting solidly with the back of the torso area, the cranium, and the neck.
"Ow!" Marie spun around, then came closer. "Look, I have no idea why you're throwing junk at me, but leave me alone or I'll find out who you are and call the police. Just...go away, freak."
It stalked to the stairs and ran down them, going out the door. Frederick watched as she turned neither right nor left. Other customers were watching. Silently, he collected the magnets. For today, he'd lost Marie the robot, and he'd have to go back to his apartment for more ideas. Fear raced up his spine.
This job he knew had to be done.
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Part 2 of Sentience...and Some Apologies for It Being A Little Late...
Okay, here's part two. Enjoy. Here's Part 1 if you missed it.
*********
Chapter 2: Job
Frederick sat in his room, waiting for his other computer to start up. In seconds, the lightweight operating system had started running. Frederick accessed the folders that held the information he needed. It had been placed there, as promised, remotely, while he was at work. There was a folder of pictures and a separate folder for text files. He clicked the text folder.
Robotics. Android, eliminate. A robot with female attributes had escaped from the corporation. It had been an experiment, she was unstable, dangerous even, and on the run now. He had to find the machine and either bring it to the company or destroy it himself. There were pictures included. He needed to find it, by the pictures given. It had gone by the nickname of Marie, and may be still going by that name somewhere. She was tricky and elusive it said, able to think and learn. He opened the folder of photographs.
A woman smiled at him from the screen. She couldn't have been older than himself. It was Marie, the android, so lifelike that he may have mistaken her for another human if he didn't know any better. She was average looking, brownish red hair, eyes that may have been gray or blue, pale skin. She'd been missing for sometime, most likely hiding in the very city where Frederick was living, where she would blend with the masses, where no one would give her a second glance.
He pulled the phone out of his pocket and stared at it. He would take the job, maybe, but first...
"Macon. Wonderful to hear from you so quickly."
"Mmm." He bit his lip and kept speaking. "So I am to collect and eliminate this woman?"
"Robot, Macon. Or android. This thing is not a human. I thought that was quite obvious from the information." The woman's voice sharpened. "I do hope you are not backing out. This is one job that we need you to to do, and it would be quite a shame if you refused. Quite a shame, indeed."
"You threaten me."
"Such accusations, Macon. Tsk tsk." Other voices in the background. "In truth, we really need this particular piece of technology back here, or dismantled and destroyed. You have either option. I would say the latter is the best."
"Why is that?"
"To avoid problems that may arise. Now, do you agree to this job?"
He hesitated. These people were dangerous, but this job could easily be so as well. Anything to avoid going back to his home world. Life was too slow there, too simple, not enough stimulation to keep him from thinking. Better to collect a piece of property for a company than to go back. "Yes. I agree."
"Good luck." A soft click sounded.
Frederick stared at the pictures again. One looked like a formal portrait. Another was candid, the android leaving a restaurant and dressed rather plainly, flanked by a friend or two. The machine walking down a sidewalk above the ground, in the city. He recognized the building behind her. It was a bank, and she was walking as if it were a routine to pass there. He'd start there.
The portrait caught his eye again, the smiling face unflinching. He swallowed hard and closed the files.
Tomorrow.
*********
Chapter 2: Job
Frederick sat in his room, waiting for his other computer to start up. In seconds, the lightweight operating system had started running. Frederick accessed the folders that held the information he needed. It had been placed there, as promised, remotely, while he was at work. There was a folder of pictures and a separate folder for text files. He clicked the text folder.
Robotics. Android, eliminate. A robot with female attributes had escaped from the corporation. It had been an experiment, she was unstable, dangerous even, and on the run now. He had to find the machine and either bring it to the company or destroy it himself. There were pictures included. He needed to find it, by the pictures given. It had gone by the nickname of Marie, and may be still going by that name somewhere. She was tricky and elusive it said, able to think and learn. He opened the folder of photographs.
A woman smiled at him from the screen. She couldn't have been older than himself. It was Marie, the android, so lifelike that he may have mistaken her for another human if he didn't know any better. She was average looking, brownish red hair, eyes that may have been gray or blue, pale skin. She'd been missing for sometime, most likely hiding in the very city where Frederick was living, where she would blend with the masses, where no one would give her a second glance.
He pulled the phone out of his pocket and stared at it. He would take the job, maybe, but first...
"Macon. Wonderful to hear from you so quickly."
"Mmm." He bit his lip and kept speaking. "So I am to collect and eliminate this woman?"
"Robot, Macon. Or android. This thing is not a human. I thought that was quite obvious from the information." The woman's voice sharpened. "I do hope you are not backing out. This is one job that we need you to to do, and it would be quite a shame if you refused. Quite a shame, indeed."
"You threaten me."
"Such accusations, Macon. Tsk tsk." Other voices in the background. "In truth, we really need this particular piece of technology back here, or dismantled and destroyed. You have either option. I would say the latter is the best."
"Why is that?"
"To avoid problems that may arise. Now, do you agree to this job?"
He hesitated. These people were dangerous, but this job could easily be so as well. Anything to avoid going back to his home world. Life was too slow there, too simple, not enough stimulation to keep him from thinking. Better to collect a piece of property for a company than to go back. "Yes. I agree."
"Good luck." A soft click sounded.
Frederick stared at the pictures again. One looked like a formal portrait. Another was candid, the android leaving a restaurant and dressed rather plainly, flanked by a friend or two. The machine walking down a sidewalk above the ground, in the city. He recognized the building behind her. It was a bank, and she was walking as if it were a routine to pass there. He'd start there.
The portrait caught his eye again, the smiling face unflinching. He swallowed hard and closed the files.
Tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sentience
So here's the next project that will be posted on this blog. I'll try to post part of it at least every other day. Again, it's for your enjoyment. If yall like it, I may just make copies available in a hard format or e-book format; it depends on the reception. I really am wanting this project to work out better than Doornail did, and I'm feeling quite optimistic. No, don't get excited, it's not my other novel. That's not finished yet. This is for fun, quite rough, and for the entertainment of all, and I want you to enjoy it. With no further comments, I now present to you Sentience.
Chapter 1: Beep
Frederick Macon stared at the license tag in front of him as the hovering vehicle it belonged to pitched up and down gently. He was close to memorizing the sequence of numbers now, because he had been behind this car for two hours, both of them stuck in the inevitable afternoon traffic. He had left his job at the plant at 4:30, hoping perhaps to get home early, or something resembling early.
*beep*
The phone.
*beep*
THE phone. The one that only rang maybe every few months, bringing word of some real money, real opportunities and skills for a 24-year-old line worker. He pressed a button on the gear shift. "Macon."
"Good evening, Macon." The female voice was familiar. He'd never met her. Whoever she was, she'd given him word of his last two jobs. "Something new for you to work on."
"Will you be sending the information in the manner we have discussed?"
"Of course." She paused. "Macon, this job may be a bit harder for you than others have been. You will need to...collect and eliminate a product formula that we have lost track of."
"Eliminate?" He frowned. Retrieval and disposal. Those were familiar codewords; they dealt with information exclusively. He rarely even had to talk to any of the people involved with his targets. He'd been off-planet once, but only because of a malfunction in one of his computers. Collect and eliminate was a new order, and he was unsure what it meant.
"Yes, eliminate. The information will be in the designated place that we discussed. Contact me again if you accept this job. Hope I'll talk to you tonight, Macon." Silence. The call was over.
Thirty minutes later, the traffic cleared. Frederick looked at the right side of the road, curious as to what the problem had been. The only thing he saw was an eagle, or at least what was called an eagle. The reptile had been hit at some point by a car that was still stalled by the road, its bumper crumpled on the end. The animal's carcass dangled by a wing from the partition, and two workers were trying to remove it. Frederick watched as the creature's wing was cut loose, and looked away just as the remnants of the animal fell to the earth, far below.
Frederick sped up, shaking the feeling that crawled through him. It was an animal, not much more. It wasn't as if it was a human. And anyway, the promise of a job waited for him at home.
Chapter 1: Beep
Frederick Macon stared at the license tag in front of him as the hovering vehicle it belonged to pitched up and down gently. He was close to memorizing the sequence of numbers now, because he had been behind this car for two hours, both of them stuck in the inevitable afternoon traffic. He had left his job at the plant at 4:30, hoping perhaps to get home early, or something resembling early.
*beep*
The phone.
*beep*
THE phone. The one that only rang maybe every few months, bringing word of some real money, real opportunities and skills for a 24-year-old line worker. He pressed a button on the gear shift. "Macon."
"Good evening, Macon." The female voice was familiar. He'd never met her. Whoever she was, she'd given him word of his last two jobs. "Something new for you to work on."
"Will you be sending the information in the manner we have discussed?"
"Of course." She paused. "Macon, this job may be a bit harder for you than others have been. You will need to...collect and eliminate a product formula that we have lost track of."
"Eliminate?" He frowned. Retrieval and disposal. Those were familiar codewords; they dealt with information exclusively. He rarely even had to talk to any of the people involved with his targets. He'd been off-planet once, but only because of a malfunction in one of his computers. Collect and eliminate was a new order, and he was unsure what it meant.
"Yes, eliminate. The information will be in the designated place that we discussed. Contact me again if you accept this job. Hope I'll talk to you tonight, Macon." Silence. The call was over.
Thirty minutes later, the traffic cleared. Frederick looked at the right side of the road, curious as to what the problem had been. The only thing he saw was an eagle, or at least what was called an eagle. The reptile had been hit at some point by a car that was still stalled by the road, its bumper crumpled on the end. The animal's carcass dangled by a wing from the partition, and two workers were trying to remove it. Frederick watched as the creature's wing was cut loose, and looked away just as the remnants of the animal fell to the earth, far below.
Frederick sped up, shaking the feeling that crawled through him. It was an animal, not much more. It wasn't as if it was a human. And anyway, the promise of a job waited for him at home.
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