Parma and Exeter decided that Yantai would have to deal with me as team leader. At first, I wasn’t quite sure why they felt that I was the right bot for the job. I was not confrontational but it dawned on me that this aspect of my personality was why they picked me. Yantai was a shirt-tempered sort who wanted her word to be law. Having a second-in-command who was more open to whatever she requested would make life easier.
We were gearing up in the warehouse the day after the meeting. We all had our assigned locations to search, casting a much wider net than before. It was safest to assume that they had discovered a way to cause damage to the artery without lying in wait at any of the existing entry points. Yantai had brought a selection of spare weapons for us to take.
“Something with a longer handle is better for breaking through armour and plastic.”
What made a weapon in the Big Under? At a basic level, the ability to deliver blunt blows or cut through the exterior panelling was key to hand-to-hand combat. Cutting was generally favoured because our stabilizers were rather effective at keeping our bodies from falling over. They didn’t have to be sophisticated. Some of the weapons Yantai chose were little more than pieces of metal strapped to wooden handles.
There was a spear, a selection of knives, a longer sword, a few maces topped with bolts and spiked shards of scrap. Preston picked up one of the maces and grumbled to himself, “I expected some kind of firearm…”
“I doubt that the Rampants have anything that dangerous,” Yantai replied witheringly, “And where do you think we’re going to find something like that? What few guns were here went away with the humans when they evacuated.”
“They had guns?”
“Yes, idiot. This was the single-most important man-made facility in the world back then. They had an entire armed security force to make sure nobody tried to cause damage to it.”
“I never saw any humans with guns.”
“You don’t seem to be very observant in general.”
>> Rhetoric: This is going to be an issue if Yantai keeps picking fights with the team members…
“How come London gets to use that angle grinder?” Preston said.
“He brought it himself, and those armour plates. You’ve been very busy, haven’t you?”
I nodded, “I do not like leaving my hands idle. I have completed tasks for some of the residents and claimed other pieces while out on patrol.”
“Ugh. You’re making more work for yourself! You should save that space and weight for something more useful,” Preston insisted.
“They are useful. They’re useful right now.”
I knocked my left hand against the thin metal plate hanging on my chest. A few metal struts kept it away from the inner layer and provided additional protection. It was a rusty old piece of rubbish – so it was possible that a blunt strike would cause it to crack and fall to pieces. It was not pretty, nor was it intended to be.
The other members of our group, Pocatello and Sarasota, were getting familiar with their first picks from the table. I put a cork in the argument there and moved right along to making sure we were ready to move out and do the job we’d been assigned.
“Is it only going to be us?” I asked Yantai.
She crossed her arms, “We can’t rely on anyone else to come and rescue us. We sent out word but none of the other cities have forces to spare. They timed it to perfection. They must have spies keeping an eye on how many troops they have.”
>> So much for every armed force in the Big Under coming down on top of them…
>> Rhetoric: That was too optimistic. They’ll assuage themselves under the belief that only Waterway will be impacted. Craven leadership leads to bad outcomes.
“When was the last time this happened?” I asked.
“Twelve years.”
“A lot changes in twelve years.”
“You’ve got that right. We expected too much from the others.”
Whether that was Yantai’s cynicism or an accurate critique of Dubai and Nova Lima remained to be seen. Berlin had commented that tensions in the Big Under were increasing over time, especially as certain parts became rarer and more valuable. Each different ‘faction’ or group had a particular niche that they could corner and control. Before this was seen as a good way to protect themselves from attack as they would be relied upon by others, but that status quo was starting to crumble under the weight of the leaders’ ambitions.
“We don’t need their help. Let’s get out there and clean up this mess already,” Preston pleaded.
Yantai’s gaze narrowed, “Are you willing to fight back if we find them? They won’t let us go silently to bring reinforcements if we do.”
“How hard can it be?” he boasted.
“I hope you understand that your opinion carries no weight, Preston. Coming face-to-face with the reality is different to imagining it. I’ll not stand for it if you hold back when the real danger arrives.”
Pocatello and Sarasota had picked their weapons and attached a few armoured plates from my collection. It was not sophisticated in the least, and those fabled security robots would have laughed at the shambolic sight of this rag-tag group adorned in rusted metal and wielding primitive weaponry. Letting Yantai and Preston stand there and argue was only going to make their animosity worse than it needed to be, so I issued my first order as ‘leader.’
“We’re going.”
My order was the last word on the subject. Time was being wasted, and none of the members of our group were going to back down at this point. We would see how committed they were to doing what was necessary when the opportunity arose. Yantai ceded control to me and fell in line with the others, shadowing me from behind and letting me choose our path to the target destination. Most routes out of Waterway started in the same places before branching out. I had walked across the North bridge exactly thirty-six times.
This was thirty-seven. However, this mission held a much greater level of importance to our normal salvaging runs. This would determine the viability of Waterway long into the future, both its access to electricity and its ability to back threats with armed force. Without sustenance and protection there would be no Waterway. The citizens would migrate to other settlements or recede into the depths to go it alone.
I powered on the two new lamps I’d attached to my helmet and illuminated the tunnel for the group. The leader was given that responsibility, with the others utilising low-powered body lights and their eyes to maintain a sense of positioning relative to mine. It felt strangely empowering to be the one slicing through the darkness of the concrete tunnels for once.
Yet it was also the most dangerous position. The bot at the fore of the group was the one choosing where to go, and taking whatever risks came with that decision. There could have been anything waiting for us beyond the comparative safety of Waterway’s territory. Groups of raiders, or bots trying to get a quick profit from a cheap ambush, or natural occurrences caused by the facility’s decay. Just as many bots fell to their end from a rusted walkway as they did in battle with a hated enemy. The deep waters of the Big Under were a concealed graveyard.
We would not be swallowed whole, by predators nor by the churning currents. Sheffield had taught me well. His words were at the forefront of my mind with every step I took. The only sound that followed was the whirring of hydraulics and motors, and the sounds of muffled footsteps landing in standing water.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
An hour of trudging through the dark led us to one of the discharges. Another gigantic silo that was designed to store a huge quantity of water. It was mostly empty now. I tilted my head down and studied the state of the access walkway below the pipe’s lip. At the same time, I got a good, involuntary look at the dark waters which remained at the very bottom. It may have been ‘empty’ by regulatory standards – but dropping into that stale lake would surely be the end of me.
“Is the walkway stable?” Pocatello asked. The first words anyone had spoken in over an hour.
I maneuvered down and sat on the edge of the pipe, applying a firm amount of pressure and slowly pushing out onto it. There was no groan of protest, but it was still safest for one bot at a time to cross over these maintenance bridges.
“I’ll go first. Follow one at a time once I reach the door.”
The steps headed upwards this time. I kept a hold of the railing embedded into the wall and slowly moved to the heavy metal door that awaited us several meters above our starting position. Once I was there I turned around and illuminated the silo for the others.
“The walkway is safe. You can follow.”
“Why don’t we de-rust these freaking things if we use them so much?” Preston complained during his ascent.
“The metal is already galvanized. This is a high humidity environment, and other preventative measures have been neglected for decades.”
“I know how it works, smartass. What I’m saying is that we should be coming out here and reinforcing them or something.”
Non-galvanized metal would not provide effective reinforcement for long. The Big Under was always intended to be ‘self-sufficient’ in the technical meaning of the term, yet it was also still dependent on certain industrial products and processes being performed on the outside. The scale of the project was already so large that localizing every single production process they could think of would balloon costs and timeframes beyond reason. This was meant to be a proof-of-concept. They hoped to worry about the finer details once they proved it could work.
“That’s the reason,” Yantai quipped, “Too many places to juggle and not enough high-quality materials to do it with. You already know that they’re not going to fix this problem until it’s too late and some poor bot’s already fallen to an early shutdown...”
“Maybe we should go steal some wood from one of the residential districts, then.”
“That won’t do much good if the arms holding this thing up rust away. Piling more junk on top of it might make the problem worse.”
“I’d still feel safer if we covered up these grates with a solid piece.”
Yantai spoke with an unseen smirk, “We don’t get to choose when and where we go. Get used to it.”
“I have no intention of dying by falling into that water.”
The rest of the group made it to the upper level without any problems. We had around half-an-hour to go before we reached the next working charging station. We would take a short break there and stock up before moving on. This was uncharted territory for us.
“Residential Block 1-D.”
Stepping through the access corridor and out into the human-only space was like departing onto the surface of an entirely new planet. The only robots who saw the Residential Blocks were ones who worked in personal service, and they were kept inside of the houses rather than joining the rest of us in the facility’s endless bowels.
The difference in aesthetic was clear and immediate. Shimmering white walls and polished walkways made from faux-wood. Overgrown greenery spilled from shattered planters and reclaimed the abandoned facility from the absentee humans. We were in a small plaza surrounded on all sides by tall buildings with elevated balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. The living spaces within could be seen, left mostly untouched due to a lack of desirable resources to be found.
Pocatello and Sarasota were impressed, craning their necks up to get a closer look at the grand scale of the buildings around us. It put into fresh perspective just how deep the facility really went. They were a dozen stories tall each and could house thousands and thousands of residents.
“So this is where the humans lived,” Pocatello mused, “It’s very interesting.”
“It’s inefficient,” I replied.
“That’s true. I don’t know why they need so much space for themselves, and what is the purpose of having plants here too? Look at the damage they’ve caused!”
Preston approached the roots of the tree and kicked at it, “Humans are weak-minded. They designed these residential blocks to feel like living up on the surface, with all of the luxuries that come with it.”
“You do realize we’re all built from datasets created by humans? A single look at how most of us behave when we’re not connected to the Braincloud should dispel that superiority complex of yours in a second,” Yantai jeered.
Sarasota had a different opinion; “They’re quite nice. I wouldn’t be upset if we had some of these down in the tunnels to brighten up the place.”
“We came here to see if the Rampants have taken hold of this place – we can worry about collecting the plants later if you care that much. I’m sure London agrees with me.”
“Yes. If we return this way later, then perhaps you can take a few of them for yourself.”
Sarasota saluted me, “Thanks boss!”
With another argument defused we headed through the alleyway in front of us and moved to the main avenue that ran through this part of the residential block. Commercial units and shops lined the front fa?ade of the larger buildings, all illuminated with colourful signage. The power was still flowing through this part of the facility. If not for the lack of people and abundance of wild foliage, one could mistake it for still being occupied.
Why were we here instead of the engineering sectors below? The artery cable that led into Waterway ran through this location. A reported breach in the floor up ahead meant that it was technically possible to break through it and gain access. It was out of the way for the Rampants – but we had to eliminate the possibility of them being here before we could move on.
“Yantai, stay here – I’m going silent.”
Yantai nodded.
I went solo and ascended a set of steps that led onto one of the many balconies. A selection of doors ran along the wall, leading into smaller apartments for human workers without families to take care of. Over the railing the sight of interest could be seen. Significant water damage had been caused by a burst pipe and the ground had rotted away under the weight of both it and the plants which grew freely on top of it.
I turned my eyes upwards and noted an askew series of powerful sunlight fixtures on the ceiling of the block. They had swivelled out of place due to a lack of maintenance and focused on and around the newly grown jungle. It was a stroke of chance that things had gotten so out of hand. Those kinds of lights were everywhere in the residential blocks, because both the humans and the plants needed something to replace their lack of sunlight...
My eyes did include a magnification that went to a factor of three. I zoomed in around the hole and studied carefully for any sign of the Rampants who were helping Oxford with her plan. It took several minutes but eventually my patience was rewarded. One of them poked their head through a break in the mess and took a look around before withdrawing again. They were keeping a lookout for us too.
I returned to Yantai and explained what I had seen.
“They’re here. For what purpose I don’t know, but I did see a Rampant keeping watch down there.”
“Did you see how many of them there are?”
“No. They’re hidden in the layer underneath this block. They entered through that hole and presumably have plans to cut through into the artery from above. If they want to keep a low profile then they won’t mount a defence out here in the open.”
“We can’t make a decision on whether to attack them now if we don’t understand their strength level.”
“Who says we are going to fight them? Exeter and Nova ordered us to find them first and return when we located-”
“Every second we waste is another second where they can cause irreparable damage. Are you going to be happy with yourself if we step away now and they go through with it while we’re gone?”
>> Logic: This is not a fight we are capable of winning. Yantai is acting illogically.
“Do you suppose that we, as a group, are enough to defeat whatever is waiting for us down there?”
“These bots are chumps. I could behead every single one of them myself.”
The other three members of our group shared a nervous glance as Yantai got close to my face and made sure that I understood the difference in our statures and equipment. Even the fluid way her joints moved was a demonstration of how sophisticated the underlying parts were.
“If you would like to question my authority and head in there alone, then there is nothing I can do about it. I only ask that you consider the risks involved, not simply from the Rampants, but from what Nova Lima may do if she finds out about your decision. I believe that the best course of action is to follow their orders as stated.”
Yantai lashed out with her left arm, gripping the front of my breastplate and hoisting me up into the air using her superior strength. I did not flinch. I remained locked into place and said nothing beyond my prior statement. There was nothing more to say. She could accept my orders and fall back with us, or run in and risk being overwhelmed by whatever was inside.
Preston stepped up to the plate, “You want to roll the dice and play the hero so bad? You can go do it alone. I’m not following you in there.”
>> She’s making Preston sound like a voice of sound reason.
“You want to run away, but you’re not scared of making an enemy out of me?”
Yantai let go and I fell back to the ground with a heavy clunk.
“Whether I am scared or not does not factor into my assessment. I have a responsibility as team leader to bring everyone home intact. That’s what Sheffield taught me.”
“I don’t care anymore. Do what you want.”
>> Rhetoric: Yantai does care, but she knows this fight is lost.
But as I turned to lead them back the way we came, an unfortunate reality was what awaited me. A pair of beady red eyes was staring through one of the windows, and the second they were spotted they disappeared from view. I froze in place.
“What’s wrong?” Yantai grunted.
“Apologies, it appears we may have to fight after all.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me...”
>> We remain incapable of humour.
