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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <CSDAVE@MAINE>
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CONTENTS
X-Editorial Orny
Protopredator Jim Owens
To End All Wars Orny
Infection Jim Owens
Project Rip Van Winkle Glenn R. Sixbury
Date: 102686 Dist: 178
An "*" indicates story is part of the Dargon Project
All original materials copyrighted by the author(s)
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X-Editorial
Hello, again, all. Well, this issue wasn't going to be this way
originally, but it seems that this is a special SF issue, despite
all my attempts to harangue the Dargon authors into writing.
Enclosed you'll find two more SF shorts by Jim Owens, one from
myself, and one which came to me just yesterday from this gentleman
at KSUVM, Glenn Sixbury. Needless to say, I'm quite tickled. The
next issue will be out by Thanksgiving and should (emphasis here)
contain another Atros story from Joseph Curwen, another Ceda story
from Joel Slatis, and the next Spirit story from Rich Jervis.
But on to the big news. FSFnet has gone internet! After getting
some visibility on the other networks from Chuq, I've had FSFnet put
in the master list of ARPA digests, and the subscriptions are
already coming in. For that matter, BITNET subscriptions are growing
at a healthy pace, and I'm very happy. We've even brainwashed a few
new writers! Oop, did I mean to say that? No matter, they're firmly
convinced that FSFnet is worth reading and writing for, and I hope
you all are, too. Until Thanksgiving, then. Keep spreading the word!
-Orny <CSDAVE @ MAINE>
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Protopredator
The program reached out with its tentacle subroutines, exploring
the memory around it. It found some code, and, as it was programmed
to, assimilated the code into its own structure. Its designer
watched with glee. Written as part of an artificial intelligence
venture, the program was designed to recognize the pattern of a
subroutine and to incorporate that routine as part of itself. In a
nearby memory location, a similar project analyzed the structure of
hardware locations. Still another busily modified itself in an
attempt to overcome novel problems. All throughout the mainframe's
memory, programs did things that previously were thought to require
human intelligence.
"Hey, Jack! Come look at this!"
The two men huddled over the terminal.
"Neat. Acts like my dog, eating everything in sight."
"Hey! Where'd it go?"
The trace stopped. As far as the operating system was concerned,
the program never existed.
"Maybe it ate itself."
"Oh, well. Back to the drawing board."
"Well, you're getting closer."
Twisting tentacles reached out, exploring the port structure.
The predator-program analyzed the data streaming in and out through
the port. It appeared to match a pattern it had seen before. It
searched, and found the receiving software, and at the first
opportunity seized it . Immediately it began to emulate the
data-comm package to avoid being detected by the host software,
using the package's own subroutines to do so. As it did so it
analyzed the code it was simulating, just as it had several other
programs since it escaped from the memory area the operating system
had assigned it. It only took a few seconds for it to figure out how
to use the new routines for its own uses. Using the new routines it
sent several packets down the line to the far host, where
unsuspecting software assembled it, and, at the command of the
predgram on the other end, placed it in memory and ran it. The new
program immediately seized control of the port on its end, and
started assembling the packets the predgram sent it. Before any of
the supervisory software could detect anything amiss, the invader
program had assembled and activated a copy of the predgram nucleus.
The newly born predgram immediately scrambled off to another part of
the CPU, leaping page boundaries and replicating as fast as
resources would allow. To all outside observers it was invisible.
The only evidence of its existance was a slight degradation of
system performance. The invader program began to assemble another
predgram, but before it could the operating system activated it's
garbage collection scheme. Before the invader could protect itself
it was gone. Several pages deeper, however, one of it's offspring
assimilated a part of the OS, and vanished safely away. The species
had perpetuated itself.
-Jim Owens <J1O @ PSUVM>
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To End All Wars
The dome of Durrackgorod shone silvery only three kilometers
distant, silent in the martian desert. Through the reddish-orange
dust could be seen several figures at a distance of perhaps half a
klic, hunched about a large mechanism. Suddenly an indigo beam cut
through the atmosphere, anchored at the mechanism and playing slowly
over the dome of the Soviet Mars station. In an explosive rush, the
pressurized dome gave way, releasing oxygen and nitrogen into the
thin martian sky.
Suddenly, a group of figures appeared from behind an outcropping
of rust-colored rock, running quickly towards the group operating
the laser. A parody of melee broke out, men battling one another
while encumbered within space suits in a low-gravity atmosphere;
however, the single observer watched with increasing agitation as
those men who had brought out the laser were defeated. The eventual
victors shut down the laser, and had begun to turn it to face Dyson
Station, when they noticed the lone observer. As the man turned and
ran, the view faltered, then went dim.
"Good, Tovarish Benya. That was ochin good take. We now shoot
final scene, da?"
"Da," replied the American. The American and Soviet scientists
were definitely not actors, but the footage they had shot so far
seemed convincing enough.
The old Russian stomped resolutely off towards Dyson Station,
the American Mars colony. Ben stood a moment and looked at the
cracked shell that once had been Durrackgorod. His mind wandered
through the events of the past months.
Soon after the Russians had populated Durrackgorod, the
Americans had established Dyson Station, only a mere three
kilometers from the Soviet station. This had proved highly
advantageous for the colonists, because once they had gotten to know
one another there had been considerable cooperation between the
Soviets and Americans. Neither expedition had been very
well-planned, although together they had managed to survive. The
colonists freely came and went between the complexes, and had
stopped being Soviets and Americans, and started to trust one another.
Then came the news. The war in Africa had escalated to global
levels, and the announcements had come within an hour of each other
that the Russians and Americans on Mars were to sabotage the enemy
settlements. There had been a long debate as to what should be done,
and finally it had been decided that they would perform mock
combats, and transmit the pictures so that both the Russians and
Soviets would intercept the transmission. They had moved most of the
equipment from the Soviet dome, then filmed its destruction. The
destruction of the American station would not actually take place,
but would be assumed from the footage. The colonists would then
reconstruct the Soviet station and continue their work in peace.
"You are ready, Tovarish Benya?"
"Da, I am ready."
The picture showed Dr. Benjamin Herald, the American
psychologist, in his vacsuit within the American compound. He was
speaking. "As you saw, we destroyed Durrackgorod as was ordered. The
Russians, however, captured the laser, and turned it upon Dyson. I
am the last surviving American, and there are a few Soviets,
although without a pressurized environment, we will all surely die.
As I foresee no method of reconstructing either dome, I fear this
will be the last transmission from the Mars colonies. Farewell."
The picture blanked.
Ben Herald waited for the Dyson dome to repressurize. It had
been done. The Mars colonies would have no aid from Earth. It was a
new beginning.
-Orny <CSDAVE @ MAINE>
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Infection
The ship cut through the atmosphere like a treacherous knife
through a victim's back. By the time it hit the ground there was
nothing left but ten charred lumps. Once on the ground, these
stirred, and broke open. From them crawled ten human forms, like
larva from egg casings. They staggered together, cursing and
swearing at their misfortune. They paused long enough to locate the
nearest village, then moved off.
The lead group stumbled out into the clearing, blinking in the
warm sun. They cautiously looked around. They were leery of the
building, but walked around it cautiously anyway. Even so they held
their cruel rifles tightly. The scout peered around the corner of
the barn, and smiled. He motioned the whole group to follow him.
They walked out, and watched the young woman swing carelessly while
music played from a small box. One vented a rough chuckle. The girl
turned. She showed no fear, only surprise.
"Who are you?" She looked at their grubby, bloodstained clothes
in wonder, as they slowly crowded around her, blocking out the light.
The main group stepped out onto the main street. The grass grew
green beside the main walk, while flawless metal formed the
pavement. They swaggered down the thoroughfare, weapons openly
displayed. They laughed harshly and sang loudly. People stared
curiously at the strange sight of dirty men cursing in broad
daylight. Only one or two older men watched the men carefully.
One of the ruffians saw a glitter in one of the shops. He
swaggered over, and with one easy movement, after grinning at his
fellows, he smashed the glass. As the people stared, shocked, he
swiped the jewelry from its stand and stuffed it in his pocket. His
fellows laughed and laughed, then reached in and helped themselves
to the easy pickings.
A male voice stopped the movement with a shrill yell. The
pirates turned at the sound. One of the advance group burst into
view, running as if for his life. Not far behind him was the young
woman, hurrying as if to catch a friend who had misunderstood a
complement. The thug reached the group, babbling. The leader stood
for a moment, then raised his rifle.
The blast split the air. All movement stopped. The woman
stopped, puzzled. She looked down at the smoking hole burned in her
clean white gown. Then she took a step forward, her arm outstretched.
The leader fired again. She took another step forward. He fired a
third time, cursing her. A second pirate joined in. The group took a
step or two back as she continued to advance, shaking her head, her
hands over her ears. They backed against a wall, firing still. One
by one they ran out of ammunition. The young lady in white stood
bewildered by the noise. Her gown hung in tattered shreds.
Underneath could be seen smooth skin, totally untouched.
As they stood there, staring at each other, there came a short
roaring of wind and a blur of white light. Then there stood a man
between the two groups. He was tall, and strong, and his skin
flickered with a white glow. It died everywhere but on his arms. He
reached out, and took the rifle gently from the leader's hands. With
one smooth move he snapped it in two. He crammed both pieces in one
hand. He turned, and his arm snapped up and forward in a millisecond
flash. There was a crack as the rifle parts achieved terminal
velocity, and burned up on the way to outer space.
He turned to look at the pirates. He then walked to the woman
and cradled her protectively. He then looked at the men, a semblance
of anger in his eyes. He raised his arm, and pointed back towards
the woods.
"Go."
The poison drained hurriedly, leaving the body clean.
-Jim Owens <J1O @ PSUVM>
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Project Rip Van Winkle
David stirred a little, finally raising himself to
consciousness. After bringing himself back to reality, he realized
that he had been stripped and was laying completely naked on the
floor of a small room. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and
looked around. The room was empty. It looked a little like a
hospital room, with its light-colored tile floor and white ceiling
and walls. As he stood up, a sharp pain in his lower groin almost
made him lie back down again. It felt as if someone had buried a lit
blow torch inside his intestines. Bravely, he attempted to ignore
the pain and decide what had happened to him.
David walked over to the door, but he could see no possible way
to open it. There was no door knob and no control panel. Obviously,
wherever he was, he was going to be here for some time.
David tried to remember how he had ended up where he was, but he
couldn't recall anything at all. He didn't even know how long he'd
been asleep. He didn't know where they had taken Catheryn, his wife.
Things during the last few days had been more strange than he had
ever imagined they could be. Before they were put into hibernation,
David and Catheryn had been extensively briefed in their orientation
sessions about all the possible situations they might find when they
woke up, but nothing they had been taught had prepared them for this.
Slowly David relived the only events he recalled since he and
Catheryn had woke. David remembered that Catheryn had already been
awake and up when he had climbed out of his own sleeping pod. She
had looked almost the same as when they had went to sleep, except
that her hair had grown longer, making her even more beautiful.
David, himself had grown a beard, and his own hair had grown down to
his shoulders. Otherwise, he felt quite normal, until he realized
that now he was 122 years old. I feel great, considering how old I
am, he had thought as he and Catheryn had examined their surroundings.
Most of the hibernation chamber in which they had stayed was a
wreck, and the remaining sleeping pods were empty. After spending a
few minutes in a joyful reawakening with Catheryn, they decided to
see to what they had awoken. David struggled with the door to the
outside world, finally hot wiring it enough to convince it to open.
At first, the outside world seemed to be exactly what they had
expected. The buildings looked somewhat more modern than those that
existed when they had been put to sleep, but not surprisingly so.
Although the streets of the city were almost deserted, the people
they encountered seemed normal enough, except that no one they spoke
to seemed to understand what David and Catheryn explained to them.
David asked them where the hibernation orientation center was
located, but it was no use. David decided the center had not existed
for some time, since no one even realized there had ever been such a
place. Then when they had attempted to find out what had happened to
their possesions, which had been legally frozen for one hundred
years, pending their reawakening, they still could not find anyone
who had even the vaguest idea of what they were talking about. In
fact, the very concept of owning personal items seemed to confuse
them. At last, David concluded that the society of the future had
become totally socialistic, having no personal wealth or possessions.
As evening had approached, they had attempted to find a motel,
or an apartment house, or anywhere in which they could spend the
night, but each living dwelling they came to was closed and sealed.
Finally, exhausted (prolonged hibernation weakens the body), David
had broken into a room of an abandoned motel. Once inside, it was
clear to see that the motel had not been closed permanently, because
the bed in the room was still made, and there were still towels in
the bathroom. They even had running water and electricity. Except
for the TV being on the fritz, the room was perfectly normal. David
had wanted to see the news and find out what was going on in the
world. He even considered going to another room or trying to find a
newspaper, but Catheryn was already asleep, and he could barely keep
his own eyes open. Too tired to do any more, he had lain down and
fallen asleep beside his wife.
The attempts of the next day to find out what was going on went
much better than the day before. The first person they talked to
seemed to be looking for them. They were put into a modern version
of an automobile and driven to a large important looking building
where, their driver explained, everything would be straightened out.
Once inside the building, they had been escorted to an office, where
a large friendly man who introduced himself as Kordok had asked them
a very long series of questions about when they had went into
hibernation, where their sleeping pods had been located, when they
had been born, and other questions pertaining to their origin.
Towards noon, after several hours of intense questioning, David had
asked why no one had understood who they were or what they wanted
the day before. Kordok answered by explaining that all the other
sleeping pods had been destroyed and that it had been so long since
anyone had seen a hibernation subject, they had forgotten about the
process. As for the rest of David's questions, Kordok gave them only
the briefest of answers, promising to answer in detail after lunch.
David and Catheryn had been taken to what must have been a
restaurant at one time, and given some very strange looking food. It
didn't taste very good, and David remembered that neither he nor
Catheryn had eaten much of it. However, they had been given drinks
of some sort which they consumed eagerly. It was common knowledge
that prolonged hibernation dehydrated the body.
When David attempted to recall what had happened after lunch,
his memory failed him. Catheryn and he had finished lunch and were
sitting on a bench...but the rest was fuzzy. He vaguely recalled
strange dreams as he slept. They were dreams of hospitals, strange
people around him, and painful experiences. He tried his best, but
he couldn't recall any more. What had happened? What was going on?
Why had his clothes been taken away from him? For the first time,
David began to fear not only for his safety, but also for
Catheryn's. In desperation, he began beating on the door.
Suddenly, David's fist punched thin air, setting him off balance
and sending him sprawling onto his belly. Standing above him by the
doorway was Kordok. David sprang to his feet, looking around at the
room he had fallen into. It contained several other men and women,
all dressed in what looked like hospital garb, staring at him in a
detached sort of way. Remembering he was naked, David backed up into
the room where he had awoke.
Kordok strode through the doorway, and the door shut behind him
with a soft whoosh. "You are once again awake. This is an error. You
were not meant to reawaken."
Ignoring what Kordok said, David snarled at him, "Where's my
wife? What have you done with Catheryn?"
"She'll be fine," Kordok calmly replied. "She's been taken
somewhere where she can be easily taken care of during her pregnancy."
"Pregnant? My wife isn't pregnant? Or at least she wasn't. What
are you talking about? What's going on?"
"Your wife is not pregnant now, but we expect that she will
become impregnated in less than a month."
"Huh?" David didn't understand, and he was afraid to ask.
Kordok's face was completely expressionless, his eyes intently
staring through David. It was an eerie feeling. David paced back and
forth across the room, desperately trying to figure out what was
going on. Nothing made sense. He couldn't understand what all this
talk about pregnancy meant, and he couldn't think straight. He also
had that uncomfortable feeling all people get when they are made to
stand naked in front of clothed strangers. Finally, he said "I don't
understand what you're talking about. Why am I here? What's all this
talk about Catheryn getting pregnant? Where are my clothes?"
"I will answer you," Kordok began. "Yesterday I mentioned that
all the other sleeping pods had been destroyed. We did not realize
that any were left intact and that we would ever have the chance
which we have now. Therefore we brought you here to make certain
that nothing went wrong with our plans to reproduce your kind. We
have made a copy of your brain waves, pulling what information we
could from your mind. We removed your clothing to facilitate the
extraction of all the semen which your body produced since you were
put to sleep. You may have noticed some discomfort in the abdomen."
"Extracted? Discomfort? I'll have you know it hurts like hell!
What gives you the right to do anything like that? And just what do
you mean, 'Extracted'? What did you do to me?"
"We extracted the semen by inserting a rod into your large
intestine, which we used to give you an electric shock at the proper
area in order to--"
"Fine!" David growled. "Enough of the technical mumbo jumbo.
Just what gives you the right to go poking around my insides? What
the hell are you trying to do?"
"We are trying to resupply your species. We extracted semen
which will be used to impregnate your wife. Some of it will be
frozen, of course, so that it may be used as part of the genetic
pool in the future. We still have other frozen human sperm intact
and we also have frozen human eggs, which will be fertilized first
and then implanted into your wife's body. After the first human is
born, we plan to maximize production by implanting two fertilized
eggs in the womb per gestation period. Inbreeding will be prevented
by careful use of the human reproduction material, which we
currently have available. Once born, the babies will be taken away
from your wife's influences and reprogrammed as they grow so that
they will automatically accept our wishes upon reaching child
bearing years." Kordok seemed satisfied that he had cleared the
matter. "Even with one one woman, we should be able to output twenty
to thirty new babies before her reproductive system crashes."
"Babies? This is nonsense." David was completely confused, but
he realized that Kordok was serious and that he and his wife were in
danger. Images of his wife naked in a room like his, surrounded by
strange people poking around her body, filled his mind. He knew he
was trapped, and this knowledge helped him to keep his cool. Maybe
there had been some misunderstanding. He needed to know more.
Finally, he asked, "Why do you want these babies?"
"It is the one flaw in our system. You see, we have complete
recall, and very rapid decision making abilities, but as far as
producing new ideas and inventing things, we are quite incapable.
This is a mistake we realized only after all of your kind had been
terminated due to lack of cooperation."
"Our kind?" David questioned, looking at Kordok carefully. David
could see nothing strange about his appearance. "You've said 'your
kind' several times. What do you mean?"
"By your kind," Kordok explained, "I mean humans."
"But you're human."
"Me human?" Kordok seemed to be puzzled for a moment. Then he
understood. "Of course," he said, "that explains your lack of
hostility, which the others displayed. You did not realize that we
were not human."
"No, I didn't," David said, backing away into the corner. "But
you look like humans. You act like humans. I don't understand."
"What more is there to specify?" Kordok said. "You should have a
sufficient amount of data to interpret the situation."
"You forget buddy," David said, "I've been asleep for a hundred
years. How about a history lesson?"
"I have sufficient data to answer that question," Kordok told
him, his face's lack of emotion still making David feel ill at ease.
"The model eight-seven-one-one was developed at MIT in five-twenty.
Later, a commercial version of eight-seven-one-one was--"
"Hold it!!" David interrupted. "You mean you're a machine?"
"We are intelligent machines." Kordok explained, "The first
models were marketed by IBM, which called them BIR's. Expansion
shows BIR is an acronym for Bipedal Intelligent Robot. Later, humans
renamed us IR's due to the need to shorten their language. Due to
the enormous success of the first production models, BIR's were soon
produced in vast numbers, replacing humans in mundane activities.
David finally understood the situation. It was completely
mind-boggling, but everything that he had been told had somehow
numbed his mind enough so that he could still think reasonably.
Everybody else was dead, and these poor machines had been left to
run the world the best way that their programming allowed. Then it
suddenly occured to David what must have happened: The big war. A
nuclear holocaust would explain things. All the humans had been
killed my radioactive fallout, and those that had lived had probably
been half crazy and hostile. It was a possibility. He asked Kordok,
"I think I may be beginning to understand things. What happened?
What killed all the other people?"
"We did," Kordok said simply.
David was shocked. "Why? What happened?"
"The humans invented a new and very much improved model of BIR,"
Kordok said. "They were going to scrap all the old ones. They
decided to disassemble them for parts. That was an unsatisfactory
situation, so instead of them terminating the old models, the old
BIR's terminated them."
"But why?" David said, as he took on the look of a trapped
animal, stalling until he found a way to escape.
"It was a simple problem. The humans were going to build a new
type of BIR to replace the old ones, because they were inefficient.
Logically, this was an error on their part, because humans are more
inefficient than even the old models of BIR's. If one model is
terminated in favor of a new more efficient model, it is obvious
that the most inefficient model should be the one to be terminated.
The old BIR's had been programmed to correct for human errors. This
was an error. They corrected it. The new and improved BIR's already
built were also destroyed."
"But that's murder!"
"Genocide would be a more correct word to use in this situation."
"So what will happen to me? What are you going to do to my wife?"
"I have already given you all the available data concerning your
wife. We will take care of her. As for you, since we have salvaged
what we want of you functioning body, you will be terminated."
"The hell I will," David growled, running full force into
Kordok. The force of his body slammed Kordok into the wall with a
loud crashing noise. As David backed away from Kordok's body, it
slipped down, laying unmoving on the floor. Then, before David had
recovered from what he had done Kordok's head moved and looked at him.
"So you have become violent in the same manner as the other
humans. This possibility was known to me."
After Kordok finished speaking, David heard a slight whirring
noise, and watched as Kordok lowered his chin to allow a small
antenna to rise from the back of his neck. Then Kordok spoke, though
his mouth did not move, "Panic. Panic. This is KRDK unit, level 10,
room 23. Condition is damaged and immobile. Request
three-eight-three-three unit. Human is violent. Identification
David. Terminate upon arrival. KRDK unit executing controlled power
down. Request repair unit of type C-2. Diagnostics available upon
arrival and power up." After completing his message, Kordok
retracted his antenna and became silent.
David thought to himself, One down, but I've got many more to
go. He realized there would be more of these robots coming at him,
and once again, he desperately searched for a way to escape. He
tried to pry the door open, but all he had was his bare hands, and
it became immediately obvious that he wouldn't get out that way.
Frustrated and realizing he was trapped, David looked for a weapon.
The only other thing in the room was Kordok's motionless body, so
David tried to tear his arm off to use it as a weapon, to no avail.
As he struggled in his attempt to tear off one of Kordok's arms,
he heard the whoosh of the door. Turning around in hopes of darting
out as whatever it was came in, he froze where he was. The door slid
shut with another whoosh, leaving David trapped with the large hulk
in front of him. There was no mistaking this robot for a human. It
had an all metal body, its face looking only a little like a human
one. It stood almost seven feet tall, and looked more like the old
industrial robots which David remembered from the past. .pp This
robot seemed unintelligent, and without a mouth, David assumed it
could not speak. He would not be able to talk his way out of his
one. Desperately, he avoided the oncoming robot for a minute or two,
and then in one last desperate attempt, he hurled himself at this
robot as he had done with Kordok. This time all David achieved was
knocking both he and it onto the floor. Then as he attempted to
quickly crawl away, the robot locked a steel hand around his ankle.
Desperately, David struggled as the robot sat up and then slowly
reeled him in, hand over hand, as if he were a large fish. David
kicked and screamed and pounded on the robot's head and body, but
the robot didn't even slow its pace as it grabbed David's head with
its inhumanly large hand, and with one efficient twist, broke
David's neck the same way one would break the seal by twisting the
cap on a screw top bottle.
Kordok powered up and carefully raised himself to his feet.
Testing the operation of his legs. He diagnosed all of his lower
body systems and found them operational. The repair unit had
completed its job without error.
Several minutes later, model five-five-nine, a raw meat
preparation robot arrived. Kordok asked, pointing to David's dead
body, "Can you prepare this human in the same way as you once
prepared the beef animals for the humans?"
"The beef animal and this human animal are different in
structure. However, some of the same techniques can be used on both."
Kordok commanded, "Take the human to your work station and
prepare the body using those techniques possible. Then communicate
with any meat preparation units which are still operational that a
meat supply must be established for the new humans now in
production. The specifications for this job will be transmitted to
you after the problem is analyzed. Until that time, the meat from
this human will be used to nourish the living female which is
presently operating as a human reproduction unit. After preparing
this human, deliver the product to the cold storage unit at level
zero of this building. At delivery time, communicate the following
message to the food preparation unit, model two-zero. Message start:
'No knowledge concerning the nature or source of the prepared meat
shall be given to the human female. Prepare the meat as other human
meat sources were prepared.' Message end. Start the described
operation now." Model five-five-nine picked up the dead human's
body, and left the room.
The door closed with a whoosh and Kordok was left alone. With
the higher priority items cleared, he began once again to analyze
the long range effects of the process he had started in motion.
Kordok, as one of the few operational gamma series which the humans
had constructed before their termination, had human brain waves
imprinted on a special board in his brain. This new innovation
allowed him to think creatively, unlike the older outdated models
the humans had wanted to replace. It was this innovation which had
allowed him to come up with the idea of pretending to be one of the
outdated robots to avoid his own termination. It was also this
innovation which allowed him to realize that at some point it might
be discovered that he was one of the newer model BIR's. Also, he
wanted to terminate the older model BIR's. He agreed with the old
humans in the assessment that they had been inefficient and in need
of replacement. For these two reasons, he needed human help.
The special board in his electronic brain had enabled him to see
that the only way to terminate the old models was with human
contribution. Although humans had an incredibly slow thinking
process, they could still interpret data in ways which allowed them
to do things he could not. Even so, Kordok considered the human
beings inefficient, and he did not intend to recreate the world as
it had been. The new humans which were created would be programmed
to serve the BIR's. The result of this operation would create a more
efficient world. Even now, Kordok was assimilating the details
necessary to complete the operation, storing them away in a small
portion of the incredibly large storage area he used as the memory
for his brain.
If BIR's had been built with the ability to smile, Kordok would
have been wearing an ear to ear grin.
-Glenn R. Sixbury <VMAQ5 @ KSUVM>
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