Chapter 5

Joshua walked next to Olga somewhat nervously, unsure as to why she had invited him to her place. He was pleased that the androids were safely stored in one of the closets of Miss Danette’s lab. It had been quite a challenge to get the truck out of the dead-end street again. In the end, he’d had to push the vehicle with Olga behind the steering wheel until they could get it onto the road. It was fortunate that Olga lived only a few minutes away from a plot of wasteland where they had ditched the truck.

Her sudden question startled him, “Are you okay? You seem very preoccupied.”

He was taken aback by her genuine concern. She never usually bothered asking how he felt, but since Mr. Yousima’s death, her whole attitude toward him had changed. He didn’t know how to answer and so murmured, “A lot has changed. I think it needs time to settle down a bit.”

She squeezed his hand and said with an unsteady voice, “Yeah, you are the only one who didn’t change.”

He gulped, shocked by her revelation, he asked with a small voice, “Do you think so?”

Olga’s smile was dazzling as she confided, “Yes, you’re as steady as a rock.”

It made him feel uneasy because it seemed as if she was teasing him. She stopped him by standing right in front of him and asked wearily, “What’s the matter, Joshua? Why do you look like something is wrong?”

He’d had a huge crush on her forever, knowing all the time that she would never let him get close to her. But now everything pointed to the possibility that she might actually like him! Not being good enough for her, scared him. He stammered, “I... , I think it’s better that I go back to my place.”

“Why Joshua? Have I said something wrong?”

“No,” he replied, “you didn’t, but...”

“But what, Joshua?” She asked desperately.

He was searching for the words to express his bewilderment but couldn’t come up with anything that remotely summed up how he was feeling. He was shocked when her hands cupped his face. Her eyes were watery as she whispered, “Please Joshua, don’t go. I know I’ve been a cow to you, but somehow I feel better when you’re around. And since...”

Olga took a deep breath which she blew out forcefully before she continued, “Now he is dead. I don’t know.”

He could feel her body shaking as she started to cry softly. The tears ran freely down her cheeks as she changed into a little girl seeking comfort. He understood that Olga needed him more than ever and didn’t hesitate to take her in his arms. Olga pleaded between her sobs, “Don’t go, Joshua. Please, don’t go.”

He kissed her hair, and as he caressed her back, he tried to comfort her by saying, “I’ll stay, I’ll stay.”

He was upset because for the first time he was beginning to understand just what kind of a bastard Mr. Yousima must have been; he had hurt Olga in an appalling way. She slowly pushed herself away to look up into his eyes. Her innocent-looking face, wet from the tears, disarmed him completely and he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. Hoping he wasn’t about to upset her even more, he slowly moved closer. He felt the pleasing warmth radiating from her face as he gently touched her lips. He pulled away, but Olga sighed softly as she moved forward to kiss him again.

His voice was hoarse as he said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“You mean pull away?”

He was taken aback as he saw a smirk appear on her beautiful face and he quickly realized she was pleased by what had happened. Relieved he replied meekly, “I guess so.”

“Good, I may let you practice a little more when we’re at my place.”

Joshua had to laugh at her typically astute remark and mused, “Well, we had better press on. How far is it now?”

“We’re nearly there.”

Haruz double-checked the old control suit. It had taken a battering the last time and he wanted to be sure that nothing had come loose. It was an old barrel and it had been a challenge to get it working again. In the end he had to use parts from a few other suits. He would rather have used the cameras to find out how Tancred was doing but he couldn’t find him on any of the video feeds. There was no other way than to use the remote-controlled android to find the alien. After he was convinced it was safe to strap himself into the suit, he set the timer to connect the suit to the android for one minute. He knew that he shouldn’t be doing this alone, but his curiosity had made him reckless.

Just as he flipped the binocular display in front of his eyes, the system had the suit connected to the old android robot in Tancred’s prison. There was a warning that the position of the android robot couldn’t be aligned; it seemed that the android was lying on its back. This made Haruz feel uneasy because it meant that Tancred had somehow managed to move the extremely heavy android. He didn’t know Tancred was that strong!

Haruz had no other choice than to lie on his back with his arms and legs in the same position as displayed on his screen. He had to wait for the completion of the connection before he could do anything else. A soft beep told him that the connection was about to be completed. Haruz was wary, unsure of what had happened to the android and kept his body completely still. His display was dark, but he could hear water streaming close by. Haruz’s hair on the back of his head bristled instantly; It was an old trick to keep your enemy confused and deprived of vital information about the surroundings. He cursed to himself for failing to study the layout of the prison. He hadn’t a clue where he was, but he knew he had to find Tancred. He decided to sit up straight first because he had the feeling that the android was covered with a cloth which might slip. He squinted as the binocular display showed a white wall lit by the sun. He realized instantly that Tancred had placed the android in a strategic position and he knew he had to get to his feet as quickly as possible.

Still blinded by the sudden bright light Haruz got to his feet to turn away from it. Just as he managed to move the android away, he heard a maniacal laugh. He tried to determine which direction Tancred’s voice was coming from because Haruz hated the game Tancred was playing. He knew he was in a dangerous situation; blinded by the bright sun, the clattering of falling water masking any sounds and disoriented by the unfamiliar position he was in. The only thing he could do was to tell Tancred what his reason for visiting was. He shouted, “Tancred, I just want to talk to you!”

Haruz was startled when he heard a breathy whisper in his left ear, “Oh, do you now?”

Shocked by the sudden close proximity of Tancred’s raw voice, he turned his head to the left, but he couldn’t see Tancred. He felt a little push on his left shoulder, he knew exactly what Tancred was trying to do; simple tactics to disorient your victim. He knew he had to keep calm and control his instincts. Instead of turning his head in the direction of the push, he turned to the right hoping he would catch a glimpse of Tancred.

“Ooh,” whined Tancred, “You’re not playing fair!”

Haruz smiled briefly knowing he had won this time but he wanted it to stop and desperately retorted, “We can play later. I just want to see you.”

“No!” Echoed Tancred’s voice in Haruz’s left ear.

Haruz cursed softly realizing he had underestimated Tancred. He still was the prey and Tancred a skillful predator: a dangerous situation. He wanted to turn towards Tancred, but he felt a slam in his neck as if the android had been hit with an iron rod. The display showed a red flashing message, “Error: no head servo controller connection.“

The blast wasn’t that severe but the result was more devastating than he had expected.

“Shit,” murmured Haruz as he realized that he could not get the android’s head to move anymore. From now on he was going to have to turn the whole body to look around which would make him a lot slower. He knew that Tancred had planned this all in advance and probably had tampered with the android to make it vulnerable. Haruz’s heart was in his mouth because he knew that Tancred was in total control of the situation. Before he could react, he was shoved forward, and he decided to run hoping to find a better place to face Tancred. He needed to get somewhere where he could protect the android from further assaults. As soon as he had gained a few feet, he felt a massive jerk around his middle. He was surprised that he was stopped in the middle of his escape with such a force that he had trouble keeping his body aligned with the android. He found himself landing on his hands and knees as he heard Tancred’s high pitched laugh. He knew that he was in the most vulnerable position possible and he needed to get to his feet as quickly as possible. As Haruz tried to pull himself up he heard footsteps coming closer and he was unprepared when a deafening voice shouted in his right ear, “Kneel for me, dear Haruz.”

“Tancred, please listen to me. I’m just visiting you,” Haruz said softly.

He could hear the anger in his voice as Tancred spat, “You have no right to interfere in my life! You will be punished.”

He tried to get up but he was shoved down forcefully. In an attempt to avoid being pinned down by Tancred he tried to move abruptly to one side, but he heard a loud clanging noise which resulted in a message on his display, “Failure of main servo control unit: all servos disconnected.“

He knew that he was stuck in an android that now couldn’t move at all and even though he knew he couldn’t be harmed, he felt extremely uneasy. He noticed that Tancred was pulling at the head of the android and strangely enough it felt like he was about to be beheaded. Haruz bawled nervously, “Stop this Tancred. If you continue, I won’t be able to check on you anymore.”

The force of the pull was getting a little less as Tancred whispered, “Why should I want to let you live, Haruz?”

Haruz had to gasp; Tancred believed that the android was him!

“I’m the only one who knows where you are Tancred,” Haruz warned.

The chuckle was sneery, and his loud voice distorted the sound as he bellowed, “I don’t care! You. Will. Die!”

Tancred’s laugh sounded alien, and within a few moments there was a soft beep as the display showed the text, “System failure: connection lost.”

The lift was heading down, and Andena reckoned that she would reach the ground floor within a few stops. Her thoughts were still with the little girl who had helped her to escape from the Archon guards. The broad innocent smile, on the girl’s sweet face had made her feel special: it was rare to see someone so happy. She had no idea why the girl had believed her to be a fairy. She giggled but then she realised instantly that she wasn’t alone in the lift. Luckily the other people hardly noticed her sudden outburst, but her core asked, “What made you laugh, Andena?“

“I remembered the girl, and I laughed because she thought I was a fairy.“

“We were very fortunate bumping into her instead of an adult who might have made a lot of fuss.“

Andena agreed with her core, “Yes, we were. It certainly made the trip to my apartment a lot shorter, and I’m pleased I could get in without any trouble.“

She was happy that she was wearing a different hoodie; it made her more at ease. It was strange entering her own apartment knowing that the Archon had been in there as well. She wasn’t sure whether she would ever be able to live there again and she was pleased to be able to take a few personal items she cherished.

“Why did you bring the tablet with you? Its technology is old and obsolete.“

Andena had to smile as she responded, “That is exactly the reason I brought it with me; no network gate will be able to identify this tablet. I can use it to send a message to Haruz anonymously.“

“It is indeed a fail-safe method. I’m able to hide my true identity when I connect to a network, but there’s still a risk of being discovered.“

As she walked towards the laboratory, Andena avoided looking into the curfew cameras and kept her ears open for the typical jingling sound of Archon boots. Luckily she didn’t have to pass the same square again, and she was relieved as she entered the dead-end street. She was a little embarrassed that she couldn’t remember the access code anymore and as if her core had read her mind it showed the text, “In case you want to know the access code; it is 257612.“

As she entered the code, she replied, “Thanks, I only remembered the first two digits.“

“Your simplified explanation of how a human brain works was a little inaccurate.“

Andena blushed as she replied, “I guess you’re right.“

“Yes, I have noticed that your memory has failed several times. That was reason enough to conduct a more elaborate investigation, and now I have more accurate information.“

She didn’t know what to think about what her core had just revealed, and had the urge to defend herself. She aimed to her core, “I only roughly explained how our short term memory works.“

Her core didn’t respond which she found strange. As soon as she was inside the hall of the laboratory, she asked out loud, “Did I offend you Z?”

“No Andena, you didn’t. I was occupied communicating with the androids.“

Andena was shocked and ashamed of herself because she had totally forgotten about the nine androids. Suddenly it dawned on her: if her core was able to have contact with them it meant that they were close by! She asked with a weary voice, “Where are they Z?”

“In the first room Andena, but I must warn you that they have been severely damaged by a powerful electromagnetic pulse when they were at the Bangly plateau.“

It took a few moments before Andena fully digested what her core had told her. An EMP! She knew that it was one of the biggest fears of mankind: an EMP bomb could disable all electronic devices which easily could cripple a whole country. A nightmare which, as far as she knew, never had happened. Until now!

She was absolutely convinced that Haruz had used an EMP bomb to disable the androids. Then it dawned on her: what would have happened if she had been on the plateau as well?

“Oh, my!” She exclaimed.

“What is the matter Andena?“

She whispered in disbelief, “I would have been killed if I had been on the plateau as well.”

“Considering the information I have received from the androids you would have died in the same manner as Mr. Yousima.“