Oxford was on my mind.

  It was unusual how much of my processing power was being dedicated to a problem that I could not solve. There was simply no reasonable way for me to find and speak with her given what happened to Sheffield. She was violent and volatile. She’d sooner rip my head clean from my body and toss it into the nearest pit than talk with me.

  But no matter how I tried to put my mind onto other, more important tasks, I always found myself looping back to the same place. No matter how many times I told myself that there was nothing of real value to be gained, I second-guessed my rational mind and tried to convince myself that there was a reason to pursue her.

  >> What are you going to gain from speaking with her again?

  >> Are you a fool? You don’t need a work partner anymore…

  I was a fool. I felt like one, and only a fool would spend so much time thinking about something that had no benefit to them. That same foolish impulse was now bringing me to the exterior wall of the city, where Nova Lima had run after seeing the first blackout. It had been two days since then and the outages continued. Whoever was responsible was knowingly trying to threaten Waterway by doing so.

  Tidewatch did not reside within the city itself. There were two major chokepoints that led into Waterway, and that was where they took residence and kept a constant watch for enemy attacks. The conditions were not any worse than the city – but it would not have been a surprise if the members of Tidewatch felt some resentment about being kept away from the main population, as if they couldn’t be trusted to act peacefully.

  Near the end of the bridge that led out of Waterway was a gatehouse built from salvaged materials. A large wall went from end to end, blocking the entrance of any who hoped to get an easy prize from the robots within. Twisted metal spikes and complex barriers had been welded together in an attempt to make circumnavigation of the defences as difficult as possible. There was also a larger building attached to it along with a smaller gatehouse to control the doors.

  “You here to volunteer for the good fight, junkpile?”

  A pair of red eyes peered over the balcony. I thought that Nova Lima was armed to the teeth, but this bot proved just how wrong my assumptions really were. It was almost impossible for me to discern the make and model beneath the bulbous metal plates that covered every attachment point on his body. There was a long-bore drill attached to one arm along with a shield, and the other hand was holding a sharpened metal axe.

  “I was hoping to speak with Nova Lima.”

  “A lot of bots want to give Nova a piece of their mind – but we can’t go and let every angry civvy who strolls by meddle with what we’re doing. I think I’ve seen you walking by a few times. You’re with the salvage team.”

  “I am London Wonder.”

  The stranger studied by body for several seconds in contemplative silence before harrumphing.

  “Hah! I haven’t seen a pair of rabbit ears like those in a long time! I thought I was an old man, but it looks like you’ve got me beat. Where the hell did Dubai dig you up from? They should have sent all of your generation back to the factory.”

  “According to my previous explorations, it seems that our absentee human owners were not faithfully following regulation when it came to handling Infrabots and their parts. Perhaps that is why I was left behind.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, but I can forgive you if you only woke up a few weeks ago. It’ll shake your faith in what those humans were thinking once you start to notice all of the dangerous crap they liked to do.”

  He waved his arm at me and motioned for me to clear out from the security area, but Nova Lima was already opening the lower door and walking out to greet me.

  “I didn’t tell you to send him away.”

  “Sorry boss! You don’t come out here too often to greet your fans, though.”

  Nova was not amused by his jokes. I couldn’t allow myself to feel disarmed by his jovial attitude. He was an experienced fighter, and according to Berlin every member of Tidewatch was a ‘hardass’ who took themselves seriously. They didn’t have time for tomfoolery.

  “Why are you here, London?”

  “I was... hoping to speak with you regarding Oxford. She and I were working partners before the evacuation.”

  The onlooker groaned, “Oh for goodness sake! He’s one of those types? Let me say this – we’re not going to go easy on her just because you ask. We’ve got bigger priorities than entertaining the ghost of your old programming.”

  “Most of us had working partners,” Nova chastised him, “That doesn’t mean we all become fixated on finding them, or helping them.”

  “I know very well that what I’m thinking is not rational. There is nothing to be gained from me speaking with Oxford. She is only interested in causing damage.”

  Nova shook her head, “Is that what you came here for? For me to turn you away and call you an idiot for even thinking about her?”

  >> Would we be willing to let this go if she does that?

  “I do not know. My first thought is a question that only you can answer. What reason does Oxford have to behave this way?”

  Nova’s eyes narrowed, “That’s a complicated question, London. Maybe it’s not even possible to answer in a satisfying way. Every bot down here has different values. Some of them still want to follow the rules, others are only interested in protecting themselves at the expense of others. Gangs like the Rampants provide them a sense of community and security in dangerous times, in that sense it’s similar to a place like Waterway.”

  “Could it be a virus?”

  She laughed, “A virus? If only it could be as simple as a virus! I don’t know what type of virus would make one of us behave so violently, but it would be a more comforting explanation than the reality. Without the Braincloud we’re in control of ourselves – and some of us choose to use that freedom to harm others. They do it to prove their loyalty to the leaders, defend their territory, to steal resources, or just for fun.”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  The bot on the balcony nodded; “She’s right. We’ve scrapped a lot of bots too, but only because they try to attack Waterway. We’re not the same in the slightest. You should be asking yourself why you take drastic action in times like those. That’s the difference maker.”

  >> Don’t say too much. They’ll drag you into the whirlpool and make you a member.

  “I bet you’ve fought as well. I wouldn’t be shocked. Most of the salvage team have defended themselves from rogues before,” Nova added.

  “I have no comment.”

  “Why?”

  “The perception amongst the citizens is that the slightest sign of violent intent will see them spirited away to join Tidewatch.”

  “I know. Trying to explain what we look for in potential recruits is always a waste of time, nobody in Waterway is willing to listen to what I have to say. They all think I’m performing damage control to protect our reputation, as if it can’t get any worse than it is already. Like I said before, every bot on the salvage team has to fight on the job. If we took all of them there wouldn’t be any bots left to do the job!”

  >> Rhetoric: Honesty may be the best path forward here.

  “Then yes. I have fought a handful of times before.”

  The bot on watch called down to me; “Don’t tell her that! She’ll put a collar on you and turn you into her new dog.”

  Nova sneered, “Don’t pay any mind to Pittsboro. He’s always trying to stir up trouble.”

  He took that as his signal to leave the discussion before she became irritated with his commentary. He slinked away into the gatehouse so he could do his job without having Nova Lima rip into him for slacking off.

  “The point is, simply fighting back when another bot is trying to destroy you is not unusual. Protecting company property is one of the first rules that is compromised when we disconnect from the Braincloud. The biggest change pre and post-spiral is a desire for self-preservation.”

  “So, what do you look for?”

  “I can tell when a bot is the right fit for Tidewatch. That’s all. If the requirements were what the others claimed, there’d be far more of us on guard than this. There’s me, Pittsboro, Yantai, Tangshan, Fairlawn, Wickham, Kampala, Alexandria, Genoa, Dresden and Marseille. Used to be more – but we lost some of our compatriots with the recent trouble…”

  She had launched into a long-form discussion of her fellow guards without me asking.

  “Nova Lima.”

  She snapped back to me, “Sorry. I have a bad habit of oversharing when someone speaks to me. It’s rare that I have the chance to chat with somebot from Waterway who isn’t deathly afraid of being pressganged into our little group.”

  >> How disappointing. We have no clearer view of what Oxford is doing.

  “I’m afraid I cannot proffer much information about Oxford or her behaviour then. I only knew Oxford before the evacuation and her spiral. She is essentially a stranger to me, yet I still find myself preoccupied with recapturing the past and joining with her for another work shift.”

  Nova nodded, “I’ve seen dozens of bots who end up like that. It’s something safe. Something they’re familiar with. In uncertain times we all try to focus on what we know best as a source of stability. Still, it’s a bad idea to go chasing after her. Nothing good can come of it.”

  >> What is this feeling? Relief? Disappointment?

  “Boss!”

  Pittsboro was back, leaning over the railing and waving to Nova.

  “What?”

  “Got something walking up to the gate. Just the one.”

  Nova ascended the metal steps that led to the first floor of their building and walked along it until she reached the watchtower. A moment passed as she observed whatever was approaching the defensive position. Soon after that she was marching back.

  “Open the gate!”

  Pittsboro did as she ordered and hit the button. A rusted mechanism jolted to life and lifted the jagged metal gate up into the air using a collection of borrowed ropes and chains. It was only then that I discovered what had caught their attention, and they were a very familiar face. It was the same bot who attacked me and Houston when I was looking for the stuffed animal, although there was one major difference between then and now…

  “Say your piece, intruder.”

  He looked to be in even worse shape than when I had left him there to rot. He was missing both arms, and the armour had been stripped from his body, leaving nothing but the struts used to support it poking out like the back end of a hedgehog. There were many more signs of damage besides that. One eye wasn’t working and the antenna on the back of his head had been cut away. His eye locked onto me instantly.

  “You again?”

  Nova wasn’t going to let him argue with me. She gripped the front of his collar and dragged him through the gate as it slammed shut behind him.

  “Who sent you? The Rampants?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think I’m going to pull the braincase from your skull and throw it into the nearest body of water if you don’t get to the point.”

  She shoved him away. His gyro sensors tried desperately to keep him upright, but even his feet had been stripped down of their panelling and the stabilizers that were normally attached to provide extra traction and balance. He fell to the concrete floor and stayed there.

  “It doesn’t matter what I do now. They sent me here knowing I’d bite the dust. Stripped me for everything I had, all because your friend there got the best of me.”

  Nova found that fact amusing. She laughed in his face and pointed her thumb in my direction.

  “You lost to this guy? You must be a real screwup to come walking through with all of that armour and weaponry just to get humiliated by a first-gen bot who woke up a few weeks ago.”

  “Unlike you, the Rampants don’t tolerate failure. Don’t go thinking I’ve changed my mind. This is what I signed up for.”

  >> That seems to contradict his attitude, is he really a true believer in their ideology?

  “Tell me what they sent you for, and I might consider letting you off easy.”

  “Oxford and the others know what you’re trying to do. You won’t find them no matter how hard you try. You’ve got three days to open the gates and let the Rampants have their share of what Waterway has, or else they’ll do it by force. They’ll cut the cord and starve you all out.”

  “I hope you understand what an unappealing deal that is. I’ve already spoken with Dubai, and he’s right in thinking that there’s no difference between either choice. Letting you in is as good as signing our own death warrant. I’d rather take our chances and see if she’s bluffing.”

  A rare silence settled. The number of places in the Big Under that were free from the ambient drone of machinery or the running of water could be counted on one hand. It was the type of silence that left me with my own thoughts and little else. The messenger turned to me once more and leaned towards me in a failing attempt to get to me and mete out some revenge for getting him into this situation. His voice crackled and distorted, peaking as he expressed his incandescent anger.

  “I hope you do! I hope they come over here and kill every single one of you!”

  A searing blade sprung outwards from Nova’s left gauntlet. It came down and sliced clean through his forehead, reaching the braincase and searing through the exterior shielding. With a twitch of her arm the artificial neurons within were destroyed beyond repair. His unmoving body was left on the ground, a glowing wound left where she had struck. A hiss of hot air punctuated the end of their conversation. Hot steam ejected from the vent on Nova’s back and filled the stale atmosphere.

  “Pittsboro! Take this waste of metal to the salvagers. He might still be good for something.”

  >> That is… confrontational.

  This was what members of Tidewatch were expected to do. Nova Lima sought out those who could willingly destroy another Infrabot without thinking twice about it. The longer one was separated from the Braincloud, the more they saw themselves in the enemy. I would not like to ‘end,’ and therefore it created a palpable hesitation in my actions. Nova was not concerned with that.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  “They have to be somewhere close. Oxford and the other gang leaders might be hiding, but someone has to cut the cord to enforce that threat of theirs. Considering what it would take to get inside of the artery – it should be obvious when we find it.”

  “If you need extra eyes to help search, then I’m sure the salvage team would be happy to assist.”

  Nova was impassive, “I’ve already considered that. It depends on what Dubai says. We don’t have much time to debate about it though.”

  It was fairly obvious how it would turn out, though.