The tension was so thick that…

  >> Rhetoric: -you could cut it with a knife.

  That’s right. That’s what the humans always liked to say.

  Pittsboro and Yantai had arrived at the warehouse a few hours after I left their base beyond the bridge. The vibrant colour schemes of navy blue and neon green were effective at drawing a lot of attention, and then you would notice the heavy armour plating that covered them from head to toe. It was rare for them to stop in Waterway and speak with anyone – never mind enter the warehouse to ask for something from the workers.

  “That’s the situation,” Pittsboro explained, “We’ve had no luck in finding out where they’re planning on damaging the power line. All of the obvious places have been cleared, which leaves us with the possibility that they’ve engineered some way to breach through an area that hasn’t already been exposed.”

  A murmur of discontent travelled through the assembled workers. I already knew all of this thanks to my conversation with Nova Lima. Yantai was already showing signs of impatience about having to discuss this with a group of civilians.

  “Our proposal comes from Dubai. He’d like to extend your routes outwards into the facility. Each one will have an escort from Tidewatch. It’ll be riskier than usual – but we have to find where the damage is going to be caused before they can cut us off. Losing power in Waterway is the worst-case scenario.”

  He didn’t need to say it twice. Electricity for us was like water and air to a human. No power, no Infrabots. It was something that cut harshly against their newly gained sense of self-preservation. Existence was the basis of all to come afterwards. Despite the dire consequences there was still some trepidation from the salvage team.

  Every Infrabot held a complete and detailed map of the facility, more so than any human could hope to replicate even with years of dedicated study. Every door, access point, tram-line and charging station was marked in our internal memory for ease of use. If this were a normal situation than location the breach in the artery would be simple.

  Unfortunately, this was not a normal situation. The Big Under had been abandoned by humanity for decades. Despite the best efforts of the bots who remained, extensive damage had been caused to the facility through natural decay and intentional vandalism. The maps were somewhat outdated, and it was difficult to know whether any given pathway was blocked by a collapsed ceiling or other obstruction.

  Even if the maps were perfectly accurate though – there was also the imminent risk of being attacked by a group of raiders. The final layer of difficulty were the black zones where there was no power and no charging points. This further constrained the places where one could traverse. All of those factors combined meant that finding them was easier said than done.

  Yantai snapped.

  “Look at them! They’re already prepared to run away with their tails between their legs. We may as well pack up our things and move to another sector if these are the bots we have to rely on.”

  “Cool your head,” Pittsboro chided her.

  “We’re out here risking our asses every day to protect these bots, and now they won’t do the same to make sure they won’t go offline when the power gets cut? I’m starting to think that they don’t deserve any protection at all!”

  Parma wasn’t going to stand for that kind of talk. He pushed through the crowd and took her to task.

  “Watch your mouth! Do you honestly think that we just sit around and relax all day? We’re the ones going out there and putting our lives at risk to make sure everything keeps running smoothly. Without us, those fuses you keep frying wouldn’t get replaced!”

  >> Infrabots do not have mouths.

  >> Is that really the most important takeaway here?

  Pittsboro shrugged, “He has a point.”

  “What the hell do you mean he has a point?” Yantai growled.

  “We all patrol the same places at the end of the day. We’re not gonna’ convince them to help if you keep insinuating that they aren’t putting their lives at risk by doing this job. They take pride in their job, just like us.”

  “So what? I’ve heard the kind of rumours that they like to spread about us. None of them are willing to give us any respect.”

  “If you want to whine, take it up with Nova.”

  “...No thanks.”

  The thought of having to bring up these complaints with the boss was enough to simmer her temper on the spot. Yantai crossed her arms and stayed behind Pittsboro instead of picking fights. Nova Lima was a strict sort of bot, and seeing her execute the unarmed messenger sent by the Rampants was eye-opening. Was that the same firm hand she used with her own subordinates? Was that the same overwhelming force that made the citizens worry about Tidewatch abusing their position?

  “It’s up to you folks. You could decline our escort offer and handle it yourselves, if that’s preferable. Either way something has to be done about this before it’s too late.”

  Nova dispatched Pittsboro for a reason. He was much more personable than Nova and Yantai were, and his love of talking meant he was the best one to send for delicate negotiations. He could paper over any cracks with a kind word and his twangy accent. The viciousness of his statement was the escort issue. He knew that it was improbable for a salvage team to get deeper into the Big Under on their own, especially when they were going to be looking for Rampant gang members.

  This wasn’t really a negotiation. There was no alternative option. If they cut the power Waterway would be done for, and its residents would have to scatter to the other sectors and find other places to live. The only choice to be made was whether to bring a member of Tidewatch along with the search party.

  “What do you think?” Parma asked.

  The foreman, Exeter, finally said his piece.

  “We don’t have much of a choice. I’m not going to force anybot here to cooperate with them if they don’t want to, but I hope we’ll have enough extra hands to deploy so we can search for the culprits. If you’re interested in signing up – move to the right side of the room!”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  There was a brief moment of chaos in the warehouse as the workers tried to navigate around one another to reach their preferred side of the chamber. When they were all done bumping into each other the results were almost evenly split down the middle, with a slight advantage going to the bots willing to do their part to see the threat subdued. I was one of them. Letting the artery be cut would foil any attempts to preserve the facility. It would be extremely inefficient and run the risk of further collateral damage as well.

  Exeter made a quick tally of every bot who had stepped out. There would be enough for seven or eight teams, plus an additional member from Tidewatch for each.

  “Alright. That should be fine, right?” Exeter asked.

  Pittsboro nodded, “It’s better than what Nova was expecting, that’s for sure. It’ll be a big help to multiply our force by this much. With this many teams and a few extra weapons for self-defence, we should have a good shot at finding them and flushing ‘em out.”

  Exeter turned back to the group, “Final warning! This is going to be a dangerous job, and you might have to fight if things go wrong. You’re all willing to do that?”

  Nobody budged from their position, certain that they were ready and willing to do just that. Even if they held misgivings about Tidewatch for whatever reason – they were also hopeful they could demonstrate their value to Waterway by swooping in during a time of need and helping with its latest crisis. The other half of the room were not so willing to put faith into Nova and her compatriots, and I was not much closer to figuring out why they were so divisive.

  Pittsboro laughed, “Looks like you’ve got a lot of brave folk.”

  “Is that a surprise? Parma is right – this is already a dangerous job. I’ll have to split them up into teams and make sure they’re evenly experienced. Do you have any preferences in mind for what kind of team you’d like to work with?”

  “No. Nova told me to deny requests from the troublesome members as well. It’s going to be left to chance. Once you’ve gotten them together, we’ll come around with some spare weapons so they can arm themselves.”

  “Might have to give them a few pointers…”

  “We can do that too.”

  With the arrangement completed and a plan developed, the meeting was adjourned and the Tidewatch members left to report back to Nova about the conclusion to the talks. It was odd seeing the exact division between those who trusted Tidewatch and those who did not. It was almost perfectly split down the middle.

  >> It does seem a touch ungrateful to impugn their character when they do so much to protect Waterway.

  >> Database: History is littered with examples of those with outstanding character falling to corruption and abusing their authority.

  >> Rhetoric: It is included in the training dataset on purpose, so that the Infrabots can identify illegitimate orders.

  The humans planned for every eventuality, or they believed they did, so it was no surprise that illustrated examples were provided in an attempt to shape our behavioural patterns. There was a push and pull that came with trying to build an effective AI system. Sometimes to them it was more of an art than an exact science. There were leftover pieces of data that were confounding when stripped of their context, shortcuts and workarounds that worked for reasons they couldn’t hope to understand.

  I found Parma waiting across the avenue.

  “I didn’t expect you to confront Yantai like that.”

  Parma sighed, “Sorry. She really rubbed me the wrong way when she said that stuff. A little out-of-character for me. I try to keep a cool head even when someone is causing a ruckus.”

  >> Parma was strongly affected by Sheffield’s destruction.

  I had to remind myself of that sometimes. Parma had been awake for much longer than I, and those incidents elicited strong emotions within him. Hearing Yantai disparage the sacrifice of bots like Sheffield was what caused him to step up and spar with her.

  “Pittsboro appears to have won them over in the end. He seems friendly.”

  “Yeah. That’s what the bots always think at first, but they’re as ruthless as they come. They might not be outwardly concerning like some bots say – but it’s disarming. Don’t let your guard down around them.” Parma tutted at himself and patted my shoulder. “Then again, you’re not the type to get swept up by a strong personality in the first place…”

  “Do you feel there is value in focusing on actualities instead of emotions?”

  Parma shrugged, “Hard to say. Always focusing on what’s most efficient is a dangerous road in my opinion – but that’s why it’s best to work with other bots. They can offer a different opinion to yours and keep you from making stupid choices.”

  “We are programmed to consider a wide range of factors before taking action.”

  “Maybe I’m overstating the risks,” he concurred, “I’ve seen a lot of bots come and go, and some of them take it to extremes that are contradictory even to that uncorrupted programming. They focus so much on efficiency that they end up causing more harm than good.”

  “I understand.”

  >> Logic: It would be difficult to judge our own actions if we were to find ourselves in that state.

  >> But who’s to say that the other Infrabots are rational judges of character too? They have their own biases to consider.

  “I’m gonna’ tell Exeter to put you in charge of one of the teams. You’ve cut your teeth on the job enough to earn a promotion by now.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Make sure to charge up and bring whatever you need. We’re going to be traveling heavy for this job.”

  Exeter and the other foremen would have to plot a route through the facility for us to cover, using the various still-working charging stations as waypoints to follow. If the culprits were hiding in wait at the proposed site of the sabotage, then they would need an accessible source of energy too to keep themselves online. There was no use in me worrying about that. Exeter, Parma and the others were well versed in all of this without me butting in.

  The real question was how many members of the volunteer force would have weapons, armour and equipment of their own. They did not make a habit of pilfering those types of prizes when they were out scavenging for essential components. Armour made of metal plates was the most common and least effective sort, and there was an excess supply of scrap in Waterway, so a few arms and bolt-holes would give them protection from basic weaponry. If they were using heated weapons like Nova – then it’d be better to go without and preserve mobility.

  Unlikely. Those were rare and expensive, and very few bots knew how to build them without turning the blade into a melted chunk of slag inside of the arm cavity. One would have thought that keeping it below melting point would have been obvious, but the reality was clearly more complex than a simple calculation run inside of a braincase.

  I returned to my room and studied the various items I had collected over the preceding weeks. Most of them were not going to be helpful with this task. There were pieces of metal, screws, bolts and nuts – and some smaller components that were for internal use only. It was not an armoury of weapons and equipment like Tidewatch possessed.

  >> If they give out weapons to the residents, the balance of power in Waterway will shift.

  >> Will some be ambitious enough to try and displace them as the primary authority here?

  >> That would be highly irrational.

  But they weren’t all rational in the first place. Houston would have stayed behind where it was safe if he was thinking rationally about his actions. He wanted to make a point of leaving it all behind, no matter what risks it posed to his continued existence.

  >> Rhetoric: To make a point requires compromise and discomfort, at least for humans…

  >> Paris didn’t seem too upset about Houston being gone though.

  I didn’t even know what Houston was doing here before he left. Everyone I asked only recalled him in passing or had never met him. It must have been personal.

  This was no time to worry about that. I rifled through the various pieces of garbage I had collected and found some rusted metal plates that would serve well enough to deflect physical blows. All I would need were a set of struts to attach to my body, so that they could be affixed to it. The downside of that additional protection was a further hit to energy consumption and stability rating.

  I’d need to try them on first before calculating those figures. Getting it done earlier rather than later would give me time to test it out. It looked like I needed to make a quick stop at Berlin’s workshop…