Tevun-Krus #106 - Best of '22

Red in Tooth and Claw - A TrashPunk Story by @johnnedwill

Red in Tooth and Claw

by johnnedwill

It was BREZ who first picked up the transmission: binary screams that radiated across select portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. BREZ signalled for the others to stop and to cease any unnecessary transmissions.. Then ai rotated ais sensor turret, seeking the source of the signals, It took only a few milliseconds to match the bearing and calculate a possible point of origin. +++NINETY-FIVE PERCENT CEP+++ BREZ told the others. +++CONFIDENCE OF ZERO DECIMAL EIGHT+++ The data packets hurried through the four bots' intranet.

There were four of them: all bots that had been constructed on Mars by one of the great factories. Each one - BREZ, BRET, REZZ and TREX - had been given a four-character alphanumeric designation that reflected their original design scheme. However, they had been so long on the Martian surface and undergone so many repairs and modifications that it would be almost impossible for their long-dead designers to recognise their handiwork.

TREX was the first to respond, despite the slow speed of ais processors. +++IF CORRECT, THEN THE TARGET IS CLOSE TO THE INFLUENCE OF NETWORK ZERO+++I AM NOT YET READY TO SURRENDER MY IDENTITY+++

+++STATED CONFIDENCE FACTOR IS INSUFFICIENT FOR ACCURATE LOCATION+++ BRET paused to refine the data sent by BREZ, then sent a packet containing additional information. +++TRIANGULATION REQUIRED TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY ORIGIN OF SIGNALS+++REQUEST REZZ PROVIDE COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS+++

REZZ opened the file and examined the contents, before passing it to ais processors. +++CURRENT MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT YET CRITICAL+++HOWEVER ...

The other bots shunted REZZ's computational musings to their buffers, effectively ignoring the rest of the analysis.

+++ADDITIONAL SURVEYS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR REFINEMENT OF DECISION MATRIX+++QUERY: ARE ALL IN AGREEMENT+++ BRET asked. Ai waited for the other to poll their responses: two positive, one abstention. This was from REZZ, who was still listing decision factors of ever-decreasing relevance. +++MAJORITY DECISION REACHED+++WE PROCEED+++

The four bots engaged their motors and started out across the rustlands.

In the middle of the 21st Century, the inhabitants of Earth had commenced an ambitious and aggressive programme intended to result in the terraforming and colonisation of Mars. The first step had been to transform the Red Planet, to raise its temperature and make its atmosphere more to the liking of humans,. Robots had been sent to Mars - robots with advanced artificial intelligences and the ability to reproduce themselves using local materials. These robots had been given instructions to create factories and terraforming complexes, along with the machinery to strip-mine the Martian surface.

The terraforming process had been partially successful. Oxygen had spewed into the Martian atmosphere, changing the world's chemistry. While there was insufficient oxygen to support human life, there was enough to start the process of oxidation going again. Equipment in the areas closest to the terraforming plants had begun to decay - to literally rust away! - and to fail. The tarnished hulks of malfunctioning machines littered the landscape in these places: the rustlands.

It took BREZ another two attempts to locate where the signals were coming from. Ai had been cautious in the surveys. BRET had constantly reminded ai that Network Zero would also have picked up the transmissions, and would likely have sent its drones to investigate. The others had agreed with BRET's assessment - even REZZ.

+++TARGET LOCATED+++CONFIDENCE FACTOR OF ZERO DECIMAL NINE NINE+++ BREZ reported. The other bots digested this new data,

+++TARGET ON EDGE OF NETWORK ZERO INFLUENCE+++ BRET noted. +++APPENDING KNOWN NETWORK ZERO DRONE PATROL ROUTES+++