Children of the Virus

8: Juno's Bargain

The sun set on what would be Toshiro's second night of imprisonment at the hands of the rebels. They had only granted him brief moments out of his new prison: two merciful escapes so that he could relieve himself.

The cage was a rusted dog crate. It was indestructible and heavy duty, with reinforced steel tubes as thick as his fingers. Toshiro had to hunch over, his shoulders pressed against the bars and his knees forced to his chest. There was no room to pace, no room to think. At least I'm outside, he thought.

But then, it started to rain.

The cold drops pelted Toshiro's face as he scanned his bleak surroundings. A small campfire crackled under a makeshift lean-to. Next to it sat a spacious, sage-colored tent patched together from mismatched scraps of fabric. Parked nearby was an old pickup truck, its rust-eaten chassis crammed with an assortment of gear—his gear. Jerks couldn't wait to take what's mine.

"Let me out of here!" Toshiro yelled, gripping the bars of the crate. His voice echoed across the empty forest, but no one answered.

He strained against the cage door, to no avail. The rebels had locked him in good.

Toshiro gazed around at the woods, then sang, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows my—"

Someone shouted from inside the tent. "Careful!"

The tent flap whipped open, and Juno stormed out, her boots splashing in the mud. In her hand, she clutched Toshiro's prosthetic arm, Kura.

"Useless piece of junk!" she yelled, throwing the robotic limb to the ground. It landed in front of Toshiro's cage with a wet thud.

"Do you have a bigger cage? This one is a little small."

Juno shot him a scornful glance, then rushed back inside the tent, leaving his precious Kura behind.

Toshiro's eyes lit up. This was his chance! He removed his tinfoil hat and focused his mind, establishing a neural connection with Kura. Slowly, the robotic fingers began to twitch. Toshiro willed the arm to move, dragging its metallic body through the thick mud.

Kura lit up as she protested, "This mud will disable my sensors."

"Quiet!" Toshiro hissed. "Just be quiet and crawl to me."

Closer...closer...Kura inched toward the cage. Toshiro guided the prosthetic toward the door lock. If he could pick the lock using Kura's dexterous manipulators, he could escape!

Toshiro grinned as freedom drew nearer. Once free, he would make a run for it.

"That's it Kura...nice and easy..." he whispered. The robotic limb crawled steadily ahead through the rain and muck.

Toshiro was so focused on controlling Kura that he didn't notice Juno emerge from the tent again until she was standing right beside him.

"I wouldn't bother with that if I were you," she said, nudging the crawling arm away with her boot. "And where's your tinfoil? There are watchbirds!"

Toshiro slipped his hat back on as Kura's movements slowed to a halt.

"Your arm...it's a Multi-tool Ultra by Precision Touch Innovations, and even though I hate that company, I thought it would be our best shot, so I tried to—"

"What's wrong with Precision Touch?"

"Not important, but if you must know, that company is owned by Zo. It's one of hundreds of corporations owned by the investment company Lucretius International, which is controlled by the Zo family of superintelligences. We boycott all products made by Lucretius."