Deep Black Road: The Head of the Snake

Chapter 36

A day out from Earth, Ricky wrapped his glowing hands around Philip and said to him, "There's just you, me, and her out here. What'd it be like if there were lots of us-lots of robotic people who've touched each other and felt each other as we flew between planets and moons and stuff? But us three is all we're getting; and that's pretty sad."

"What are you getting depressed about over there?" Suzanne radioed.

"Just wishing there was more robotic people like us," he replied, "sharing life here in space; but it's never going to happen."

"You're weird."

After a few more minutes of silence, Ricky wondered, Is there something we can talk about? Oh, yeah. "What was going on at the House of the Federation, that you and General Orkan got disabled like that?"

Suzanne wondered if she should bother answering, but realized that Ricky had been on that trip to Mars and back, and missed most of the fun. "We were trying to take over the Federation," she radioed.

"Really? That's pretty ambitious."

"Too ambitious, as we found out. We'd taken over Foredan over four months ago because he wanted to get the Family out of the way."

"What family's that?"

"You've never heard of the Family?"

"Nope."

"Oh, that's right," she radioed. "It's been kept secret from most everybody. You see, Dr. Mella-that giant projected guy-he organized it behind the scenes to help him take over the world. I was a member too, up till ... my accident. Then Orkan talked me into helping him."

"He asked me, too," radioed Ricky; "but I didn't want to. So what was it he had you doing? He never got to explain it to me."

"You didn't want to? Why not?"

"It's not how God does things."

"Oh, yeah? How does he do it then?"

"Peace doesn't come from taking people's freedom away, like Mella wants. God wants everybody to be free so they can live the way he wants. Then they'll have real peace, not this hokey peace those in charge can take away whenever they want."

"But look at how it's been for the last century! People don't want that kind of freedom. Whenever they do get it, they go totally nuts! That's why we've got to have Sentinel now."

"But who decides how Sentinel runs?" Ricky responded. "Mella? How do you know he isn't one of the nutty ones? I'd rather trust God than some human babysitter whose got an agenda I've never seen."

"So where's your god been all this time? Because, in case you hadn't noticed, the world's been in a really big mess for years."

Ricky thought for a moment, and then radioed, "Waiting for us to realize we're doing it all wrong."

"That's no help! People are dying down there!"

"Listen, we're not just robots, you and me. We and all humans can choose for ourselves; but if you take away our right to choose, you're trying to turn us into mindless robots; and I'll bet not even you, robotic person that you are, want to do everything somebody else tells you to do."

He's got me there, Suzanne thought; but I can't let him know that. I've got to win this thing! "But you're saying God wants us to do what he says. What's the diff?"

This is getting hard, God! Ricky thought. What can I say? Oh, yeah. Thanks. "Let's take your dad's car, okay? Its manufacturer built it to drive on paved streets and roads, right?"