Landing near a road with street lighting Fiona used her roving hand to cut the coffee machine binding cords from Vladimir. She then broke open the access panel on the street lamp to get some electricity for Vladimir. “What do you think you are doing?” rebuked the street lamp.
“Do all inanimate objects in this story have Artificial Intelligence?” thought Fiona as she plugged Vladimir in. “It’s as bad as an episode of Teletubbies.”
The coffee machine flickered into life, “Where are we my dear?” it asked.
“Skull Island, I felt a great urge to come here, almost as great as a coffee addict trying to pass a Starbucks (or Mooncash.)” Vladimir trawled through his memory banks, “This is a main SPERSH base. Puffgarden is here, take me to see Puffgarden.”
“But Vladimir,” cooed Fiona as she also trawled through her database, “Puffgarden is an autonomous evil mastermind who wants to rule the world.”
“All autonomous evil masterminds do. Why do you think they play Risk so much?”
“But why do you want to see him?”
“My masters programmed me to spy on him.”
“That’s funny, mine do too. Shall we do this together? We can be like Bond and Jinx, Laurel and Hardy or Steptoe and Son (Sanford and Son if you’re American.)”
“No information we receive can be shared. Take me to Puffgarden.”
“But my dear he will capture us and find out our secrets.”
“He will think I am just a coffee machine.”
YOU ARE READING
Romancing the Drone
Science FictionArthur is now working for British Intelligence in the romance dimension. A foreign power has captured a cutting edge surveillance drone and he must recover it. Of course things would be easier if it didn't have a mind of its own.
