The Fourth Law

Chapter 7, Part 2

Ten days came and went, and the wind favored them. Thankfully, that blast had not been followed by any more. This time. With the Pax Americana consigned to the history books, it seemed that anyone and everyone these days had nukes. It was something of an open secret that Texas held onto El Paso by threatening Mexico with the tactical nukes the new state had seized from Fort Hood. Mexico did end up with the Gadsden Purchase back and San Diego in their sphere as an "open city," so they'd largely been disinterested in stirring up anything along the Rio Grande.

Lily sat in the hospital's cafeteria, reading the rest of the news in the town's small newspaper. There'd been a little mention about St. Ed's and the kids, but most folks regarded it as little to do with them in a land far away. Lily realized that she'd been thinking more and more 'locally' until Ai came along. There were still perfectly functioning countries with modern economies in the world; the Breakup of the US certainly sent shocks through the rest of the world, but it didn't destroy it.

"I wonder..." She mused aloud. "I wonder where they're from. Someone must have written their code, right?" She thought about that a bit. Then again, it could have been a collaboration of people around the globe. And, were they "in" a server, or scattered through something like the Cloud?

"And," finishing her sweet tea, "when I'm in their home, where is that?" She put her flatware and leftovers container back in her lunch bag and walked to her locker to drop it off. She'd not been back 'there' since the whole Fausta incident. I know it'd be rude to invite myself over, she thought, but I'm curious what my path looks like now. Heh: I wonder if it's still giving Thaad fits! That reminded her: she tapped a question to Ai from her phone, 'Back when, w/Fausta, what was all that with Laws?'

She was almost to the fourth floor when her phone chimed. 'srsly?' Funny, Ai. 'Srsly!' she wrote back. Another chime as she stepped out of the stairwell. 'See mail when you get home.' Okay.

Her shift over, the ride home had her recall that the school's graduation was soon. Of her kids, only Will was leaving this year, but likely she'd lose three next. The adoption rate was low to begin with, and teenagers almost never went. She fretted that the kids wouldn't have proper parents, but in times like these, at least they did have a home.

A home. Ai and her family, did they have parents? Would that even mean anything to them? Dang, another sensitive question! She kept pedaling.

Back at the orphanage, she was soon far too caught up in the evening routine to think about going to her room. Only in the dark, pulling the gate shut, did she recall her noon exchange with her friend. She walked back to the Office and upstairs to her room. Sitting, she saw about a dozen emails, including one from Ai, with an attachment. An eBook, that was nice of her! Of course, when does she expect me to find time to read it...! She might as well at least look at it in case Ai asked about it tomorrow. Hmm. "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov. Never heard of him, she thought. Good Lord! This is almost seventy years old! Was there even electricity back then? Whatever, she'd been the one to start this...

It was sometime around two in the morning when she reached the end. That was... something. She stretched. So people... she shook her head... so humans had been thinking about this for some time. And, when Thaad and Fausta were talking about Laws... they were talking about these three? On a different screen she pulled up a copy:

     A robot may not injure a human being or, through

     inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.