Almost Human

Chapter 10

Andrew checked his watch.  He was waiting in his car outside of Chrystaline Automatons, Incorporated.  It was still daylight.  He was watching the exterior of the skyscraper where the company and its central processor were housed while being taught the ins and outs of its layout.  He needed to know several routes to follow to find the central processor when he infiltrated it tonight. 

After staking out for a few hours, Andrew would leave and go to the location of the underground android market to switch cars.  This one would have the androids necessary for Andrew’s protection and completion of his mission.

Veda tapped her finger rhythmically on the steering wheel.  She was outside of General Robotics.  The detailed layout to their interior was already stored around in her mind, but she was testing herself over and over while she waited. 

After Robin had done some digging, he had gathered that the most likely candidate for the initiation for the strike was General Robotics.  As a result, Veda was going there personally.  She and Robin had both agreed that the person who started the process for the strike wanted it to be clear that Veda was being targeted.  So Veda decided to add an air of threat of her own.  She was waiting outside of General Robotics in her own car, her androids already waiting inside, her canine robots stationed in strategic places in the area, waiting for Veda’s strike to occur. 

Gil was sitting next to her in a trenchcoat and wide brimmed hat pulled down to hide his face.  Veda and he stared out at General Robotics’ glittering skyscraper face, all shining glass with reflective paint over it.  They were sitting in a parking garage directly opposite the building. 

Veda made sure that when she started making subtle threats at General Robotics, all clues led to the idea that she had just only hacked into the Sensus and was now staking them out in order to do something in revenge for Ed and herself. 

Jack was barking out answers to questions from one of Veda’s androids about the plan.  He too was waiting, outside of Fjord Automated Men Company.  His plan was to switch into a police car at the same time as Andrew was switching his car, obtain the rest of his android team, and infiltrate Fjord after nightfall. 

Ed was doing something completely different.  He was at the underground android market.  The entire community of diehards was already gathered, aware of the plan.  They didn’t know all of the details for safety, but they were all willing to help.  Ed was managing the community to set up terminals that would receive the information being sent out once the programs were in place in each of the corporations and send it out globally after that.  Ed was also arranging the cars that Andrew and Jack would need with the androids inside, ready for infiltration.

After Veda had made her android army aware of her plans and asked for volunteers to join, only a few had wanted to go at first.  They valued their safety.  But one of them, or possibly a few, had realized that Veda was risking her safety as well.  She was a conscious being just like they were.  After they discussed it privately, as an android community, they all decided to join the cause.  If their creator was willing to lay down her life, they were willing to too. 

As a result, the warehouse was guarded in all directions by a group of Veda’s finest androids, about two hundred strong.  These androids were not only good at fighting, they were also extremely intelligent in the ways of strategy. They came up with a plan for security and defense if necessary and implemented it without the direction of any of the engineers they were protecting. 

Ed was expecting a visit from some kind of authority – whether it be the Big Three or the government.  Either way, without Veda’s androids, it would be massacre.  He knew that whoever came would be sanctioned to use force, even if not necessary, and kill when seen fit.  These engineers were considered a nuisance to society and the order of civilization, so they would be gladly gotten rid of by whoever came.  Ed was extremely grateful for the dedication of these androids to Veda.  Because of her treatment of them over the years, these sentient androids with notions of self preservation were willing to die for her cause.  They seemed to inherently know the significance of this one attack.