The Human Inside

Chapter 14

Ten Minutes Earlier

A.I. Industries: North Entrance

    "Halt. You are entering a restricted area. You must turn back and leave."

    "Leave? After all the trouble poor old me took to get here?"

    117's grandfather Mark stood outside the gates with a few of his henchmen. He was under the impression that 117 had sent for him but the guards, which turned out to be a bunch of talkative security drones, had him completely stonewalled.

     "Running scan on unauthorized visitors," the security drone stated as it scanned them top to bottom. "You seem to be currently equipped with anatomical equipment which should safely allow you to proceed in the opposite direction. Some pieces of this equipment could also be considered as weapons. Please leave now before a hostile situation occurs. Have a nice day."

    "Well I have other things to do," Mark replied casually. "Now if you would please step aside. There's stuff that needs doing that your little circuit board can't even begin to fathom."

    "Sir, we may be drones," the guard replied in a deep robotic monotone. "It is true we do not have emotions but we can still understand insults. With that manner of disrespect, we politely ask that you leave now."

    "Boy are you a sensitive little..."

    Mark stopped and immediately held his tongue. This was getting nowhere. The drone looked at him curiously but didn't question it. Starting to get impatient, he looked over the shoulder of the security drone, attempting to look for someone human. He had expected a trip inside Amborg Industries to be an easy one but he couldn't help but feel that 117 had called him here as a prank instead of an emergency.

    "My apologies sir," the drone repeated, "No matter how many times you request access, you do not appear to be hostile but I still cannot permit you access to the complex. As I said before, you have no clearance and your visit is unscheduled which is unauthorized. Therefore you and your party must leave."

    The old man groaned and thought of what to say next. But then he noticed something odd. True, A.I. industries used drones to watch the entrances but as he looked around, he couldn't help but notice one specific thing. The security gate was missing one detail which he could have sworn was different in the past.

    "Say, I do think that this could be resolved if I spoke to someone high up," he said. "It doesn't have to be Kendrick but maybe the guard running this gate? Where are the guards?"

    "Your query is unclear," the drone replied and indicated with a small gesture to the rest of the drones, "As you can see, the guards are at their post."

    "No you dumb drone," Mark snapped, "The human guards. Doesn't Kendrick have human guards out here? The ones who KNOW how to talk to visitors? He's got to have someone biological on guard instead of all robots."

    "All of the human guards are not at their posts because of a critical situation. I also find that last statement to be prejudiced," the drone replied casually.

    "Oh yeah? Critical? Wait, what do you mean prejudiced?" Mark leaned forward but immediately understood what the drone was saying. He quickly waved his hands and shook them defensively, "Ok, I admit I might have overreacted on that last statement. I got nothing against robots or drones."

    Except when they're being a pain, he thought silently to himself, then I can just pummel them. But the drones didn't need to know that. The last thing he needed was a confrontation on one of the front doorsteps of A.I. Industies.