Artificial(ish) Intelligence

Chapter 87

The service entrance into the apartment building was accessible from above ground. Fivven merged with the slow but steady queue of deliverybots as they egressed from their subterranean path.

Despite his rough beat-up condition, he'd surpassed seemingly insurmountable problems, dealing with all manner of conflict in a high-octane mix of action and suspense, finally returning to Will Lurner's residence. Don't worry, I won't bore you with the details.

But when he tried the chute, security sensors lit red. That's a bad thing. A flap came down hard, barring his entry. He still held a valid deliverable inside his capsule, but the system wasn't listening.

He backed up enough to re-validate the security clearance. The light flashed rapidly. Then hit red. Again. The trailing deliverybots bunched up behind. It didn't take long for the complaints to follow.

"Keep movin'," said one.

"Come on, ya old fart," said another. "What's the bloomin' hold-up?"

He caught his milky reflection in the body of this particular deliverybot. It was the first time he'd witnessed the extent of his injuries: the twisted plastic, heavy dents and scratches, the sticky wheel, and, curiously, puffs of smoke emanating from nowhere, as if existing purely for visual effect. No wonder the sensor didn't pick up his credentials.

His theoretical reverse beepers made a theoretical sound as he backed slowly out the chute. Except he didn't, since the others weren't budging.

"Strewth!" said one.

"What, did ya forget ya glasses?" said another.

They all laughed.

Fivven ignored them. It didn't matter what they thought, it only mattered that he successfully delivered the piping hot noodles to Mr Will Lurner. He continued backing up until making mild contact with the deliverybot directly behind.

"It's a one way tunnel, ya nincompoop," it said, before emitting the code for sigh slash exhale. "OK everyone, back up for grandpa."

Out in the open, Fivven was free from the chute, but not from his obligations. He still needed to find a way inside. Hu(persons) needed to get into their building somehow, so perhaps he could make use of their entrance.

It didn't take long to discover the front door, tilted, dangling by a single hinge. Geometrically speaking, it provided enough of a triangular gap to slip beneath. Algebraically speaking, it was wide enough to solve for any unknown variable. Differential calculus-ly speaking, there had been no change at all with respect to time.

The foyer was sparse, bare, and most alarmingly, lacking any obvious means to traverse vertically. All the hu(persons) who entered seemed to live in one of two tiny rooms along the far wall. Although, by the time another came along to join them, they'd already left. This was like a whole new, and very strange, world. Deliverybots weren't meant to see any of this. How should he proceed?

To the side of the foyer an open doorway lead through to a very tall room. Filling it almost entirely were a series of steps. A woman dressed in purple barged past him, clip-clopping an ascent. For the first time Fivven wished he had more than the worn but sturdy wheel beneath his carriage -- additional types of momentum-adjusting body parts such as legs or springs or jet-propelled wings. Especially jet-propelled wings. Imagine how many deliveries he could make shooting across the sky? Fivven was about to contemplate the exact weight to power ratio required to efficiently provide lift-off, but I stopped him due to boredom. That and he was focussed on his current delivery.

He had no option but to try one of the two small rooms. After examining the interior in detail, there didn't appear to be a second exit. Where did all those people go? He waited inside, hoping to find out.

His attention switched suddenly to the male hu(person) squeezing through the busted apartment building door.