"Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad," came Nadia's sleepy voice as Sam tucked her properly in bed. She was finally ready to sleep.
After a good treat of pizza, soft drinks, and enthralling tells of her camp adventures, she had a good well-lathered bubble bath, some good old bedtime stories, a glass of water somewhere along the line, and thirteen sweet kisses each from Mom and Dad. With that, she was good to retire for the night.
With Nadia perfectly tucked in, Sam went to tidy up the kitchen while Daryl got himself a cold beer from the little chiller in the dining room area. As he sipped from the bottle, he moved towards the sitting room.
He collapsed playfully into the worn-out couch, placing his dirty boots on the table. He picked up the remote and flicked on the TV. As he scrolled from channel to channel, looking for something to keep himself busy, he stumbled on the safe watch TV program on BBN.
"Look, Anderson, for years we have been trying to find a way to end the constant loss of good men to war and protect our homes and our families from all sorts of harm. I am certain that my administration has finally solved that problem for the United States, and the whole world at large. No other administration could do it. I did it"
Daryl sighed continuously as the president boasted about "His," success and the overall benefit of the Global Defense Initiative.
"I am telling you, Anderson, it'll be so great. No one will touch us! It will be the best thing that's happened in the history of all the world, believe me. I alone was able to do what no president ever has," the President chided in an interview on BNN. "These robots are extremely smart and fail-proof. They learn, think, and make the right choices in every situation. They are smarter than any human in the world except for me."
"Machines could never do a Man's Job effectively," yelled Daryl at the president in the TV set. Sam was just rounding up in the kitchen. She had been listening to the broadcast from the kitchen.
As she came out Daryl turned to her, expressing his grievances. "Do you hear this buffoon, claiming these machines are fail-proof? So unbelievable." Sam walked towards him rather slowly. He was expecting a response to everything he had said. But it looked like he was getting none.
She got to him and violently shoved his dirty boots off the table. "If you want to place your boots on my table, you have to clean them," said Sam as she snuggled next to him. "And give all of this machine talk a break. It's getting too excessive."
"I just don't think a few boxes of metal scrap is the solution to the world's security problem. I mean, these things are machines after all. They could malfunction or something," said Daryl pointing a finger at the TV.
"I know it's not easy for you to accept changes because of these robots," said Sam in a very calm voice. "But you still have to consider the bright side of things. The safety and peace that the initiative could offer."
"That's the point!" snapped Daryl. "I do not believe these bots would deliver the peace and safety that is being promised. A lot of stories and movies tell similar stories that never ended well. From Frankenstein to Solo the first android, to Robocop, and the Terminator topping the list. No, this idea doesn't look like it is going to end well," Daryl stopped and sipped his beer.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" asked Sam.
"This situation could end up like the movies. These things could malfunction and turn against us. That would be some serious Skynet shit happening for real."
"And you get to be the John Connor that saves the day," teased Sam. Daryl looked at Sam, smiled, and turned off the TV. "I have to hit the sack now. I have to report early to the precinct tomorrow." Daryl kissed Sam good night and headed towards the bedroom.
