Robots of Avery Five.

Chapter 19

“Do you think Li Jie knew something? If he gave you that packet with American dollars in it, it can’t be a coincidence,” said Sadie.

“You are correct.” An old dark man in a blue jumpsuit walked out of one of the gun shelves. He held his hands behind his back.

“It’s him,” the girl whispered.

“Okay, okay.” Dr. Monk raised his palms to his shoulders and sauntered toward them. “Before you say things like, ‘Woah, he’s alive,’ or ‘how did he live in the box for so long? Was he bored?’ you should know that I am not real. You see those lights up there?” He pointed at different corners of the shipping container. “They are projecting a series of images of me.”

The doctor squatted, and a chair was projected under him. He crossed his legs and positioned his elbow on the armrest. He shook his foot as his cheek fell in the area between his thumb and index finger.

“I guess I was expecting more questions out of you,” he frowned after a moment of silence.

Alex blinked with his thoughts. Now that the man himself—or a projection of the man himself—was there, he didn’t know where to start. He wanted to ask, ‘How do I protect my son?,’ but he believed that for an AI the question was unrealistic.

“Did you program all Ai-consorts to speak against the Federation?”

Dr. Monk tossed his head back in amusement.

“Ah, the Ai-consorts. I sure loved building the first one and testing it out.” He pointed at the circular panel and a model like Cam rotated on it. “I was always more into bio-engineering, but my good friend, Li Jie of Singapore, had a monopoly on the industry.”

The projection stood up and leaned over the circular tablet.

“Gosh, he was the best at everything and he always won against me, despite the odds.” He looked down toward the floor with lost eyes as if he was recalling a memory.

“We both called it friendly competition,” he laughed then his smile faded. “Until he asked the woman I loved to marry him.”

“Helen,” whispered Sadie.

“He and I, we argued. I said things I didn’t want to say but he knew how much I loved her. She was so beautiful, I never had the courage to tell her my true feelings.”

Alex could’ve sworn there was a tear in the doctor’s eye, but the projection shook his finger and raised his eyebrows.

“But my luck was such that a year after they married, I found Helen at a scientific convention. We shared some drinks and at the end of the night, she confessed her feelings for me. That same night we planned our lives together. It was amazing. Then the next morning the Human Federation was taking over the Earth.

When they rid us of weapons, I realized the forecoming changes might not be good for humanity, so I began to speak out. Imagine this, people were going to jail for expressing opposite opinions, for wanting to follow their Gods and not a charlatan government, and for wanting to live in separate countries under different laws. Once the Human Federation got the Xans involved, I knew I needed to leave and take Helen with me.

Li Jie did not accept that, of course. His research on the metabolic pill was being funded by the very same organization he hated. He told Helen his research surpassed his beliefs and that nothing else was more important than science.

Still, he did not free her. That would’ve meant I had won, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. So I escaped to Avery Five without her. And when the Federation caught up to the Aver colonies, I knew that humans alone could not defeat other humans. No other race in the universe was going to help us. That’s when I got into robotics and created a sleeping army.”

“That’s how Cam knew how to fight,” gasped Sadie. “The Ai-consorts are the sleeping army.”

“Yes, but we’ve never heard others complain about Ai-consorts fighting or speaking of an unknown side of history,” said Alex.

“The Ai-consorts are only activated by the father,” replied Dr. Monk.

“Right, Cam was activated when he met you,” Sadie addressed Alex. “He hadn’t said anything weird until the day we opened the red packet.”

“I still don’t understand,” frowned Alex. “How am I the father? And what would be my function? To lead the army?”

Dr. Monk sighed, and another chair popped underneath him as he began to fall back on it.

“Alexander is a beautiful name. It’s the name of an Earthian conqueror. I knew that one was going to suit you, but you...you are not the father. You are the way; the one who must gather and prepare the army.”

“Then who is the father and how was he able to open the box?” asked Sadie.

Alex was more puzzled than when the conversation started. He remembered his small hand, receiving the red packet from his grandfather. He didn’t know what it was, but it had to be something special, so he kept it as a lucky charm. It was in that moment where he knew his destiny was a setup. By accepting the package, he was accepting the mission of his life.

It was his mother who insisted he travel to Avery Five and have Ms. Stone personally manage his case. It was his father who insisted he help expand the business when he had no experience. He could have found a wife for Alex and paid millions to the woman’s family to ship her to Earth. Did they know that Sadie—Helen—was in Avery Five all along?

“I could open the box because I carry part of the father’s DNA.” He turned to Sadie and stared at her belly.

Sadie placed her hands over her abdomen and Carter Monk nodded, confirming her suspicions.

“He’s the leader of the army.” She awoke to the reality that defeating the Federation was going to take years. Finding the armament was a mere part of the beginning.

“What do I do?” Alex addressed Dr. Monk.

“Right now?” Dr. Monk traced a line in the air and part of a wall became invisible. “Survive.”

Outside, soldiers of the Federation army ran toward the shipping container. Sadie huffed, bolted between the shelves, and carried a long black rifle.

“Day one.” She clenched her teeth, gripped the tip of the barrel, spread her feet, and put her finger on the trigger.

Dr. Monk jumped off the chair, pulled Sadie’s finger off the trigger, moved her hand away from the barrel, and turned the weapon down to her left side.

“Let’s try to make it to day two, shall we?”

The clone girl breathed heavily from the sudden adrenaline rush. She and Alex grinned at each other and he grabbed another rifle. Before running out of the box, their eyes met, and they kissed.

----------------------------------

While soldiers ran at them from the right, they could see four spaceships hovering over the swamp. A ball was thrown into the crash site and an incandescent light illuminated the night. A siren popped the fugitive’s ears as the seekers in the sky found them.

Thunder and lightning stroke again.

Alex banged his fist on the shipping container and the box became small again. He picked it up, and they flashed together in the opposite direction of the enemy.

Lights illuminated a sign that read, South Eerie Drafting Facility. Behind it, civilian ships came and went with clones and cargo.

The renegades stopped. They were running into the wolves’ den. Under the rain, they could see the silhouettes of their executioners getting closer. If they entered the perimeter of the clone drafting compound, they were a clear target. Alex put the box in Sadie’s hands and sucked on her lower lip.

“I love you. Whatever happens, don’t let them catch you. Don’t let them know about him.” He took two steps into the mud and began to fire in the soldiers’ direction.

The Federation army hid behind the trees and sent blasts of electricity back at him. He ducked and rolled, dodging it all. He felt another presence behind him.

“Sadie, go!”

“No!” Sadie crawled to him, still holding her rifle and the box. She pulled on his elbow. “I’m never gonna leave you. Come on. I have a better idea.”

The pregnant girl scurried through the line of fire.

Seeing her go toward the building, Alex thought the mother of his child had gone mad. Yet, there was no one else in the world he trusted the most, so he followed after her.

They stepped in front of a door. The girl aimed her weapon at the thick panel and released the trigger. As the projectiles torpedoed into the lock, the firearm recoiled, making her lose control. She propelled back, creating hundreds of holes into the structure.

“Solar-flair!” She softened the muscles of her index finger.

She glanced at Alex, whose eyes had doubled in size. Then she focused on the situation at hand. She swung opened the door and stepped into a hallway of screaming human and Xan doctors. A few of them remained on the floor with a pool of blood underneath them.

The clone girl turned to the Earthian. He jerked his jaw at her and they walked through the hysteria into the main Hall, where security guards waited for them. All the clones flocked toward the back wall. Most of the doctors escaped through an exit door. Outside, they could hear the sirens approaching, but Sadie didn’t care about that. She aimed the rifle at the officers.

“Do you want to see what this can do?” She shifted the barrel toward the robots and sent five bullets into their bodies. The Ais bounced back and fell face first.

A woman raised her arm comm to call for help, but Alex pointed his weapon at her and shook his head. The shaking human brought her arm down slowly.

Sadie put her rifle on the floor beside Alex and climbed on top of a chair. She raised her palms.

“I can’t say we aren’t here to hurt anyone because it’s not true.” She glanced at the security guards. “If you get in my way I won’t hesitate to shoot you. But I’m here tonight because a long time ago, way before I was born, my humanity was ripped from me.” She beat her chest and brought her fist out to her side.

“I was one of you once.” She pointed at the large group of clone men and women. “I thought if I left this place, I would have a better life in Avery but it wasn’t true. The Federation sold me to the highest bidder, and I became a slave. I didn’t imagine I’d have to endure so much torture, but I knew that in here, in Avery, or anywhere else in the universe they would never accept me as a human. Some of you might think this is like winning the lottery but it’s not. If you don’t do something about it and take action, the same thing that happened to me, will happen to you. Let’s reclaim our humanity.”

A scruffy teenage boy stepped in front of the group.

“I want to be human, but we’re a hundred against billions.”

“Yeah,” the clones chanted.

“We have hundreds of weapons.” Alex jerked his rifle.

A middle aged clone moved behind the boy and raised his fist at the human officers.

“Down with the humans!”

The clones cheered. They started flipping chairs and throwing robot parts at the officers.

“No! No! That’s not what we’re trying to do here.” Sadie buried her fist onto her palm and banged the plastic material of the chair with her foot.

Seeing the massive chaos in the hall, Alex picked up Sadie’s rifle, climbed onto a table and shot at the ceiling with both weapons. Everyone covered their ears and kneeled on the floor, including the officers.

“Do you realize that we all look the same? The Human Federation is the one that’s taken your lives. They have degraded you so much that you don’t see the truth. Just because you were cloned, it doesn’t mean that you’re not human.”

Alex figured the hall was big enough to release the armament. He extended his hand at Sadie and she gave him the box.

A loud bang made a large crack on the ceiling and the floor began to shake.

“Get back,” Sadie commanded the group, and they all complied.

Alex threw the box toward the center of the empty space and the shipping container grew.

The ground shook again and all the exit doors to the building blew up. The bystanders screamed.

“Control your destiny. Let’s change the world.” The doors to the shipping container opened. Alex ran inside and began picking the guns off the shelves.

He and Sadie gave the clones a swift briefing on how to use them. Don’t look down the barrel. Don’t shoot yourself. Always point the gun in the enemy’s direction. Some of them opted for using their fists to fight.

Long claws pierced through the ceiling and bulldozed the concrete, letting the rain stream into the building. Old women jumped on the soldiers as they jostled inside. The army men blasted them through the walls, but the clones’ bravery allowed for the new riflemen to prepare.

The gunfire erupted.

“Sadie!” Alex pulled the pregnant woman’s arm as an electric ray bolted beside her.

She gaped at the burnt concrete behind her. They lifted their rifles and popped brass at the adversary. Over them, a ship fired toward the unstable walls and the building started to collapse.

“Everyone out,” yelled Alex. His army of clones dispersed themselves into the spaceship runway.

-------------------------------

Sadie followed the crowd, then noticed Alex wasn’t with them. She scurried toward him, but a bundle of concrete fell in front of her. A cloud of dust puffed up against the rain and quickly dissolved.

“Alex!” She climbed a mountain of debris while rubble exploded around her.

As she realized that she left her firearm behind, she attempted to reach for it. But a pair of arms tugged her back down the opposite side of the mountain. Before she could heft herself off the ground, the mountain blew up, and a body shielded her from the eruption.

She opened her eyes to see a bleeding Alex on top of her.

“I needed to get this.” He lifted the shrunken box.

“You’re bleeding.” She searched for a wound on his face.

“I’m okay. Minor cut.” He wiped his neck and held the back of his head as he stumbled up.

They interlaced their fingers together and leaped over the rubble. As they ran, the lifeless bodies of fighter clones lay all over the runway.

The clones now outnumbered the Human Federation’s infantry, but shooting from above made victory harder.

Alex shot another soldier dead, but he knew that was useless if they didn't destroy the spaceship. He stopped right in the middle of the battleground and stared at the box on his hands.

Sadie had picked up another rifle from a deceased fighter and covered Alexander. She pressed the trigger with little thought.

“Alex, what do we do?” she screamed.

Alex panned from the box to his rifle. He stepped back, swung his arm over his head, and launched the box toward the sky. He waited for it to hurl near the ship, then he picked up his firearm and sent rounds through the spinning object. The cube shattered into pieces, the shipping container grew and fell over the police craft.

The ship’s center of gravity destabilized and struggled to hover over the terrain. The wobbling sides deranged it into a forced landing. The container slid toward the front, making the cockpit detonate into the forest.

Alex shouted in excitement and began firing at the soldiers on the ground. His army switched to the offensive. They massacred the Human Federation’s pets until the last one succumbed.

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Rain showers swept the blood from under their feet. Red drops soaked through the clothes of the men and women that had won the battle. The clones praised the night and hugged each other; some of them had been strangers. They stared at Alex and Sadie in disbelieve of what they had accomplished. They wanted to know who they were, so they gathered around them.

“What you’ve done here tonight, we cannot repay you. You’ve brought hope to our people,” a man stepped forward.

Alex began walking in circles to make sure he made eye contact with everyone.

“You can all join me,” he paused and looked at Sadie, “and my wife.”

A slow grin developed on the girl’s semblance.

“Take over Eerie,” he continued, “and defeat the Federation.”

“What if they cut our met pill supply?” asked a woman.

“We’re all humans,” Alex projected his voice. “We’ll do what we do best: we farm, we eat, we fight.”

The crowd went silent. They stared at each other, then back at Alex. Sadie put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. After the battle, the Earthian thought the clones might have been ready.

Then, the same man who had spoken before banged his fist against his heart.

“Farm, eat, fight.”

“Farm, eat, fight,” Sadie chanted with him.

“Farm, eat, fight!” A choir followed.

“Farm, eat, fight!” Alex shouted, beating the left side of his chest.

He walked up to Sadie, guided her cheeks up and let his lips savor her skin. She closed her eyes and melted in his arms.

“I thought you wanted to go to Mars. What changed your mind?” she asked.

“My son’s army is in Avery Five. When we take over its moons, we’ll take over the planet.”

The dark clouds drifted, the night became brighter, and the green and blue planet reigned over the horizon.

The clones looked for hope in their savors and saw victory within the battlefield. But their window to a better world shut when bullets rained from the depths of the forest.

Sadie didn’t have time to gasp. The golden metal that passed through Alex’s spine and buried itself into her stomach didn’t belong to the Human Federation. Someone was shooting at them with guns. The lovers plummeted onto the wet pavement, never letting go of each other.

Alex lost consciousness but Sadie remained bleeding long enough to watch the rest of the clones slump one by one.

“Alex.” She caressed her beloved’s cheek, leaving a hand print of blood on his skin.

When all was quiet, the redness darkened. As one last drop touched the ground, the clone girl’s vision became black.

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A man tapped Alexander’s face with his foot and watched the Earthian’s face fall to its previous position. A slight smirk curved his lips. But the expression went away as blood transferred onto the tip of his boot. He grunted and tapped the pavement with his heel.

There was a swirling sound and a small hexagonal-shaped robot hurried to clean the stain.

"Dr. Singapore," a man uttered his name behind him. Hammond kicked the tiny machine and put his hands on his waist.

"What?"

"We’ve located the box in the forest."

“Good, and?”

“We can’t move it.” The man swallowed.

Hammond looked over his shoulder toward Alex’s immobile body.

“You hear that, Carter?” he sighed. “You and my father make me raise your little experiment as my son. Then I have to wait for the freak to grow up and find your damn armament, so I can stop you from ruining my life and my business. Now, we can’t move a moonlanding box. All because of you.”

Hammond shook his finger at the sky.

“You’re an asshole, Carter,” he laughed, then addressed Sadie’s body. “Sorry Mother, I didn’t mean to kill you. I tried to make sure he couldn’t find you.”

“Sir?” Hammond’s associate frowned, pointing at the bodies.

Alexander jerked his foot and opened his eyes.