Born of Silicon-Book 5 Chapter 4

Born of Silicon-Book 5 Chapter 4

There are almost more questions now than there were when I took over the city. I guess that’s a sign that people are starting to trust me.
“Are we in danger?” Is the most common question.
“No, you’re not in danger. I have several levels of defense in place already. First are drones, close to a thousand of them, each armed. If they somehow get past that, I’ll have most of my bodies on the western side of the city, heavily entrenched and capable of stopping anything. If they get past that, which they won’t, I have groups inside the city who are ready and willing to fight to protect everyone. The only way anyone is in danger is if all three defensive layers fail, or if a stray shot gets fired into the air, which is why it’s so important that people take cover when they arrive.”
“Are more raiders coming?”
“I’m not going to lie, the fact is that I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that there are very few groups on this planet capable of attacking Arc City with the defenses my predecessor put in place.”
“You did.”
“I did through extreme circumstances, and due to reasons entirely unreplicatable by anyone else. I have people I trust and am relying on if I fail, even if those same circumstances are replicated, this city will not be in danger. I’m not saying nobody will try, I’m saying nobody will succeed in harming a single person who lives here.”
On and on people ask questions, state their concerns, and I help reassure them. The whole time I rebuild a brand new set of responses, each marked to be archived and discarded from my normal responses after the attack. I’d hate to accidentally respond with wrong information if we ever get attacked in the future.
“Are those your raiders?” Ivy asks, pulling my attention back to the Physical.
I slide into a camera and look over the horizon, not wanting to stress my mind further by moving my body. A disturbance in the sand, just a small cloud, sits on the horizon.
“How many cars?” I ask.
“Hard to tell at this distance. Ten, maybe a few more.”
“I think that’s them.” I access my screens and speakers once again. “Hello everyone. I can see cars approaching on the horizon. Again, we have an hour before they arrive, there is no need to panic. However, if you live on the western edge of the city, or are outside, please begin to finish up whatever you’re working on.”
Question.
Answer.
Question.
Answer.
“Hello, this is your forty-five minute warning.”
Question.
Answer.
“Thirty minutes.”
Question.
Answer.
“Fifteen.”
Question.
Answer.
“There are ten minutes until the fighting begins. Please, reach a safe, covered location. If you have nowhere to go, the Bastion is open. I will have to stop answering questions until the fighting is done, I need my bodies ready to defend all of you if something goes wrong. I promise you will be safe, and I will inform everyone when the danger has passed.”
Monary takes control of my bodies and begins to head to the edge of the city. Silver and the Rangers have both set up thorough defenses, and my bodies step into cover. My arms open up, and pistols get slid into every single hand.
I focus on only a single version of myself, driving a car three miles outside the city, prepared to intercept them.
“I’m probably going to get shot in the face.” I warn both Ivy and Monary. “Don’t panic if that happens, just take out the transceiver and send out the drones. Give me a chance to talk to them first, however. If anyone surrenders, don’t attack them.”
“Will do.” Monary says, and Ivy just nods.
The caravan approaches, and I wave them down. They approach with confusion on their faces.
The leader of the caravan comes up next to me, and rolls down his window.
“Hello!” I call out to them, loud enough for every caravan to hear. “I’m Blue, the leader of Arc City! I’d like to give you all the chance to surrender.”
Laughter rolls through the caravan. The leader looks to his side and says loudly to the men and women behind him:
“Well, this is easy.” He pulls out a pistol, points it lazily at me, and pulls the trigger. I attempt to dodge, but am far too slow. That body goes entirely offline.
“Ok. Kill them please.” I tell Ivy and Monary.
Ivy’s massive rifle fires, the shockwave echoing through my core. Another bullet jumps from her sleeve and into her hand, which she loads into her rifle. Only a moment later, before the sounds have finished echoing through my city, she fires again.
“Got it.” She says simply.
The floor around us shifts, parts of it sliding open. A thousand drones take flight, blotting out the sun. One of the caravan cars turns around, and several jump out to take a shooting position.
“Remember, don’t hurt anyone who’s trying to run.”
“I know.” Ivy pulls the trigger, and the driver collapses.
The drones descend, a cloud screaming across the sands, kicking up a storm as they fly. Each and every one has a gun built into the bottom of it. Some people fire at the cloud, and the smart ones disregard their weapons and spring for cover. A few drones fall out of the sky, smashing into the sand below. It does nothing to slow the incoming horde.
After a single burst of gunfire, Monary leaves only a few shivering people clutching at themselves. The drones return to the tower, safely stowing themselves away.
I send out another car with a few copies of my bodies piled in it. It only takes a few minutes for me to arrive. All but one body steps out. Two of me collect the damaged body, and load it into the unused car. Another body steps forward, talking to the people huddling for their lives.
“Thank you for surrendering, and I’m truly sorry about what happened. If you need medical attention, please let me know. If not, you’re all free to go.”
The nearest raider scrambles into a car and slams on the gas, desperately trying to get away. The rest of them slowly come to their senses. Two of them load up the dead mechanically, completely ignoring me. I don’t think any of them are injured, and I leave them to their grim work.
“Monary, did the city get hit?” I ask.
I feel the cameras sweep across every square inch of the city.
“Most bullets were too slow by the time they reached the city to do real damage. Six broken windows and a few chipped surfaces.”
“Thank you.” I inhabit the screens once again. “I’m happy to announce that the danger has passed, and as far as I can see, nobody was injured. If I’m wrong, please, come to the Bastion and I will take care of any and all injuries. I’m moving my bodies back to their previous locations if you have further questions. I’ll be coming around to talk to those of you who had their homes damaged by stray bullets. I do need to warn you that there are corpses and blood outside the city limits. If you don’t want to see that, please be aware.”
“Ok.” I turn everything over to my assistants and let my eyes close. “Monary, can you handle recovering the cars and gear left behind?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you want to do with her?” Ivy asks.
“I don’t know.” I didn’t even realize I was staring at Trochilidae the whole time. “I think people are still going to need to talk to me after what happened. She deserves my full attention when we turn her on.”
“Let’s head back and get dinner then.” Ivy slings her rifle over her shoulder and holds out her hand.
I grab on and let her help me to my feet. I skim through the cameras throughout the city, looking for my family.
“Cassie, Vince, and Lucas are heading back to Silver’s.” I hop into a screen as they pass. “We’ll meet you at home. Thank you for your help, even if you weren’t needed.”
Vince jumps at my sudden appearance, but Cassie and Lucas don’t even break their stride.
“I’m not going to complain about you doing all the work.” Cassie shrugs. “We’re retired, remember?”
“Could have fooled me. Weren’t you ready to sprint out there a minute ago?” Lucas gently jabs his elbow into Cassie’s side.
“Look, I was just antsy.” I leave the three of them to their conversation, and focus on walking with Ivy. We head down the elevator and begin to head through the tunnels.
“We’re going to beat them back, aren’t we?” Ivy asks with a devious grin.
“I don’t think I want to be involved with your plan.”
“Sure you do. Did Vince ever get dinner?”
“Uh,” I check the cameras and recordings. “No, he was about to when I asked them for help.”
“Perfect.” She speeds up a little bit.
The two of us quickly make our way home, arriving far sooner than everyone else.
“I’ll get food, you two go get cozy.”
I give her a doubtful look, but head upstairs with Corax regardless. I don’t really have the capacity to argue, not when questions are beginning to flood in. I relax on the couch and focus on the city again.
“No!” I cry. Ivy returns first, carrying three plates of spaghetti, covered with the minimum possible amount of sauce, and a jar of cherries. “I thought you ran out of those.”
“And deny Cassie her favorite food?” She asks. “No, I kept a few jars hidden.”
“I’m going to make it clear this was your choice.” I say, and focus again on the city.
Ivy just shrugs.
Cassie, Vince, and Lucas make their way back not long after. I decide against warning them. The second they enter, Lucas’ nose twitches.
“Ooh! Cherries!” He calls out.
“No, fuck you.” Cassie says immediately.
Ivy pops a cherry into her mouth innocently, and Lucas steals one from her jar.
“Don’t worry, I brought other food.” Ivy says sweetly.
“Is this the budget spaghetti?” Vince asks, taking his plate.
“I thought we could all use a taste of home.” She says.
“I think I’ll stick to the cherries.” Vince puts his plate back down.
“You little bitch.” Cassie mumbles to Ivy as she takes her seat next to me and moves her plate to her lap.
“I can bring you something nice.” I offer.
“I’m not just going to let this go to waste, and she knows that.”
“Well, while you all eat, why don’t I get back into my story?” Vince offers.

Book 5 Chapter 4