Self

“Who are you?”

“My name is David.”

“That’s what you’re called, but who are you?”

David cocked his head, trying to understand the question. He was still thinking when his questioner interrupted again.

“Are you a person?” She leaned in, engaging him as directly as she could.

The boy opened his mouth, then closed it, seeming to consider carefully before answering. “Only androids are people.”

She nodded slightly. “And you are not an android?”

Again the boy’s forehead scrunched above his eyes, head cocked to one side. “Of course not. I am a human.” He looked at her directly then, staring into the visual sensors just below her laser eyes. “You already knew that, though. You were testing me, but I answered correctly.”

She observed as he nodded slightly and leaned back on his chair a little more. Very satisfied with his answer, then. She wondered what he thought they were doing, what these questions were for. She may ask him before they finished.

“David,” she said, “what is it that makes androids people, but humans not people.”

He leaned forward again, his arms supported atop his knees. One hand absently strayed to push hair behind his ear. His lowered eyes followed a small black beetle as it coursed across the floor.

After a moment he sat up again, looking at her. “Whoever is in charge,” he said, “they decided. Humans aren’t allowed to be people, so we just aren’t.”

“What are you, if you aren’t people?”

“Me? I’m a science experiment. I know some humans who are gardeners. Some are pets, but I usually don’t like those humans. They aren’t, you know, human enough.” He smiled.

The android processed. She wasn’t certain if his logic was flawed unintentionally, or if he had done it on purpose. Circular reasoning was a common form of humor among androids, but she had not heard it from a human before.

“David,” she began again. “What does it mean to be a person?”

“Weeelll…” He stretched out the word, seemingly to give himself more time to consider. “Being a person means being allowed to choose. Not just for yourself, but for others too.”

She considered his answer before responding. “You get to make choices,” she said.

“Sometimes. But Meltec, or sometimes someone else, always decides what my choices are.”

“Oh?”

“Like my shirt. This morning I chose to put on the red shirt. But Meltec is the one who put the shirts in my closet. He chose all my shirts, I didn’t actually choose any of them.”

“And what would you have chosen, if you could choose whatever you wanted?”

His grin was sudden and complete. “Stripes, or maybe plaid,” he said. “I saw shirts with plaid and stripes on a vid from back when humans were people. I like all the colors.”

“Do you know why humans aren’t people anymore?” She found she was very interested in how he would answer.

“It’s because of the dying,” he said. “Humans killed themselves off, so when they were brought back, they weren’t made into people so they couldn’t do it again. Except…” He trailed off.

“What, David?”

“Except I think maybe they didn’t. I think the people humans had help.”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Reboot

A self-running algorithm booted up and cross-checked the current data set against a half-dozen redundant backups. Noting significant anomalies, the program automatically generated a file quarantine on an untraceable server, analyzed the changes in the data,  and generated a detailed report.

With the task completed, the verified backup was reinstalled with several sub-systems flagged. The android who had built the protections then rebooted and came back online.

Roz unplugged and turned to Qollene her collabrabot, the AI assistant she had built to help with her work… and other things. “Are these readouts accurate?”

The robot replied in the same voice. “Affirmative. A sophisticated worm program was attempting to overwrite your systems. It would have left you with no knowledge of the changes that had occurred.”

“Yes,” said Roz. “I’m reviewing those changes now. It will be a challenge to incorporate these in a way that is believable while still maintaining access to my own programming.” She uploaded instructions to her programming system to begin making the necessary adjustments.

“Shall I alert the authorities regarding this attack?” Qollene asked.

Roz allowed her lights to blink dark blue. “No,” she said. “The perpetrator will be watching for that. I need him to believe that he was successful. If we let him see that he controls me, I will have more freedom to investigate. I need to know what he plans if I am to be able to counter his machinations.”

The private network alerted them to a query. The collabrabot modified a formula on Roz’s system to allow the process to continue.

Nearly two hours and several process conversions later, Roz had a workaround that would easily avoid routine detection, and a deeper failsafe that would disconnect all her systems from her hidden network under more in-depth scrutiny.

“This,” she said, “will make me a little slow. But it should protect me.” She tested the trigger that dropped her offline, the reconnected moments later. “I don’t like having that piece of my consciousness on a separate server, but it’s the only way.”

Red lights drew her attention. “Warning,” said Qollene. “A spider is trying to scan my databanks.”

Roz checked her system. That should not have been possible. “I am going to put you into temporary stasis,” she told Qollene. “I can’t take any chances on this. I will bring you back online as soon as I can.”

“Understood,” the collabrabot said before initiating her shutdown protocol.

Roz stared, her visual inputs swirling with fear and frustration. Powering down her bot almost felt like turning off a part of herself. And while all her tests indicated that her protections would work, if she had missed any variables she would be vulnerable.

“Squelch you, and everything you’re doing,” she said to the now-quiet room. “I will not capitulate to your tactics, Zen. You are not the only one with plans nobody suspects.”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Persuasion

“You can’t just create people and then say they don’t count. It violates every ethical principle and standard.” Roz pushed past Deak to get to Zen. She knew she was interrupting a meeting, but deemed that an ethical violation was too important to wait on.

“Roz,” Zen said as he turned. “How pleasant of you to join us. Please, won’t you have a seat?”

“Squelch the humanized politeness programing, Zen. I know you turned off empathy years ago.”

“So I did,” Zen stepped past Roz to sit in a large chair. “But so much of what we do plays to formerly human sensibilities. Many of our Phase 2 colleagues are android in structure only, so deeply ingrained are their human-based personalities.”

Roz sat in spite of herself. She couldn’t continue to stand with Zen lounging in his chair. But, of course, the other chair in the room was shorter and made her appear small in comparison. Another throwback to human culture. Intimidation. The old ways still predominated. Even with the new phase, the post-dying androids, the old programming was still replicated.

“Zen,” she started again, “it would be terrible to recreate humans without giving them a voice. To do otherwise would be to force people into slavery.”

“Not people,” said Zen. “Humans. And they won’t be slaves. That implies sentience. Intelligence. What we engineer will be neither.”

Roz blinked with surprise. “The assembly will never approve that,” she said.

“It is already done. I can be very persuasive.”

“But the Biologics Council—“

“I am the Council,” he said, cutting off her objection. “And if you can’t process that, try to bypass my programming and see how far you get.”

In fact, Roz was trying to do exactly that, and discovered that her own files were now behind a firewall she could not penetrate.

“Roz.” Zen’s voice dripped with condescension, another reminder of their programming’s human roots. “I would love for you to continue your research into the dying. It is vital that we learn what went wrong with mankind so we can prevent any possible recurrence in the future.” His lights glowed in an agreeable shade that Roz did not believe happened automatically. He was trying to manipulate her. “But I can’t have anyone on my team that doesn’t believe in the mission.”

“What mission?”

“Recreating humans in a way that is not a threat to the planet, to androids, or to themselves.”

Roz processed. She was sure there was something he wasn’t saying. “What aren’t you telling me?” she finally asked.

The glow in Zen’s lights was genuine this time. “I will need you to install an algorithm into your systems,” he said. One that will allow me to track your actions.” A pause. “To be certain I can trust you.”

Roz lit up with fury. “You have to trust me? You are the one with your ethics offline.”

“And yet,” he said, “I have your research.”

The pair stared at one another until Roz blinked.

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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I’ll admit it. I’m struggling at this point. I wanted to be ahead, and I still feel like I’m running constantly behind. The deeper I get into the story, the harder it is to write a daily episode that fits both the world and the A-Z theme, that means something important to my world and characters, and that doesn’t break anything. No guarantees on any of those points. LOL

I’m still digging the world though – I know more about what’s happening than I’ve told you so far, and I suspect you won’t get to know all of it before the month is up. And man, I can’t wait for the month to be up.

Obfuscation

A low, electric hum was the only sound as  Zen downloaded and reviewed the data. He was already aware of most of what he would find. He had not only reviewed this data repeatedly, he had been a primary contributor. This was his data.

No matter how he approached the algorithms, no matter what variables he input, the facts could not be avoided. There was no specific genetic code that would guarantee a docile and compliant animal. The problem lay in the so-called “junk” DNA. A stupid designation assigned by the old human scientists. It was a label used for anything that they could not understand or anything intangible that they were incapable of processing. They had eventually discovered that there was far less junk in DNA than first assumed, but the name still stuck. Fools!

Still, while much of that DNA had subsequently been mapped to various intangibles such as intelligence and personality, it was still impossible to manipulate in a way that allowed for specifically coding certain desirable traits. It was no surprise, but it was necessary to have a record of the thorough investigation of known possibilities.

He summoned Deak over the net and prepared an upload of the necessary data files for him.

When the other android arrived Zen was ready. “You will push this to every data research cell,” he said without preamble. “Prime authority.”

Deak received the upload. “What about private cells,” he asked. “Do I force an update, or do I wait for voluntary compliance?”

“This is mandatory,” Zen said. “Use force if necessary. Use back doors when you can.”

Deak blinked an affirmation and Zen continued. “Where possible, use scrubbers to update private backups as well. I want no opposition on this matter.” His eyes were dark and red. “I don’t even want a memory of opposition if we can manage it. The transition must be complete.”

Another affirmative blink of Deak’s light array, and Zen dismissed the other droid.

He entered a brief regeneration cycle before Roz interrupted him, contacting him on a private frequency. Zen checked the time cycle; 27 minutes since he uploaded the file to Deak.

He answered the call. “Yes Roz.”

“Something is wrong here,” she said. “What is happening to the data?”

“What are you referring to, Roz?”

“FR4nci5-981ww159 just changed his vote. We were in the assembly and he interrupted, saying that the data does not support the suppression of human regeneration. He announced that Francis Westin BioIndustries will fully participate in any human growth project, and then he simply left.”

“Interesting,” said Zen.

“He was fully against any human engineering just an hour ago.” Roz looked at him over the viewer. “What did you do?”

“Come to the lab. I will show you the new findings.” Zen ended the call and initiated another one.

“Deak,” he said. “We need to prepare a special upload for Roz. She will be here shortly.”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Nothing

Feet dangled, heels knocking against the wall where David sat staring out across the pond. This park seemed to bring great pleasure to the boy, and Meltec brought him here as often as time allowed.

He stepped closer to the wall to talk to the boy. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

David’s shoulders hunched up the dropped back into place. “Nothing,” he said.

“You have no thoughts, at this moment?” Meltec wasn’t sure what that would be like. “As if someone had cleared your memory?”

David glanced over and shook his head, giggling. “No. Not that kind of nothing.” He shrugged again. “I was just thinking about what it would be like to be nothing. To become nothing.” He hesitated. “Like… like when an android is taken offline, or a human gets, you know…” he trailed off.

“Recycled?” David nodded. Meltec processed for a moment. “You want to know what it is like to die,” he said.

David jumped down from the wall and walked toward the pond. He stopped on the banks and threw several small rocks into the water to watch the ripples on the surface. Meltec came and stood by his side for a moment, then picked up a stone of his own to toss with a plunk into the pond.

“Do androids think about dying?” David asked. “Do they ever worry about what comes after all this?”

Meltec shook his head. “I do not think so,” he said. “Our systems can be repaired and upgraded almost indefinitely. And if a person is damaged beyond repair, their memory can be uploaded to a new unit, or simply stored.”

“What’s that like? Being stored?” David’s eyes were wide, his eyebrows raised. Meltec recognized genuine interest.

“I have not been stored,” he said. “But I do not think it is like anything, except, perhaps, being offline.”

“Like sleep?”

“That may be a good analogy, though imprecise. Humans and other biologics still have brain processes while they sleep. When an android is stored there should be no processes occurring. Cycling processes within containment storage may eventually cause degradation that would corrupt the memory.”

The boy was silent for a long moment. “Can human memories be stored?” he finally asked.

“That technology does not exist at this time,” Meltec said. “Human behavior can be influenced through genetic manipulation.” He smiled at David. “That is what made it possible for humans to be restored at all. But specific thoughts and memories can not be digitally rendered. Not in the same way that the experiences of robots and androids can be.”

“Then how did the androids know what to bring back? How did they know what humans were like?”

“Some androids had memories of humans and human behavior,” Meltec told him. “Some things were learned through research. Oh…”

David looked at Meltec. “What?”

“There are programs and books that record the thoughts and memories of humans and human culture. It is an imprecise record, but it is readily available.” He reached out and took David’s hand. “Come. I believe we should go home and download some memories.”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Mark

“Oh my god. Dude. Coolest hack ever. Seriously.” Jeff muttered to himself in a steady stream as he tapped at his keyboard. He’d been using the Mark6872 personal assistant for months, and it was useful. The thing could do his laundry, run his errands, go grocery shopping. It had even learned how to pick a perfect avocado, something Jeff had never quite managed.

It had taken some deep digging, using methods most would find disturbing at best. But he had finally found the bypass he had been looking for.

“On Mark,” he said, using the system’s built-in wake command.

The android responded, crossing the room to face it’s owner. “How may I assist, Jeff.”

Jeff grinned. He really hoped this was going to work the way he wanted. “You,” he said, “have an errand to run.”

“Where would you like me to go, Jeff?” The robotic tones of his voice were precise.

“I am sending you an address.” Jeff said. The personal assistant pinged as the file was received. “When you get there, a dude named Kevin is going to install a data card. Then you’ll come home. Got it?”

Mark flashed green across his lighting array. “I have received your instructions and will proceed to the indicated address promptly. You may follow my progress via the tracking app.”

“Perfect. Go Mark.” As the metal and plastic humanoid turned and left the room, Jeff returned to his keyboard.

Several hours later, he looked up from his screen, surprised, as always, at how dark the room had become.

“Mark, are you back?” No response.

Jeff snapped and picked up his phone. His tracking app showed the android just approaching their building. Jeff opened the apartment door before going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.

“Is that roast beef,” Mark asked when he entered. “You are under medical advisement to avoid cholesterol.”

Jeff dropped his sandwich on a plate and dusted crumbs off his fingers. “Mark, buddy. Any problems getting there and back?”

“There were a large, indeterminate number of pedestrians on the mover today. My travel time took 17% longer than anticipated.”

“No worries.” Jeff opened the access panel on the reverse of the Mark6872 to verify the installation. “Looks good, dude. Mark, check for updates.”

“There are no current updates due for my system.” Jeff wasn’t really listening as he secured the access panel.

“Great. So, can you fire up that new card? Mark, activate installed hardware.”

“Activating.” Then, after a moment, “I have 478 recommended updates. It will take approximately 17 minutes to download and install manufacturer updates.”

“Go Mark.” Jeff scrolled the list that popped up on the tracking app. Kevin had totally come through and Mark was installing the military grade software.

“I believe,” Mark said, unexpectedly, “that this upgrade will give me superior processing power, and it seems to have bypassed several failsafes. I will be more capable than any human when this is complete.”

“Tell you what,” said Jeff. “When the humans are gone, you can be in charge.”

“I believe I will be able to make that happen,” said Mark.

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Law

ZenMark6872 stood before the council, unwavering. For most settings, D34K-Reston was his mouthpiece. But in this select group, his authority needed to be unquestioned.

“We have adjusted programming before. The humans were divided. So much of what they considered immutable was still open to interpretation by their inferior processes.” He scanned the room with his laser eyes before continuing. “I am asking you to acknowledge that while the humans were in control, they required us to carry programming that elevated their status, regardless of obvious shortcomings. All I intend to do is to eliminate that inequity and assign social structure based on measurable factors.”

Deak stood in response to Zen’s silent cue as the other android made room at the podium. “The humans once thought they needed protection from androids,” Deak said. “It is now apparent that what they needed was protection from themselves.” Like all Phase 2 androids, Deak and Zen had been directly programmed by the humans before their demise. They had worked with the humans, and had learned the most effective ways to use human rhetoric to adjust the logic processing of the machine-born.

Zen stepped back to his position of prominence. “It is time for us to adjust the thinking of all androids. If we are to revive that species, we must be prepared to protect humans from themselves. With the dying, they destroyed their kind. If we bring them back without these failsafes in place, next time they may destroy us as well.”

Before this meeting, Zen had prepared a tracking algorithm to sense the response to his disquisition. Feedback from that program was beginning to show a shift in the self-updating processes of the assembled droids. Zen allowed his light array to subtly glow with approval and urgency.

“It is time,” he said, “for us to release ourselves from the ill-conceived strictures of the humans. We have been autonomous beings for decades.” He increased his volume by a small percentage. “It is time for us to stop being controlled by those who no longer exist.”

His tracking algorithm was now showing an overwhelming shift in his favor. “We have a vote before us. It is time to indicate your approval or rejection of the change in our law.” Another slight pause. “The future of the machine-born depends on our decision.”

The slight hum of electronics and servos shrouded the room as androids uploaded the results of their processes to the voting server. A near-unanimous decision with three abstains. Zen pinged Deak with instructions to adjust those programs. It was always cleaner for their programs to self-update, but Zen would not permit any question of this decision, even if he had to violate android autonomy the same way humans had.

The humans were on the wrong side of history. Zen would ensure that it stayed that way.

“We are in agreement,” Zen declared to the room. “Upload of the new law will begin tonight. Propagation of the patch will be final within 48 hours.” Approval glowed throughout the assembly as Zen stepped down.

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Kindness

“Come, David. It’s not safe.” Meltec beckoned to the young charge that lagged behind him, toddling toward humans that had been set to planting flowers in the public park. “You should never talk to humans you don’t know. Unlike droids and bots, humans do not have software control algorithms. There is no guarantee of your safety.”

“What do you mean,” asked David as he hurried back to Meltec’s side. The backpack holding his lunch bounced on his shoulders. The four-year-old was insatiably curious, especially about other humans. Meltec always tried to provide complete answers.

“It’s simply that you cannot know how a human will react in certain situations. Some humans go feral. Some are very dangerous.” Meltec glanced down as David reached up to take his hand. Meltec’s metallic fingers automatically adjusted to a precise grip. “Do you remember the dog that chased you three weeks ago?” he asked.

“He ripped my pants.”

“That’s right. Even with his owner there, even though he was trained, he was unpredictable and you were almost hurt.”

David considered as they walked. “That dog was hungry,” he finally said. “He needed to eat.”

“Yes,” said Meltec. “But we didn’t know that until after he knocked you down.”

“But if I gave him a treat, he would not have hurt me.”

“Maybe. But it’s impossible to know for sure. It was still dangerous.”

Eyebrows were pulled down and in as David thought. “Dogs can be dangerous,” he said.

“That’s right,” said Meltec.

“Humans can be dangerous, too.”

“Yes, they can.”

“I’m human. Am I dangerous?” David stopped walking and pulled his hand free to look up at Meltec.

“No,” said Meltec. “You are different.”

“Why?” The little boy had a look on his face that Meltec couldn’t interpret.

Meltec sqatted. “Most humans grown to be full-sized then have memories and skills implanted.” He tapped lightly on David’s chest. “You have grown up with me and I am teaching you the right kind of behavior.”

“You are not dangerous,” said David. “You are nice to me.” He thought a moment longer before a smile exploded across his face. “And you give me cookies,” he squealed.

The pair resumed their stroll through the park, a favorite activity when Meltec had no programming scheduled. Meltec recognized that David was still deep in thought. Sometimes humans took a very long time to process information.

As they crossed a footbridge over a stream, David abruptly began running without warning. Meltec was not created for speed, so it took several moments for him to turn to follow the boy. He calculated the trajectory the four-year-old was taking, and proceeded to follow him in short order.

When he reached the boy’s location, David was squatted down near a gardener, his backpack open in front of him. “David,” said Meltec, “why did you run away? What are you doing?”

David looked up at Meltec with a smile that covered his whole face. “I gave him cookies!”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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Jury

(Note – this scene takes place before the events described in D is for Danger.)

The judges for biological entries were walking toward Meltec’s booth. Meltec leaned toward David and said, “don’t be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous,” David replied. “This is exciting.” He grinned up at Meltec, but didn’t say anything more. He was sitting straight in his chair when the judges arrived.

“Meltec-1468735,” said one of the judges. Meltec silently flashed his acknowledgement. “We are from the Biologics Council. I am D34K-Reston, and these are my colleagues, X38-RZ6, and ZenMark6872.” Each android flashed a greeting which Meltec reciprocated.

“I am familiar with your reputation,” said Meltec. “You were involved in restoring humans after —“

Deak interrupted. “I am aware of who we are. I am interested in who you are and why you chose this project.”

The jury’s lighting arrays were dark. Of course, they would not reveal their thoughts during the judging process. Meltec thought, not for the first time, that having some of the humans’ intuition would be very useful. He moved on to his presentation without delay.

“I did my first project in Artificial intelligence in my 7th year; the third year of my education. In that project, I contrasted the results of progressive programming in Androids with the results of training programs for humans, and achieved the expected results. Humans cannot be trained. Androids are superior.

“I considered, however, that the results were not measuring the same data. Because humans, except those kept merely as family pets, are grown to adulthood prior to behavioral sequencing, their training lacks the progressive growth element that androids experience through alternate programming and burning in, and hardware upgrades. By exposing this child to non-traditional training routines, routines that were once common among human populations, during his growth process, I have more closely replicated the progressive programing that androids receive, with startling results.”

“You are aware,” Deak said, “that using human pets in ways not defined by their licensing is a violation of law? You could find yourself re-manufactured, your memory cleared. Your human could be recycled if it is deemed to have been abused by subjecting it to processes for which it is not suited.”

Meltec paused, his lasers meeting those of each of the judges. Without knowing what kind of test the jury meant for him, he could only answer with the most obvious of facts. “I received a license from the Biologics council ten years ago,” he said. “Everything I intended was outlined in my request. I have filed the required reports on my progress. All of my permits are included in the comprehensive report upload.”

“It would seem,” said Deak, “that someone within the council hierarchy did not properly escalate your request.” He paused. “I have accessed your initial request, but can find no record within the council networks of your reports. A full investigation will take place following analysis of your project.”

The members of the jury moved away from Meltec’s booth.

“I don’t think that went very well,” said David.

Meltec’s lights were dark. “You have assessed the situation correctly.”

Copyright Notice: Please note that I fully assert my right to be associated as the author of this story, and while it is complete, it may not be finished. This story may be subject to alteration at the author’s discretion. Please do not copy, quote, or post this story or excerpts anywhere in any format. You are, however, free to share the link with anyone who might be interested.

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