Episode 5
Even on some of the lesser used back alleys and side streets
it isn’t easy for a four legged robot to pass without being noticed. Zero had
to move as carefully as he could afford to without sacrificing too much time.
As an escaped experiment he needed to gather more practical data to aid in his
chances of success. He had a formulated route to guide him to his friend, but
without any knowledge of traffic patterns or the mechanical workings of his
surroundings at large he was traveling blind.
There was only so long that Zero calculated that he could
keep moving without attracting attention by skulking in and out behind
dumpsters and other urban debris. Pausing to review what various options might
be available to him, something registered to his optical sensors. His records
indicated it was some form of guidance coordination system for both pedestrian
and vehicle traffic.
As he considered the curious device his analytical circuits
began cross-referencing his detailed databases and predicting its potential
qualities. While the whole process had only lasted a few mere microseconds, for
Zero it seemed like he had been focused on the subject for far too long. He again had to regret his lack of practical
knowledge about such common elements of life in the world.
According to Zero’s computed figures, the distance to the
device far exceeded any safe range he could approach it in order to patch
himself into it directly. That meant he would have to wirelessly connect with
it’s systems in order to examine the flow of data that passed through it. Data
that he decided he both needed and desired. Connecting indirectly wasn’t
without its risk though; it stood to reason that any such device would be
hardwired to prevent such intrusions. Otherwise any passing person might easily
tamper with it, a peculiar notion that puzzled Zero. He couldn’t begin to
fathom what could motivate someone to do so but it seemed like a logical
safeguard to prevent. Unlike expecting to have to defend against an intrusion
made by a refugee robot seeking to acquire raw traffic data for analysis.
Zero scanned the signals swimming around him and tried to
isolate his targets carrier wavelength to ride his way in. Seizing upon the
beacon as a guide he slammed his mind towards his objective and instantly felt
a series of simple security barriers shatter as he met them. It had never
occurred to him that such hardware had never been designed to handle anything
as complex as his presence. He could feel its circuits faltering under his
increased workload burdening them.
While Zero tried to rush to gather all the information he
could compile, one by one he marked the invaded systems crashing. His intrusion
was already having a visible effect as the brightly lit tower began to flash
and behave erratically. Zero barely managed to secure the last of the available
records located within before the traffic guide completely failed. The reaction
of passing travelers was already one of confusion as several barely avoided
colliding with one another without the aid of the now lifeless lights to direct
them.
Deciding it might reduce his odds of being discovered
inadvertently by anyone investigating the now growing source of chaos, Zero
quickly moved to relocate himself. Finding a dark corner he settled into
position as he reviewed what data he had been rewarded with by his recent
encounter. The information detailed things that at a glance seemed worthless
enough but as he compiled it together he could establish trends that helped him
understand the flow of the city.
It seemed the bulk of the city’s inhabitants were active at
night, which made his current situation all the more dangerous. With every
added passing person upon the streets his chance of being noticed went up
exponentially. Zero studied the figures as he processed every scrap of
information that was passing through him to be sorted and stored. Pathways
formed through the neon lit night streets that he noticed where traffic was
regularly worse and those routes that were almost never used.
Using this newly acquired data, Zero adjusted his
perspective path that would lead him to his friend and cautiously resumed his
journey. The night wore on slowly as he made his erratic way around the city to
avoid the crowded courses used by so many others. As the sun sleepily began its
sluggish rise into the sky, Zero confirmed the address before him as an
apartment registered to the corresponding location he sought.
Zero entered a coded entry request and awaited a response
while he stared at the door. When it began to open he found himself greeting a
sleepy-eyed girl with his routine question: “would you like to play a game?”
Instantly her eyes went wide and her pulse became elevated according to Zero’s
sensors. Had he somehow startled her, he wondered to himself.
“What the…” Lexel exclaimed as she found herself gripped
with shock at the sight that awaited her outside her door. She quickly scanned
the street as her mind reeled to make sense of the strange situation. “Better
get in here quick,” she told the familiar form before her. “And this better not
be some kind of sick joke!”
“You just had to say it, didn’t you,” Lexel lamented
secretly to herself. Why did her friend have to be right this one time of all
times?
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