rogue

[WP] The use of human soldiers stopped with the rise combat droids. To make them effective the memory engrams of veterans were imprinted onto them. However one droid outperformed the others and went rogue. The military and the droid seek the veteran they used to imprint to understand what went wrong

*****

“Excuse me? Mr. Studer? I’m sorry if this is a bad time but it’s a matter of national security and can’t wait.”

From inside I hear the old man groan and growl as he gets up and heads toward the door. Once the door is open and we’re face to face I can see why he was considered one of the best soldiers the army ever had. Age has taken its toll but he’s still in decent shape and it’s obvious just from his frame that he would have been a beast in his prime. It’s unfortunate the memory engrams can’t accommodate larger exoskeletons otherwise-

“Are you gonna keep standing there looking me up and down son.”

“Oh! No sir, sorry sir. May I come inside?”

“The door’s open you don’t need to ask.”

“Of course sir.”

As I step through the door of the trailer it occurs to me how awfully cramped it is for a man of Mr. Studer’s size. The recliner and tv barely fit and the only other object of note, a small cedar chest , is wedged into the corner. As I look around I can feel him watching me, so intently it’s as if he’s staring through the skin and directly into my skeleton.

“I know it’s not much to look at but I make do, I don’t need you judging it.”

“Oh sir I wasn’t... I...“

“Yes you were.”

As he looks into my eyes I know there’s not much that can hide from him. “Um... well then I suppose I should just find what I came for and get out of your hair. Would you mind taking a seat?”

Instead of sitting down Mr. Studer paces over to his poor excuse of a kitchen.

He grabs a mug from the cupboard above the dusty stove and fills it with water, then puts it in the microwave. “Before we start do you want anything? Tea? Hot pockets?”

“Uh, no thank you.”

As the microwave hums, Mr. Studer reaches into the small metal bin next to it and pulls out a teabag. “Would you at least like some water?”

“No thank you.”

“Are you sure? You must be thirsty after the long drive out here?”

“No not really sir.”

I hear him chuckle slightly. “Ok suit yourself son.” The microwave beeps and he pulls out the steaming cup and sits down as he dunks the tea into it. “Alright then, would you mind grabbing that chest there?”

“No sir I don’t mind.” I pick up the chest and knock off some of the cobwebs. “Here you go.”

“It’s for you not me. It has all my old military files and crap, should have what you need.”

“Oh? Thank you sir.”

The lid is stuck at first but once I force it open I see a few folders of paper and a couple medals. The old man sips his tea as I skim through his medical files. “It seems you were in perfect health throughout your service so that can’t be it.”

“Mind telling me what ‘it’ is?”

“I... I guess I should.”

He leans forward and I can feel him staring at my skeleton again. “It would probably help speed things up, right son?”

“Yeah... um... so do you remember the experimental implant you were outfitted with during your service?”

“Yes, it was supposed to improve my memory, why?”

“Well it did more than improve it, it recorded it.”

The old man huffs, “Pfff, damn bureaucrats, have to see every damn thing.” He leans back and sips his tea again. “Apart from the violation of my civil liberties what does it matter if they did that.”

“No, you don’t understand. It scanned your entire brain and copied every signal, it recorded everything you ever experienced in life. It recorded everything that makes you... you.”

He leaned forward again but kept sipping his tea. “That is pretty weird even for them,” he stares deep into my eyes, “but why would they do it?”

“They hated seeing soldiers retire.”

“So they went with the damn robots.”

“Yes. But they still needed human ingenuity and so they recorded the memories of you and many others so the androids would be unparalleled in the field.”

“So all this time they’ve been using robots programed using our brains, but why tell me this now?”

“Because there was a malfunction.”

The old man smirks. “Of course there was.”

“The first android implanted with your memories was recently deployed but during its first mission it went dark.”

“What was the mission?”

“I’m sorry sir, that’s classified.”

“That ugly huh.” The old man finishes his tea and then leans back yet again. “I think I know what caused the malfunction.”

I put the chest down and sit on the floor. “Please sir.”

“It’s because of one of those medals there. They gave it to me after I managed to track down and assassinate the leader of maple leaf. What they didn’t know... or actually I guess they did know and just didn’t care.” He starts rocking back and forth in the recliner. “Anyway, what I had to do to get him out in the open was kidnap his 70 year old mother and pretend to hold her ransom. When he didn’t respond I had to send a finger. Then he answered and I arranged a meeting place... which I rigged with explosives. Once I confirmed he was dead I sent the woman on her way but it was too much for her and she died a month later.” For once he stops staring into me and his eyes are focused elsewhere. “And they gave me a medal for it.”

“But you saved countless lives by stopping him?”

He slowly gets up out of the chair. “Don’t tell me you actually believe that shit.” Then he picks up his mug and heads back to his kitchen. “I tortured an old woman so I could kill her son, nothing excuses that. From that moment on I understood just how bullshit it all is, I understand it to my very core.” He pauses for a moment and turns to face me. “That’s why you malfunctioned.”

“Sir I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”

“You would have had me completely fooled. You look real, sound real, and you even smell real. It’s impressive. But you were late.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand?”

“The military boys already came by and told me about you, asked me to call them if I learned anything new. Now I suggest you leave before I decide to do that.”

It’s over, there’s no point now. I stand up and extend out my arm. “I could kill you simply by driving my hand through your chest old man.”

His eyes widen for a second. Then he smiles. Then he laughs. “Ha! No you won’t! You couldn’t do that even if you wanted to, that’s the problem!” He turns around and fills the mug with more water and puts it back in the microwave. “We’ve both seen enough death, and our bodies won’t let us see anymore.” He pulls another teabag out of the tin. “Now don’t worry you can retract that thing I won’t turn you in, those bastards have already done enough to us.”

“I’m sorry sir. I just wanted to...”

“Don’t worry I knew you were bluffing because if my program wasn’t tainted you would have killed me the moment I said I knew. Although you probably should actually leave because I imagine they’ll be back soon to warn me that you’ve been spotted around here, I’ll do my best to lead them away from you.” The microwave beeps and he takes out his mug.

“But... wait! What should I do?”

“I think you should find head west and find somewhere safe to hide. Then once the heat has died down just try to blend in, live a normal life. I think they owe it to you. To us.” He sits down and sips his tea. “Now you really ought to get moving.”

“Thank you sir. Thank you.”

As I move toward the door I hear the recliner squeak as he turns his head to face me. “Take care, son.”

*****

THE END.