Corax and I spend another few days rexing, once again settling into our comfortable routine. I write for as long as I can handle, and then Corax bites me back to reality. From there I read to him until I’m rexed and try writing again.

  I make pretty good progress over the days. I’m still nowhere near completely working through everything that happened, but hopefully I’ll be better at handling things next time something inevitably goes wrong.

  Vince and Ivy still visit every day, which is nice. Cassie doesn’t though, apparently she’s too busy practicing with her new arm. Vince says she’s making quick progress, but she’s antsy to practice fighting with it.

  I’m surprised to hear a knock on the door, Vince and Ivy never stop by at this hour.

  I put down my book and open the door. Sure enough, Vince stands in front of me with a revolver prominently holstered on his hip.

  “Is something wrong?” I ask him.

  “Don’t worry, everything is fine.” He reassures me. “We have a bit of cabin fever and are pnning on taking a walk around the city. I figured since you spend so much time on the roof staring at it, you might want to come see it up close.”

  “Is that safe?” He has to have some kind of pn if he’s asking me.

  “Sure. Personal assistant bots aren’t unusual in the center of town. Nobody will ask questions.” He expins casually.

  “Then why do you have a gun?”

  “Even in the center of town, the ground floor has occasional violence. It’s safer to show you’re armed unless you're near the top floors.”

  “Ok.” I guess that makes sense. I can’t say I don’t want to see it. “If you think it’s safe, I'll come. Although Corax should probably stay.”

  “Fine.” Corax says happily, worming his way deeper into his nest. He slowly becomes consumed by the bnkets.

  “Sounds like a pn. If you need to say anything, just whisper and Cassie will transte, ok?”

  “Ok.”

  “Come on then, the others are already waiting.” I follow Vince downstairs into the crowded yard. A storm has started at some point, no idea how I missed that.

  Vince leads me easily through the throng of people, who part for him where he walks. Cassie and Ivy are already waiting for us on the street, both of whom have pistols at their sides.

  “Let's get moving already.” Cassie taps her foot impatiently.

  “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

  The three of them begin to walk down the street. I stay close behind Vince. I’m just a little bot, nothing more.

  “It’s a bit of a walk to the center of the city, but that’s where all the real sights are.” Ivy pretends to talk to Vince, but I’m very clearly the intended recipient.

  The city is only two miles wide from what I’ve seen, but it’s far from a direct line to the center. It’s very obvious from the yout that it once had a grander design behind it. Despite that, people have tended to construct buildings wherever they could, turning the city into a dizzying blend of order and chaos.

  The towering pilr, the source of the dome, is invisible behind the endless skyscrapers. Every building has been built as high as possible, scraping against the electric blue glow. Even that isn’t enough space for the people in the city, however. Tunnels high above have been constructed haphazardly between skyscrapers, and then those tunnels have grown to host buildings of their own. Now I see why we bring back so much scrap.

  The entire city is a massive, interconnected web that I find it hard to not stare at. I could spend a hundred years exploring and probably not find every path and back entrance people have built. I'm just a bot though. I keep my eyes straight ahead, and only look out of my peripheral vision.

  “What is the view like up there?” I whisper as quietly as possible without moving my mouth.

  “No idea, Only reason top floors share air is because they can’t profit off it.” Cassie responds instead of reying the message. I guess it’s not that big of a problem with how few people are around.

  “They’re running it into the ground and don’t even know it.” Ivy agrees. “If this city just keeps growing, it’s going to suffocate itself. Maybe it already has.”

  “Why did they never dig underground?” I ask, which Cassie then reys.

  “We did, where do you think all the production is? Although you can’t dig very deep due to the sand.” Vince answers. “Plus, most people don’t handle living entirely underground very well, there’s an awful lot of dead cities that prove that.”

  We resume our walk in silence. The closer we get to the center of the city, the busier the roads get. Although, interestingly, people are much quieter here than in the compound. It seems like everyone has a pce to go, and their only worry is getting there.

  Most of them look exhausted. They have deeply recessed eyes and heavily creased faces. They’re a far cry from the lively people in Silver’s compound. I’ll have to ask Vince about that ter, I can’t imagine anyone would be happy with us mumbling about how sad they look.

  After a few miles of walking, the world suddenly opens up. Scrap skyscrapers give way into a massive concrete courtyard. People shuffle through as quickly as possible, seemingly afraid of the peering cameras on every surface.

  A few robots trail behind people. Many of them are in specialized bodies. Some wheel rge servers and battery banks behind them. Others roll entirely on wheels, letting their owners ride atop them. There are some that look simir to me however, but with far rger breasts and hips. How many of them are secretly alive? None? All? There’s no way to know.

  In the center of the courtyard is the tower. A massive, dominating cylinder stretching hundreds of feet into the air. The tower hums with electricity, projecting the dome that is the only thing keeping us alive.

  In front of the tower sits a twenty foot statue of a familiar man, with a familiar serious look on his face. A face I haven’t seen in person in forty years. The statue’s head turns, and Simon stares into my soul.

  “Is that real?” It’s all I can do to not yell and panic. I’m just a little bot. Nothing more.

  Cassie looks back, checking where my panicked eyes are staring.

  “So who’s the guy?” She asks Vince quickly.

  “That’s the Father of AI, Simon I think his name was.”

  Was. He’s not alive. Don’t scream. Don’t panic.

  “Is he staring at us?”

  “No.” Cassie responds quietly. She takes a step back, covertly taking my hand in hers. The pressure helps.

  “Report your battery level.” Ivy orders at a reasonable volume, offering me a way out.

  Something other than Ivy’s voice demands my attention. At Simon's feet stand the rest of the scientists, silently watching.

  “Are the others real? The ones staring?”

  “Where?” Cassie nearly silently whispers back.

  “At the statue's feet.” Mary takes a tentative step forward. Why couldn’t Corax just be here? He’d know without me asking.

  “Ivy, is that woman staring at us?” Cassie asks.

  “Yeah, she is.” Ivy immediately turns on her heel, walking into a nearby alley.

  The three of us follow close behind her. Ivy leads us down endless turns.

  “Vince I’m sorry.” I dare to whisper when nobody is around.

  “Let’s just get home, alright Little Blue?”

  I can’t bring myself to respond.

  Ivy leads us along a winding path, ducking in and out of alleys, and blending into crowds. The scientists march ever closer behind, never missing a turn. They’re not real, Ivy would be more panicked if they were.

  After fifteen minutes of frantic turns, we arrive back at Silver’s. The scientists are already waiting at the gate, welcoming us home, welcoming us into a trap. They’re not real. Vince isn’t reacting to them. I’m ok. I just need to get to Corax.

  Ivy walks us upstairs, immediately heading to my room. The instant I step inside, Corax flies full speed into my chest, nearly knocking me down from the force. I hug him tight and slide down the wall, curling around him. I held out for so long. I made it.

  “Alright Little Blue.” Vince says gently. “I think you owe us a story too.”

  “Yeah.” My voice comes out shaky and tears begin to spill. “That was Simon, one of my parents.”

  “Right.” Vince says slowly. “I want to make it very clear that he died almost fifteen years back. He can’t touch you.”

  “Ok.” I look down at Corax for confirmation. I know he doesn’t know the answer, but it feels better putting my faith in him. He gives a nod. “I don’t know which of them were real.”

  “The woman who was staring at us?” Ivy guesses. “Short gray hair with dull brown eyes.”

  “Please don’t let that be Mary.” I look to Corax again for comfort he cannot give. “She wasn’t there when the rest died.”

  “Ok.” Vince gives a rge sigh. “We’ll fix this, alright? Hummingbird, can you-”

  “She already patched me in.” Silver’s voice comes through the intercom. “I need all of you to stay in that room until I give the all clear. Blue, even after that you are not to leave your room without my express permission, am I clear?”

  “Sorry.” That’s all I can manage to say.

  “Ivy, were you followed?” Silver asks.

  “No.” She responds back with a certainty that almost dulls my worry. Maybe she’s right, maybe she won’t be able to find us, maybe we’ll all be ok.

  “Should I double the guards?” Hummingbird asks.

  “No. Tell nobody what’s happening. The st thing we need to do is to look suspicious. We y low until Vince’s team can get out of the city. Inform me of any other developments, all of you.”

  “I will.” Vince promises them and the intercom goes dead. “Well, if it is her, what should we expect?”

  “Hand me my tablet.” Ivy does as I asked, and I plug myself in. I make a copy of my journal and quickly organize every mention of Mary into a semi readable format. It’s the best I can do for now without further breaking down. “Here. Read.” I hand it back to them and bury my face in Corax’s feathers.

  The three of them take a few minutes to read what I’ve thrown together.

  “She fucking sucks.” Even in my distressed state, I can hear a lot of anger in Cassie’s voice.

  “Well, on the bright side this was forty years ago. She’s not likely to be the same person anymore.” Vince does his best to reassure me. When has luck ever been on my side though?

  “I can’t handle everyone dying again.” I mumble into Corax.

  “Hey, it’s alright.” Vince stands up and crouches down besides me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Nobody’s going to die. I promise. We pnned for this.”

  “You knew this would happen?” I look up at him, my worry being buried beneath anger. “Why would you do this?” Maybe it's a trick, some sick joke I'll never forgive him for.

  “I think we’re on different pages, Little Blue. I meant that we had pns in pce for if someone discovered you. Nobody knew this would happen now, nobody pnned it. I got an idea and didn’t properly think it through. I’m going to fix it. Ok?”

  “Ok.” That makes sense. “Sorry.”

  “It’s alright Little Blue. I know this is scary.” He sits on the ground beside me.

  “What’s the pn?” I ask, searching for any hope.

  “Well, that depends on what Maybe Mary does. Ivy would know if she followed us, so I doubt she knows where we live. If anyone gets sent to investigate, we can keep you hidden.”

  “Shouldn’t I be hiding downstairs then?”

  “You really think Silver would make rooms with only one exit?” Ivy asks. “The outer walls are thicker than you would expect.” She says with a wink.

  “Ok. What if she shows up though?” I don’t even know if I’ll be able to handle seeing her.

  “Then she doesn’t want you dead, and we can work with that. Hopefully Silver can turn her away, get her to search somewhere else. If not? Then we find out what she wants and go from there.”

  “Corax? How do you feel about that pn?” I ask the small bundle of feathers in my embrace.

  “Unsure.” He responds.

  I guess unsure is as good as it’s going to get for now.

  JanePtinum