Stanley Duncan's Robot: Genesis by David III (korean ebook reader .txt) 📕

reasons, so he quickly distracted himself. “Has the world really changed so much?”

“You watch the news, don’t you, Stanley?”

Stanley shrugged. He had lost interest in reality a long time ago. Why bother? He stayed in his cave all day and didn’t need anything outside of it. Why deal with all the stress? He tapped his hand against his pocket. No cigarettes. Glenda’s words rang through him. The world hadn’t changed; rather, a remedy to the human condition had been created. “The population’s dwindling. The smart people are moving to the city to join Ellen Mask in creating RaceX, the only viable path to not being made obsolete — even extinct — by technology, leaving the rest of the population to screw around on the Basic Guaranteed Income (BGI) with nothing to do but get high on fuse. No jobs, no reason to get an education, and a magic potion to make all your worries go away.”

“Except the all-human police force,” she said. “They still have their jobs. Bunch of rotten, nasty people making our lives miserable. They have a special hatred for anything high-tech, including androids and cyborgs. It’s horrible. Violent crime is up, and the police are the ones behind it. If I were you, I wouldn’t let Dan outside for even a minute.”

Stanley nodded. The police were one of the only organizations that still were completely staffed by humans, and they fiercely fought off any change in the status quo. If they caught word of what Dan was becoming, who knows what horrible things they might do?

Stanley watched Dan take his place at the table, his movements innocent and childlike. He knew that, as long as he lived, he would take care of Dan, never letting anyone hurt him. “Don’t you think that is a little excessive?” Not that Stanley had any plans to go outside. He could get whatever he wanted delivered, including tobacco and fuse — should he ever dare to fuse out. But if Dan did have the urge to leave, Stanley wouldn’t stop him. Yet, even as this thought transpired, a deep and powerful force from within him seemed to wrap it’s claws around those words and disavow them.

Glenda’s face paled. “Stanley, believe me: Marshfield is dangerous. When you see someone you love — ” She sighed and placed her hand against her head. “This is a bit too much for me, Stanley. I have to get back to my cats.”

“I’m sorry, Glenda. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay, Stanley. Just be careful.” She crept toward the door. “It was nice meeting you, Dan. You two make a nice couple.’

“Thanks, Glenda,” said Stanley, laughing at her peculiar word choice. “Have fun with your trio.”

“Maple!” Teddy called out.

One of the last things Teddy’s mother did before completely abandoning him and absconding to Boston was to purchase Maple, a medically trained android. It had been only a few days after his crippling, and his mother acted like this would make everything right. Any excuse to justify discarding her defective son like a piece of trash.

Paralyzed from the neck down, it was only in the virtual world that he could live out his fantasies. But unlike most people, he didn’t use virtual reality to become a hero, explore the world, or experiment with sexuality. Teddy wanted revenge. He planned to slowly murder the man who had crippled him.

Though Maple looked like a little girl, she was more knowledgeable than any human nurse or doctor. It was she who had taken care of Teddy. Refusing to accept any upgraded models, Teddy had outgrown Maple, watching her remain a child as he grew up to become a man. She took off Teddy’s BR headset.

The fantasy disappeared, and the world returned to normal. Once again, Teddy was paralyzed and trapped in his own mind.

Maple bathed him, dressed him in the stupidest outfit, and cut his hair. “You look so handsome.”

Teddy scowled. “Shut up.” She had been like a mother to him, but something about that sickened him. It reminded him of the whole catastrophe of his life. If he fused out, all his problems would be over, and there would be nothing but bliss. It wouldn’t matter if he could walk or not. But Teddy wanted only one thing in life, and he was not going to leave this world without doing it. When he turned eighteen next year, he would no longer need his mother’s permission to get the surgical body transplant needed to destroy that man.

Chapter 4

Several months later

After serving Evan and the other officers their drinks, Shannon slouched over the bar. The emotional pain of the miscarriage still haunted her, and she couldn’t help but feel responsible. If she hadn’t been so emotional around Evan, the baby would have survived. After all, he was doing his best to protect her and the other humans of Marshfield. He was a leader, and leaders had to be tough. Even if his hatred for AI made him lose his cool, the world needed men like him if it was going to survive. The ends justified the means, and she had to do her part by supporting him.

“Things are getting out of hand,” said Evan, gulping down his beer. “We need to let people know that Marshfield does not accept traitors with Cerebral Stitches. If you got an implant, get the hell out of my town.”

The other officers murmured in agreement.

“Feel free to offer encouragement in creative ways to let these traitors know that they are not welcome here.”

“How about a stun gun to the face?” asked Officer Michaels.

“Nothing that will kill them. They’re still human. Barely.” Evan held up his empty glass and eyed Shannon.

In that glance, she felt both fear and love, trapped between survival and responsibility. Without her to calm him down, Evan would fly off the deep end. He’d raze the town in a modern-day witch-hunt, immolating everything that conducted electricity. He meant well, but, somehow, he had become lost along the way.