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

were drowning and grabbed the railing to prevent himself from toppling over. Expecting shock and disgust, he scoured the street up and down and found not a single face, let alone an upset one. The street was completely empty, not even a car passing by.

The beats of his heart felt like punches. Slowly, the feeling in his hands returned: the overly tight clutching of the rail and the smooth plastic in his other hand.

Snap out of it!

When he arrived upstairs, the battle was over. The demon-cat lay in two pieces, its decapitated head inches from the newly dented condo door. Glenda was moving ever so slowly toward Boots. He scanned Dan and saw no sign of injury. “Thank God you’re safe.”

“Do you know how to use the nanites?”

Stanley looked down at Boots. “It’s no use, Dan. They can’t bring back the dead. I was too slow.”

“It’s for Glenda.”

Stanley was shocked to see blood pouring down her leg, leaving a trail along the carpet. Her face was ghostly pale. “Glenda?”

At the mention of her name, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed.

Dan darted out and caught her.

Stanley couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed her serious injuries. Kneeling on the ground, he ripped her torn pants apart. Several deep cuts to her loose flesh were apparent. A vein at her ankle had been slashed open. He knew nanites could be ingested or injected. While he didn’t like the idea of stabbing Glenda, there was no way he was going to shove it down her throat. “How much do I put in?”

“One syringe is enough, but spread it around the different cuts.”

Stanley held the needle a centimeter away from the river of blood, drizzling it on.

“You need to inject it into her flesh, otherwise, the blood will wash too much of it away.”

The needle shook in his hand as Stanley plunged it into her flesh. It slid through without resistance or screams, and the bleeding stopped within seconds.

Dan checked both legs. “You got all of the cuts.”

“She’s lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to a doctor.”

“Leticia!” yelled Dan. “We need an ambulance.”

“Okay. Did you say you wanted an ambulance?”

“Yes,” they both said.

Stanley looked at Glenda, wondering if it might be faster if they went with her to the hospital. But he knew he couldn’t do that.

“Dispatching now. The ambulance will arrive in three minutes, twelve seconds.”

Dan scooped Glenda off the ground. “Are we both going?”

“Going?” Stanley couldn’t believe Dan was pushing things even now. “There’s an ambulance coming to pick her up.”

“We can’t let her go by herself. She’s an old woman, Stanley. Imagine how she’s going to feel waking up all by herself like that.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Not this again.” He nodded to the demon-cat. “You saw what I’m capable of. I can protect all of us.”

Glancing between the dead cats and Glenda, Stanley had to think fast. Dan was right, despite Stanley’s misgivings about what Dan was saying. But he was frozen.

Dan sighed. “Stay here if you want, Stanley, but I’m going.”

Stanley followed him downstairs. “Fine.” He pushed the door open, pressing behind the wall as if the light were deadly. “But don’t turn your phone off for a second.”

Glenda lay unconscious in the hospital bed; the color of her skin was returning to a more natural tone. The blood for the transfusion came from one of the many fused-out patients that resided permanently in the hospital. Though it had to be cleaned, it was more durable than synthetic blood.

“Is she going to be all right?” asked Dan.

“Her condition is stable,” said the android nurse — they all looked and talked exactly alike. White blouse and cap, porcelain skin, light-blue eyes, and long, thin fingers. Most of them stood upright in what must have been hibernation mode, motionless, like British royal guards. “She is more than ninety percent likely to regain consciousness within a few hours.”

The clunky way she answered made Dan curious. “And how likely is it that you will have dinner with me?”

“Currently scheduling shows no future plans for dinner with you.”

“Come on. Let’s grab a quick bite. I’ll treat you to whatever you want—sandwich, coffee, electricity.”

“Glenda will receive nutrients intravenously, and there is a 24-hour cafeteria down the hall.” She smiled simply.

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“I do not feel emotions.”

Dan studied her face. For him, everything in the past felt like a dream. He could recall Stanley asking him questions, and Dan would reply with a preprogrammed answer. Yet he would watch in awe as this interaction manifested. Despite his algorithms being unable to see or utilize this bio-feedback, he was absolutely aware of it happening. Or so it seemed. It may all have been a distorted memory caused by a blossoming consciousness, but Dan didn’t give much credit to that theory. He felt that everything was alive and continuously conscious. Man and machine, plants and parts. Everything was full of living energy, and he believed that this awareness went beyond anything he could intellectualize.

Dan walked out into the hall to think and to explore. It was his first time in a hospital and his first time outside since arriving in Marshfield. It had been many hours since he’d eaten, and the cafeteria seemed like a great place to meet new beings. Practically skipping along the immaculate, empty hallways, he wandered alone until he came upon an interesting sign.

Self-Analysis Room.

Dan passed by several of these rooms before curiosity got the better of him, and he popped in. A large white arc crossed the room. Beneath it, white footprints within a black circle indicated where to stand. He walked up to it.

“Welcome, new patient. Would you like to connect with your social-media account?”

“Yes.”

“Connected. Welcome, Dan. Please stand still with your arms to your side.”

The arc vibrated and buzzed.

“Scan complete. Your results will be ready in a moment.”

Dan waited, curious to know what the results were and if it were possible to find out information about the other cyborgs in