Chapters 1 + 2 of ‘Three Cities Dying’

Chapter One: Vail (Extract)

 

‘It has been three days since the northern hemisphere ExoCyte city last responded to beams,’ a robotic voice said, ‘This is the second city to lose contact in recent months after Magellanic City lost contact two months ago. Fear is circulating through CITOS of potential wall breaches. No word from Leader Dyce –.’

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Vail was meant to be finished fixing up the broken bot laid across her lap but easily became distracted as her wrist read out the urgent news.

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‘There is something to be said about human survival’, she mused. The brilliance of humanity! Outlasting an extinction event by 200 years, only to flash out of existence without a clue as to why.

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Just over 300 years ago, Earthians first developed exciting new space exploration technology, allowing millions to be settled on the moon and Mars. A century later, the descendants turned on their home, launching six ice-covered asteroids at Earth, drowning the planet. Now Vail was stuck underwater like the rest of the Earthian population, dealing with the consequences of their actions.

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‘Humans weren’t meant to live underwater, Vail.’

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‘Zit, radio off,’ Vail called, no longer able to stomach the news.

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 ‘Radio off,’ Zit confirmed, ‘My name is ZT-94, not zit.’

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Vail grinned, ‘I’m the human, your master. You respond to what I call you.’

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‘I’m the greatest piece of Earthian technology since the creation of the C-GEN wall. I deserve some respect.’

Vail jammed a screwdriver into the bot’s head panel, breaking it open. She glanced around the bunker, unheard prayer on her lips. If Overset Krem were to link into her room right now, the rest of the night would be spent under a bunker load of paperwork.

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The lack of lighting in the bunker only furthered her irritation. Permanently set to low as to not overexpose the young crops, Vail was left with little choice but to work almost blind.

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Electricity snapped at her finger as she dug around the wires. Vail pulled her hand out of the bot’s neck, hissing as the sharp pain spread from her pointer to her whole hand. Young crops be damned.

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‘Zit?’ Vail asked, reaching down to pick up the screwdriver she’d dropped.

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‘Yes?’ Zit responded.

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‘Can you lighten up the room a bit?’

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‘Protocol suggests I can brighten the room for a maximum of 1.37 minutes before causing damage. Would you like me to proceed?’

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Vail thought of her last ‘co-worker.’ GP-134, or Gep as she called it, was very strict in it’s programming. There was no room for bending protocol or Overset laws, even if it meant increasing worker efficiency. It never spoke back either.

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‘Not yet, I need a full battery scan.’

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From her wrist, the blue grid of the scan flashed over the bot.

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‘Full scan completed. Moisture detected in the battery compartment,’ Zit said.

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Moisture most likely meant a short circuit. Again. They weren’t uncommon in the bunkers.

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As Vail breathed, she could feel the heavy scent of soil and moisture sinking into her lungs. It was dangerous to be without a mask in the bunkers long-term, but they had run out quite a few months ago. There were rumours of replacements, but most engineers like Vail made do with spare cloths wrapped around their faces.

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‘Vail. Overset Krem linking in 5 – 4 - 3-,’ Zit cut through the silence suddenly.

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Vail removed her hand from the bots, quickly wiping her stained hands on her black overalls.

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‘-2-’

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She grabbed her gloves from the nearby table, pulling them on just in time as the light blue hologram appeared in the middle of the room.

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