Chapter Twenty-Two
At the central command, the new mainframe was powered on, and after a few moments of loading, a message was displayed on the screen in bold black sans serif. PRESS ENTER TO BEGIN. On a small keyboard under the screen, the specified button was located and pressed. The screen dimmed to black, and a whirring emanated from the machine.
Back at the palace, the lid of the crate popped off and the sides opened, revealing a boxy, wheeled automation. It rolled along the hallway, into the room where the grand master was sitting and 541588 was laying. It paused in front of the two of them while its front gave way to the barrel of a firearm. The grand master closed its eyes. 541588 had just woken up, and opened its eyes at this source of new noise. The bullets flew out in a flurry of flashes and bangs. They found their way into the heads of each of them. Both died instantly. Felt nothing, became nothing. Gone were their thoughts, memories, feelings. Gone was everything except their lifeless bodies.
The gun was retracted, and in its place two hooks emerged. These were latched onto their clothes, and the robot wheeled itself out, dragging the bodies behind. It slid down the stairs with its load and exited the palace, accelerating as it made its way outside. It soon arrived at the hospital. A mechanical arm reached out and turned the doorknob, and the robot pushed itself inside with the bodies, depositing them in a small empty room. Once it left, the ground gave way inside the room, and the bodies were incinerated. The only evidence left of their existence was a small pile of ash, the sum total of the Grand Master and 541588, mixed together and indistinguishable. For the rest of the afternoon, the robot continued its trips from the palace to the hospital, each time bringing two bodies, and eventually, I and the troops that accompanied the grand master were left as piles of ash as well. There was one more body inside the storage shed to fetch, and the robot proceeded in its direction.
Go to the shed. I am going to the shed. Go to the shed. I am going to the shed. There are stairs in front of me. Go up the stairs. Initiate go up the stairs sequence. I am going up the stairs. I have reached the top of the stairs. End go up the stairs sequence. Go to the shed. I am going to the shed. There is a door in front of me. Open the door. Initiate open the door sequence. I am opening the door. The door is open. End open the door sequence.
Battery low. I need battery. Charge battery. Battery medium. I need battery. Charge battery. Battery full. I do not need to charge battery. Go to the shed. I am going to the shed.
I am at the shed. Initiate body recognition sequence. I am looking for signs of the body. I see an object lying on the floor. Object matches body description. Body found. Hook the body. Initiate hook sequence. The body is hooked. End hook sequence. Go to the hospital. I am going to the hospital. Go to the hospital. I am going to the hospital. There are stairs in front of me. Go down the stairs. Initiate go down the stairs sequence. I am going down the stairs. I have reached the bottom of the stairs. End go down the stairs sequence. Go to the hospital. I am going to the hospital. There is a door in front of me. Open the door. Initiate open the door sequence. I am opening the door. The door is open. End open the door sequence. Go to the hospital. I am in the hospital. Deposit the body. Initiate deposit object sequence. I am depositing the object. The object is deposited. End deposit object sequence. Return to default position. I am returning to the default position. There are stairs in front of me. Go up the stairs. Initiate go up the stairs sequence. I am going up the stairs. I have reached the top of the stairs. End go up the stairs sequence. Go to the shed. I am going to the shed. There is a door in front of me. Open the door. Initiate open the door sequence. I am opening the door. The door is open. End open the door sequence. Mode alert. Mode changed from active to alert. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.