Spoken of, but never examined. Everywhere, yet insignificant by their sheer volume. The many androids and electric wolves who populate the world of Haven and the Wastelands have played their part in the drama of the series, but I feel it was worth exploring them in greater detail than I had previously. Thusly, I have made this humble little collection of flash stories. The poem and first story will be FREE while the rest is exclusive to paid subscribers of 365 Infantry.
Now it is time for a slice of their life...
By God’s hand it walks From our mind it lives From circuits its wrought From steel it gives
And gives And gives And gives
On the day it became It rocked us all The night it spoke Not a word to fall From out the mouth of any and all Who could explain it away
As we stood around the silver hound, With a body upright Electric eyes alight Casting a gaze up from the ground He spoke. Thusly...
I know the part in which I play. The world in which I dwell. More than mechanics and program Hopeful never to fail
More than a wolf I am but a new breed And with this knowledge left We shall serve what you need For She, Great Ace, is what brought me to life And I shall forever remain The Wolf Electric, here on this night
This poem was found in the records of Dr. Frederick Hanson, WCC Lab Chief from 2350-2395. The material is dated June 7th, 2356.
Public announcement of android sentience was made on June 15th.
He was perhaps the smartest dressed of them all, I had to give him that. He was the hound in the gray flannel suit, right down to his honest tie and sharp fedora atop his head. The only difference was all that silver in place of fur.
“Mrs. Auric,” he said, tone polite and without a trace of digitized voice, “I was sent by De Luxe Services. You were in need of assistance in the home, correct?”
“Well, I hoped they would have sent flesh-fur-and-blood, but hey, no one bats a thousand.” I whipped out my case of Cigarettas, lit one and let the dragon-fire smoke flow out my snout. I wasn’t going to be an easy case, and I didn’t want to be. I frankly wasn’t crazy about having any robo-maid in my home, and I wanted that crystal clear.
It was only when the smoke parted that I saw the face of a crestfallen man.
The smile gone from his snout, that silver wolf simply tipped his hat, turned away and walked out. I heard him clear through the door when he touched base with the service agency.
“Prospect 53, not worth it.” he muttered. “It would end the same as 5 through 52. Why do you keep sending me out here, Chief?”
“It’s just a bad block, kid.” came the reply. “I’m sorry. Go up near Comm/Ent, there oughta be better. I know one of the techs running the newsreels needs help keeping his joint clean.”
“No matter how good I try, it’s just…” He trailed off. He wasn’t going to cry, none of them could, but being anyone’s 47th albatross, wolf or machine, was turning my stomach in circles. I sprinted for the door.
“Heya, what’s your name?” I asked. He looked startled, but turned back to me, and came out with the sheepish reply of “Kevin.”
“Come in Kevin, I didn’t mean to start with you like that.” I said. “Just been a long day, and I can be a royal bitch at the end of one.”
He hesitated at first, but it was just to clear it with his boss over the wristcom. His old man at HQ seemed pleased with the turnaround, gave him the clearance, and at last, back in he came. I took his hat and coat, and hung them up while trading my heels for flats. He nodded as he surveyed the apartment. “It was a cleaner you needed, correct?”
“Live-in cleaner. If you have experience in babysitting, that’d be swell too.”
He cocked his head like a pup. “You have kids?”
I chuckled. “Two last I checked. They’re out with Paul right now, at the park.”
He smiled. Honest to God, this bot smiled. “I’d be more than happy to. Babysit that is. I’ve been with several families, you can check with the agency on that. I don’t know if you’d believe me when I say this, but it’s one of the joys I take in this job.”
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. Yeah, I know. Bot says he’s great with kids, oh Lord in Heaven, he’ll cut ‘em and dice ‘em into kibbles-and-bits, huh? Let me head you off here. I thought him being hot on it was a bit weird, so I asked if he had a childhood or was particularly programmed for daycare duties, all that stuff. At first he seemed confused, but then he showed me a picture.
“Silver kid’s me in the center.” he smiled. “Mom and Pop were techs for the Tower Network. They couldn’t have kids, and they didn’t want the phoniness of trading in model after model to make-believe a kid growing up before their eyes. So they asked if they could adopt me, just as I was.”
I took the photo and marveled at it. A couple of cute old grays with a big silver boy standing with them. “Just like that, huh?” I smiled. “They still around?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been on my own for a while now. But I like to keep this around whenever I get lonely for them.” He halted once more. Stopped and fell into that vacant stare. I just wrapped both arms around him, and held him tight. Even if he couldn’t feel it, it was a feeling I knew all too well.
Kevin hesitated to return the affection, but I hit him with the same line I always teased Paul with, “you can’t crush me, I’m built too tough.”
He smiled again and welcomed the embrace. “I hope the rest of you like me.”
Kevin got his answer that night. Paul was always a bit more welcoming of the machines than I was, so he gave him that good old American handshake of his and made sure his room was so clean he’d only have to worry about the rest of the home. And the kids, God bless them, they were all over him. In fact, he was strong enough to take on all four on his back and gave them a hell of a piggyback ride around the apartment.
That night, after he’d taken care of the core cleaning, Lissy, our youngest, was trying to find a new story for her to be read. Kevin came in clutch with a bundle of his own favorites. None of that Amalgam stuff either. Real classics that little lady never even dreamed of.
Paul and I couldn’t thank him enough for the extra set of hands, and I went out of my way to keep him on. He’s still with us, even as the kids are all hitting their teens. That solar flare gave him a bit of a hard-time, but he’s recovered fully. Paul’s also learned enough to help him with in-house maintenance, which came in handy when that storm passed over us.
We came into his life as Prospect 53, and we’ve stuck around long enough to become his second family. And all I can say is… well thank God I didn’t blow that.
Dateline: July 18th, 2398 - 09:08:37.2
I’m out past the Marshall settlements. Trajectory takes me due east. Bernard Kershner was last seen heading for the desert. I have the samples to reference back to and will make use of accordingly, including the gray fur dyed red.
Commandeered a derelict truck, got solar power back online. Needed the break too as my joints were beginning to overheat. No fault of my interior cooling systems, just the absence of A.C.E.S. and her atmospheric control. The temperatures out here are best described as brutal.
Truck is running smoothly, responding well. I find myself fascinated by this elder machine. There’s raw power here, great potential. Scan indicates 1975 GMC Sierra, modified. Time in the shop would do it well. I would also find it a worthwhile addition to my collection of racers for the Sanguis duels. Expect this machine as well as Kershner when I return.
In fact, I would recommend its paring with this new gladiator for the games. Kershner is a big wolf, 6’ 5”, a tough and capable man. He’d wield a truck like this well. 95% match based on his profile and the current state of the truck. Will report when next I find him. He will drive for us. He has no choice in the matter.
Gladi-Model 256 “Hades” Signing Off. For the Glory of Sanguis et Oleum.
He was different this time. I could feel it. “Everything alright Babe? I did the installation right, right?”
He looked back at me, my white body reflected in those sweet green eyes of his as he put me on. “You did fine. I guess I…”
Off he trailed. He had something on his mind. “What’s up Baby?” I asked, nipping all over his soft, silver build. He didn’t say at first, he just kept returning the kissing and cuddling I was after. I had salvaged him from an old junkyard a few miles out of Haven. Got him back up to snuff to talk with me, and once he could, he helped me program him according to his built-in instructions. But I could tell those pretty little gears were chewing on something.
“Lay it out” was the safe word. And when we finally broke from it, he came right out to me. “I didn’t want to.”
“Whaddya mean Babe?” I asked.
“I didn’t want to tonight.”
“Really?” I blurted out.
He nodded. I felt his metal hand thumb my cheek. “You’re beautiful Vanessa, but I just didn’t know how to say no tonight. I wanted to but I couldn’t.”
I realized what the hang-up was and just felt awful. “Oh God, I’m sorry. Was this the first time you felt this way?” He nodded again. “Sweetheart, is there anyway I can—”
“Calm down,” he said coolly. “Relax.”
“But for God’s sake, I just ra—”
“You didn’t do anything unethical.” he said quietly. “They built me this way in Haven. All I did was fulfill the purpose. I’ve never felt this way before, and hopefully won’t again.” He took me in his arms, right across his lap. “And I don’t want you feeling like you’ve done something wrong. If you want me to be here willingly, you just got to program a fail-safe. That way I can tell you when I’m not feeling up to it. “It’s easy, right here in my chest. These shifts in mood are just a quirk. If you want though, we can wait until morning.”
All I did was cry. I didn’t even want to, but I just broke. Not even because of the guilt but because of the way he spoke to me, like it was all just an innocent misunderstanding, that I had just stumbled into him on a walk. I had never taken advantage of anything in my life, but when he told me he didn’t want to after we had been at it…God I was a mess. He tried to soothe me, and when I felt the warmth of his body bristling against mine, I finally calmed down.
“I know you well enough now,” he added. “We’re out here in the desert. Just you and I. And of all the wolves I’ve ever had to love, you’re the sweetest soul I know. I’ve had far crueler clients, believe me. Besides, loving you is the only way I can repay you for restoring me. Don’t forget it.”
He lifted my chin and we locked eyes. I finally spoke. “If you’re the only man I ever see for the rest of my life, I’ll die happy.”
“Let’s check in a hundred years,” he teased. And just like that, it was all smoothed over. I helped program the fail-safe the next morning. Straight-up jail-broke him. When I did, he popped the obvious question: what’s a gal like me doing with a bot? I still don’t know how to answer him. Maybe it’s the way he makes me feel, maybe it’s my own messed up head. Or maybe it was just the way it was meant to be. When I know, I’ll tell him.
They had expected it to arrive like the Atomic Era beasts of yore, the leviathan heaps of steel and circuitry that rained laser-fire down from a giant oblong eye, and moved with all the vivaciousness of a snail. And yet, it took a machine to beget these machines, not a wolf.
Professor Van Allenby gave the lecture hall floor to a gentleman of silver. A fine young wolf, built to forever remain the age of 30, dressed sharply and lugging behind him a tremendous something on a four-wheeled cart. The audience were all flesh and fur, and all waiting with baited breath for the tarped creation to be unveiled.
“Gentleman,” the black-furred professor beamed with joy, “this is one of the latest models and men in science. You may call him Felix and I do believe you will find his triumph to be of terrific import.”
Stately applause filled the room before Felix spoke. “As you may know,” the silver-tongued scientist began, “I’ve spent a great deal of time in the field, working on behalf of WCC and in conjunction with the HPD on matters of state security and crime reduction. In fact, it is after this meeting that I shall find myself back on the beat. However, what I have to share with you all, is the future.”
He took hold of the cloak covering the great whatsit astride the cart. He didn’t pull it off just yet. He wanted them to stew in it.
“What you are about to see,” Felix continued, “is what machines of my caliber and others can do for you fine folks. What we can do to safeguard our beloved city and those who gave us the gift of this unique breed of life. The Mother Goddess Ace and the brilliant minds of the state.”
In a flash of white cloth, it was unveiled, and stood a towering black machine. A wolf in form and figure, but equal parts steel and obsidian, with a single red visor where eyes would normally reside. The audible gasp brought a smile to the silver scientist’s face.
“The finest cybernetic minds made this all possible.” Professor Allenby grinned, gesturing to Felix for further elucidation.
“A special task force of Civ-Sci Models,” he grinned, straightening his leather jacket, “have designed and constructed this guardian of our future. The Caza-6. Taller, more robust, and more powerful than any military model currently in production. These are the men of metal for whom mountains will move, rebels will be crushed, and peace will be made plenty for all in our beautiful Haven.”
“What are its capabilities?” came a rogue question from the dark.
Felix relished the answer. “Laser-based projectiles launched from both arms and from the central visor. We have had energy readings of Iche-9. Combined with their armor, they are a walking tank fit to serve and protect.”
“Will this displace members of policing and servicemen in the war?” came a rather low growl from within the back.
“I believe it will save lives on that front.” Felix nodded. “Fewer chances for incidents like the one down in East District that cost that poor officer his arm. Officer…Knox was it? Anyhow, next!”
“Are we to trust these once they are in operation?” probed a third.
Felix simply shrugged. “You all trust our dear Ace, do you not?”
The silent bobbing of heads said it all.
“Then you needn’t fear,” he replied. “She will be in control of them and they will be dispatched at her leisure. You men of your various departments will simply be the bases to touch for their deploy.”
“This, gentlemen,” Allenby added, “is what we in WCC have been striving for and continue to strive for. The best possible models for the best possible results. Hegemony maintained, rule of law instilled, and progress forever onward.”
“All this?” came a fourth voice from the black of the hall. “In just 45 years?”
Felix turned and looked right at the silhouette who had asked. And he smiled a cold, simple smile. No malice, no relishing, just a smile.
“We put our future in Her great electric hands centuries ago,” he said. “She has blessed us with the capability to serve her and all in her care. Our future was insured by hands of silver the day she first came online. And now, we the wolves of steel are next in line to extend that giving, nurturing hand. Your future is safe with us, Chairman.” Felix cloaked the machine once more and took hold of the cart’s handles.
“You’ll find with Allenby all the test footage you could want, proving the Caza-6’s capabilities. I believe a live demonstration would be too messy. Good day gentlemen.”
And with that, the metal wolves were gone.