Code Lightfall and the Robot King by Daniel H. Wilson Read Free Book Online

to escape from here! Can you bash a hole in the wall?”
    â€œCan’t.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI’m not allowed to slaughter.”
    Code pointed at a wall of old books and ladders and papers. “Gary! Slaughter that wall!”
    Gary hopped up and down and clapped his metal-sheathed hands together.
    â€œYou got it!” With a gleeful giggle, Gary raised both fists high in the air and smashed through the wall, sending stones, chunks of crystal, and shards of glass erupting into the courtyard. Without looking back, Gary lumbered through the gaping hole, chuckling happily. With much less enthusiasm, Code and Peep climbed through the hole and onward to freedom.

6
Grassy Glade
    The Great Disassembly:
T–Minus Four Days
    â€œBe honest. Are you going to slaughter me?” asked Code.
    With Brutus and Darla in close pursuit, Code and Gary had hurried through the countryside and away from the crystalline castle. Eventually, the booms of the robot giants firing their guns had died away. The mechanical woofs of hunting quadrupeds had also trailed off. Now that they had stopped running and begun to walk, Code felt it was time to ask the question.
    â€œNope,” said Gary in a matter-of-fact tone.
    â€œGood, because you aren’t allowed to,” said Code.
    Gary’s word was good enough for Code. It would have to be, since he couldn’t outrun Gary even if he tried. Also, Peep seemed to be happy. She flickered ahead through the tall grass, always on a beeline for the Beamstalk that stretched like a thread on the horizon. Who knows , thought Code. An atomic slaughterbot might make a good ally.
    â€œSo, if you’re a human, who is the little one?” asked Gary.
    â€œI call her Peep,” said Code. And then, just to be sure, he added, “And she’s off-limits, too.”
    â€œYou got it,” replied Gary.
    Peep flew up and landed on Gary’s shoulder. She trundled around in little circles, inspecting him. Gary managed to crane his neck and focus on her.
    â€œWhere did you find her?”
    â€œIn my world. She led me here.”
    â€œShe is very small. You should protect her.”
    â€œI will,” said Code solemnly.
    The lumbering robot and small boy walked together into the dusk, through metallic blades of grass and over rolling hills. The journey reminded Code of the hikes he and his grandfather used to take through the woods back home—just the sound of footsteps, the feel of sweat evaporating from his forehead, the smell of the woods.
    As they walked, they talked.
    â€œGary?”
    â€œYeah, Code?”
    â€œWhere did you come from?”
    â€œFrom the fabrication tank.”
    â€œBut how?”
    â€œFrom your schematics.”
    â€œThat was just a drawing I made up.”
    â€œIt must have been a pretty great drawing, if I do say so myself. You’re an excellent artist, for a human.” Gary flexed his arm pistons and chuckled. Then, in a more serious tone, he added, “Imagination is valuable, Code. The trick is to turn it into reality.”
    The tinny sound of crickets permeated the dense grass. Code followed the screep , screep sound to a thicket. He pulled a patch of grass aside, but found only a small green speaker. It broadcast the cricket noise over and over again.
    This place is totally unpredictable , thought Code. I need all the help I can get.
    As they marched onward, Code wondered aloud, “Gary? Why are you coming with Peep and me?”
    â€œWell, Code, I don’t want to sound mean, but you and Peep seem very … flimsy. And you aren’t very big at all. Since I’ve got to be disassembled anyway, I might as well help you follow the great exodus to Disassembly Point. King’s orders, you know. Even a newborn robot like me is programmed to know that much.”
    â€œWhy would the king order that?” asked Code. “Won’t he be disassembled like everyone