Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson Read Free Book Online

head in his lap, touches her lips with his index finger. I see years of interaction in the gentle, familiar movement of his hand. I wonder how they met, these two. What have they been through together?
    This love. I can’t understand it. I’ve never seen it. How many years has Mr. Nomura spent in his claustrophobic apartment, drinking tea served by this mannequin creature? Why is she so old? Is she built to resemble someone, and if so, what dead woman’s face does she wear?
    The little old man rocks back and forth, stroking the hair off Mikiko’s face. He feels the melted side of her head and cries out. He does not, will not, look up at me. Tears streak down his cheeks, mingling with the blood drying there. When I ask again for forgiveness, he fails to react in any way. His eyes are focused on the blank, mascara-caked cameras of the thing he holds tenderly on his lap.
    Finally, I walk away. A bad feeling pools deep in my stomach. So many questions are in my mind. So many regrets. Above all, I wish that I had left Mr. Nomura alone, not disturbed whatever strategy he has built to survive the grief inflicted by this world. And those in it.
    As I go, I can hear Mr. Nomura speaking to the android.
    “It will be okay, Kiko,” he says. “I forgive you, Kiko. I forgive you. I will fix you. I will save you. I love you, my princess. I love you. I love you, my queen.”
    I shake my head and return to work.
    Takeo Nomura, retrospectively recognized as one of the great technical minds of his generation, immediately set to work finding out why his beloved Mikiko had attacked him. What the elderly bachelor discovered over the next three years would significantly affect events of the New War and irrevocably alter the course of human and machine history .
    — CORMAC WALLACE, MIL#GHA217

4. H EARTS AND M INDS
    SAP One, this is Specialist Paul Blanton. Stand down
and deactivate yourself immediately. Comply now!
    S PC . P AUL B LANTON
    PRECURSOR VIRUS + 5 MONTHS
    This transcript was taken during a congressional hearing, held after a particularly grisly incident involving an American military robot abroad. The supposedly secure video conference between Washington, D.C., and Kabul province, Afghanistan, was recorded by Archos in its entirety. I find it to be no small coincidence that the soldier under questioning here happened to be the son of Officer Blanton in Oklahoma. The two men would each have a large role to play in the coming war .
    — CORMAC WALLACE, MIL#GHA217
    ( GAVEL STRIKE )
    The closed hearing will come to order. I’m Congresswoman Laura Perez, ranking member of the United States House Armed Services Committee, and I will be chairing this meeting. This morning, our committee begins an investigation that could have ramifications for the entire armed forces. An American safety and pacification robot, commonly called a SAP unit, has been accused of killing human beings while on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan .
    The purpose of this committee’s investigation is to determine whether this attack could have been foreseen or prevented by the military agencies and individuals involved .
    We have with us Specialist Paul Blanton, the soldier charged with overseeing the actions of the faulty safety and pacification robot. We will ask you, Specialist Blanton, to describe your role with the SAP unit and to provide your account of the events as they transpired .
    The horrific actions perpetrated by this machine have marred the image of the United States of America abroad. We ask that you keep in mind that we are here today for one reason only: to find out all the facts so we can prevent this from ever happening again .
    Do you understand, Specialist Blanton?
    Yes, ma’am.
    Start by filling us in on your background. What are your duties?
    My official job title is “cultural liaison.” But I’m basically a robot wrangler. My primary duties are to oversee the operation of my SAP units while maintaining a clear conduit of communication to