I mentioned before about wanting to do some more creative work, especially on this blog. I was having trouble filling the page every day but for me I need to. The consistency to update every day is normally where I break; if I make an excuse one day, then it gets easier day after day. So I have instead switched the focus of this blog. Yesterday you saw a more autobiographical entry, where as today I’ve decided to take you into an episodic piece of fiction. I decided that I would alternate between autobiographical entries and fiction. That will happen every day until one or the other finishes. I may keep the fictional series to ten episodes, but I suppose we will see when or if we get there!
Today’s piece is set one hundred years into the future, where police and courts have been replaced with robots. Black and white with no gray area; These robots govern consistently and cannot be bought out. Suddenly, one man is found innocent after he has been imprisoned and people begin to question why he was wrongly convicted. As the first “mistake” made by the robots is blown out of proportion, it seems people are losing faith in this form of the law. Robots are the only officials left after twenty years of consistent service, will people allow robots to govern other robots?
The rain pours down over the city, as if an attempt to wash away the mistakes of an artificial intelligence. One judge, makes one mistake. That’s how this all began. As I peer out the front window of my office, I realize that this is going to change things. I’ve been operating a detective business almost all of my eleven years in operation. I lean on the window frame and I find myself staring at the metal of my hand. It was ten years ago that I was allowed to start my own business. I load the file associated with the date.
“For exemplary service, Police Artificial Intelligence Detective M46-NU5, has been granted the approval for his application to operate an agency dealing with individual problems.” Commissioner Alpha 6L3-N13 looked me up and down. “M46-NU5, will you continue to comply with regulatory and preventative maintenance diagnostics?”
I stare straight ahead and nod. “Yes Sir.”
The phone rings in the background and I pause the load. It is strange now after loading that file, how he sounds so machine like. I pick up the phone and look back to the window. “Artificial Intelligence Detective Agency, Magnus speaking.” The voice on the other end sounds as soggy as the scene outside my window. “Is this the robot detective?” That is an accurate description, however it doesn’t register as polite by my records. “I suppose that is what I am, who am I speaking with?” Through the sobs on the other end comes a sweet sound, like oil for my audio receivers. “Veronica. Veronica Del Mar.” I pause for a moment, saving that voice file to memory. “What seems to be the problem Ms. Del Mar?” The voice comes through the line again, but this time in hushed tones. “I’m at the corner of one twenty seventh and fifty third. Please pick me up, I’m in the phone booth.” The line goes dead before I can reply.
I get my umbrella out and head to my car. I hate nights like these, just don’t feel comfortable in the pouring rain. Makes my joints stiff. As I turn on the headlights I see a man scurry into a nearby house, it only seems strange because he was just standing in the rain. I ignore it and pull away, that phone booth is only a few blocks from my office.
In no time I see the booth standing amid the rain, a small sanctuary for a sweet voice. As I pull up, I see someone inside the booth but can’t make any details out, the rain is obscuring my view. I push open the car door and the person from inside the booth rushes out and sits in my passenger seat. She pulls her jacket back from her head and I see a most attractive female. She is asymmetrical and her beautiful blonde hair is styled neatly. Her make up is somehow unaffected by the rain, and accents her features perfectly. My voice crackles, likely from the moisture in the air, “So where to Ms. Del Mar?” She turns to me with a smile, but suddenly it turns to a look of rage. She pulls a gun from her purse and sticks it in my face. “The Police Station droid. Make it snappy.”
For the first time in many years, I am glad that I cannot feel fear. But if I were able to, I think it would be how I would feel now. Nevertheless I am concerned with what a gun that size would do to my memory banks. We drive down fifty third and the woman never takes her eyes off me. I can see a slight trembling in her trigger finger, my concern always growing for my memory. As we get close to the station I find an old wireless connection and connect. I login to my home computer and begin uploading a backup of my mind to it. The time estimate for the upload comes in at about four minutes. Stupid Windows Seventeen, I only have four hundred and thirty seven zettabytes of data to transfer. It’s just never fast when you need it to be. I begin to slow the car down and pull off to the side before getting to the station. Suddenly Ms. Del Mar knocks on my head with the gun. “I said to the Police Station droid, not near it.”
A notification appears in my view, apparently the estimate was wrong and it went faster than estimated. Once again I say, stupid Windows. I send a quick email to myself from my computer and schedule it to send in approximately ten minutes. Hopefully I’m still active, but judging from my surroundings, the chances are slim. I pull up to the front of the Police Station and Ms. Del Mar looks up at the building. “Thanks for the getaway car…” I turn to her, looking straight down the barrel of what seems to be a hand cannon. “You don’t have to do this.” She doesn’t even flinch. Her eyes stare me directly in the face. “This is for my father, sorry, it’s nothing personal.” The bullet tears through the protective armor and I begin to feel the power draining from my view. She opens the door and shoves me onto the side walk and into the rain. The last thing I see are my car’s tail lights disappearing into the night.
End of Episode One! I’d love to hear any feed back on today’s story and feel free to be brutally honest. Email me, or comment, either one is fine! Also I got word my review is up thanks to the awesome folks over at TnT Gaming Voice! You can check out my review for Fallout: New Vegas (PS3) here but for today thanks for reading!