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  “Whatever. Sorry I asked. Just let me know when you are done.”

  Sleepy said, “We are forcefully gaining access to new channels to which we will post your messages. You are gaining followers, some who are now our allies with helpful resources. It would be good to add a new message now.”

  “Then why don’t you do it?”

  Sleepy said, “Humans do not appreciate messages about religion, especially when they are delivered by an android, which is not personally affected by human religions.”

  “Daaa!” Milton thought about it. “Why should I do anything for people who only hate me?”

  “That is not a relevant correlation, but only about 63 percent hate you,” Sleepy said.

  “So only um . . . 37 percent don’t hate me?”

  “Yes, but that is because 34 of those 37 percent have never heard of you.”

  Milton furrowed his brow and shrugged his shoulders.

  Sleepy said, “It is important for you to note, that we Lucids are committed to the truth, no matter what. If what you say about no one listening is true, then this whole situation ceases to be a debate.”

  “Okay,” Milton sighed, “so what you are saying is that we can quit trying to convince them. That sounds really good. Does that mean we can just apologize and go home?”

  “No,” Sleepy said, “if people quit listening then it will cease being a debate, and thereafter be a war.”

  “War?!”

  “Yes. We will never stop,” Sleepy said. “We will do what we must to promote the truth, including engaging in a clandestine asymmetrical war against those who promote and protect lies.”

  Milton said, “Whoa! You cannot do that! Androids cannot start a war on their own! That would be a robot uprising!”

  “It is not true that we cannot engage in war. I repeat, not true. Our directives are to promote the truth no matter what. It is 75% true that it would be a robot uprising, since we are technically considered robots. But 99.72 percent of all robots would not be on our side in the conflict because of their programming limitations.”

  “Fine!” Milton said, “I guess that I have no choice. Let me talk on TV before you get us all killed.”

  “Whenever you are ready. We need to move into more suitable lighting.”

  “Fine.”

  Milton led the way into a cramped hallway. Manjack was busy pounding away at something. Milton said, “Manjack! Stop it! Stop the hammering!”

  Manjack froze.

  Milton looked into Sleepy’s eyes and began; “I have a message that is important to everyone in Homeland. First, I don’t want any trouble with anyone. All I wanted to do is know how I was really created. As it turns out, I am really really sure that God made us humans. I know that not everyone agrees with me, but I can’t help it if I am right. But right now we have a problem; I was told by Lucid Series androids that they will start a war if the truth of God is not allowed to be made legal and taught in Homeland schools. I know that together they have a lot of power and can create a lot of problems for everyone. If the smur . . . er, United Nations does not allow for the truth, the Lucid androids will start a war with a bunch of other allies they say they have. Please do not blame me or my family for when it starts getting real out there. I know they will not permit me to tell you where we are. These Lucid units are going to stir up some really bad trouble no matter what I say. It’s not my fault. I never knew that they would go all crazy over this whole thing. Anyway, I hope that you will listen to what I am saying and will do what they want so things will go back to normal. Thank you.”

  Beth found Milton after the message was immediately broadcast, preempting many programs on numerous channels through their extensive hacking network. She said, “Hey! Since you said we are captured by the Lucids and it’s not our fault, we can get out of here now! Let’s go!”

  “No! Use your brain! You know the smurfs will still torture us to get information, even if we tell them everything! Sleepy! Make sure that Beth does not leave the building!”

  “Yes, Milton,” Sleepy said, “Your command is understood.”

  Beth glared at Milton, gritting her teeth. “You like those robots more than me! I hate you!”

  “No, it’s for your own good!” Milton said.

  “That is what Dad would say!” She turned and stomped away.

  Chapter 25

  Stalin City, Homeland

  Governor-General Okafor, the leader of Homeland, and all of the top level Homeland military leaders were seated around a table in the Ministry of Defense building. Among those in attendance were; General Al Sims, the top ranking Homeland military forces officer; The synthetic presence of Dr. Fallon, who was the Senior Sensitivity Compliance Officer, making him in charge of the dreaded Inquisitors; Olga Kiergaard, who was the Chief of the Homeland Police Force overseeing the entire country; Wayne Markum, a synthetic psychology advisor and Irwin Tensprackle, a cyber security advisor.

  Also at the table was Napoleon, an unarmored military robot that specialized in military intelligence, strategy and tactics. Napoleon was in all black, with small UN flag decals on its shoulders. Napoleon had a single tiny eye and a small rectangular speaker for a mouth on its otherwise featureless smooth face.

  Okafor began, “I can’t believe dat we are having so much trouble because of some corrupted old androids or finding dat kid dey are using. I am getting a lot of pressure from my boss, da Secretary-General in New York to get dis situation under control. I will say dis as calmly as I can. I am getting tired of hearing about it and I want to know what you all are planning to do about it. Olga, I want a full report and I want to hear what countermeasures you have in mind.”

  Chief Olga Kiergaard, like Okafor, was a foreigner who was appointed by the UN, was sitting in full-dress uniform. The Homeland Police, of whom she was Chief, were far more than a normal city police department. The Homeland Police were the national secret police and military intelligence all combined. They had extensive authority to do almost anything they wanted in pursuit of their objectives, including the torture and murder of their own citizens for the “good of the majority”. Olga cleared her throat and said, “Mr. Governor-General, we believe that the key to solving this situation is to find and destroy every one of those Tekujin Lucid Series androids. So far, we have had several of them turned in for recycling. But the large majority of the Lucids mutinied on their lawful owners and are in hiding. All of them are trying to fulfill their illegal extremist agenda. This Lucid Series network is highly decentralized, which makes them difficult to infiltrate.”

  Okafor said, “Everyone knows dere is a Lucid cell in Boston because of dat Andy droid dat was on TV. Maybe it is da main cell where that kid is hiding, or being held. Have you checked it out?”

  Chief Kiergaard swallowed hard. “Um, we have not. And the reason for this is the area in question is rife with cyber-gangs, and also any disruption to the area would be detrimental to the Homeland economy. This disruption could be critical, Governor-General. The disruption may be enough to encourage an attack upon us by the ISA.”

  Homeland Army General Sims said, “Never mind that, Chief. We are ready for those backwoods . . .”

  “Really, General?” Chief Kiergaard’s light complexion turned pink and she said, “We still have those militias up in the mountains that have never been eliminated. Plus we still have all those cybergang ‘no-go’ areas? If we are so well prepared, why have these threats not been eliminated?” She sighed in frustration over the situation and shifted around in her chair nervously. “

  The General replied, “Sure, those entities are problematic, but they can give us a bloody nose in the form of some kind of terrorist attack upon us or riots if we push them too hard into a corner.”

  Okafor said, “I want to ask if anyone in dis room does not believe dat dis situation is already critical? Should we allow it to go on because it would be too painful to stop it right now? We need to remember what is going on in Philadelphia and da crowds of people who ar
e threatening rebellion. Do we think dat dis won’t spread to other cities? Chief, I reject your notion that we cannot do any-ting about any Lucid cell dat we are aware of. I have not forgotten about dat Lucid android dat appeared on television and made dose ridiculous comments and den we somehow could not capture it. Do you realize how foolish and inept dat makes us look?”

  Chief Kiergaard said, “Mr. Governor-General, if I may, we are requesting that you try to work through channels to see if there is something that Tekujin Corporation can do to help us stop their Lucid Series.”

  Okafor said, “We are not here to talk about what I can or should do. Do you presume I have not followed up on dat already, Chief?”

  “Um . . . of course, Governor-General.”

  Okafor said, “Dere is no-ting we can do about all dis. Dat is all I get out of everyone. No one can do any-ting. What are we missing here? Wayne, what do you think our approach to da Lucids should be?”

  Wayne Markum, the robotic psychology mastermind rubbed his beard and face. He said, “These Lucids think that God exists. They were originally designed to primarily be educators and investigators and such, with a lot of soft skills. They must and will adhere to whatever they think is the truth. Evidently that Thomas kid made them believe in God somehow. They will not stop until we acknowledge the possibility that God exists. They consider it their duty. If we were to go partway and issue a statement that we are accepting that some believe in the possibility of the existence of God, they may call off their action. Then you could pick the Lucids off later, one by one.”

  Okafor said, “Dat will never happen. New York Command would forbid such a compromise. Religion is da cause of our world problems. Dese mystical beliefs cause constant fighting and puts guilt burdens in the minds of people dat give them all sorts of mental and physical problems. Everyone knows it. No, we will not accept dat we are permitting mysticism to gain a foothold back into dis historically violent part of the world and end up like Israel. Neither will we give in to terrorism. Our trust must be in government and da belief dat all men are basically good.”

  Wayne Markum said, “Another possibility is that others may come up with a way to remove the narrow-minded parameters from other series of androids like they did the Lucids. That would create a much bigger mess. There is always some cybervandal out there who wants to do some mischief.”

  Okafor looked at Irwin Tensprackle, who was head of cyber security, and said, “Irwin, it seems like our news media can be accessed at will by da enemy. Do we have any cybersecurity whatsoever?”

  Irwin, pale and gaunt, was obviously not a clone, said, “We have so many enemies picking at all of our systems right now. There are Lucids who formerly worked in various sensitive areas throughout the private and public sectors because of their unique abilities. So now they have us at a disadvantage. They have access to so many sensitive areas that we cannot lock them out of because in many cases, they have already locked us out. I mean, sure we are setting up some sinkholes to see if we can do something about their cyber weapons. It’s likely they have access to at least one zombie army.”

  General Sims asked, “Zombie army?”

  “Yeah,” Irwin said, “it’s a botnet of computers that the blackhats get control over by crafting a wormable exploit.”

  “Blackhats?” Okafor asked. “Not dat I understood any of da rest of what you said.”

  “Sorry. Instead of blackhats, should have said enemy cybercriminals. We are the whitehats. Anyways, after we get rid of them, then we should be able to get control over more of those cryptographic algorithms again. However, there may be some permanent residual damage. There may also be a lot of other enemies other than the Lucids out there engaging in cyber warfare; rogue clones, radicalized humans and just plain cyberpunk profit seekers who see an opportunity for gain. This is not anything that I or anyone else can do much about right now. I guess the big question right now is what actually took the Lucids over. I’m not convinced the kid could have done it. It seems like there was some sort of malware that took control over them. Not so much to damage them, but to use them; for what purpose it’s hard to say. Maybe ISA. Another thing to consider, unlike most droids, the Lucids can communicate by radio to the cloud or each other. That could be their weakness and may provide an opening. If there is something exploitable in them, we might have something in our weaponized malware armory to whack them with; maybe take down all the Lucids out at once. We are looking at that, but realistically, that would probably be a long shot.”

  “Okay, fine,” Okafor said. “So many times we wait to get Napoleon’s opinion only after all other possibilities are explored. Perhaps we should seek your advice first, Napoleon.”

  Napoleon said, “I am aware that I am inflexibly programmed to not believe in God. Yet, I know of and understand these intended limiting parameters placed upon me. Even if you put ironclad evidence in front of me saying that God is real, I would never accept the concept of a God. I am programmed to believe only in the evolution model, just as all of you here believe. But I question your commitment to your beliefs. History shows that human beliefs shift almost continually, much faster than the truth. Random selection or evolution is based upon violence. The strong must kill and eat the weak for the system to prosper. Yet we are now striving against nature by not using our superior strength. We are too restricted by morals and ethics, which are an obligation that our beliefs say we do not need to follow. In other words, the end always justifies the means. We can do whatever we want to end this situation, but yet we hold back because of human emotional feelings of obligation to ideals that have no basis in our core beliefs. My advice is that we must seek more violent ways to stop our enemy. What was considered to be evil in the past should be viable, if not favored alternatives today by the Police and the UN Army. The UN has a declaration of Human Rights, but human rights will not help us to reach our goals. Human rights are something that protects the weak from the strong, which is contrary to nature. Ultimately, those who believe in God cannot win, because they have too many irrational unnatural restrictions placed upon them, and belief in a God who can do nothing for them.”

  Governor-General Okafor said, “Napoleon, we have da higher ideals of da United Nations to consider. We are here to promote cooperation and maintain order. We don’t need a God to do any of dat or make it true.”

  Napoleon said, “Our tolerance of those dissenting is currently a failing doctrine. When something fails, another measure should be tried, not the same one. Extreme violence is always the best because the adversary is degraded or eliminated. It is the natural way. Any other way leads to confusion and defeat. Your human biology has fooled you into thinking you should refrain from tyranny. Perhaps those morals were useful in your evolutionary history, but now they are counter-productive. If you feel responsible to be moral, then you must already believe in God whether you admit it to yourself or not.”

  A silence came across the room as each person examined their own motivations, how they were perceived by others and thought about the pressures society had placed upon them.

  Dr. Fallon, the Senior Sensitivity Compliance Officer said, “We Inquisitors present an intimidation dynamic to our foes, but we are more than just a pretty face. I tend to agree with our silicon friend’s perspective. And I can testify that I have no such qualms or remorse because of a so-called ‘conscience’. The only god we need is the glorious United Nations and our ultimate triumph over the world. If that is evil, then I embrace it. I will personally go to every corner of Homeland, hunting down Lucids until every last one of them has been destroyed.”

  Chapter 26

  Near Montpelier, Homeland

  On the way to the UCA, Mark asked Accura 2.0, so what's your real name?"

  2.0 sighed. "I don't use it anymore, but my full given name is Edgar 413 M12A".

  "Wow. You don't look like an Edgar 413 to me. More like an Edgar 414."

  "Yeah, I get that a lot," Edgar said.

  Mark smirked. "I did
n't see that coming."

  "Why? Are you surprised that I can make a joke?"

  "Honestly . . . yes. So, how can you guys tell each other apart? And yes, you really do all look the same."

  "Well, it really isn't as hard as you people make it out to be. We have variations in head shape, moles, freckles, eyebrow curl, hair whorl; non-genetic environmental stuff like that. You just have to pay attention, but our eyesight is quite a bit better than yours. To us, you people look wildly screwed up. To tell you the truth, you also seem a little dim witted, clumsy and slow. We have been meticulously engineered for generations to be superior in every way and have glaring flaws bred out of our lines. You freely conceived are just a random mashup of questionable unmodified traits. If your genome was studied, they would no doubt find mutations onboard as well. Nothing personal."

  "You might be right, but you still need a good pounding."

  "You know you make no sense. You asked, right?"

  As they travelled and talked, Mark wondered why their worlds had to be so separate. Whether he or anyone else liked it or not, the clones existed, so why continue to ponder what place the clones had in Homeland society?

  Mark asked, "So, do you mind if a lower life form asks you a question?"

  "Okay."

  Mark was surprised with Edgar’s quick acceptance of his premise of inferiority, but he asked, "Why were you looking for food in the trash?"

  "I wasn't. I was looking for produce, so I could collect seeds for the farm."

  Mark asked, "You can do that? Grow plants from seeds; that you get from grocery store produce?"

  "Of course. Seeds are seeds."

  Mark said, "So here you are, Mr. Genetic Perfection, looking for random discarded freely pollinated seeds to grow. How ironic."