Page 22 of Godslayer
“How is that possible?” Clara asks.
“Can’t hear us, either. Or… they just don’t care. They haven’t been programmed to care.” I take Clara’s hand again and pull her off to the side. Out of the way of the bots stacking packages and in the shadows. “Let’s see if they’ve got a foreman back behind that door. Let’s see if someone’s running this place or if it’s all automated.”
So that’s what we do, we wait.
Two bots do appear to remove the broken bot from the platform, but they don’t look around. They don’t talk, or looksurprised, or ask questions. It’s just part of the job. The bot broke. And they’ve been programmed to haul it away.
“They’re not sentient,” I say, after the clean-up bots are gone.
“Well, of course they’re not sentient. They’re… glorified coffee machines.”
I give Clara a side eye. “Trust me, some of themweresentient. That’s why they were outlawed. The gods started stuffing themselves inside these carapace bodies—and people lost their shit. It was fine when they were just holograms or voices on a screen. But the moment they hadbodies? That was too real. So the gods just gave up and outlawed them. But I guess the gods figure, well, this isn’t our world, is it? It’s another dimension, so it doesn’t really count.”
Clara sighs. “It is all lies, Tyse? Is that all it is?”
I nod. “Yeah. That’s truly all it is, Clara. Just lies.”
She stares at the steel door, then down the tunnel. “Should we… go check it out?”
“Go check what out?”
“You know.” She nods her head at the steel door. “Whatever’s going on behind that door.”
“You want to goinside?”
“Don’t you?”
I mean, honestly, it hadn’t even occurred to me. So I say, “No.”
Which makes Clara chuckle. “Why not? We’re here. In a strange world. Even though it is my world, this was all hidden from us. We need to check it out. What if the terrorist is in there?”
“He’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he—” I almost say he started out at Tau City and couldn’t possibly have gotten this far yet. Which would’vepuzzled Clara, to say the least. “Because he’s on the other end of the line. Near the Outlands.”
“Well, I’m curious. I want to see inside. I was never given the opportunity to explore my world, and now I have one. If those bot things don’t care that we’re here, then I want to take a look.” And then, before I can answer so we can have a discussion about this, she hoists herself up onto the platform and starts walking towards the door.
I follow, catching up with her and taking her by the arm. “What are you doin’?”
“I told you.” She pulls her arm out of my grip. “I’m going to look. You only live once, Tyse. And I don’t know what the future is going to bring, but I just have this feeling that I’ll never be back this way again so this is my only chance. What if all the other stations don’t have bots, but people? We can’t go in those.”
She’s right. But I don’t think the other stations are manned by actual people. These bots explain how Finn Scott is able to infiltrate the cities on the line and blow up the towers. They just… don’t see him. Don’t care about him, either.
“Fine. You’re right,” I say, givin’ in. “We might never get this chance again. We’ll look.”
She beams me a wide smile. “Thanks.”
“But I go first.”
“Lead the way, my captain.” I catch her snickering at me good-naturedly as I open the steel door and peek inside.
6 - CLARA
I’m holding on to Tyse’s shirtas he peers inside the station. “Well?” I ask, trying to see around his hulking frame, but not having much luck.
“No one’s here.” He opens the door wider, stepping through.
