RoboNomics

Chapter 91 - 2016

It's not exactly the reaction Matt and I were hoping for. But out on the street - out in the sunlight - I feel better than I have in weeks. As long as I don't have to go back underground, I don't care what he says about the sudden power outage.

The five of us continue down the street until we reach the door of a palatial townhouse. Without a word, Chris disappears inside.

"Where the hell's he going?" Matt demands of Joe.

"Relax," Joe replies. "It's his place."

I look back up at the townhouse covered in ruddy brick. I saw it from the inside, but I couldn't have imagined that this is what the exterior would look like.

I wonder how he can live with his contradictions. I suppose that his father's money doesn't hurt.

When Chris reappears, all the people he brought here from Earth follow him in a stream. The ARs waste no time in pushing past Matt and I. They run down the street.

The first thing they spot is a small cafe with a street-side patio. The patrons are still sipping cappuccinos despite the lack of power. I can see their surprise as black-clad people run up to them.

I see their confusion turn to alarm as an AR overturns a table, spilling two women's coffees. I watch as an older man confronts the offending AR, and as he gets clocked in the jaw for his troubles.

As Chris' people continue down the street, I hear windows being smashed. I suddenly realize that in the press of crowd, Shari has let go of my arms.

"What's happening?" Asks a familiar voice at my side. I turn to discover Elizabeth.

"I guess the power went out."

She looks directly into my eyes, daring me to look away. Even after all this time, she still knows me. She can tell that I'm lying.

"Andrea, what's happening?" She asks again.

Matt is near at hand, and Joe has also let him loose. I look at him for help. But he just shrugs. My look, and his shrug, doesn't escape Elizabeth's notice.

"Andrea!" She says to get my attention.

The crowd is still pushing past us, and so I guide her over to the sidewalk. With a gesture, I call Matt over as well.

"Look," I say in a low voice, unsure of how to begin. "You notice anything else that's happened, other than the power going out?"

She looks around, her dreds swaying from her head. I'm hoping that she'll notice what I've noticed. I'm hoping that she'll see that down the street - in the opposite direction that the ARs ran - there's a group of pod cars that have stopped in their tracks.

I hope she'll see that the passengers have emerged from the back of the pod cars and are clustered in a group, trying to figure out what's happened to their rides. But it's obvious that they've trusted the machines fully. They have no idea what to do without them.

I hope Elizabeth will also notice the androids. The ones who were attending humans, the bots that are all shut down. Their LED lights and electronic faces have all disappeared.

"This is more than just a blackout, isn't it?" She asks.

"Yes," Matt answers for me.

"What? Then what is this?" The look on her face mirrors the expression of the citizens of New Rome: fear and confusion.

"Look, Elizabeth. It's the bots. They -"

But I don't have a chance to finish. An ear-piercing, echoing boom rattles through the street. It's followed by screaming and the pounding of feet on pavement.

"What the hell!" Matt yells over the noise.

"You don't think he..." Elizabeth trails off as she looks at me. I know immediately who and what she means. I haven't seen Chris since his ARs and refugees came streaming out of the townhouse.

"Why not?" I say. "He's done it before."

Elizabeth turns towards the street. She's about to spring away when I grab her elbow.

"Hey. Where are you going?"

"I have to find out what happened."

"But...it could be dangerous."

"Don't worry, Andrea. These are my people, remember?"

My people. The words trigger something in my brain. As the shock waves dissipate, I realize that I don't know where my people are.

"I have to find Austin," I blurt out.

"Okay," Elizabeth says. "Where would he be?"

"I have no idea," I say. "But at least I know where to start."

#

We split up. Elizabeth and Matt head further into town to investigate the blast that we heard. I head in the opposite direction, out of the city and into the winding roads of the country estates.

Here, the crowds thin and the noise dies away. Other than the distant din, I can't even tell that there's anything wrong in New Rome.

The house is quiet as a tomb as I enter it. There's no way that Austin's here. But I don't know where else to look.

"Austin!" The giant house echoes with my voice as I call him. It's been weeks since I last saw him.

The whir of the home's machinery is gone and the large rooms are eerily quiet.

"Austin," I call again. "Austin?" The question is a plaintive whine that dies in my throat.

"Ms. Anderson?" A voice suddenly calls back.

It isn't Austin's voice. It's Rupert, who rounds the corner to join me in the kitchen.

"Oh, Ms. Anderson!" The stress on his face falls away when I look at him. "Thank god. I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Where's Austin?" I don't want to make any small talk.

"Dr. Clarke went into town some time ago. He went out to look for you, like he has every day for weeks. He's had the whole city in an uproar over your disappearance. And now...how is it that you're safe, but that we never found you?"

"I'll explain," I say. "But not now. There's been an explosion, or something, in town. I have to find him. I have to know that he's safe."

I turn to leave out the way I came.

"Ms. Anderson, wait," Rupert limps after me. "You mean to tell me that you're going to go out there to look for him all alone? Now? Wouldn't you like to change your clothes or clean --"

"No, Rupert," I say forcefully as I stop walking.

I'm fully prepared to ignore the nightgown that I've been wearing this whole time, stained beyond repair. It doesn't matter now.

"This is my husband. I have to go and I'm sorry, but I think you might slow me down. I won't let Austin be out there any longer than he has to without me."

"You're not going to walk!" He says with incredulity. "You underestimate me, Ms. Anderson. Follow me."

(Continued in Chapter 92...)