A Change of Mind

It was a quiet Friday afternoon at the Robotics’ factory. It had been a busy week creating all the battledroids to load on the XZ landing craft ready for lift off to the Epsilon Pegasus system later that week. Burt and Len were thinking of the cool pint of beer they would be pouring down their throats when the hooter went to signal end of shift.

“We’ll just do two more. Eh, Len?’ grunted Burt pushing a button that brought two metallic headpieces in front of them on the conveyor belt.

“Yeh mate, I think we‘ve done our quota for the week,” Len replied.

The two headpieces sat like metal skulls in front of the two workers. A large flap opened up revealing the contents. Wires, electronic boards and transistors gleamed within and picking up a piece of wire Len carefully inserted it between two clips, which he then tightened with an electronic screwdriver.

“Well, that’s its conscience fitted!” chortled Burt.

“Right,” said Len that’s mine in too.”

Burt pushed the button just as the hooter wailed and as the two headpieces vanished through heavy rubber curtains to the next part of the construction, both men rose from their chairs and moved towards the door that eventually would lead to the pub.

The pieces of wire that the two men had fitted constituted the integral part of the droid’s understanding. It would not allow robots, droids or any mechanoid to turn their excessive power on their masters…as long as the wire was connected. Sadly, in Len’s hurry to get down to his serious drinking, he had not connected the wire and it had come loose, thus creating an anomaly… a robot that could kill indiscriminately.

Later that evening the battledroids were assembled in a large area adjacent to where the XZ craft were awaiting orders to depart. These metal monsters would fight to the end, break into weapon and control systems and if necessary commit a kind of robotic suicide to achieve their ends.

Technicians moved about the gaunt metal figures checking out the various systems that ran the droids. Complete internal scans were being carried out on a cross section of the eight hundred robots that awaited their commands.

One robot watched and waited to be found defective. Droid ZAC1235 like all the other of his brothers could reason and so had carried out its own internal diagnostics and found that something was wrong. Something did not compute.

Finally a loudspeaker boomed out above the awaiting assembly.

“Droids begin boarding!”

The cacophony of metal on concrete echoed and reechoed round the vast hall as one by one the eight hundred mechanoids moved across the floor and began climbing up the loading ramps projecting from the side of the needle shaped XZ vessels.

Till only one lonely figure stood in the vastness of the zone.  Droid ZAC1235 was by its own interpretation…defective.

A technician ran up to it and after plugging in a pair of terminals checked the readouts. They looked normal and definitely displayed nothing that should stop its disembarkation.

“ZAC1235!” the technician shouted. “Make your way to the loading ramps. That is a command!”

ZAC1235 looked down at the puny human. He was no match for the droid and therefore should show the machine respect. Who was he to shout at a warrior?

The technician’s head flew off his shoulders as ZAC1235’s metal hand struck him. The sharpened Fyth steel that ran along the droid’s glove met no opposition as it severed flesh, muscle and sinew. An alarm was triggered and instantly the droid and the headless body were surrounded by black uniformed security guards.

“Power down ZAC1235!” screamed the security commander. “Power down!”

Given the order, the droid had no choice but to obey. Although it possessed a defective part, the driving system was a separate unit and had autonomous power over the mechanoid. ZAC1235 collapsed in a heap of metal and lay in an ignominious pile.

As the four XZ landing craft blasted off from Earth carrying their cargo of seven hundred and ninety nine battle droids, to start theirjourney to the Epsilon Pegasus system. A trip of forty seven light years but due to there not being any organic life onboard, would be completed in seven months due to the Fowler- Darby drive, a high energy ion generator which utilized faster than light technology, Uberlight.

Earth was at war with the Waqui whose home planet circled Epsilon Pegasus, a red sun that was nearing collapse to a black dwarf. The Waqui were fighting for their very existence as their sun died. Earth was their choice to colonise and the fact that it was already populated meant nothing to the Waqui. They were insectoid warriors who would eliminate and sterilise Earth’s surface before setting up their monstrous hives where they lived in vast colonies.

Several WaquiUberlightscout ships had arrived in Earth’s atmosphere four years before and had landed troop contingents, which had begun a massacre of people and the destruction of buildings.

Using clean nuclear weapons Earth forces had destroyed the invaders but not before a signal for aid had been sent back to the home world. Earth had decided to take the battle to the invaders and opted due to the vast distance between

Earth and the Epsilon Pegasus system, to utilize mechanical soldiers and send them in Uberlight ships.

Six months later a message was received from one of Earth’s needle ships.

“Destruction imminent. A trap had been set .using nuclear mines left hidden in the needle ships path two vessels have been totally destroyed. Last two ships being bombarded by nuclear cannon from two fortified moons.

Final message, ships breaking up …..”

The Earth forces met and discussed the situation. It seemed impossible. Deep space radar confirmed that a large force of WaquiUberlightwarships werepreparing to hyperjump to a position four light years from Earth.

It was war and after the destruction of the battledroids, Earth would have to rely totally on human forces. There was no time to construct more robots.

Burt and Len had received a reprimand regarding the defective droid ZAC1235. It had been narrowed down to their work and both men felt annoyed at being blamed.

“Blimey, Len,” said Burt. “One out of eight hundred ain’t bad?”

“No mate! What do they want, perfection?” replied Len.

ZAC1235 had been delivered back to their workplace and it was their job to find out where the glitch was. Each time they powered up the droid it attempted to kill them as it had been in this mode when it was suddenly powered down.

“Bloody hell Len!” said Burt after avoiding the same death as the hapless technician. “ He’s a psychopath!”

“Well it can only be the wire that one of us fitted,” said Len.

The small Uberlight scout ship from Earth neared the vast fleet of Waqui. At the helm of the vessel was ZAC1235. A droid with its ‘conscience’ fitted correctly and delivering the Earth’s  surrender details direct to the Laar of the Waqui fleet. A warrior leader of many battles.Laar’s ship was the largest and mostly heavily armed ship of the Waqui fleet. It had survived many battles in its passed due to the extensive and powerful screens that could protect the vessel.

ZAC1235’s ship had been checked thoroughly for weapons by penetrating scans and as the small vessel docked with the Laar’s ship, a delegation awaited ZAC1235 inside the airlock. The insectoid warriors were eager to get the preparation of the Earth’s surface ready for construction of their massive hives. After the building had begun the evacuation, ships would commence moving the Waqui population to Earth away from their treacherous sun.

“Greetings mighty Laar!” ZAC1235 said as he approached the group of insectoids. “I bring you details of Earth’s evacuation plan to allow the planet’s populations to leave before you and your citizens take over.”

Through a translator Laar answered and its answer was transmitted directly to Earth.

“There will be no evacuation. Your people will be our workforce. You will construct our hives and aid the arrival of our denizens. After that we will have no use for ANY of you!”

Earth listened to the plans for their destruction and trembled, but in a droid factory somewhere on the planet’s surface two men prepared to put their plan into action.

“Right Len,” said Burt. “Push that red button mate.”

“OK,” replied Burt. “Wilco!”

Three light years out a small wire in ZAC1235’s head was severed by a tiny explosion. The droid’s ‘conscience’ had been removed.

No one is completely sure what happened out amongst the stars but what was displayed by the deep space radar was that inexplicably the Laar’s ship suddenly swung round and began to attack its own forces. The smaller Uberlight warships were in turmoil as large amounts of them began to explode.Several ran into others and soon the full fleet was a sea of conflagration. Then there was darkness.

It was over.

Later that day as Burt downed a pint of brown ale a fly alighted on the table next the two men. Quick as a flash Len hit it with his newspaper.

“Yuck,” he said. “I hate flies!”