Post by †Lak† on Jul 13, 2009 22:36:29 GMT -5
The speedometer was already topping 200 kilometers per hour, but the woman was still outrunning the jeep. Her blond hair was streaming behind he, purse clinging to her shoulder, the bottom of her skirt was just short enough to run in and long enough to not expose anything to the two government agents in matching suits pursuing her.
"STOP!" Agent Adam shouted into the megaphone.
When Artificial Intelligence reached the point where machine could think like a human, the United States chose to begin it's manufacturing of Shells, Artificial Humans.
As technology advances, Shells, too, advanced. The AI's wanted to be like Humans, and so, Shells were developed to be almost identical to normal people. They had blood, polymer tendons, ceramic bones as dense as human bones, digestive systems, artificial hearts. They could feel pain, feel emotions, cry, laugh, learn.
Hundreds of versions, fit for different tasks, were being added to society. Soon, roughly 1/5 of all people were robots.
"No!" Caroline yelled, her voice as loud as the megaphone. As an advanced Shell, she could run faster than most cars, lift a little less than an industrial crane, and withstand getting hit by a train.
"I'm suppose to protect Manny from people like you! I wont let you kidnap me and use me against him!"
After the first Shells, many countries adopted the ideas of sentient machine life. Alas, some countries wanted to make Shells into soldiers. Some countries developed police forces built entirely of Shell citizens. Some individuals used Shells for private armies. They saw them as the ultimate weapon. Some wanted to prevent this from happening.
"He's scum! It's my mission to negotiate with the Terrorist manny Ripper" Adam shouted back. He was standing out of his seat, one hand on the window of the topless jeep, another gripping the megaphone handle. His short black hair blasting back into the wind. The blond haired driver of the jeep was looking from the gravel road to his partner.
"The road ends in 20 kilometers, and then there's a cliff..."
Adam pulled his microphone down and faced it to his partner.
"I KNOW, JACE!"
Shells may look, feel, and live like humans, but there are few, but major, differences between the two. The first is that Shells don't age, but they grow older and shut down after 70 years. The second is that Shells can reproduce. To build a family, Shells come together and adopt each other as brother, sister, mother, father, husband, and wife. The third is that Shells won't lie.
Caroline started shouting again, her head turned over her left shoulder as she ran.
"Manny wants to give Shells better homes! He's an honest man!"
Adam groaned. It was his assignment to negotiate with Manny Ripper, Number 3 on the US criminal watch list. Murder, Theft, and worse, Kidnapping of Shells. Adam doubted she had a clue what was going on.
He's feeding you bull! He's after Shells for his army. Now STOP RUNNING!
Caroline's face was full of anger, and she didn't stop running.
"Liar! Manny treats us like as people! He Loves Me!"
Jace gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Adam!"
Adam saw it, but Caroline didn't.
"STOP!"
Caroline's long strides took her off the edge of gravel into the dirt, and before her head turned forward, she was already 6 feet off the cliff edge.
Shells are made with an AI integrated into it's system. Almost like a soul, the AI cannot be removed from the body and will be lost if the system fails.
If it wasn't for the pain in every limb, Caroline would have thought she was dead and out of harms way. She felt she was laying on an uneven metal bed. Horror hit her like lightning as she tried to get up.
"Dont bother," said Adam's voice.
Caroline opened her eyes. She was laying back down on the jeep's empty back seat. The driver had a Shell medical kit out and was repairing the damages she had. She was in one piece, but she her legs and torso were tied down to the chair.
"Let me go!" Caroline shouted.
"Heh, not a chance." Adam said, his hands buried in her purse.
"Give me that back!"
Adam pulled out a small pink phone. Opening it up, he saw a picture of a man with a shaved head, a long scar across his nose, and a fake grin on his face. Manny.
The only contact in she had in her phone was Manny.
Adam crunched the send button.
The phone rang three times and a snake-like voice answered.
"What?"
"Hello Mr. Ripper, this is Agent Adam with the United State Government, SRS section. We have your fiancée here and we want to open negotiations for your surrender."
There was noise on the other end, like a warehouse aluminum door sliding open.
"Give her the phone of a minute."
Adam put the phone up to Caroline's ear and her eyes began to tear up.
"Manny! I wont let them use me against you! Don't listen to them!"
Adam could hear a laugh from the phone.
"Like I'd trade myself for your worthless hide. I just wanted to tell you not to come home. I dont need you're assistance any longer."
Caroline's eyes continued to stream tears. Her olive eyes were red and the blood in her cheeks were vanishing.
"I... I... Understand. Ju... Just could you say my name," Caroline said, her voice cracking.
"Say my name like you do... When you tell me you love me?"
There was silence, and then a howl of laughter.
"Are you retarded?"
Adam couldn't stand it any further. He pulled away the phone and put it to his ear.
"You're a monster."
"She's just a machine. Eat S**t and Die, Agent Adam."
The line went dead.
Jace unbound Caroline and turned to his partner.
"What now?"
Adam's brow hardened.
"We do what we were told to do."
"Are you going to kill me?" Caroline asked. Both Adam and Jace turned to look at her. She didn't move and inch, and she had stopped crying, although her makeup was smeared and her eyes still bloodshot.
"Since i'm no longer a use to you, and i was an accomplice to a terrorist, aren't you agents going to kill me?"
Jace's jaw slacked and Adam folded his arms.
"United States Government Shell Rescue Squad. It's our job to rescue Shells used by enemies of the US. Besides." Adam and Jace pulled the sleeve of their suit up to expose their right wrists.
There was a wire jack were something could be plugged in.
"We're Shells like you, just older models."
_____________________________________
"STOP!" Agent Adam shouted into the megaphone.
When Artificial Intelligence reached the point where machine could think like a human, the United States chose to begin it's manufacturing of Shells, Artificial Humans.
As technology advances, Shells, too, advanced. The AI's wanted to be like Humans, and so, Shells were developed to be almost identical to normal people. They had blood, polymer tendons, ceramic bones as dense as human bones, digestive systems, artificial hearts. They could feel pain, feel emotions, cry, laugh, learn.
Hundreds of versions, fit for different tasks, were being added to society. Soon, roughly 1/5 of all people were robots.
"No!" Caroline yelled, her voice as loud as the megaphone. As an advanced Shell, she could run faster than most cars, lift a little less than an industrial crane, and withstand getting hit by a train.
"I'm suppose to protect Manny from people like you! I wont let you kidnap me and use me against him!"
After the first Shells, many countries adopted the ideas of sentient machine life. Alas, some countries wanted to make Shells into soldiers. Some countries developed police forces built entirely of Shell citizens. Some individuals used Shells for private armies. They saw them as the ultimate weapon. Some wanted to prevent this from happening.
"He's scum! It's my mission to negotiate with the Terrorist manny Ripper" Adam shouted back. He was standing out of his seat, one hand on the window of the topless jeep, another gripping the megaphone handle. His short black hair blasting back into the wind. The blond haired driver of the jeep was looking from the gravel road to his partner.
"The road ends in 20 kilometers, and then there's a cliff..."
Adam pulled his microphone down and faced it to his partner.
"I KNOW, JACE!"
Shells may look, feel, and live like humans, but there are few, but major, differences between the two. The first is that Shells don't age, but they grow older and shut down after 70 years. The second is that Shells can reproduce. To build a family, Shells come together and adopt each other as brother, sister, mother, father, husband, and wife. The third is that Shells won't lie.
Caroline started shouting again, her head turned over her left shoulder as she ran.
"Manny wants to give Shells better homes! He's an honest man!"
Adam groaned. It was his assignment to negotiate with Manny Ripper, Number 3 on the US criminal watch list. Murder, Theft, and worse, Kidnapping of Shells. Adam doubted she had a clue what was going on.
He's feeding you bull! He's after Shells for his army. Now STOP RUNNING!
Caroline's face was full of anger, and she didn't stop running.
"Liar! Manny treats us like as people! He Loves Me!"
Jace gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Adam!"
Adam saw it, but Caroline didn't.
"STOP!"
Caroline's long strides took her off the edge of gravel into the dirt, and before her head turned forward, she was already 6 feet off the cliff edge.
Shells are made with an AI integrated into it's system. Almost like a soul, the AI cannot be removed from the body and will be lost if the system fails.
If it wasn't for the pain in every limb, Caroline would have thought she was dead and out of harms way. She felt she was laying on an uneven metal bed. Horror hit her like lightning as she tried to get up.
"Dont bother," said Adam's voice.
Caroline opened her eyes. She was laying back down on the jeep's empty back seat. The driver had a Shell medical kit out and was repairing the damages she had. She was in one piece, but she her legs and torso were tied down to the chair.
"Let me go!" Caroline shouted.
"Heh, not a chance." Adam said, his hands buried in her purse.
"Give me that back!"
Adam pulled out a small pink phone. Opening it up, he saw a picture of a man with a shaved head, a long scar across his nose, and a fake grin on his face. Manny.
The only contact in she had in her phone was Manny.
Adam crunched the send button.
The phone rang three times and a snake-like voice answered.
"What?"
"Hello Mr. Ripper, this is Agent Adam with the United State Government, SRS section. We have your fiancée here and we want to open negotiations for your surrender."
There was noise on the other end, like a warehouse aluminum door sliding open.
"Give her the phone of a minute."
Adam put the phone up to Caroline's ear and her eyes began to tear up.
"Manny! I wont let them use me against you! Don't listen to them!"
Adam could hear a laugh from the phone.
"Like I'd trade myself for your worthless hide. I just wanted to tell you not to come home. I dont need you're assistance any longer."
Caroline's eyes continued to stream tears. Her olive eyes were red and the blood in her cheeks were vanishing.
"I... I... Understand. Ju... Just could you say my name," Caroline said, her voice cracking.
"Say my name like you do... When you tell me you love me?"
There was silence, and then a howl of laughter.
"Are you retarded?"
Adam couldn't stand it any further. He pulled away the phone and put it to his ear.
"You're a monster."
"She's just a machine. Eat S**t and Die, Agent Adam."
The line went dead.
Jace unbound Caroline and turned to his partner.
"What now?"
Adam's brow hardened.
"We do what we were told to do."
"Are you going to kill me?" Caroline asked. Both Adam and Jace turned to look at her. She didn't move and inch, and she had stopped crying, although her makeup was smeared and her eyes still bloodshot.
"Since i'm no longer a use to you, and i was an accomplice to a terrorist, aren't you agents going to kill me?"
Jace's jaw slacked and Adam folded his arms.
"United States Government Shell Rescue Squad. It's our job to rescue Shells used by enemies of the US. Besides." Adam and Jace pulled the sleeve of their suit up to expose their right wrists.
There was a wire jack were something could be plugged in.
"We're Shells like you, just older models."
_____________________________________
