The year 2061: A Flaw in a Perfect World (Prologue)

Two years later

Location: The Rebel’s hidden underground base

Date: June 9, 2061

Erin woke up. Why did she always have to dream about what happened two years ago? Almost every night, Erin dreamt the same, exact thing of what happened to her then. That made it painful to sleep, but everyone at the rebellion’s underground base told her she needed rest.

Of course, Erin preferred sleeping rather than recharging like robots would.

Erin glanced at the alarm clock. 6:30 sharp! Erin always got up at 6:30 even though almost everyone else was asleep. She could never sleep any longer than that. Erin sighed and switched into her normal work clothes, and went into the cafeteria to help set up the tables. Breakfast started at 6:55.

“Hello,” Erin called to the cafeteria lady, Rosa. “I can help set up tables today.” Rosa was a short old lady who helped out at the base by cooking.

“Thank you!” Rosa replied. “You’re here kind of early today...did you have that nightmare again?”

“I’ve told you before,” Erin said. “That nightmare...it actually happened.”

“I know,” the cook shrugged. “But it just doesn’t seem real.”

Erin really couldn’t blame her. What had happened seemed too odd to be true. She started setting tables up, which wouldn’t take very long. The cafeteria wasn’t very large. There were only 4 tables that could sit 6 people each. Erin also set the chairs up while thinking about what had happened two years ago.

--------------------F--l--a--S--h--b--A--c--K-----------------------

I can’t…I don’t want to be a robot.....well, it’s too late for me now. This is it. Erin tried to get up, but couldn’t do so before the policeman’s shadow was looming over her.

“Please---sir---please don’t take me back in there---“ Erin started.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen,” the policeman replied.

“Wha--?”

“Let me explain. I’m just an Empirian policeman in disguise. I’m actually a human.”

“How can I believe that?” Erin asked. However, that seemed to be true. Erin looked at the man. He had normal ears, not oversized ones like the robots. His blond hair wasn’t that messy, but it was still too messy to be a robot’s hair. And his eyes, a piercing, fierce blue, seemed too human. Even though he looked to be about six feet tall, the exact robot height.

“Um, where to start..?” The young man muttered to himself. “First of all, my name is James. I work at a hidden underground base about fifteen miles from here, a rebellion. I and my comrades are trying to stop the evil dictator, Tamin, and the evil land of Empira. We believe that forcing people to become robots just---isn’t right. It’s evil. Of course, Tamin’d kill us easily if he knew about us, so we’re hidden underground. Anyway, do you know anything about the skeletal makeup of robots?”

“Uh, yeah” Erin said. “They’re created to look almost exactly like humans. Except taller, in general. And more athletic. But inside, they’re artificial, besides their vital organs. About half of their brain is gone, replaced by a micro chip. Apparently they’re much smarter than the average Joe, even though they were an average Joe.”

“That’s just the beginning,” James whispered. “Robots don’t bleed when they cut their organic looking skin on something. Have you ever seen their skin? There aren’t any blood vessels. Just wires.”

Erin truly believed him now. She had seen many other robots, and had looked where veins would appear. They were wires. James, on the other hand, had many cuts on his hands where fading red scabs were visible. James definitely wasn’t a robot. He was still a human in an organic body.

“Also, there is something else I am worried about. You know about the micro chips inserted into people’s heads when they become robots, like you told me. It obviously makes them smarter, but....” James continued. “I don’t think that’s the main reason why robots have those micro chips installed in their heads.”

“W—what? There’s another reason for them?” Erin stuttered.

“There’s only one company in the world that makes the chips that go into people’s heads to make them smarter when they become a robot, Caamin laboratories. That company’s headquarters just happens to be near Tamin’s castle in Myopia, the new capital of the world. From what I know, he has meetings there quite often. So this is what I think,” James paused, and then started again. “While the chip does actually make people smarter, there is an inactivated unit in the microchip, I believe. The inactivated unit, if activated, will brainwash the person to do whatever the microchip says, which Tamin can probably control by a master computer. Tamin can probably activate it whenever he wants, and the robots that were once his people will become his slaves.”

“But a microchip can only do so much. How could it--?”

“Listen,” James said in a low voice. “Caamin laboratories use state of the art technology. The microchips they make hold easily 1,000TB*. To raise someone’s IQ by 120 points would take only about 600TB, 700TB tops.” Erin remembered how the robotic nurse had said the average IQ of a human who became a robot was 221, while a normal human had an IQ of 100. “That would leave about 300-400TB in the memory card, which would easily allow enough space for an extra inactivated unit. And the people working there are all robots, which makes it easier to believe.”

“Maybe the microchip in their heads have been activated---that would mean none of them working at Caamin labs could tell the world what they are doing. Of course. People don’t just do something they believe is wrong without trying to work against it, or say something about it,” Erin realized.

“Exactly,” James said. “You’re a fast thinker.”

As he said this, Erin knew she had nowhere to go. Her mother died of the age reversing disease several years ago, and her dad had left to join Tamin’s army a few months ago. Erin hadn’t heard from him since, but she knew that her dad was probably just a brainwashed robot now, serving for an evil cause. She had no siblings, either.

James looked like he hated Tamin almost as much as Erin did. Tamin is an evil man, Erin thought. A cruel, evil man, just like the evil Empira he rules over. I wonder if I could do something to stop him, just.....something.

“James,” Erin began. “I want to help you stop Empira. Even if it means my life.”

-------End of flashback---(finally)--------:P----------

The breakfast bell finally rang. Immediately, everyone in the rebellion rushed in to get their morning meal. Today pancakes were for breakfast. After getting her breakfast plate, Erin sat down with James, Chip and Ray. They were all on team 6.

Everyone at the rebellion was divided into teams, to make data gathering and missions easier. There have been nine teams at the rebellion ever since Tamin came to power. Team 1 was discovered and taken into custody long ago. No one knows what happened to them. The people in team 4 were gunned down by Empirian police while trying to get more information on Tamin several weeks ago. A couple years ago, team 7 were kidnapped by air-pirates who flew around in stolen jets.

“Hello, everyone,” Erin said as she sat down at the breakfast table. “What are we going to be doing today?”

“I’m not sure,” James yawned. “We may be investigating more about what had happened to team 4.”

“Wait a second,” Ray paused, taking a bite out of his pancakes. “Isn’t it obvious that team four was shot down a few weeks ago? I mean, their bodies were found....” Ray was a tall young man (not as tall as James) who had brown hair and hazel eyes. He was in general pretty serious.

“Well, yes,” James replied. “But we have no idea of who killed them. We also don’t know the situation. The killers may have tortured the people on team four before actually shooting them. They may have lots of information on us as far as we know, and that’s obviously pretty bad.”

“Lighten up, genius,” Chip said. Chip was a foolish teenager with fiery red hair and green eyes. He liked acting stupid, and he always seemed to be hungry. He, along with James and Ray were on Erin’s team, team 6. “We aren’t dead yet. It’s been several weeks since their bodies were found.”

“Shut up, Chip,” Ray was annoyed. “If we lightened up, you would be dead.”

Chip changed the subject. “I ate all my pancakes and I’m still hungry!”

“Fine, Chip, just eat my last pancake,” Erin growled, pushing her plate over to Chip. “As long as you shut up.”

“Okay!”

Location: Tamin’s castle, Myopia

Date: June 10, 2061

“Excuse me, your highness!”

Tamin swung around in his custom built swivel-throne. “What? What is it now?”

It was General G. D., the commander of the Empirian Police Force (a.k.a. E.P.F.)

“We have a minor problem. Three weeks ago, four humans in organic bodies were gunned down near the Appalachian mountains by the EPF.”

“What? You mean they were still organic humans? It’s been almost two years since I passed that freakin’ law! No more organics!!!”

“I know, your highness. According to the officers who killed them, they were part some sort of underground rebellion. We aren’t exactly sure where the base is, but it’s probably somewhere within a hundred mile radius.”

“And what is this rebellion rebelling?!” Tamin growled.

“Um...well, uh, don’t take this the wrong way, your highness, but we’re pretty sure they were opposing..well, umm, you,” General G.D. gulped worriedly.

“Don’t just stand here then!!!” The dictator roared. “Whatever this “underground rebellion” is, I want it GONE!! AS SOON AS NOW!!! Do you hear me?!?!”

“Y-y-yes, sir.” The general exited the throne room immediately.

“Yes,” Tamin said to himself. “Whoever opposes me deserves to die a slow and painful death! Whoever these idiots who formed a rebellion are, I will destroy them! DWA HA HA HA HA!!” *cough, cough.*

“Excuse me, I’ve had a cough lately. DWA HA HA HA HA HA---oh, my, look at the time,” Tamin said, glancing at his watch. I’m going to miss Oprah!!!!”

The dictator of Empira turned on the 900 inch gold plated plasma screen t.v. in front of him.

Whoever those insignificant microbes are, Tamin thought, they won’t defeat me!

*TB stands for trilobite. It is one trillion digital bytes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How do you like it so far? Please message me your comments. :)