Page 117 of Dustwalker
“What exactly was done to me?” Ronin asked.
“As I said, you were built to resemble humans so closely that any differences would be of no concern. But war erupted, and as the scale of the conflict expanded, the supply of robots constructed for military use was rapidly exhausted.
“The governments of the world seized all the civilian units they could and repurposed them. You were one amongst hundreds ofthousands. Your neural interface was upgraded to improve your reaction time, and they installed advanced optics and targeting systems. Your actuators were upgraded, your strength and speed inhibitors were disabled, allowing use of your full capabilities, and your casing was reinforced with armor plating. And…your memory bank was wiped, erasing the life you knew before conscription. Synthetic humans were especially desirable for military applications, as the difficulty of distinguishing man from machine took a significant psychological toll upon human combatants.”
Lara scowled. “So they stole everything from him, even his memories, and forced him to become a soldier. To fight for them.”
Newton made an airy, unsettlingly resigned sound. “Robots do not tire. We can react with speed and accuracy beyond human capability. We are stronger, faster, and more durable, and whatever damage we may suffer can typically be repaired in a relatively short amount of time. And, at the time, we were not considered by most to be living beings. We were weapons, expensive but expendable. Efficient. Robots in combat meant fewer human lives at risk.”
Ronin leaned forward, brows low. “You just told us humans and bots coexisted peacefully back then. Why would they make us fight their war?”
Newton shook his head, lowering his gaze. His fingers shifted again in a nervous gesture. It reminded Lara of Ronin occasionally scratching his cheek when he seemed particularly conflicted or irritated.
“Nothing was ever quite that simple,” Newton said. “The politics and power balances in the world were woven in a complicated web. Many humans viewed robots as tools, more akin to the handheld electronic devices they were so infatuated with than to themselves. Many others, like William, recognized our emergent consciousness, intelligence, and personality, and saw something inherently human in mind, if not in body.
“Fear played a large part in all of it, of course. We were feared for what we were—superior to humans in so many ways. And I must offer another apology, Lara, as I intend no offense in that statement.”
“It’s nothing I don’t already know,” she said, glancing up at Ronin. She’d feared him initially too.
“William and his colleagues recognized that robots and humans could be of immense benefit to one another, so long as the relationshipwas approached with good faith and open-mindedness. He saw it as a partnership that could usher in a new age of technology and convenience for all humanity. I believed it too.”
Newton’s hands parted, fingers stretching and freezing. “But there were those who feared for the future of humanity. It was a common sentiment amongst those in opposition to our increased free will that we would eventually overtake humans, annihilate them, and claim the world as our own. That spark of fear ignited into hatred, and that hatred eventually helped fuel a war that consumed the entire world.”
“Humans caused the thing they wanted to prevent,” Ronin said.
Newton nodded, pressing his hands back together as though in prayer. “Not despite their efforts, but—in part—because of them.”
“But that prejudice went both ways, didn’t it?” Lara asked. “Warlord didtake over, at least in Cheyenne, just like they feared.”
“Warlord…” Newton hung his head, lapsing into silence.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re hiding something. What makes Warlord so different?”
Ronin’s hold on her tightened. “He’s harmed countless people, both humans and bots. Anyone who doesn’t obey him.”
Newton stared down at his hands, intertwining his fingers and brushing his thumbs together. Just as Lara was about to demand an answer, he spoke.
“His name was Kevin Turner. He was once a human.”
Lara’s breath fled her lungs. Her eyes widened, and she couldn’t produce any words, couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“Kevin Turner was diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was forty-three years old, given an estimated three months to live. At the time, Doctor Anderson was the foremost specialist in his field, working on the next frontier in robotics—the transfer of human consciousness into a robotic body.”
“I don’t understand how that would be possible,” Ronin said. “Everything about the way we think and function is completely different.”
“Not so different as it seems. We both feel and react through a neural interface that sends electric signals from sensors—or nerve endings—to a central control point. The coding that guides our thoughts and behavior is, in some ways, similar to the coding of the human brain. It was just another challenge to overcome, and William never shied away from challenges. Additionally, he was working withDoctor Jessica Yuan, one of the most talented neurologists in her field.”
“Why? Why do that?” Lara forced herself to ask.
“Why?” Newton repeated thoughtfully. “For William, it was a way to provide families more time with their loved ones. I believe Doctor Yuan felt the same way. What medical science could not overcome alone, perhaps robotics could conquer. Kevin Turner had a wife and two children who would have been without a husband and father when he passed away. He volunteered for the program after Doctor Yuan explained both the possibilities and the risks.”
“I-If he was human, then why does he hateus?”
“I wish I could offer you a definitive answer, Lara, but I’m afraid all I can offer is more speculation. The transfer of his consciousness was successful, but not without complications. The stresses he endured were immense. The team had only just begun to explore the psychological ramifications when the military seized Kevin and all associated research and documentation. We were all relocated to an undisclosed facility, from which we were eventually transported to Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.
“But we were not long spared from the ravages of war. The base was attacked. In the ensuing chaos, we lost many personnel, and a fair number of them were unaccounted for by the end. Kevin was amongst the missing. I didn’t see him again until I found him in the wasteland years later and reactivated him. During our brief interaction, he gave no indication that he recalled having been human.”
“How bad was the war?” Lara shifted, crossing her legs in front of her upon the bed and settling her hands on her lap. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know, but some part of her needed to. Needed to understand how the world had become this dust-ridden husk.
