TEMPUS CHAPTER THREE

 

What’s casual for a robot isn’t necessarily what’s casual for a human.

Alan Tudyk

The inside of the cave was large it seemed to go on forever; he could make out living quarters off to the left. A bed and what looked like a kitchen.

“Are we safe in here?”

“Absolutely, the energy field is masked. The surrounding Basalt, Granite and iron formations also help.”

“How long has this been here?”

“The original Keeper installed the shield thousands of years ago relative to this time-space.”

“Who lived here?”

“Other Keepers as they moved through the past and future.”

“What about Ezra?”

“Ezra thought living in a cave was prehistoric, beneath him. He enjoyed hotels more or the ranch near Princeton.”

“He sounds a little short-sighted. Having a fucking bat cave is right up my alley. Back to my cats, what about Deakes and Cali?”

“They can live here.”

“Who is going to take care of them while we are travelling?”

“Think about being outside time, Cristian. We can leave in the morning today, travel for months and arrive back this afternoon before they have had time to miss you?”

“That makes sense. What happens to them if something happens to us Watcher?”

“The mechanical will take care of them.”

“Mechanical? You mean there is a robot?” He thought of his buddy Leon, a collector of toy robots from the past and a movie geek, and what he said once, “It wouldn’t be SCI-FI without a robot.”

“That quote is not in my memory.”

“Unless you carry the quotes of Leon, you wouldn’t have it.”

“I would like to meet the mechanical.”

Beside the living quarters, a door opened. In the low light, he could make out a form approaching. He thought, need more light and lights turned on. What he saw made him almost fall over. He was looking at himself. “What the fuck?”

“The mechanical can change his appearance using the same Tech as you see at the entrance. Sometimes a duplicate can be useful.”

He walked over and poked the copy on the forehead. “He feels real. Can this mechanical go all Terminator and try to kill me.”

The sound came from the mechanical in a version of his own voice.

“I cannot harm the Keeper.”

“What like Asimov’s robotic laws?”

“Not quite. My purpose is to assist the Keeper, keep him or her from harm if I can.”

“Can you kill?”

“I can kill to keep the Keeper from harm, yes. You must ask this.”

“Good to know. Got any grub? Where is the can man?”

“The food needs resupply, you know where the facilities are” answered, Watcher.

“Yup I do”  Cristian chuckled as he headed for door number two. His thoughts went back to his cats.

“Watcher, what about my cats? How do I get them here? I don’t own a car anymore.”

“We can pick them up in the ship and bring them here.”

“I don’t see a ship.”

“Think the ship visible. It is imprinted to you through the neural interface. The ship, the mechanical, and me are one, yet autonomous.”

“You are some kind of clustered AI.”

“Yes, Keeper, whenever we are in proximity information is updated.”

“Watcher, I am a simple man. It will be easier for me to think of you as separate entities.”