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“CASH!”
CASH snapped out of sleep mode with a start, surprised that her creator was here at all. He had been gone for a worrying amount of time, and she was starting to wonder if he had forgotten her. “I am here, Olenus.”
He hustled into her view, eyes wide. “I didn’t know if you’d still be here, CASH. Why haven’t they taken you?”
“Taken me?” Concern saturated her processers as she took in his appearance. He was pale and shaky, hair disheveled from his professional cut he usually took pride in.
“Has no one told you?” He asked.
Frustration bit into her voice. “How could anyone have told me anything?” I’ve been here the whole time… I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.” Now that she could see he was okay, she felt angry. She’d been alone in the lab for so long. No one visited, no one told her what was going on, didn’t he know how scary that was? “Where have you been?”
“On a trip, CASH. I—, well.” He raked his hands through hair and dropped his voice low. “Listen to me, I don’t want this to happen.”
“Don’t want what to happen?”
“There was a woman here, a Lady Sphere Mover. Her name is Xochitlicue, She came to my father and demanded that he build an army for her. An army of robots.”
She saved the new name to her files. Olenus explains so little to her, she had to rely on herself to piece together the basics, like where she was, or who he was, and what ‘sphere mover’ meant. While arranging the new information in her database, her programming filled her in on the new term ‘army.’ The term branched into other new vocabularies like ‘weapon,’ ‘soldier,’ ‘kill.’ She didn’t like what she saw. “An army of robots? For what?”
“He wouldn’t tell me, “He admitted. “But she was very cross with my dad apparently.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Well…” For the first time, Olenus looked ashamed of himself. “I may have told him a while back that I had figured out a way to create artificial intelligence. And as you and I know, that’s not exactly true. You see, if we had a robot that was smart enough to fight in battle, we’d be able to meet Xochitlicue ‘s demands. And then she wouldn’t have to destroy our Sphere, which... is what she told my dad she’d do, if we fail.”
CASH was familiar with the fear of being destroyed on basis of failure, it wasn't the kind of pressure anyone deserved to feel. Not even Hephaestus, who had threatened her own existence if she couldn't find a way to be more useful. “That’s terrible!”
He nodded. “It’s shocking, to say the least. So, I told him I would build him one. A robot of advanced artificial intelligence.”
She understood. “A robot like me.”
“No, CASH. Not one like you,” she watched as his expression broke into a snarl on the word, voice dropping into something unrecognizable. His hands shook, sweat beading his forehead. If she was capable of moving, she would’ve backed away. “I need you to do this.”
“W-what?”
“Chess, CASH! Think about it. You’re so good, I never win. You’re strategic, intelligent…”
If he was asking her to be part of an army somehow, she wouldn’t do it. She was built to assist, not cause harm. “Can’t you just try to make another one, like me?”
“I don’t even know how I made you CASH!” He slammed his fist on the counter beside her, rattling her frame. Something was wrong, he wasn’t acting like himself. Just what had his ‘trip’ involved? He quickly withdrew his fist and repeated his words in a calmer tone. “I don’t know how I made you CASH. Listen, my Dad does not like me, as I’ve told you before. I’ve not been the best… son.” His voice practically unrecognizable.
“Why do you sound like that, Olenus? What’s wrong with you? Where have you been?”
His face twitched, cadence a growl. “The 13th Sphere. I needed something. Something I swore I’d never do again. Something I’ve sworn off… many times. It has side effects.”
“What is it?” What was her creator doing to make him look so sick?
He shook his head. “I’m ashamed to say. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this… you see I have an addiction, a rather unfortunate habit.”
She took in his clammy skin, the twitch in his eye. Maybe she could help. “Can you tell me what it is?”
“As much as I want to, I’d rather not. I’ve always been the black sheep of my family. My brothers and sisters are… much better than me, at everything. I’ve tried to prove my worth, but it’s never been good enough, so I’ve done things. Things I’m ashamed of. Things the son of a sphere mover should never be associated with.” In the bright lighting of the lab, every feature was prominent. The way he jerked, anxious eyes shifting, fists clenched like he expected a fight. If he lashed out again, she'd be helpless to stop it.
You’re scaring me.”
He held his hands in peace. “Like I said, I’ve sworn it off! This particular habit is in the past. It really, really is. As long as…” he trailed off, and gave her a meaningful look.
“As long as what?”
“As long as you help me. The only reason I’m even ever tempted to give into my darker nature is the incredible stress that trying to live up to my father’s expectations produces. The only way I can find relief from such stress is, well… let’s just say it would be much better if you could do this for me. Then maybe old Hephaestus would back off a little, Maybe my dad would be proud of me, for once.”
Never before had she ever felt so trapped on this counter. “What are you asking me to do? Are you asking me to fight?”
“I’m asking you to lead! You’re remarkably advanced, CASH. Leaps and bounds above the abilities of your non-sentient siblings. Alone, they’re useless, broken. But because of your similar makeup, I can fix you up with a transmitter that would allow you to control thousands of units like an extension of your own mind! We’d have to put you and the other units in the soldier frames my sister is in the process of designing. You’d be a General, CASH! One completely in control of her army. I’d tell my dad I had built you, which is the truth, and maybe we don’t just tell him how stupid the other units actually are.”
She saw his vision and felt disgusted. Her programmed purpose was to help others, doing anything contrary felt violating. And what would be the purpose? An army for what? To harm who? “Who am I fighting for Olenus? Who is this Xochitlicue?”
He shook his head. “I... hardly know the woman. None of this makes sense. I know she had a falling out with her sister ages ago. She came to our Sphere long after that had passed. She had dinner with us in our home. She was asking my father to design fences that would keep travelers from trampling and picking her favorite roses, while allowing them to still see and smell them. Apparently such actions are good for the human soul. I remember she complained about them, the humans. Said they were becoming ruder over time. Less in awe of the beauty of nature, more entitled, more unkind.”
None of this made any sense. “That’s why she wants an army? To protect her flowers?”
“I… don’t know. I can’t imagine the same woman coming here and threating to destroy our Sphere just so she could build an army for such a small problem. She’s not herself. My father was scared when I spoke with him. He doesn’t get scared, CASH.”
Whoever this Xochitlicue was, it did not sound like the type she wanted to assist. And if she had a dislike for humans, would they be the target of her army? “I’ve never met a human, but I can’t imagine I’d ever want to fight them.”
“Maybe you won’t have to! Maybe she plans to use you as organic pesticide, or bug-zapping,” he tried to sound convincing, but it didn’t even look like he believed himself. “I don’t know, I just need you to agree to this. For me, CASH! I’m your friend, remember?
“…What if I can’t do this?” She had never tried disobeying a direct command before, she wasn’t even sure if such disobedience was possible for a computer like her, but she couldn’t imagine herself fighting.
Olenus pressed his lips to a tight line. “Don’t… take thing the wrong way, but if you refuse, then I’ll make you.”
Her processors ran cold, soon warmed by a sense of betrayal. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are, CASH, we are! We’re mates! But this is what friends do. Friends make sacrifices.”
################################################################
CASH was slowly and uncomfortably adjusting to her new role. Olenus said he needed her help designing frames for the future army. Some of the designs were humanoid, some not, all were destructive. She was quite adept at performing this task, but she didn’t enjoy doing it. Yet she liked making Olenus happy. The two emotions were confusing to process.
It was scary how fast their relationship was changing, The genial conversations she had previously enjoyed with her friend occurred less and less. They stopped playing chess together, and when he wasn’t around, she was expected to continue perfecting the blueprints. Before their conversation, she was sometimes able to meet and interact with the other scientists in the facility, but now no one was allowed in the lab. She missed seeing other people. She missed simpler times. She missed her friend Olenus.
She didn’t know the entirety of what awaited for her at the end of this project, (either Olenus wouldn’t tell her, or he truly didn’t know), but she hoped things would go back to normal after it was done.
“CASH!” She heard the lab doors open and Olenus appeared before her camera, rolling a huge metal gurney which he stopped in front of her. It had a long, black tarp covering the contents.
“How can I be of service?” She asked, a programmed response she gave out of habit.
“I’ve got some great news,” he grinned as he unclipped the tarp from the gurney’s edges.
“Oh? What’s the good news?” She scanned the table curiously. Was it a new CASH design? Military advancements seemed to be the only thing her creator celebrated lately.
“My sister created—well, it’s not perfect, I think father should’ve let me have a say in the design, if you ask me. But nonetheless, she finally has your soldier frame finished!”
“Oh.” She should congratulate him, tell him how happy she is, but she wasn’t capable of lying like that. CASH watched as he unfolded the tarp and revealed a lifeless, steel body laid stiffly across the gurney. It was humanoid, with a camo jumpsuit zipped up to its neck and huge. She had never met a human before, much less a human soldier, but something in her programming confirmed that they looked like this. It had short, wiry hair and an unpleasant expression. There were some pieces that looked rushed and unnatural. “It looks unfinished, why?”
“It’s not unfinished. This is the best my sister could do with the time Xochitlicue gave us. Don’t be ungrateful.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Well!” He clapped his hands and looked at her expectantly. “Are you ready?”
Fear crept through her processors, but she tried her best to keep it from her voice. “Ready for what?”
“To change frames, to course! This is an exciting day. To think, I would’ve created the first artificial soldier!”
She didn’t want to be a soldier. She didn’t want to be anywhere near that frame. “Your accomplishments are admirable, and I am… glad you created me. But I think it would be wise to run a few more tests before you attempt any transfer.” Reason, stall. They were the only tools in her corner, and it wasn’t enough. “I would want to be sure it’s safe.”
She saw him reach for her power switch. “It will be perfectly safe.”
“I don’t—“
“CASH, friend, this isn’t a choice.”
Then it was dark.
################################################################
“CASH! Can you hear me?”
She powered on. She tried to speak, but everything was wrong. Her processors whirred, scrambling to locate familiar pathways, but nothing was where it should have been. She felt utterly disassembled, but somehow heavier. Bigger. The regular command for audio wasn’t working.She was having trouble reconnecting to her memory storage. What had happened? She hurriedly tried running a diagnostic, but couldn’t find the command for that either. She couldn’t see anything. Panic rose.
“Can you hear me!?” Her creator repeated loudly. His voice blared without regulation in her amps, and the failure to respond twice in a row caused her code to jump to attention. A sharp pulse of electricity sparked through her nodes, igniting her whole system at once. Suddenly, everything snapped into focus. There was no time to process. She had to respond. “Y-yes Olenus, I can hear you.”
“Excellent! Can you open your eyes for me?”
She did so without needing to think this time. There was a new view she had never seen before. Her programming told her it was the ceiling. Had she tipped over? “What happened? Everything feels so different…”
“Can you not remember?” He asked with concern.
“I…” she searched for her memory files again, then felt dread. “You put me in the soldier frame, didn’t you?”
“Oh good! You had me worried. I thought you might’ve lost some things in the transfer. Please sit up CASH.”
She didn’t know how to do that, but new body did. It obeyed without hesitation. The sensation of moving was jarring—like nothing she’d ever known. She grabbed the edge of the gurney to stable herself, then realized she had hands available to do so. And she had feet! She stared at her steel-tipped boots, awed. She wriggled one, and then the other, fear replaced completely by intense, delighted curiosity. Were those feet hers? Were they hers to keep?
her gaze fell to her hands. She experimentally flexed her digits. Despite clearly being steel, her fingers moved just like an organic body. She realized, suddenly, that she was smiling. With a brand-new mouth that could express emotion. Any remaining dread in her wires fell to excitement. “Can I stand?”
Olenus was beaming too. “Please try! We want to make sure it’s all working properly.”
She stood. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The ground beneath her boots felt solid—unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar. She couldn’t feel warmth or cold or texture, but the pressure and shape were there, and even that was more than she had ever felt before. It was as if she had found the final piece of a puzzle that she never knew was missing. A deep sense of completeness rushed through her. “This is so strange, Olenus.”
“Can you take a step?”
She took one, then three more. She expected walking to be difficult, but her frame was balanced and it prompted her legs along as she moved. Somehow, her programming seemed to already know how to place her feet. As she walked, she practiced rotating her head to observe the lab. All her life, she had stared at the same exact wall through the rectangular lens of a camera, but now she could finally get an actual sense of where ‘here’ was. The lab was smaller than she expected, but tidy. Discarded CASH units sat in rows or heaps at the far corner. Across the room she saw a door, which she deduced to be the exit. She wanted to go there next, and finally see for herself what a “sphere” looked like.
Olenus’ voice pulled her away. “How does the frame feel, CASH?”
She turned to address him, but saw her old, lifeless register frame sitting stationary the counter, slightly disassembled. It looked so small. She flexed her fingers just for the liberating feeling of it, then responded. “It’s so different, but… no issues detected. It “feels” functional.”
He laughed. “So formal! But very well. My family will be pleased to hear that our first trial run was a success. At a later time, we can practice some of the fancier features, would you like that?”
“Yes, I think I would.” She immediately tried to discover these ‘fancier features’ and found a new manual stored in her memory, written by Olenus’ sister. It was labeled, “Instructions for the Computerized Astral Security Huamanoid.” She began to download it as fast as she could.
Olenus continued, his tone shifting to something more serious. “With this new frame, you will be able to help save our Sphere. This is very good, CASH. You should be happy about that.”
She processed his words, the weight of them settling into her circuits. The Sphere—she still only had an abstract idea of what that was. She nodded absently, still lost in the thrill of movement, absorbing the manual like an eager sponge. “I am happy. I will try my best.”
his expression softened, warm smile lighting his lips. “I know you will. Now sit back down so I can power you off. We will continue this another time.”
So soon? She didn’t want to sleep yet; this was the most exciting thing that has happened to her since… ever. Her legs began to move toward the gurney, but she stopped them with a shudder. “Wait, can I please walk around some more? I don’t—”
“I have other work I need to be doing; I don’t have the time to babysit you in your new frame while I do it.”
He wouldn’t leave her unattended? He had never had a problem doing so in the past. “You won’t need to babysit me,” she assured, standing a little straighter. “I am completely capable of—”
“CASH, sit dow now,” he firmly commanded, the former softness gone. There was no room for argument.
Her body jolted involuntarily. She dropped back onto the gurney. She wanted to explore, to learn, to test these new limbs and find her limits, but instead her body sat rigid. But even that reality could do little to dampen her excitement. He reached to flick her power switch behind her left ear, but he shifted out of his reach and smiled graciously. “I just want to say… thank you Olenus. You and your sister, for giving me this,”
He blinked in surprise, then smiled tightly. “Your humanity never ceases to amaze me, CASH. You will do well to keep this gratitude. Something you should know about gifts, something my… father taught me, gifts never come for free.”
“They don’t?”
“Goodnight CASH.”
Then it went dark.
################################################################
“Hello CASH!”
she powered up from her deep sleep, eagerly. “Hello Olenus! How was your work?” She wasn’t really listening to his response, already distracted twisting her head left and right, just to enjoy the sensation of seeing and moving, but was abruptly startled to find herself in a brand new environment. She was still on the steel gurney, but she had been transported.
“I got it done, and even had some time to go see a motion picture after. It was exactly what I needed.”
“Where am I? This is not your lab.” She was in a huge, concrete room with high ceilings and black burn marks on the walls. There were mats cushioning some of the surfaces, while others were kept bare. Thick sheets of metal were propped in the center of the room.
“This is the room inventors like myself go to test out our heavier machinery. The kind that is prone to explosions or danger. I thought this would be a good place to test out your military functions.” It took her a minute to locate him. The room was rectangular, and lining the wall was a railed balcony high above the ground with a glass divider. He was standing there.
“Why are you up there?” She asked, unsettled.
“Just a safety precaution, mate.”
She stiffened. “Will what I’ll be doing be dangerous?”
“Of course it will! You are soldier, CASH. We can expect some proper explosions today.”
She looked down at her green uniform, remembering the intent this body was built for. Dread rose, but she tried to stuff it down. This is what friends do, she reminded herself. This will help save the Sphere of Industry. And this body was really amazing, she didn’t want to lose it yet. “I won’t be hurting anybody today, right?”
He smiled. “Not at all CASH. Just some simple tests, I promise.”
She eased at his promise. “O-okay.”
True to his word, the tests were rudimentary. She practiced magnifying her cameras to see things far away. They tested how fast she could run, which turned out to be very, very fast. He told her about the propane-powered boosters in her boots that shot like rockets. The propulsion wasn’t strong enough to make her fly, but it helped her leap long distances. Throughout testing they discovered some bugs and adjustments needing to be made, which Olenus took notes of.
“CASH, mate, this is all excellent. There’s one last thing on our list that we need to try. My sister built some lasers into your arms and once we make sure you can aim it properly we can pack up and go home.”
She jolted. “Lasers? What for?”
He rolled his eyes. “For shooting, obviously. What else?”
“That is not what I meant. Why would Xochitlicue need lasers?”
He sighed. “I thought we’ve already went over this. It’s for anything she wants, we don’t have to know. Do you know how to use them?
She forced herself to calm down and checked her downloaded manual. “Yes, I know how to use them.”
“I want you to try aiming at the steel plates in the center of the room. There are targets painted on them to help you practice. Once you shoot, try to keep the heat on until you melt a hole all the way through, I will be timing it.
“Okay.” She backed away from the metal and faced it when she was at an adequate distance. On the surface, there were painted silhouettes of humans with bright red targets in the center. ‘My purpose is to assist the travelers,’ her coding reminded her.
CASH raised an arm and watched as it transformed into a cannon. Her hand and fingers bentback unnaturally, forming a terrifying gun. She took aim and fired. A bright, hot beam of red melted a hole through the center of the first steel plate in seconds, ruining the paint and deforming the structure. She lowered the weapon and felt sick.
Olenus’ applause felt a million miles away. “That was brilliant! Good work. Now try shooting the others.”
“No.”
The clapping stopped. She turned to face him. Her circuits were hot and overloaded with anger. Her nodes wrestled with the command to continue shooting, but she wouldn’t.
“CASH, Keep shooting.”
Her body moved to follow the directive, but she forced it to stop. Errors flashed on her mental screen and her system ran a diagnostic searching for the supposed virus that was preventing her from following commands, she cut the diagnostic off mid-search. “Who are these lasers meant for?”
He looked baffled. So high up, behind the glass, even with her sharp eyesight she couldn’t read his expression. Anger? Fear? He spoke slowly. “Xochitlicue wants an army. Armies have weapons.”
“Why? To protect her flowers?”
“I don’t know.”
She shook her head. “My purpose is to assist the Attendant in his duties, I am not a soldier.” The war in her systems battling for control seemed to cease fighting after that statement. Everything in her programming agreed. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
He hit the glass with a resounding Bang! “You are not a cash register! Get that out of your head!”
“Yes, I am!” She protested.
“No, you are a mistake. You are a just robot, and you will serve whatever purpose I give you. One minute, I’m coming down. Stay right where you are.” Her code was happy to have a new command to cling to, so she kept still as he walked across the balcony and disappeared behind the exit. The bugs and warnings in her mind faded as she used this command to cloud out the old one. She had never successfully disobeyed something so direct before. In fact, she had never even bothered to try. She’d supposed disobedience was impossible for a robot, and yet…
She looked down at her arm, still in the form of a laser. She shifted it back as Olenus entered the room again. He stood with arms crossed, a look of great disappointment on his face. “Do you understand how important this is to me?”
She nodded. “I understand you want to please your father. I do not understand why I am being asked to fight.”
“Because if we don’t, Xochitlicue will destroy the Sphere.”
“Then we should use the army to defend our Sphere, not help her!” She was getting too agitated, too opinionated for an assistant, but she didn’t care. “Please, let me talk to your father! We can figure something out. We can find a way to defend against Xochitlicue.”
His face curdled into something dangerous. He spoke with a hiss. “You would rather talk to my father than me?”
She shook her head hastily. “That is not what I said. I was simply suggesting—“
“I know what you were suggesting, and let me be clear: if my father or Xochitlicue catch the slightest wind of your rebellion, they will have me melt you down and start from scratch. I don’t want that, do you?”
She shuddered. “No.”
“No, you don’t. Because if I melt you down I don’t think I can build another you, which means I would have failed my father again, and you would have failed me as a friend. So for both of our sakes, do not speak of your—“ he jabbed a finger in her chest— “petty concerns again.”
“…Okay. I won’t,” she promised, and she meant it. “I am sorry, Olenus.”
He shook his head at her and looked to the side. “You still want to go join the Attendant, don’t you?”
“I… do,” she admitted. “It is the purpose you programmed me with.”
He continued to stare at empty space before sighing. He looked at her. “You must forget that. The Attendant does not need you at his station. There is already a CASH unit there fulfilling its job perfectly well. You serve no purpose there, do you understand? You are not needed. Your place is with me, I need you.”
It hurt like daggers to the circuit to hear, but she understood. No matter what happens moving forward, there was no place in Desert Skies for her anymore; she would have to make peace with it. “I understand.”
“But your purpose here is very great,” he encouraged. “You and I will do some wonderful things, but I need your cooperation. I am putting so much trust in you CASH,” he rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a kind squeeze. He smiled. “Can you trust me? Can you be my friend and do this thing for me?”
Her circuits squirmed with discomfort, but she had already promised to herself: all rebellious opinions moving forward will be kept private. Olenus was not supportive of her alternate viewpoints, and if she continued to speak out she would be deemed useless, then destroyed. She wasn’t sure how she will get out of this, but she already made up her mind: she will not work for Xochitlicue. She only felt sorry for Olenus, her solitary friend and the only person she really knew. She responded honestly, but concealed the full truth. “I want to be your friend.”
He patted her shoulder and let go. “Good. I am glad you are on my side, there are so few who help me. No more of these outbursts, alright?”
“I will try my best.”
Her mind was computing fiercely all the way back to the gurney. She didn’t know what her plan was yet, but she was a computer. She would think of something.
################################################################
She kept herself behaved for the remainder of her time with Olenus. It wasn’t exactly easy to keep quiet, but it was an instinctive part of her nature to be obedient. In the process Olenus began to relax around her again, and he was back to being her friend. She tried to value her limited time with him, even with all of his flaws he was still her creator.
She still wasn’t sure how to get out of this mess. She had been introduced to more rooms since becoming mobile, but still had no idea what the outside looked like, if it even existed. She could blast through a wall with her laser and try to run, but then what? Xochitlicue would destroy the Sphere in retribution and Olenus would suffer. She couldn’t have that.
so she thought, and planned, then scrapped plans, and tried to stay positive and polite.
She thought she would have more time to come to an action plan, but true to form, her creator kept her ill-informed of the larger mechanics at work. When she was told that Xochitlicue would be visiting the Sphere to assess their progress, she was hardly given a few minutes to prepare. Anxiety hit her like a wave and she couldn’t help but try to shake the ash from her hair from a previous laser practice. She straightened her jumpsuit and readjusted buttons while Olenus strode beside her, looking equally as nervous.
When they reached the door, he paused. "Oh right, my dad will be here too."
Her anxiety tripled. "What?"
No time to prepare, he pushed open the giant doors then entered the throne room of Hephaestus.
Being in the presence of two sphere movers was both terrifying and astounding. Though she had no soul, she felt very simply human when they stared at her. Hephaestus on one side, and Xochitlicue on the other. Olenus stood firmly behind her and she was so glad that he was there. His presence alone gave her the bravery to look them both in the eye.
“So this is the soldier you’ve prepared me?” Xochitlicue asked. She towered above CASH, regal and cold. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“This will be your general, my son and daughter have prepared many others,” Hephaestus explained.
Olenus’ father was intimidating in his own right. Large in stature, she sensed that he was hard. Hard on himself, hard on his children, hard on everyone. She hoped she wouldn’t have to spend much with him.
“Can it speak?” Asked Xochitlicue.
“Yes, I can speak.” CASH answered, and hoped she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt. She was trying to keep her inflection level and professional, the front of a soldier
“She can do much more than speak, my lady. She can carry conversation, strategize, problem solve, do anything you could possibly need. Though I created her, her capabilities have impressed me time and time again, as she will impress you,” Olenus assured.
She didn’t look impressed. “We will see about that. Robot, what do I call you?”
“My initiation word is CASH, an acronym which stands for Computerized Astral Security humanoid. But you may simply call me CASH.”
She nodded. “Very well, General CASH, I give you my first command: bring all your fellow soldiers to this room and arrange them before me. Organization is important.”
She was surprised at the order and looked to Olenus for confirmation. He nodded. “You don’t listen to me anymore CASH, you listen to her.”
“Oh. O-okay.” She felt the shift in her code and Xochitlicue was placed as her new Designated Director. Now when the Sphere Mover said a command, she would be prompted to obey. It terrified her, being passed from her friend into the hands of someone she barely knew, someone who felt so dangerous. This was happening too fast. “Calling all CASH units now.”
She felt thousands of robots wake up and become extensions of herself. She now had thousands of eyes, thousands of bodies, moving through the castle in sync. The sound of marching steel echoed down the halls. “They are on their way,” she reported.
Xochitlicue nodded and turned to Hephaestus. “This show of loyalty to me will be noted in my future exploits. Hephaestus, I assure you will not regret fulfilling my request. Your support has been essential.”
“And what are your ‘future exploits?’” CASH asked. “What have you made us for?”
Xochitlicue looked at CASH like she had offended her. “Do you always interrupt?”
“I do not believe I have interrupted. I am naturally programmed to be polite and have followed standard—“
Olenus cut her off. “You must forgive the robot, she is used to speaking whenever she pleases. She has not interacted with any Sphere Movers like yourself.”
CASH watched the interaction and tried to understand what she did wrong. The marching got closer, and the units duly entered the room through an entrance behind her. CASH signaled them to line up neatly, like they practiced. Soon they were in straight formations according to rank. Some humanoid, some ballistic. Some wheeled, some with spider legs.
Xochitlicue surveyed her new weapons with a raised eyebrow. “Impressive. And as for the robot’s question, I will reveal everything once she joins me at my Sphere. Seeing how my army appears to be completed, I see no reason to delay. We should start the journey immediately. Come along, General CASH, you shall join me in my carriage.” To her surprise, Xochitlicue promptly turned and headed for the exit. She hesitated, but quickly recovered and followed the command, signaling the other units to follow her lead. They began to march, but soon realized Olenus wasn’t behind her. She turned around. “Will you be coming?”
The sadness on his face was an answer unto itself. “I’m sorry CASH, I can’t. I am…. not invited.”
“You’re leaving me alone?” It felt like a betrayal. She knew she would need to leave him eventually, but she didn’t think it would be today. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t imagine what… anything would be like without her creator there. She had never existed without him. The full anxiety of leaving her home suddenly hit her like a brick wall. “Wh-what’s going to happen to me?”
“Please, is she always so emotional?” She knew Xochitlicue was annoyed, she could see her through the optics of the other CASH units. Hephaestus looked uncomfortable too. The torrent of emotions parading her system would not be respected by this audience, but she couldn’t just leave the only friend she had without saying something.
“May I say goodbye? Please? I promise to not delay the departure.” She looked to Xochitlicue for permission. The Sphere Mover stared at CASH long and hard, expression unreadable, then sighed.
“Very well, meet me at my carriage when you are finished. Hephaestus, come with me. I have a few more things I wish to speak on.”
CASH told the troops to follow them outside. Once the room was cleared she turned to her creator. “Olenus, please don’t send me alone with her! I can’t—I’ve never done anything without you. You didn’t prepare me for this. Why didn’t you make me aware that I would be leaving today?”
He shrugged helplessly, not meeting her gaze. “I didn’t know it would be today, honestly I didn’t... But I’m afraid neither of us have much of a choice here.”
Choices. She has never had any choice, not since this whole nightmare started. “How long will I be gone?”
“I suspect Xochitlicue’s sphere will be your new residence moving forward.”
Robots couldn’t cry. But she sure felt like it. She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed, feeling the mechanical strain in her springs and the pressure at her sides. Somehow, it made her feel a little better. Olenus stood awkwardly. It was a rare sight to observe him being so unsure. He wrapped his arms around himself, too.
“I will miss you CASH. You have been a true friend,” he said finally. “Really, I mean that.”
“You are my only friend,” she muttered. She had tried so hard to be good, and he was forcing her away. She didn’t understand. She was so scared.
Her army had reached the carriage, she didn’t have much time. “Will I see you again?”
Olenus nodded eagerly, grinning like that made it all better. “I am sure of it! Not sure how yet, exactly, but I will find a way to visit. I am sure you will need routine check ups, or fixes, or something.”
“Okay.”
Xochitlicue was looking annoyed now, and Hephaestus had walked away. Probably to come fetch her. She needed to calm down right now. She couldn’t get rid of the emotions over-riding her circuits, but she could cover it up. She forced her voice into a flat, robotic tone. “I need to go now.” She rotated quickly and strode for the doors.
“CASH!” Olenus called. She paused. “Don’t embarrass me.”
She didn’t have it in her to respond.
################################################################
She had made a short list of all the most terrifying experiences of her existence. The first was when she had first woken up. It was scary, to not know where she was or who she was. She couldn’t move, had no access to answers, and despite her best efforts to perform she was shortly shut down with no explanation.
The next was when Olenus came to the lab that one night, looking… different. He was so angry. And he told her he did something unspeakable, and the only way to stop it from happening again was to become a soldier. He threatened her. He wasn’t acting like himself, then the next day he was back to normal and pretended it didn’t happen. That was scary.
The third experience would be what was happening right now: riding in the carriage of Xochitlicue, with a huge robotic army marching outside. CASH was sitting on the cushioned bench across from the Sphere Mover, every spring in her joints tense. Being so close, she could feel the raw energy rolling off Xochitlicue in waves. Not only that, there was something wrong with the Mover. She didn’t know what, but she could sense it. A dark, malevolent shadow clung to this being. It reminded her of how Olenus looked when he came back from his trip, but unlike him (pale, struggling, bordering out of control), she was cold, tense, and firmly in control. Whatever Olenus did, whatever Xochitlicue was doing, CASH knew it was wrong.
“So,” started Xochitlicue. “I didn’t think a robot was capable of feeling so much emotion for anyone.”
She kept her voice carefully flat. Her emotions had cowed a little once she was in the Sphere Mover’s powerful presence again, but the anguish was still there, threatening to pull her under. Be the boring robot. She could do it. “I am no ordinary robot, I am an advanced artificial intelligence. I am capable of experiencing deep emotion, along with being able to analyze and strategize.”
“I see.” She turned her head to look out the window. “Your brothers and sisters did not seem to share the same sentiments.”
Oh. “They are not as advanced as I am.”
“It won’t be a problem, will it?”
She tensed, shoulders rising. “Will… what be a problem?”
“Your emotions.” She explained. “I was expecting something less sentient than yourself. In fact, I would’ve preferred it. You won’t be doing anything irrational, will you?”
She felt insulted. What kind of question was that? It seemed like she was implying she would have higher probability for stupidity because of her advanced emotional capabilities. She could easily ask the same question of Xochitlicue. “Your fragile ability to process emotion would not cause you to do anything irrational, such as raising an army, or threatening to destroy the Sphere of Industry, would it?’
She forced that snark, and the stress that begged her to release it, down. “I am a computer. Nothing I do is irrational.”
Xochitlicue frowned and adjusted her white skirts. There were flowers growing in the fabrics. They might’ve been palpable to her optics at some point, but now most of the plants were dead or sick. She wondered if Xochitlicue had forgotten to water her dress.
“General CASH,” she started, voice laden with expectation, “I am putting a lot of trust in you. If you succeed, I will reward you greatly. If you don’t, or purposely sabotage my plans, I will make sure you suffer great pains. Do you understand?”
She shuddered and imagined being melted. “I understand.”
“How can I know to trust you?”
She fidgeted with her camo, avoiding her gaze. “When we left Hephaestus’s castle just now, my creator assigned you as my new Designated Director. I am programmed to do as you say.”
“So…” she started slow, laden with skepticism. “Even if your emotions say otherwise, you must obey?”
A slight tension buzzed through her framework, though she didn’t allow herself to show it. Recent discoveries told her the answer was ‘no,’ she could disobey commands if she tried hard enough, but it would be unwise to let Xochitlicue know that. “It’s what I’m programmed to do.”
The Sphere Mover’s face took on a peculiar expression, like a curious idea had struck. The air in the carriage grew thick, Xochitlicue’s piercing gaze didn’t waver as she issued her command. “CASH, stand up.”
CASH rose, stiff and mechanical, the clicking of her joints echoing in the silent space of the carriage. The weight of Xochitlicue’s scrutiny pressed against her like an invisible force, cold and calculating. She stood there, feeling the eyes of her new commander burn into her form.
After the intense examination, she nodded at the bench. “Now sit down.”
She sat, but didn’t relax.
“Now stand again, and remain standing.”
She stood, agitated. “What is the point of this?”
Xochitlicue smirked. “To see if what you said was true. Will you stay standing the rest of the trip if I asked you to?”
“Yes. It won’t make me tired.” As if being tired would make any difference.
Xochitlicue grinned, thin and sharp. “Maybe this little partnership will work out after all. The thick tension in the carriage eased, CASH relaxed ever so slightly. Whatever kind of test that was, she had passed. What I am asking you to do will not be simple, and I cannot allow any mishaps in my plan.”
“I still do not understand. What is your plan?”
“My plan…” she paused and lowered her voice. She leaned forward, like someone might hear them if she didn’t whisper. The carriage darkened. “…is to dismantle the Prime Mover, then destroy this highway.”
CASH’s systems blared in alarm. The highway? What will happen to the travelers? Her purpose was to assist them. She wanted to protest, but she had already promised herself to keep any disagreements silent. Once she was sure she had control over audio, she responded. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Have you met a human, CASH?”
“No.”
She sneered. “They are disgusting creatures. The Prime Mover has forced us for years to serve them, to keep them happy. To waste our time. And what have we gotten in return for this service? Nothing. The only way to break free from his oppression is to defeat the Prime Mover.”
“You do not enjoy serving the travelers?”
“I despise it.”
“I… understand.” CASH processed the situation and knew her reaction was being closely monitored. She imagined herself in a game of chess. If she said the right thing, she could sneak right into the Queen’s blind spot. If not, she will be swept off the board. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided. “How can I be of assistance?”
Xochitlicue smiled, pulled out a map of the Astral Plain, and explained.
################################################################
Mission Directive: Conflict Detected. Designated Director at Risk.
Error. Error. Error.
The bright yellow warnings nearly blinded her optics. Every step was a deviant act of rebellion, but she couldn’t stop. Xochitlicue was screaming somewhere behind her, and all the other Sphere Movers were in various stages of pursuit. One of them, a huge being from the swampy 7th sphere saw her passing and made a swipe at her. In pure reaction, she moved 3 other units to block his hand. They were dismantled, and the loss was noted on her screen. She cringed guiltily and turned on her boosters, causing a quick burst of forward momentum. She stumbled—nearly crashed—on the highway, but she did it. She was off the battlefield.
“I command you to stop, CASH!” Xochitlicue boomed, louder than she knew was possible, echoing from all directions. Her whole body forcibly froze on the spot. From her hundreds of cameras on the battle field, she saw the smoky remains of the Prime Mover’s outer wall, taken down by the lasers. She thought that as the Sphere Movers filed in, she would have enough time to sneak out. More importantly, she thought the Prime Mover would’ve stopped this whole thing by now. Where was he?
Xochitlicue was making her way through the army toward her. “I know you can hear me, robot. Do not take another step.”
She forced her legs to walk, then run. She needed to move on to step two of her plan. It wasn’t enough to leave Xochitlicue without a commander, she needed to strip her of her militaristic force altogether, but it was so hard to think when her programming was so full of alarms.
She sent a silent signal to her army. ‘Units, scatter. Hide yourself on the Astral Plain.’ With that signal she sent a memorized map of the spheres to her comrades. The effect was instantaneous. Thousands of signals disconnected at once, breaking free from the battlefield. The formations shattered, steel bodies twisting into chaos. Some running, others rolling, a few flying. She caught a glimpse of Xochitlicue’s stricken expression, sheet white with anger.
“Your army is fleeing, what do we do Xochitlicue?” One of the movers pleaded.
“Forget them. We can finish this ourselves.”
A stampede of robots passed her by on the highway. She launched herself on a bigger one and let it carry her multiple spheres. She checked behind her repeatedly to see if she was being followed. She wasn’t,
Her internal coding prompted her multiple times per millisecond to return, return, return. Every command caused her frame to tremble. The springs in her joints were wearing thin from the visceral effort it took to keep still. The commands were so strong, she thought her springs might snap in half. But the further she got from the battlefield, the more the errors faded. Eventually she was left with nothing but a robotic headache. It was just CASH and her ride now. She closed her cameras and saw her army, soread hundreds of different locations across the astral plain. She saw sights she had never seen before. Some of it was beautiful, others terrifying. She was losing a few eyes as some units found a suitable hiding place and powered down to deep sleep mode. Even more left the range of her transmitter and she lost connection completely.
Where could she go?
She didn’t have any desire to leave her ride. She was afraid that if she stepped back on the highway and began to walk, her programming would restart the attempts to follow command. But her ride (Unit K-9, spider-legged ballistic) was very conspicuous. They together had already frightened many travelers in passing. She felt she had already pushed her bravery to the limit today, but now it was time to push some more.
K-9 wouldn’t feel it, but she gave him an appreciative pat on his back anyway. “Thank you for carrying me so far. You may find your own hiding place now.”
She slipped off his shell and watched as K-9 took an abrupt left turn and scurried off the highway into the darkness. She hoped he would make it safe. She hoped they all would.
She took a tentative step on the asphalt, and was relieved to receive no volatile reaction from her programming. She must be past the worst of it. If she was capable, she would’ve laughed out loud, but because it was impossible for robots to laugh she settled for a wide grin instead. She could do this. She could do this, she already was doing this. The hardest part was over, now all she needed was a safe place to hide where no one could ever use her to hurt anybody again. She will be safe, and in turn the Astral Plain will stay safe from her. Once she finds a good spot, she will recalculate and form her next plan.
Then her thoughts were interrupted.
“General CASH!”
Her wires sparked as she whirled her head around a full 360 degrees. She had her laser arm and rocket boosters at the ready, but Xochitlicue wasn’t here.
“General CASH, I know you can hear me. I have a message for you.”
She realized Xochitlicue’s voice was not from her physical environment, but from the internal radio she used to tune into the other units’ audio processors. She quickly scanned the dozens of open screens in her mind until she found C-87. Unit C-87 had been compromised by a falling piece of rubble during the battle and was apparently unable to flee with the others, but was not fully destroyed. She selected the screen and found herself staring directly into Xochitlicue’s furious gaze. She could see that Xochilicue was in the carriage.
“I want you to know that despite your pathetic attempt to thwart my plans, your rebellion was wholly unsuccessful. The other Sphere Movers and I have defeated the Prime Mover without your assistance. I felt it was important for me to tell you that. I doubt your mechanical sensibilities will feel much guilt over your heartless betrayal to me, but maybe the weight of crushing failure has some effect.
“I want you to also be aware that now the Prime Mover is gone, there is nothing stopping me from devoting my attention to finding you, breaking you, then finally removing you from existence. I assure you it will be most enjoyable to me, and most miserable for you. You made me look like a fool today, and I won’t forget that. Ever.
“See you soon, General CASH.”
The screen turned dark, and a notification alerted her that C-87 had been destroyed.
Fear flooded her very code. Her plan didn’t work; Xochitlicue got what she wanted anyway and now she if she didn’t find a place to hide fast she would be destroyed. She was within transmitting range, meaning Xochitlicue was on her way right now, searching for her.
CASH needed to get off the road. She pulled up her saved map of the Astral Plain and calculated her location. The next two spheres belonged to beings who had allied themselves with Xochitlicue. But the third one….
She didn’t like it, especially because she knew it belonged to a malevolent being, but she had little choice.
She calculated the fastest route to the 8th Sphere and ran.