Planet of the Robots

[Little Brown Fox]

Thinking of "welcome songs of doom" just makes me think of GIR and his Doom Song.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Planet of the Robots

5.

The mute boy human in the laboratory cage rapidly waved his hands in repeated motions. Dr. Tetsuwan kept trying to speak to him, slowly repeating his words and articulating them as clearly as he could.

“I'm sure the boy is trying to speak to me somehow.” the robot scientist said.

“I think he's talking with his hands,” Zoran told her father. “He's doing a kind of pantomime.”

“Perhaps, but it's a rather complicated system of gestures.” her father agreed. “I can't even begin to figure out what he's trying to tell me.

“Maybe he's asking what happened to the other three humans.” Atom said.

“Perhaps, but I have no idea how I'd explain that to him.” Dr. Tetsuwan sighed.

“Why do they have to cut their brains up?” Zoran asked.

“The Blue Knights are just looking for any excuse to wipe out as many of the remaining humans as possible,” the scientist said. “I appealed to ruling council to at least allow me test their mental abilities for a few days, but they denied me even that concession. The worst part about the whole mess is that the so called Medical department is a sham. I looked up who those medical scientists are, a bunch of quacks with no training in any of the branches of science.”

“Then I guess we should try and help them escape.” Zoran said.

“That's a very brave thing to suggest, daughter.” Dr. Tetsuwan sighed.

“Well, I agree with my sister!” Atom said.

“Your mother would be proud of you two,” their father said, patting his children on their heads, “Brave, but very foolish. If the Knights caught us in the act, they would not hesitate to deactivate us permanently.”



Taylor, Landon, and Dodge were surprised at the apparent lack of attention they had been given. They were locked up in the unused wing of the administration building that served as the medical research facility. The basement of the wing was mostly a storage locker, and contained several large cages. It was in one of these that the astronauts had been hastily imprisoned in. After locking the door to their cell the Blue Knight guard left them to themselves. Once in the morning, and again before sunset, someone would bring them some food and water, and clean out the bucket that served as their toilet. Except for those twice daily visits, nobody seemed to take any interest in them.

Taylor examined the lock on their cell. “This seems to be a simple ward lock, not very impressive,” he said. “Maybe I can pick it open.”

He removed his Swiss army knife from his pocket, which the robots had seemed to overlook. “Those Blue Knights are not familiar with our 21st century clothing,” Dodge noted, “They have completely ignored our pockets when they searched us and only took our back packs and what were were wearing around our wrists and necks.”

“Well I wish I still had my watch,” Landon replied, “Though I doubt it would be correct on this world.”

Taylor removed the long toothpick from the handle of the knife and started to probe the inside of the lock through the keyhole. He had to work backwards putting his hand between the bars to get at the lock, but he could feel his way around. It took him several hours, but eventually he managed to unlock the door.
“Great, but now we need to find a way out of here,” Dodge said.


Zoran tried to lift the backpack that she had stuffed full of food items she thought would be good for humans to eat. Atom noticed his sister struggling with the weight of the pack, and took it from her.

“I'll carry this, sis” he said lifting it over his shoulders and strapping it on.

“It's almost dark outside now,” Zoran said, “Let's get going.”

“I don't know why I let you talk me into this,” Atom said, “If dad finds out about it, he'll go ballistic!”

“You know you agree with me, brother.” Zoran said, “We can't allow the Knights to hurt those humans."

Atom looked around to make sure that their parents weren't looking, and he and his sister quietly snuck out of the house. Their first stop was at their father's laboratory. The building was locked, and all the lights were out, normally the place was unoccupied at night, except when their father worked late on an experiment. Zoran produced a set of keys that she had removed from their father's desk drawer and handed them to her brother. Atom unlocked the side door to the building that led directly to the area where the astronauts had been kept before the Knights had removed them to the medical facility. They freed the young boy who was still being kept there.

“Come with us.” Zoran said, motioning with her hands. Between her gestures, and the soft tones of her voice, the boy seemed to understand what she had in mind. Atom unlocked the cage and the boy followed them.

They crept slowly towards the building where the medical laboratory was. Atom motioned to his sister and the boy to come around to the back of the building. They broke a basement window and opened it, to gain access to where the cells were.
Within a minute of having unlocked their cage, the astronauts were startled by the sound of glass breaking. Taylor turned around quickly, and motioned for his two companions to move out of sight of the window. He then noticed the two robot children at the window that they'd seen with the scientist that had been kind to them a few days ago.
“Taylor!” Zoran whispered, “We've come to free you guys!”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Atom dropped the end of a piece of rope that he'd found in his father's laboratory that had been used to tie some crates up. One at a time each of the astronauts tied the rope around their waists and held on while Atom pulled them up towards the window to freedom.

“This way!” the boy robot whispered, pointing towards a path that led through a junk yard and out of the settlement.

The band of four humans followed the two robot children. The moon hadn't rose above the horizon yet, and under the cover of darkness they managed to get clear of the compound without being detected by the Blue Knight guards.

“Why did you help us?” Taylor asked.

“They were going to cut up your brains for study.” Zoran said. “Our father tried to get you released from the Medical group, but the ruling council already had their minds made up. My dad thinks that the Blue Knights want to get rid of all of the remaining humans, but they have to do it slowly.”

“We couldn't just stand by and let them do that.” Atom said, “our father wanted to help, but he's afraid of standing up to the Knights and the Robot Bombs on the council. Other's have been sentenced t deactivation for defying them before.”

“Then maybe we should part company right here.” Dodge said. “Thank's for freeing us, but we can't allow you to get in trouble.”

“I don't think the council would dare deactivate a bunch of kids.” Zoran said bravely, “and our father doesn't know we're doing this. We talked about this and Atom and I are going to see that you make it across the forbidden zone to safety.”

“I can't allow that.” Taylor said, “I won't get you two in trouble.”

“Well you can't stop us either.” Atom said. “I have about 100 times your strength, and we don't need to sleep, so you can't get away from us.!”

“Here!” Zoran said, grabbing the backpacks from her brother and handing it to Taylor. “I've packed enough food and stuff for you guys for at least a week.”

Taylor examined the contents of the back pack before hoisting onto his shoulders.

“Thanks. That was very kind of you. Well I guess you two better lead the way if you insist on going along with us. You probably know the way better than we do.”

“Right!” Atom said.

The moon rose up in the sky, peeking above the horizon. Although it was barely a quarter full it provided enough illumination to light their way through the thin forest.

“This is the less traveled route towards the forbidden zone,” Atom explained. “It's rather barren with little eatable food for humans or animals so the Knights won't expect you to be going this way. It will take us longer to get to the forbidden zone, and we'll have to climb through some rocky passages, but we'll make it OK.”

“How is it that you know the way?” Taylor asked.

“Zoran once go lost out this way and I had to go looking for her.” Atom laughed. “She once got mad at our parents and decided to run away from home. I could hear her screaming for miles away and came to rescue her.”

“She screams that loud?” Dodge laughed.

“No, Atom can crank his hearing up about 1000 times.” Zoran said, giving her brother a punch in the shoulder. “You have to tell them all about the stupid things I've done?”

“Sorry.” Atom replied. “Just answering their questions.”

“How far do we have to go?” Landon asked.

“If we travel all night we will make it to the caves at the edge of the edge of the forest,” Atom said. “You won't want to travel during the day, because there will be little cover and the Knights patrol that area looking for runaway humans. Once night falls again, we can make it across to the mountains. When we get to the other side it will be another day's journey to the forbidden zone. The Knights won't be looking for us there, unless they somehow manage to figure out we've gone this way and follow us.”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Taylor kept guard at the mouth of the cave they had been hiding in since just before the sun rose. Zoran sat next to the mute boy, trying to communicate with him. She had watched Landon sign with the boy and remembered most of the gestures, and quickly figured out the rest. Dodge had managed to salvage a pack of playing cards from the ship and the knights had shown no interest in them when they had searched him. He was now trying to teach Atom how to play poker with him. The boy robot caught on quick about how the various suits formed combinations and which of them were the most valuable, but he could not understand the idea of wagering on the outcome of the card hands.

“Maybe you should teach him old maid?” Landon laughed.

After Atom gave up on the card game Dodge sat playing solitaire by himself. Taylor kept to his vigil looking for any sign of approaching trouble.

“I'll keep watch.” Atom told him. “You should try and get some sleep, we'll be traveling across the badlands at night.”

“You're probably right.” Taylor sighed, as he headed towards the back of the cave where Dodge and Landon were already lying down trying to rest up for the nights trek. Zoran covered the mute boy with a blanket she'd brought along with their supplies. The teenager was already asleep. She crept towards the mouth of the cave where her brother was standing.

“Do you think the Knights are out looking for us?” She asked.

“Probably.” Atom said. “I think we covered our tracks well during the night though.”


As the sun reached the horizon, the four humans stirred from their slumber. “Is it night yet?” Dodge asked.

“The sun has just started to set.” Zoran answered. “Atom and I haven't seen any sign of the Knights. You guys should eat before we head out, you'll need your strength to make it over the mountains.”

She opened the pack containing the food they'd brought with them. Mostly dried fruits and nuts, with some tubers and eatable fungi. The mute teen awoke and found an ant's nest just outside of the cave. He scooped up a handful of the insects and ate them. The three astronauts found the raw potatoes and onions a bit hard to chew and swallow, but manged to feast on them, along with the apples and berries.

They divided their supplies up and reloaded the backpacks. The sky was now a dark violet color and some stars were just becoming visible. Leaving the cave they made their way across the barren field heading towards the higher ground.

“This trail leads into the mountains.” Atom told them. “Once we get to the other side of them we'll probably be beyond where the Knights will be looking for us, and on the edge of the forbidden zone.”

The robot children's eyes were sensitive to IR wavelengths and they had no difficulty seeing they way though the darkness. The astronauts eyes had not yet adjusted to the lower light levels and kept tripping on the rough terrain. “I'd better take the lead.” Atom said.

His eyes lit up like searchlights. “You'd better dim your eyes, brother.” Zoran said, “or the Knights might see us if they are out this way.”

Atom turned down the intensity of his eye lamps and kept his gaze toward the ground so that the light only illuminated just a few feet ahead of him. It was enough light for the humans to see their way, and the speed of their progress now increased.

Gradually the ground began to slope upward as they were approaching the mountainous terrain. The trail became more and more rocky, and their footing less secure. The moon rose behind them, and Atom extinguished his eye searchlights as they were no longer necessary.

Taylor looked up at the moon, carefully studying it.
“Seems about half the size of earth's moon, but just as pot marked.” he said.

“I guess most rocky moons look alike.” Dodge answered him back.

“Something about that moon looks familiar to me.” Landon said, scratching his chin. “Some of those crater groupings look familiar some how.”

“Well it's not like the lunar we once knew.” Dodge sighed. “Earth is light years away from here.”

The trail disappeared and they were climbing up an almost shear vertical incline. The humans had to carefully find a foothold for each step, while looking for an outcroppings to hold on to. Atom lead the way, hammering his fists into the face of the mountain to create a path for his friends to follow in.

By the time the moon had reached the three o'clock position in the sky they had obtained the summit. From up there they could see a path leading down towards a valley. “The forbidden zone is just beyond the visible horizon from here.” Atom said. “It looks like the way down will be a lot easier than the climb up.

He zoomed his eyes into telescope mode and scanned the path down the mountain. “There's a cave in the mountain side half way down. We should be able to reach that by sunup.”

“Still traveling night?” Taylor asked.

“It will get hot a few hours after sunup.” Atom said. “And you must be tired from the climb.”

“Got that right.” Dodge agreed. “Lets make the cave and call it a night.”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Planet of the Robots

6.

While the astronauts tried to catch some sleep in the back of the cave, Atom and Zoran explored the terrain outside. They were about a third of the way up the back slope of the mountain, and could see the valley below them. The way down from where they stood would be an easier travel than they had endured on the upward path on the other side of the mountain, there was a clear trail leading down at a gentle slope towards the valley. This side of the mountain was covered with vegetation, including some with eatable fruits and nuts. The robot children busied themselves in gathering a sack full of of these as the supplies they had brought with them were running out. Zoran found a small stream and filled the empty canteen she'd brought with her.


The sun was now way past the top of the sky and the hottest part of the day long past. A cool breeze wafted into the cave and Taylor stirred from his slumber. He gently shook Landon and Dodge to waken them. The mute boy was already up, standing near the entrance to the cave. Atom and Zoran had just returned from their exploration. Zoran opened one of the backpacks and found one of the energy tubes they'd packed. She motioned to Atom to open his chest panel, handing him the tube. Atom refueled himself, and then handed the half empty tube back to his sister. Zoran lifted her skirt and allowed Atom to open her refueling socket just above her waist and insert the end of the tube. She almost drained what was left in it, and then put the cylinder away into the pack.

The humans accepted the wild food that the robots had picked and made a late afternoon meal of it. After washing it down with the water from the canteen, they gathered their things and made ready to leave. By now the sun was nearing the horizon and the air felt much cooler.

Atom lead the way down the slope of the mountain and they soon reached the floor of the valley. “The entrance into the forbidden zone is in that direction,” Atom said, pointing to a spot on the horizon. A few hours passed and the first of the stars began to twinkle into view. The ground they were walking on was dry with little vegetation, save for some plants resembling cactus and small lichen. The desert like terrain seemed to extend to the horizon where a passage between two higher plateaus could dimly be made out in the moonlight. “That's our destination.” Atom said.

After walking for several hours they stopped for a rest. Landon looked up at the moon, now almost straight up in the sky. He held his thumb up and compared the size of the moon's disc to his finger nail with his arm held straight out.

“What's up?” Taylor asked.

“Oh nothing.” Landon replied. “Just a strange feeling that's all. Guess we should get going again.”

The four humans got back to their feet and the group continued their march. By the time the moon was nearing the horizon they had were walking through the walls of the small canyon they had seen at the start of their trek from the edge of the mountain. The sky was beginning to brighten with the coming of dawn. “We should make it to the boundary of the zone by the time it's full light.” Atom said. “We should be safe there from the Knights.”

“What we we find once we reach the zone?” Taylor asked.

“I don't know.” Atom said, shrugging his shoulders. “My father used to tell me that the answers to the riddle of human and robot origins lay out there. He thought that the reason it was deemed forbidden to enter this area was to keep those answers hidden, that the ruling counsel knew what was out here and was afraid of letting the rest of us know it as well.”

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

OK you all knew this was coming, I won't keep you in suspense any longer!

They walked through the canyon which between the two tall walls of rocky outcroppings. The path under their feet was sandy and flat resembling a riverbed at low tide. Their feet sank into the moist sand leaving clear footprints. “We'd better get through to the other side before the tide comes in,” Landon said, “This path seems to be a passage for water.”

“I'm not too sure about that,” Taylor said, pointing to the walls of the canyon. “I don't see any water marks on the outcroppings. If there is a tidal flow, it can't be much more than a trickle.”

The path they were on started to slope downwards and got wider. The cliffs on either side of them were not as high as when they had first entered the canyon. “I think we're coming out of it.” Dodge remarked.

The sun now appeared low on the horizon as it rose, marking the dawn of a new day. In the distance the tops of some structure that looked like the spires of buildings appeared visible.

“We're in the the Forbidden zone now,” Atom said.

“I'm scared!” Zoran cried, clinging to her brother.

“Don't be frightened,” Taylor said, bending down to face the robot girl. He rubbed his fingers though her hair, or what resembled hair on the top of her head. “I don't think there is anything out here to hurt us, it looks dead.”

“That's what my dad told me,” Atom said. “Nothing is living out here, it was all destroyed by an ancient war.”


The sun climbed higher in the sky as they walked in the direction of the buildings in the distance. “We should find some clues to the mysteries of this planet in those ruins,” Taylor said.

“What's that?” Landon said, pointing to an object that was just starting to become visible over the horizon to their left. “It looks familiar.”

“Let's take a detour and find out.” Taylor agreed. They turned to march in the direction of the green metal object. As they got closer it took on a ghostly familiar shape. “It can't be!” Dodge yelled.

Buried up to her waist in the sand was the figure of a giant robed woman, her right arm held upwards holding a torch, her left hand gripping a tablet. She wore a spiked crown on her head, and she was made of a rusty green metal.

“We must be back on Earth!” Taylor gasped, as he stared at the remains of the Statue of Liberty.