Tevun-Krus #97 - International VI: Peace

War on Kriya Taun - An English Short Story by @theidiotmachine

War on Kriya Taun

By theidiotmachine

Counsellor Raleigh Dumas rubbed her bruised shoulder, and tried to concentrate on what was being said to her.

'...it's been escalating for weeks. Now they've divided the town into zones. We're worried that something terrible will happen...'

The lady talking was the chief security officer of Kriya Taun, and, as far as she could tell, also the vet. And possibly something to do with food, but she'd sorta tuned out for that. People seemed to wear a lot of hats here.

'So,' said Dumas, gently interrupting, 'what you are saying is that the robots are getting into gangs? Like West Side Story or something?'

Shanta visibly bristled.

'If you just came here to laugh at us...'

'No, I'm sorry. I'm not mocking you. Robots are very literal minded. They will take stimulus from all sorts of places, and draw conclusions that humans sometimes find hard to understand. Fiction is a surprisingly good place to start because of that.'

God, her jaw hurt. Was it clicking?

'Oh! I see. I suppose it is a bit like that. But honestly, I don't know; we've been trying to stay out of it. But it's getting increasingly difficult. So we were very glad that they asked to see you.'

As she'd been talking, Shanta had been staring at Dumas's bruises, her politeness and curiosity perfectly balanced; curiosity finally won out.

'Would you like some sort of medical attention?'

'Ah, no, it's fine; goes with the hobby. Some hothead on the ship didn't know what Akikiti is. He does now... Although, honestly, a soak in a nanotank would be lovely later.'

'Um. OK. Because we're keen to start, we asked one of the robots to speak to you as soon as possible. He's outside. Would you be alright to see him right now?'

'Sure. That's fine.'

Shanta tapped her handheld, and the door opened, and in walked the robot.

It was an older model, humanoid, about her height. His skin was pale blue, and his grip, when he shook her hand, was dry and warm. His unblinking, pitch black eyes gazed straight at hers.

'Hello Lucas,' she said. 'Thanks for coming.'

'Counsellor Dumas, the pleasure is all mine. We're very grateful that you could come at such short notice.'

She smiled. 'It wasn't that hard. I'm only a few weeks away. Please, call me Raleigh.'

'Nonetheless, we still appreciate it. Shanta, I would like some private time with the counsellor. Would you please permit that?'

Shanta looked relieved. 'Of course. If you need anything, please, call,' she said, and left.

Dumas stood. 'Would you mind if we walked and talked, Lucas? Is there anywhere we can do that?'

'Yes. The botanical gardens are quiet at this time of day. The workers will respect our privacy. Follow me, please. I see you've been fighting.'

After all of her years as a robot counsellor, Dumas was used to the directness. In fact, she liked robots more than humans: there was never any offence, taken or intended. So, she just nodded and rolled her shoulders.

'Yep. It was a good fight. The guy was fast. Needed to work on his defence, though. Lucas, that's why you asked specifically for me, isn't it?'

'Yes. You are a counsellor with experience of human ritual combat. We hoped that those skills would help us resolve our issues.'