Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 13: A Light in the Darkness (Current)

"And you think that wise, do you?" I said as I raised my brow.

"What?" She said, almost startled by the question.

"Do you think that is wise?" I said again as I gestured around me, "Putting all your faith into technology and science... Worshipping knowledge for knowledge's sake... Isn't that what ended the world in the first place?"

"No, it's not like that at all!" She said, a look of genuine surprise on her face, "My father always told me it was more like the ancient myth of Prometheus. How he sacrificed himself to bring the heavenly fire to earth, that spark of knowledge that brought mankind out of the dark ages. It's a gift, Mr. Burns, bought with the sacrifice of our ancestors."

I scoffed.

"Oh yeah? Well, I've got another little fairy tale for you. It's called Pandora's Box, and it's about a girl that just had to know the answer to everything. A girl whose curiosity and quest for "knowledge" brought about the end of the world, because that's what happens when you mess with things men weren't meant to know. That's what the endless pursuit of "knowledge" gets you."

"You are just so... infuriating! First of all, that's not how the myth goes, and second, technology and science aren't what's dangerous, it's how you use them!"

"Well, they used it alright!" I yelled out, a little louder than I'd meant to, "Don't you get it? It always gets out of hand, people just can't control themselves. Sometimes they can't even control their own creations!" But as soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew what a terrible mistake I'd made. A cold, mechanical voice rang out from somewhere up above, echoing around us as the sound of heavy metallic footsteps began to clang closer and closer.

"WARNING; Intruders detected in the vicinity of the main hall. Defensive routines activated..."

We both looked up just as the clunky frame of a Pre-War robot came into view, its positronic brain whirring madly beneath a plane of glass. Our presence had sent the machine's ancient sensors into overdrive as it scoured the area from its high position upon the balcony.

I cursed under my breath.

Protectrons. Of course there were Protectrons... How else does a treasure like this go untouched for so many years? All the Pre-War companies had used them, but they were just another example of technology run amok. Though they may have been the most basic of automatons, they had always been unreliable, even before the war. Now after two hundred years of nonstop functioning, they could be downright unpredictable. 

"ATTENTION all law-abiding citizens, the library is now closed due to an emergency. Please find the nearest exit or be eradicated to the fullest extent of the law." Its monotone voice seemed to jerk and hitch at the strangest of times, the occasional spark flying from its mechanical head.

Instinctively, I ducked behind one of the marble statues, dragging Ilya down with me as she struggled.

"Hey!" She hollered as she wrenched her hand from mine.

"Be quiet! Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"Now really, a Protectron? Is that what's got you all upset? Honestly, I'm starting to think you're just messing with me..."

"I said get down!" I hissed as I readied my weapon once again.

"Oh, this is absolutely ridiculous... Watch and learn, Mr. Burns." And without another word, she marched right towards the lumbering tank of steel and sparking servos.

"Ilya!" I called after her. What did she think she was doing!? Dammit, I knew this girl was going to be the end of me...

I watched on helplessly as she approached the machine, a metric ton of gears and steel. What it lacked in refinement and mobility, it made up for in sheer strength and firepower.