Silicon Man (Silicon World Book 2) by W.H. Massa

Author:W.H. Massa [Massa, W.H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Critical Mass Publishing
Published: 2017-09-26T06:00:00+00:00

10

The van slowed and came to a complete stop after what seemed like an endless drive. If Cole were still human, he would have lost track of time but, as a mech, his internal clock informed him that exactly seventy-five minutes and twenty-three seconds had passed. He shot a questioning look at Keira.

“Where are we?”

She didn’t offer an answer.

They climbed out of the vehicle in silence. Cole scanned his surroundings. The van was parked in what appeared to be a salvage yard. Crimson sunlight bled over an apocalyptic landscape of jagged metal. There were giant mounds of tangled mech bodies as far as the eye could see. The junkyard was a technological mass grave, a Dante-esque vision of robot hell.

In the near distance, cranes scooped up piles of mech parts and loaded them into waiting trucks. Normally, Cole’s reaction would be one of indifference. After all, he was just staring at a heap of metal once shaped to resemble the human form. But this time was different. This time it hit closer to home.

The network had managed to survive and thrive because of careful, meticulous planning. They went through great efforts to remain cloaked in shadows and had refined paranoia to an art form. Choosing the salvage yard as a base of operations was clever. The prevalence of mech technology made scans difficult and the junkyards employed their share of android workers. On some level, they were hiding in plain sight.

Three mechs approached the van, armed with a combination of pulse weapons and ballistic rifles. The black metal of the guns glinted in the harsh daylight. Cole’s querying gaze fixed on Keira. “Where am I? What is this place?”

Cole knew the answer, but he had to play dumb. He was pretty sure this was the hub, one of many holding stations operated by the Underground Network.

The Amazon — Cole had learned her name was Zola — provided an explanation. “Get comfortable. This will be your new home until the network decides what to do with you.”

Cole attempted to activate his GPS system, but it wasn't responding. As if Zola sensed what Cole was up to, she said, “Don't bother accessing your GPS. Keira switched it off when she shut down your tracker. Safer for all of us if you don't know your exact whereabouts.”

The armed mechs grabbed Paul’s deactivated form and carried him by his feet and arms to the nearby warehouse. Zola led Keira and Cole after them. Moments later, they entered the warehouse. The shabby, rundown exterior gave no indication of the high-tech equipment stored within its corrugated walls. Cole caught sight of a ragtag group of humans and mechs operating sophisticated, top-of-the-line computer technology. Holo-screens showed a variety of maps and city grids.

Cole noticed that some of the mechs were identical in appearance. These were X2000s and X2000Gs, both popular models that preceded the X3000. They were discontinued two months earlier but still could fetch a nice sum at a used-mech lot.

As an AI-TAC commander, Cole knew his enemy.

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