Steel Guardian by Cameron Coral

Author:Cameron Coral [Coral, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Molten Universe Media
Published: 2019-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

24

The superstore—an old Costco—loomed large as they approached. Graffiti covered the tall front walls, and the double-front glass doors had been kicked out, revealing a dark interior. The entrance looked like the mouth of an ominous cave. Before them stretched a wide parking lot where weeds sprouted up from crevices. An overturned passenger bus lay on its side and dented, rusting cars and metal shopping carts littered the path to the store.

“Stay very quiet,” Nova whispered. She led Block behind a copse of trees where they crouched in view of the store’s entrance.

She retrieved a small pair of binoculars from her bag while Block zoomed in with his ocular display. He wasn’t entirely sure what to watch for. Signs of activity, he supposed. Nova seemed to know what she was doing.

After twenty minutes, he broke the silence. “How long do we wait?”

“Until I say.”

“There’s no activity, human or robotic,” he said.

“Yeah.” She lowered her binoculars. “Seems too easy.”

“Would you like me to use my infrared to determine whether there are any heat signatures behind the building’s walls?”

She glowered at him. “What? Are you telling me you could’ve done that all along? You can tell if there are humans inside?”

Oh. Had he done something wrong by not revealing that detail earlier? “Yes, up to a certain distance,” he answered. “I can discern the heat trails of human beings.”

“Well, shit,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Of course, I want you to do that.”

It was difficult to tell when she was joking versus being serious. Block switched on his infrared sensor and scanned the front walls of the building. “I detect zero heat signatures.”

“What about robots? Can you check for those, too?”

“I can send a ping.”

Nova arched an eyebrow. “A ping? What the hell is that?”

“It’s an AI-to-AI method of communication. I transmit an encrypted code, and any AI within range will respond—unless their comms are disabled—sending me their precise location and model. It depends on what information they make available, but usually I can tell immediately if they’re a combat machine or not.”

“You’re flipping kidding me,” she said. “Have you been doing that the whole time we’ve been traveling?”

“Well, no. I only transmit at certain times, because if I emitted pings more frequently, that would alert other robots to my location. It might make me a target, as you put it.”

She clenched her jaw and eyed the building. “So, what you’re saying is that, you send a ping, and robots might answer. But we won’t know whether they’re friendly. And they’ll know instantly where you are.”

“Correct.”

“That does make things interesting.” She bit her lower lip. “Do it. Let’s take the chance, and we’ll run if there’s a hostile. The potential for supplies inside is worth the risk. I suspect the store’s been looted many times over, but some goodies might’ve been missed.”

“All right.” He emitted a ping that would transmit to any AI within half a mile.

After ten seconds, he said, “No replies.”

“It’s that fast?”

He nodded. “Unless they’ve purposely disabled their comms to disguise themselves, there are no AI machines present.

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