The Mechanical Ogre by Giulia Gubellini

Author:Giulia Gubellini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: free ebook, italy, robots, sci fi, cyberpunk, network, bologna, short science fiction, technolgy, bestseller ebook

CHAPTER IV

Amanda sat down at the platform and set the final parameters for connection to the net. A bead of sweat ran down her nose and broke on the control panel in the arm of the chair, the lines of the screen becoming deformed by small, chrome Newton’s rings. The girl wiped it off with the palm of her hand.

“You have to stop him on the tenth floor. The Core Injector will have good reception there.”

“And if he manages to get away from me, I’ll have three more floors to stop him. Child’s play.”

Lionel put the Injector and the Shockwave into his pocket, attached the crowbar to his belt and left. It was 9.58. The room was quiet, and dust danced in the blue light of winter. It was snowing outside, the flakes whirling around in the gusts of wind, the grey sky tinged with orange. No trains, no cars, no building sites and no voices. Just a faint, intermittent drip of water. She could have been the only person left in Bologna, or the sole survivor of a planetary catastrophe. Amanda submerged herself in the total connection.

***

She fluctuated around the net, seeking data in the constructions of the universe. The Core Injector was a solid fluorescent cube in pale pastel colours, with geometric shapes carved on the surface. It moved in slow circles, its dimensions oscillating in time to the girl’s breathing. Amanda moved her finger on the keyboard typing in the access code. A corner of the cube dissolved and recomposed itself once she had entered. A red, pulsating light, crossed by lumpy, mauve spots, like cancer in a dying organ, filtered through the internal walls. Amanda waited for the Core Injector to be connected to the robot. Only then would the device be reawakened.

“It’s up to you now, Lionel. Good luck.”

***

It was 10.07 when one of the doors to the Beehive was broken down. On the landing of the tenth floor, Lionel hid near the top of the stairs. With the audio reception circuits set at full volume, he could hear Amanda breathing calmly three floors over his head and the racket the Mechanical Ogre was making as it made its way through the rubble. The robot’s strength was nothing like a human’s, but Lefevbre was a scientist, after all, not a soldier. Although it was endowed with great strength, it had no experience of fighting and had no defence tactics, which was a point against it. Or at least he hoped so.

He heard a creak on the floor downstairs. Lionel tested the weight of the crowbar and charged his arm. His plan was to attack the robot from behind as it was crossing the landing. After putting the Core Injector in place, he would keep the robot in the corridor long enough for Amanda to carry out her work on the net. The footsteps came closer. Just a few more steps. Lionel activated the implants to increase his strength, the veins in his arm swollen with adrenalin, his heartbeat as regular as an office worker’s.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.