Burn-In_A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution by P. W. Singer & August Cole

Author:P. W. Singer & August Cole [Singer, P. W. & Cole, August]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Google: hlGdDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 51063478
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2020-05-26T00:00:00+00:00

Ballston Neighborhood

Arlington, Virginia

Keegan woke to find herself on the bathroom floor, using a damp rainbow-striped beach towel as a makeshift pillow.

When they had finally arrived at the Washington Field Office later the night before, it had been chaos, just without the good vibes that had permeated the crowd at the Archives. In a bureaucracy, turf matters above all, even when organizing to help. So most of the tension among managers and all their subordinates had been about who goes where, with who in charge. Despite having just been doing the job on the streets outside, there was no established protocol for where she and TAMS fit into this matrix. So she had made the decision easier for them, typing up a quick mission report to explain the diversion to the Metro and National Archives as being by design and then declaring the need for “operational recovery and recharge,” for both of them. With no sign of Noritz to sign off, she had left for home, taking TAMS with her.

Surprisingly, the drive had gone quickly. They’d had to take the long way around the Beltway, but the roads were nearly clear, no one out driving their commute or running errands. In times of crisis, most just want to hunker down with family, something Keegan felt desperately herself.

Once she walked in the door, though, it was like a miniature version of downtown. There was a small pool of water coming out from the bathroom, as if the deluge outside had worked its way up into their apartment. Either Haley or Jared had turned the faucet off eventually, but the puddle had been left as a lower priority than playtime or turking away for more points.

She didn’t have the energy for another fight, so while they slept, she had stripped off her muddy clothes and ransacked the condo for whatever she could find to sop the water up. Clean towels. Dirty towels. Dish towels. Even Haley’s yellow duck towel with a frayed orange bill on its hood. TAMS probably could’ve helped, but this was her own mess to clean up. Once she’d gotten most of it up, she’d taken a rest against the bathroom wall, only to fall asleep as the day’s exertions and stress finally caught up.

Now, Keegan pulled herself up off the floor slowly and carefully, to be gentle on her back muscles that were stiff as hell. She then examined herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and the skin on her forearms had faint purple splotches. She was afraid to ask TAMS the exact chemical makeup of the muddy water downtown, but she was pretty sure it was not spa grade. Her back throbbed, the sciatic nerve aching and shooting what felt like mild electric shocks down her leg. If the bags at the Archives hadn’t done it, sleeping at an awkward angle on the bathroom floor had.

“Haley?” she called out. There was no response, and she quickly saw why as she peeked out into the den.

Her little girl was sitting on the couch with the VR rig on, the oversized helmet making her neck disappear.

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