Hamlet, Prince of Robots by M. Darusha Wehm

Author:M. Darusha Wehm
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780473638894
Publisher: in potentia press

“What do you think, Horatio?” Hamlet asked once they were alone.

“She’s hard to read,” Horatio said. “She doesn’t show her feelings like you do.”

“Even so,” Hamlet said.

“Even so, she did look… well,” Horatio paused. “If she were human, I’d say she looked startled. But since’s she’s an android…”

“Yes,” Hamlet prodded.

“I think she looked afraid.”

Hamlet clapped his hands together once and grinned. “Exactly my thoughts. I’m convinced that backup was a true record of Hamlet’s last moments, and that Claudia is guilty.”

“Yes, but what now?” Horatio asked. “It’s not enough proof to take to the board, and what would they do anyway? There’s…” He looked away, unable to meet Hamlet’s eyes. “There’s not much legal precedent here.”

“I know what you’re too kind to say, Horatio,” Hamlet said. “This isn’t something for the law. It sees what happened to old Hamlet as… what? Destruction of property? But, to me, it’s murder. So I’ll just have to deal with it myself.”

Horatio opened his mouth to say something, but Rose Krantz and Gilda Stern returned to the atrium, still collecting gaming equipment.

“Can I have a word, Hamlet?” Gilda said, dumping an armload of headsets and controllers into Rose’s already full arms.

“Which one?” he answered.

“About your… uh…?” she looked beseechingly toward Rose for help, but Krantz was fully occupied juggling the gaming equipment. “Boss?”

“That’s at least three words,” Hamlet said coldly, examining the tips of his fingers as if contemplating his non-existent manicure.

“Why are you being so difficult about Claudia?” Gilda blurted.

“There’s nothing difficult about me. I’m easy. Easy like Sunday morning,” he sang.

“Please,” she said, obviously flustered, “can’t you give me a straight answer to anything?”

“Now, Gilda,” Hamlet said, smiling and looking toward Horatio, who was leaving the room, “have you ever known me to be even the slightest bit straight?”

Gilda took a breath and tried again. “Hamlet, can you go see Gertrude in her office?”

“I am able to perform that task.” Gilda sighed and turned away as Hamlet grinned at her back.

Rose finally dumped her armload of devices on a plush chair and joined them. “She asked us to tell you to see her, okay? Can you just do that one thing?”

“Fine,” Hamlet said. “Are you done?”

Rose and Gilda glanced at each other, hurt and confusion on their faces.

“Why are you being like this?” Rose asked, her voice quiet.

“Unlike you, I have an excuse,” Hamlet said. “I was made this way.” He picked up a pair of game controllers and thrust them into the hands of the two researchers. “Let’s play a game!” He closed his eyes and holoscreens sprung out of the tops of the controllers. The start screen to a complex racing simulator appeared, then countdowns began.

“How do you play this?” Gilda asked, her fingers twitching on the unfamiliar controls.

“It’s easy,” Hamlet said. “You just drive.”

“Which button is the accelerator?” She hit the controls randomly, her space shuttle sputtering on the start line while Hamlet’s shot out in front. By the time she’d figured out how to start her vehicle and mastered the steering mechanism, Hamlet had finished the race.

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