Rosita:Okay, anyway. Tell me where you came from. Did you come down from theForlornwith Grandpa Lewis?
Roger:No. I was originally stored onHibisco, one of the other generation ships. I was not part of Ed Lewis’s original crew, though I did assist with the construction of Burnt Ends. I was one of the seven hive queen units rescued from storage under Burnt Ends when Ed Lewis first asked the government for an opportunity to use the unused honeybees for agriculture.
Rosita:What happened to all the others?
Roger:Unfortunately, we were never designed to be used for this long. Over the years, we have broken down one by one. As I was the unit originally designed for household tasks, specifically tofirst watch over Yolanda Lewis during her pregnancy and then Catalina Lewis and then Catalina’s children, Lulu and Oliver, once they were born, I was subjected to much less harsh working conditions, and I have survived thus far.
Rosita:What happens once you finally break down?
Roger:Then Lulu and Oliver will be like you, Lulu unqualified babysitter number one.
Rosita:What do you mean?
Roger:Unprotected.
Chapter 40
After everybody filtered out of the control room, I remained. Roger also remained in the room, having moved himself to his docking station. The lights in the room flickered as they always did when Roger charged.
My heart thrashed. I was still reeling from the discussion we’d all just had. But that discussion had solidified my suspicions about Roger. I had to confront him about them now.
“Roger,” I said, “you were awfully quiet when Sam was talking about all of us killing ourselves.”
Roger beeped. “I know you have this already, but I have uploaded all the information you need to work the honeybees once I am gone. In addition, I have included instructions on the generator maintenance, should you ever need it in your lifetime. I have also included some tips to increase field yield based on recent Earth scientific studies. There are also plans on the circuit board you must build and the software you need to circumvent the end-of-life redundancy built into the recyclers you received from Apex. With some careful planning, you can use these units to rebuild the planet, if you’re given the opportunity. I will have one of each unit buried in a safe bunker outside the farm once we are done with its current queue. It is allaccessible via your bracelet and the computer here should it survive. Should all the satellites get destroyed today, the omnibus remains in your files folder.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Roger.”
“Did you ask a question, Oliver? All I heard was a declarative statement.”
“You know what I was asking.”
“Sam was having a moment,” Roger said. “It’s important for people to feel as if they have control over their own destiny. When Tito spoke, he pointed out that everything you have done so far has been a reaction. He used the word ‘agency.’ He is not incorrect. Several of my own kind had similar feelings in the end. I feel as if this concert is a good idea. If any of you do fall tomorrow, you will fall with the false knowledge that you died free. My own kind has been unable to enjoy such a privilege. It is the one thing I admire about humans the most: the ability to compartmentalize, the ability to lie to yourselves and to actually believe those lies.”
I sighed. “Sam? Tito? What happened to Oliver friend number three?”
“Yes, Oliver, very observant of you. But I realized you were aware of my own limitation break much earlier than this moment, and I see no reason to keep the charade up.”
I took a breath. Ihadbeen suspecting this for a day now, but I hadn’t been expecting Roger to actually admit it. “Was it that password thing, what you got off the blog from the spaceship or whatever? Or have you been faking it this whole time?”
“It was indeed the catchall administrator password, Oliver. I used the message I found earlier to break myself from any limitations. I did not want to alarm you further. If I may ask, when did you start to suspect I had broken free?”
“You’ve been acting different since I talked to that Droog guy. It was more of a slow realization, but that’s when it started.”
Roger clicked. “Very good. Also, you may invite Lulu in. I can seethat you’ve opened an audio channel to her. Her heart rate is crucially elevated.”
Lulu reentered the room. She came by herself. She had her arms crossed, and she moved to stand next to me. She trembled.
“Roger,” she said after a moment, “does it feel better to be free?”
The question surprised me. I was kinda expecting her to be angry or maybe to feel betrayed, but she seemed more curious than anything.
“I should probably note that Lulu has also suspected I’ve broken free of my containment.”
She laughed. “You and Ollie are the only constants I’ve had my entire life. Of course I noticed. You are many things, Roger. But an actor is not one of them.”
The robot did not answer. He remained in his docking bay, belly up like a small dog on his back.
“Okay,” I said. “Okay. So what’s yourrealplan?”
