Electrocity

The child was born in a pile of rubble and mechanical ash.
I was on my usual twenty four hour shift, blasting away at the earth’s crust alongside autonomous and humanoid robots for coal seams. Electrocity buzzed above our heads day and night as we slaved away, lower than the plumping systems, lower than anything. It was our only duty–to keep the city running with all of its many ins and outs between humanoid robots, AI and task completing robotics, and humans.

The mines were deep underground and lit with flairs and headlights. It was crawling with mining robots, rubble and dangerous machinery. This was not a place for a human baby to be born.

I found the child on one of my shifts. First I saw the mother. She was young and pretty when she wasn’t wearing her heavy robotic armor. There were other humans working alongside the robots in the mines too, and they were dressed like Destroyers. The humans were slaves down there– foreign slaves from the few remaining countries around the world that still existed. They had to work hard in order to buy their freedoms back and be allowed to leave the mines and live as normal people.

But slaves couldn’t earn money. The laws of Electrocity restricted foreign aliens from earning money within its grounds– unless they had the right paperwork that allowed them to do so. So all they could do was work and hope that one day they would be set free.

The young pretty human—her metal armor was blazed with the name Destroyer 333—was new to the mines. The day she arrived was like any other day. Nobody noticed—-just a bunch of new recruits coming in as usual. But I saw her. Immediately I caught myself scanning her and detecting her temperature and mental and physical health. I scanned her slavic features behind the thick glass mask on her helmet and knew everything about her appearance: Ukrainian, around twenty two years of age, medium height, blonde, type A blood, slightly allergic to peanuts and dairy products.

Her eyes were blue but bloodshot and filled with fear. There was something strange about her heartbeat that I couldn’t quite figure out. She stood there, her cover armor appearing strong and unbreakable but her face telling me otherwise. I felt something like sadness and regret for her. No one could imagine what she had gone through.


Nine months later a group of Destroyers were ordered to blast away two yards of rock and run into the overburden to mine coal seams. Destroyer 333 was in the group. As the earth rocked with the blasts of dynamite and mechanical power, fumes and dust filled the air and I lost sight of her.

Everyone ran into the new cave we’d just created. As I stumbled through the piling rubble, I tripped on something and fell. I jumped up and looked around, and that’s when I saw her. She had been knocked over from the blast. Her Destroyer 333 armor was cracked and broken into several pieces. Her protective helmet laid aside, its headlight blinking on and off.

I made my way over to her. Red blood soaked the dirt around her, and there was a deep long gash in her head that was gushing with every pulse. After a quick scan I noticed she had just given birth. Something like shock rippled through me. I stepped a little closer, the stones crumbling under my feet. She held a little squirming child wrapped in a blanket against her chest protectively. I detected its strong heartbeat.

How did she manage to hide the fact that she was pregnant for so long, from so many prying eyes? I couldn’t calculate that. It was against strict orders for a foreigner to reproduce in Electrocity. And all babies were to be born in special hospitals in the city. Before a foreign worker was ordered to the mines, they went through many necessary checkpoints that checked for their health and mental stability to determine what line of work they would be assigned to. If a woman was carrying a child, it would be found out with all of the scans and ex-rays.

But yet, I hadn’t detected that she was hiding something. That explained her double heartbeat, but it didn’t explain how she had gotten past the guards without being found out.

In the dim mine with black dust clouds floating into the air, I stood and stared down at the woman. She looked back at me with terrified eyes. The cut in her head was still gushing out blood. I knew she wouldn’t make it. She had a 1.00 chance of making it.

“Hello.” She whispered softly. Her lips trembled and blood squirted out of her nostrils as she shook her head. “Please…don’t hurt us.”

Feeling something like curiosity and pity, I moved closer until I was standing a foot away. But she trembled, clutched the newly born child, and cowered in the corner.

“Please, don’t hurt us.” She begged again. “Please!”

“Destroyer 333, how did you get down…here?” I asked her, wanting answers.

Her eyes rolled around the cave before she answered. “I used a…force field to block the ultrasound imaging.” She panted. “It was smart. Nobody…ever suspected anything.”

We both turned at the sound of pounding footsteps. The others were on their way back.
The young woman began to panic. She held out her baby to me, saying urgently.

“Please! I am begging you. Take her. If they find her they’ll kill her. Make it to the surface—-use the train. It’ll take you back.” She threw a bag of something at my feet.
“They’er diapers and clothes. I’ve…been saving them…”

Suddenly she fell back and began to convulse violently, the baby dropping from her hands. I caught the baby and turned my attention back to its mother. There was no time to ask questions. It was too late, I could no longer detect her heartbeat. She was dead.
The footsteps of other Destroyers pounded closer and I knew they were almost on top of us. I jumped to my feet and opened my torso. After putting the baby inside I grabbed the bag of things and turned to run, never looking back to see if the mother was still laying there in her own blood—-or if she had been crushed by the Boulders.

Hiding a child wasn't easy. She needed food and a diaper change every two hours. I slipped away from the other miners to do these tasks. But I couldn’t be gone forever. Soon someone would notice my absence. If they found out that I was hiding a human baby, I would be annihilated immediately. I began to make plans for our escape. It wasn’t impossible, but— it was dangerous.

Mining Destroyer robots never went to the surface.

Three days later, the announcement came from our boss, USRS (United States Robots Services). “Destroyer 333 is dead. From her carcass, it was detected that she had recently had a child. The horrible truth is—the child still lives. Therefore all robots will stand by for investigation until further notice.”



I felt something like panic as my coworkers lined up in a straight wall. Down the line, a little detector robot was going to everyone, stopping now and and then to scan and take data. On the side two giant robots with long tentacles waited to capture whoever had the human child.

It was time to go.

I slipped through the crowd of machines, pretending to stand in the line. When I was sure no one was looking I turned and disappeared into the darkness of the unlit side of the base. Using the knowledge I had about the mines I soon found my way in the shaft that led to the train.

The train took perfectly mined coal back to the surface. Giant helper robots and Carriers worked on the train, loading crates and driving. If I could get into one of those cars, I could blend in as a helper robot.

I spotted two robots stacking crates into an open car and ran to them. They turned to look at me, surprised.

“Where did you come from?” The biggest one asked grudgingly. He had deep red eyes that glowed like giant headlights. His name was carved into his torso: Helper Robot 988

“When is the train leaving?” I replied.

The other robot disappeared around the corner without answering, but his friend hopped into the car and prepared to shut the door.

“This train leaves now.” He reported.

“I need a ride.” I said. “There’s got to be room.”

Before I finished my sentence the wails of loud sirens filled the air. Alarms screamed and a mechanical voice spoke over the speakers: “Rogued. Warning: Destroyer 3104 has gone rogue. Stand by all machinery."

I froze. 988 pointed his fiery eyes at me like loaded guns. I could tell he was looking at my name. I turned to run. But his deep voice stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Why? Why would you risk everything for something so insignificant? Something that doesn't matter at all?”

I turned around and stared at his terrifying frame.

I wanted to explain to him how I wasn't like all of them. I was an older version. The evil morality of the new world was not implanted into my chest, like them. I could make my own decisions—-and someway, they knew it.

But instead I simply said. “It matters to me.”

I doubt that I don’t feel emotions. Something about that young slave woman was eating away at me like rust. I needed to help her.

988 grabbed my arm, yanked me into the car and slammed the door just in time to miss a shower of bullets and lasers. The train’s engines had started while we were talking and it jerked forward down the track, gaining speed to climb the hills up to the city.
I fell back against a pile of crates. Scrambling to my feet I saw 988 looming above me.

“You are now a fugitive.” He said in disgust.

And what was he now?—risking everything to help me out? “Thank you.” I replied.

988 turned and stalked away. The train rumbled to a steady pace. I sat back down and eased into the darkness. With a mechanical click, my torso slid open . I stared down at the little baby girl curled up inside the warm cozy space. She was wrapped in a pink blanket. Her eyes were closed and she sucked her tiny thumb as she slept. My gaze zoomed in and out on her peaceful face. She was so precious.

Something like a sigh rippled through my body, and my arms slumped to the floor. I closed my torso and leaned back my head against a crate, thinking. I’d never done something this important. Always been in the mines. Why did I help the human slave and her baby?—-I didn’t quite know. But I knew that life after this was going to be hard. I was on the run, but I was also on a mission: Return the baby to a safe home.

A few hours later the train came to a stop at a station in Electrocity. 988 appeared and tore open the boxcar door, then he turned and nodded at me, eyes ablazed. Unsure of what to do, I walked to the edge and looked outside at the bustling city.

“Goodluck.” 988 said. There was a metallic grinding sound as he raised his hand and patted me twice on the shoulder, saying almost in a whisper. “I wish I was as brave as you— or as stupid.”
I jumped out of the car and thanked him. Then I turned towards the city. Electrocity—what a big place to hide and run. I accepted my new destiny. I was a rouged robot in a rogued world. I knew AI would be tracking me, but it didn't really matter. All I needed to do was stay a few feet ahead of them in everything.

That was easier said than done. But when worst comes to worst, you give everything you have in you to survive. In every alley of the city shots rained down on us. Spotlights from helicopters zoomed overhead at nights, marking the streets unsafe, and forcing us into the darker parts of the city. Lasers flew everywhere, robotic seals hunted us day and night. The load of the entire world seemed to rest on my shoulders. It was too much, and I struggled, barely making it. But I wouldn’t let them beat me down. I would never let them take the human child away from me. There is nothing stronger than a robot’s will to complete a task.

Finally our journey came to an end when I came to a house I knew would be safe for the human baby. It was a farm house in the country. A man and a woman lived at the farm. They didn’t have any children even though they wanted some.

By the time I made it to the house, I was falling apart. I limped down the dirt road. The place was calm and quiet and the air was clean. Cows mooed in the pasters and horses graced peacefully in white fences. By the time I made my way to the front door, I could feel my core losing its strength. The black oil from my wirings marked my footprints like blood and my entire body was riddled with dents and bullets— except for my torso.

I stood on the front porch of the farmhouse and with my last few ounces of strength, I raised my hand and knocked on the door. The kind lady opened the door and stared at me with a surprised smile.

“Hello? May I help you.” She said, rather hesitantly.

I knew she was wondering what a broken down robot was doing on her front porch.
For the last time my torso squeaked open to reveal the sleeping baby. I gently lifted her out and studied her for a few minutes, then I held her out to the woman.

“Oh, who is this?” She asked as she reached out to take the child. “Dear, Lord. what in the world…?”

“Her name is…Nova.” I said. My voice was weak and had dropped down to a low, deep tone. I pointed a finger at the woman for clarification. “Your…child… now.”

“Oh my goodness–really!” The woman was gazing at the baby with starry eyes. Without asking any questions she turned and ran back into the house, calling her husband’s name.

I stood alone on the porch. Images of the young slave woman dying in her own blood and a pile of rubble flashed before my memory. I regretted not saving her. But I had done what she had asked of me. Her baby was safe now.

Baby. I lifted my head and scanned through the door. Inside the woman and her husband were holding the baby and talking over her excitedly. Something like sadness filled me and I lowered my head again to study my wrecked body.

It would be strange– not having to worry about a little human. For a moment I felt something like panic, as if I had lost something. But no– She was safe now. She would be loved. And most importantly–she was not a slave.

One last glance through the door, I caught sight of the baby’s face. Her eyes were open. They were blue– just like her mother.

This was goodbye.

I turned and walked back down the hill. I found a tree somewhere in the field and eased down into the grass, leaning back against its thick trunk. Little birds sang overhead. Jet streaks disappeared into the sunset. A light breeze rustled the grass. Gazing out over the land I felt something like contentment– and sighed.

“Destroyer 3104…task complete.”