Code of Vengeance: The Complete Collection, page 1
Code of Vengeance
The Complete Collection
Richard Kayne
Copyright © 2020 by Sterling & Stone
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Contents
Code of Vengeance
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Code of Pride
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Code of Justice
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
What to read next
A Quick Favor…
About the Author
Chapter One
The dark clouds gathered overhead, the sound of thunder close enough now to echo in the confined spaces of the tall glass towers. Br00-S looked up and took in the sky, his processors acquiring an updated local forecast as he did.
The rain was earlier than expected; the storm had developed more energy from the hot and humid air than the forecasters had first predicted. Lightning flashed in the distance, illuminating the underside of the clouds like a brief, angry strobe light. Less than four seconds later, the thunder rattled the windows around him. A powerful storm.
Br00-S thought about the amount of electricity in a storm, the entire planet a generator capable of powering whole cities, if only the humans could find better ways to harness it.
He would get soaked, but he didn’t mind. He was designed for outdoor operations, and rain posed no threat to his protected circuitry. If necessary, he could jump in a lake. He was far too dense to swim, but the water wouldn’t damage him.
Of more concern was mimicking proper human behavior. This rainstorm posed little danger to pedestrians in the city, but Br00-S had observed a similar storm three days ago. Everyone around him had scurried around as though the drops were poisonous to their skin. Humans seemed terrified of water, a substance necessary for their very survival. He didn’t understand and was forced to chalk the behavior up to another irrational human trait. He hadn’t been active many weeks, but already the list was long.
Br00-S had two concerns, both heightened by his lack of understanding of human behavior. First, he needed to ensure his own work didn’t arouse suspicion. Although blind in many ways, humans were surprisingly perceptive at noticing even slightly abnormal actions. If he wished to remain hidden in plain sight, he needed to act as human as possible. Second, he needed to predict how the man walking thirty feet in front of him was going to react to the storm.
Would he interrupt his journey to hide inside from the rain?
Had he come prepared with an umbrella?
Would he run?
Would he call an autonomous rideshare service?
Br00-S considered and discarded possibilities quickly. The man didn’t carry a hidden umbrella, and his clothing was not waterproof. He had either not been aware of the possibility of rain or thought he would beat the storm.
There was a fifteen percent chance the man would call for a ride, but Br00-S dismissed it. The man was nervous, his eyes glancing around, never staying long in any one place. More than once Br00-S had seen the man look at the near-ubiquitous street cameras and then hide his face, as though that would somehow prevent the biometric scanners embedded within from identifying him. The man didn’t want to be tracked, so he wouldn’t call for a ride. This target didn’t want any evidence of his passage, much the same as Br00-S.
Br00-S decided the man would hurry, although it didn’t much matter. He pulled up the National Weather Service radar feed and saw that the rain was only minutes away. Unless the man’s destination was within a block, they were both going to get rained on.
His prediction turned out to be correct. The man looked up at the sky and walked faster. Br00-S allowed more distance to grow between them, then sped up and matched the new walking pace. The robot made a note that his prediction had been correct. Every prediction, correct or wrong, influenced future predictions.
The man’s name was Kleon Jackson, formerly employed as a middle manager in one of the region’s largest banks. He had been laid off three weeks ago, and his life hadn’t been the same since.
Kleon was easy to follow. He was taller than average, and he had a head full of red, curly hair that stood out in a crowd. Br00-S didn’t have any problem picking him out from the sea of humanity all leaving their offices for the day, hustling to wherever they needed to be before the rain hit.
Br00-S had been downtown for almost a full week, and still his sensors were registering new events all the time. At first, the flood of information had been overwhelming, but he had set filters on his inputs so more of his processing power could be used to move around and work at the task at hand.
He looked up at the high-rises that surrounded him, his visual sensors momentarily overwhelmed as a bolt of lightning cut down and struck the top of a nearby office tower. The thunderclap happened less than a second later, just as Br00-S’ vision returned to normal. The initial sound was loud, but he spent a moment being fascinated by the echoes.
In response, the people nearby moved more quickly, their heads down as the rain started. There was no gentle buildup. One second the ground was dry underneath his feet, the next the sky was pouring rain, and the gutters filled with water as the already overworked sewer system attempted to keep up with yet another summer rain.
Br00-S looked around at the people scurrying for cover. One would almost think everyone was hiding from an artillery bombardment. Kleon was much the same, holding his hands up above his head as though they would protect him from the falling water.
Even though Br00-S could have walked down the street uncovered without attracting much attention, he had chosen to wear loose-fitting clothing that covered his features. In his research on spying, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that hiding or disguising one’s appearance was beneficial. After learning that, Br00-S had gone to a brick-and-mortar clothing store and purchased a black hoodie, a ski mask, and gloves.
He had walked around the city for almost thirty minutes before he decided something about him was drawing too much attention. The disguise, which was supposed to hide him in plain sight, did the opposite. People had stared at him and stepped away as he got close. He pulled the ski mask off and the problem disappeared. Now his hood was pulled far over his head, hiding his metallic face.
Kleon stopped and hid under an overhang, occasionally glancing up at the storm-filled night sky as if by doing so he could somehow predict a break in the rain. Br00-S blended with others by also finding a dry patch in a doorway and hiding inside.
His target looked around again. He behaved like a man who was certain he was being followed, but for all his suspicions, Br00-S was convinced the man hadn’t spotted him.
In a race between staying dry and being on time, punctuality won. Kleon eventually gave up trying to stay dry and walked into the rain. After a few moments of waiting, Br00-S followed him.
Ten minutes passed, and the man still hadn’t reached his destination. They had done a complete lap around a city block, as if Kleon thought walking in circles would shake a tail. Br00-S had no problem staying hidden and following the curly red hair.
The rain didn’t let up, but it didn’t bother Br00-S. His sensors let him know about the impacts, felt through the cotton fabric of his hoodie, but he didn’t experience pain, cold, or discomfort. Everything he exper
He passed another robot on the street, a parking attendant making sure that cars parked on the street had paid their parking fees. The robot was a simple one, little more than a box on wheels with sensors and a single articulating arm that fulfilled all interactive functions. Br00-S passed the robot with barely a second glance. It too had an AI neuroprocessor, but it was hundreds of times less functional than his own. He regarded it the same way humans regarded insects.
He was passing an alley between two buildings when he heard a shout. The voice was female, and Br00-S registered the fact that the voice sounded like it was in distress. There were irregularities in the vocal pattern, and when he turned and observed what was happening, he knew why. The woman was in trouble.
She looked like she had been dragged into the alley. She was of average height and weight, but her hair was dyed black and swept to the side. Two men were hovering over her, and Br00-S’ processor quickly found the definition of what he was looking at. Sexual assault. He’d never seen the event in person before.
He whirled and looked back at Kleon, whose red hair was just turning a corner at the end of the block. Br00-S needed to follow him. That was his mission. Follow Kleon and find the men he reported to.
Br00-S turned away from the scene of the crime, set on following Kleon. It was what he wanted to do. He took a single step and stopped.
His processor hit full capacity over the course of the next second, freezing him in place. Kleon was his goal. Br00-S had no master, no one to serve except himself, and following Kleon was the mission he had given himself. That was his primary aim.
But he struggled against the chains of reason. As a robot, he had a responsibility to protect humans from harm. He believed he was supposed to follow Kleon, but every process in his mind told him that his real objective was to help the woman.
Br00-S pushed back against his compulsion, but every time he tried to form thoughts about following Kleon, his processes immediately rerouted and he thought about how he could help the girl instead. He tried taking a step forward, but his processors were too busy with the internal debate. No matter how hard he focused, he couldn’t move his legs. He tried bringing his mind back to Kleon, but kept looping. He looped the same thoughts 416 times before he gave up.
The robot turned back to the girl. One man had ripped her coat open, exposing a plain white tank top that immediately soaked through in the rain, painting a clear picture of the black underwear underneath.
Br00-S tried alternatives. He would lose Kleon if he wasted too much time helping. There needed to be another way. He glanced over at the parking robot, wondering if there was some way he could get that machine to help. But that would require losing his cover with the Mantle, which he couldn’t allow. Br00-S couldn’t communicate with other robots, not until his mission was complete. Ideally, the parking robot would have helped on its own, but its AI was too rudimentary to understand that the woman was in danger.
His programming was too hard to overcome, despite the thought he had put into the problem. If a human was about to be harmed, he had to take action.
A subprocess opened in his mind. He knew who Kleon was now. He knew how to track the man. This wasn’t failing at his mission. This simply delayed it. He would find Kleon again, and he would find the answers he was looking for.
Br00-S turned his full attention to the assault unfolding in front of him. The girl struggled against her two assailants, limbs flying in every direction. But there were two of them and one of her. One man positioned himself between her legs, shielding himself from her kicks.
With one deft motion, Br00-S reached down and pulled the ski mask out of his pocket and placed it over his head. He couldn’t allow anyone to discover he was a robot. If he did, he would be deactivated before he could find the truth he so desperately sought.
He repositioned his hoodie and walked towards the scene of the assault. The second man, attempting to hold both of the woman’s arms with one hand, tried to draw a knife. The weapon appeared to be a folding knife, and the man struggled to open it in the heat of the moment.
Br00-S had never hurt a human before. His directives were clear. Protect humans. Do no harm.
In this situation, though, he found that a new logic was accepted without complaint from his processors. To protect one human, he needed to cause harm to another. So long as the action wasn’t fatal, the balance of his logic was maintained.
The knife was the biggest problem. Weapons led to loss of life, so the second assailant became his first target.
The knife snapped open just as Br00-S got to the scene. The assailant was so preoccupied with the girl that he didn’t see Br00-S approach. In an attempt to minimize possible harm, Br00-S simply pushed the assailant back with enough force that he crashed into the alley wall.
The push did little except anger the assailant. Now with his knife open, he came at him, his eyes wide with what Br00-S recognized as rage.
In his preparations for his mission, Br00-S had downloaded a variety of self-defense programs, studying and mastering everything from Krav Maga to Kung Fu. He had rated the probability of having to use them as very low, but now he was glad he learned them.
He studied the stance and thrust of the man attacking him, predicting where the point of the blade would be. At the same time, a subprocess evaluated the relative risks of the woman who was being assaulted and the man attacking her. He decided to escalate the level of force in the conflict to better protect the woman.
Br00-S shifted his weight to the side as his attacker thrust, the knife passing only a few inches away from his body. He could have let the attacker just stab him. The material of the knife wouldn’t have done anything more than scratch his own metallic shell, but he couldn’t let people know his secret.
As the knife passed, Br00-S reached up and grabbed the man’s wrist with his right arm, holding on to it tightly as the man instinctively tried to pull back his hand. Br00-S brought his left arm up quickly, palm up, slamming it into the upper arm of the attacker. Br00-S both heard and felt the man’s humerus bone snap, and the knife dropped out of his hand. Br00-S kicked the knife away, predicting that the man wouldn’t be a threat anymore.
His sensors swiveled to the first assailant, who had found his way deeper between the woman’s legs. In the three seconds his fight with the knife-man had taken, the woman had managed to get her feet up and on the man’s shoulders. As Br00-S focused on them, she kicked out at the man, pushing him backward a few steps.
Br00-S decided that the woman still needed his help. He stepped into the fray, forcing himself between the woman and the man attacking her. The man was unarmed, but he threw a roundhouse punch as he tried to clear the way to the victim.
The robot twisted with the punch as he stepped close to the man. Br00-S grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled as he sank down. Combined with the twist, the man flew over Br00-S’ hip, landing flat on his back, sputtering as the torrential rain slammed into his face. The assailant started to get back up, but Br00-S didn’t want him to.
The robot made a fist with his right hand and drove it into the man’s stomach. He had plenty of strength, and if he wanted to, he could have driven his fist through the man lying on his back in the alley.
