Page 75 of Chaos Theory
‘Now,’ Laura is saying, ‘we’ve been talking very theoretically so far about robot–human relations in the workplace. But let’s get real for a minute.’
‘Ooh, is she going to mention the Kobi incident now?’ I say.
Two people to my right turn their heads towards me. It’s Josh’s turn to shush me.
‘Let’s get back to basics,’ Laura says. ‘Let’s talk about health and safety. I want to ask each of you your opinion on this topic with regards to cobots. And to give us some context, first I want to show you some extraordinary video footage we’ve just found on the web.’
An overhead screen descends in front of the cream curtains as she speaks.
‘What you’re about to see is a video that surfaced on a local news site a few days ago. We just found this clip about an hour ago so the panel probably haven’t seen it yet.’
‘Oh no,’ I say.
‘What’s wrong?’ says Josh.
‘Oh no,’ I repeat.The jig is up. Josh is about to find out about Kobi being in the news. ‘Um, Josh…’
‘The footage is a bit grainy and there’s no sound,’ Laura is saying. ‘But I think you’ll agree that what happens here is fascinating.’
‘Oh no,’ says Josh as a blurry video of Kobi speeding across the Cliffs of Moher car park is shared with the audience and the panel. ‘Maeve, we need to talk – now!’
Josh stands up and hustles me to the back of the room. As he hurries me through the door, I look back to see Ron on the edge of his seat, craning his neck around to see the screen.
The foyer is mostly empty as we bundle through the auditorium doors.
‘Maeve—’ starts Josh.
‘I’m sorry!’ I interrupt.
‘We need to talk. There are some things you need to understand.’ Josh looks a bit wild with his hair askew, brow glistening with sweat.
‘I know, and I’m so sorry.’ My words tumble out fast. ‘I should have told you about the video footage. I knew about it and didn’t say anything. I was waiting for the right moment to tell you.’
‘Let me—’ begins Josh, but I barrel on.
‘I know you said to keep a low profile in Clare, and I was so afraid to tell you everything that happened. And then you were so happy about Kobi’s act of bravery-slash-heroism, as you kept calling it, that I didn’t want to bring you down. I was looking for the right moment to tell you. Honestly, I was. I’m so sorry.’
‘Maeve, I?—’
But I’m not finished. ‘It was just local news. It wasThe Clare People! Sure, they have their local followers I suppose, but the footage was so grainy. I didn’t think many people would see it. Or share it.’
When I pause for breath, he raises his voice a little. ‘For the love of Borg! Please let me speak!’
I’m startled. I go quiet. ‘Sorry – you go.’
‘The thing is, Maeve?—’
‘Oh!’ I’ve just noticed something.
‘You have to let me speak now.’ He puts his hands on my upper arms in a gentle, almost pleading grip.
‘Sorry – it’s just that…it looks like Iwillget to meet Ron Tron after all.’
I point past Josh.
‘What?’ Josh half turns around and for a moment I think his knees are going to buckle. ‘Oh…no!’
A very intense-looking Ron Tron is bearing down on us, at speed. He bursts between us and hustles Josh to one side.
