Page 58 of The Space Traveller's Lover
There is no doubt by now; the invasion of Rom-Ghenshar robots is unstoppable.
CHAPTER 24
THE DAY AFTER THE FIRST MEETING
These are untested times. These aliens might be our
friends, or they might be our terminators.
Professor Khan is pacing in front of the stack of monitors covering the side walls of the ARA’s central operations room. North Region General Ed Stewart and South Region General Xiao Ming are standing in front of him, listening attentively to his latest report.
“This is what we know so far.” Khan pauses, looking sternly at the ARA generals while trying to control his profound concern. He points at one of the screens behind him, showing the glossy pyramid standing at the back of the planning room, its softly glowing emissions still pulsating at a steady rate. “Any attempt to reach this object has failed. We cannot get closer than one metre from it. We don’t even know what type of energy is powering it. But we strongly suspect it is of electromagnetic origin.”
“In other words, we are none the wiser while these robots are invading our cities!” General Stewart’s impatient voice crackles as his face contorts in boiling anger and sheer dissatisfaction.
“Sir, you have to understand, these aliens have technology far superior to ours, beyond what we can understand. You read Sam Sheppard’s debriefing report … and heard what Erin Lobart said yesterday.” Khan’s assuaging tone does nothing to appease the generals as they all helplessly watch the images coming into the monitors.
As far as their cameras can reach, they show the swarms of unstoppable robots roaming around every deserted street and desolated park. The paralysed cities seem to have been abandoned in a flash; there is no sign of life anywhere. Cars are left stranded with doors wide open in the middle of the roads, mugs are tilted on café tables, all kinds of mangled rubble are scattered everywhere. Myriads of deserted objects roll aimlessly, pushed by the reeling wind.
“Any attempt to stop or at least divert these robots has failed,” General Ming adds glumly in a defeatist tone. “As you all know by now, we cannot even reach them.”
General Stewart’s cheeks swell and blush as he holds his breath to contain his rattled nerves. He presses his thin lips as he puffs out air noisily through his nose. The sturdy general, dressed in his usual military fatigues, looks impatiently at Professor Khan with a scolding gaze.
“How have they passed through our NEO” (Near Earth Objects) “satellite network undetected? How can they raid our cities in a matter of minutes? How can they—”
“Undetected is their modus operandi. As for the raids, you can see the unrelenting robots are their chosen strategy … so far,” Professor Khan interrupts impassively.
“We must be able to disrupt their shields. We have to try,” a furious General Stewart yells, his deep-set, fiery eyes following the unsettling fast-changing scenes on the wall-mounted displays. He looks around the room, full of desks and wide monitors, where the ARA team leaders are busy tracking every new event along the coast.
“Generals, we have something here!” The excited voice of John Sanders makes everyone stop what they’re doing and gather around his desk.
They all watch in amazement as the computer screens fill with the lines of robots, appearing from a long winding trench that seemed to have cracked open at the bottom of the ocean, forty-five kilometres west of Long Beach.
“Wait a minute. So that’s where they all come from,” General Stewart seethes, rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes before shouting in a vengeful tone. “We’ve got them! We’ve got them!”
General Stewart feels triumphant. Discovering the robots’ exit point has given him renewed confidence that they may be vulnerable after all. Hebrashly continues. “So, hiding in the deep, eh? So much for their invisible shields. We are promptly sending our most powerful war submarines to this place. There is no time to waste!”
General Ming is nodding firmly, joining in Stewart’s resolve and growing confidence.
But Khan is shaking his head; his hesitant reaction frustrates the generals. A raging gaze from General Stewart prompts him to explain his thoughts.
“These are untested times,” Khan cautions. “These aliens might be our friends, or they might be our terminators. We must tread carefully. We must keep our dialogue with their leader—”
“I believe that talking to them will be of no help whatsoever. We must act while we have time,” General Stewart interrupts sharply, looking dismissively at Khan as the ARA teams erupt in his support.
Everyone in the ARA commanding room stands up and cheers, mobilised by the general’s resolute stance.
“Yeah! Let’s destroy them,” they shout out in explosive fervour. “Let’s destroy them!”
Professor Khan frowns his thick eyebrows, his forehead wrinkling in disapproval, but he realises there is no point in contradicting the general any further.
General Stewart stares in annoyance at the door as he hears a loud knock. “Come in!” he shouts.
A grim-looking dishevelled Captain Walker appears at the room entrance, accompanied by a startled tired-looking Sam. They hesitantly stop, observing the commotion in the room.
“Silence, silence. Let’s hear it from Captain Walker,” General Stewart orders, reckoning that the captain has come with grave news.
“On my way here, I heard about what’s happening on our d-dear island,” Walker stammers. Then his face muscles contract in a grimace. “It’s being destroyed. The robots have completely torn down the tuna farm … there is nothing left there.”
