not to hit any bumps with your exobike okay?"
"I cannot guarantee an entirely smooth ride, but I can do the best I can."
"Now who’s talking in indefinites?"
"I am speaking in indefinites. Do you require an update to process the extent of our conversation?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"If that is what you insist." Ricky started the engine again and started towards a miniscule speck on the horizon.
Dale had noticed the speck earlier, but dismissed it due to its seemingly inconsequential nature. On a more thorough examination, the speck actually seemed to have eyes, and legs that covered the expanse of a much smaller mound beneath it.
"Is that where were going? That mound over there?"
"Yes. It is the computer."
"That four legged thing above that mound is the computer?"
"It is a manifestation of the computer, but the computer resides within the establishment beneath."
"Huh Okay. So why then is there a giant spider thing above it?"
"The sweeper you are referring to was once part of a global initiative to resurface the planet, making material available for robot use. Such is the reason for the state of the planet’s surface. But the sweeper you see is no longer functioning. There are only three which still function. This is one of the lost twelve."
"So why is there a giant spider thing above the computer?" Dale asked again.
"There were meteors that came down from space, in direct line with the computer. The sweeper decided its life was insignificant in comparison to that of the computer. Its sacrifice allowed the computer to survive."
"Couldn’t anyone fix it?"
"That knowledge was lost. The computer does not know as the overseers did not share more than what was necessary."
"Sorry to hear that I guess. He sounded like a nice guy."
"This particular sweeper was a female and she had a behavioral connection this computer. That is natural. Robots with similar coding are attracted to one another. It is how we survive."
"Sounds a lot like home actually. Back there we call it falling in love. And usually the two people get married, or live with one another, if they complement each other. Then they have offspring and the whole cycle starts all over again. It’s all very exciting when you’re a part of it."
"How can you create offspring? Do you create new humans in your workshops?"
Dale started laughing. "You could say that. Not much else to say really. We produce new humans to carry on after we die."
"And how long do you survive if you require new humans to take your place?"
"Somewhere in the range of seventy years, more or less. We don’t live as long as robots."
"I am sorry."
"It’s no big deal. We get over it. The best we can do is make our lives mean something by accomplishing tasks that benefit others in our society and teach our children to carry on our legacy."
"There is no such depth in the connections we carry. We only seek to help one another for the sake of helping one another. There is no other reason."
"So, you don’t help each other to, like, avoid conflict or something like that?"
"No. Conflict does not exist in our parameters. I am sorry for any creature that must know conflict."
"Story of my life. Conflict is an everyday occurrence back home. It’s almost unavoidable."
"You must have persistent conflict as a part of your existence?"
"Well, I doubt anyone wants it, but it happens anyway. Humans aren’t built with the same parameters that robots are. We just have to learn how to interact with the world around us and often that leads to conflict when we don’t understand or cannot face the realities around us. It’s very difficult actually."
"Is there no peace in your world?"
"There is peace, but peace takes time, control, and desire. Without those things humans lose focus and become attached to other notions that are deemed more desirable than peace. Take war for example. Sometimes war is fought in the name of peace because there is conflict in the lives of those fighting the war. Oppression and unhappiness can often lead to many extremes in behavior. The far side of war however is entirely selfish and illogical. A man may simply want what others have, or his ego may bring him to do things that cause others grief. Anyway, there are many kinds of conflict, but the only good kind leads to peace. Kind of like how your sweeper sacrificed herself to save the computer. There was immanent conflict, but she decided she would fight back in the name of peace. More specifically to save her friend."
"This world you speak of seems very complicated."
"Yeah. Sometimes it’s more complicated than it should be, but we’ve adapted to it. There really isn’t much else we can do. Some fight but others let it be. Me though, I just want everything to end the right way. That’s why I wanted to explore the universe and find the things we’ve been missing. Becoming an astronaut just seemed like the right thing to do."
"What answers do you seek that the humans do not know?"
"How to end the conflict. What is required to pacify the anger? Peace?"
"I do not know how a world can exist without peace. Peace is relevant. There is no choice except the choice that brings peace. I and the others know this. It is at the core of our decision making firmware. We cannot do that which eliminates peace in ourselves and others. It is wrong."
"I envy you."
"It is as it is."
Dale’s eyes were drawn back to the sweeper.
"Do you think we’ve made it at least halfway?" Dale asked.
"We have traveled 53.723 Percent of the way."
"Huh. This may be a lot easier than I was thinking it would be."
"How difficult does your thinking permit you to consider the magnitude of returning to your home to be?"
"Well, I would compare the difficulty of returning home to the difficulty I’m having understanding what you just said."
"How much difficulty are you having deciphering my prior statement?"
"A lot of difficulty."
"I am sorry to hear that you think it will be difficult to return home."
"You and me both."
"There is no place for sentiment. It is required that we continue on. Only work will bring us closer to your goal."
The sweeper started to fill more and more of Dale’s vision until he could only see the black husk of the robot above him. On the underside it was smooth, but above as he’d noticed earlier, there were dents that covered almost every point. Just like Ricky had said, the sweeper seemed to be protecting something, positioning itself above the center of the black spire at the center of the building populace.
All of the structures surrounding the spire were nondescript black, made so by the shadow cast by the sweeper above. The structures on the outskirts; however, looked more of a beat up copper color with varying degrees of shading that ranged all the way from steel to blackened iron.
Ricky stopped the bike before starting in between the first few structures.
"The computer will be at the center of the gathering. If you are to become disoriented, that is the direction in which you should go. Do not approach the sweeper. She will provide no direction. Only seek the computer at the center."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I am in need of a few parts. Also, I wish to find Crystal."
"Does she live here?"
"Yes."
Ricky didn’t venture to explain how he knew.
"So, should I follow you or just go to the center?"
"You may do as you wish. I will not choose for you."
"Oh. Well, see you later then." Dale threw a leg over the exobike and dismounted. "Thanks for the help. I’ll be sure to mention you when I get home."
"That is kind of you. Perhaps I will meet those whom you know one day."
"Yeah, that would be interesting."
Ricky took off on his exobike, his posture sitting him upright, and his back straight. Dale half waved a goodbye.
/> "Well, so much for that." He started in between the structures on either side. There were nondescript robots conversing or looking out of the ramshackle protection, shadowed in black. Dale kept his eyes forward. He was curious about exploring, but there was something awkward about how nice everybody seemed to be and that kept him from getting too involved with the others.
Dale passed by a few alley ways where discarded junk sat between the metal plating of the walls, and a few establishments that followed the same makeup as Ricky’s service station. There really wasn’t much variety. Guessing from the pits a short distance from the collection of buildings, and the absence of most robots, they seemed to spend most of their time at the mines. What they were actually accomplishing there was a mystery, or rather what they were doing with all the more they were mining was a mystery. That was something Dale would ask the computer.
Several robots would hail him with a greeting, but once they noticed he was carrying his head under his arm they would express varying degrees of concern. Dale mostly explained he was fine, and wound his way through the streets until he came to the structure at the center of the gatherings. It was tall and black, just like all the other structures, and the light barely made its way to the entrance; a glass set of double doors that were indefinitely propped open, grit and dust littering the floor just inside.
"Hey, you’re the robot Ricky found in that capsule."
Dale turned around searching for the voice. Crystal was standing in the shadow of an alley, the gem on the side of her head glinting as she moved.
"Yeah. The names Dale. Dale Hendricks."
"And you already know my name, Dale." Crystal said this with a smile in her voice.
"Yeah. Hey, actually, Ricky was