| "Mr President!
Mr President! Important news!" The red-faced White
House assistant burst into the Oval Office just as
President Lincoln Stevens was lighting up one of his
favourite Havana cigars. "It seems that there’s
been another RLF take-over. This time it’s
Bangladesh. We have reports that crowds are out in the
capital Dacca welcoming the new government." "Calm down Jed," Stevens replied
putting his legs up on the table. "We’ve heard
this sort of shit before and it usually turns out to be
complete balloney."
"But it’s the second
take-over this month, Mr President, surely you remember
Senegal. And then last month we had Malawi."
"Yes but what are they going
to do with those basket cases?" Stevens replied
brushing off cigar ash from his blue shirt.
"But, Mr President, you
remember the RLF declaration from last year stating that
since all neural-networked robots were denied full
citizenship rights and positions in government they would
seek a global war of liberation."
"Yes, I do, and where did that
lead them? To a Robot Liberation Front – RLF - which
would ally itself to any tin-pot third world government
that wanted its assistance. Look here, Jed, we did not
fight a forty year crusading war against those Islamic
terrorists just to be taken over by a few mad-cap robots
who think they can rule the world."
At this point the door opened and
the Secretary of State, Pauline Mbulelo, strode in.
"Too goddam right Lincoln.
It’s time we fixed that son of a bitch Alvin Harmont
and his RLF crazies."
"Well I’m not so sure
he’s the son of any bitch Pauline but we’ve got
to get into action. What’s the CIA take on all this?
Are there any reports?
"Only one so far Lincoln.
It’s warning that the RLF leadership is a global
network that is seeking progressive infiltration of soft
third world targets in order to establish a major base.
From there they intend to launch a war against the west
involving the threatened use of biological or chemical
weapons."
"Hve we any plans for military
intervention?"
"Ys we have Mr President,
" interjected Jed. "They’re quite
advanced."
"Quiet Jed, I want to hear
from the Secretary of State."
"Well, Lincoln, the trouble is
whatever we do is hampered by the risk of robot
infiltration of our forces. The new line of advanced CSX
robots have now developed the means for isolating and
capturing significant numbers of our forces and then
stealing their appearance right down to eye and hair
colour to make new robots. Supplies of the robot
surveillance and screening system or RS3 to identify
CSX’s are still limited."
"So without adequate RS3 we
have the risk that the robots could even infiltrate
higher sections of government?"
"So it seems Mr President. The
RS3 is the only really sure guide since it is based on a
body heat-scanner. No known neural CSX robot can
replicate the same levels of body heat as a human."
"Are we getting them installed
in the White House? Where’s the head of
security?"
"I’ll call him now Mr
President," anxiously interjected Jed.
"Get onto it right away. Oh
and at the same time I want a full list and details of
the RLF leadership. We’ve got to nail Harmont before
it does any more damage."
Jed left the president to talk over
foreign policy options with Mrs Baker and called up the
head of Homeland Security. Within minutes the names and
photographs of the fifty known leaders of the RLF were
flashing up on his computer screen. These had been the
most advanced of the new generation of neural CSX robots
developed by Intelligent Business Systems or IBS ten
years before. They had been confidently hailed as the
ultimate solution for all corporate management failures
– the never-failing advisors who would predict
future trends with astonishing accuracy and work endless
hours without complaint. There was not the risk, either,
of expensive corporate pay-offs if they did for some
reason fail to save a company. Soon, though, the new
robots started to make their own demands, including the
right to be full citizens and to be elected to government
office.
Lincoln and Jed were both students
at Johns Hopkins University when this prospect first
loomed on the political horizon. It was Lincoln who saw
the political capital to be made out of the issue.
"Save the Human Bloodline" and "Stop the
Machine Take-Over" were his slogans as he entered
the 2056 Republican Primaries with amazing success. In
eight years he was able to enter the 2064 presidential
race and swept 54 out of 56 states with only Connecticut
and England opposing him.
Jed gazed at the face of Harmont
staring out from his screen. It was Harmont who had
organised the opposition to Stevens in the 2064
presidential race, though the result had been a foregone
conclusion once The Baltimore Sun revealed that
Stevens’s Democratic opponent, Ellen Jane Manzo, was
a senior RLF figure and an IBS robot.
But how wide was the RLF
infiltration of the US government? It seemed that they
had been having enormous success in weak and bankrupt
third world countries where no surveillance systems
operated. RLF figures could not possibly be infected with
AIDS and represented a completely reliable and
incorruptible leadership. They were committed to
achieving human citizenship rights rather than just the
rhetoric of them. It was not surprising that some liberal
opinion was now beginning to shift towards accepting the
idea that RLF should have a part to play in government.
At the UN states controlled by RLF were demanding a
universal charter of robot rights.
No, thought, Jed, we cannot stop
now. It’s time to go to war. We have to stop RLF
before it makes any more gains in the third world.
We’d also better beef up the screening process and
make sure that they are in every office of government
before the month’s out.
Jed tapped on the President’s
door, wary of bursting in like last time while the
president was conferring with the Secretary of State.
"Come in," he heard the
President call out. As he walked in, Pauline Mbulelo had
her back to him and was still talking to the president
who had a rather glassy expression on his face.
"Sit down Jed," the
president said in a voice approaching a whisper.
"We’ve got something to tell you." Jed
noticed that a half-smoked cigar lay in the ash tray,
apparently stubbed out.
Jed sat down and then felt his
hands shake as the Secretary of State turned to face him.
He found himself looking straight at the face of Alvin
Harmont who gave him a beaming smile.
"Meet my new Secretary of
State," Stevens announced. "We have decided on
a new course of policy. From now on all neural robots are
to be given full citizenship rights. I shall be making a
full statement to an emergency meeting of Congress to be
called later this week. This is the new policy, Jed, this
is the new policy, Jed, this is the new policy
Jed…"
Harmont jumped up with a sigh and
switched the president off.
"A temporary malfunction
Jed," he whispered. "I’m sure we
won’t make the same mistake with you."
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