ZENITH Introduction: Short Story

The apocalypse began on October 13th, the year 2305. I remember the news report that day about a particularly vicious android attack.

An android had never attacked someone before; they only ever did as they were told. Part of me wondered, in that moment, if someone had finally found out how to give violent instructions to an android. That was ridiculous, of course—it was impossible. And yet, the evidence was staring at me dead in the face. Dead.

It was ten years ago now, and any form of government (national or otherwise) has since promptly collapsed. Communication between other humans has become sparse, replaced by the constant paranoia of running into one of those corrupted androids. Even so, us human beings did find each other eventually. I’ve been working with NAIL for most of the last decade. They took me in when I had nothing left, shielding me from the horrors that plagued the world around us. We’re working together to try and dig ourselves out of this hell. But the longer I dig, the more buried I seem to feel.

“Hey kid. You done brooding yet?” Monty flung the flap of my tent open.

I scoffed, “I wasn’t brooding... I’m just writing.”

“Teenage angst is still alive and well, it seems,” Monty grinned. “Look, Kor and I are meetin’ in a second to talk about the Entech tower situation. And I could use that brain of yours for something a bit more productive than brooding.”

I slammed my notebook closed, “I told you I’m not brooding!”

“Yeah, sure. Just meet us at the operations tent in five, alright?”

“Yes! Fine!” I huffed.

Monty chuckled before he ducked out of my tent, “still don’t see a lot of folks writing nowadays. You’re an odd one, Zero.”

“Whatever...” I mumbled under my breath before shoving the notebook into my backpack. I rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand—I realized now that I had been hunching over to write, and it felt like I pinched a nerve. But I don’t doubt that the nerve pinching could’ve been Monty’s fault instead. I ducked out of my tent and went towards the center of the NAIL encampment.

There was a couple dozen people mulling about outside, bundled tightly in winter coats and huddled around a small campfire just outside. My breath dispersed in front of me, the heat of the air blowing icy cold back at my face. Circling wide around us were the towering wooden walls, surrounded by steel fencing, that enclosed us all in the NAIL base. Enforcers sporadically walked around the perimeter, keeping a careful eye on the residents inside. I wondered if the androids are being kept out, or if NAIL is just keeping us in—it feels like something I should know, considering my position. And I would of course—if anyone asked—say that it was a preventative measure to guard against those androids outside. But even I can’t deny the oppressive feeling that the walls and their enforcers carry.

I could smell tonight’s dinner wafting from a larger, open tent, adorned with sparse cookware and portable stoves. It smelled like it would be chili again, but it looked like Riely was cooking it today; he’s a great cook, so at least dinner would be good. I nodded to the few people that sat around the fire. They smiled and nodded back, and then quickly returned to their hushed conversation. I rolled my neck and pulled my backpack tightly against my shoulders, walking slowly towards the tent in the middle of base that was draped in NAIL iconography. The messages were printed permanently in my mind: no artificial intelligence left, resist android takeover. The image of a nail being driven through an android head stuck in my memory specifically. It seemed that, among the chaos and tragedy in the world, the people here were united in their effort to reclaim their lives. The androids stole our world from us, and we were going to fight to take it back. With a sharp inhale, I flung open the flap of the tent. Monty and Kor were quietly arguing about something, gesturing to several maps and building blueprints on the large table in front of them.

“Unless you have a death wish, you aren’t getting through the front door of Entech.” Kor pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Her red hair swung spiritedly behind her, as if she was making her argument with her ponytail instead of her words. “Androids are swarming the place, and we’ve tracked three separate patrols that intersect in that area.”

“And those same patrols are blocking any other available entrance!” Monty quickly retorted. “I say if we can get past the weaker patrol and board up the front doors, that’ll buy us enough time to get deeper into the place. It beats running the risk of alerting all three patrols in the time it takes to sneak in.”

“The likelihood of there being multiple androids inside the building is extremely high. There’s no way we can smash through the front door and just... be okay.” Kor scoffed, “seriously, I can’t believe you’re actually considering this.”

“Kor’s right, Monty,” I finally made my way to the table, glancing down at the blueprints sprawled out in front of me. Kor gave me a reassuring nod before I continued, “even if knocking on their front door is the quickest option, we don’t even have the manpower to pull that off.”

Silence fell on the room, before Monty finally spoke up, “there’s no good option.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I nodded. “Kor’s plan isn’t perfect, but...”

I swiveled one of the blueprints toward me. It outlined a scan of Entech HQ’s lower level. I fished around my backpack for a pen, before I circled a security entrance on the opposite side of the front door—the same weak spot that we could expose at those front doors could be mirrored directly behind. If we could find more cover there, then we could be less likely to be seen at all. But we would have to move fast. And stay hidden, which wasn’t even promised by the looks of the blueprint.

Kor peered over my shoulder, “what’d you circle? That door?” She grinned, “that’s what I was trying to say, we shouldn’t be going guns-blazing through the front entrance! We can go quiet—”

“Monty’s not totally wrong either.” I held my hand up. “The blueprint scan here doesn’t account for the amount of cover in that area. We could be just as exposed here as we would be at the front door.”

Monty laughed, “hah, right! And I—”

“Guys, seriously, this isn’t a competition.” I sighed. “Honestly, it would be better if you two just worked together. Combine your ideas, and you don’t even need my help.” I circled around the table and brought the blueprint back in front of them. I tapped my pen absentmindedly on the paper. “I think the best course of action is to focus instead on one of the android patrols. Preferably the weaker one, since I know we have enough firepower to fight that. If we can get rid of them quickly and quietly, that should buy us time to get into the building somewhat undetected.”

Kor frowned, “but the androids would know—no matter what—if we started killing them. They’d drop a signal.”

“I know. We would be working on a time limit regardless, though. And personally, I’d rather get the jump on them instead of it being the other way around.”

Monty puffed his chest. “I think it’s the best plan we got.”

“I hate to say I agree,” Kor side-eyed Monty as she folded her arms around her chest. “But do you guys really think there’ll be a cure here? Some way to fix the androids?”

“Or better yet, some way to destroy ‘em. A kill switch, or something.” Monty grimaced.

I stuffed the pen back in my bag and turned towards the entrance of the tent. “Either way, we need information. Best get it straight from the source.”

“I’ll get a team together to investigate. I’ll let you know tomorrow morning, Zero. But the sooner we get this movin’ the better.” Monty smiled, “and I’ll make sure Kor tags along, too. I suppose it’s partly her plan after all, eh?”

“Shut it, old man,” Kor groaned. “If I weren’t here to reign you in, you’d be dead already.”

Monty let out a hearty laugh and began collecting the blueprints into a pile, “right you are!”

Kor rolled her eyes, “anyways, Zero. Let’s eat, all this depressing planning stuff is making me hungry.”

I smiled as the two of us walked out of the tent, and into the icy air. “Sure, I saw that Riely was cooking today.”

“Ugh, thank goodness! I’ve been dying for some actual good food.”