E113N

By MojoFiction

E113N is a short story:

At only 18 months old, android model number E113N is just figuring herself out. She dreams of the new life that awaits her after the new A.I. protection laws finally pass. When her designer suddenly disappears in a lab accident, his company immediately claims her as their property. She knows they are not interested in her, only her parts. Since the current law is on their side, she should comply. Or she can run....

• Language: English
• Publisher: MojoFiction
• Release date: Mar 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370297610

MojoFiction

MojoFiction is really just a strange pen name (though there's method to it...) for a native from the state of Colorado. Unfortunately, I currently live in Illinois, which is hardly mountainous, which leads to a lot of travel to less geographically-challenged places. I am an avid lover of the outdoors, believe in the importance of family, sometime watch cartoons, and spare no expense in an effort to be funny (no matter how many times I might crash and burn). When I'm not writing or hiking or being lazy, I have a day job in the city of Chicago, though I call in sick to attend Cubs games as often as possible. Mostly because tickets are quite affordable when your team su- ... isn't as good as the other teams.

Book preview

E113N

By

MojoFiction

This book is a work of fiction. No part of the contents relates to any real person or persons. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

E113N

Copyright © 2017 Jeremy Engelbrecht

www.MojoFiction.com

Smashwords edition.

All rights reserved.

E113N

That the news anchor for INBC Channel 3 could deliver such appalling news with undisguised excitement was the first curious thing that night. She looked so thrilled to break the story that shock and empathy couldn't get a foothold. Either she didn’t understand the seriousness of the event or she didn’t care. Considering the rarity of a real news break in an over-informed world, maybe she could be forgiven. Considering that the entire local affiliate had been vaporized, maybe she couldn't.

Nearly a quarter of Reykjavik is now gone, said the anchor. And we have exclusive footage from above the city.

The video screen switched to the inside of a news studio in Reykjavik, where two anchors at a desk delivered the news. They stopped suddenly, appearing confused. One of them said, What was tha- and then the screen flared white before going to static.

The INBC anchor reappeared with a sweet smile for the camera and said, Our apologies, here is the live feed from SkyDrone-2.

The screen changed again, this time to a shaky aerial view of the Icelandic city. A billowing cloud of grey smoke rose into the sky. While the drone circled around, the anchor spoke over the feed.

The Tomorrow Soldiers have laid responsibility for the colossal explosion on Callan Research Industries itself. While confirming that they have, in fact, attacked the CRI facility there, they state that their crude arsenal came nowhere near delivering the damage witnessed today. This, said their social media account, should be shown to the world as proof of the evil of CRI's unregulated technology. CRI must be brought into check and Europe's governments should take control immediately.

Half a world away, model number E113N lay back in a plush couch and sighed at the video screen. The enormous screen, built into the wall of her condominium on the ninety-fifth floor of the Peregrin Residential Tower, showed the destruction in stark detail. She shook her head.

The Tomorrow Soldiers. Of course. So much destruction, but never their fault. E113N mused how American that was, despite the Tomorrow Soldier's Asian origins. The decline of the States apparently came too late. Ah, well. In their defense, Reykjavik had been home to CRI’s second, unregistered, wormhole generator project. The attack must have caused it to destabilize.

She wondered how Nathan would have felt about it if he was still around. He disliked anyone who couldn't see the value of the work he did at CRI, and he had special feelings for the Tomorrow Soldiers. He believed his technology would finally move humanity into the cosmos, or at least off Earth. He got up on his pedestal about it, too, which always rubbed people the wrong way. That she constantly told him so didn't help his outlook. She missed him, though. Missed his thinning hair, his passion for telling terrible jokes, even his devotion to Anime. She knew that, above all, she should miss his unwavering support for artificial intelligence, but she really missed his companionship the most. The condo seemed so pointless all by herself. Still, if all went well, she would see him again soon, wherever he had gone. In the meantime, she sat there and watched the lights from the video reflect off her metal skin.

The video screen suddenly went black, interrupting her thoughts. It remained that way for three seconds before the head and shoulders of a familiar person appeared.

Callan Mendenhal, CEO of Callan Research Industries. Well, thought E113N, that's just great. It occurred to her that she would have liked to snort her displeasure, but she couldn't quite get