A-Ka replaced the battery for the clone’s positioning system, then switched out his old navigation chip for a new one as well, so that the pathfinding would work even better than before.
“Done,” A-Ka said.
“You are very technically skilled,” the clone said easily.
“Thanks.”
When the clone left, he casually scored A-Ka a “D.”
Though A-Ka’s heart filled with rage, he didn’t dare utter a sound. Stealing a fleeting glance at the screen of his computer, he saw that there were still thirty seconds before he was off work.
The seconds squeaked by slowly. When the electronic chime finally sounded, A-Ka rapidly put the tools back into order and tidied his own belongings, then turned and headed toward the passageway behind him.
“Please leave the maintenance stand within ten seconds,” an electronic female voice reminded him.
A-Ka entered the circular tunnel. The sound of footsteps was concentrated but orderly as the shifts changed for the maintenance area. Humans flooded into the central hall from every direction and passed through the metal detector that beeped incessantly.
Beyond the main door, the platform suddenly descended as it began its journey below the surface of the earth. Human workers of all ages wearing the same uniform as A-Ka converged on the platform from many other tunnels. They piled into the elevator as it went, the riders either aiming to go up or down. Their faces were harried as they pressed up against each other in that cramped, narrow space. None of them spoke a single word.
The first time the elevator came to a stop, two patrolling robots entered. The swarm of people hurriedly backed up to create space for them.
With a ding the red light lit up, and an electronic female voice warned, “Awaiting the passage of another elevator.”
It was extremely stifling inside the elevator, and everyone was sweating, but they didn’t dare to shift unnecessarily or say anything. That was when a person standing by A-Ka nudged at him with his wrist.
A-Ka turned his head. It was only then that he realized the two robots had their cameras turned toward him. The elevator’s surveillance camera flickered to life, and a circle of light unfocused and then refocused as it locked onto the pocket on his chest. A-Ka felt like his heart would leap out of his chest from how hard it was beating.
“What did you do?” the person next to him asked quietly. “They seem to be watching you.”
In that instant, A-Ka’s entire body trembled. While he’d been working, he had secretly hidden away a chip.
The electronic voice of one patrolling robot sounded. “Warning. Your body temperature is elevated.”
Everyone in the elevator grew alarmed. The patrolling robots each carried their own infrared sensors to monitor all humans within the Ant Nest. A-Ka instantly imagined what that would look like: Within the infrared sensing system of the patrollers, the outline of his overheated body would burn bright as a fire.
“There’s n-nothing out of the ordinary, right?” A-Ka asked in a tremulous voice. “I-I haven’t violated any laws.”
The whole crowd was watching A-Ka now.
With another ding, the green light of the elevator came on again, and it continued to travel downward, rumbling loudly as it went.
“You must undergo an inspection,” the patrolling robot said. “Warning. Beginning four kinds of inspection.”
I’m done for, A-Ka thought. As soon as the patrolling robot found the chip he’d stolen, he would immediately be gunned down. Sweat dripped down his back as his mind went completely blank.
Just then, a middle-aged mechanic standing behind A-Ka spasmed, his face white as a sheet, perspiration pouring down his forehead like rain. Suddenly, he convulsed violently, almost hitting A-Ka. The man then grabbed A-Ka’s shoulder, prompting him to turn around. He didn’t understand what was going on.
“Save me… Save me!” That middle-aged mechanic seemed to be clutching at his last ray of hope as he seized A-Ka’s hand.
At that second, everyone realized one thing: This man was about to be terminated.
“Arriving at the Ant Nest,” the robotic woman’s voice announced.
The elevator door opened, and the middle-aged man shoved A-Ka aside as he dashed away.
“Warning. Stop immediately!” Rushing out, the patrolling robots followed in hot pursuit. The people in the elevator swarmed out after them, only to see the man continue to sprint through the hallway.
“Get down!” someone shouted.
Noise exploded in the crowded hallway. The surveillance camera installed on the ceiling shot a small, thin, metallic nail. Revealing its wings, the nail began to dart wildly back and forth through the air like a dragonfly.
A loud crack rang out above the clamor as the fleeing middle-aged man took the flying nail straight through the skull. His limp limbs flew akimbo as it pinned him sharply against the wall.
The bystanders burst into agitated discussion. A-Ka remained covered in cold sweat. According to the conversations around him, that mechanic had garnered three “D” ratings today, so after he finished his last supper, he would have been escorted away to be disposed of.
While the patrolling robots cleaned up the cruel scene, A-Ka took the opportunity to hold his breath and leave the hallway. He walked faster and faster until he reached the end of it, where he couldn’t help but run into the bathroom to shower. Turning on the cold water, he washed his body, trying to cool himself down even as his anxiety heated him back up. At the same time, he attempted to calm the frantic, violent beating of his own heart.
A-Ka’s entire body was soaked and dripping with water when the horror of what he’d seen enveloped him. He knew what the final fate of that mechanic would be. The corpse would be taken away and put in a factory to freeze, then it would be dismembered and tossed in batches into decomposition solution to corrode, disintegrating into basic nutrients that would be used to create new clones or turned into animal fodder.
A wave of rage and pain flooded his heart. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t summon his voice for it. He wanted to vent, but nowhere was safe; there were surveillance cameras everywhere. He didn’t even dare let out a wordless roar.
With his back to the surveillance camera, he pulled out the stolen navigation chip that he had stashed in his shirt pocket and examined it. The chip burned like a heated coal in his hand, terrifying him with its mere existence.
He needed to get rid of it quickly. The more he thought about it, the more it scared him. Walking out of the shower room, he dried himself off before starting toward his living quarters.
The humans of the Ant Nest came and went around him, each carrying out their own duties.