Exceptional just a bucket of bolts? Life, Death, Up, Down : Rusty by jim vecchio Robot Camelot contest entry

Our world was in turmoil. Only a couple of handfuls of us were left. If anything could be done, it would have to be done by us. Oh, yes, we had a robot. The Gargoyles, the destroyers of Mankind, well, none of us knew their number. The robot, he was a cumbersome bucket of bolts. We all called him Rusty. He didn’t mind. In fact, I don’t think he even had a sense of humor. We were on a top secret mission. He led our pack. It irked some of us that a robot knew more about our mission than we did. Well, like the Chief said, “What we don’t know, the enemy won’t know.” Also, I doubt there is a thing in the world that could force Rusty to give out any info if he had a mind not to, that is, if he had a mind. We didn’t sleep very easily, I tell you. Rusty seemed to have a way of shutting himself off at times. Do robots dream at all? Did he realize we pledged our lives on this mission? We encountered opposition that first night. The Gargoyles attacked from behind a pile of rocks. We had started out with eight and the robot. The Gargoyles clawed their way into Henderson’s tent while he was still sleeping. I doubt he ever knew what got him. Rusty actually looked like he was sorry. Can a robot feel loss? The Gargoyles retreated, and soon there were seven of us. With Rusty. We took turns on watch after that. Towards the afternoon, the Gargoyles rolled a boulder from their outpost and it landed on Jorge’s tent. Carlsberg was on watch. They were so quiet, he didn’t see or hear a thing till it was all over. Now, six. And Rusty. Rusty probably should have been the one on watch. I still wasn’t sure if we could trust a robot. Does he need sleep? Recharging? Does he ever rest? What does he do when he seems so still? As if he is training his robotic mind on something unseen. Jorge and Shumway, earlier, had been arguing. I tried to calm them. We needed every man to get to our destination. I asked them what’s up. “We don’t want our lives to be snuffed out less’n we know what’s the purpose of this mission!” “Right now,” I said, “I know just as much about it as you do. We just have to trust the Chief. And Rusty. It’s got to be Priority One!” After Carlsberg got it, Rusty condescended to speak to us. A rare occasion. “Hu-mans…You need sleep. I…take…watch!” We weren’t any less frightened, but I think all of us felt good about Rusty taking a more active role in this escapade. Sometime, just before dawn, Rusty’s auto-alarm went off. He screamed in his inhuman tones, “Caution! Caution!... Enemy in the distance!... Take cover!... Grab weapons!” I turned quickly to Rusty. “Are you programmed to kill?” I asked. “It is… forbidden,” he replied, “Yet, at times,… it is necessary.” I hoped this time it would be necessary. The Gargoyle had gained a new weapon. It was some sort of ray pistol. They shot a blast out at Rusty. Rusty protected his chest with his arms and flattened himself on the ground, just swift enough to avoid the ray. While this was happening, three Gargoyles raced over and snuffed out the lives of Evans, Shumway, and Cooper. Now, three. And Rusty. The enemy retreated. Slowly, Rusty raised himself. With anger, I shouted, hoping he could understand. “Did you deem your life, if it is a life, more valuable than theirs?” Rusty replied, in his unique manner, “Rusty…not impor-tant…Car-go…impor-tant!” We shuffled ahead. Evening seemed to come quickly. While Rusty stood guard, Jorge, Twillinger, and myself held a pow wow in my tent. “Fellas,” I said, “From what I could make out, Rusty’s carrying something. Something in his innards, or whatever you call what’s inside him.” Twillinger was the first to speak. “What could be more valuable than the lives of three men?” “Yeah,” said Jorge. “And so valuable it must not fall into the hands of the enemy?” “I don’t know,” I replied. “But, evidently, it’s big enough to save this world if we get it to Oasis in time!” “There’s only one thing it can be!” reflected Jorge. Twillinger completed his sentence. “Plutonium. Or something. Something that can save the world in the right hands!” “Yeah!” added Jorge. “Something big. A bomb! Pieces of an atom bomb!” The rest of that night was silent. There was one more stretch of plain flatland before we reached our goal, Oasis. We figured, if there were an all-out attack, it would be at this spot. We weren’t disappointed. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Gargoyles advanced. Our puny pistols were no match to their rays and their sheer brute strength. Rusty flung his way through each Gargoyle that came at him. I guess they figured he was too much of a foe and concentrated their attack on us. One ripped his claw through Jorge’s neck. Twillinger tried to avenge Jorge, but a second grabbed him, thrust him up, and broke his back. It looked like Rusty was finally begin to turn his full offence upon them when a Gargoyle thrust something sharp into my side and I fell. I awoke in a hospital, greeted by happy faces. I knew we had made it to Oasis. Rusty was seated alongside my bed, holding a vase full of flowers. At first, all I could manage was, “Wha…?” Rusty explained, “Necessary…had to exter-min-ate…enemy…Carried you…to safety!” “Did…Did they get the..the bomb?” I asked. “No bomb,” Rusty replied, “No bomb…words…” At that point, the Doctor walked in. “ “Never mind, Rusty!” he said, “I’ll explain it all to him!” Doc handed me some medicine and water. “I’ll explain,” he said. “Oasis is the last outpost of humanity, save for the few that embarked on your mission. We all knew this day might come. The day when the Enemy took over.” “You’re going…kind of fast…for me, Doc!” Doc slowed a little. “God ordained a long time go that His word would never be defeated. When it appeared all Bibles in the world, along with their recordings, were destroyed, sixty-six good men and women got together.” “Sixty-six…doc?” “One for each book of the Bible. Each had memorized one book. They collectively recorded it on tape.” “And Rusty?...” “He carried the tapes within him, to prevent their destruction. As an added measure, during those moments he may have seemed to shut himself off, he was inwardly reading and memorizing each tape.” As the Doctor was speaking, Rusty headed out the door. “Good Night, Rusty,” I said, “And Thanks!” Rusty replied, “The…Lord…bless you …and keep you…”   Recognized Author Notes

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