episode 07

The Lone Traveler

Sttaglite took his time making the difficult decision, his central processing unit dedicating many precious cycles to the task. He followed each individual strand of eventuality, knowing that with humans there existed a certain level of ambiguity and not all the strands would lead to clear, logical outcomes. In the end, he decided it best to approach the human camp and greet them as if he were friendly.

Communications units were not built for speed, and Sttaglite’s steps were further exaggerated and clumsy due to several torn ligamental wires in his left leg. The injury could be easily repaired but would require the tools and know-how of a mechanic. Until then, he appeared to be but a harmless, broken machine, and this suited his purposes nicely.

Communications unit, Sttaglite, was met at the perimeter of the human camp by the same strange vehicle that had passed by his location earlier that day. Similar to the terrestrial Light Hauler transport bots that were so common before all was destroyed in the final apocalypse. Four humans sat within, and Sttaglite noted the weapons they each carried around their shoulders. Light armaments at best.

But humans were civil creatures – so it was said – though Sttaglite had never met one before this day. He came to a halt as the mortals hopped down from their transport machine and approached with fluid, cautious steps. Sttaglite had listened to the humans’ radio broadcasts to one another for many days now, and he began with what he gathered to be their standard greeting: “Human Jupiter One, this is Communications Unit, Sttaglite. Reporting in. Over. We greet you as friend, in accordance with Inter-species Common Courtesy Treaty documented by the Human Council on Planetary Affairs.”

The humans exchanged sideways glances at each other, keeping their distance. Their leader finally said, “Communications Unit, Sttaglite. Greetings. What is your purpose – your mission here?”

The robot said nothing in response, standing motionless, save for a small perpetually-spinning radar disk on the robot’s hulking shoulder.

“How did you know my call sign, Communications Unit?” asked Jupiter One, pausing for a response. Hearing none, he added, “speak freely. Please,”

Sttaglite was monitoring each of their heart rates, studying their level of timidity – a part of his programming never used before this day. An interesting science. It appeared as though the humans feared him – this was a common emotion among their species – and he could either use that fear to his advantage or work at diffusing the inferior emotion in order to gain the humans’ trust. He chose the latter, speaking in a reassuring tone: “We heard your radio transmission and remembered your call sign, Sir. Thank you, please, for welcoming us to speak freely.”

The humans smiled at one another – perhaps at something he had said in error or perhaps as a sign of relief at hearing the familiar pleasantries of their customs – and then they invited him to their camp for further communications. Sttaglite was pleased at the progress he was making, already disarming their emotional defenses and gaining access to inner regions of the encampment. Soon he might have a way to infiltrate the humans’ network where important information could be scraped. He was very pleased.

Sttaglite followed in silence, keeping his ultimate intentions a secret.