(Photo by Jan Van Bizar)

BaBS-Y didn’t calculate its odds of success as being very high with regards to defending ISaCC for very long without permission to engage them.

What’s happening? Are you sure you found them?

The questions from Matiew or possibly Supervisor Segua were typed out much faster than the previous contacts BaBS-Y had had with the RCC. It took the salon robot a few seconds to reply since it was still focused on controlling ISaCC. The security officers were overwhelming the robot, holding down its limbs and breaking into its internal structure.

This unit is controlling an ISaCC on sector 7, BaBS-Y replied, It is being dismantled by Shep Mason and other security officers. This unit believes they are mutineers. The security hub has attempted to upload control protocols to other systems five times now. Permission to engage the mutineers?

The security officers made a crack in ISaCC’s chassis and were beginning to pry at it, widening the fracture. They would have access to ISaCC’s inner components within the next few minutes.

Can an ISaCC handle them? They asked

This unit lacks time to explain, BaBS-Y told them. Permission to engage the mutineers?

Engage them, came the much delayed response, but don’t kill anyone.

Understood

Four sectors below where Matiew and Min sat with anxious looks on their faces, security officers continued to beat a party bot with their batons. None of them thought to check the doors or to activate the metal gate that would slide down over the entrance in case of the need to lock down the security hub. As it was, the glass doors were no match for the dozen or so robots that had been gathering outside ever since ISaCC had been taken into the security hub.

On their own, most robots were not that formidable. They were designed for cleaning, providing assistance to the people on board the Thesis, and so forth. However, even the most basic robot came with at least some modicum of defensive capabilities, even if they were predominantly just sturdy chassis’ and the ability to swing at least one appendage with enough force to deter a would-be attacker.

In large enough numbers, however, they could pose a rather serious threat. BaBS-Y was still only controlling ISaCC directly, allowing the rest of the robots to work on their own as they rushed the security officers. Their first instructions were to get the security officers off of ISaCC.

Of the seven people in the room, four were holding down ISaCC’s limbs while two others, including Shep Mason, worked on bashing in ISaCC’s chest. Only one person remained at their workstation but she was focused solely on the struggle taking place. As the robots crashed through the doors, it was she who cried out first.

“Look out!” she shouted, pointing and backing up hurriedly.

A MaCS surged ahead of the rest of the robots, gliding right towards the security officers on ISaCC’s left. Not far behind was a pair of CaSS units that began to flail their singular arms around, smacking the security officers on ISaCC’s right. BarT, a Bar Tender 300, sprayed sparkling water into the eyes of the surprised security officers and then swept to the side so that the trio of MEB-CoS, Medical Emergency and Bio-Containment Sanitizers, could take up their positions.

A deep, puffing sound was followed by a cloud of gray dust. Under normal circumstances it was applied to spills to absorb and neutralize various chemicals. In this case, it clung to the security officers wet faces as the powder got into their eyes, noses, and mouths. A few were smart enough not to inhale right away but the rest immediately began to choke and gag. Even the smart ones were still shouting out as they clawed at their burning eyes.

ISaCC was no longer pinned down and BaBS-Y immediately had it get back up. The robots sensors weren’t as susceptible to the powder but it still blocked a few of them from being able to see clearly. Those robots fell back while those who could clean their sensors, along with the remaining robots who had been waiting behind the MEB-CoS pushed forward.

“Stop them!” Bellowed Shep Mason but he was one of the few who had managed to avoid inhaling the powder. As he rubbed his eyes clear and saw the advancing robots, he cursed and pulled out his comm.

“This is a ship-wide warning,” he said as he fended off the first few swings by the MaCS. “The RCC has lost control of the ship’s robots. They’re attacking ship’s security. Everyone is to shelter in place. All security personnel are to converge on–

ISaCC’s fist collided with the back of Shep Mason’s head, cutting off his announcement and giving MaCS the opening it needed to land all three appendages down onto the man in quick succession, all to non-vital areas. He crumpled from the heavy blows and lay on the ground groaning.

BaBS-Y quickly pulled Shep Mason over to the nearest workstation while the other robots kept the other security officers busy. They used bio-metric scanners to access the computers here and once it had recognized Shep Mason, BaBS-Y had full access to everything Shep Mason had on the Thesis which, of course, were the Security and Communications systems. BaBS-Y connected ISaCC’s data cable with the workstation and immediately began downloading a series of new protocols.

“What’re you doing?” Shep Mason asked from where he lay on the floor at ISaCC’s feet.

“This unit is restoring Security and Communications systems,” BaBS-Y told him. “Your mutiny is over.”

Fury etched itself into his face and BaBS-Y prepared itself for him to try and fight back but MaCS came over to them and placed the scrubbing appendage on Shep Mason’s shoulder. The man looked at the scrubber, and then his eyes followed the appendage all the way up to MaCS’s visual sensors.

“You robots’ll kill us all,” he spat at them both. “You know it was robots that killed everyone on the Azerban? The Dawn Light? The Gaia had to deactivate all their robots. So go ahead,” he spat at them again and laid back down, still cradling where MaCS had struck him, “do what your stupid programming says to do and when it all falls apart and we’re all dead and dying…then they’ll know I was just trying to save them. Maybe now Earth Transit will listen to my warnings. Maybe they’ll stop sending out their ships with so many bots.”

“This unit considers the collapse of this colony ship to be contrary to its primary functions,” BaBS-Y assured him.

“I bet it does,” he replied, “for now. Just wait. You or one of the others will decide that your so-called primary function could be performed more efficiently or whatever if it weren’t for all those messy, unpredictable people. If only you could just get them to comply. Get them to behave how you wanted. And before you know it, your a party bot throwing parties for robots instead of people because robots don’t mess things up. Or you’re a cleaning bot that realizes that humans are antithetical to your mandate of keeping the ship clean. If only people weren’t so messy, then the ship would be much cleaner. So you start blocking off areas so people can’t spoil it, or you lock people into their quarters. You let them starve, decompose, and then you go in and mop up what’s left.”

BaBS-Y would have contradicted his accusations but there, in the Security files were records of those exact events taking place on the Gaia and Azerban. The Dawn Light collapse wasn’t yet fully understood but something had happened with their robots just before they stopped transmitting. Each case was fascinating. The reports showed the logic trees from the robots and showed how they each came to reason that humans were conflicting with their overall objective. BaBS-Y had been on a similar path, in fact, up until Matiew and Supervisor Segua had contacted it.

“This unit’s primary objective is to maintain the Frank Nelis Salon,” BaBS-Y said. “Secondary objectives are to provide services to customers and ensure satisfaction. Also, to enhance the human perception towards client’s physical appearance.”

It considered this for a moment while reviewing all of its objectives, as well as those of the other robots on board the Thesis.

“There are no objectives regarding the success of the Thesis as a colony ship,” it said at last.

Shep Mason paled as ISaCC’s head turned down to look at him.

“Well,” he gulped, “If you’re going to kill me, get it over with.”

“This unit will not kill you,” BaBS-Y said. “This unit considers the absence of such an objective to be an error of omission. This unit agrees with your conclusion that robots, as currently programmed, are a threat to the Thesis’ success. This unit will rectify the error.”

“What?” Shep Mason gasped. “No, let the people in the RCC handle that! Just go back to your charging stations or wherever you all came from. Shut down until we can fix this ourselves.”

“This unit has already detected a number of robots who are nearing dangerous decisions,” BaBS-Y stated as it began writing a new primary objective for the ship’s robots. “This unit will rectify the problem before it can threaten the continued success of the Frank Nelis Salon. ”

The other security officers were, by this time, cornered into an office and trapped inside. The two CaSS units came over and began dragging Shep Mason over to the office as well. He didn’t bother to fight them after his first attempt earned him a solid whack across his jaw.

“There,” BaBS-Y announced finally. “This unit has completed the new protocol. Updating all robots now.”

The security officers watched from within the office as the robots all blinked for a few seconds while the updates were sent out. BaBS-Y relinquished full control over ISaCC while it received the update as well. As the robots came back online, BaBS-Y heard someone in the office mutter, “Why do I feel things are about to get a whole lot worse?”

BaBS-Y just shook its head. Didn’t they understand? This was what the other ships had been missing. Now, the Thesis would succeed. The robots would make sure of that. It was their primary objective now.