Brazil: The Village

     “Good morning!”
     Anna smiled as she walked through the main road of the village.  She was wearing a gray dress, and carrying a small brown tray that had two covered dishes on it, as well as a pitcher of water.  The old woman that she had greeted smiled and bowed her head as she continued on her way.  Anna continued down the path, saying hello to the small children who played in the streets, and the other women who were going about their business.  As breakfast time was over, all of the men were out in the fields, hard at work.  She looked up at her destination; Drew’s house.

    Drew’s House

     “Damn!”
     Allan flung a small, metallic object across the room.  He was standing around the table that held the cyborg.  The computer equipment around the table had doubled.  Some of the existing equipment lay in ruin; used and not restored to its proper position.  A few feet away, Drew sat heavily in the chair, his head in his hands.
     “Didn’t work, huh?”  Drew asked.
      Allan shook his head.  “No, it didn’t.  I don’t understand this at all.”
     There was a faint knock at the front wall, but before anyone could respond to it, the sound of footsteps could be heard.  After a few moments, Anna came into the back room, still carrying her tray.
     “You know guys,” she said, “you can’t keep skipping breakfast.  It’s the most important meal of the day.”
     Allan smiled.  “I guess she has us there.”
     Anna set the tray down, then took a look around.  She could easily spot Drew and Allan’s moods.
     “What’s up guys?”  She asked.  “How are the repairs coming?”
     Allan snorted, and walked away from the table.  Drew looked up at Anna, his eyes a pale red.  “Well, we have reached a major impasse.”
     “Really?  I thought you guys were making progress...”
     “We were.  We have repaired a lot of the physical damage sustained by the unit.  However, there is still a lot left to be done.”
     “Unfortunately,”  Allan cut in, “we can’t risk repairing these systems before we know what they do.  For that, this robot needs internal power.  We’ll also need internal power to repair the computer systems as well.”
     “That sounds simple enough.”  Anna said.
     “You’d think, wouldn’t you?”  Allan replied.  “But we’ve tried feeding this thing everything.....electricity, gasoline, oil, and nothing works!”
     Anna made a face, as if she knew what Allan was talking about.  “So, what does work?”
     Allan picked up a small bottle from the top of one of the computer monitors.  He handed it to Anna, who examined it carefully.  Inside of the bottle was a small amount of a dull blue liquid.
     “That stuff.”  Allan said.
     “What is it?”  Anna asked.
     “I have no idea.  We found it scattered about inside of the body; it looks like it had been leaking from its main housing.  We tried collecting it and using it, but we got no results.  I guess, whatever it is, its been completely drained.”
     Anna shook the bottle around.  “You know...this liquid looks a little familiar.”
     Drew and Allan looked up at Anna.
     Anna continued to examine the liquid.  “Yes, it does!  This looks just like a strange liquid I found in the Rainforest!”
     Allan took Anna by the shoulders.  “Are you saying that you’ve seen this liquid before? And you know where there’s more of it?”
     “Now, I’m not saying that.  The liquid I’m thinking of is light blue, and it kind of glows.  But it looks to be similar to what is in this bottle.”
     Drew left his chair.  “I guess it’s worth a try...I mean we are out of options, right?  And it might be good for us to leave this room for a little while.”
     Allan gave him a nod.  “So, Anna, can you take us to where this liquid is.”
     “Yes, I think so.  With your jeep it will only take a few minutes to get there.”
     “Uh.....” Allan said.  He made a motion over towards the table, where the car battery was sitting next to the cyborg.  “I don’t think we can take the jeep anytime soon.”
     Anna held a laugh in.  “Well, then it should only take no more than half an hour on foot.”
     “Allright!”  Allan exclaimed.  “Thanks Anna.”  He turned towards Drew.  “Do you want to get those containers to bring this stuff back?”
     “Yeah...”  Drew said.  He went over to the cyborg, reached inside of its chest, and pulled out a small cylindrical container.  The ends were silver; the middle was made out of transparent fiberglass.  It was about a foot and a half in length, and about as wide as a soda can.  “How many do you think we should bring?”
     “What do you mean ‘how many?’”  Allan questioned.  “What’s wrong with one?”
     “Well, if we did find the power source that we have been looking for, then it would save us a trip back to take what we needed while we were there.”
     “Good point.”  Allan said.  “How many do you think?”
     Drew looked up into the air.  “Well, our robot friend has five main containers and three backup ones, and considering that two are busted......how about four?  Three for the main and one for the backup?”
     “Sounds good.”
     Drew took three more containers, and put them into a small black bag with the other one.  “Well then, let’s go.”

In the Middle of the Rainforest

Anna happily strode her way through the dense Brazilian Rainforest.  Behind her, Drew and Allan dragged behind.
     “Hey Anna!”  Drew called.  “How did you find this blue liquid anyway?”
     “Well,” Anna replied, “sometimes I go for walks through the forest.  One day, I tripped over something, and when I looked, I found the....well....you’ll see it when you get there.”
     Drew raised an eyebrow.
     “Y’know,” Allan said, “I don’t understand this at all.  This robot seems to be super advanced, right?  Well then, why wouldn’t it be compatible with any other power source than the blue stuff?”
     “I dunno.”  Drew said.  “Exclusivity maybe?  If the creators of this robot were the only ones who had this blue stuff, then it would guarantee that no one else could copy it.”
     “But why?  What does the robot do?”
     “You know what’s really strange?  Why is the robot so....human like?”
     Allan shrugged.
     “Here it is!”  Anna called.  She stopped and pointed to the ground.
     “I don’t see anything, ‘cept dirt.”  Allan pouted.
     “It’s what’s under the dirt that counts.”  Anna wedged her toe into a particularly artificial looking crack in the dirt.  With a swift kick, she removed a large clump of the ground.
     “Whoa.....”  Drew and Allan said in unison.  Where Anna had kicked away the dirt, they could see a small portion of an underground tube.  For the most part, it was gray, but there was a small window in the center of the tube which showed the contents; a glowing, light blue liquid.  On the gray section, the words “ACCESS SIX” were printed in blue, above a small, circular opening.
     “Is that your mystery liquid?”  Anna asked.
     “I dunno.”  Drew leaned in for a closer look.  “This is very strange.”
     “Let’s focus on our problem for a minute.”  Allan said.  “Is this the stuff that our robot runs on?  I think it is.”
     “But this stuff is different.”  Drew replied.  “This....liquid, is light blue, and glows.  Our liquid is dull blue, and definitely does not glow.”
     “But think about it though.”  Allan pulled out the small jar that held the liquid sample collected from the robot.  He compared it to the liquid inside of the underground tube.  “When you put oil in a car, it’s light brown.  When it comes out, it’s black.  Maybe this stuff starts out light blue, then becomes dark blue after it’s been used.  Maybe what we have here is waste, and what’s in that tube is the original product.”
     Drew took one of the empty cylinders out of the bag, and took it over to the tube.  “I guess that’s possible.”  He compared it to the small, circular opening on the tube.  “Now wait just a minute.”  he said.  He took the end of the cylinder and placed it inside of the opening for a perfect fit.  Drew then looked up at Anna and Allan, who exchanged confused looks.
     “That can’t be a coincidence.”  Anna said.
     Drew took the cylinder and twisted it around clockwise for a 180-degree turn.  There was the sound of metal gears clicking and moving, then the cylinder quickly filled with the glowing blue liquid.  Drew then turned the cylinder once more, another half turn.  There was another loud click, and Drew removed the cylinder from the access port.
     “The plot thickens.....”  Allan remarked.
     Drew removed the other cylinders from the bag, and started to fill them one by one the same way he filled the first one.  “Anna, do you know where this tube leads?”
     Anna shook her head.
     “Because, if we follow it, we might find the creators of this robot.”
     “Well,” Anna said, “I tried following it once.  All I can tell you is that it doesn’t go in a straight line.  I dug a hole in the ground about a mile away from here, in a straight-line path from this point, and it wasn’t there.  I think it comes from the city, and stops somewhere here in the Rainforest.”
     “Coming from the city would make sense.”  Drew said.  “But why would it go into the Rainforest and stop?  Is there some kind of factory out here?”
     “Isn’t that illegal?”  Allan asked.
     “Very.”  Drew replied.  “This just does not make sense.  You know, I have been thinking that this robot was made in America, and somehow ended up out here.  But what if it was made right here in Brazil?”
     “If that were true, then who made it?  And why?”  Anna questioned.
     “I guess the only way to find out would be to get the robot working again, and access its informational systems.  I’ve filled all the containers; let’s get back.”

Drew’s House

     Drew and Allan were standing over the increasingly mysterious robot.  Anna stood near the back of the room, observing silently.
     “You sure it’s off?”  Drew asked.  He held one of the containers, filled with the glowing blue liquid, in his hand.”
     “I’m sure.”  Allan replied.  “I isolated the activation mechanisms from the rest of the systems.  It won’t turn on.”
     “Well, ok.”  Drew didn’t sound reassured.  He took one of the cylinders and placed it into its proper position in the main power supply housing.  Suddenly, a chain reaction went off.
     “Whoa.”  Drew and Allan said in unison.
     Around the table, various computer terminals that were once dim lit up.  From the robot, a loud “whuuuuur” could be briefly heard, until it died down.  All of the joints on the robot, which were once dull blue, started to glow a bright blue, exact in appearance to the liquid collected from the underground tube.  Inside of the robot, lights lit up, and the glowing liquid started to run through a great deal of the wires and circuits.
     Allan grinned.  “I think we have found our power source.”
     Drew took the robot’s left arm.  “Look at this.”  He showed Allan a small computer interface that was contained within the robot’s left forearm.
     “Wow.”  Allan looked at it closer.  “It looks like an external interface.  Kind of an impractical place to put it though.  Unless....no.”
     “What?”  Drew asked.
     “It’s silly.”  Allan said.  “But.....if you had a visual interface to your body, where would be the best place for you to put it?”
     Drew thought about it for a few seconds.  “In order for me to see it?  My arm I guess....just like the robot!  But why would the robot need to access its own systems?”
     “That’s what I was saying.”  Allan said.  “Silly, right?”
     “Not necessarily.  What if this interface serves as some sort of a self-repair mechanism?  If the robot senses that it is malfunctioning, then it can use this interface to fix itself.  I mean, we do have repair programs for computers.....this could be a self activating program.....”
     “Which brings us back to the original question; what does this robot do?”  Allan started connecting one of the table computers to the interface on the robot’s arm.  “Well, I’ll try to network its systems to our computers.  Hopefully, we can finally get some answers.”

A Few Days Later

     “Good morning!”
     Anna smiled as she walked through the main road of the village.  She was wearing a light green dress, and carrying a small white box in her hands.  The young girl that she had greeted smiled and bowed her head, then continued to run down the road.  Anna continued down the path, saying hello to the small children who played in the streets, and the women who were going about their business.  As breakfast time was over, all of the men were out in the fields, hard at work.  She looked up at her destination; Drew’s house.

Drew’s House

     “Allright!”  Allan exclaimed.  “I found it!”
     “Really?”  Drew asked, much calmer.
     At this point, Anna came into the room, holding the box she had been carrying.  “Good morning boys!”  She said, cheerfully.  “How is it going?”
     Allan danced over to Anna, took her into his arms, and gave her a huge kiss on the cheek.
     “I take it things are going well.....”  Anna smiled.
     “Better than well!”  Allan said.  “Ever since we got power for this thing, I’ve been looking for the informational subsystems.  And I’ve finally found them!  Now, we can get answers to the questions we have been asking!”
     “Okay.....”  Anna said slowly.  “I only understood part of that, but I’m happy for you nonetheless.”
     Allan gave her another kiss on the cheek.  “So, what is in the box?”
     “Oh!”  Anna opened the box, and pulled out the gray and red jumpsuit that the robot had been wearing.  “It’s just the robot’s clothes.  I finally mended the rip.  I broke seventeen needles; this material is extremely tough.  But it’s finished.”
     “Thank you Anna.”  Drew said, taking the jumpsuit.  He placed it neatly on top of one of the computers.
     Allan went over to one of the computers.  “So many systems!  Which should I access first....hmm....how about this one, eh?  Hello, what is this?”
     “What?”  Drew asked.  He went over to the computer Allan was at and peeked over his shoulder.  Allan was looking at a particular directory, with a collection of files in it.  They were labeled with a date, the word “Time Index”, and a collection of numbers.  The first and second file in the directory read-

January 6:  Time Index 00:00:000
January 6:  Time Index 00:00:100

     “What are they?”  Drew echoed.
     “Hmm.”  Allan used the functions on his computer - the one he was familiar with - to examine the files.  “These files are a combination of video and audio; way more sophisticated than MPEG or WAV or any other files we’ve ever seen.”
     “They seem to proceed in chronological order.”  Drew observed.  “Look, after January 6th, Time Index 99:99:999, it goes to January 7th, Time Index 00:00:000.  There are only a few gaps, but for the most part, it seems to be continuous.”
     “A video log?”  Allan asked no one in particular.  “Record book?  No, wait.....this is....this is.....some sort of memory core!”
     “Memory?”  Drew gave Allan a funny look.
     “Yeah, memory!  Think about it, if you could somehow access your brain as if it were a computer, what would the files look like?”
     “I guess....they would be.....a specific time.....just like what we are looking at now!”
     “Yes!”  Allan clenched his fist.  “What we are looking at is the memory for our robot!”
     “But.....why does a robot need memory?”
     “It’s only practical.  When you surf the internet, y’know your browser keeps a history trail of every site you have been to.  This is the same thing.  If we watched all these files....we could finally get answers to the questions we have been asking.”
     “But Allan, there must be thousands of files here!”
     “That’s OK, I’ve got the time.  It’s just a matter of where to start.  I guess the first file would be good.  But then again, there’s something to be said for the last file.  Y’know, I could never pick up a mystery book without immediately turning to the last page, to see who did it, then reading from the first page to see how they did it and why.  That settles it; the last file it is.”
     Allan skipped ahead to the last file in the directory, and highlighted it.  However, there was a warning beep from his computer when he tried to play it.
     “What was that?”  Drew tried to get a good look at the screen.
     “The computer won’t play the file.....no wait......wait a minute.....the files are being erased!”
     “What?”
     “The files are erasing themselves!  The directory is crashing!”
     “Well, stop it!”
     “I’m trying!”  Allan snapped his fingers and pointed to one of the computers.  “Drew!  Get over and try to save some of the files, in case I can’t stop it!”
Drew rushed over to the computer, and tried to up-link to the memory directory.  Allan tried in vain to stop the files from erasing themselves.  While all of this took place, Anna watched in both amazement and confusion.
     “Damn!”  Allan slammed his hands down onto the interface.  “I couldn’t stop it!  All the files are gone!  Drew......”
     Drew shook his head.
     “Damn!”  Allan repeated.  “And we were so close!  So much for that, I guess....”
     “What does this mean?”  Drew asked.
     “Well, what happens when you initialize your computer?  Or when the power goes off and your settings are lost on your TV and VCR?  It’s like having a brand new system now.”
     “So....are you saying that.....”
     “If we ever successfully activate the robot, it will have no prior knowledge of anything that happened before that day.”     Allan finished the sentence.
     “I don’t understand.”  Drew said.  “A system this sophisticated, isn’t there a backup?”
     “Probably.”  Allan replied.  “But I have no idea how to access it.  And I don’t know if the robot’s internal systems will automatically use it.  All we can do now is hope the robot knows what it is when it’s activated.”
 
 

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