56 The Long Walk

56 The Long Walk As they passed yet another tower, RAZER 72 suddenly slowed before coming to a complete stop. 'CONSPIRATORS! MY CHARGE LEVELS ARE LOW! YOU WILL NOW WALK IN FRONT OF ME!' All right, pal, turn the volume down,' said Rockwell as the ankle ties were released and the gripping arms were loosened so that they could walk along the bridge. 'Where are we going?' asked Peanut, 'To the Spire? Are you putting us in prison too?' Still the robot didn't reply. 'Tell me, why exactly do you and your kind hate creativity so much? What's wrong with a little freedom of expression?

What's wrong with a little colour?' The robot stopped and turned its glowing red eyes to Peanut. She was surprised to see that even though they were entirely mechanical, they carried a resigned, sad expression. 72's metallic voice sounded softer. 'Listen to me, little girl, you must do exactly as I say. 'Why should I?!' she shouted. 'Please keep your voice down,' the RAZER said. 'You will draw unnecessary attention to us.' 'GOOD! I WANT TO DRAW UNNECESSARY ATTENTION TO US! It would be nice to be able to draw anything, quite frankly! And how dare you tell me what to do! Of all the— Hang on. Did you just say... "please"?' 'I did.' 'But... you're an evil RAZER. Evil RAZERs don't have manners.' 'As I was saying, it is in your interest to do exactly as I say. Please, will you do that?' Once again, Peanut was thrown by the 'please'. And, as I was saying, why should I?' Because it's your only hope of completing your mission successfully.' Rockwell gasped. Peanut's mouth fell open. Little-Bit grinned. M-my mission? What do you know about my mission?'

'I know everything about your mission. I have been fully briefed. ' Whoa! You're in the Resistance?' shouted Little- Bit. 'You're Agent X?' said Rockwell. 'CONSPIRATORS!' the RAZER's old voice had returned. 'YOU WILL BE SILENT! WALK!' The three children looked at each other. Doodle's tail twitched. They started to walk. 'You must look straight ahead at all times,' said 72 quietly. And it would be beneficial if you were to look a bit more... afraid. I can only give you information when we are in between towers. We cannot arouse suspicion.

'So... you're an undercover agent?' asked Peanut. 'Affirmative.' 'But... weren't you built by Mr White?' 'Affirmative.' 'So... why are you acting against him?' I am a second-generation RAZER— a considerable upgrade on the launch model. We have been given more autonomy by the programmers. We have the ability to weigh up a situation and act as we see fit with no need for instruction. We can make decisions. So, when I saw what was happening to Chroma and its citizens, I made a decision to act. 'So you approached Mr and Mrs M?' I received an all-unit call when Malcolm Markmaker was captured. I made sure I was part of the platoon that brought him in.' 72's eyes flickered blue before returning to red. 'I was guarding him on the Strip and I spotted an opportunity to explain my situation to him. It is to his great credit that he believed me and trusted me enough to inform me of a line of contact to Millicent Markmaker. They passed another tower. 'When I got in touch with her to offer my services, continued 72 a few minutes later, 'she also believed me. She said I was her most powerful weapon. It made me feel proud.' They were approaching another tower. ' FASTER, CONSPIRATORS!' bellowed 72. The children looked suitably

forlorn, while Doodle walked with his tail between his legs. When they had passed the tower, Rockwell looked up at the robot. 'So, since you've been with the Resistance, what have you done to help bring down Mr White?' 'Nothing,' replied 72. 'Nothing?' said Rockwell. 'Brilliant.' 'I have only ever had three directives from Millicent Markmaker. The first was to gather as much intelligence as possible while going about my regular duties. I was told to act normally until such time as I received my second directive. And what was that?' asked Peanut. ' To make sure I was in the first security tower on Die Brücke when three children and a dog arrived. And the third?' 72 turned its red eyes to Peanut. ' To get the four of you into the Spire.'