22 67 and the Machines

22 67 and the Machines Peanut, Little-Bit and Doodle made their way back into the control room to find everybody grouped around the console. They were still discussing plans for refilling the Rainbow Lake and the subsequent afterparty, talking loudly and with great excitement. Peanut noticed that 67 was hovering by the trapdoor in the floor, separate from the rest of the group. They were staring into the pool of rainbow-coloured water that Mr White had been keeping there. Ironically, it was only now that Rockwell had left Chroma that a slight feeling of doubt had tiptoed its way into her mind. What if Rockwell was right? she thought. What if there is something up with 67? And why am I only considering this now,

rather than when Rockwell was still here? She decided to do a bit of investigating, just to put her mind at ease. 'Hi, 67,' she said, cheerily, as she approached the RAZER. 'Hello, Medium-sized Human,' they replied in their distinctive tinny voice. 'Is there something I can assist you with?' 'Oh, nothing important,' replied Peanut. 'I was just wondering what everyone was talking about. The robot's eye panel rotated smoothly to their right to look at the merry group. 'The operatives still appear to be discussing party food. They have already, in my opinion, spent a disproportionate amount of time debating the merits of the French Fancy over those of the Bakewell Slice.' 'Ah, so they're tackling the important stuff,' said Peanut, nodding. ' And what have you been tasked with doing for the party?' 'I have not been tasked with doing anything,' replied the robot. 'But I did make a suggestion that will require some work on my part. I believe it is a good idea, and the Markmakers and the other Resistance operatives concur. So I will be actioning that presently. ' Oh? What did you suggest?' asked Peanut. 'That we should mobilise the RAZER army to help us quicken the progress of Chroma's rehabilitation.' 'Er, what does that mean?' said Peanut, confused. 'We

should get the RAZERs to work for us?' 'Affirmative,' replied 67. ' It is a logical decision. We have a large number of very powerful and very skilled robots lying dormant in platoons all over the city. Meanwhile, we, the citizens of Chroma, have a huge rebuilding task on our hands. So why not use the very things that helped destroy the city to help mend the city?' 'That's so smart,' said Peanut. She could feel the doubt and suspicion she felt earlier tiptoeing back out of her mind. 'Your praise is appreciated, Medium-sized Human,' said the robot, curtly. 'But the fact

is that, as a RAZER myself, I am easily able to plug into the Spire's mainframe computer and recalibrate the directive. It's a built-in function of the second-generation RAZER model. Once docked, it's simply a question of re-engineering the core code, compiling a new binary file and distributing it using a form of high-speed transaction processing. I can apply the same method to overwrite the Big X and Exocetia programming too.' 'Wow,' said Peanut. 'So you would be in control of Mr White's entire army?' 'Affirmative.' 'That's amazing,' said Peanut. 'You could do so much good with all that power. Thanks so much, 67. Chroma is already in your debt, and it sounds like that debt is about to get bigger!' 'No thanks are necessary, Medium-sized Human. It's the least I can do. I want to make amends for the damage that my robotic counterparts have done to this city. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to decrypt the security tokens and obtain authentication to the central control network. Satisfied that all was OK with 67, Peanut walked over to her parents and Nerys, who were discussing sandwich preferences with Jonathan Higginbottom. '... Yes yes, I totally agree, Mr Higginbottom. Triangular ones do taste better,' said Mum, excitedly. ' Oh, hi, Peanut.

You'll never guess what. This animated alligator cartoon character chap can TALK! Just like the rat! And, let me tell you, he really knows his sandwiches!' 'Hi, Mum,' Peanut said, stifling a yawn and placing her head affectionately on the alligator's shoulder. ' Yes, Jonathan Higginbottom and I are old friends.' 'You look tired,' said Dad. 'All three of you do, actually.' Leo and Little-Bit were sitting up on the control panel, eyes half-closed. 'In fact, I think that we should all get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. We have lots of things that need celebrating, not least your birthday, Leo.' 'Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that,' he replied. 'Me too,' said Little-Bit. 'I haven't even got you a card!' 'Don't worry, LB. You can always draw one for me,' said Leo, smiling. 'I'm sure Peanut can lend you a pencil.'