Machines of Eden by Shad Callister

off and John was inside. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the
brighter light, and examined his surroundings. It was indeed, as he
had suspected, a small manufacturing lab. The only entrance, other
than the grate, was a door set in the far wall. There were no
windows. Energy coils and fuel cells were scattered across a dusty
countertop to his right, a big soldering table stood at his left,
and small rails on the floor led from the room’s only door to the
grate he had entered through. A large metal ventilation hood
surrounded the grate on the inside.
    The equipment was
expensive, but dated – ten years old or more. It puzzled him. A
thick layer of dust covered all surfaces and there was no sign of
any activity. If anyone was controlling the bots, they weren’t
doing it from this room.
    I’d bet a jar of real pre-war
strawberr ies that
this place is much, much bigger than this room. I smell massive
technology.
    A familiar shape off to the
side shifted his attention from the door. Behind a large autoclave,
lying prone on a table, was the armless torso and head of a bot, an
old pre-war android with bare wiring protruding from its eye
sockets. Dust covered this one as well. He stared at it, questions
crowding in, until he shook his head.
    First things
first.
    The Sergeant was muttering
in his brain, but he already knew what the Sergeant wanted, so he
ignored him. On a nearby bench lay a lightweight ratcheting ring
spanner with a flat screwdriver on the other end. John felt silly holding
it as a weapon, but it was better than his bare hand for now, and
could come in handy against hardware beyond the scope of his
emergency pack.
    Now he approached the door.
To his surprise, it slid upward with a pneumatic hiss, revealing a
long hallway to his left, a short one ahead ending in a door, and
to his right a small alcove with an array of monitors and digital
readout screens. No one was visible, and he dodged quickly across
the hallway to the other door. An observation window was set into
the door, and staying clear of the motion sensor that would actuate
this door, he peered through.
    The room beyond was much
larger, and clearly an android production facility. The lights were
on and he could see several body parts and trays of old bot pieces,
but again the place looked like it hadn’t seen heavy use in some
time. He waved his hand across the motion sensor, curious to
examine the bot remnants in closer detail, but the door remained
shut.
    “ Welcome to Alpha
Facility.”
    It was a woman’s voice,
echoing from somewhere down the long hallway. John spun, eyes darting, and then
peeked cautiously around the corner into the hallway.
    Nothing .
    “ Please come to Level
Two.”
    The voice was perfect.
Cultured and sexy; the rich tone of a professional speech artist.
Re gular women
seldom spoke like that; at least none John
had had the pleasure of meeting. Despite
the uncertainty of the moment, he found himself wondering what she
looked like, and grinned at his own intrepidity.
    “ Just follow the hallway
to your left.”
    This time he traced the
voice to a small intercom mounted in the ceiling, snugly nested in
a hidden alcove alongside what looked like a camera. There were no
cams at his end of the hallway, so it must have picked him up from
that distance. Either someone with very good eyes was monitoring
that exact screen at the time he darted across the hall, or they
had some technology that he had underestimated. Stealth was out of
the question.
    “ There's no need for
apprehension. I am pleased that you are here. Any concerns you may
entertain will be addressed when you reach Level
Two , where we can get better acquainted
with each other .”
    No need for
apprehension? A few steps brought him
directly underneath the intercom.
    “ Who are you?” John asked.
    “ I am Eve.”
    “ Where am I,
Eve?”
    “ You are in Alpha
Facility, Level Five. You must proceed to Level Two for further
information.”
    “ Where am