Chapter XLV: Robot Planet

Chapter XLV: Robot Planet 

“Alright, I want you guys to establish contact with this planet first before we do anything. We don’t even know if they’re friendly towards organics or not.” Serge says. 

“Yes sir.” Ballester says. 

“Don’t f**k this one up, considering how long they’ve been out here, their technology is eons more advanced than ours is, so if you end up in a fight, run. I’m not kidding, f*****g RUN!” 

“Got it boss.” 

“Don’t try to be a hero.” 

“Got it.” 

“Do you? Cause sometimes I wonder.” 

“Yeah, we got it.” 

“Ok, Serge out.” 

“Arizona, contact the planet.” 

“Yes sir.” Arizona says. 

“01010111 01100001 01110010 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100001 00100000 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100101 01110011 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 01100001 00101110 00100000 01010011 01110100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110011 01101001 01101110 01100101 01110011 01110011 00100001” 

“What the f**k was that?” Ballester asks. 

“That was binary dad, the computer language.” Oigres tells him. 

“Oh. Well, Arizona, what did they say?” 

“They said we’re trespassing, and wondering what we’re doing here.” Arizona answers. 

“Tell them we’re explorers and mean no harm.” Arizona transmits the message. A green beam shoots up from the planet and scans the ship. 

“They’re asking if we’re peaceful why are we armed?” 

“Tell them it’s just for self defense, we mean no harm. Manboutu, power off weapons. He does. Another beam sweeps and scans the ship, then an opening appears at the top of the planet. 

“They say we’re clear, but they will send somebody to meet us.” They land the ship inside of the planet and see that it’s a giant city full of and controlled by robots. Before they can exit the ship, they’re boarded by a robot. 

“01001100 01100001 01101110 01100111 01110101 01100001 01100111 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100001 01110100 01110010 01101001 01111000 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110100 01100101 01100011 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111…downloaded. Hello, welcome to our planet. We recommend you wear protective suits, as we lack atmosphere.” 

“Thanks for the warning. Ok, everyone, suit up. Everyone does, and they exit the ship. 

“Welcome to our planet, you are the first organics to visit. Our leader wishes to speak with you.” The group follows the robot to a large building, enter an elevator and head to the top floor. They’re led into a room where an alien is sitting behind a desk. The robot escorting them leaves. The alien takes out a gun, points it at the group, and pulls the trigger, and a wide, green beam scans them. 

“Hello, and welcome to our planet, I am ONE.” The alien says. 

“You don’t look like the rest of the robots here.” Ballester says. 

“We prefer the term automaton. And yes, you are correct. I am designed after my creator. The planet and its race were dying. They were more focused on getting as many resources as they can get from the planet, political power, and staying stuck in the past. My creator made me with the knowledge needed to build a ship, and to build my own planet and its citizens. It took a few thousand years to get it to where we are now, but it was worth it. We’re programmed with emotions, though we don’t feel pain. Many organics have passed by the planet, but nobody was curious enough to stop. You are the first organics I have met since my creator. No other automaton has met an organic before. You claim to be explorers, is that your only reason for being here?” ONE asks. 

“Sorta, we’re looking for allies as well. Me, my son here, and the uh, hot dog guy are from a planet called Earth.” 

“Earth. Located in the Milky Way Galaxy. Approximately 880 million light years away. Population: 6 million not including lesser life forms and flora. Human/Galaxian population.” 

“Yes, my wife here, the blue blind one, and the muscular frog are all Galaxian. Our son is a combination of both.” 

“Galaxians? Yes, I remember when you left your home planet due to pollution.” 

“You were around for that?” Gorgax asks. 

“Yeah, I was still working on my planet back then.” 

“It’s certainly a masterpiece.” 

“So, when did you decide to settle on Earth?” 

“Around a decade ago. We received telemetry that something had occurred on Earth, and when we went to investigate, it was in a state of chaos. The ruler of the planet allowed us to stay after we told him we’ve been roaming the galaxies for thousands of years.” 

“How did you know you could even trust the humans?” 

“We’ve been dealing with their species for a long time. For some reason, we were kept from the public eye and were nothing more than a theory to them, even though we helped jumpstart their species in the first place, but you won’t find our DNA in their ancestry, it was wiped out after the first few hundred generations.” 

“Ah, I see. So, what do you need allies for if you have each other?” 

“We have reason to believe that even though we’ve beaten the Zorkons- twice, I might add, they won’t let that stand. They’ve never lost before, and judging by what we’ve seen, they’re not going to allow us to get away with it, and might retaliate.” 

“Have you tried negotiating with them?” 

“That’s our next mission, but if it fails, we need all the help we can get. Fantasix is on our side, but that’s just one planet in this system. The gas giants can’t do anything, and the Magic Planet, well, we kind of botched that one up.” 

“Yes, I noticed the fighting stopped last week, what happened? That war has been going on since even before I arrived.” 

“We thought we were helping, but we committed accidental genocide.” Gorgax relates the story of Magic Planet. 

“I see. Normally it’s our policy to not get involved in organic affairs, but I know of the Zorkons and the threat they pose. If they were to take over my planet, it could have dire consequences for many galaxies. If and when the time comes, I promise you will have our support.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“Don’t make me regret it.” 

“Is there anything we can do to ensure our promise?” 

“Allow me to put an ambassador on your ship. If your intentions are true, you will have our support. It will record everything you say and do, and I will be watching the whole time.” 

“That’s fine with me, Ballester?” 

“Fine with me too.” Ballester says. 

“Good, I’ll place him on the bridge, where all the action happens.” 

“That’s fine with us.” 

“Good, glad you’re so accommodating. Will you permit us to upgrade your ship with our technology?” 

“That would be amazing!” 

“Yes, yes it would, wouldn’t it? Either defeat or make peace with the Zorkons and you shall have it. I don’t want to risk your ship with our technology ending up in their hands.” 

“Deal.” 

“Good, you can tell your leader that you have Planet 01000001 01110101 01110100 01101111 01101101 01100001 01110100 01101111 01101110 on your side.“ 

“Thank you. But how are we supposed to destroy a whole planet?” 

“When we scanned your ship, we found a warhead capable of disintegrating a planet from the inside out. Aren’t you aware of that fact? It’s why we were reluctant to let you in at first. When you powered down your weapons, we knew you weren’t a threat.” 

“I have no knowledge of such a device, do you, Gorgax?” 

“No, I wasn’t told. Does anyone here know?” Oigres raises his hand. “How come you’re the only one who knows?” 

“It was meant as a last resort. Serge knows how impulsive you guys are, so I was the only one who had knowledge of it, especially since I helped design and build it.” 

“What the f**k, dude?” Ballester asks. 

“I’m sorry, dad, but only I know the codes. Well, Nogal knows too. As Engineer, he would have to load it. He only knows half of the code, I have the other half. If either one of us were to die, Serge would be contacted, and then he’d give you the missing half. Since I can’t die, it would only happen if Nogal met an early fate.” 

“I feel so betrayed.” 

“Come on dad, don’t be like that.” 

“F**k you!” He storms out of the room. 

“I understand.” Gorgax says. “I don’t like it, but I understand.” She follows Ballester. 

“If there is no more business, you too are free to leave.” ONE says. The rest of the group leaves and gets back on the ship. 

“Hello, I am 101, your ambassador. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

“Hello, I’m-” Ballester begins. 

“Ballester Sallone. Age: 39. Species: Human. Gorgax Sallone. Age: 159. Species: Galaxian. Arizona Coast. Age: 123. Species: Galaxian. Manboutu Jomama. Age: 214. Species: Galaxian. Oigres Sallone. Age: 9. Species: Human/Galaxian Hybrid. Chimmy Dawg. Age: 46. Species: Human/Canine/Hot Dog Hybrid. Excuse me while I scan the rest of the crew.” The robot leaves the bridge. 

“Arizona, contact Serge.” Ballester says. 

“Contacting...” Arizona says. 

“How’d it go, guys?” Serge asks over the monitor. 

“We’ve managed to ally ourselves with Planet zero one-uh...” 

“I translated it, sir. It’s Planet Automaton.” 

“Thank you, Arizona. Planet Automaton. They offered to upgrade our ship if we either work something out with the Zorkons or destroy them. They’re worried that if the Zorkons get ahold of their technology, they’ll be unstoppable.” 

“They’re robots, how can they be worried?” 

“They were programed with emotion.” 

“Odd, but ok. So that takes care of this solar system then.” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Then you already know what you’re going to do next.” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Well, good luck, I know you’ll need it. Talk to you when you get there.”