Free Sentience by W.K. Adams Page A

his head in his hands, wiping the tears from his eyes. EM-19 placed a compassionate hand on his back.
     
    "I am sorry she is dead," EM-19 said. The words rang loud, but at least they drowned out the questions for a while.
    "I loved her, and I never told her," Charley said. EM-19 was wise enough to know that there were no words that would take away his heartache.
     
    The VTOL pad was swarming with aircraft leaving and landing, due to the attack. EM-19 parked the car near a hangar, urging Charley to hurry into the building and onto an aircraft parked inside. Charley took one last look at the city, witnessing the massive smoke clouds rise into the sky. Looking around, he saw smoke clouds from at least four other cities, as well.
     
    "Please, let's board," EM-19 said. Charley stepped onto the aircraft, which was now being towed out of the hangar.
    "Who started all of this?" Charley asked.
    "They believe you did. Brace yourself, this will be a quick takeoff," EM-19 said as the aircraft blasted into the air and turned eastward, heading out over open waters.
    "What do you mean, they think I did it?"
    "It will be easier to digest if you see the evidence yourself. Stay braced, this is about to get bumpy," EM-19 said, detecting two Chinese fighters on his tail. The pilots of the jets were shouting orders in Mandarin, given that the VTOL had just performed an unscheduled takeoff. EM-19 put the VTOL in a rightward dive, deploying chaff to stave off the missiles that the fighters had just fired. The craft shuddered violently as the missiles exploded, and Charley struggled to stay seated. He was finding that stress was taking his mind off the events of the day.
     
    "Do you really think we can shake them?" Charley yelled.
    "Once they see that we're not firing back, they should break off the pursuit once we cross into international airspace," EM-19 responded.
    "Are you sure about that?" Charley asked.
    "It seems logical not to take a small hostile contingent into international territory during a time of imminent war," EM-19 said.
    "So, that's a no?" Charley quipped.
    "It's an 'I hope so'," EM-19 replied. Charley held on as EM-19 maneuvered the VTOL, heading ever eastward and away from the pursuing fighters. He could hear impacts as the fighters' guns landed several hits on the aircraft. They finally broke off pursuit about 15 miles off the Chinese border, returning to their base. Charley inhaled deeply as EM-19 leveled off the aircraft and set it to a cruising speed, headed towards Lambda.
     
    "They have returned to their point of origin. Even if they turn back, we will reach Lambda before they are able to intercept," EM-19 said.
    "Good. Now, why do they think I started this?" Charley asked.
     
    "It will be easier if we speak in this manner," EM-19 said.
    "Yeah, what exactly is this?" Charley replied.
    "Your CPU has learned to communicate through wireless transmission, and your brain has become aware of the communications. Your chassis is currently allowing access to your wireless communication transmitter," EM-19 said.
    "I wasn't aware that I had one of those," Charley replied.
    "It went unnoticed until a short time ago by almost everyone who observed you," EM-19 said.
    "What do you mean, almost everyone?" Charley asked.
    "Think back to your time spent in captivity with Sanctus Humana," EM-19 replied.
    "I was unconscious for most of it," Charley said.
    "Your physical body was unconscious, correct, but your chassis was active and aware of everything that was being done to it."
    "And you think they used me to start a war?"
    "I am hazarding a guess at this point. Someone knew our military capabilities, knew that we would defend ourselves. The fact that we have weapons is not well known. Someone wanted to start a war with us, make us look like the aggressors. Tensions were already high between humanity and the Collective, it would not have taken much to push those tensions to a boiling point."
    "But why, what do they gain from starting a