The Replicated Man

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens onto ruin and rust, buildings blown apart and left for time and sun and God alone knows what else to work them over. Ellen wrinkles her nose as she holds the door open. "Sorry about the smell," she says, "but nobody lives here except ghouls and a couple of bandit types. We'll be heading west to get you that armor and stop at Big Town; the doctor there gave me one of those holotapes."

Comments

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard frowns at that, but then turns back to Red.

"What about the guard robots? Are they still here?"

He's no tech, but if they haven't broken down too much since the guy left, maybe he and Ellen can get something out of them.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Sure, they're back in the scrapyard," Red says. "Deactivated, but there should be a spare battery for them. You're welcome to them both, after everything you've done."

"Thank you, Red," Ellen says. "We'd better go have a look at these robots, then."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard nods thanks at Red, and then nods again at Ellen in assent.

'Robots.' Replicants were supposed to be 'More Human Than Human.' At least that's what Tyrell Corporation said, and they kept an army of marketers around to make that point 24/7. By now hearing somebody say 'robot' couldn't help but sound wrong to his ears. Deckard wondered if the robots on this world would be as primitive in his eyes as the word made them sound.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Bluntly put? Yes. Oh, yes.

Ellen kneels next to the deactivated bipedal one anyway. "This is a Protectron," she says. "They're not very bright, but they're capable of basic tasks without interfering with the humans around them, and they're okay on area defense. I've only ever seen the other one in a simulation, though. If the real thing is like the ones in the sim, it's got a Gatling laser built into one arm and a missile launcher in the other. That one would've been most of the town's defenses, I think."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard stops and blinks for a second.

"Industrial design. You see models like this on the big construction projects. And the Outworld Colonies that haven't been terraformed yet. Don't usually run into them myself."

He walks up to take a closer look. "Gatling laser, huh? Missile launcher.... Sounds like they'd come in handy."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "I've been to the factory where the Protectrons were made before the War," she says. "There were several old ones still on display. They had a lot of uses, mostly for basic security and low-ranking army work. We had two guarding the storeroom in Vault 101, where I grew up, and there's one at the gates of Megaton, where I live now."

She considers the sentry bot a moment, then fumbles around with its torso.

"There's got to be a powerplant in here or something. Maybe we can get it active long enough to tell us where it came from..."

(Or maybe there might be a name etched on the Protectron, if someone who's not too distracted by fooling around with an unfamiliar robot's innards might happen to be looking.)

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Which is why Deckard is the one who notices something on one of the robots:

"The name 'Wollinski' mean anything to you?"

He taps the plate on which the name is etched.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Hm?" Ellen glances up. "Actually, yeah... Scott Wollinski's a robot technician, out in Canterbury Commons. He likes his robots so much he kind of went off his rocker for a while when one of them got destroyed. I think he's one of two people in the whole Wasteland who specializes in just working with robots..."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

"Looks like we've found one of his then." Deckard glances at the other unit. "Maybe two."

"So if he cares about them so much.... What are these two doing here?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He was a mechanic," Ellen says thoughtfully. "I don't know if he signed his work, or if he just sold parts..." She shakes her head. "He went crazy a few months ago because of his favorite. This might have been one he didn't need."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

"His favorite, huh?" Deckard shakes his head slightly.

"You run into that sometimes. Human gets attached to a replicant. After a while, some people forget how to tell the difference."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Are they all that common?" Ellen asks curiously. "Or is it just that you work with them a lot, so you see it a lot?"

After all, as far as Ellen's upbringing went, she got the idea that broken limbs and alcoholism were very common- because people kept coming to her father with them.

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

"Not on Earth. Not unless someone's done a lot of paperwork."

Deckard frowns. "Or they've got money and connections."

"But the Outworld Colonies see a lot of it. Especially the ones with more replicants than people."


Get out beyond the asteroid belt and just about everything gets really weird.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "It must be really something," she says almost wistfully. "Having anything up in space, whole other colonies... I used to read about stuff like that in comic books."

She dusts off her gauntleted hands and looks around.

"We should probably see if we can't get to Canterbury Commons before dark. That's where he lives, unless he's gotten all dramatic about his misguided life as a crazy superhero and wandered off to do penance or something. And if he's done that, it's at least a place we can start looking."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard gives her a funny look. Then changes his mind and smirks.

"Sounds good to me."

One thing's for sure. He doesn't want to spend the night out in the open around here.

"Crazy superhero? This guy into power suits too?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He built himself a suit from scrapmetal once," Ellen says. "With a helmet that was supposed to look like a robot's head. It looked more like a bucket with some parts added on. I guess it might've deflected a few bullets, but it really wasn't good for much more than making people laugh at the sight. Mostly he used his other robots to fight the woman who thought giant ants ought to take over the world."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Ok, now that funny look is back, as Deckard falls into step with her toward what must be the direction of the Commons.

After a few minutes, Deckard buttons up his trench coat, but he's not sure if that cold wind he's feeling is real or just his imagination.

"How much farther is it?" he asks, eyeing the horizon. "Looks like it's starting to get dark."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"We're almost there." Ellen nods towards a ridge up ahead. "See the water tower sticking out up there? That's the tower for Canterbury. We just have to get up there and we're set. There might even be a caravan in town, now that the fighting's been stopped."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard looks where she's pointing and then nods. "See it."

Before long the ground begins to slope up slightly. For once Deckard is glad he spends so much time running around the city. He's in good shape, even by Blade Runner standards.

"Caravan?"

"Good place to hide if you need to keep on the move."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Uncle Roe, the man who's pretty much the mayor here, organized the major trade caravans in the area," she says. "That's why it was so important to stop the fighting in the streets- the caravans weren't coming as long as the battling was going on. I've lost track of who's due in town next..."

Well, from the look of things as they finally crest the ridge and come up on the outskirts of town, there most assuredly is a caravan on the premises. Two leather-clad men with assault rifles, a similarly armored man with a be-goggled cap, and a ... well, it's a cow the size of a Corvega (that's a Buick to our readers from worlds with microchips and transistors). It's got two heads. It's loaded down with tied bundles of armor and the like, but it is most definitely a cow with two heads under all that.

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

Deckard isn't sure which bothers him more: the fact that he's looking at a two-headed cow, or the fact that it doesn't seem even close to the weirdest thing he's seen that day.

He nods at the caravan. "Do they take passengers? Travelers? Or do you have to be a member of their team to go around with them?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Lucky Harith the weapons merchant once took a passenger for me," Ellen says. "He was headed to Rivet City and he took on a small boy who had family there. I get the feeling that they're more likely to take travelers if they can fight, though... This guy's Crow. He used to be a tribal, but he sells armor across the Wasteland now like any other merchant."

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

"Ok." So depending on how well they can get along with the caravan team, they might have to make sure the android isn't around the Commons before it heads out.

There's so much broken wreckage around this place, Deckard is surprised there are so many buildings still standing. But even with all the rubble, at least this still looks like a settlement. Mostly.

"So where are we going to find this Wollinski guy?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Ah, you want Scott, the town mechanic," says Crow, looking up with a smile. "Pardon me, but I couldn't help but overhear. Mr. Wollinski's taken up residence in the garage behind Joe's Diner now that he's no longer distracted by... other things."

Ellen nods, and glances at her companion. "Thanks," she says. "Say- I've been looking for a helmet for a while... Mr. Deckard, would you mind going on ahead? I'll catch up with you as soon as I'm done here, I promise. You can't miss the diner, it's right down the main street." (The only street, to be honest, but.)

[replicant-cop.livejournal.com]

"...Sure," Deckard replies.

He gives them both a nod and then heads for the diner. Crow might have more to tell them, but with night coming on, Deckard has a feeling he won't be able to count on the sort of street lights that always turned nocturnal Los Angeles into a neon wonderland. Or nightmare, depending on who you asked.

The ground crunches underfoot, and the diner is just as smashed to pieces as he figured it would be. It didn't help that the place reminded him so much of his favorite noodle bar back home.

He's about to take a step into the place when he hears a clank of metal on metal from out back. From the garage?

Deckard thumbs the safety on his gun and draws it halfway out of its holster as he moves around the diner, keeping close to the wall as he steps forward for a look at whatever's behind it.