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62 DIDN’T REALIZE HOW exhausted he was until the adrenaline left his system. His muscles twitched wearily from the constant motion of the day. When Tinnie had suggested they catch some sleep while N302 charged, 62 made sure she hadn’t shut off the sensors looking for wild animals, then curled up in a ball and quickly fell asleep.
His dreams came in an overwhelming flurry. It was as if his mind were trying to process everything all at once, leaving 62 standing in a mass of blurred figures and flashes of color that he couldn’t understand. He tried to still his mind. When he was able to narrow his focus, the madness of his dream froze in place, the runny colors of the chaos looking like splotches of spilled paint.
He was dragging his finger through the colors when he spotted the bright light. He reached for it and it came closer. “Hello?”
The small orb expanded to the size of a doorway in the blink of an eye. Pi stood on the other side. “Hello, 62.”
“Hi! How are things?” 62 took a step back, allowing Pi to enter his dream.
“Ticking along smoothly. The new bot says it let a friend of yours visit us, even though he’s flawed.” Pi reached his hands out in front of him, stretching them like rubber bands until they were long enough to pat 62 on the shoulder.
62 took a step back, feeling uneasy about Pi’s rubbery limbs. Pi’s arms simply grew longer. 62 pushed the snakelike arms away and said, “Stuff like that doesn’t matter above ground.”
“It doesn’t? What matters instead?” Pi drew his arms back in, wiggling his fingers as they returned to their normal place.
“Friendship. Loyalty.” 62 shrugged his shoulders. “Stuff like that.”
“Hmm. And how are things going with all that friendship and loyalty?”
“Not great at the moment, to be honest.” 62 shrugged as Pi’s face pinched in concern. “We’re going to fight some bad people. I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out.”
Pi frowned. “Fighting is something only bad Boys do. I thought you were a good Boy.”
“I am a good Boy. We didn’t start it. This other group of people are awful. They show up and—” 62 cut himself short. Not only was he not very close with Pi, but he realized that the younger Boy wouldn’t understand. He shook his head. “You know what? Never mind. It’s complicated.”
“If you were here, I’d probably tell the bots you are planning on misbehaving,” Pi said. The tone hadn’t been malicious. It was simply a fact.
“I know you would. And then they’d fog me to punish me for thinking about it.” 62 frowned and his eyebrows twisted upward. “Or at least, that’s what they used to do. Do the bots still do that?”
Now it was Pi’s turn to frown. “No. It’s disappointing, really. I don’t dream when I’m in the fog. Sometimes I try to get in trouble so maybe they’ll fog me and help me feel normal for a cycle or two.”
There was an awkward silence after Pi’s admission that made 62’s spine tingle. “Do you dream very often?”
“Yes,” Pi said with a sigh. “It’s terribly boring. There’s no one to visit anymore, except you. You’re fine and all, but it was much more fun when there were gobs of imaginations to play with. There was always something to do. Always someone to tattle on.” Pi’s frown turned up into a mischievous grin.
“Everyone needs a hobby,” 62 said sarcastically. He thought about the various things he’d learned to do since leaving Adaline. Above ground, the possibilities were endless. Heck, you could even start a war with some mysterious enemy if you had enough gumption.
The thought gave 62 an idea. “Hey, Pi. You can tattle on me, if you like.”
“Oh? But you aren’t here to be punished. What’s the use in that?”
“Well,” 62 said carefully, “has anyone ever told you there are bots above ground? If you tell the bots in your pod what I’m doing, they’ll send the message up here and one of the above-ground patrol units will discipline me.”
Pi’s eyes sparkled at the idea. “Really? That could happen?”
“Yup. Actually, I’ve only gotten lectured by a bot once today. Seems like I deserve another one, don’t you think?”
Pi nodded and wrung his hands excitedly. “Tell me, what have you done?”
“All my friends and I have decided to have a big fight. We’re attacking a place called Hanford in two-day cycles. The people we’re fighting against are terribly defective. They do bad things all the time.” 62 puffed out his chest proudly. “Tell your Nurse that. Plus, I’m putting myself in harm’s way, on purpose.”
Pi covered his mouth and his eyes went wide with shock. His fingers spread slightly, opening a gap for him to speak through. “Do you think... you’ll be injured?”
“Oh, definitely. And there’s no medical bots where I’m going, so nobody will fix me up, either. It’s terribly dangerous.” 62 grinned. “Do you think you could tell the bots that? See what they’ll do about it?”
“Of course! I don’t think I can wait another minute. I can go right now and tell them, if you like. Get your punishment to you as quick as possible.” Pi created an opening between their consciousnesses and took a step toward it as if he were ready to go. He stopped, foot hanging in midair. “Unless you have anything else to tell me.”
“There is one more thing,” 62 said with a grave nod. “It has to do with someone else who’s been bad. It’ll get them in trouble, too. The bots will be so mad, steam will come out their camera sockets.”
“Really? What is it? Who is it about?” Pi leaned close to 62, hanging on his every word.
“Tell N302 someone called the Oosa’s listening to all her communications. They know everything about her. They shot guns at one of her sentries and put holes all over it.” 62 reached out and touched Pi on the arm. “Do you think you can remember all that?”
Pi grinned. “Yes. You’re putting yourself in danger, and going to fight in two cycles. Something called an Oosa has shot a sentry.” Pi licked his lips nervously. “Is there anything else?”
62 crossed his arms and grinned, pleased with himself. “Tell her I want her to get really mad. There’s a lot of people who need to be disciplined.”