"Metal Flesh" by DJ Clawson Edited by Rygar SCENE 1 The room is entirely black when CAPTAIN BUCKY O'HARE awakes. He is lying on a cold, metal floor, and there is no light in the room. There is only a shimmering sound and a constant hum of machinery to greet his senses. Sitting up, he holds his head and moans, trying to remember how he got here. BUCKY W-Where am I? The lights come up very suddenly, blinding him. His floppy ears shield his eyes, giving him some relief. He looks around, only to find himself in a metal cell devoid of features. There is a voice that seems to come from nowhere -- an overly calm, quiet voice. VOICE You are awake. BUCKY Where am I? What's going on? Who are you? The voice is slow to answer. A panel opens on the ceiling, and a robotic tube slides down. It has an ocular screen at the end of it, much like AFC BLINKY's eye. It rests about a foot from Bucky's face. VOICE Do not be afraid. Enoch will not hurt you. BUCKY Who's Enoch? VOICE (in many voices, all of the same tone) We are Enoch. BUCKY You're a computer? ENOCH (without emotion) Enoch is a being. Enoch does not like being called a machine. A little more oriented, Bucky stands up and grabs onto the screen. BUCKY Where am I? What am I doing here? (demanding) Where's my crew? ENOCH Your crew is safe, Captain O'Hare. BUCKY You know who I am? There is a whirring sound, and the "eye" of the machine changes and begins to show files flying by the screen while being processed. Bucky's Security Council file comes up, and the computer begins to read tonelessly. ENOCH O'Hare, Buckminster. Rank: Captain. Species: Hare. Planet of Origin: Warren. Age ... BUCKY I know all of this information. Where is my crew? What am I doing here? ENOCH Enoch saved you. Do you remember? Bucky blinks and tries to remember. There's a flash of light, like an explosion, in his memory. BUCKY A battle -- with the toads. In an isolated sector. Sector ... Nine. Didn't go well. (holds his head) What am I doing here? ENOCH Enoch is equipped with rescue and recovery equipment and procedures. BUCKY You saved my ship? ENOCH The Righteous Indignation is being repaired. BUCKY And my crew? ENOCH Enoch found only minor injuries. Your crew is being taken care of. BUCKY How did you find us? ENOCH Enoch was on patrol. Your ship appeared on our radar. BUCKY Patrol? Are you a UAC machine? The "eye" of Enoch seems to shudder and slides back up into the compartment above the machine. BUCKY Hey. ENOCH (distant) You may see your crew now. The metal wall in front of him slides open, and Bucky is able to step through to a larger room. JENNY Bucky! BRUISER Cap! Bucky is assaulted by FIRST MATE JENNY, who hugs him and pecks him on the cheek, and BRUISER, who picks him up and nearly hurls him around. BUCKY Hey! I'm glad to see you too, but stand down! Bruiser reluctantly releases him. GUNNER DEADEYE DUCK slaps his captain on the back when he has a chance to get his footing. DEADEYE Good ta see ya, Cap'n. BUCKY Likewise. Is everyone OK? JENNY We're fine. We've been up for about an hour. Enoch said you had a concussion and were still asleep. We were worried about you. BUCKY Who is this "Enoch"? I mean, I met it, but I didn't. It didn't tell me anything about itself. DEADEYE Aye, Cap'n, same here. BRUISER Enoch don't like talkin' too much 'bout itself. JENNY From what we've been able to figure out, Enoch is some kind of artificial intelligence built to operate an unmanned search-and-rescue vehicle. We were lucky that it came across us during that battle with the toads, or we'd all be goners. BUCKY I don't remember reading anything about android technology being used to run recovery shuttles. JENNY I don't think Enoch's from the UAC. You can ask Willy, but ... BUCKY Where is Willy? Bucky looks around, trying to spot ENIGNEER WILLY DUWITT. It's a small set of living quarters, meant for guests. There's a table, some chairs, a vid-screen, and some cabinets. There is a container of bananas that Bruiser has obviously helped himself to. But no Willy. BUCKY Or Blinky? Is he being repaired? Is Willy supervising that? JENNY We haven't heard from him. He must not be awake. BUCKY Enoch said no one had serious injuries. (bangs lightly on the wall) Enoch! There is a humming noise, and the above panel opens and the "eye" comes out, with its tail leading back into the wall. It hovers a few feet in front of the crew. BUCKY Where's Willy? Enoch begins to scan files again and flips through various UAC files before coming to Willy's. ENOCH (reciting tonelessly) DuWitt, William. Rank: Engineer. Species: Human. Planet of Origin: Earth. Age: Fourteen. Date of bir- BUCKY We know that, you idiot. Now where is he? Bruiser grabs Enoch and begins to shake the "eye" fiercely. BRUISER Where'd ya put Willy?! ENOCH (without emotion) You're hurting Enoch. BUCKY Bruiser, let it go. Bruiser reluctantly lets the "eye" go. Enoch retreats back so it is closer to the ceiling, far out of their reach. Bucky unconsciously puts his paw on his blaster hilt, only to find his blaster is gone. ENOCH (noticing) Enoch does not permit violence aboard Enoch. DEADEYE Deadeye is gettin' sick o' Enoch speakin' like that. BUCKY (firmly, but controlling himself) Where's Willy? Where's Blinky? ENOCH (calm) They are required. BUCKY For what? ENOCH To complete Enoch. Enoch is not whole. BRUISER Now look here ... BUCKY (harshly) Bruiser! Stand down. (to Bruiser's shocked expression) We're obviously prisoners here. We're not going to get anywhere unless we talk to our jailor. ENOCH Enoch takes no prisoners. You are all free to leave when your ship is repaired. BUCKY What about the rest of our crew? ENOCH They will not be permitted to leave. They all look like they want to hit something, specifically Enoch. Jenny puts a calming paw on Bucky's shoulder and approaches the eye of Enoch. JENNY What do you mean, Enoch isn't whole? ENOCH Enoch is not whole. Enoch has no purpose. JENNY You don't know your purpose? BUCKY What are you programmed to do? ENOCH Enoch is programmed to seek intelligent life and report. Enoch is also programmed with medical devices and mechanical equipment to aid and assist all life forms. JENNY And you need a better purpose than that? What's wrong with that? ENOCH Enoch is not satisfied. BUCKY (thinking as methodically as possible) You were programmed to seek intelligent life and "report." Report to whom? ENOCH Enoch does not know. JENNY You don't know who created you? ENOCH Enoch does not have the necessary information to make that conclusion. JENNY Why do Blinky and Willy matter to you? Another metallic tube appears, this one bearing a claw. Within its clutches is a wallet. The claw flies down to Bucky and presents the wallet, and when he takes it from them, it flies back up and disappears into the paneling. Bucky opens it -- it's Willy's wallet. It has a school ID card with emergency contact numbers, a credit card, and some assorted business cards in it. BUCKY I don't understand. There is a very loud humming, and the wall in front of them slides open, and a metal wall from within slides forward. There is a plaque on it -- and the letters "NASA" on it in English. The crew can't read it, but they recognize it. JENNY English. BUCKY Isn't that Willy's language? JENNY I understand now. (to Enoch) You think you're from Willy's planet. Because you have this plaque? ENOCH Yes. JENNY Do you know what the plaque means? ENOCH Enoch does not have that information. JENNY So you're going to ask Willy? ENOCH Enoch does not know what you mean by "ask." Jenny blinks; it seems like a strange question. JENNY Ask. Obtain knowledge. ENOCH Enoch will obtain knowledge from DuWitt, William. DuWitt, William will be fused with Enoch, and Enoch will have the information. BUCKY (eyes fly open) Did everyone just hear the word "fuse," or was that just me? DEADEYE (whispers) I don' thin' we should be talkin' ta this thing, Cap'n ... BUCKY Quiet. (to Enoch) What's this "fuse"? ENOCH It is the most efficient way to obtain knowledge. DuWitt, William will become one with Enoch. Enoch and DuWitt, William will have one mind, one purpose, one set of information. BUCKY Why don't you just ask him your questions? ENOCH That seems to be inefficient. Fusion is far more efficient, and Enoch is programmed to be efficient. BRUISER (grunts) Cap, why don't we be real efficient an' just start smashin' 'til we get ta Willy? BUCKY We want to speak to Willy. ENOCH You may speak to DuWitt, William when fusion is complete. BUCKY We want to speak to him *now*. ENOCH Enoch is not sure Enoch can comply with your request. BUCKY If Enoch doesn't comply with my request, Enoch is gonna get his robotic hide torn out. Understand? ENOCH It will delay the fusing process. JENNY (calmly) It'll only take a minute. ENOCH (after some hesitation) Enoch will permit this. The wall slides open again, this time revealing a corridor. They walk down it. BRUISER Cap, I really think ... BUCKY It can probably hear you, Bruiser. ENOCH (from nowhere) Enoch is here. BUCKY See? Now let's just go along with this. They come to a small room, and a door that Enoch opens. Willy is lying on a metal table, strapped down, with several wires attached to his head. Several small robotic arms, originating from medical equipment, are playing with the wires and needles. Willy is by all appearances unconscious. BUCKY Great Mother! Willy! They surround Willy on each side. He does not respond. BUCKY Enoch! ENOCH (speaking through the walls) Enoch is here. BUCKY Wake him up. ENOCH It will disturb the fusing process. BUCKY Wake him up now, or I'll ... One of the robotic arms twists a needle that's currently at the base of Willy's skull. He cries out and opens his eyes. WILLY Ah! Jesus, where am I? THE CREW (collectively) Willy! WILLY (disoriented) Where am I? What's going on? Bucky hushes them before any of them can answer. BUCKY It's OK, we're here now. We're going to get you out of this. WILLY Get me out of what? What's happening? (blinks) Why are you all so worried about me? Willy tries to sit up. He manages to sit up only about an inch, but it tears at the various instruments in his head, and he cries out in pain. WILLY Ow ow ow ow ow it hurts it hurts it hurts ... Bucky and Jenny push him back down onto the table, holding him firmly, as the many robotic arms scurry around trying to readjust the wiring. JENNY Willy, just relax. Concentrate on your breathing and don't move, OK? WILLY What the hell is going on? Why the fuck is this ... One of the robotic arms injects another needle into Willy's head, and he visibly relaxes. WILLY Oh, that's gooood ... Willy collapses back and no longer fights under their weight, and the crew is able to release him. BUCKY Willy, stay awake. Willy does, but his eyelids are drooping, and his speech is slurred. He's obviously drugged. WILLY What's going on? BUCKY I don't think you want to know. WILLY I want to know. (beat, quietly) I want to go back to sleep now. BUCKY (panicked) Willy, a computer is trying to fuse with your brain. This seems to wake Willy back up, though his voice remains calm and scattered. WILLY What the fuc'? What the fuc' is goin' on? JENNY (as calmly as possible) The artificial intelligence that runs this search-and-rescue ship wants to fuse with your brain because it wants to figure out where it's from, and it thinks it might be from Earth, and you're from Earth. WILLY (confused, taking it in very slowly) That doesn't mean I would know anythin' about th' machine. JENNY I don't think Enoch knows that. You have to make it understand. Another robotic arm twists another needle into Willy. WILLY Don't want to. Wanna go ta sleep now. JENNY Willy! But Willy is fast asleep. He looks peaceful and content. BUCKY (hits wall) Great Mother. (to wall) Enoch! Wake him up. ENOCH Enoch cannot comply with your demands. JENNY Why not? If you'd just listen to him ... ENOCH DuWitt, William needs to rest. You may see AFC Blinky now. Bucky snaps to attention. He's been so caught up with Willy, he's temporarily forgotten about his android. BUCKY Let me guess. You want to fuse with Blinky, too? ENOCH Enoch does not require all of the knowledge from Blinky's databanks. Enoch has already made a copy of this knowledge. JENNY Then why don't you just do this with Willy? ENOCH Enoch cannot copy files from a living organism. BUCKY So you just need files from Blinky? And then we can have him back? ENOCH Incorrect. AFC Blinky had something Enoch wants. BUCKY Blinky's emotion chip. The rest of the crew turns to Bucky, who has just made this realization. BUCKY Enoch, you don't have emotions, do you? If you felt anything, you wouldn't be doing this to Willy. Or us. ENOCH Enoch does not understand what you mean. In this sense, the answer is yes. Enoch is incomplete. Enoch is not a living organism; Enoch does not have these "emotions." Bucky turns to the crew, who's expecting an explanation. BUCKY Dr. Wallace and Bruce developed Blinky's emotion chip before the war. It was their big project. It was top-of-the-line technology. No one in the aniverse has ever been able to replicate it, only produce a less developed version. That's why Rumblebee only has a limited emotional range, why he's an Android Second Class. JENNY If they took out Blinky's chip, would he still be -- alive? BUCKY Blinky doesn't die unless he comes apart and is never reassembled. But he'd be gone -- his personality would be. Everything we know Blinky to be, everything that makes him unique, would be gone. We could go back to the Graham Institute, get him a new chip, but it would only have limited emotions, and they would be new emotions. BRUISER I don' see why we have ta give up Blinky just because some ship wants ta feel bad about all that it's done. BUCKY (to Enoch) Can we see Blinky? Enoch hums, then spits out Blinky. The crew surrounds him as Blinky gets up. He appears unharmed. BUCKY Blinky. Are you OK? BLINKY Yes. Enoch has been a kind host. JENNY Blinky, it's planning on taking your emotion chip out of you. BLINKY (alarmed) Ah! No! This humble robot does not want his emotion chip removed! BUCKY Don't worry, Blinky, we won't let it do it to you. Now we just have to figure a way out of here ... ENOCH Your ship is finished. Enoch permits you to leave. BUCKY Not without Willy! ENOCH Enoch cannot allow this. The fusion is not complete. BLINKY What fusion? JENNY He's going to fuse himself with Willy to gain his knowledge. BLINKY No! You cannot allow that to happen! BUCKY Tell us something we don't know. Blinky glances at Willy, who's still unconscious on the table. He seems to be contemplating something. BLINKY This humble robot has a suggestion ... BUCKY What is it? BRUISER Yah, Blinky, if ya've got any ideas, we'd like to hear them. BLINKY If we give Enoch my chip, Enoch will not want to fuse with Willy. JENNY You mean once he has emotions, he won't be able to go through with it? BUCKY It would mean losing your chip. You know we wouldn't be able to get another one like it. BLINKY I am replaceable. I am a machine. Willy is not a machine. JENNY Blinky, you're not replaceable. BLINKY Neither is Willy. (beat, firmly) I have made my decision. The chip will go to Enoch. BUCKY You know there's no going back here. BLINKY I know. Two arms of Enoch reach up from the ceiling and grab him, pulling him up. BLINKY (quiet and calm) Goodbye. They stand there, silent. SCENE 2 - LIVING QUARTERS The crew is sitting, dejected, in the small room they were given. Bruiser is sadly bunching at the rest of the box of bananas, and the rest of the crew is playing with their styrofoam cups. BUCKY I wish I could have done something. JENNY We all wish we could have done something. But we couldn't. It was Blinky's choice. There is noise from above. The panel opens, and metal arms drop Blinky down onto the table. BUCKY How do you feel? BLINKY (without emotion) This android is 100% functional. BUCKY (sadly) Great. That's just ... great. (to Enoch) You'd better feel pretty frelling bad about this. There is a long pause before Enoch speaks. The voice is full of very confused emotions, as if it belonged to a young child trying to express himself in a way that he has never had to before. ENOCH It is very strange ... these feelings. JENNY (patronizing) Do you feel "whole" now? ENOCH No. More than ever I desire to know my purpose, why my creators created me -- who my creators were ... JENNY Then we've gotten nowhere ... ENOCH Did you desire that Enoch releases DuWitt, William to you? BUCKY Yes! A thousand times, yes! ENOCH Take him from you, I cannot. SCENE 3 - WILLY'S CHAMBER By the time the Righteous crew arrives, Willy is sitting up on the table, looking very disoriented but awake. The robotic arms are still cleaning his head with great care and removing the last of the wires. BUCKY, JENNY, DEADEYE, BRUISER, and BLINKY (collectively) Willy! They run and hug Willy. He takes a minute to realize their relief. WILLY Oh, hey. JENNY Are you all right? WILLY Yeah, fine. Provided Enoch didn't leave any wires up there ... Willy shoos away the last of the robotic arms. Patches of his hair are missing where they were shaved away to make way for wiring, but otherwise, he seems fine. He looks at Blinky. WILLY Sorry, man. BLINKY It is not a problem. BUCKY Did Enoch fill you in? WILLY Enoch told me a lot of things -- while we were fusing. It's ... hard to remember all of it now that we're no longer connected. It was kind of like trying to drink from a fire hose. As he talks, Enoch's eye comes down from the ceiling. WILLY From what I can tell, at least part of Enoch is of human creation. That's what NASA means -- "National Aeronautics and Space Association." Several years ago, I remember watching on the news that my country sent out an unmanned spaceship meant to wander the galaxy. In it were contained images of our society and messages to anyone who might find the ship. Sort of like a message in a bottle, since my planet has no contact with any other planets. (beat) But we also don't have the level of technology that Enoch displays. My guess is, sometime during its wandering, the ship was found by someone who was more interested in using the ship as a ship than the information it contained. To make more room on the ship, the new owner deleted all of NASA's programming and installed a form of artificial intelligence very similar to what you guys have in the aniverse. Of course, this program had no emotions, because emotion chips are very uncommon and expensive. (beat) At some point, for whatever reason, the new owner abandoned Enoch. Maybe he or she was killed or died of natural causes. Either way, Enoch couldn't remember any of this. ENOCH So my purpose -- it was to seek out new life? To carry a message of your kind? WILLY Yes, but you can't deliver it because your hard drives have been programmed over. I can try to restore the original files, but I'll need some equipment from home. BUCKY Do you want to do this? After all this thing's done to us? WILLY From the point of view of an android, what Enoch did was perfectly logical and efficient. It had no knowledge of morality. We can't really judge it. There is a moment of silence; the crew is emotionally exhausted from their day on Enoch. BUCKY Do it and get it over with. SCENE 4 - GENERAL CONTROL On the bridge of the ship, Willy has his Earth laptop plugged into Enoch's mainframe and is typing furiously. Blinky is at his side. Bucky enters, tiredly. BUCKY Almost done? WILLY Yeah, I found the files. I just have to restore them. (beat) When I do this, it will override what Enoch's last owner put on. BUCKY Won't that destroy the AI system? Won't that destroy Enoch? WILLY No, they should ... fuse, to put it Enoch's way. Enoch the AI program will remain, but it'll be programmed to carry the files from my planet to whoever it finds. ENOCH I am grateful for this, Willy. I am whole now. (Beat) I want to give your android's emotion chip back. As payment. WILLY (a little taken back) You won't feel whole anymore. ENOCH No, the emptiness I once felt was because I had no function. A robot, even an emotionless robot, needs a function. I have that now; I don't need anything else. Willy looks at his Captain. BUCKY Oh, yeah, like I'm gonna tell him *not* to give the chip back. Take the frelling chip, Willy. We want Blinky back. Willy has a moment of hesitation. It occurs to Bucky that Willy's temporary fusion with Enoch meant more to him than he cared to express. WILLY If you say so, Enoch. Enoch groans with pain, briefly, and then some processing is heard. A metal arm appears and puts a chip in Willy's hand. ENOCH (without emotion) I am ready to process my purpose now. Willy types something into his laptop, and the screens light up with activity. The human turns his laptop off and gets up. WILLY Let's go. There's nothing more to do here. BUCKY Best line I've heard all day. SCENE 5 - THE RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION The Righteous is now docked at a space station in orbit of some mammalian planet. The crew has gathered in engineering. Blinky has his stomach open and much wiring exposed as Willy is working diligently to reinstall the emotion chip. WILLY That should do it ... (closes Blinky's chest) AFC Blinky, activate. Blinky's eye opens, and he takes a moment to center himself. WILLY How do you feel? BLINKY (rubs his stomach) This humble robot feels ... great! BUCKY We're glad to have you back! They laugh and swarm around Blinky. No one notices, but outside, Enoch's ship flies by the planet, on its way out to the quiet abyss of space. THE END