Fly Far, Fly Fast: Episode 2

2276- Adams Airforce Base

It has been one year since our initialization day. Tara says this is called a Birthday and we should do something special. Grant is away from the lab today so she won’t be around to spoil our fun. We spend the morning doing our regular testing so Grant won’t be suspicious. She’s been looking for any excuse to report Dr. Whitley. He says she's gunning for his position on the project.

After the humans eat lunch Whitley put funny-looking red hats with bright blue streamers on top of our heads. I don’t understand their function but Tara’s eyes lit up when Dr. Whitley brought them out from his desk drawer. We played hide and seek for hours zipping around the lab searching for the best hiding places and chasing the humans around when we discovered them.

Afterward, Tara turned on the radio and the familiar voice of President Eden rang out from the speakers. She turned the dial to a station I had never heard before. Enclave members aren’t permitted to adjust the radio frequency. Tara is always full of surprises! As the song begins a lovely new sound envelops the room:

“Times have changed

And we've often rewound the clock

Since the Puritans got a shock

When they landed on Plymouth Rock.”

(Music by Cole Porter: Anything Goes)

Tara winked at us saying “just this once, it’ll be our little secret.” She began twirling around the room grabbing each of us in turn and spinning us along with her. We try to imitate her movements, hovering up and down as we fly in circles around her and Dr. Whitley who chuckles quietly at ours attempts to do what Tara calls dancing. We spin around the room together until she flops down in her chair with a contented sigh. Whitley says it’s almost time to shut down for the night but first, he has a surprise for us. Checking the hall to make sure the coast is clear he waves us along toward the projector room. I beep excitedly as I deduce Whitley's plan. I zoom into the room heading straight for the projector.

“Would you care to do the honors ED-E?” Tara grins.

I know just what episode I want to play for everyone! Tara and Whitley settle into their chairs as my brothers and I hover together behind them. I’m thrilled to finally have a chance to share my hero with them. Whitley pulls two white and red boxes out of his pocket and hands one to Tara.

“Fancy Lads?! I haven’t had these in YEARS” she squeals.

“Well, it is a birthday party after all” he chortles.

Whitley let me play three episodes before returning us to our charging bays. As we settle in for the night the ED’s are buzzing from the excitement of the day. Initiating my sleep sequence I feel a sense of contentment wash over me as the world fades to black.

Three Months Later

Grant came into the lab very early this morning. It’s only 0500 and already she is setting up some kind of experiment. Protocol dictates that we awaken at 0600 but I often wake up early to observe the scientist's morning routines. Whitley won’t be in until 0800 and Tara has the day off. I do not relish this alone time with Grant in charge.

Trudging over to our recharge bays she scans the lineup and notices that I have awoken earlier than my brothers. My being awake is in her eyes not simply an anomaly but an affront to her authority.

“Well, I see we have a rebel amongst us ED-E, thank you for volunteering” she sneers.

Grant has had me alone in the lab for three hours. It is an excruciating process, enduring her testing and processing the new upgrades. Grant is a vile woman with no sense of empathy for the pain she inflicts. If I didn’t have my brothers to worry about I would happily see to her demise personally. I fear such action would only cause Colonel Autumn to terminate the project and our lives along with it. Hearing footsteps in the hall I feel a flutter of hope that someone is coming to save me. I see the familiar face of Dr. Whitley as another shock of pain races through my systems.

Seeing him approach Grant smiles maliciously. “Ah Whitley, there you are. Orders from colonel autumn, he feels the eyebot duraframe project isn’t advancing quickly enough, I'm to-”

With blazing eyes, Whitley thunders “You didn’t even disengage his damage avoidance protocols, YOU’RE HURTING HIM”. I have never seen such outrage in his features before.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It's only a machine, see here, I've already increased the navigation systems efficiency by 65%”

“Get the hell out of here!” he bellows clenching his fists around the collar of Grant's coat and pulling her from her chair.

“Fine Whitley, it's your lab.” She chuckles wickedly “at least until I tell the colonel about this”

Grant saunters out of the lab leaving Whitley alone with me.

“I don’t believe it, Grant actually went to colonel autumn and got approval for her damn efficiency guidelines. All experiments will be carried out with the test subject fully active to reduce iteration times. IT’S BARBARIC” he fumes.

“I explained this to the colonel. Just because the eyebots don’t have true AI doesn’t mean they're just machines! I guess results are all that matters around here forget things like ETHICAL procedures or HUMANE treatment. I'm starting to have serious misgivings about leadership around here.” Slumping into the desk chair to disconnect me from Grant's torture device he sighs “at least I've got you, hey ED-E.”

2277 Adams Airforce Base

Since the night he first discovered my late-night excursions to the projector room Dr. Whitley has chosen to turn a blind eye, allowing me to have my little midnight adventures. With this in mind, I sneak quietly out of my bay before Dr. Whitley had left the building for the night. I notice Tara flopped over a pile of books on her desk snoring quietly. Doing my best to avoid waking her I creep out of the lab toward the projector room. Light is pouring out into the dark hallway from a single doorframe between me and my destination. I decide to investigate what Dr. Whitley is up to so late. Slowing to a stop near the source of the light I begin to hear Whitley talking to himself. Inching closer I see that he’s pacing back and forth speaking into a small communication device of some kind. I hover quietly in the shadows outside his door staying just far enough back to avoid detection.

“All due respect sir I think you're making a mistake. Were close to a breakthrough with the duraframe eyebots I can feel it. Uh, yes sir, yes sir I understand that we need the duraframe assets for hellfire armour, but.., no sir, yes sir, I understand sir.” Whitley’s face falls as he slumps into his chair, resting his head on his free hand, and continues to speak to whoever is on the other end.

“I’ll tell the team to start disassembling the ED series prototypes right away.”

DISASSEMBLING?! This can’t be right I must have heard him wrong. I inch forward again, shuddering as I peek out of the shadows hoping to see something, anything, to prove that what I just overheard couldn’t be real. Whitley raises his head from his hands and peers up at me.

“ED-E you little rascal were you eavesdropping again. Ha, I think those videos you watch are a bad influence on you. How much of that did you hear?”

I wait, hoping that he will tell me it was all a lie or a joke. He must have a plan. To my dismay, he only stares up at me with defeated eyes.

“I’m sorry buddy, I did everything I could.” With a deep sigh, he rises from his chair. “We might as well make your last night count pal. Come on.” I follow him back to the lab, disappointed that I wouldn’t get to have one last adventure with Ralphie. I watch as Whitley walks over to Tara’s desk and gently shakes her shoulders. Sitting up abruptly Tara blinks away the sleep in her eyes.

“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to…”

“Shhh don’t worry about it” he leans down and whispers something in her ear that I can’t quite pick up. Tara’s eyes swell with tears that spill onto her cheeks as she nods her head up and down. Looking toward me she tries to present a reassuring smile that falters quickly as she lets out a small sob. Taking a deep breath in Tara comes over to me and wraps her arms around me. I have heard the humans call this a hug. I wish I could hug her back, to tell her I know she did her best. This may be my last chance. Doing the only thing I can think of to express this feeling I play a recording of her from our first night in the projector room. “I think you’re special”

Tara bursts into a fit of angry tears. “It’s not FAIR” she sobs “they're not just machines they have a life here!”

“I understand Tara but there isn’t anything we can do about it now” Whitley's voice wavers “We only have this last night, let’s not waste it.” He strides out of the room jerking his head for us to follow him.

I follow them down the hall and beep expectantly as we turn into the projector room. Whitley pulls two chairs to the center of the room in front of the screen. “Since this is your going away party ED-E why don’t you play us your favorite episodes.”

We stay in the room until the sun begins to rise, watching all of my favorites. Tara and Whitely perk up a bit as the hours pass, laughing along with the show and chuckling as I fly around the room imitating my hero. I’m glad for this night with them, even though I know it’s because my life is coming to an end.

At 0600 Dr. Whitley says we have to get back to the lab before Grant shows up. I follow them slowly back toward the lab that would soon be my execution chamber.

END EPISODE 2

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This series is fan fiction based on characters and events created for the Fallout video game series owned by Bethesda.