The biceps and thighs of the humans she saw were smaller than usual, given the adaptions their bodies had made to the lower gravity. However, it wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the human limbs she had seen on Ganymede, which appeared outright skeletal.
The gaits of the passersby were identical to that of humans striding across a typical Earth city, again no doubt because of those muscle adaptions. However, the cyborgs and robots among them had a certain bounce to their step, which Rhea and the others possessed as well. After Rhea pointed it out, she and the Wardenites were careful to mimic the gaits of the human residents instead. And because the robes they wore were so bulky, no one would be able to tell how well-built their frames were underneath, compared to the typical Martian.
As she continued along the pavement, she noted a good number of privacy-conscious individuals wore black robes with the hoods pulled low, like Rhea and the others, which made her feel less out of place.
She remembered DragonHunter’s warning regarding the cameras built into the AR goggles of passersby, cameras that the city’s AI was very likely to tap into, and she purposely tilted her head away from anyone who walked by, be they human, cyborg or robot. The others were doing the same. She and her companions also made a point of keeping their heads down when passing any of the cameras marked out on the map, or when walking underneath the roving security drones that traveled to and fro overhead.
As she walked those streets and spotted the different robot sentries standing guard at every intersection, a plan to take the presidential palace began to form in her head.
“How much of a lag is there between the time a robot records something on the street, and the time it actually sends the data off to the main AI for processing?” she asked Burhawk.
“Because there are so many robots and security cameras transmitting throughout the city, you can imagine it uses up a lot of bandwidth,” Burhawk said. “So the robots have to queue. In ordinary circumstance, it’s about one minute for any particular robot or camera. Though groups of robots can jump the queue in a time of crisis. So, for example, if there’s some sort of robbery, or some wanted criminal arriving in the terminal, the robots and cameras in the immediate area can have their queue positions bumped up, dropping the lag to less than a second if necessary. Meanwhile, other robots in the city will have their transmission lag doubled. It can be good for diversions.”
That only made her plan all the more viable. And it wasn’t even the diversion part that excited her.
She put the idea in the back of her mind to let it simmer. She’d share it with the others when the time was right. She still needed to know what kind of defenses she could expect to find inside, and what sort of weapons Khrusos carried on his person. Burhawk claimed he had hoarded Ganymede technology. That could pose a problem.
The man led the group to part of the city where the buildings were only mid-rise, versus all-out skyscrapers. Here, personal air pods weaved to and fro among the buildings, at a height just above the drones. They were probably self-driving, like similar vehicles on Earth.
At the bottom of these mid-rise buildings were often different stores, manned by robots: a clothing store, a refrigeration shop, a power cell stand. Most of them lacked any obvious inventory, but no doubt 3D printers in the back printed up purchases on demand. Delivery drones or robots would park in front to receive any completed orders, then take flight or walk away with the parcels.
There was occasionally a cafe or restaurant as well among the stores, but these were mostly empty save for a few customers. The staff were automated.
Higher up, the buildings contained residential suites with balconies and windows. There was always at least one lobby nestled between the stores of the first floor, with a locked door that led to the elevators or stairways providing access to those suites.
Burhawk stopped in front of one such door. His eyes defocused, and Rhea had the impression he was temporarily reactivating his comm node.
He spoke a moment later. “It’s me.”
The door clicked open.
Burhawk glanced over his shoulder at Rhea, giving her a significant look, then he stepped inside.
Confused by that look, Rhea followed.
“Do I know this person?” she asked as she followed him up the first flight of stairs.
Burhawk didn’t look back at her as he said: “That remains to be seen.”
After climbing several of those zigzagging flights, Burhawk stepped into the hallway of the fifth floor. He proceeded to the door directly in front of the elevator.
It was ajar.
He pushed it open and entered.
Rhea followed. The air with was hazy, and smelled of sweet spice, as if someone was burning incense.
The kitchen was close to the entrance, and she walked past the island with Burhawk and the others, entering the living room next to it.
The furniture was old and threadbare, as if the owner could afford only hand-me-downs. The curtains were closed, blocking out much of the light, so that the room was dim and murky.
Seated on a tattered couch beneath the curtains, past that swirling haze, sat a woman with her head bowed so low that Rhea couldn’t see her face. Long black hair hung down on either side of her head, further concealing her features.
She was dressed in a loose-fitting, long-sleeved blouse, paired with sweatpants and runners. Metallic hands were visible beneath the sleeves of the blouse, hinting at a potential cyborg. On the coffee table in front of her, an incense stick burned in a tray.
“Min,” Burhawk said.
The woman looked up.
Rhea recognized her immediately.
Like Rhea, she had eyes that were much too big, and a mouth too wide, to be human, which sent her face into the uncanny valley. Her
