Future Winds Read Online Free PDF Page A

get back to activate the warp gate?” Abram asked without looking directly at Tyler.
    He knew the answer but was obedient to the navy’s chain of command, even if he thought Tyler a weak leader.
    Tyler marveled for a moment over what the three of them had accomplished in just a single afternoon.
    “Na, we have to get this bad turkey going. Aries start it up,” Tyler commanded.
    She hovered above the three massive turbines calling out in robotic frequencies. The giant gate sparked to life and listened to her commands. Its’ defensive shielding kicked in--a clear ball of magnetic based energy encompassed the large gate.
    Three massive turbines began to twirl around the center tower which gave off an eerie wobble sound. The amount of power the device generated was enough to vaporize an entire country.
    And once, not too long ago, one of these devices was used for just that. It is what fueled the research for true, reliable artificial intelligence. Mankind could not be trusted with such a tool on its own anymore, so expert systems of limitless knowledge controlled the operation of these types of gadgets.
    Abram despised the fact that the team had to be accompanied by AI drones. It was like forcing an adult to hold hands with an elder, as a child would. Way he saw it, these glorified calculators were good for two things: cleaning and gambling.
    This was supposed to be humanity's last stand at existence--the will of billions united for one purpose, survival.
    God knows we don’t need robots to survive. Lived without them for eons. Their very creation in the late twenty second century has always been the defining moment of society’s undoing. The transition into dependence on technology, he thought.
    His assigned robot was the ground based unit, Taurus, that had four large metal plated shields sticking out from a torso of tan and brown that rested atop a caterpillar track. A type of tank tread made popular in twentieth century warfare.
    Taurus’s specialty was to take a beating and still pull through just about any scenario. Despite Abram’s distrust in artificial intelligence, he had a certain admiration for Taurus. It resembled a piece of machinery from a better time. One where a machine was man's tool and not man's friend.
     
    ***
     
    Kio-Kai heard something lingering in the dark. It was a familiar sounding voice. Someone was there, conversing with one of the drones.
    “Lai-Kai?” he called out.
    From the shadows emerged a female huntress. Her appearance was much like Kio-Kai’s though being effeminate granted her a much thinner and more attractive frame. Her wings were a bit longer and more narrow. Her antennas were much larger than his and when standing upright she was a little shorter.
    Lai-Kai bore the same surname as Kio-Kai; this meant they were of the same clan and a clan was defined by its queen. In the case of these two it meant Kai-Zul was their queen. All the children a queen bore inherited her first name as their last. This was tradition. One day Lai-Kai might be a queen and that would spawn a clan of Lai.
    “Haven’t seen you in a while,” she pointed out. “What are you doing here?”
    “I just delivered a catch,” he explained. “Was something strange I have never seen before.”
    “Where is it?” she asked.
    “Ground up now.”
    “Hmm well, I am about to go down to the amphitheater and watch a fight, want to come with?” she asked.
    Hunters rarely partook in watching arena fights. It was mostly drones who fell for such theatrics.
    “Why would I want to go watch Vai-Zik clans kill each other?”
    Lai-Kai ignored him. She had a habit of tuning out the things she did not want to hear.
    Kio-Kai reminisced of a time when his elders would convey their wisdoms. Not to fall prey to this new society’s interest in self-pleasure was one of many great teachings. After all, they did not build such a large and powerful empire by taking part in the ways of the overlords.
    “Stay unvarnished to your