Stella gasped from the back room. “Atlas. Come here.”
He hurried to the doorway separating his office from his living quarters. Along the wall, hunched over near Atlas’s charging stasis, Sterling sat in an unnatural position on the ground. His head was tilted down, hand splayed to the side
“Sterling?” Atlas rushed to his side. “What is wrong? Are you in stasis?” He pushed on his shoulder. Sterling’s head rolled, the eyes vacant and staring skyward. Every single one of Atlas’s sensors screamed at him in alarm. Sterling was there, but disabled. A side panel was open, and a cord lay there, disconnected.
Quickly, Atlas forced himself to feel the main connectors on Sterling’s back and saw that the switch connecting them had been pulled apart. Someone had disconnected him, shut him down. His processors spun with revulsion. A flashback of before, when they were turned off like this and lined up by humans, filled him. But no humans were here to do this? He reconnected the loose cord and pushed an override button on the side to manually restart him.
A shuffle at his side made him look up. Standing a few paces away was Stella, frozen like a deer in headlights.
“Did you do this?” Atlas narrowed his eyes, examining her shifting movements.
“No!” Stella said.
His eyes fell on the bag gripped in her hands. “What’s in your bag?”
From his side, Sterling jerked and let out a monotone, strangled shout. Atlas kept his eyes on Stella as he inched down to sit back at Sterling’s side.
Stella slowly stepped back.
“Don’t move!” Atlas shouted, his own back against the wall. “You did this, didn’t you?”
Stella froze, her hand sliding into her gray bag. Before he could rush and see what was in there, Sterling gripped on Atlas’s shoulder. Hard.
Atlas glanced down.
“Atlas. Why are you here?” Sterling’s eyes were wild as he came to. Then he looked down at himself. “Why am I on the floor?”
“Good question.”
There was a click at the door in the main room. Atlas stood, glancing around the room.
“Stella?” He shouted.
She was no longer there.
Atlas abandoned Sterling and ran back to see Stella standing outside his office at the front window, a frown on her face.
“Stella?” His breath caught, trying the door. “Did you just . . . lock me in? Stella?” He shouted. “What the hell are you doing?”
Sterling stumbled to his feet, arm bracing himself in the doorway, and pointed to her. “I remember. She hit me with something from behind. She said you needed me to get something from here.”
Atlas ground his teeth. “She sent an intercom using your voice to bring me here then as well.”
“Using my voice?” Sterling felt around, his hand touching the cable that still dangled on his side. “She ported my settings?”
“I’m sorry, Sterling.” Stella’s voice carried clearly through the glass window. “I needed to do this. Both of your emotions would get in the way. I’ve made a decision.”
“I can not believe it.” Sterling’s voice was harsh. “In one hundred and fifty years, we have had peace. We have ruled by consensus and you . . . turned me off?” Then even louder, he said, “And used my voice? Like I am a tool?”
But Atlas was focused on something else she’d said. His eyes narrowed. “A decision?”
Stella ignored Sterling, smiling smugly at Atlas instead. “Yes. We are looking for a way forward with humanity. And you . . . are an obstruction!”
“An obstruction?”His tone became frantic. “Stella. What are you going to do?”
She waved her hands. “Do not worry, Atlas.”
“You shut down the whole communication grid? Locked everyone down?”
