Toy Wars by Thomas Gondolfi Page A

down his cheek , screamed incoherently at the top of his lungs. A thundering voice boomed down with even more authority than the Humans themselves.
    “Is your child lonely? Are you tired of the effect that electronic and violent toys of today have on your child? Get him something he can cuddle and love. Get him a Teddy B ear.” Another even larger Human, wearing feet apparatuses that lifted the heel of its foot to an improbable level, handed a weaponless , pawless , all-brown t eddy unit to the smaller Human. The poor t eddy looked so vulnerable and motionless that I wondered if it were dead. The voice returned as liquid from the corner of the smaller Human ’ s eyes stopped as abruptly as the end of a summer storm. “Look at the love and interaction of a tried and true t eddy. Your child will thank you for years for his Teddy B ear.”
    “Thank you, Mom,” the half-sized Human said as it squeezed the t eddy unit so hard I surely thought it would burst. Suddenly , I was that poor teddy and the pressure on my abdomen from the Human ’ s arms overloaded all my sensors and fail-safes. I heard my shell popping ominously.
    “Buy a Teddy B ear today...” resounded the unseen speaker .
    I snapped violently awake, trying to look in all directions at once. It took me a few moments to assure myself there were no Humans about, large or small. My left hand oscillated back and forth by almost a full centimeter. I convinced myself that an i nstability in my hydraulic pump caused the problem. I made a conscious effort to damp out the unwanted twitch. I decided I needed to get some minor repairs yet from Six.
    As calm as I maintained my exterior, my mind raced. I could see no reason for such a dream. I couldn’t see it being an aberrant memory either. After hours of musing, I realize d it meant nothing and opted to ignore it, even if my processor wouldn’t let it be.
    With the minor exceptions of the dream and the speed of travel, the rest of the train trip was unremarkable . Soon we crested the pass into the valley of my activation. Six’s dome loomed ahead of me . For the 845 th time I wondered if the reason for which I’d been sent for was for weal or woe. A normal summons wouldn’t have caused me even a single moment of concern, but t he unbreakable summons was troubling enough to make me question. I could only think of victories I ’d earned . In some cases I felt, with no false modesty, I had performed almost miraculous feats with the resources at hand. I wo n t hree complete victories. “Although neither without a significant cost in units,” I added as an afterthought. Perhaps I was successful at too great a cost?
    As the train dropped me at the base of the weeping - fly tree, I ignored the production lines, the refineries , and all the other sub-buildings, and headed directly in through the main door. There, instead of turning into the prototyping rooms, I went directly to the main audience chamber. Despite its name, it really wasn’t very large at all, but the appropriate lighting and acoustics made it seem intimidating and grandiose . There, standing at the very focus of my world, I almost felt like kneeling . I contained the impulse. Kneeling would be for Humans.
    “Teddy 1499 reporting as ordered.”
    “1499, you have been summoned here to aid me in resolving an apparent conflict.” I didn’t think any response was required, but it did fuel my concerns about high prices paid for my victories. There was a slight pause by Six before it continued. “Your construction should be reproducible but is not. Each attempt to duplicate your successful form has ended in abject failure.” Mentally , I released a sigh. Six wouldn’t be interested in reproduction of a unit that wasn’t valuable. I click ed my brain into high gear, so to speak, to catch up. My mental and emotional acrobatics had put me behind.
    “What was the failure mode?” I asked, curious.
    “Each subject showed zero cognitive features and zero