Cyberman

"There are maybe four or five like you in the whole entire world, you know. And you will benefit in the long run. You see, when everyone has paid into the CyberSystem, there will be nothing but robots- servants. And the few who are left, well, let’s say there will be an army of nurses to tend to our wounds."

"Then I might as well be dead, too."

"Oh, come on, Neely. You can't change them. Not the entire world! People act as people are. You have no choice about their outcome."

Again there was a pause as each of them reflected upon the water.

"By the way, Neely, what was with that nonsense? You must have known that Stephan Grant did not understand a word you were saying. It wasn’t in his programming, you could say," Moam Gestaldo laughed hysterically.

"Some people just won’t do it. What of them?"

"Why, they’ll die, of course. If not of old age, then of some simple disease, like the common cold."

"Because only the Cybermen will be left with the knowledge of the cure."

"Perhaps some will gather in groups and try to start over, but that won’t last. A pre-historic age doesn’t work too nicely in a technologically advanced society. Hell, that’s why environmentalists tried to remove the technology. It was the only way to reduce everyone to that level. Just like when you were younger and the other kids hated it that you had better toys. What can they do? Me- I’m going to give everyone the best toys."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"So that you will realize that you’re not a threat, Neely. Just relax and everything will be fine. Tell you what- study robotics, cybernetics, and some day I’ll give you a job. This way we’ll be working together. I could use you and you deserve it. Anyway, someone will have to inherit all this!"

"Cybernetics?"

Moam Gestaldo could see the gleam in Neely’s eyes.

"Yes," he hissed, like a cobra. "Sounds fascinating, no? And you’ll have the world’s foremost Cyberman creator as your guide. What do you say, Neely?"

"Sounds wonderful."

________

"Hello, Neely. Shall I contact Moam for you?"

"Not yet, Mite. I have some business first."

The six inch high "computer roller skate", as Neely called it, turned and raced off between Neely's legs, who laughed at the whimsical little beeps that emitted from it.

Neely put his palm up to a lit square recessed in the wall before him. A section of the wall slid aside and allowed him entry. Inside was a large laboratory filled with monstrous computers, endless tables, and dozens of Cybermen. Neely motioned one into a secluded area of the room.

"Reeva, come here."

"Yes, Neely."

"I want you to take this laser disk and integrate it into your program."

"Okay, Neely. What does the disk hold?"

"It’s self explanatory. It’s a virus, Reeva. The program will instill you with a timed self destruct. It also gives you the priority of finding others and passing the virus on to them. Each of those, in turn, will do the same. While the effect multiplies, the ones who passed it on previously will become a useless garble of information which is indecipherable and unusable. The result is a mass of scrap metal."