Code Lightfall and the Robot King (13 page)

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Code looked at the annihilated surface of Mekhos and saw only a primordial sea of wreckage swirling in a formless, meaningless void. Billowing clouds of atomized matter blocked the rays of the sun and moon. Nothing changed, nothing lived, and nothing died. Mekhos was gone.

The only trace of the robots that had once lived here were now trapped inside Code's body—a part of him.
It's finally happened
, he thought.
I've gone all the way and become one of them
. Code looked at the strange shimmering skin of his hands.
I'm the last robot left in Mekhos
, he thought sadly.
And now I can never go home
.

But in his heart, Code still wondered if something, somewhere, might still live. Maybe deep down in the crushing depths of the sea, or above in the highest stratosphere of the air?

He walked to the edge of the island. The sea below frothed and boiled in confusion. Code thought about swimming. With a little concentration, he found that he was able to convince his body to
transform
. His legs quivered, then fused together and extended into a long silver tail. Code pulled his arms in close to his body until they melded into his skin. His elbows flattened and collapsed into the shape of wide, powerful fins. The transformation complete, he allowed himself to fall into the frothing ocean below.

Once in the water, Code's body rearranged itself until he could not feel the numbing coldness or the crushing pressure. His eyes grew to the size of saucers, until he could see for miles in utter darkness. He felt no need to take just one shape and so he adopted whichever one worked best. But search as he might, Code found nothing in the fathomless depths. Not a single creature, large or small, stirred in the deep. The black water was empty and devoid of life.

Rising from the water, Code leaped into the sky and arched his back, sprouting a pair of great shining wings. Flapping his nearly translucent metal wings, he searched for life in the skies. But as he swooped through the heavens, he saw only the cold light of the moon playing out random, senseless patterns on the shattered wreckage of Mekhos. Code sped through misty clouds and dove through crystal clear skies. But no creatures had survived to fly in the air, either.

Code was heartbroken. The robots had really done it. They had managed to completely remove themselves from the world. All the trees and the castles and rocks had been vaporized. From the tiniest microrobots to the biggest brontobots, all life had disappeared.

And the reality of Code's solitude began to set in.

The world was empty. The seas had boiled. The Odd Woods were disintegrated. Clockwork City was obliterated. All inhabitants of the land had been eradicated: the impatient, endless infinipede; the angry robot giants in their crystalline castles; the hungry Toparian mowers; the countless tiny peoples of the arid Nanoscopic Traverse; Charlie, the greatest robot hero in Mekhos; and the pompous Lady Watterly and her chatty guests. Even Gary and Peep had met their ends. They were all gone. Destroyed forever.

Code rose higher and higher in the air, trying to escape from the loneliness that haunted the ghost world below. The rising sun painted a crescent of dawn along the eastern curve of the world. Floating above the devastation, in darkness and ruin, Code felt an overwhelming sadness.

And as he thought about his friends and the places he had seen and the adventures they'd had together, Code's nose began to sting, his cheeks turned red, and his lip began to quiver.

And since there was nobody around to see or hear, he began to cry.

A drop of liquid coursed down his cheek and dangled from his jawline. After a moment, it fell. The wind whipped that single tear into innumerable invisible droplets and spread those specks of moisture over many miles. Those millions of water molecules landed randomly on the rich primordial soil of Mekhos.

And something interesting began to happen.

Where each tear landed, the ground began to move. Each drop was filled with the memory of cities, nations, and kingdoms of robots. And everywhere they landed, the tears began to convert the raw clay of the nothing into …
something
. Within seconds, all across Mekhos, magnificent creatures—titans—began to rise up from the ground. Huge and not very bright, the titans rose up and looked into the sky, where Code hung like a shining star. They saw that much work needed to be done.

Code thought about what his grandfather had said:
Finish it, and begin again.

And as Code watched these mountain-sized beings emerging from the smoke and ash below, a spark of hope flared in his chest. He found that when he thought about it, he knew the true name of every robot, large and small, in all of Mekhos.

As the titans set to work, Code began to recite each robot's name. He found that each name came out as a command, and the titans obeyed, using their rough, colossal hands to mold those creatures from dust. The titans worked ceaselessly, and over the course of their lifetimes a familiar bunch of robots crawled, leaped, and slithered once again into Mekhos. The skies, lands, and depths of the seas were soon teeming again with flying robot insects, shambling giants, and armor-plated whales.

Mekhos erupted into life and activity. Hours later, an arc of light shot up from the ground directly below Code. A string of self-replicating nanobots raced upward, re-creating the Beamstalk as they went. At the top of the string, a swirling cloud of nanobots formed itself into a castle-shaped mist that solidified into the seat of royal power—the Celestial City.

As he uttered each name, Code felt his power diminish. Eventually, his wings shrank and then faded away, and his small body floated down onto the vast promenade of the Celestial City. Behind him, a soft red carpet rolled over the cobblestone courtyard, leading across the plaza and up a wide staircase, ending at the foot of a towering silver throne.

Below, Mekhos was once again filled with everyday robots of all shapes and sizes, along with their Clockwork Cities and leaping transpeds and hologrammatic art and alien treasures.

And finally, the mighty titans collapsed in exhaustion, having finished their great tasks. A sand titan crashed to the ground and exploded into billions of nanoparticles, becoming the desert of the Nanoscopic Traverse; a tree titan lay down quietly and died, letting his rich corpse feed the verdant plants of the Toparian Wyldes; and a rock titan fell down and passed on, whereupon his bones became the crystalline castles of the robot giants.

It was done.

Mekhos was born anew. It spread as high as the wind blew and as deep as the ocean currents ran. Code uttered one final name and felt the last of the Robonomicon's power ebb. His bare feet touched down on the cool stones of the viewing promenade. At last, Code Lightfall returned to being a regular boy. He collapsed onto the ground and drifted into the deepest sleep of his young life.

Just then, the ground beneath Code's sleeping body stirred and rumbled. A long, low chuckle echoed from the empty courtyard, and a razor-sharp spiked fist burst up out of the ground, spraying cobblestones. The fist was attached to an even bigger atomic slaughterbot. Gary rose to his feet and looked around. He looked the same as before the Disassembly, only now he was protected by shining white armor, and a majestic golden cape was slung over one hulking shoulder. Gary had been deactivated as a common slaughterbot and had returned as a royal knight.

When Gary saw his friend Code lying on the ground, he heaved a sad sigh and began to dig a boy-sized grave. But after a moment, he remembered a strange fact about how human beings often go unconscious. So he stopped digging, gently lifted the boy from the ground, and climbed the steps to the silver throne. Then he laid his sleeping friend onto the cushioned seat of royal power.

From inside the Celestial City, a distinguished group of robots solemnly walked into the courtyard. They wore splendid robes of white mesh and glowed with energy and power. Joining Gary, they formed a semicircle around the sleeping boy on the throne. In hushed tones, the robots began to discuss Code's fate.

“I propose we make him our king,” said Lady Watterly. With extreme poise, she raised one arm, adding, “I shall teach him the necessary manners.”

An elderly little robot repositioned its cracked spectacles. “Eh?! We need him full-time at the fabrication tank. The boy has a talent for making top-notch robots.”

Gary blushed.

“Well, then who's going to judge our art contests?” demanded a crewbot wearing an immaculate sailor's outfit.

The group of robots burst into a heated discussion, full of interruptions, accusations, and disruptions. Two mowers yapped at each other and a robot giant bellowed loudly, as an infinipede ran around everyone in circles—unable to stop.

Finally, a deep voice rang out.

“Enough!” thundered Gary. The other robots fell silent.

“Code journeyed across Mekhos for us. He battled Immortalis for us. And he survived the destruction of our world for us. When he could have given in to despair, Code fought on. For us. It is only fair that he should return home to his own world, while he still can. And if our friend Code Lightfall ever wishes to return to Mekhos, then we will see him again.”

The other robots nodded to each other in agreement. Under the clear white starlight, they gathered shoulder to shoulder and watched over the sleeping boy. The decision had been made. And with that, Gary sat down on the steps to wait patiently for his dear friend to wake up.

21
Homecoming

With a start, Code opened his eyes. He was on his back, surrounded by tall tufts of grass. Sunlight filtered through oak trees overhead, dazzling his eyes. Something was very strange about this place. The leaves were … moving. A breeze blew cool across his face, and Code felt the tickle of soft grass on his neck.
Real
grass.

This isn't right
, he thought.
Unless …

Afraid to look, Code sat up. He was on Mek Mound. The storm had passed and the skies were clear. In the distance, he saw the bright yellow of the school bus. He could hear the other students talking to each other farther down the hill. Mr. Mefford was asking for their worksheets.

Oh, no
, he thought.
It
couldn't
have been a dream.

The other kids were assembling at the bottom of the mound. Code noticed that the sun had moved across the sky, and he was suddenly feeling very hungry. Instinctively, he patted his shirt pocket.

Peep wasn't there.

Code grabbed a handful of grass and tore it from the ground. It was all just a dream?! But Peep had been his friend. And Gary. His grandfather.
I finally
did
something
, thought Code.
Instead of just thinking about it, I went out and risked my life. Or I thought I did. Was it in my imagination after all?

Disappointed and confused, Code stood up and dusted himself off. He yawned and stretched. Without Peep's reassuring presence, he already felt a loneliness in the pit of his stomach.

And the worst part
, he thought,
is that nobody will ever believe me.

Code picked up his backpack and shuffled down the hill to join the class. The students were gathered around Mr. Mefford as he collected the worksheets.

“Nice of you to join us, Code,” said Mr. Mefford. “Worksheet?”

Code patted his pockets. He didn't have the worksheet on him anywhere.

“I must have lost it,” he said.

Mr. Mefford frowned at Code. “Well, you'll have to make it up when we get back to school. Don't think you're off the hook.”

Mr. Mefford continued to collect worksheets from the other students. Code ran his fingers through his hair, in a daze. Where could his sheet have gone?

Tyler walked over to Code, a mean smirk on his face. With a bulging backpack slung over his shoulders, Tyler looked like an angry turtle. He snapped the shoulder straps together over his chest and the waist straps around his hips.

“Smooth move, Code. I thought you were mister know-it-all?”

“It's not what I know, it's what I do,” replied Code. And without thinking about it, he reached out and unsnapped Tyler's chest fastener, sending the heavy backpack flopping to the ground, the waist strap yanking Tyler's pants down around his ankles.

Tyler yelped and tried to catch his bag and his pants at the same time. But it was too late. Sylvia and Zachary giggled as Tyler staggered around, trying desperately to pull up his pants. Code covered his mouth and tried not to laugh.

Mr. Mefford noticed and put his hands on his hips.

“Stop clowning around,” he said.

“Code did it,” whined Tyler.

Mr. Mefford looked at Code questioningly. Code shrugged, sheepish. Surprisingly, Mr. Mefford winked at Code and stifled a small smile.

“Then you probably deserved it,” he said, and then clapped his hands together. “Everybody on the bus! The field trip is over. Time to get back to school.”

On the way to the bus, Code noticed Hazel looking at him curiously. He raised his eyebrows and looked back. And this time, neither one of them looked away.

“Hi,” said Hazel.

Code blinked in surprise. Hazel hadn't said three words to him since second grade.

“Hi.”

“You look different,” she said. “Have your eyes always been that color?”

Code touched his face. “Why? What color are they?”

“Brown. I mean green. Gray? I don't know. I can't really describe it.”

Code blinked again and then froze. His eyes had just taken a picture of Hazel. She stood framed by the massive mound, long, sunlit hair cascading over her shoulders and her eyes wide and curious—a question on her face. Clearing his vision, Code smiled at Hazel. “I guess they must have changed,” he said.

Perplexed, she gave him a half smile and swung her backpack onto one shoulder.

“Oh,” she said. “Talk to you later, okay?”

Speechless, Code nodded, then watched her go.

A minute later, Code stepped onto the crowded school bus and sat down in the very last row.
The first row is safe
, he thought.
But the last row is more interesting
. As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, however, he began to feel very strange. His stomach made a worrisome gurgling sound. His nose twitched, his eyes jerked closed, and he let out the biggest sneeze of his life.

At the end of this stupendous nasal explosion, something extraordinary happened—Peep fluttered out of Code's mouth. She buzzed happily against his face, then dove toward his book bag. While she flopped around inside, Code scanned the faces of the other students in microscopic detail to make sure no one had seen. They hadn't.

Looking down, he saw that Peep was tugging on a history book. Code took it out and set it on his lap. Flickering through the air, Peep pulled the book open and flipped pages. Finally, Peep settled herself onto a page and chirped urgently up at Code.

Code saw that Peep was sitting on the section about Mound Builders. On the page under her feet was a crude map, sprinkled with dots. It dawned on Code that each dot on the map represented another mound—there were dozens, all over the country.

“Oh, boy,” muttered Code.

And before anyone could see, the ecstatic little bot darted straight into his shirt pocket. Code put one hand protectively over her and smiled to himself. It felt good to have the warm lump of metal over his heart again.

*   *   *

[Traverse Initiated]

[Three]

[Two]

[One]

[Activate]

[The End]