Learning to Dance

had at least a foot on anyone else in the room. Up wondered
if that was another robotic enhancement. “Going for stealth,
I see. Not getting you very far, is it?”
“Do you have another idea, Doctor?” said Up, who was
well past tired of this meeting.
“Blow them up,” Dr. Claw said with a shrug. “Stop
wasting time in this bunker and show the bastards that we
can be just as ruthless as they are.”
Silence. Finally Commander Li spoke.
“Every high-ranking officer in the Galactic League is
trapped inside Headquarters with the robots, Dr. Claw.
Bombs aren’t selective in their targets.”
Dr. Claw leaned across the table, inches from her face.
“There’s a reason we haven’t won this war yet,
Commander.” He drew back and looked at them all, his
voice deep, powerful, assured. “We care too much. If
there’s one thing we did right when we created those tin
cans, it’s that we took away that particular human folly.”
His volume dropped nearly to a whisper, and the gathered
commanders leaned in. “If we want to win this war for
good, we’ve got to think like they do. We’ve got to act like
they do.”
“No,” said Up, shaking his head, and everyone turned to
look at him. “We start acting like the robots, we lose what
little humanity we have left.”
“We were born human,” said Dr. Claw smoothly,
smiling. “We will always be human - but not if they drive
us to extinction. And you all know the reality: we are on
our way to extinction, Commander Up. Our planet hovers
on the brink of environmental collapse. What happens to
humanity then?”
The tension in the room could have been sliced and
served for lunch with a side of fries. Commander Li cleared
her throat. “We’ve been at this for hours. Why don’t why