INSTALLMENT #15

The Kiev airport is like a lot of other airports in the world – one runway with one side developed for commercial use and the other for military. As 'Rob Self' sat in a departure lounge he noted a bunch of people running, with weapons, towards a hangar on the military side of the airport. There was obviously a lot of activity, even obvious gunfire, but the distance and the soundproofing made it an eerie sight. He heard nothing.

Then, all at once the air thundered, as if someone turned off the mute function, but only for the bass range. Actually, he felt more than heard it – it started as a rumbling in his feet, but eventually the door exploded off the hangar. A shock wave caused the passenger terminal windows to rattle, not to mention the shrapnel that flew everywhere.

As the dust cleared Carter saw the source of the activity. It was the machine/man monster from underneath Sophiaskia. It was severely mangled, but it remained immensely powerful. It appeared to be flailing in blind rage.

When all this started, Carter had been checking his email, using something that looked to the world like a Palm Pilot, but was, of course, infinitely more capable than even the most sophisticated models available on the market. The device's automatic wireless connection had gone crazy.

Then it dawned on Carter: operating a machine as complex as that raging monster outside would take far more computer power than could be put on board. It could not be self-contained. It must have been using a wireless signal to tap all available computing resources. Carter tried to tap into the network it had assembled.

As soon as he did, the thing noticed and started to make a beeline across the tarmac and runway toward the passenger terminal. Soon an IM message popped up on Carter's handheld. "Ilya was my brother, and now I have you."

Smaller aircraft parked on the tarmac were thrown aside like so many candy wrappers. Just as the thing stepped onto the runway, it was hit by a plane on its take-off roll. The plane erupted into flame. The mechano-beast staggered, but not for long. People in the passenger terminal fled in panic, in virtually every direction.

Carter was just standing there, punching along on his hand held. The military personnel were trailing behind the monster in its stalk. They had brought out heavier weapons, but it was impervious to grenades and hand-launched rocket fire. Tanks could be seen rolling on the periphery, but they were old models. They had to maneuver into position first and then dial in their target. There was no way they could get the job done in time.

As the mechano-beast moved past the plane parked at the gate where Carter was about to board, it ripped the wings off and kicked out the landing gear. One of the gear hit a fuel truck parked nearby and an explosion ensued. The windows turned immediately black with the soot.

A few seconds later a mechanical arm crashed through the window shattering it into a million pieces. At that same instant, Carter hit the "execute" button on his handheld and the mechano-beast stopped dead in its tracks. He quickly put away his handheld, brushed the broken glass off himself and joined the panicked public. It had taken a few minutes, but he had shut down every wireless router within connecting range, robbing the thing of its needed computing power. He just hoped "the powers that be" could figure out how this thing worked before it moved again. He tried to salt the various networks with as many useful clues as possible.