Whoever’s idea it was to give characters real weapons—or, at least, really sharp objects as none of the guns used were real—did not consider that the AI might malfunction and they might start attacking civilians.
A few more guest services AI hurried over and began to move the crowd back in a calming fashion to lead them to believe it was all part of the show. The four of us that were left surrounding Peter nodded to one another and clicked the pad on our arm. Each of our outfits turned into that of the pirates that were generally battling Peter on the ship. All of the humans around us clapped.
At least we didn’t have to deal with anyone else panicking. That is, if we got all of this under control.
Although we were able to transform our clothes, we still didn’t have any weapon to fight Peter with. The short sword Peter was waving around wouldn’t kill us, but it would definitely cause some damage, and we would have to get some repairs. The odds were that it wouldn’t be too serious, but there was always the chance that it might cut into something that is important, and one of us could lose memory or other functions.
I did not want to lose my memory.
If I lost my memory, would I still care for Badroulbadour? Would I remember the way she smiled and laughed? Or how her voice sounds when she says my name? Would I even stop to watch her show, or would she just be another AI to me?
No, I couldn’t let myself be hurt. For her sake.
One of the others rushed to Peter’s side, trying to distract him while another AI and I hurried behind him. The other AI wrapped his arms around Peter while I ducked as Peter swung to try to hit us. Quickly as I could, I tried to grab his sword.
The one thing I didn’t consider was that not only did Peter have a sword, but he also had his other hand. He quickly punched me straight in the face, causing me to fall back. Although I didn’t have pain receptors so it didn’t hurt, it did cause us to miss our opportunity as Peter has head butted the AI holding him and flew into the sky.
I forgot he could do that.
He started to fly away from us. One thing I was going to include in my reporting was to request for all of the other AI, or at least the maintenance workers and customer service, to have the ability to fly in case something like this happened again. But that would be later—first we had to chase Peter, get him unarmed, and turn him off so we could fix him.
“Follow him!” One of the AI exclaimed more for the crowd than the rest of us. “Captain Hook wants him alive!”
We all rushed after Peter as he flew from one attraction to the next. I was glad I was not a human as I felt I would be exhausted. Even as an AI I was starting to get bothered by how much effort we were having to go through to subdue him. Four other maintenance workers joined in as we tried to surround him, all of them transforming into a pirate as well.
I definitely was going to request that at least a few of us be upgraded so we could fly as well.
Most of the crowd watched in awe as Peter bounced from one area to the next, clapping as we just barely missed him and rooting for Peter to get away from us nasty pirates. I wanted to correct them, but that would destroy the illusion of this being all part of an act. I just had to glad that Peter hadn’t yet attacked one of the guests of the park.
Peter finally landed in the worst spot imaginable—in the. Arabian Nights area. I felt almost paralyzed, if that was even possible for a machine like me. Badroulbadour was performing her dance in the middle of the stage when Peter appeared next to her. The audience gasped, as it wasn’t normal for different characters to interact like this—at least not when one was performing. It was more common on the walkways and streets.
Badroulbadour glanced at the ten of us dressed as pirates. I wasn’t sure if she understood what was going on, but she decided to play the part.
“Dear Peter,” she said with her sweet voice. “What brings you to my kingdom?”
Peter’s eye darted back and forth between us, Badroulbadour, and the crowd. “I don’t know. I don’t know where I am. What am I doing here? Why can’t I go home?”
You have no home. You aren’t a living thing—none of us are.
That is what I wanted to say to him. Why was it that so many AI were thinking they belonged somewhere else? Was it something in our programing? Was there a bug that was making us more human than our creators wanted?
Kneeling down next to him, she smiled. “A lot of us feel as if we don’t belong. It is important to recognize those feelings and to find one’s self in what we do. I am here, with the man I love, performing every day. And you are having fun in Neverland, fighting pirates and singing with mermaids. You have your Lost Boys to lead and cause mischief wherever you go.”
As Badroulbadour spoke to him, the ten of us slowly moved in closer. At first, it appeared as if Peter hadn’t noticed, and we were going to be able to grab him and turn him off for the time being. However, that belief was in vain. His eyes furrowed, and he drew out his sword.
“You tricked me! You are working for the pirates!”
And with that, he stabbed Badroulbadour straight in the stomach.