Any form of Government is inherently stupid. A Government is not an intelligent thing. Look at history. Some are smarter then others but every smart one still makes stupid mistakes. The stupidity of a government, of course, depends on the stupidity of the people that work for it. This 'idiots in power to stupidity' ratio churns through all humyn events. We are living in the grip of the stupidity ratio even now. Oh sure, in our futuristic era people of Government take all the best smart drugs, the latest lami-to-your-head enhancements, buy the most intelligent pants, suffer the fad-est brain diets to better govern the other idiots, it makes no difference to the ratio.

Since the triple economy money is no longer a problem, yet Governments still find many ways to express their stupidity. In architecture for example, like the structure I stand in the shadow of. What is the source of the human fascination with living in huge tall cubes stacked vertically? The residents of this idiotic monstrosity don't live here because they are fascinated with elevator travel, they live here because they are the 'not poor' who have no choice. Cash your credits unwisely and you could live here in the stacks. It's not their stupidity that got them here it's the Governmental stupidity that thought the best place to put them is in tall cubed stacks.

“The zombots are loose on levels eighty five to ninety seven. We got them contained. Levels seventy five to one oh seven are quarantined zone. Floors seventy to seventy four and one oh eight to one eighteen are staging and support zones. We've cut holes between floors for better access.” Hard to make eye contact with this cop. He had a shifty look. I mean he kept shifting seven centimeters left then ten centimeters right like he was holo projecting his own image in some kind of doppelganger blink mode. He seemed to be somewhere in the middle of where he wasn't. Makes him hard to aim at I guess, though I don't think it would fool a pile of zombies; zombots, I don't know...

The other cops threw skeptical glances at Space. He looks all business in his new neon yellow anti-shark shuttle suit with the latest canine ETACs that could stun us all senseless instantly if things get iffy. Their worry: I think it's that he's still such a tiny puppy.

“The elevators only go twenty floors at a time.” Stupid. “You have to get off and board another for the next twenty floors.” So stupid. “Windows are out on the two floors where fires are burning. That section of sprinkler system was never hooked up properly.” Stupid, stupid!

“No one we know of has been eaten for the last two hours. We think they've gone dormant. It could be residual 'end of shift/recharge' mode programming. But we don't know for sure but we are going in anyway.” And how is that not stupid? I mean the way he said it: two 'but'-s in a row!

Monsieur Coiola here...” introduced by glove-less handshakes to all within reach; more stupid bacteria trading, “represents the city office that designed this row of the development”. He doesn't look stupid. He has a plan:

“I'm sure we can get in and go anywhere through the ventilation duct-works.” So often in ancient cinema this proves stupid.

To the NA army uniform wearer at my side: “You're sure she's in there?” I give the wall a nod.

“Oh yes. She was broadcasting telemetry with comments until two hours ago. We know right where she was then.”

“What? Are you no longer in contact?”

“Well, her batteries must have gone dead. Soon as she can recharge we're certain she will have coms up.”

Recharge...sure...stupid.

Traci is in this gigantic cube grid people box somewhere trying to stomp out a new kind of zombie nest; this time 'zombots'. Half biologic maid bots have been infected somehow to hijack their diet to crave human brains. Is it in their programming? Was it a virus? Digital or biological? Inevitable is what it is. Stack thousands of people like this and eventually there will be zombies. Only difference this time is the zombies are half robot.

Her coms were pinging two hours ago when she called me in orbit. It was shaky holo. My audio wasn't getting through to her, lagged out or lost. She said to get here quick. So we did.

This is not the first outbreak in the mega complex's. Domestic tech has gone rogue from time to time. The modern ambi-aide personal servants are more then half made of genetically engineered bio hardware to make them more market-ably humyn-like. Read the warranty. Accepting terms of use might exclude mutinous murderous tendencies in limited liability appliances. Strict quarantine followed by a thorough violent quanti-magnetic memory cleansing usually cuts down any vacancy period.

If it is a virus in the bio parts, that is just the thing to attract Traci.

We skip the six or seven elevators to fly up the seventy three floors in a bearcat right up to an assault platform attached to the building side at some blasted windows. The local police are well organized for action at urban altitude. Just in the wrecked living room we enter they have enough firepower to wipe out the whole city. Which is good. They might have to. A bot zombie breakout here could quickly spread across Tera. Everybody, even in cube towers has at least six of those slave machines; easy financing.

Faulty brain craving killer cleaning bots are one thing but when they can reproduce!... well, even the protos couldn't do that! One brain meal and your maidbot is creating thirty little copies of herself; small zombots that need a brain meal and corpse eating to assemble big enough to reproduce. Several thousand people were trapped on those quarantined floors, by now there could be many tens of thousands of big and small zombots waiting to burst upon the city.

“Madame Smule represents the manufacturer of many of the products malfunctioning in this area.” He waves over a sharp shuttle suited bright eyed womyn with some kind of staff on several active feeds. That's dedicated response to be here in person. Shows how much is at stake. No lawyers for the destroyed apartment dwellers lurking around yet.

“My clients built seventy three percent of the service devices applicable to the alleged malfunction. The rest are from several other sources that are defunct. The remainder home built with off the shelf parts”. Her top tech on holo takes over with a smiling goatee face:

“We think it's a worm in the brain package.”

“Like a malicious program that spreads itself?”

“No like a real worm. Vir tortille ….A wiggly one. Very tiny.”

Madame Smule nods in agreement. “Yes a swamp worm. A brain craving swamp worm.” By her smile I'm sure it is not a warranty issue.

Swamp worms huh... eighty floors up a Paris FN EU apartment stack. This makes it less stupid how?

The torn up apartments with gear scattered everywhere, the bored quarantine troops slouching everywhere, the loungi-cliners crammed against everything else, the darkened dusty shadowed spaces makes me pensive about brain worms. A Police medic techie has a solution:

“We've got a special helmet we are testing that makes it very difficult for the worms to reach the brain. It could give the wearer extra time for rescue.” It looked ridiculous. The anti-brain worm helmet was little more then a clear plastic bag tugged over the head secured around the neck with an elastic band. Frustrated worm infested zombots could watch the wearer suffocate.

“But... don't the worms attack the servi-bots and turn them into violent brain eaters?” I'm not the only one this occurs to.

“Well we're not sure. No one has survived an encounter long enough to check and report. The worms might try for us thinking we are bots also.”

“Better to wear the helmet then risk a brain worm.” This prudent person tries one on.

“But how do you breathe in that plastic bag?” If I'm gonna put one on my head there are things I got to know.

“Helmet use time limits are an issue. We are working to extend the service interval.” Which must be about three minutes. Prudent person starts a topple. Stupidity factor showing strong.

I am for gearing up. Space too. Our shuttle suit shark proof visor-ed hoods ought to detour casual brain worm exposure. Space's stun should knock out any kind of worm in range including intestinal.

I am now introduced to the leader of our group insertion. He seems a likely hero type, but... when someone yells 'BRAIN WORMS!' which way will he run?