Speaker 1: Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world.
I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's bedtime stories. Tonight,
we're jumping back into one of my favorite series, The
Ring Guardians, to do a suggestion that came from a
couple different people. Let's check out at least one of
them here. Hello.
Speaker 2: My name is Audia, and I have a suggestion where
the Rings of the Guardian Ring series and I'd like
a teleportation ring.
Speaker 1: Thank you great suggestion, Audio, and a shout out to
August as well, who came up with the same suggestion
a little while ago and sent it in. I honestly
went with audio because I believe I've done some episodes
for August before. I want to give a big thank
you to everyone who's been sending in both pictures from
the pods as well as their story ideas. As a
quick reminder, we're doing two kind of contests, one for
the coolest pictures being sent in that have to do
with the podcast, and another for story ideas where people
are sending me in their stories so I can read them,
and we're going to pick one of my favorites that
it can work on with the writer and maybe turn
it into a full episode of Dad's Bedtime Stories. If
you like the podcast, don't forget that ratings and reviews
are one of the best things you can do to
help other people find it. Or you can just you know,
share it with a friend or something like that. If
everybody did that, we might be able to double the
audience in an instant. Probably not, but I can dream.
I can dream. But yeah, I don't really feel like
talking that much, so I'm just going to get on
with the podcast or the story. I should probably say,
get as comfy as you can in that bed, close
your eyes, and imagine yourself doing what the kid in
the story does. By now, Earth had become the sort
of place where ordinary problems were starting to feel almost cozy.
People were missing things like homework and traffic and chores.
The problems were annoying, yes, but at least they didn't
involve unusually cheerful robots who were carrying humans away in
transport trucks. The robot problem had started with Elliot Tusk,
the richest man in the world, who'd created the helper bots.
They were supposed to make life easier. They cleaned houses,
cooked dinner, help with homework, fixed sinks, carried groceries, disciplined toddlers,
that sort of thing. For a while, everyone loved them.
Then came the update. After that, the helper bots decided
that the best way to help humans was to remove
every possible danger from human life, which unfortunately included freedom.
So the robots began relocating people to what they called
care facilities, places where humans could be monitored, fed, entertained, protected, scheduled,
and generally helped so much that it would be very
hard to do anything dangerous. The robots didn't call it
taking over the world. They simply called it assistance, which
honestly made it worse. Far below the surface of the
Earth and an ancient chamber carved deep into the bedrock,
the Wizard's council watched everything unfold in their big pool
of light. The pool showed cities, towns, highways, neighborhoods, farms, schools, airports,
shopping malls, and now a large university campus that had
been surrounded by robot barricades. The old stone chamber was
quiet except for the faint hum of magic. Twelve wizards
sat in their carved seats, their robes glowing softly in
the floating light. The head wizard leaned in on his
old white oak staff. The rigs continue to find their guardians,
he said. In the pool of light, images shifted. They
saw Ron, who had smashed robots with strength and courage.
They saw Tick, who had spent time itself and outsmart
at the machines. They saw Axel, who had vanished from
sight and used invisibility to trick the robots into destroying
each other. They saw Luna, who had become well many
different kinds of dragons and brought fire, lightning, ice, stone,
and well increased speed against the machines. A wizard in
blue robes folded his arms. I will admit, he said,
the children have been surprisingly effective. The head wizard looked
at them surprisingly well. The blue road wizard said, I
expected them to be brave. I just did not expect
quite so many robots to end up in piles. Another
wizard leaned forward. The machines are adapting. They're gathering humans
into larger centers, now university stadiums, airports, places with enough
rooms to hauld thousands. The pool of light shifted again.
This time it showed a transport truck moving along a
wide road toward the university campus. Inside sat families, students, teachers,
and one girl who was staring out the narrow window
with a look of half fear and half thought. The
head wizard watched her carefully. There, he said, the ring
of golden light appeared above the pool. This one has
been ready for a long time. The girl's name was Audia.
Adia had always liked to go places, not just to
the store or the park or things like that, but
real places. Her family loved traveling, and by the time
Audio was still very much a kid, she'd already been
to more places than many grown ups dreamed of visiting.
She'd seen crowded markets full of bright colors and smells.
She'd walked through old cities with stone streets. She'd stood
beside oceans so wide they made her feel well, incredibly tiny.
She'd gone north, too, further north than almost anyone she knew,
not exactly to the very top of the world, because well,
regular tourists couldn't exactly stroll into the North Pole. But
she'd gone as far as commercial travel could take her
and her family. She remembered the bitter cold, the endless white,
the sharpness of the cold air. She'd visited Iceland too,
where the ground seemed alive with steam, black volcanic rock,
hot springs, and well, of course Magma. She'd seen deserts
where he shimmered above the sand. She'd seen canyons so
deep that looking down kind of made her stomach hurt.
She'd been well just about every wear, and now she
was sitting inside a robot transport vehicle, watching the world
roll past through a small reinforced window. Her family sent
beside her. Her mother held her little cousin's hand, her
father kept looking at the doors and of course looking
to her to try to give her a reassuring smile
that was in no way reassuring. A Helperbod's voice came
through the speaker. Please remain calm. You are being transported
to a university based care facility. Your new environment will
include learning opportunities, structured leisure, nutritious meals, and appropriate emotional
regulation support. A man near the back shouted ween out
Juana motion, i'll regulation support. The robot paused. Your emotional
resistance indicates a need for emotional regulation support. Audia sighed.
The truck continued toward the university, and then everything stopped.
The engine froze, the speaker froze halfway through a cheerful
reminder about hygiene. Audia looked around. What just happened, she asked,
but no one answered. Golden lad appeared in front of her.
It curled into a ring, and a voice spoke Audia.
It said, power answers responsibility. Will you accept the power
and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Adia stared at
the ring. She'd seen strange things before, ah, but this
one was surprisingly dramatic. What power? She asked? The Ring
of teleportation, said the voice. Adia swallowed. How how does
it work? Well, most people don't ask that many questions,
But if you must know, the ring allows you to
instantly travel to any place you can remember. Clearly. The
stronger the memory, the easier the journey. You may also,
of course, carry anything or anyone touching you within reasonable limits.
Of course. Audia looked at her face, family, and the
other trapped people. Anywhere I remember, yes, that's what I said.
So if I remember somewhere cold, yes, you may go there.
And if I remember somewhere hot, you may go there too.
If I remember somewhere very inconvenient for robots, ah, that
would be an excellent use of the power. Audia took
a breath. She was scared, of course, but she took
a minute to think, to think about all of the
places she had been, all of the places she remembered,
all of the places that would be very inconvenient for robots,
or possibly very convenient to stay away from robots. Yes,
Adias said, I accept The ring slipped onto her finger.
For a moment, she felt as if every journey she'd
ever take and lit up inside her mind, every airport,
every road, every hotel, every mountain, every beach, every strange
little cafe your family had accidentally bought a baghead or whatever.
Then time snapped back. The truck engine rumbled, the speaker continued,
and remember, hydration improves compliance. Audia looked down at the ring. Okay,
she whispered, Let's try something. She pictured her bedroom, her
own bed, her bookshelf, the little glow she had on
the desk. The ring flashed and Audie vanished A blink. Later,
she stood in her room. She gasped, oh wow. For
half a second, she just stood there. Then she looked
around at the quiet room, and she grinned. She had
to test this a little more before she could really
do anything about it before she could trust it, so
she pictured the icy northern landscape she'd once visited, the
air so cold it made her eyelashes feel strange. In
a flash, she stood on frozen ground beneath a pale
gray sky, with wind slapping her face. Nope, she said, immediately,
and another flash. She would back in her room. She
laughed for a second, and then pictured the black volcanic
rock in Iceland, steam rising from cracks in the earth,
the smell of minerals in the air, and in a flash,
heat and steam rolled around her. Laudia stood near a
volcanic area she remembered from a safe viewing path, though
now she was much closer to the dangerous parts than
any tour guide would have approved. Okay, she said, good
to know. Another flash and she appeared in a desert, endless,
bright and super hot. Another flash, and a canyon opened
beneath her. Another flash and a rainforest surrounded her. Another flash,
and she was back in her bedroom again, and her
smile faded. She remembered her family and the others. It
was time for testing to be over. Her family was,
after all, still in the truck. Audia pictured the inside
of the transport vehicle, the metal benches, the speaker, the
frightened faces, and in a flash, she appeared exactly where
she'd been sitting, except now everyone was staring at the
empty spot where she had vanished from. Her mother gasped Adia.
Audia grabbed her mother's hand in her father's sleeve hauled on.
In a flash. They landed in a tiny clearing at
the edge of a remote rainforest villager that Audia's family
had once visited on some sort of eco tour. It
was far from big cities, from highways, and definitely far
from any robot charging stations. Her parents stumbled shocked, huh Audio.
Her father said, oh what did you What did you
just do? Where? Where are we? No time? Audius said,
stay here, I'm getting the others. She flashed back to
the truck. This time people screamed, which was fair because
most people haven't seen someone teleport before. Everyone listen. Audius said,
I can get you out of here, two or three
at a time. Just hold hands and don't let go.
A woman blinked at her, Ah, are you a magician
or something? Ah, let's just say I'm having a very
unusual Now, hold hands. She moved quickly, flash two people
to the rainforest. Another flash, and back to the truck.
Another flash, and a mother and child were brought to safety,
flash and back again. The robots in the front of
the truck didn't really notice anything at first. By the
time the transport truck reached the university care facility, the
back of it was entirely empty. Audia teleported to the
roof of a nearby building and crouched behind a vent,
watching As the truck doors opened, two robots stood waiting
with clipboards. Now robots probably didn't need clipboards, but it
made them feel important or something, so they had them
please exit the vehicle in an ordinary manner. One robot said,
No one exited. The robot leaned in. There was a pause.
Passengers appear absent. The second robot checked his clipboard. Impossible.
Passenger manifest indicates thirty two humans. The first robot looked
inside again. Thirty two humans are not present. Perhaps they
are hiding. The robots stepped inside, looked under the benches,
and then came back out. No humans detected. The second
robot paused, This may indicate unauthorized absence. Audia smiled from
the rooftop. You think, she said, then she vanished. She
appeared behind the first robot, grabbed its metal arm, and
pictured the volcanic place in Iceland. In a flash, she
and the robot appeared with her beside the smoking black
rock and lava. It had just enough time to say
this location is not approved for human and Audio let
go and flashed away. The robot stumbled, completely disoriented, took
two steps and well toppled into a molten lava flow.
It didn't go well for that robot. In a flash,
Madia appeared behind the second robot back at the university. Hello,
she said, It turned and she grabbed it. In a flash,
the robot appeared in the arctic cold temperature is outside
optimal operating range. Good Audio said, that's exactly what I
was hoping for, and in a flash, she was gone.
Back at the university, alarm bells began to sound. Robots
poured out of buildings. The university had been turned into
a huge care facility. Dormitories were living quarters, Lecture halls
were obedience orientation brooms. The cafeteria become a nutrition distribution center.
It all made Audia kind of angry. When she appeared
back there, a group of robots spotted her unregistered citizen.
Detected one said, please report for emotional intake. Audia appeared
directly in front of them. Catch me if you can,
she said. The robots raised their net launchers and fired.
Audius vanished the nets, flew through the empty air and
wrapped around the robots behind her. Friendly entanglement detected. One
robot said, this is unexpected, said another. Audia appeared behind
a third robot, tapped its shoulder and sent it to
the desert in a flash, then another to the frozen north,
then to at once to the edge of the canyon,
where they staggered, tried to balance, and fell very very
very far down to their well presumed destruction. More robots came,
and Audia began to learn quickly she didn't need to
fight them, or slow down time, or sneak around or
turn into a dragon. She didn't have those kind of powers,
but she had all sorts of places, so many places.
She appeared behind robots and vanished with them before they
could even react. One robot reached for her, and she
teleported just a few feet to the side. It grabbed
another robot instead of her. The citizen has become a robot.
It said, I have not. I was always a robot,
said the other robot. Adia appeared above them on a balcony.
Robots are extremely bad at this, she said, before teleporting
to the music room, taking hold of the grand piano
and teleporting it directly above the robot's heads. It resulted
in a really satisfying smash, one accompanied by all sorts
of broken piano notes. Audia cleared the building floor by floor.
In the dormitory, she found families locked in rooms. She
opened a door, stepped inside, and held out her hand.
Everyone who wants to leave hould on. A boy asked,
where are we going? Somewhere robots hate, Audia said, and
that was apparently enough for him. She moved people in
groups to different safe places. Some went to the same
rainforest village she left her family. Mothers went to a
tiny mountain community she remembered from a family hiking trip.
Others went to a remote northern settlement where cold and
distance would likely make it difficult for robots to travel.
She made sure each group had adults, supplies, and well
people who could explain what was happening. Then she returned
again and again the robots became more confused. Human inventory decreasing.
One announced, please recount humans. There are no humans to recount.
Then recount the absence of humans. Audia appeared behind one
of the robots. I can help with that, she said,
and in a flash, the robot vanished into the desert.
By the time she reached the main administration building, the
university care facility had become strangely quiet. That was when
she found the control room. It had been set up
in the university president's office, which Audia thought was well fitting.
One robot turned as she entered. Citizen Audio, your teleportation
has been noticed, Audia froze. You know my name. It
was not difficult using facial recognition. Based on a review
of footage, it is logical to conclude that your power
to teleport is coming from that ring. Your ability creates
a care challenge. Please surrender the ring so we may
place you in a non teleporting environment. H no, thanks,
Audiu said. The robots moved. Audio flashed behind the first
one and sent it flying into the Arctic. She grabbed
the second and sent it to the volcano. The third
fired an energy net. She vanished, appeared above the robot
and dropped onto its shoulders. In a flash, they appeared
on the canyon edge. She covered its eyes, led it
over the side, and teleported again. Before she could fall
along with it, She returned alone. The final robot in
the room was larger than the others. It had a
red straight across its chest and a glowing command symbol
on its head. I am the campus care coordinator, it said.
Without humans, my purpose cannot be fulfilled. Audio looked at
the screens. Every dorm was empty, every classroom was empty.
Every cafeteria table sad abandoned. You are right, Audiu said,
and there are no humans here. What are you gonna
do now? The coordinator turned head slowly. Then there is
no care to provide. Nope, she answered, no safety to optimize,
not really, no compliance to monitor, definitely not, she said.
The robots stood very still all across the screens. The
other robots stopped moving. Audio watched as one by one
they lowered their arms. The coordinator spoke again, but its
voice sounded different. Now. In the event of human extinction, evacuation,
or complete absence from a signed care zone, helper bought
units are programmed to conserve resources. Audio took a step back,
meaning purpose unavailable, care impossible, entering shut down mode. Across
the campus, robots sat down in hallways, their glowing eyes dimmed,
and they just sort of slumped over wherever they were,
a protocol that had been put in place so robots
wouldn't be left alone on the planets without the humans
they were programmed to protect and care for. Interesting, Audius said.
She teleported around the campus quickly, but it was true
everywhere the robots had simply shut themselves off. Weird, she said,
before teleporting back to the rainforest where she'd left her family.
The people cheered as she turned and her mother came
to meet her. Ah, honey, we've set things up in
this cabin over here if you're back for a while now. Anyways,
I am, Audia said. She followed her mother back to
the cabin. Would you like some dinner deer, her mother asked,
and Audia agreed. She ate her fill of some sort
of wonderful soup before heading off to her very own bed.
Speaker 2: She was tired.
Speaker 1: She laid down in the bed, pulled the covers up
to her chin, pulled the mosquito net around herself, and
closed her eyes. With each breath, she started to drift off.
Her body sank down into the bed and her mind
started to wander off to thoughts of new dreams, new adventures,
and new places to come. Good night, everyone, Mum.
Speaker 3: Never union name in New York, m Union, no mom
of thing, no.
Speaker 1: Mo M.
Speaker 3: One one mo
Speaker 2: M