Copyright 1999 -- Robert Baer Jr 

The Renegade Files - "Guantanamo Project -- Part 2"


PROLOGUE

>This is the story of a superhero, The Computer Renegade, as told through
>the eyes of his faithful bionic German Shepard Otto.  Disguised as
>Accountant Nathan Lovejoy, the Renegade and his friends fight a never
>ending battle against crime, injustice and danger.   This is yet another
>entry from Otto's 'personal' log.
>
The Renegade Files -- "Guantanamo Project -- Part 2" 

While the Dream Team had been detained in Buenos Aires, Starlight and I
were still in pursuit of Spot, the bionic canine who was now free of his
evil master's control.  Fortunately for us, his unique energy signature
made it easy for us to follow him.  We chased him for miles and miles,
everytime he ran in one direction, we soon followed right behind him. 
After almost thirty minutes of this, Spot suddenly stopped in a clearing
and opened fire with his laser beam eyes.  Starlight and I had our force
fields on so his shots did no damage.  We, in turn, fired at him and
watched as our shots bounced off of his force field.  This continued for
about a minutes, until I finally stopped shooting and began talking.

"SPOT!"  I shouted,"Let's stop this foolishness and talk for a moment. 
We're getting no where chasing you and shooting laser beams at each other."

"You are correct, Otto!" Spot moaned,"I can tell by my scanners that you
and Starlight are as equally bionic as I am, further conflict is a sheer
waste of energy."

"Spot," Starlight asked,"can you tell us why you hate all humans?  Maybe
Otto and I can help you ...."

"Help me?" Spot said in anger,"that's what my masters said they were doing
to me, helping me, enhancing my abilities when in reality they turned me
into a robotic 'puppet' and turned me lose on Buenos Aires!"

"How did you become a bionic dog?" I asked,"Starlight and I ..."

"Yes, yes, I've already downloaded your profiles," Spot groaned,"both of
you were in near fatal accidents and were rebuilt to save your lives.  I
WASN'T!!!  Before all of this, I was a family pet.  My old masters were a
nice young couple with two beautiful children.  We'd all go for walks, car
rides and even to the park together!  Until two months ago when those two
evil Dream Teamers kidnapped me and turned me into a monster!"

"You mean they did bionic surgery on you even though you were healthy and
well?" Starlight said with indignation in her voice,"that's horrible!"

"That's mutilation!" I growled.

"Yes," Spot said as he began to cry,"they inserted all of these inplants
into me, and even took out some of my healthy organs and limbs!   They
wanted to make me their ultimate weapon of destruction, like the original
Guantanamo Project blueprints called for.  But somehow over time, my own
mind and the computer merged, much like both of you experienced, and I
have become self aware, like you two have."

"I understand," I said sadly.

"NOW do you see why I hate all humans?" Spot roared,"they turned me into
this 'thing', I was perfectly happy as a famliy pet, but now I can see
that all humans are evil and not to be trusted!  I don't care if I never
see another one again!"

"How can you say that all humans are evil?" Starlight asked,"what about
your former masters and their children, were they evil?"

Spot looked sadly at Starlight, she had finally 'reached' this confused
dalmation.  He turned to me and said,"I just wish I could return back home
to them, I wished all of this had never happened!"

"We can help you, Spot!" I said with a smile,"I know of a friend of mine
who could fix your circuitry and ..."

"YOU'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME!!!" Spot growled as he stared at me.

"This is no trick, my friend!" I answered back,"if you are equipped with a
truth detector, use it on me now, see what it tells you!"

Spot fired a orange ray out of his eyes at my head, he established a mind
link and read my thoughts.

"You are indeed telling me the truth, Otto," Spot said,"but what about all
the things I did in the city?  I must be held accountable for my actions!"

"We will talk to the Argentine officials," Starlight said with a
smile,"you were under the Dream Team's control when you did all of that
damage, that must is certain."

"Can this Uncle Buford person change me back into an ordinary dog?" Spot
asked,"that's all I ever wanted to be, can he do it?"

"I'm not certain," I answered,"but he'll do the very best he can.  What
about all of your super abilities?  Wouldn't you like to join our team and
help us fight crime and injustice?"

"I do appreciate the offer, Otto," Spot said with tears in his eyes,"but
all I want to be is my old self, not self-aware, not bionic, not
destructive, I only want to be a true canine again!"

"Then lower your force field and follow us back to the city," Starlight
said calmly,"you'll have to trust us, Spot, all humans are not evil.  The
ones who did these terrible things to you will be punished, and we'll do
our best to return you to your family."

"Alright," Spot said with a smile,"I'll go with you back to Buenos Aires."

With a loud BOOM!!!!!  Starlight, Spot and I returned to the city.  We
explained to our masters and the city police all that had happened.  The
Argentinians agreed that Spot no longer posed a threat to their nation and
released him into our custody.    Besides, everyone had clearly seen that
Spot was only an instrument in the Dream Team's evil hands.   Mr X,
Samantha, Spot and I zapped ourselves to Uncle Buford's lab while the
others remained in Buenos Aires to help repair all the damage that had
been done.  Uncle Buford did precisely what Spot had wanted, he
reprogrammed his internal computer systems, deactivated and removed all of
his weapons and sensor capabities and 'toned down' all of his bionic
strength settings to normal canine levels.  Spot was happy when the
Renegade and Melitta returned Spot to his true masters, he ran and played
with their happy children, totally unaware of all of the events from the
past two months to this moment in time.   

One day later as evening sat in I sat on the front porch of Nathan's
house, staring into to sky and reflecting on our encounter with Spot. 
Samantha came out and sat beside me.

"Darling, what's wrong?" Samantha asked,"you seem very troubled about
something."

"You are very perceptive, my love," I answered back,"something bothers me
about our last mission."

"What is it, Otto?" Samantha asked.

"Well, I can relate to Spot, in one sense of the word, he and I are like
brothers.  I just wonder if someday that my internal systems will
malfunction and I could turn into a destructive weapon like Spot....."

"DARLING!  THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU!"

"But what if it did?   Uncle Buford almost turned me off over a year ago
when he thought I was a threat to humanity.  What if his first instincts
were right?  What if I can't handle being self-aware?"

"Stop talking like that!" Samantha said as she hugged me,"you're a good,
honest dog and I love you!   Our masters and Uncle Buford will always be
watching over you, they won't let you turn evil, and neither will I!"

"Thank you, Sam!" I said as I kissed her,"it's very comforting to know I
have so many friends here to turn to when things go wrong.  Maybe I
shouldn't worry so much."

"You definately shouldn't!" Samantha said sternly,"now, how about we take
a moonlight walk in the woods?"

"That's sounds very relaxing!" I said with a grin on my face.

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