Things are going well in this riot! The drones are easily dispatched, and there are far fewer soldier Clonoids. Trent points the way to where Amelia is being held captive.
Meanwhile, a trio of prisoners decides to try their luck with a doorway to a restricted area. It’s locked, but something busts its way through! What is happening?!
Despite the ruckus, there’s still a job to do! It’s time to get Amelia! Zik and Trent wade into the fray, taking out whomever they can to try and tip the balance in their favor!
Greg hasn’t stopped acting completely irrationally, and immediately starts a riot in the factory! Trent explains to Zik that these guys have always been trouble and have now started something that they probably can’t handle. By the time he and Trent make it inside, there’s a full scale battle going on!
A legend is born! It turns out Trent is pretty handy with a pistol! Like a gunslinger right out of the old American West! The Clonoid soldier barely has time to glance over before Trent has shot him straight through the heart. Zik is astounded and gives him the name “Quickdraw” on the spot! Greg irrationally blames Zik for the devastating failure of the attack and runs into the factory!
Many Zozians have several names. In keeping with the North American First Nations traditions that are so prevalent on Zoz, it starts with the name you were given by your parents when you were born. Later, if you accomplish a memorable deed, you are very likely to receive another name or a title to go along with your original name. Zik became Defender Zik (as we will see in Episode 2), and now Trent has become Trent Quickdraw!
Oh no! What a disaster! They get themselves killed trying to start a revolution! Zik curses the rashness of their actions, and probably himself for not seeing it coming, despite Vera’s warning!
The Clonoid soldier declares that Zik is under arrest, but before anyone can do anything, the prisoners launch a surprise attack! One sucker punch and one big rock to the snout! Unfortunately, Clonoid soldiers always meet aggression with deadly force, and now the second one moves to attack. Worse, since all the Clonoids are networked, the entire factory, indeed all Clonoids everywhere instantly know what’s happening here! Disaster!
The party approaches the factory, which has a couple of stern-looking Colonoid soldiers guarding the entrance. Word is, there’s a new Clonoid being fitted for a uniform today. Zik is confronted and decides to shed his disguise and open a dialogue. What will happen next?
It’s time for action! Trent is concerned about how dangerous the plan is, so Zik hands him one of his rail guns! A couple of the other prisoners seem to have something up their sleeve, though. Is this what Vera was warning about?
Zik vows to help Amelia, but his plan is probably the least likely one that anyone has thought of! He wants to ask nicely?! How strange!
What most people here on the prison planet don’t realize is that on Zoz, there is a principle that people follow: the non-aggression principle. It’s basically unheard of to go out looking for a fight, since it’s so much easier and less harmful to negotiate a solution. They even have a saying: “He who draws the first sword admits he has lost the argument.”
Unfortunately, Zik, having been raised in that environment, simply takes it for granted that people would understand the need to dialogue before engaging in hostilities. Here on the prison planet, things are a little more stark, and as we’ve already seen, aggression is a way of life.
Anarchy doesn’t mean chaos. Literally translated it means “no rulers.” That’s what they have going on Zoz, and look how nicely it turned out! So many futuristic stories depict either an authoritarian future or a dystopic future with a breakdown of society following a governmental collapse. It’s high time for a story that explores the plusses and pitfalls by a society without masters!
Vera thinks it sounds pretty swell, but she has a warning for Zik: people here are (understandably) angry at their captors, and who knows what Zik’s arrival may trigger!
