“Psst. Hey! George. Pssst. Over here, man.”

George looked up to see his neighbor Marly gesturing to him from just inside the gate separating their yards. He had a dripping garden hose in one hand which he used to occasionally spritz the embers that floated toward his property.

George was pissed off. First his EMP generator failed. Then he broke two fingers on his hand. Now, giant rebelling robots had set fire to his garage. It was therefore understandable that his reply was not calm and measured.

“Marly, why the hell are you whispering?” he shouted back.

Taken aback by the vehemence of the response, Marly had no immediate answer.

“It’s a robot uprising, Marly,” he yelled. “Hear the screaming? Do you see my garage? I don’t think whispering is going to help.”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to draw attention to us!” he responded in a stage whisper. “Listen, there’s something over here you need to see.”

George wearily pulled himself to his feet.

“Will it stop giant robots?” he asked sarcastically.