➤The ✭ Perfect ✫ World ➧➧➤

[Hiddochi wolf]

The building they exited was the cylinder, and the holographic earth floated above their heads. The image was very clear, because the sun had already sunk behind the horizon. They had spent the entire day in the undergrounds. The sight of those infinite rows of people was bittersweet to Genesis, as he knew that he was now an enemy to their glazed-over eyes.
He sensed the vehicle not far, and started off in that direction. As they approached it, he became aware of one human missing from the group behind him. It was Chris. The boy had started walking off in his own direction, toward Southeast.

Eva was placed in the backseat of the cab again, her head limply settled into the rest. She watched motionlessly as everyone else entered, and saw Genesis enter the truck's bed from the rear-view mirror. She waited until the family was all together, until all doors were shut and they were ready to go. Her voice was low and apologetic, "I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through for my sake..." She shook her head, "I never wanted to involve anyone."  

[Okami Ameras]

Lukas had settled into the bed and cradled the sleeping Scarlet in his arms; a gentle and relieved smile on his face. Nova jumped into the back alongside Genesis. She settled down next to him and crossed her legs. She looked at all the humans, curious as to why they all stood there, blank and glassy eyed.

Odessa sat in front passenger seat this time, and looked back at Eva. Isabella climbed into the driver seat and started the truck, and it purred to life.

Odessa looked to Eva. Do you at least feel more whole now that you know where you came from?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

"Yeah... a lot more whole." Eva responded, "Thank you, for everything." She smiled weakly, eyes half-closed. Her skin still hadn't returned to its full hue, but was healthier than before. She stared out the window and felt nothing as the fields drifted away. The simulation was no longer a sanctuary, yet she didn't outright hate it either. It just was. Not even the thought of Raowan's cowardice retreat bothered her now. Numbers started flowing through her head once more as she was lulled to sleep.

• • •

The camp was uncomfortably tense, primarily due to Southeast's looming walls. It was only West's forces which remained in this camp, as Layla and her attendants had gone forward to speak with Southeast's dictator. No one slept, no one relaxed, and everyone held a gun at their side. Devon watched the faction from binoculars.
Southeast's walls were taller than their very civilization, and much like North, had mecha patrolling the outskirts. Guns were mounted on top of the wall, and near each stood a person in the obvious blue-and-silver uniform. There were no signs of Layla.
"It's been five hours... isn't that long enough? It seems needless to waste any more than one." Devon conversed with a random member beside him, who just nodded in response. "If they don't return before midnight, we're moving in."
The sound of distant gunshots suddenly filled the air.  

[Okami Ameras]

Odessa smiled and nodded to Eva. That is what matters.

She then turned and let Eva sleep.

The fields soon vanished from view as Isabella took the same path that they had taken to get there. There was no sign of the camp from before, and eventually they came to the crater.

The moon glowed in the clear sky above the crater, the hole in the sky giving the effect of looking through the rim of a great wine glass. Isabella, since they weren't in much of a hurry this time, simply decided to drive around.

~~~

I stirred in my father's arms, and woke. Nova had covered me with her black cloak, like a blanket so I wouldn't get cold. I smiled at her and she returned it with warmth in her child-like orange eyes.

I looked to Genesis. Thank you... Thank you for bringing me back.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

"Protecting human life is simply my command." Genesis said logically, though his eyes held a softness to them, "I cannot bear the guilt of a life lost before me." The Caretaker glanced up to the sky, fascinated by the crystal-clarity above the crater. "I find this whole situation incredibly ironic... I have betrayed my creators to aid people who, in ideals alone, should be my natural enemies." He chuckled, then looked back to Scarlet and her father. His mild amusement was replaced by a slight sense of regret, "I wish I could have been the father to Eva which she needed for so long... But I was forbidden to make any contact. It would have further disrupted the simulation had she known."  

[Okami Ameras]

Lukas cradled me to him.

It is not that we want to destroy the simulation... we simply do not want to live in it. Perhaps if they had given us a choice, we would not make war with the government that runs the simulation... and the violence of the Caretakers would never have been inacted. That is all we really desire. A choice to live in it or not too. Though, some like to take that to extremes and try to destroy it... Lukas shook his head, remembering Devon trying to break the simulation from the void layer... And how close it had brought war to his doorstep.

As for not being there for your child... I know the feeling. I wished I could have been there for Scarlet when she was trapped in the simulation for those 4 years... He looked down at me with a smile. I nuzzled him, and my stomach growled.

Hehe. Getting blown up and then rebuilt makes ya hungry. I giggled.

Lukas laughed when his stomach gave a answering growl. HA! Being connected to someone on the brink of death makes you hungry too!

He then smiled at Genesis. But yes... that's all we really want is a choice. It's a choice they seem unwilling to give... the Simulation bothers us mystics, personally.  

[omgIisonfiyah]

Virgil finished watching the fight and had spent most of his time monitoring events outside the sphere of his influence. And all the while he had decided one thing: he wanted answers. And so there he was, looking for Raovan trying to get an explanation for just what the hell was going on.  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Genesis tensed as he listened to Lukas's explanation, how the government refused to give a choice. His voice sounded guarded, "It is understandable to desire freedom of decision. In fact, that was one aspect I never agreed with in their actions. Unfortunately..." He paused and grimaced, recalling Chris's discovery of those cyborgs earlier, "...I have a bad feeling their resistance to choice is simply a small portion of a larger plan. I haven't the slightest clue what it may be, but I know it cannot be good." The Caretaker looked to Nova with fear in his expression, "And I believe I have unknowingly aided their advancement to that goal."

• • •

Raowan surveyed the damage reports from a wall of monitors, Nemesis at his side and the other four Administrators seated behind him. They were in the facility's core, the most secure sector. The room was small and circular and metallic like any other, and contained a round table at its center which faced the wall of screens. Ceiling panels hid anti-intruder weaponry, and every wall was at least a full foot thick of protective material. Two robots of an unknown model type guarded the only entrance, heavily armored to the point of near indestructibility, bearing weapons that not even Nemesis herself had access to.
"What are the total losses?" He asked the fembot dully.
"There were 44 units destroyed, only 8 of which were the newest make. Human casualties have been counted to about 23, however we cannot get a precise number due to the bodies having been entirely destroyed. Metamorphosis was terminated in combat with an intruder, and Genesis has gone with the AI's group." Nemesis replied eagerly.
Raowan nodded, "Very well...and what about the Angels?"
"They remain unharmed. However, I have received reports that a stray Caretaker and Southeast's captive stumbled upon their containment earlier."
There was an uproar of voices at the table, some outraged and others more concerned. Raowan sighed in irritation, "Calm yourselves! We face no threat from a single boy knowing of their existence. Not even the Caretakers know anything beyond the fact that they're cyborgs." He growled at the group, and the other four fell silent. "Now... I believe we all come to agreement that repairs to the research division should come first priority, correct? Good. Dismissed."

• • •

Layla's mech ripped off the Caretaker which had pounced upon its shoulder, while the machine's other arm slashed at human soldiers with a giant laser blade. She was inside, piloting the suit with her mind. She took several steps back, slashing the whole while, before she detected another mech approaching from behind. Bullets bounced off her metallic self from all directions, raining down from the wall-mounted turrets and ground soldiers and Caretakers. Layla whipped around, her blade met by the enemy mech's shield. The machine countered with a blast of missiles, all but one of which were destroyed by her weapon. The last collided with her side, causing Layla to cringe from her machine's pain. She faltered, and the enemy advanced with a new blade.
"I need help over here! They've become hostile, and my guards were already destroyed!" Layla called out over the radio, her message directed to West's signal.  

[Okami Ameras]

There was silence from the three. Nova blinked, not knowing what any of it meant.

Lukas and I just stared at him, before looking at each other. Both of us let out a long, exasperated sigh.

Well, now... that makes the question... Should we reveal our little trip to the government undergrounds and warn the rest of the resistance... Or should we keep our mouths shut and prepare? That little security breach in the Simulations coding layer nearly started a war between us and another faction... we may have them all down on our heads if they find out we broke into the government undergrounds and we didn't break anything vital...

~~~

Isabela drove on, then noticed something in Odessa's lap.

What do have there?

Odessa smiled, and held it up. It was the laptop that Genesis had used to record and store Scarlet's mind and memories. She had snatched it on the way out; she had opened it up and was studying the coding that was her sister's mind turned AI.

It's fascinating... I'm also looking to see what else is on here. If there's enough data on here, I'm thinking about making a virus.

A virus?

Yeah. We've seen what Nova and Genesis are like... what if we can make a virus that affects other Caretaker AI's? It would switch their top priorities from protecting the simulation... to protecting human life. Human minds wouldn't be affected... but hostile caretakers within the VR would find that they can't kill anymore. And then that virus would spread to ones not in the VR...

Hah! Well, it would sure as hell mean that the other Factions can't accuse us of being lazy!  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Genesis shook his head immediately, "We cannot allow Southeast any opportunity to find out, and I believe word would leak out fast..." He looked back to Lukas with utmost seriousness, "The Southeast this world knows is long gone, dead along with the peaceful acts of my brethren. This Southeast is nothing more than government workers bearing such uniform. It was all a dirty trick on their part, to gain the trust of other factions before their advance. They are currently attempting to sabotage East with tainted supplies..."  

[Okami Ameras]

The man winced.

If they had not kidnapped Chris, their ruse would have gone undetected.... It is a good thing we broke off allegiance to them long ago; they were trying to work our visiting people to death. But yes, you're right... how come we always try not get involved, and yet we're always the ones with information? He asked with a sigh.

Odessa continued to type and explore the information on the laptop. she looked up.

Daddy? Both Lukas and I looked up.

Yes Odessa?

Odessa mentally explained the concept of what she wanted to do.

I gave a weak giggle as Lukas burst out laughing-- he laughed loudly and it sounded like the devil's laughter ringing from the gates of hell.

((Yes, he sounds like that when he laughs. What fun.))

Gonna pull an Issac Asmov, Odessa?

That would be interesting tho, wouldn't it? Every caretaker with that priority... Replace it with something similar TO those laws.

He smiled. It certainly would be one hell of a curve ball-- it might even throw off the other factions!  

[Hiddochi wolf]

((Hehe, I finished reading I, Robot not long ago... I can recite the Three Laws from memory. xd 1. A robot may not harm a human being, nor through its own inaction allow a human to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders, so long as such instructions do not violate the first Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, but only if such action does not interfere with Laws 1 & 2. *Nerd.* ))


"Because those who do not seek trouble are the most appealing targets for trouble." The robot answered, "Am I not living proof of such phenomena?" He asked with a wry grin, "Though I doubt that I even count as 'living' by common definition. According to the biological classification of GRIMM, I am not. I don't grow, I don't reproduce, I can be irritable to ecological conditions, though not from stimuli... my closest version of a metabolism is the consumption of electric energy, and I consist of metal alloys rather than cells."
Genesis stared blankly down to his own figure, and noticed every small detail that was different from the humans'. On first glance a Caretaker may look human, but in actuality is very unlike one. Even beneath his bodysuit he could see the breaks between panels for joints, the too-flawless outline of nonexistent muscles, the stiffness of his "skin." He tilted his head, "I have never envied flesh. It is too vulnerable, too delicate in its natural state. I wish I had feeling, though. Sensing is entirely separate from feeling, to my understanding. To sense a physical touch is merely to know of such contact, but not to experience it."


((Robots can get so off-topic... xd ))  

[Okami Ameras]

((~high five~ Awesome!))

And that, my friend, is the truth. We are content to live, yet no one will leave us alone.

He smiled as Genesis went off topic. It's not like he didn't wind his way on tangents now and then. He bounced Scarlet gently in his arms, and found that she had dozed off again.

Nova, meanwhile, searched for definitions for several words, both that Lukas, Scarlet, and Genesis had used. Then, while Genesis's attention focused inward, her focus went outward, and she noticed a large shape on the horizon. She stood and balanced herself with the roller bars as the vehicle moved. She looked back, and the crater was fading into the distance, and she looked back at the dark mass which we were now approaching.

What's that?  

[Hiddochi wolf]

Genesis fell silent as Nova stood up, and joined her. He barely had to grip the bars for support, because he was already well accustomed to his own body's balance and limitations. "I cannot tell from sight alone...however, the oxygen levels seem to be rising. Perhaps there is plant life within?"

Eva stirred awake, as if detecting the forest's approach. She saw Odessa looking at coding in the front passenger's seat, but thought nothing of it. Her focus was on the outside world, the trees of her new home. She was the exact opposite of these people; they were more human than "human," while she was perhaps less than human. A mere copy. Yet they accepted her as nothing less than a person, something she couldn't admit about her true home. All of the other Caretakers referred to her as "the AI."
The fresher air felt good in her lungs, a pleasant change from the stale, unnaturally cold atmosphere of the undergrounds. She felt alive.  

[Okami Ameras]

Lukas rose to his feet and leaned against the truck cab. He didn't grip the bars at all, as his hands were full with his sleeping daughter and he was well-aware of his center of balance. His long crimson hair whipped in the wind. The sky had slowly faded from grey into a healthy black, and one could see the stars and the moon casting down light upon the trees.

Welcome, Genesis and Nova. Most call this Northwest. We call it Home.

I stirred again as the fresh air entered my lungs. I smiled as the dark shape approached. I hugged my father the best I could, considering how weak I was.

Yay! We're home!

Soon it was within range for all to see; a massive forest, of trees that towered over the little truck as it approached. The rocking of the truck evened out as the soil got smoother and even in the darkness it looked healthier. The forest looked like a little paradise that had escaped the destruction of the old war... yet it was so close to the crater, it couldn't have.

In truth... this forest was only four years old.

Soon the truck slid easily into a path under the outmost trees, obviously the youngest ones but their branches was still high enough not to hit anyone's heads, even on the truck bed. The path was smooth and well maintained, and Isabella wove her way through the trees without so much as a rocking of the truck. Soon they had reached the base of the largest tree-- a truly massive redwood with a trunk larger then that of a small house; In the moonlight it stood like a sentinel over the forest.

It was the first time I got a look at it. I squealed and pointed to it.

That's the tree I planted, those 4 years ago! It's grown so big!

Lukas smiled. It's the Watcher tree now, Scarlet. One can sit in this tree and see all the faction HQ's and beyond!

I giggled and squealed. When I'm feeling better I must climb it!

I smiled up at it. It then started to glow a pure sky blue in my eyes, and I gasped. That was MY color.

I took good care of it while you were gone. He hugged me closer. I was your bridge.

I thought it had died when I got trapped in the VR.

Lukas laughed again. I giggled happily.

You know you live a peaceful life when you worry about how healthy the tree you planted is. Hehehehe.