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 Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 11:05 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:57 pm
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((Something like that.  ))
Lukas smiled at Genesis. He nodded as Genesis uttered that single word. Whether Lukas knew what language he spoke of was unknown; but he could tell the meaning in his voice and tone.
We work to restore the dead earth and make it live again. That is our purpose. We are content to live, and let live. One day we hope to have the world as it once was; a lush green paradise, free of the poison of radiation.
Nova was wide eyed and jaw dropped as she looked about.
It's so... full of life! So peaceful! So beautiful.
Eventually we reached the main entrance to the Northwest, a natural looking cave with teeth-like stalactites dripping mineral rich water down it's mouth. The truck drove in, seeming to slide into the darkness below. Eventually the ground leveled out and we were in the main lab, the center of a huge complex of caves under the forest.
People immediatly stopped to look up. The energy Genesis felt up there was more intense now, though it didn't feel hostile. All eyes fell on Genesis and Nova as Isabella and Odessa piled out of the cab, and Odessa held up a hand as she pushed back the seat to help Eva out.
The people were... unsure of what to make of the two Caretakers. No one seemed to be afraid, though as Nova climbed down they were given some scrutiny; others were merely curious. But they trusted Lukas not to bring in a threat, so they idly worked on their projects as they observed the two.
Then Lukas vaulted down easily from the truck bed; his movement made the truck rock and he landed sturdily on his feet. The people's eyes landed on me, half wrapped in shiny black silk bandaged and covered in (by now) dried blood.
There was a murmur, and after a moment a group of people, dressed in white with a red Caduceus symbol upon their chests, headed over to them. They immediately started ushering everyone (including Nova and Genesis) to some white tents along one wall, where they would be treated for any injuries they had acquired during their trip.
The medical people looked at Genesis and Nova; Genesis looked fine, but Nova was damaged. They looked at each-other, not sure how to fix a Caretaker... |
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:43 pm
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Eva got out with greater ease this time, her strength had slowly returned. She watched the others being ushered into the medical tents, but resisted when they eventually tried to help her. "I'm fine. Just a few minor cuts is all." She peeled off her bandages to show them, "See?"
She saw Genesis leave the tent appearing rather bewildered, "What's wrong?" She asked gently.
The robot looked to her and smiled, "Nothing, Eva. I'm just thinking, really." Genesis answered, eyes scanning over the lab. "This place feels familiar to me, and I cannot figure out why. Like someplace I would have seen in a dream, were I capable of such..."
"But you've never been here, right...?" Eva, too, became engulfed in the mystery and confusion.
He shook his head, "No, never in my existence. I merely knew Northwest as a name, not a place."
They both fell silent. She lowered herself into sitting on the floor, examined the armor which she wore. It had been slightly damaged by the acid, but kept her skin perfectly safe underneath. She hoped Isabella wouldn't be upset with the damage. "I can't believe how much danger these people were willing to enter, all for my sake..." She trailed off, her voice becoming more of a whisper, "I am grateful, don't get me wrong, but... I wish they didn't have to make that choice. I want to be able to handle my own problems."
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:46 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:07 pm
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After a few minutes, I was the first to be escorted out of the white tents. I wobbled over to Eva and Genesis weakly, before falling on my butt next to her.
Hi.
A big man approached then, even larger then Lukas-- he looked like he was 7 feet tall. His dark hair was streaked with soot and the stuff was under his fingernails; he smelled of charcoal. His skin seemed to be tinted grey by the stuff. And yet, while he seemed strong, his muscles were uncut.
"Hey Scarlet... You okay? Where's yer armor?"
I looked up at the man. Hey Jerad. It got destroyed. I replied simply.
He his eyebrows went up.
A very high tech robot tried to eat me and I made it explode. That's kind of why I'm covered in blood. But if it hadn't been for your armor I would be dead. Thank you, Jerad.
I weakly got to my feet and held out a hand to him. He smiled happily and shook it.
"I'm glad to hear my work did it's job well." Her did that shallow Northwest bow, hand over fist, and I returned it. "I'll be happy to make you a new set, and my apprentice can repair any of the armor that needs repairing."
Thank you.
The man looked at Genesis, smiled, bowed to him and Eva before walking away, whistling. He was as happy as can be. His armor had saved a life; that's what he worked for.
Meanwhile, Nova was giving the medics a bit of a puzzle. I heard the commotion and looked over. A confused medic gave me some pleading eyes as Nova was poking a syringe.
I turned and shouted to the lab at large in a surprisingly loud voice.
SOMEONE GET GERALD!
There was amusement from the lab before someone could be seen heading off to fetch this 'Gerald'...
((Okay hiddo. I'll make note.))
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:38 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 6:08 pm
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I looked to Eva when she asked about Nova. My eyes got kind of unfocused as I remembered.
It's kind of hazy... I was half aware at the time... I think she showed up right before Meta tried to eat me. I remember hearing her say something from a distance, like "No" and then the explosion... Then I remember her running around, panicking... She picked you up, wrapped me in her cloak and picked me up... got us out of the area where Meta exploded. She ran with us or a short distance before my family showed up with Genesis... then Genesis took us to the lab where the nano-machines repaired me.
I looked to Genesis, and looked around.
Ummm...
Then there was some mad laughter, and a small explosion.
A man strode up, a thin one this time. He wore a well fitting lab coat with a neat line of buttons doing from his collar down to the bottom of his coat, under it dark pants and boots could be seen. Protecting his eyes were a brass and bronze pair of goggles that looked straight out of a steampunk fantasy; his hands were covered by tough black gloves. His face and lab coat was covered in soot, but under the goggles could be seen a highly intelligent, if not eccentric pair of eyes. One eye was blue, the other a reddish brown. His hair was short and kinda spiky, and had been flopped onto oneside of his head by the explosion. In his hands he held an empty beaker in some tongs and a test tube full of some reddish black liquid.
SCIENCE!
He strode up to me with his exited exclamation. He peered at Genesis, curious.
Hello Gerald.
Science.
What do you know about robots?
Science?
Well, Nova over there needs some repairs, and Genesis would like a place to recharge.
Science! Mwahahaha!
I laughed. He tucked the empty beaker and tongs in his pocket, and went over to Nova and grabbed her hand, before dragging her off. Nova blinked and made an odd whirring sound, not sure how to react.
You can use Gerald's lab to recharge if you want.
Gerald suddenly stopped, turned, and put his hand with the test tube in the air, and waved it; oddly he did not spill any of it.
SCIENCE!
I laughed. Hey, he wants me to pay a visit too.
I headed off into the direction the man and puzzled robot had went.
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:05 pm
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:07 pm
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(( ... I love this Gerald character. rofl ))
"I'm surprised you remember all that... I was completely out." Eva managed to say before the explosion and madman entered the lab. Her eyebrows were furrowed the whole while, "'Science'?" She repeated incredulously, then got to her feet as Scarlet and the two robots disappeared. She hesitated a moment, then strode off in the direction of the cavern she and Scarlet had inhabited earlier. This armor still felt too strange to her.
She found her previous outfit piled on the floor behind the dressing curtain, and carefully removed the armor in exchange for the t-shirt, vest and shorts. The openness of regular clothes was a relief. Eva folded up the armor neatly and set it down on the bottom bunk, then paced around the room a couple times. She felt restless. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and one flew out ahead of her in a punch to an imaginary enemy's chin. She struck again with her other fist, a swift strike to the faceless man's stomach. Eva dodged to the side, then spun around into a kick... only for her foot to hit the cavern wall, causing her to gracelessly fall over in pain.
Halfway between pained tears and laughter, she stumbled back into standing and began the routine again. Further from the wall, this time.
• • •
Genesis followed after Scarlet and the madman pulling Nova, taking in every detail of the paths they went down. He was so acutely aware of all the energies around these people and caverns, a torrent of differing presences and intentions. He lacked the ability to see their colors, but in a sense, could feel the separate shades. A couple of those presences gave him that tinge of familiarity, though were further away from their course. Neither Scarlet nor Gerald had that sensation for him.
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:41 pm
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((He certainly knows how to make an entrance! rofl ))
Gerald and Scarlet led Nova and Genesis to a large empty cavern off of the main one. It was full of odd machinery, that looked like it belonged in realities other then this one. Some things were simple objects that seemed to be made of a single crystalline/metallic (usually silver white, or gold) materiel, that not even Genesis could discern the purpose of; others looked like sci-fi cybertech, with lots of flashing colors and smooth steel lines. There were brass and copper devices composed of gears and cogs and little whistles that blew steam; others looked Frankenstein-esque, with long metal antennae and electric arcs, similar to the coil gun I had created back in the government facility.
Gerald sat Nova down in a cyperpunk chair; she looked down and around at it. It glowed where she touched it, scanning her body structure. He headed over to a nearby control panel and looked at the info on the screen.
I wandered in. I noticed Nova looking at the odd glowy chair she was sitting in.
What's he doing?
Science.
He's scanning your infrastructure to see the extent of the damage.
I see. She still looked confused, but at least she kind of knew what was going on now.
Science! Science science science.
Oh? What do you want me to look at?
Science! He pointed to a nearby table; the table was laden with random objects. There was everything from a large generator (it had a chair next to it) to a bunch of little steam trains on a network of railroad tracks. On a stand was a pair of seemingly silver gauntlets. I looked at them.
The man smiled widely. Science! Mwahahahaha! He then went back to looking over the damage on Nova.
I picked them up and slid them on. They were a little large, but I wasn't surprised; Gerald hadn't seen me in ages. I then felt them neatly re-adjust to fit my hands.
?
~~~
There was a knock on the door as Eva practice. Odessa poked her head in.
Oh! Hey. I brought some food, if you're hungry. |
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:50 pm
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Eva had just entered a full frontward attack when Odessa knocked, and lost her balance from the surprise. She fell flat on her stomach with an audible "Oof!" She scrambled back onto her feet, clearly embarrassed, "T-thanks." She nodded once, then went to sit in a nearby chair. Sweat dribbled down her face, reminding her of the dried blood she would need to wash off later.
As Odessa entered, she thought back to the first encounter with Caretakers early that morning. How the family's medieval fighting styles managed to crush state-of-the-art war machines. She greatly admired that power, that talent. Eva looked to the Northwesterner with genuine interest, "How...did you all learn to fight that way? With nothing more than outdated weaponry?"
• • •
Genesis hadn't the slightest clue how any of this machinery worked. In fact, upon inspection, most of it seemed scientifically impossible. The technology he was born from and this technology were entirely separate, with seemingly far different intents. The Caretaker located a suitably empty plug, produced a small wireless device from his interior, and connected it to the power source. A thin line of pure electricity reached from the device's output to some point in the robot's back. He stood still as a statue and watched the others a moment, before closing his eyes and entering a computer's sleep mode.
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:56 pm
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Odessa smiled. She had changed out of her own armor and was now wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans. She set the food down on the counter next to Eva and sat down herself. It was chicken, beef, and pork tacos.
We learn how to use ourselves as effectively as we use our weapons. After all, what is, at it's very base level, the skeleton? It is a structure, that allows for flexibility in some places...
She wiggled her fingers and moved her arm around.
And protection where it is needed most in others.
She tapped her breastbone with a knuckle, and then her skull.
Hell, human bones are stronger then I-beams. What is the stomach? It breaks down various types of organic matter, and even a few inorganic matter, into fuel; this fuel is then distributed into the bloodstream, and is pumped around the body by the heart.
She leaned back in her chair, munching on a taco before continuing.
We learn to accept that our bodies are, in a way, highly complex organic machines. But that is only half of what we learn. We have a soul, which you could say is the pilot; it manipulates the mind and brain to control it's 'machine.' And our souls, you could say, are damn fine pilots. But the soul can also be active in this reality as well. Because if you only use the biological parts, it's like walking on one leg. Difficult, but most of humanity has been doing it for thousands of years. You could say... we have both feet on the ground.
She smiled.
Imagine being able to push someone so hard that your hand goes straight through their breastbone, and crushes their heart. I'm not saying that you would do this, but imagine that you could do this. Now, imagine using that strength to wield a 20 pound hammer with a hollow head and a 20 pound lead ball in it, with a handle that's as long as you are tall...
She leaned forward.
The forces can get astronomical. The hammer I just described was Scarlet's, before it was destroyed. It's a dead blow mallet, which means whatever you hit with it, gets hit twice; twice the forces from the origional strike. When you hit something with something like that, it breaks. My own weapon is a Meteor hammer; it's essentially a small heavy weight on a rope chain. In the hands of an amateur, people would get hurt. In the hands of a skilled fighter, it packs more punch then a bullet. In the hands of a master, it can rip people in half. I can make that thing glow red-hot in the air from the forces alone. When you hit something with it, it breaks!
~~~
I looked at the gauntlets. They were odd and thick, yet not unwieldy; I tapped them, and looked them over. Along the inner edges of the armor I noticed tubes, which seemed to have air flow through them. I put a finger against one tube, and felt the suction.
What do these do, Gerald?
Science! Mwahahaha! He snapped his fingers.
I shrugged and snapped my fingers. I felt a slight humming in my fingertips, and I looked at the gauntlet. The fingertips up to the main knuckle were starting to glow, hotter and hotter... but this wasn't fire heat, was it? It was... I held my hand out infront of me.
Plasma volt! I said with a gasp. I could feel the heat from the gauntlet from arms length away; they were emitting a little beam of superheated plasma, the next stage of matter.
Nova was watching me intently; her eyes were sparkling a little bit.
Okay Gerald, that's awesome... how do I turn it off?
Science!
That, Gerald, is absolutely no help what-so-ever.
Mwahahahaha!
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:49 pm
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Eva had grabbed and started munching on a beef taco, listening with interest as Odessa explained this very concept. She loved the idea of using both physical and ethereal forces as one, but something occurred to her. She waited until Odessa went quiet before speaking up, "But... I'm not human. I don't have a soul, do I?" She asked with some delay, "I'm just a manufactured body containing a program which simulates life. I don't think I even have a true 'personality'... My program just generated one."
She took a bite and swallowed hard, as if trying to rid herself of more than just the taco bits in her mouth. "How long does it take to learn, even just the physical aspect?"
• • •
The robot was vaguely aware of its surroundings; it could hear the commotion of the gauntlets, could sense where each entity was in the room. Yet it lacked any feeling in this state, reverting back to nothing but what it physically was. A machine. It remained motionless and its vision stayed black, and the only things running through its OS were the algorithms which kept it from ever fully deactivating. Slowly, though, even its hearing and sensing became overridden by a more supernatural force.
The scene ahead was blurry and dreamlike, and came from the perspective of different eyes. A teenage girl approached him with a plain shortsword held at her side. She was practically an albino, with deathly pale skin, and hair of an almost pure white. Only her blue eyes and matching blue robe stood out from the otherwise absence of color. She glared at him with impatience, "Mentor Spirit, when will we start practicing? It's been an hour."
He spoke in a voice unlike Genesis's, yet it clearly came from his own mouth, "When you finally learn some patience. This world is filled with far too many busy-bodies as it is..." He shook his head softly, long black hair stirred with the movement in the corner of his vision. The girl sighed, then dropped dramatically on her butt to sit on the deadened soil. He chuckled, "Alright, we can begin now."
Anger flared in her eyes, but she restrained from acting with it. She stood up straight and held the blade ahead of her, while the narrator drew out his own sword. It was a crimson colored metal with a diamond edged blade, the hilt was in the shape of a star and was made of another stone. Hints of a white armored robe with accents of blue and gold came into view as he looked downward.
The girl suddenly struck out at him, his weapon easily batted hers away. She backed away, then attempted again. Their weapons interlocked this time, and he rotated just his hand in a circle to make her drop hers. The shortsword flew from her grip, and just as she reached for it, he smacked the flat end of his blade against her face. She recoiled in pain, a ribbon of red forming on her cheek, "Ow! Why'd you d—"
"Because you let yourself be distracted. Had I the desire to kill you, this sword would have plunged itself through your skull right then." He answered before she could even finish the question, "Let's try again."
The scenery faded to white, then reformed into a small room. The walls appeared to be made of rock, and a fireplace illuminated the area. There was a table which he was approaching with a teapot in his hands, the same girl (albeit slightly older) sat across from him. He poured the hot tea into each of their cups, then took a seat. They wallowed in silence for a long while, and he preoccupied himself with shaping the steam from his glass as it floated past his fingers.
"I can't stand those robots. I wish they would all explode or something." She spoke up in a venomous tone, eyes full of fury.
He took a sip of his tea and set it down gently, "Surely you do not mean that. For if you did, you wish for genocide. Everything has a soul, just as everything also has a purpose."
"But they killed my brother!" She exclaimed, her fist slammed upon the table. Tears started to spill from her pained eyes, "How can they have souls if they commit murder without so much as a doubt?!"
He stood up and knelt down beside the sobbing girl, used his sleeve to dry her face, "I know it seems unfair, Layla... But that is their purpose. They kill merely to teach us something, perhaps even the fact that it was our fault as a resistance that they became capable of killing. Nothing can numb the pain of our losses, but we can use the knowledge we obtain from that loss to prevent more from coming."
Layla quieted, then turned away from him. He returned to his chair. She drank the last sip of her tea and stood to leave, but hesitated in the doorway, "Thank you, Spirit. I... I think I understand."
He nodded with smile, "I'm glad."
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:51 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 9:06 pm
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Hiddochi wolf omgIisonfiyah ((I dunno what to do with myself other than have Virgil search for Raovan. *hint hint* )) In a world that never understands you... "((I had Raowan down in the facility's core, and he just finished a meeting with the Administrators. He should be easy to find...)) " ...the machines will always understand your pain.
((Okay, but Virgil is inside the VR looking for him, I doubt he's even set foot outside it. Of course this is all up to me since we don't know for sure. sweatdrop )) |
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