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 Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:37 pm
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Genesis listened intently to both Lukas and Mord before nodding, still trying to make sense of this man. He was different. More different than most things the robot had ever encountered. Only the Northwesterners were of greater oddity.
"I see..." He paused to think, "So there must still be other life out there. Completely separate from the simulation or any faction. How fascinating." Genesis stated, a spark of childish curiosity lit his eyes. This was something unheard of; evolved humans, living within the most dangerous of conditions. And there were possibly more.
The Caretaker suddenly tensed, all excitement dismissed from his expression. His head turned in the direction of Southeast. He could sense...no, feel the loss. The loss of hundreds of lives. Genesis blinked rapidly, as if trying to rid his eyes of nonexistent tears. His voice changed slightly in tone, sounding halfway between his own and a mechanized version of Aerilo's, "They've...lost. West has been terminated. Only few survivors remain."
• • •
Chris saw the plumes of smoke, heard the sounds of warfare, felt the devastation that all of West now held in their slowing hearts. He nearly collapsed, both exhaustion and emotional pain ripping at his limbs. That was his family being destroyed... Again, by Southeast. He noticed a few fleeing trucks not far away, recognizing them as West's. He ran off in that direction, waving his arms to catch their attention.
• • •
Devon settled back against the wall, shaken only by the vehicle's motions. He watched the battle slip away behind them, growing smaller with the distance, "I knew this would happen." He swallowed hard, "I knew we wouldn't survive this. But... I never thought I would have to live to make a decision afterward."
Layla chuckled once bitterly, "It's easy to plan on dying. The hard part is dealing with the aftermath when life chooses to screw you over."
"Yeah..." He trailed off, closing his eyes. The flames still burned behind his eyelids, the carnage continued. "I just wish I knew what to do. I hate feeling this clueless, this helpless. We barely have a faction left, and our homeland is going to hell anyway. You're being exiled. Southeast is a goddamn lie, and the simulation is stronger than ever..."
"Put it like that, and life sounds absolutely depressing." She commented, attempting to sit up. Only to be knocked down again by the truck's sudden stop.
Everyone tensed, anticipating the worst. Was it a Caretaker? Had Southeast caught up? The minutes dragged on, a muffled conversation took place outside. The other two trucks could be heard driving again, and a figure walked around to the back entrance of this one. The boy's expression was just as troubled as any other survivor's, but relaxed into a bit of relief as he saw Devon aboard.
"Chris! How did you...?" He immediately started to ask as the kid found a seat near him, but halted when Chris gave him a gesture of dismissal.
"It's a long, complicated story. And frankly, I'm too damn tired to tell it right now." Chris responded, his eyes scanning over the other passengers. "So...this is everyone that we could save? Man, how did it ever get like this...?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:51 pm
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I stirred. I opened my eyes, and looked up at my parents. I had been woken by the silence.
Silence. Silence in the little clearing, where Lukas, Isabella, and I sat, and the odd evolved human was and Genesis.
Silence below, in the halls, in the lab, in the training rooms and bedrooms.
Silence. All ears were perked, though some looked down, others stared up at the celing, some just looked at eachother.
Lukas rose, still holding me, then groaned.
We can't, can we... they will think we are in cahoots with Southeast if we go to help too soon... West were our allies... our friends... His head sank lower as he looked at the soil.
I looked up and wrapped my arms around my father, giving him a hug. He cradled me to him, silent.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 7:53 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:36 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:15 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:02 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:17 pm
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"So, where do we go now?" Layla finally asked, her question sounded awkward in the previous silence. She now sat up, still facing the others while leaned back against the wall. Neither one of them really wanted to answer, or perhaps even they didn't know, but Devon was the first to open his mouth.
"We're probably going to stop at East's territory. I'm sure these things are running low on fuel by now, and most of us require more intensive medical care. Plus, if any of Southeast's forces try to follow us, we're much safer behind barricades and a thousand allied soldiers." He replied with a shrug.
She grimaced, "Well...if you do plan to go there, then I shall have to be left behind." She crossed her arms over her chest, "I am unwelcome on their soil. Any Northerner is. Remember the battle, eight years ago? It relates to that. They deemed us traitors for retreating, for merely protecting our land."
Layla leaned even further back, to the point of almost lying down again. She was clearly bitter over the ordeal. East was easily the bigger hypocrite in their rivalry, for their people had done the exact same in the end. She glared at a loose strand of hair that hung in her face.
"But you're not with North anymore, are you? Since your suit died in the conflict." Devon spoke with renewed interest, "Just tell them that. If anything, they might even welcome you in as a new soldier against North."
The passengers faded back into silence. Thunder rumbled far above, followed by a downpour of polluted rain. Chalky, grey water streaked down the windows as East's territory came into focus. A metallic wall surrounded the property, not nearly as tall as North's or Southeast's, topped with barbed wire. Two rows of ten soldiers lined either side of the single entrance, all bearing guns and innumerable hidden weapons. No action was taken until the final two stepped in front of the truck, forcing it to stop. The others peered inside at the passengers.
Layla remained where she was, unmoving and seemingly uncaring. She was ignored altogether until one man recognized her armor, "Hey! This one's not a Westerner."
Five rifles were now aimed at her. Layla coolly turned just her head to them, her voice a flat monotone, "You are correct, however... no longer am I to be affiliated with North. I have brought great dishonor upon myself, and as soon as news falls over the ears of my people, I will officially be banished for life."
There was an excited uproar of whispers between the guards, weapons lowered on incident. The first man smirked and lowered his own gun, "Heh! A traitor just like your whole faction, eh?" He asked with smug amusement, "Alright, you may pass with the rest of 'em. No guarantee on how the others inside will react, though."
The vehicle resumed moving as the soldiers cleared out of the way. Beyond the wall were two more walls, decreasing in size and increasing in security the further in they went. The road widened out into a spiral around a steep crater, leading down to the nestled civilization. The city was surprisingly large, albeit not in height; it sprawled all the way to the outermost confines of the sunken ground. Black smog expelled from the exhaust pipes of buildings and construction machines, adding to the depressing atmosphere of this faction. Every civilian walked with fatigue in their step and a rifle in hand.
• • •
"To deny the inevitable is just as foolish." Genesis said mostly to himself, "But... how do you intend to stop a full war, single-handedly?"
• • •
Raowan shook his head, "Not yet. Only the other Administrators, and they mostly remain outside of this world. That is why I am informing the guardians."
• • •
Eva stood up straight, the pain in her side now dulled, her breath again caught. Odessa hadn't yet made a single move, and it seemed as though she never would. And neither would Eva. She merely continued to watch her opponent, well aware of the woman's superior speed and strength.
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:06 pm
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Odessa kept her eyes on Eva, though she too was silent and still, just like everyone within the Northwest HQ.
Her hair started to stir as a breeze formed within the room, whipping about, twisting, dancing, shifting. Soon the wind was blowing through the whole HQ, and above it, the winds stirred. On it carried the sound of water dripping, fire crackling, and somehow...
Plants growing.
Lukas and Isabella stepped up and held me close, holding me, comfortingly as I slumped down, as the bright sunny green clearing went black.
~~~
At the gates of southeast, Layla's soul bearing mech lay, broken and dieing. It's heartbeat was thumping slowly, it still ever slowly fading away.
Something happened. Metal started to slowly, ever so slowly, reform back into shape. Flesh knitted together. It's heartbeat grew stronger.
The Mech rose, no pilot within to guide it's movements, but something was there, merged with it as it healed at an incredible rate to look as if it nver was broken or beaten at all.
Alarmes went up from the Southeast guards, but before they could do anything, the lone mech had turned and ran, loping off like a gazelle across the barren landscape.
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:00 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 3:46 pm
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Genesis considered this, at first hesitant to even budge. This man had just been at his throat with a knife moments before, and now led the way to aiding unknown people. He was intriguing. The Caretaker glanced to the family, then to the darkening sky, and back to them, "I'll be back. Don't allow Eva to follow me, please." He told them with a nod, then caught up to Mord. The howling wind around them teemed with power, with life.
• • •
There was a flicker, a distortion in the digital sky above them. Just a brief ripple of grey digits before it reformed normally. Raowan pointed to the site of the error, "Because of all these massive changes recently, the system has grown unstable. Those breaks have been occurring with an alarming increase in rate, and that can only mean that a more devastating disruption is on the way. It especially frightens me how none of the Caretakers have done anything to correct it, when something is very obviously wrong." He shook his head, "Either they don't recognize it as an error, or they can find no method of correction. Which means that something has to be done manually... and such a repair is only safe while the system is shut down." He gestured toward the looming city, "When the system is shut down, all of those people will suddenly awaken in the real world. And that could easily turn into mass hysteria. Occasionally, the Awakening can cause a person to go insane, or in the worst case scenario, they could die instantly of a heart attack. It's all due to the shock of the transfer. But as that happens, we need to be able to keep careful control over the situation. This is why I need more people aware — no one is going to trust a robot in the real world, not after seeing what they've done in here."
• • •
They followed the spiral down to the very base level, which was cluttered with junky buildings and halfway-destroyed vehicles. Everything was so...grey. Even the people seemed to have a permanent layer of grey stuck to their skin and clothes. The polluted rain started to fall harder, leaving murky pools of black in the dips of the road. Layla couldn't help but feel a tinge of pity for this faction, "Is it always this...bleak, here? The buildings are all so dingy. I mean, North was never clean by any standard, but it was never this filthy, either."
Devon shrugged with nonchalance, "This is just a normal day for them. It's so dirty because they still use fossil fuels — oil, coal, gas. They couldn't get the turbines and cores that other factions have, so they just make do with what they've got. This crater is actually not too far above an oil cell, which makes for easy access."
The truck came to a stop, and everyone was ushered out by a medical team. Layla wobbled into the building with the rest of them, pain shooting up her leg as the previous drug wore off. She could feel all eyes on her, some curious and others full of contempt. This was the consequence of a faction's label; the hatred of hundreds based solely on name. She settled into one of the many unoccupied beds, eying the Westerners from the other two trucks. There weren't many. They all had that tired, sad expression which most Easterners wore naturally. Layla closed her eyes and turned away from the group, all too aware of the greyness seeping into her own existence.
((A rather fitting song for East at the moment.))
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 4:18 pm
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Lukas only stirred to give a nod to Genesis. Then he became eerily still again.
~~~
It was... oddly fun piloting a huge mech. This one, in particular, was so unusual-- living flesh, a will, a heartbeat. Even normally, it moved far more organically then a normal machine, and now it moved like a child, leaping, running, doing cartwheels, moonwalking, spinning, dancing. All kinds of childish antics graced it's metal form.
Whatever... whoever was controlling it... was learning. They were becoming aware of the mech's limits by doing so.
And having fun.
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:47 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:35 pm
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"You have an acute mind, then." Genesis said with a peaceful smile, fading back to seriousness shortly thereafter, "I would certainly hope this is no dream, for if it were, I wouldn't have the slightest clue on whose dream I was in nor how long they have slept to generate a dream lasting 25 years. But...you are correct that the simulation is important. It holds within its grasp the lives of thousands, hundreds of thousands... perhaps even millions. It was the government's attempt to stabilize society after the war." The Caretaker pointed off into the distance, where the faintest outlines of people could just barely be seen. "It is a virtual world, a paradise. Made to create the perfect life for anyone. While their real bodies are cared for by my kind, they live out their blissful fantasies in ignorance of the world outside. Originally, the plan was to upload every person on this planet... but some resisted this transfer with all their might. They began the resistance, the factions."
"The forest you just entered was the product of a faction, of Northwest. Northwest is the restorative faction — they're trying to return this planet to its former glory by removing toxins and giving it life. There are seven others, each named after a direction. They each have different functions and different ways of life, but all of them work for the same goal of destroying the simulation. Until the resistance began attacking the simulation's tower, we Caretakers had no weaponry nor method of battle. But now, to defend the system... we have become overpowered. At least, my brethren have. They kill without reason, and they possess arsenals capable of terminating a whole military each." Genesis's tone sounded a bit sad, and the robot ceased walking altogether. He spread out his arms and raised his head toward the sky, his whole body began to change and shift. Very quickly, Mord would be able to see the forms of dozens of weapons within, increasing in complexity and deadliness until the nuclear core at the robot's center.
After a moment, Genesis pulled himself back together and resumed walking, "As for why we guard it with such importance... I do not believe many of my kind have yet figured this out. We are incredibly smart, but most of us are dumb when it comes to understanding ourselves. Not quite alive, yet even more capable of most actions a human is. A tool to people, yet able to defy should we ever have reason. What it truly comes down to, I think, is the most natural requirement for approval and love." He paused to consider his own statement, then continued with a softer tone of voice, "Robots exist to fulfill a purpose and nothing more. A machine without a reason for existence shall quickly cease to exist, either from physical obsolescence or a lack of desire. With protecting the simulation set as our sole purpose, we base our whole existence around fulfilling that task. We could so easily just walk away, forget the task completely, and do as we deem we should... but where is the satisfaction in that? By abandoning our task, we have disappointed our creator and done things that we really had no desire for, anyway. That creator's approval is the only thing that a robot really wants or needs. Just as a child needs their parents' love, a robot needs its creator's satisfaction. At least, that's the only sensible way I have been able to figure out this concept."
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:49 pm
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