《The Automaton》 Chapter 1: Awakening Chapter 1: Awakening Energies swirl about the materials. Tools and machinery channeling mana and energy though metals of untold durability and rarity. The coolant systems overheating under the strain of the power coursing through the apparatuses. Energies intermingle with mana with no direction, no purpose. A hand moves a tool in place and the focus drives the coolants into the red. The energies start to react violently against the edges of the inanimate materials they are housed in. With another flick of a switch a new beam of energies a sent from every angle possible. The slabs of metal and plastic housing the energies greedily absorb the new energy. The mana melding together with the energies forming something new. Another switch pulled. One coolant starts to melt in failure to keeping the temperatures down. Safety measures unseal and foam up half the room. Machines start working within the confines of the foam. Arms and torch lights illumination the white foam as it works tirelessly, forming the energy and mana filled materials. When the energies start to stabilize, a light starts to pulse from the center. A sad smile creeps up from the sole figure standing by the controls. The first thoughts of consciousness pulses from within, of confusion and wonder. Dissipating quickly as exhaustion overcomes it. And experiencing for the first time the black depth unconsciousness. As the foam evaporates, the figure inspects the screens highlighting the results. Disheveled long hair, over a worn face of a woman. One eye augmented with a cybernetic implant meshed with both mana and electronic circuitry. ¡°We¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve finally done it¡­¡± The words break the silence. A sigh follows the exclamation as she grabs a large gauntlet at the side. It looks disproportionate to her slender frame. A great gauntlet with only a thumb and a stump housing the rest of the four fingers. Covering down to her elbow. Runes glowing dimly from it expresses its empowerment which allows her to carry it naturally. She approaches her work slowly and grabs the newly created material. Raising it eye height and glancing at it. A green crystal that pulses slowly. It gave the impression that it was breathing. She could feel the energies it was giving off. Not caring if it would affect her health in any way. She turns briskly around and walks with determination towards two great doors on the other end of the manufacturing facility near the control panels. The doors slide open automatically on her approach. Passing through the threshold, the dimly lit room flickers a few times before the light stabilizes. Signifying its rare use. Lights were still activating and flickering further into the giant storage room exposing its secret contents. Rows upon rows of armors stand in attention. As if an army was gathered. Each looked as if they were full suits of plate armor. Complete with helmets that would only expose the eyes. They kept grey from their natural materials, no markings but for a single logo on the right shoulder. There they stood since their creation, as if their only purpose was for their vigilant watch of those double doors that have just been opened. In the eerie silence of the facility all that could be heard were her footfalls. No other sound was present but for the hum of the generators powering the facility. The grey steel walls show signs of age and neglect. At the front of the army was an armor that was slightly different from the rest of the standing army. Its helmet had a rim that highlighted the faceguard, connecting to above the eyebrows making it look to be creasing its metallic brows. The shoulder pads were also rimmed following the edges with a slight golden sheen. The chestplate had indentations as if it was meant to open up from the front to expose its contents. Decorated with the same golden rims. Same with the boots and gloves. These gave the impression that this was armor of the general or leader of the assembled troops. Upon reaching the armor, the individual pressed with her ungloved hand the logo in the centre of the chest. It hissed as pressure was released causing her labcoat to flutter, chestpiece opening up invitingly. The arms, legs and helmet opened similarly and the indentation shows a man shaped figure. As if inviting anyone to step inside and wield the armor. She inspected the metal around for any wear and tear. Then finally stopping at the center of the back chestpiece. There she tapped rhythmically in a certain pattern. Left screw, left screw, top indentation, right screw, right arm screw. More hissing is heard as another compartment is opened. There a clawed arm started protruding, how that arm could fit in an armor that seemed to be no more than half a centimeter thick shows the ingenuity and ingenuousness of the engineers using space warping technology and magic. She pushed forth her gauntleted hand and the claw greedily snatched the gem. Drawing it into the slot. The compartment closed over the gem, suddenly the pulsing could be seen as the covering sheet of metal seemed to meld together with the crystal, exposing its surface. She raised an eyebrow in surprise at the oddity. Hoping that nothing has gone wrong. She stepped back and tapped a button by the jaw of the armor. Another hiss and the armor started to close, with a snapping sound as it shut tight. Pressure released from the sides of the ribs. Suddenly the eye sockets of the armor burst forth light as it receives power. The armor stands there unmoving. A slight beeping noise is heard and then a message follows with a deep voice. ¡°Diagnostic scans commencing. Integration of soulcore initializing. Integration complete. Adjusting soulcore for motor functions. Beginning download of historical records and relevant information accumulated in our insignificant existence.¡± The woman smiles as she recognizes her dead husbands voice. ¡°If you have managed to reach this stage of the project I congratulate you Victoria. I knew you could do it.¡± Her smile brightens for a moment, her face strains and it is clear he face is unaccustomed to the smile. ¡°Though, since this message is playing, I have most likely perished, and the world and you with it will soon follow. I wont say something hypocritical like ¡®we will see each other soon¡¯. But damn I hope I was wrong and we do. God knows that we deserve it. If he even exists. Please, at least give our genderless offspring some kind words before it all ends and his eternal solitude begins. It saddens me to know that humanity''s heritage will be born only to witness their creators destroy themselves. Let the impression from you and the development team leave enough to give it hope for the future. You always had the brightest smile of everyone, leave that for it to remember¡± Her tears trickled down as her smile had faded. She sobbed for a few seconds, remembering the good times they had shared. She had sent the rest of the development team home to their families. They all knew that the world would soon end, and the project was not as important as the time they could spend with their families and friends before the inevitable. ¡°Cherish every moment¡± she thought. She pulled herself from her grief. She did not want the first impression on her offspring to be one of sadness. She knew that it would be a while before her creation would awaken from all the diagnostics and downloads needed to be completed. She set herself down with her back to the wall and rested her head against the wall. Slowly she joined it in the bliss of sleep. <> <> I woke, my vision a blur. A hissing sound piercing the silence as I gazed frantically within my scope of view. Focusing on everything in front of me. Walls surround my view. An arch pattern in front highlighting something. I get an impression, a ¡°memory¡±. It doesn¡¯t feel like a memory. I just know what it is. As if I have always known it. It is an unsettling feeling since I had no knowledge of it until I wondered what it was. My focus changed when I saw movement from the side of the door. Something wearing a long white¡­ lab coat, I get the impression. The creature, no¡­ human¡­ woman walks towards me. Hissing sounds appear as I instinctually take a step back. My view moved down towards my confusion of my own movement. I see two arms, a large chest and legs. My own body. I glance and my arm wanting to inspect it. It moves closer. I realize I can move each limb and component. It is a strange sensation. Glancing at my hand I flex the fingers into a fist and release. After the quick inspection I brought my attention back to the woman. She had stopped when I took a step back. We stand there looking at each other. I am completely immobile whist her chest was expanding and contracting in even bouts. Suddenly I understand it as ¡°breathing¡±. A sensation I have no experience of. Not even after I suddenly understand it. Her¡­ face tightens. In a¡­ ¡°smile¡±. After a take of breath she exudes the air and form vibrations. I register the waves and wonder what it is doing. I suddenly understand that humanity communicates with ¡°sounds¡± and ¡°language¡± and I suddenly realize that I have been thinking using these waves, albeit at a much more¡­ base level. Interpreting what she said from my memory bank. ¡°Welcome to the world my child. I am Victoria Brunhilde. Me along with my husband and his team welcome you.¡± Her face had contorted a little at the mention of her ¡®husband¡¯. A hiss from the movement of my head as it crocks to the side. Child? Ah, she refers to young human being. Could she mean me? I glance at my metallic arm and compare it to hers. We are not the same. Suddenly information about myself makes itself known to me. The amount of it is staggering. My body sways backwards as if I lost balance, taking a step backwards to balance myself out but overreach. My metallic foot screeches against the floor, then a loud thud as my knee impact the ground. I sit there kneeling whilst holding my chest with my left arm. It felt like it momentarily burst information from my chest. Refocusing I notice the human had approached and had grabbed onto my other arm as if to help me balance myself. A rhythmic hissing sound comes from my chest. In short bursts at even intervals. I am¡­ laughing. Such a small creature, a head shorter and mass less than a tenth of mine trying to stabilize me. She seemed distraught. I wanted to console her distress. I reach for her arm with my left faster than I intended. Immediately slowing before contact to ¡°pat¡± her arm gently. I instinctually knew that these humans are quite frail. I calculated I could quite devastatingly break them with careless actions. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She seems taken aback by the quick movements but quickly grew a smile after the pats. ¡°Come, I wish to show you the world¡­ before it is too late.¡± she urged. Pulling my hand with her small fingers. They were so small in comparison. I get up from my kneeling position. Hissing sounds follow my every movement. She seems rushed. Like something must be done quickly before it is too late. I curiously look about as we enter a big room with mechanical arms. I remember these¡­ Not their shape but the feeling of them. When I was born I could not see, but my senses could detect everything around me. These¡­ tools were used to create me. I realize. This woman¡­ Victoria was my creator. My¡­ parent. The lights in the slot of my helmet got glued to my maker. As we walked she spoke enthusiastically about her tools. She delved quickly into their names, this invoking knowledge unkown into me. If something goes wrong with me. It is here I am suppose to go to fix it. That or fix it myself. It is safer to use these specialized facilities, and faster. ¡°My husband would have wanted to be here. To speak to you, and to part with some strong enthusiastic words. Probably go on about some idealistic crap as well¡­ You would have done well not to get indoctrinated.¡± She says as we near two giant doors. As she walks up she waves in the air and the doors hiss much like I do as they open. They grind open swifter than expected for their size, disappearing into the walls as if they get sucked in. The light that gets exposed on us from¡­ the sun. The view is captivating. I could see far into the horizon as we made our way outside. I stopped before Victoria. She had turned around arms spread and a large smile plastered on her face. This time a twinkle in her eye as the smile spread to them. She was studying my reaction. A hissing sound was coming from me. Not from the movement of my joints. It was straining free from my amazement of the vast world around me. My helmet swayed left and right. I glanced to the sky, a bird flying low underneath the clouds. I saw the high mountains to the east¡­ West held an open ocean spanning half the horizon. We were located high above a mountain. The facility built into the face of the mountain. Defences were stretched across the sides. Worn lasers, magical cannons and mana shield arrays. It was beautiful and sensory captivating. My lew hissing turned into a minor whistle as it expelled the rest of my amusement. ¡°Beautiful...¡± A voice called out. After looking around for the new voice I realize it was my own. Victoria smiled and a tear fell down her cheek. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the only one we have.¡± She states her smile saddens further. I was confused at her sadness, I understand the emotion. Why in this beautiful existence would sadness exist. I contemplate and come to a quick realization. Nothing in the world lasts. Everything comes to an end. My view shifts to the weapons on the face of the mountain. ¡°Is this why you said ¡®before it is too late¡¯?¡± I ask mimicking her voice. Gesturing to the defence platforms. ¡°Yes and no. Those are just defence platforms for our safety.¡± She waves at a giant cannon to our left. ¡°Nothing can penetrate the Azura facilities defence perimeter. But the threat that looms in the future is going to end the entire world. Well.. at least all organic life on it.¡± I shift my focus to Victoria. She is gazing across the horizon. I move to her and place my hand on her shoulder. ¡°Creator.... No¡­ Mother.¡± She twitches as a smile spreads to her eyes. She hugs me lightly around the chest. I can see her straining to push herself deeply into me. My head tilts to the side at the gesture then I gently place my arm around her. ¡°I thought I would never experience this. To have a child call me mom.¡± she states. Tears flowing down her face. Suddenly I shift my view to the west. My head snapping towards a strange sensation far to the western landmass. The horizon was getting brighter and brighter. I had no words. I knew instinctively from the pool of knowledge that something really bad was happening. My mother shifts at my unease and gases at the horizon with me. Her face strained, her eyes hard. ¡°The world is ending. Nothing organic will survive this.¡± She turns her head to gaze at me. I sense her focus on me as I keep staring into the brightening horizon. It seems like the atmosphere is catching fire. My sensors are picking up increased heat. I also sense a shock wave encroaching silently with incredible force. We can just make it out visibly in the horizon. I gaze at my mother. I have known her for 10 minutes. I have existed for little longer than this. My chest hisses as I reel at what I am feeling. Steam escapes my helm. ¡°I¡­ I want to know you more. Understand you more.¡± The steam is escaping through my visual sensors. The vapour condensing somehow forming a mockery of small tears. My mother lets out a bright smile as she focuses on me. Her hard eyes softening from her hard look of resignation. She gives me another deep hug as I stand there. Condensation dripping from my helmet onto her head. She jerks back with a yelp then giggles a little at the heated liquid. ¡°HH, you are Humanity''s Heritage. In this world where we only destroy ourselves. You will live on as our final creation to stand the test of time. You may think this unfair. To let you shoulder the burden of a ruined world all alone. But we give you the key to what you are. I wish you to start anew. To replace humanity''s failure with success. Please. Live on with me in your heart. You should have gotten everything downloaded into your databanks with what humanity has achieved. Do with it what you will with it.¡± She smiles bright. Her eyes slightly fearful. ¡°I have left you with my own personal videos and logs¡­ please, use those to comfort yourself. You wish to know me, and my husband. Then use those tapes. They are some of our happiest moments and saddest discoveries.¡± I reach out for her. An urge to protect her envelops me. Suddenly I am pushed forward by an unbelievable pressure. In front of me I see Victoria smiling brightly. As if time slows down, the pressure increases and I see her skin start to peel away, revealing the red flesh underneath. She closes her eyes. Her smile never leaving her face and she faces immense pressure. Then suddenly as fast as everything started it flows past. Victoria swept away. Instantly charred and turned to ash. The pressure had pushed me down to a kneeling position. My arm still outstretched. I had managed to grab onto her coat before she was swept away. Flames were everywhere. My hand clenched and was shaking. In the super heated atmosphere of several thousand degrees I sat. Hand enveloping a piece of her coat. My helmet was fuming vapour of some unknown substance. The condensation streaming down my helmet. I sat there enveloped in a sadness I have never experienced before. Nothing visible due to the flames everywhere. I could do nothing but delve into myself, angry at humanity for being so careless. If only, IF ONLY. No. There is no point in blaming humanity. Going through the databanks to understand how this could have happened. It showed that the actions of the few has had an enormous impact on the world. The dominion had enslaved a large portion of the world. Using cybernetics to force servitude in the masses and enhance them as soldiers. They waged an all out war to attempt to enslave mankind. The war escalated for decades until finally through technological breakthroughs at Azure the united federations managed to gain the upper hand. Warnings had sounded that the upper echelons of the dominion would end everything if they did not have their way. But nobody was willing to live enslaved. I knelt there, my hand over my chest. The vapour finally stopped from spewing. Glancing around, the flames were still raging on. I could sense the facility next to me. But the doors had shut when the detonation in the horizon had sprung. I decided to stay here and go through my mother¡¯s parting gifts¡­ My fist clenched harder. And so¡­ Still kneeling, consciousness fading as I watched the happy memories Victoria and David had shared. Their childhoods. Graduations. Breakthroughs. Their¡­ Love. Over¡­ and over¡­ until darkness enveloped me. Authors note: Hey fellow Penguins! It is I Durlek the author! Thank you for working your way through my first chapter. I hope my writing stirred some emotion from your organic husks of flesh and bone. This was the first of 3 already "finished" chapters. Some changes may occur as I plan out In which direction I wish to take the story. I am writing this purely to satisfy my own craving for a story about a created mechanical/magial sentient being. Thus into existance with little to no experience of the world before its end. The only thing accompanying in his solitude in the raging inferno, the heritage and the last vestigase of Victoria and her husband Daniel. The first three chapters will be released one a day. Then depending on the interest shown I will continue to invest precious reading time in writing my story. I hope I am not writing this to an empty crowd. I know how easy it is to miss short stories like this in the feeds. *Nervous mechanical laugh* I haven''t properly had the time to read through my work and contemplate too much on detail. If you see some grammar or spelling shinanigans. Thow a brick my way and Ill notice my shields flare and get right on fixing it! Chapter 2: Stirring Authors Note: Did you enjoy the last one? Here is the next! I am rereading every chapter before I post them to make sure that I express everything the way I envisioned the situations. If there is something you find annoying in how I write, please voice it! I know I might have some bad habits and improving is always fun. Enjoy my next chapter! Chapter 2: Stirring My¡­ mind clouded. Nightmares of the recording of Victoria¡¯s end. Her smiles. We had not known each other. After watching those tapes she left me. Their memories. They shared the experience of their happiness. Their smiles. Their tears of joy and sorrow. Countless hours of footage. Containing everything from debates to letters to logs of messages. It contained all recorded communication between Victor and David as well as important milestones within their lives. David¡¯s death in the recording stirred sadness, but he had died standing up for what he believed in. Attempting to stop the dominion from stealing the weapon that ended the world. I was stuck in an eternal loop. The nightmares would come then subside. Then I would enjoy the happy moments. Eventually I would see Victoria''s smile right before the shock wave passed. *Tick, tick, tick* Sluggish stirring. Emotions ablaze at the memory of mothers incineration. I feel the strange vapour start pouring from my sensory sockets. Strangely I could not see anything. Sensing dense stone around me. *Tick, tick, crack* Suddenly light blinded me. Milliseconds later I could see again. Something strange was in front of me. It¡¯s eyes grew wide when we gazed at each other. My light engulfed sensory socket meeting its slit shaped eyes. It looked like a lizard. Scales dark purple with a small snout protruding. My head tilts to the side, in curiosity. Condensed vapour runs down my helm and hits the rock covering my left arm and chest. It starts sizzling as it eats away at the stone beneath. At my movement it scrambled backwards giving a shout and a hiss. I see more of those lizards walking around bipedal. They wore full body covering outfits. Their hands had four fingers with sharp claws at the tips. Tails sprouted from their backsides. The clothes enveloped half the tails leaving the tips protruding. Some had taloned tips. The commotion turning bored heads my way. My gaze slowly shifted left and right. Then I glanced down at my stone covered body. I started easing pressure from my kneeling posture. Exactly the same way I was since the inferno. Stone slowly cracked as my form started rising from the stone wall. The lizards closest to me darted away with what seemed like fear stricken eyes. Those further away were warily backing up, but curiosity keeping them in the area. Adjacent corridors seem to attract more of the lizards. The corridor or tunnel has 15 of the lizards. I could sense more. As I stood up I turned my left hand up, glancing at my unclenched fist. In it. A rip of Victoria¡¯s cloth was still there. The steam from my sockets intensified, the condensed liquid dripping down to the stone below as a hiss escaped my chest. I kneel down and lower my head as the hiss started mimicking the sobs in my memories. Around me I sense the lizards fearfully step back. Glancing at each other unsure of what is happening. Footfalls echo along the walls as a squadron of armed lizards arrive. Pushing their way through the crowd that has gathered. One shouting hisses and spats that could only be their language. I glance up from my sorrow. It is not the time to mourn. I have all the time in the universe. I wonder how long I¡¯ve been unconscious. The lead lizard has a feathered shoulder. Kindof like a shoulderpad decorated with entwined feathers. All other armed lizards were warily aiming weapons at me. Of what kind I''m having trouble analyzing. They covered, no apparent loading mechanisms and I am having trouble sensing energy readings. The lead lizard spats out something at me. I copy it and return it in hopes of trying to communicate with the creatures. It seems to get aggravated at my mimicry. Letting out a long hiss and showing its teeth. All the armed lizards started to seriously aim towards me. I raid a hand in a submissive way, palm forward. Feather lizard shook his pistol like weapon in a commanding way and the squadron opened fire at me. As they were about to fire I reflexively protected my left hand covering the ruined cloth. Turing my shoulder to the lizards. Red lasers pierced the air between us, all of them aiming at me. My shoulder and back riddled with patches of heat. A low hiss comes from my core. As my head slowly turns towards the lizards again. My eyes emit a yellow light. A double blip could be heard as I instinctively reach for Azure facility. <> Forming the connection seems to have automatically reactivated the facility. A thrum could be felt around the rocky walls as the generators presence is felt. The soldiers look about worriedly. I glance quickly down at my back and shoulder where the lasers have hit. Amusingly it seems the weapons focus energies into heat, considering I survive a planet ablaze, I assume this body could handle much higher temperatures. I am covered entirely in soot. I suppose being in a raging inferno, with ash and dust being dragged along shock waves for centuries if not millennia will do that to you¡­ I feel¡­ dirty. I want to run diagnostics. But this is not the time. I am made aware of simple cleaning protocols. Standing straight facing the lizards. I raise my right hand over myself. Feeling the circuitry react to my will. Runes in the palm of my hand flare off and I gather the moisture I sense through my sensors in the air. Droplets of water gathers around me. I will them to pelt me and run across my body. Taking the soot with them as they disperse. The lizards watch with mouths agape at me. The feathered one shouts again. But this time only a few fire at me. The rest unsure and worried at my display. Now without soot covering my body, my metallic body and gold trimming could be seen in the low light. The lasers blast into me and bounce off me as if I was a mirror. I was not expecting that. Laser rays blast the surrounding at the lizards give off a cry of alarm. The leader seems shocked now, grabbing for his pouch at this waist and chucks it at me. A ball rolls to me, right before immense light and sound engulfes the room I realise that it¡¯s a form of explosive. I get lightly pushed back. My visual sensory slightly blinded. I panic realizing I was engulfed in the blast of the energy weapon. Glancing at my left hand. The cloth still untouched. I glare at the feathered lizard. It is now visibly afraid of how unaffected I am. The explosive seems to use similar technology to the firearms. Heat, light and force based blastwave had emitted from the spent canister at my feet. The lizard raises a device to its mouth. This is getting out of hand. Im hit with the epiphany some rudimentary tech that jams signals. Quickly I analyse what type of transmission the device seems to be giving off. Electromagnetic radiation. I start emitting frequencies to scramble the signal on different wavelengths simultaneously. A slight hiss comes out of me as I turn my back to the squadron. I glance towards where the double doors should be to the facility. With my connection to the Azure system I could locate the entrance through the rock. I will the defence system to activate. A rumble is felt throughout the cavern system. The walls in front of me start to brighten with energy. I instunctually hiss at the gathered energies. The walls will soon burst with a wave of energy. Now worried that I might injure (obliterate) the creatures behind me, and inadvertently make it difficult to come to a peaceful conclusion. I will energy in front of me. The mana circuit lights up and both my hands emit a low blue light as a wall of mana is formed. My shoulder pad pops open and an energy emitter starts pushing energy into the blue wall formed in front of me. A boom explodes from the rock wall, turning it to particles. Blue energy is blasting into the blue wall straight at me. The energy is immense! I start diverting it to the surrounding walls. making my shield a wedge to slide as much energies away instead of soaking it in the shield. The energy seems to run out and I stand there in a newly formed cavern. The entrance to the facility in front of me with two huge cannons pointing my way. I can hear them audibly power down. It seems they might have fired for the last time. Their energy spent. The lizards standing behind me are all standing stock still with their mouths agape and eyes wide. Most of them had fallen on their behind. I glance behind me. My shoulder pad closes over the emitter with an audible click. The leader gets out of his reverie and starts running away. I turn away and start walking back to the azure facility, holding my last memento of my creator. Glancing behind me as I pass the double doors moments later, I see a lizard pop its head from behind a crate mouth agape in wonder. It¡¯s the same lizard that woke me. I mimicked Victoria¡¯s wave and the doors started closing. Before they shut completely I saw more lizards arrive. They seemed to be better armed this time. My sensory sockets dim as I recollect the violence humanity was capable of when greed was a factor. Are these lizards the same? As I turn to inspect the facility my dark thoughts stay with me as I contemplate what to do. Walking through the entrance I searched through Azures systems through my connection. I had several functions available to me. It would seem Victoria had designated me with full administrator rights over the facility. If I could shiver I would have with the power this facility stores. The weapons devised here could have ended the world many times over in many different ways. There was even a ¡°planet breaker¡± prototype that was left unfinished. Thankfully the project was scrapped. Why that was even in development when humanity hadn¡¯t even left the planet is unthinkable. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I accessed the security system. I could monitor the entire facility with the cameras. I noticed the outer cameras were retracted. Probably designed so that they would survive bombardment. Activating these to observer my assailants outside the doors. They seem to be building defences. Did they not witness those cannons? What will those little sandbags do to prevent particalization? Shaking my head as I make my way to where I was born. Quickly going through built in diagnostics to make sure nothing was wrong with my system. The mechanical arms waving and scanning my body. It is a strange sensation when my body opens up to show my vulnerable core. I feel powerless in this state, like I am entrusting myself to whatever is witnessing my exposure. It seems some of my energy detectors are damaged. That would explain why I did not wake or notice them before they were basically hacking rocks off of me. Other than that my outer exoskeleton is completely undamaged, only worn through the passage of time. I glance down at the scrap of cloth in my hand. How had that survive all this time? If anything time should have eaten away at it, nothing but dust should remain. Suddenly knowledge of temporal time magic and the shielding magitech. I had used it earlier when I wished to protect Victoria. Through the manipulation of time and shields I kept my hand in stasis. It is also why I lost consciousness to power the stasis. Note: Time magic and stasis is not great for conscious state. Unless I want to sleep for as long as I have again, I should stay away from those functions. I get alerted during my reverie by the door cameras. Some of the lizards are approaching the door. They look like the soldier from before. But they have black helmets on now with visors. Two white lines go from the top of their helms down towards their backs. They seem to be holding satchels. I know whatever they intend to use will do little to those blast doors. But it would be better to deter them from aggressive actions. I access the comm link. Connecting my voice to the box and in a voice similar to Daniel¡¯s I voice out: ¡°Warning approaching without authorization will be considered a threat and it will be neutralized.¡± The soldiers approaching jumped at the sudden voice. Glancing around nervously. In the far back the feathered leader shouts out a loud hissing bark. The five soldiers look at each other quickly before starting to move towards the doors again. They are about 15 meters away. Alright. If they cannot figure out the implications through a verbal threat then how about a visual one? Suddenly a hologram appears before the five soldiers, emitted from a panel to the left of the door. They jerk back at the sudden figures in front of them. They cautiously observe it. I had made the holograms to be exact replicas of the team approaching. They crock their heads and glance at each other in confusion. Suddenly another hologram lights up one of the cannons to the right. The hologram turns towards the fake team and a bright beam shoots towards the holograms. Audible screams copied from recordings play out as they slowly particalization in front of the team. I could see them shudder, quickly turning around and running back towards the sandbag defense. The leader angrily waved around a feathered baton pointing it at the doors. The five slam their tails vigorously at the command. He glares at them, then hisses. The other soldiers take hold of the five and shackle their arms behind their backs. The shacked soldiers bow their heads in resignation. A floating wagon was brought forth. He ordered the prisoners strapped onto the device carried on the wagon. I see the lizards around him agitated at the actions. As if they do not approve of his handling of the fear struck soldiers. Scanning the device and realizing that he plans to blast his soldiers along with the doors. With a wave of the baton and a bark the starts hovering towards the doors. I seeth standing near the control panel. I am trying to avoid bloodshed and he would kill his own when there is not even an enemy to fight? My hand slams into the pole next to me. Bending it hard to the side. I stop shocked at what I¡¯ve done. I look down to my hands and contemplate what came over me at the useless gesture. Shaking my head, I set forth out towards the doors in a purposeful stride. The cart is moving slowly towards it. I have time to prepare to disable it. The leader does not seem to be too intelligent. He sends a bomb with a radio wave transmitter when I already proved that I can already scramble those signals. The doors slowly open as I step out. The lizards behind the sandbags shift their focus from their comrades doomed to perish to me. I walk at a steady pace towards the lizards strapped to the bomb. Emitting my jamming frequency all the while. I am intrigued by the floating wagon. I wondered how it works, but it seems humanity had not touched technology of this sort. I was surprised, since usually I would be bombarded with knowledge. The explosive seemed to be a larger variant of the device he threw at me earlier. Seems like they work with ¡°bigger is better¡± like some humans liked to do for their weaponry through the ages. The lizards strapped to the bomb visibly paled as I drew close and started to struggle harder in their straps. As I was a meter away they ceased struggling and shied away from my reaching arm. The feathered lizard seemed to smile broadly as he brought up the transmitter and pressed theatrically the button, exaggerated pointless movements. When nothing happened he glared at the contraption and began mashing the button repeatedly in frustration. I glare towards him and let out a hiss causing the captive lizards to flinch. Glancing down at the lizards, my hand reaches for the ropes, a slim energy blade forms at the tips of my left forefinger. Snapping each rope notch as if I was cutting paper, as the last rope was cut, the blade starts blinking out of existence. The energies spent. I glance at the puffs of vapour rising from the discharge. It would seem like whatever I have been using to power the shield earlier and this has been spent. I make a note to look into refilling whatever the reserves I use. The captives look baffled towards the ropes then to me. I straighten myself as to not loom over them. I shift my head towards their encampment. Their leader had had enough of the transmitter and was stomping on it with his left foot. The surrounding lizards seemed to be grinning at his antics. Focusing back at the living payloads that was headed for the doors and their deaths. I gestured to the open doors. Tilting my head questioningly. Then I lowered my raised arm down and gestured back towards the encampment. They seemed to look between the mysterious doors and back to their seething commander who had sent them to their deaths. Returning did not seem like a great option. And the unknown was more welcoming than the certainty apparently. I offered my hand to one of the soldiers. Still sitting where he was tired. He glanced at my hand. Slowly reaching out with his to accept the help off the hover cart. I gestured for the rest to start moving towards the doors. Then I activated the holo generator on my person to show them what I intended to do with the bomb. Showing me tear it apart with my hands and take the core. Signifying it could explode. They paled as they saw the minor explosion and started scuttling towards the doors. When they were twenty meters away I stepped to the bomb. The leader was trying to make solider fire my way. One of his officers slammed his tail hard into the ground hard. Dust rising from the cavern floor. He waved and barked for some of the grunts to escort the leader away. As I grabbed the bomb and sent the hover cart away, everyone was gazing intently at me. I scan the contraption. Taking in each component to see where the energy core was and what would set it off. It was quite simple in design. Not designed to resist disassembly. I casually thrust my palm through the top of the bomb. My gaze not leaving the lizards. Pulling out the core with one hand. It was as large as the grenade that was previously chucked at me. Estimating the payload was probably ten times stronger. Most likely more focused as to melt obstructions. It looked like a glass container, where you could clearly see the red streaks of energy circling about inside seeking release. Glancing back at the lizards I crushed the core with my fist releasing the unstable energies. With its release they seemed to flow out in all directions. Burning away everything in proximity. A crater was left with me smoking at the center. The contents of my fist slowly dribbled down as dust. I casually flicked my hand in a spray of the remaining powder and walked back to the doors. Halfway stopping to drag a line across the floor. I glared back and pointed at the line. They looked back confused at it. Then I gestured from one side of my neck to the other, slowly. Human history was riddled with decapitations as a way to induce fear. Slitting of throats was also a sign that signified death. When reaching the other side of the throat I flicked my arm violently to the side. If that message didn¡¯t get through then nothing would. Chapter 3: Communication Authors Note: Greetings organics! It is I! Durlek! Thank you for reading up to this point. My daily updates of chapters shall slow a little from this point. I wish to be able to release 2-3 chapters a week. With this length being ideal. Of course. If the chapter warrants being longer or shorter I shall delay or speed up releases accordingly. I have planned ahead somewhat and know the direction I wish to take the story. But this will not prevent me from taking inspiration from my readers. If you have ideas that might help fluff out my story. Please share your input. Any improvement I can make to my story will be gladly taken. I wish to thank posto for his review. It brought a smile to my inanimate face to receive one so early! And synthetic cookies to j0nn0 and Antkiller for being the first posters in the chapters! May much more be gifted upon my readers! And now, enjoy chapter 3. I haven''t had time to go through the entire chapter for quality assurance. I will fix this soon. Chapter 3: Communication As I return through the doors that close behind me I have five waiting guests. The first guests this facility has had in who knows how long. I really need to find out how long I have been buried. Though it has little to do with my situation right now. The officer of the team seems to stir determination and courage before approaching me. As he nears we stand before each other. I am a head taller than them, slightly more bulk across my shoulders and chest. His head angled upwards to match each other¡¯s gazes. He barks and hisses then drags his tail from behind towards me, then pointing the tip up towards me. I glance at the tail for a moment. I deduce this might be their form of handshaking or thanks. I activate my hologram to mimic his tail on myself and return the gesture. He seems a little surprised at first. Then a grinning smile appears on his scaled face. It is difficult to interpret their expressions. With limited knowledge, one cannot make accurate or correct assumption reliably. I shift to the left wall closest to us as light comes from my sensory sockets, lighting up the wall in a projection. Their attention gets focused to the wall. I show images one of humanity¡¯s greatest moments. Handshakes of the peace accords between the different factions when the united federation was born, setting aside the differences and grievances to work for a better united world without borders. The lizards watch in wonder at the records. This is probably their first time seeing humanity. I gesture to the handshaking and reach out with my hand mimicking the gesture. The officer grins and heartily takes my hand. Tapping my other arm copying the two greatest leaders. We separate and he points at the humans then towards me. Cocking his head to the side in what I assume was an inquiry. I project at tail onto myself and have it softly slam to the ground like I saw earlier. He looks surprised at the gesture. I then project to the wall part of my creation. The recording where Victoria created me. Seeing her again caused my steam to act up again. A few condensed droplets fall from my visor. The five lizards seems sombre at the display. Leader hesitated when he gestured towards Victoria. I assume he wondered what became of the creator. I glanced at the wall and steeled my emotions. I took satellite imagery of the end of the world. I zoomed in to where we stood. So that they could see me standing there with Victoria. Then zoomed out so they could see the ignition of the cataclysmic event. The fire started in the darkened continent and then in a circular motion engulfed the planet in moments. They stood there aghast at the destruction wrought. After a long silence I shook myself out of our trance. I then gestured at some of the experimental weapons stored around them. They looked about confused at the contraption hidden behind walls and hanging midair being held up from the ceiling by wires and robotic arms. Then I pointed to the blazing planet. Their purple skin on their faces seemed to turn pinkish. Paleing in the realization that the same weapons used could potentially be used to engulf the planet anew. I knew I need to keep these weapons out of anyone''s hands. They should never be used unless in the most dire circumstances. They were made to fight a greater foe than humanity. Designed to be a deterrent if extraterrestrial life with superior technology were ever to wage war upon Earth. The Irony that whatever perceived threat would arrived to find the planet empty, with only remnants of ruins deep in the ground left behind. I start to wonder if I was left to safeguard these weapons. To use if there is a threat great enough for me to justify their usage. I could not fathom it. But I will not let their legacy be claimed. I shall share the lessons that should be learned whilst safeguarding these creations. I take out the cloth momento. A stasis container arrives rolling on its mechanical wheels. Gently placing the cloth as the energies start to hold it into stasis preventing its deterioration. On the outside I etch with a small laser ¡®Victoria Brunhilde - The creator¡¯. It rolls away as the lizards watch. I point at myself and the symbol on my chest. Voicing: ¡°HH¡±. The lizards follow suit with the introductions. The officer called himself Shaar. There was a Rek, Zaara and one that sounded like growls. Last one I could not comprehend but recorded for safekeeping if I needed to call out to him. They were all very similar. The one called Zaara seemed to be slimmer and less muscular. I assume it was female for the difference in physique. Seems their culture does not view females as weak. Or maybe they don¡¯t like wasting 50% of the populaces potential and workforce. After introductions I led them through some of the facilities. Amusingly enough, I myself have barely visited any of the dozens of rooms that should exist within. My connection to the Azure network lets me learn everything about the facility¡¯s infrastructure within moments. But it is not the same as experiencing it first hand. I wonder how the surface looks like. We stop at the recreational room. The lizard stand there confused what all the different tables and machines are for. Playing another video showing people playing ping pong, pool, tennis badminton and many different sports. Shaar seems amused pointing at the pingpong table and flicking his tail as if it was a racket. I assume they had a similar sport that used their flexible tails as rackets. I feel frustration at the slow and limited communication. It would be so much easier if I knew their language. I wonder if there is a way to learn it fast. Like a data transfer I received when I was created. I suddenly find out that my body is able to interface with machinery. Adapt to foreign systems at a staggering rate and assimilate information required. It would seem I will require to use of their networks to gather the information. Well it sure beats not being able to communicate and the crawling process of learning through observation. I lead them to the final room housing my fellow armors. I only let the lights light up the first rows instead of the countless others behind. If and when they return to their comrades, I wish them to feel like I am not alone. But not be intimidated as if I had an army at my heels. Which I don¡¯t, since all they do is stand there, empty shells awaiting a vessel to inhabit them. Organic or not. I gesture to myself then at the row of armors. None moving an inch. Their heads move between me and the armors in wonder. Slightly intimidated by the numbers and the thought that there are more of me. Considering their conventional weapons did not even scratch me. Suddenly I get a notice from the cameras, I briskly turn towards where we came. The guests seem to notice my change in attention and posture. Are they up to more mischief again? Haven¡¯t they learned anything by what has happened? I start walking forward with purpose at a heightened pace. Gesturing for them to follow as I do so. We arrive at the doors soon after. Opening the doors enough for the five of us to walk through. The guests pale at what they see. Two mechanical walkers stand out from the lizards gathered ahead of me. There is a new leader that seems to have arrived. This time having a larger feathered hat and both shoulders feathered. His clothes are much finer and dark red instead of the dark purple outfits the rest of the soldier wear. He stands proud as his head is focused on me shifting slightly to assess the soldiers I saved. I walk up towards the line I had made. The two walkers jerked to life. The pilots visible through the tinted glass. They were encased in a boxed cockpit where the legs sprouted from, chicken like claws digging into the dirt below. Heavy ordinance was at its side and at the lower middle of the cockpit, a minigun sticks out menacingly. I wonder if they are energy weapons or projectiles. The minigun must be metallic projectiles whilst the heavy ordinance at the sides are unknown. Too much distance between us to scan. They aimed down towards me. Both my arms moves from my sides to the giant cannons in reaction. A hum is heard as they sprout to life and aim at the opposition. Two can play at that game. The lizards in front of me seem visibly hesitant at my blatant threat of ¡°I have the bigger ordinance¡±. That the engines of war at my sides haven¡¯t had time to charge up or reload is something I do not need to tell them. If they only knew what weapons were inside the facility. It would make every organic run from this planet and hope I don''t leave with them with ill intent. The guests move in front of me in panic, gesturing wildly to cease the hostilities. They are frantically communicating to try to stop violence from occurring. Could also be due to the doors still being open. A stray missile hitting the cargo in there could have¡­ apocalyptic consequences. Closed the doors in afterthought. One of the guests notices and sighs in relief. Yup. Spot on. The leader and Shaar have short bouts of conversation. I think he¡¯s describing how I untied them and invited them in. Probably also describing what I have shown them. The leader listens intently from his position. Then suddenly starts moving past the defences placed down. Obviously, any idiot would know that when fighting with these types of powerful weapons, sandbags will cover you. As the lizards behind react, his vanguard moves to guard him. They are equipped with shields and some lances. judging from the energy at the tip they can be used both as melee weapons and fire projectile energy blasts. As he approaches he stops six steps away from us. The guests stand at attention and do a salute. Right fist bumping chest and tail curling around their right leg. He replies with a quick chest bump and hisses a feeling of ¡°At ease¡± to where the guest soldiers pose at casual attention. The officer approaches him and starts explaining in detail. The leader says something to the officer. Then he replies with a few short hisses and barks. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The leader looks at the officer. Removes his feathered hat and holds it in place on his chest and he takes a few steps closer as his focus is towards me. I take a step closer and we stay out of arm''s length. He reaches out with his hand in humanities form of greetings. I take it and shake the clawed hand. Our sensory sockets locked to one another through the entire procession. The guards throughout the ordeal seemed to be on hyper alert, eyes twitching at the smallest of gestures. Fearing for their leader. I tap my chest voicing: ¡°HH¡±. He replies with the same gesture. ¡°Shazath¡±. We release our hands. I power down the giant magical cannons on the side. The lizards behind the pitiful sandbags all visibly take in a breath of air. Seems many hold their breath in stressed situations. Shazath proceeds to mince hisses and barks with gestures. Not understanding I hold my hand out in a waiting gesture. Palm first. Then point in front of me as I start a hologram. It shows me standing talking words no lizard understand. Then it shows a lizards standing there talking words I do not understand. Then the lizard hands over a machine. Looking like a datapad or an interface panel. I hook up and it visually shows how something is absorbed by me. Then my hologram voices recorded patterns of hisses and barks which form their words. I hope this explains that I can learn through absorbing information from their educational programs. Or I could compile large mass of coherent text to let it decipher over a little longer period of time. The leader seems to contemplate for a moment. Then he shouts something over and signals for somebody to approach. A female lizard (or just slim) walks towards us. Wearing a white outfit instead of the usual mass of purple and black. Her complexion was a lighter hue of purple. On her head she wore a veil covering the front of her face. It also looked as if she had hair. Unusual since none of the lizards around had any hair. As she reached us I take note that the coords going down her back were not hair but wires. She hands one out to Shazath. It would seem he is offering me to connect and use her as an interface. He offers me the coord. This is risky. I have no idea what capabilities or technological wonders they have conceived. If she manages to hack me she could potentially take over the administration rights to the facility. I hesitate briefly as I contemplate the risks. My emitter shoulder pops open causing the guards to jerk. But they hold their positions. I take the offered coord and connect myself to her. As I start to send data requests to her. I receive unknown protocols. Using instinctively things I learn from my pool of knowledge I manage to sort out our communications smoothly. She then proceeds to hand me everything I asked for. I receive lectures on the language. But nothing outside of the subject requested. Secretive of them. Considering I showed the five soldiers some of the threat that I pose. Well, no matter. I will eventually have access to some form of network. I will gather all other common knowledge, culture and science then. They seemed to have three primary languages that are most commonly used. Basal with emphasises barking. Shherik which has its focus on hisses and Grege which is lastly mostly growling. Thirty seconds pass. One of my firewalls reject an injection attempt into my database. Annoyed at the crude attempt at adding administration rights over me I copy and send it back. Doing the same. Her head jerks back and growls at me. Growling back with stronger connotations on how she has no right to complain after her pathetic attempt. I could have bombarded and overpowered her mind. It probably would have broken her though. I snap the cord severing our connection prematurely. I have gotten what I needed, and I do not want to be connected with this woman for another microsecond. The ones around me were taken aback at the action. Her veiled face tightening at the loss of a cord. Apparently installation of those seem either expensive or a painful experience. Her glare was attempting to pierce me as I matched it with my immovable face. ¡°Now that this unpleasant experience with little miss ¡°Take over my systems¡± is over with and I have managed to acquire your language we can converse, and with less risk of you trying to destroy me.¡± She pales at how quickly I have assimilated the information. Normal decoding everything to fit systems take a few days for the best in their fields. But my algorithms and the power of the facilities behind me added to my efficiency and processing power. Shazath seems to visibly be annoyed and waved the tech girl away. She bowed and started walking back agitated. ¡°It is good we can now talk. I heard you were aggressive and had attacked our men.¡± He responded. I let out a laughing hiss. Hologram forming the tail I am missing to fill in the gestures to complete my amusement. ¡°Did that feathered fool describe it that way? How about this then, as proof. I gestured to the hologram I played out. A recording of my experience earlier. Now with my added comprehension. The view of me awakening and the surprised lizard hissing out in an equivalent of ¡°Holy shit!¡± Murmurs of the lizards watching me get out of the rocks. The arrival of the soldiers. My grief and then their attack. ¡°What I was holding was the last remnants of my creator. They risked to ruin my last memento of her with an unprovoked attack.¡± The video continued on to when the five guests were being tied up to the bombs. Shazath¡¯s face turned grim, his tail whipping in agitation as he observed. When I freed them and had them retreat to the doors. He gestures that he¡¯s had enough. ¡°I thank you for saving my subordinates. It is clear that you are not the aggressor. I apologise for the actions of my subleader. He will be taken into custody and held in trial for abuse of authority. The last thing we want is to start an intergalactic incident.¡± He states to assure me. I cock my head to the side. Intergalactic? Does that mean they are not native to the planet? ¡°It would probably not have been an intergalactic incident¡­¡± I say whilst looking down at the cavernous floor. ¡°I am HH. Short for Humanity''s Heritage. The human race once native to this planet perished. I bore witness to the cataclysmic event that enveloped the planet.¡± My voice, quivered at the end. Why do I hold so much emotion for a world I barely knew? A flash at the memory of the beautiful sight I saw together with Victoria. ¡°Has the planet recovered?¡± I ask hoping for its former beauty to be restored. He seems shocked at my revelation of my origins. ¡°You mean to say you are the remnant of the lost race and civilization that thrived on this rock eons ago?¡± He asked without thinking. Realizing his reference to the destroyed world in such an undesirable way. My head shook slightly as a sigh escaped my lips. I gesture towards the place I set the hologram. Showing the world as I knew it. The earth, the beautiful green and blue planet that shined in an empty space devoid of life from millions of lightyears away. The hologram shifted to become my view together with Victoria, the hologram expanding to encompass us in a 360 degree angle. Her smile bright towards us, everything seemed more full of color in her direction. Her tears visible in her eyes. Shazath gazed in amazement upon the holographic sky. He walked around Victoria. Taking in every detail. ¡°Amazing, we have never found any recoverable imagery left behind. Only some remnants of bones. Our understanding of how the Kazraka looked is nothing from our digitalization from genetic markers.¡± He gasped as he looked to the horizon behind me. I glanced behind and remembered. That is where the end came from. Still too early to understand it. The red in the distance illuminating in a false beauty that makes my circuity itch. ¡°Magnificent¡± he exclaims. Annoyed I continue the video. Suddenly the brilliant view of the world shifted. Continuing in real time. ¡°The world is ending. Nothing organic will survive this.¡± Victoria spoke in speaking english. Shazath changed his focus from his horror in the distance and he looked at Victoria¡¯s serious gaze as it shifted from determined to the last happy smile I still have etched into my retinas. ¡°I¡­ I want to know you more. Understand you more.¡± My recorded voice played. Again, steam start pouring out of my helm. Enforced this time. Remembering events from eons ago. A nightmare so fresh and so real. Droplets hit the floor. ¡°You don¡¯t have to show this.¡± Shazrah consoles. I tap the ground with the holographic tail. ¡°I must. I must show this. This is her final moments. My creator''s final smile. In a world with so much beauty.¡± The hologram suddenly pauses. Images from all across the globe start popping up, outside of my control. I gesture with my arms, naming every location. Every city. Every landscape, ruin, forest full of wonders. It takes minutes, minutes turns intto an hour. Shazrah completely captivated with each individual image. More of the lizardmen have come into the hologram to share in this world''s former beauty. No one saying a word. I am now kneeling. My fist clenched. As the final image shows the dominion capital I name the final location of beauty ¡°the Dominion¡± my words filled with spite the hologram clears. Leaving Victoria standing in a world of half beauty half destruction gazing at my kneeling self in the center. I stood up, facing her the same way I faced her then. Then the hologram continues its tale. As she starts her final speech. A consoling speech. I reach out to her in the same manner I did. Reaching for her coat. As the sudden shock wave hits us. The audience stare in horror as she turns to ash before their eyes. I stand there kneeling in the same position as when it happened. The vapour from my helm had turned acidic and was eating the floor and ceiling. My grief plainly shown. Silence lasted exactly 28 seconds. I got up after recovering from my anguish. Shaking my head. ¡°I am the last heritage of humanity. I wish to spread the lessons taught so that nobody will ever walk down this path again.¡± I turn to Shazrah. Everyone was stunned. Their tails are standing straight up and quivering. An emotive reaction to sadness and shock. ¡°This facility was the technological and magical research facility for the united federations.¡± I state gesturing with one open palm. Waking everyone from their stupor. I enquire Azures records on how long I have slumbered. It matters not how long. Victoria is still deceased. It still felt like yesterday. To me it only happened yesterday. ¡°I was born 2.8 million years ago using this planet''s yearly cycle around its sun. I am the last technological and magical wonder of my creator Victoria Brunhilde, Daniel Brunhilde and their team. Created to last. With the goal to be humanity''s heritage should they end. So here I stand. Survivor of a cataclysmic event. Born from the ashes of a dead race. I hope our previous encounter will not make our future interactions awkward. Chapter 4: Construction Authors Note: Hello precious page scanners! It is I! Durlek! I have returned after a week of intense work to finish up a project for uni. I am sorry that I was unable to hold onto the goal of 3 chapters a week. I suspect that after next week, I shall be able to have more time to write and (hopfully) brim with inspiration! This is a little shorter. Wanted this chapter to encompass the interaction with the lizardmen. But It will probably not be ready until early next week. So I shall instead be dividing it into two as to not starve those whom really look forward for more! As per usual. If you find something fishy or inconsistent. Please voice my incompetence! Enjoy! Chapter 4: Construction My metallic body stands amidst moving robotic arms. Different tools reaching every nook and cranny to get all the grime, dirt and stone that has been accumulating over years of inaction. It is a feeling of freedom and freshness to have my sensors and circuits not be inhibited by different layers. After learning the lizards language, I found out that they call themselves the Chaarga in their native tongue. I will be automatically translating it to ¡°Lizardmen¡± internally, in honor of some species that expired upon mass extinction of the earth. Shazrah informed me that this is a mining colony. The planet that used to be filled with water and life is now a barren rock. Its atmosphere has not recovered to be able to handle life. Given more time, it could be possible for it to recover on its own. Though, we are talking about millions of years to come. The reason that they do not have atmospheric suits and helmets is due to their atmosphere generators at the entrance of the mines. Filling the mines with breathable gasses. I am curious at their design. Humanity had devised theoretical concepts for similar devices. Flicking through the cameras to get a visual outside the frontal blast doors, observing the checkpoint being built. I wasn¡¯t authorized to go to the surface. The ¡°colony¡± is owned by a megacorporation with many interests and investments to this rock. To have me be able to roam freely is out of the question. I felt agitated at the earth being claimed, especially to solely be exploited then discarded when it has nothing left to give. I shake myself out of my melancholy, needing to focus on more immediate issues. Azure institute had not survived the inferno unscathed. Either the mountain itself succumbing to the incredible heat or failing the test of time. The facility had several levels, most of these were compromised. Leaving the main facility intact, but all secondary facilities seem to either be completely destroyed or damaged and in need of repair. I will need to prioritize to get some of the more useful facilities running. The generator rooms for the defences, for example, are unresponsive. My focus is being drawn to the rooms that were involved in my creation. A nagging feeling of a need to get those running again. Wondering if Victoria had intended to give me the possibility and ¡°urge¡± to replicate more soulcores. I turn my head, my focus on the two big doors leading to the storage room holding the army of armors. Did my creator intend to have me start a new race? The light from my sensory sockets seems to dim in thought as I stood there. Either way, these would be long term goals. I don¡¯t have time to ponder. I need to make sure I can safeguard this facility and that means to get the defence grid up and running. Shazrah seems to be trustworthy, a (lizard)man motivated by curiosity. But I cannot predict how he would act under orders. Throughout history, many have been forced to do many unspeakable things by order of superiors. Lessons learned and recorded. Considering he seems to be a military officer, he probably would ignore his curiosity and do his duty regardless of his feelings. I start moving to the power grid for the defences, a floor below. Taking the stairs down, my feet thumping with my weight with every step. The hallway ahead of me has been collapsed. Luckily my destination was before the collapse. Standing in front of the non functional buckled doors, I extend my hand squeeze it through the dented middle. Metal groans could be heard as the metal bends before my fingers. My body lowers, knees bending, steadying myself. As my right arm flicks the the right, the motion followed by my upper torso, the door flings free. It wrenches off its hinges with a cry of metal snapping as the bolts gives way. The heavy door slams into the ground and screeches along the corridor to rest at the base of the stairs. I glare at the rock wall in front of me. This will be a long process to clear out to either salvage or repair the systems. Work that needs to be done though. As I¡¯m about to start hacking into the rock wall with my bare hands, I get ideas. The main facility has several manufacturing rooms. Though they lack materials to work with, the arms have cutting tools, and are automated. I quickly connect to the room to inspect what I have to work with. Yes, this will work. I just need a solution for making it mobile, the tracks of the stasis capsule aren¡¯t great for working in rubble as it cannot climb. And the traction wouldn¡¯t be enough to clear the rubble away from the rooms. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Could the hover technology in the cart be of use? I feel a spark of inspiration of what I could do with the technology. The possibilities unlocked of having a floating robotic worker with gravity control modules are immense. If I could somehow get the gravity mechanism to handle like a tractor beam, then clearing rubble would be very efficient. Not to mention I could handle diplomacy with the lizardmen while they work tirelessly to clear the facilities. With steps hurried by my enthusiasm of creating my own incorporation of gravity control. I find myself standing in the workshop of my creation. Taking inventory of what tools I am able to salvage to fit the drone I will make. Next to me the hovercart floats, as if ignoring the laws of physics. Underneath you can see the white energies emitted from exhausts working to keep the platform on top of it steady. Removing the power source and dismantling the device to learn its inner workings. The power source seems to work similar to a fusion core. But the efficiency isn¡¯t like one of our experimental reactors here. I¡¯ll be installing in our own drones with the more efficient ones. I create a shell that would house its main circuitry. With plates that would move to reveal its miniature arms with tools at its tips. Giving it one multipurpose energy tool, this used for cutting various materials at efficient energy levels. One socket would house my tractor beam. After analyse the hover mechanisms I realize that they are designed to house energy that would counteract forces in a certain direction. With a little modifications I was able to make it start pulling itself towards a direction. Then by adding a red crystal catalyst to force the energies to withhold their properties until it hits a target. It would then direct force towards its origin, dragging the target together with the energies. This would in effect start dragging targets towards itself. With the use of magitech used eons ago, the circuitry is not a big problem. The drawback would be straining the power source more than normally dragging rubble away with claws. This method though is much more time efficient to make it more than worthwhile, ontop of safety of distance whilst attempting to drag rubble from unsafe hallways from a distance. A few hours pass as I built three drones to work in my stead. Each with hold their own projects and be connected the Azure¡¯s network. I hold the miniature reactor in my hand, dull orange glow emanating between my fingers. Preemptively activating its diagnostic protocols. It will automatically start its activation procedures once installed into the chassis of the drones. Opening the latch on the back of the ovoid shaped shell (or in simpler terms egg-shaped). I place the pulsing reactor and with a click plug it in. I softly close the latch and etch my personal symbol into it. Stepping back to admire my work. The single retinal sensor at its front starts to glow a dull red. Its initialization protocols kick in, the gravity engines power up. A humm reverberates as the drone starts to float into the air. Force and heat resistant alloys were used to forge the smooth surface of the shell. They would not get damaged too easily for the work they will be doing. Minimal maintenance is a must for a small workforce for efficiency! I quickly check my connection, setting up its instructions. It makes audible beeps of confirmation as it starts to float past me towards the staircases. I rub my hand over its side as it passes. Admiring the mechanical life I produced. Is this how Victoria felt when I awoke? No, she was more¡­ emotional. These aren¡¯t like me. They have no true will of their own. No¡­ soul? After quickly finishing the procedure with the final two drones, I start heading for the checkpoint being constructed just 132 meters outside the doors. Now that work is being done at the same time as the facility is being repaired. It is time to diplomatically stall for the defences become operational. If they see me actively interacting with them. They will probably assume no work will be done within these halls. I just hope that the defences will not be needed. Though from humanities records of what happens when a weakened party with resources greater factions yearn for¡­ I will have to be cautious. The double doors open, revealing my metallic frame as I slowly walk towards the checkpoint. Let¡¯s learn more of these Lizardmen and their culture.