The Guardian Factory

by I Darkstar X

A small-ish oneshot I thought up a month or two back. I suck a writing summaries, and people who know me will agree. I can't build suspense, or make a fleeting glance-r turn into a loyal reader. But what I can do is write. So that's what I do. I write. Rated M for blood and violence

1. DATA FILE 1: GUARDIAN FACTORY DATA FILE

The Guardian Factory Data File.

\::The Guardian Factory is some kind of massive complex designed to build and maintain an infinite number of fly-sized robots. This is stage 1. During stage 1, the robots are called "Guardamites", and their first objective is to find a sentiant life form and absorbs its DNA, causing large amounts of them to merge into a mechanical weaponized version called a "Guardite", and thus begins stage 2. Stage 2 is where the Guardites then absorb multiple weapons and Guardamites to form several variations thereof, and secure the cavern leading to the surface. And THEN they evolve into "Guardians", mech-like versions, some of which are designed to shove long pipes down to The Guardian Factory so the Guardians can absorb the waves of Guardamites that spew forth to upgrade their weaponry.

"What was this factory built for? Who built it? And where is it?" I hear you ask, well, question 1: The Guardian Factory was designed to be a last resort, because once you turn it on, you can't turn it off. Question 2: No one knows for sure, some speculate it was built by an ancient civilization, but why then is it found on so many different planets? Some arid, some frozen, some with an atmosphere, and some without. Last question: (See question 2.) The Guardian Factory has never been truly measured, mainly because it is found at least 10 miles below the surface of any planet, but there is always a cavern leading to The Guardian Factory's control room/wall. On the wall is a screen that plays a video that gives detailed instructions on how to use the Guardian Factory. The video seems more like a commercial user's guide, as it uses bright colors, bright and playful images, and a narrator speaking the instructions, all the while, a happy tune is playing. I mean, just look at the very first line the narrator says!

"Hello, and congratulations on finding The Guardian Factory!" (Happy faces appear.)

The next item on the control wall is a digital image of a glass tube, empty with a red 0% below it. Above that is a warning sign saying that the device will not stop, unless it runs out of power, which takes about 100 billion years. Back to the strange user's video, the below are the steps towards activation of The Guardian Factory:

1. Input DNA belonging to whatever sentient life-form(a) that the Factory is trying to protect. (Called Protected by the Guardians.)

2. Input DNA of main threat, if any. (Called Doomed by the Guardians.)

3. Charge the Factory to 100%.

4. Wait exactly 5.7 seconds.

5. Enjoy your new protectors!

The Factory will then start producing Guardamites, and so on and so forth.

::\After 50 billion years, The Guardian Factory will have used half its power, and at this stage, large amounts of Guardians will come together to form a truly terrifying weapons platform. This weapons platform is called a "Guardon" (gar-don). It is a saucer-shaped flying ship 100 miles in diameter. (161 km.) a four (4) pronged device hangs out from beneath in the very middle. The weapons platform is armed with several tachyon-based weapons, including missiles, torpedoes, and lasers. The device I mentioned earlier is called an Gravitational Obliterator. What it does is it charges up with pure cosmic energy and fashions it into a "cosmic scalpel", which the Guardon then uses to slice a hole in space creating a black hole, but before the new black hole can get out of control, it creates another incision ten (10) mm above the first one, creating an infinite loop, dooming the things that enter to intense gravitational stress, and eventually to be ripped apart. After only a few nano seconds, the Guardon reseals the holes, preventing permanent damage.

::\The following is a complete list of all bugs, glitches, mutations, etc, that have been discovered that can affect any of the stages of The Guardian Factory. (Note that list is subject to change.)

1. DNA Over-Consumption Mimic Error. (DNAOCME)

2. Turncoat SynDrome. (TSD)

3. OverRide Virus. (ORV)

4. Spontaneous Combustion Bug. (SCB)

5. Stage One Error. (SOE)

6. Jack of All Trades Glitch. (JATG)

7. Base Personality Bug. (BPB)

8. Vital Equipment Absent Error. (VEAE)

9. Energy Void Virus. (EV2)

10. Design, Code, and Programming Mutation. (DCPM)

11. Technology Subdument. (TS)

12. Plasma Perpetual. (PP)

13. Abnormal Jelly. (AJ)

14. Random Discrepancies. (RD)

15. Failure Syndrome. (FS)

16. Rampancy. (R)

17. Attraction Virus. (AV)

18. Cultural Inclination Glitch. (CIG)

19. Bravado Personality Bug. (BPB)

20. Melody Memorization and Random Low Volume Repetition Bug. (M2RLVRB)

21. Vocalized Melody Accompanied by Successive Steps Bug. (VMAS2B)

22. Complete Lack of Mental Ability. (CLMA)

23. Volume Increase Virus. (VIV)

24. Random Personality Appearances. (RPA)

This what each does:

1. Causes the Guardimite when it evolves into a Guardian to directly emulate both the appearance and personality the creature that it took a sample of DNA from.

2. Causes the Gaurdian, etc., to attack other Guardians, etc..

3. Guardians can override the CEC or the BIARR if they choose.

4. Exactly what the name insinuates, the Guardian, etc., bursts into flames and is instantly disintegrated.

5. Guardamites will act like complete idiots and not pursue the objective during Stage 1.

6. This glitch is actually useful. This glitch causes the Guardian to have multiple abilities, consisting of: A Pounder, artillery, close, medium, and long range armaments, repair nanites dispensers, and a support shield generator.

7. A very harmful bug with the BIARR and/or the CEC is in direct contradiction, causing the Guardian to attack Protected and defend Doomed.

8. The Guardian is missing weapons and/or equipment.

9. A very dangerous virus that occurs in Guardons. Causes the Gravitational Obliterator to suck in way too much energy, creating a massive energy vacuum, which can prove extremely dangerous when it overloads and explodes violently.

10. DCPM creates a very powerful draconic humanoid Guardian that is only about 7 ft tall, and armed with a single T-Class Claw Cannon. (There has been only one with two T-Class Claw Cannons on record though.) This mutation happens at least once in the first 1,060 years that The Guardian Factory has been active.

11. This causes the Guardian, etc., to have drastically outdated technology.

12. This causes the plasma energy in the Guardian, etc., to cycle endlessly, preventing recharge, and ideally results in the Guardian's, etc., destruction, as opposed to developing almost vampiric traits.

13. The jelly-like matter that keeps the Guardian from bursting into a cloud of Guardamites when it falls over is abnormally strong, preventing almost all movements.

14. The Guardian, etc., will lie about almost everything.

15. Causes the Guardian, etc., to pursue failure instead of success.

16. Rampancy is like old age, but the average life expectancy of a Guardian, etc., is around 20 trillion years, so Rampancy is rare.

17. Causes the Guardian to pursue a romantic relationship with a Protected.

18. The Guardian will write poems, music, songs, plays, and/or play instruments.

19. The BIARR displays bravado.

20. The Guardian, etc., will memorize songs and "hum" them often.

21. Singing and dancing.

22. The Guardian is just an empty husk. Related to mental retard-ness.

23. The telepathic communication's volume of a Guardian, etc., is extremely high.

24. Multiple personality disorder essentially.

::\The Guardians, Guardons, Guardites, and Guardimites don't perceive the world the same way most living multicellular organisms do. They are 100% "colorblind", but they can see colors. Allow me to explain, at the base of all Guardian vision, there is only black and white. The different Levels of Identification determine the color of the object they are viewing, here is a list with the Level of Identifications.

1. Unintelligent- Navy blue: Plants and animals that are not sentient and/or capable of higher thinking.

2. Brethren- Full color: Other Guardians, etc..

3. Doomed- Crimson: The specific targets that Guardians will actively hunt down if evidence of their existence becomes apparent. Unchangeable.

4. Targeted- Red: Beings that are not Doomed, Protected, or Unintelligent and were originally Wary that have shown hostility towards Protected or Allied. Attacked on sight, or hunted down by request of Protected, or by Allied with the consensus of a Protected of sound mind and body.

5. Wary- Orange: Beings that are not Doomed, Protected, or Unintelligent that have not yet shown signs of active hostility towards Protected or Allied, but have just been discovered by them. (Them refers to the Guardians, etc. in this circumstance.)

6. Allied- Lime green: Beings that are not Doomed, Protected, or Unintelligent that were once Wary and that have been proven to be on friendly terms with the Protected, by Protected of sound mind and body.

7. Protected- Full Color: Beings that are specifically marked to be defended at any cost, and their lives always take priority over any other, including Brethren and/or Allied. Unchangeable.

All organisms fall into those 7 categories. You might have noticed the "Unchangeable" bit at the end of 3 and 7, that just means that no beings can be added or taken away from those categories. Guardians can not speak orally, but they can speak telepathically, but even I don't know how, considering they're machines.

::\Guardians have different models, Staples are the standard model, Wardens are the advanced models, using only advanced T-Class weapons instead of conventional ones, and Sentries are heavier, more powerful, but not much bigger. There are others, but we'll talk about these 3. Note: All three contain the Basic Interaction Algorithm for Responses and Reactions, (BIARR) which is what makes the Guardians so lovable and friendly, despite their threatening appearance and lack of communication/aliveness.

1. Staple: Staple drones have short but wide bodies and legs, like they were flattened slightly. The usually carry a laser mini-gun cannon with them, or some other weapon. They have short jet wings poking out of their backs, but despite this, are unable to fly, just jump very high. (Some do have have engine jet packs, but more often than not, they don't.) Their main ocular receptor (Eye.) is shaped in such a way so that the red light behind it makes the outline of a quad-spoked gear. Staples also have a T-Class Claw Cannon, a quad pronged grabber that can release T-Energy as deadly bolts. The blasts don't affect the landscape, only living things.

2. Warden: These guys' legs resemble a normal mech's legs, as opposed to the fat, short, and powerful Staple legs. Their arms are very flexible, and have T-Class Claws for hands. Their body is more saucer shaped, with their "eye" on a tube piece that can extend up and do a full 360° in almost 3 seconds. Wardens are the only ones that are given names that don't consist of only numbers. For example, here are the names of the three Wardens that used to follow 77379-9215 nearly everywhere: Cherry2 Boom, Red One, and Space Cowboy. Don't ask how they came up the names.

3. Sentries: Combine physical ability and basic body of the Staple with the agility, legs, and T-Class weapons of the Warden and you get a Sentry. Sentries are upgraded versions of Staples and Wardens, but they can't speak in any form to anything except other Brethren. Sad. They are only produced when The Guardian Factory is at 10% power. They don't have a T-Class Claw Cannon as one of their hands, instead, they have a T-Class Eye Claw m0.5. This version looks like a normal T-Class Claw Cannon, but with only three prongs and a slightly sleeker design, as well as a second eye located in the center at the back between the three (3) prongs, but because of this, it does not have a central spike like the T-Class Claw Cannon, but instead three (3) slightly smaller spikes that can extend out of the tip of the three prongs. (The T-Class Eye Claw m1 is almost identical, but instead, the three (3) prongs are triangular, creating a closed tall pyramid shape when closed.) The location of this second eye and T-Class Eye Cannon is at the end of a long tail/tentacle located just above the rear pelvic area that is extremely flexible and strong, able to support Sentries in the air from any overhang. (Those three spikes at the end of the prongs prove useful here. The jet wings are replaced with moveable, almost demonic wings, but are still unable to sustain the Sentries in flight. Sentries are often thought off to be more primal than their Staple and Warden "cousins", often avoiding contact with Protected, Allied, and even Brethren for months. As their name entails, Sentries are less keen to "socialize" and are sometimes seen on the edges of cities near sunrise or sunset to watch the sun rise or set respectively. Sentries display strange habits that have earned them the playful nickname of "Bat Guardians", as they have bat-like wings, although I think they are a bit too pointy to fit that description. Another reason for the nickname is what they do. They seem to be spotted more often at night, and almost never during the day, except for the sunrise of course, instead of just wandering about, Sentries will somehow climb to the top of high cliffs and dig out a large cavern, (Like bats, except without the digging) where they "live" and can watch over from a distance, and finally, Sentries have great control over themselves, and can move in ways that Staples or Wardens can't. They seem to have developed a kind of sign language using only the position and direction of the "tail", and the stance of the wings, and has this far been indecipherable. A final note on Sentries is that they have invisibility. It has a battery life of around 60 seconds, but will recharge if the Sentry stops moving.

::\The BIARR, or Basic Interaction Algorithm for Responses and Reactions is what gives the Guardians their "personality", so to speak. One thing I must stress is that Guardians are not alive, or capable of any higher-level functions, they are robots. But the BIARR gives them a code for determining reactions that a sentient being might use. It uses several things. Say a Protected says: "Good morning!" As it passes. The BIARR then computes the appropriate response based on facial expression, volume, tone, etc.. Once this has been done, the Guardian will then carry out the appropriate response, which would be a slight nod of the "head", and a telepathic message saying: "And to you as well." Very nifty eh? That's not all. The BIARR allows for Guardians to make and carry out decisions based on a Protected(s)'s situation.

Here is an example. A few Protected enjoy swimming in a nearby lake. A Guardian sees this, and the BIARR determines that it should build a better regulated environment with water cleaning and purification devices, solar protection, advanced air regulation, and elemental protection. (Aka, an indoor lightning-proof swimming pool.) Another example: A few Protected are trying to dislodge a tree that has fallen onto a road. A Guardian sees this, and the BIARR determines that wind force was the cause. After removing the tree from existence, (Chainsaws are so useful.) the Guardian will then build a wind shield and/or a biosphere to regulate wind strength around the extended general area. I know those solutions can seem a bit over-the-top, but the one thing the BIARR can't do is be reasonable. Make what is adequate into perfect is exactly what the BIARR is designed to do in some situations. How about conversation? Well, Guardians tend to not remain idle, or remain near groups of Protected and/or Allied for extended periods of time. But they are programmed to do whatever Protected tell them to do within reason. (If a Protected asked a Guardian to bring him the moon, the Guardian would obviously not do it, as the gravitational stress from the two celestial objects could prove disastrous to the Protected.) Another feature of the BIARR is age recognition. A Guardian will react differently to a Protected or Allied of younger age, than if it was older. This can cause some Guardians that currently have no objective to "babysit" younger Protected or Allied, and has caused some very strange things to happen in the past. Another small thing, the BIARR is not used by Guardians with DCPM, instead, Guardians with DCPM have what is called Semi-Sentient Personality with Integrated Computing Brain, or SSPICB. This, for all intents and purposes, makes the Guardian alive. SSPICB lets it think on its own, react on its own, respond on its own. It also lets them see in full color vision. The SSPICB also allows the Guardian to essentially do whatever it wants, as the SSPICB does not have the Code of Ethical Conduct (CEC) integrated into it like the BIARR. The CEC prevents Guardians from doing bad things, like killing, harming, or letting a Protected, Allied, or other Guardian, etc. be harmed through inaction. The SSPICB gives the Guardian complete freedom to do whatever it wants. Take 77379-9215 for an example, when he went back in time for the second time to save Linda's life, he killed thousands of Protected without remorse. (Then again, it was a false reality, sooo...) Another thing about the BIARR and SSPICB is the prevention of violence factor. If a Guardian with BIARR saw two or more Protected and/or Allied participating in physical violence against other Protected and/or Allied, the Guardian will use its T-Class Claw Cannon to freeze them in place for ten seconds. If they continue to pursue violence, the Guardian will increase the immobilization time by ten seconds every time until the Protected and/or Allied no longer pursue violence. The SSPICB has no CEC, so the Guardian with SSPICB would probably just knock them out until some other Guardian came along. For such violence as domestic disputes, criminal activity, etc., non-leathel force for the Guardian with SSPICB is authorized, and it will usually side with whoever the "victim" is, so to speak. But a Guardian with BIARR will do the exact some thing as with other general violence, except double the time instead of just add ten, so it would go: 20 seconds, 40 seconds, 60 seconds, etc...

::\Let me ask you this: What does a Guardian do if confronted with itself? That make sense? Well it shouldn't. By that I mean what would happen if two Guardian Factories became aware of the other's existence? Well, nothing really. They'd exchange a complete record of everything every Guardian, etc. saw, heard, and thought, and that's about it. Sometimes, one Factory can send "troops" to aid another if need be, but they won't stick around for long.

::\What would happen if Protected react violently towards Guardians, etc.. Well, in this event, the Guardians, etc., will freeze all Protected in a cryo-sleep indefinitely. A bit extreme I must say. The same goes for self-annihilation. Protected aren't allowed to do that.

::\How do Guardians fight? Guardians have different methods depending on the location. If it takes place on the same planet as the Factory, the Factory will regulate the attack. On other planets, a satellite is set in orbit that regulates troop movements. The AI in the satellite is often called an "Assault Commander", and can sometimes attack on its own using an orbital laser.

::\No one knows what happens when The Guardian Factory uses up all its power. [Post principium, ante finem, hoc est Sequentia.]

::\ End File.