Markus
November 12, 2034
[...SYSTEM STARTUP…]
…
[...system reboot initializing…]
[: 68%:]
…
[:GPS not found:]
…
[...scanning system for software errors…]
Markus attempted to open his two emerald eyes as a bright red flashing warning sign appeared in his field of vision.
[...no software damage detected…]
[...system startup 72%...]
…
[...ERR CODE 419: PRIORITY HARDWARE CORRUPTED OR MISSING…]
[:Enter Standby Mode for Repair?: Y/N:]
Markus groaned, the human motion seemed foreign to him, but that was all his energy allowed him to do.
His face and most of his body was submerged in what seemed to be a mud puddle, the water and grime cold on his skin.
Rain dripped on the side of his face, pooling in the indent to where his red flashing LED lived.
[...82%...]
[:THIRIUM LEVELS DANGEROUSLY LOW: 16% TO CAPACITY:]
[:ENTER LOW POWER MODE? :Y/N:]
Loud static crackled throughout Markus' head as his body slowly woke up- the noise seemed to drown him.
[: HARDWARE MALFUNCTION: CODE A747 AUDIO PROCESSOR:]
He tried again to open his eyes, and was disoriented by the view.
It was like looking through a plastic bag filled with mud, his right eye was either damaged, or completely gone.
[:HARDWARE MALFUNCTION: CODE F01 OPTICAL:]
"No shit…"
As if moving through molasses, the android slowly splayed his arms in front of him- hoping to support his weight long enough to allow him to stand.
The ground seemed to shake below him, and Markus fought to stay upright.
He tried to balance himself but-
With a grunt, the android landed flat on his back, the water now pouring from the sky splattered on his bare chest and reflected the pale moon's glow on the water droplets. Like diamonds suspended in air.
[...system startup completed…]
[:91%]
[...systems online...]
More and more red flashed in front of him, the smog and smoke from the factories around the android painted a watercolor sky that the error messages were displayed on.
[:WARNING: THIRIUM LEVELS DANGEROUSLY LOW 14%:]
Markus inhaled, and allowed the freezing cold air attempt to cool the rising temperature that seemed to flow through his body.
[:WARNING: THIRU-:]
[:Disable Software Messages? Y/N:]
What happened? Markus lifted his head from the mud pillow and surveyed his surroundings.
Tall, mountainous piles of...androids… surrounded him. Arms and legs seemed to sprout from the masses, the throbbing of red LED's reflected their glow off of discarded metal parts.
The lower half of what seemed to be a Traci model strutted down the makeshift path that lead through the bodies.
He tried to listen, tried to examine his surroundings with audio cues, but the static popping in his head made him wince and drop his head back down.
Markus knew he was losing thirium even if the warning signs hadn't appeared. His limbs began to feel leaden and heavier as they began to lose their ability to move. The oxygen regulator in his chest that resembled human lungs seemed to quicken its pace, as if it were trying to convert oxygen to thirium.
The android glanced down again, his vision still foggy. Not foggy enough though, to hide the shimmering blue liquid that seemed to pulse from his chest cavity. Markus was gasping for breath now, the dripping streams of thirium traced rivers down his ribs and onto the already soaking dirt.
Was I shot?
Markus lifted a shaking hand, and had to fight his own body from shutting down right there. Forcing his arm up and into his own breast felt like fighting against a million other hands. Hands that gripped his arms and forced them to freeze in place.
[:SYSTEM OVERRIDE. THIRIUM LEVELS BELOW 7%:]
"Fuc-"
The android's hand loosely grabbed an alien scrap of metal that was lodged in the metal mesh next to his thirium regulator.
A bullet glistened in between his thumb and pointer finger, excess blue blood dripped from the metal down his hand and trailed along his wrist.
[: MODEL RK200 : SYSTEM SHUTDOWN WILL BEGIN MOMENTARILY: PLEASE STANDBY:]
[...59s…]
Panicked was the only way Markus could describe the thundering anxiety that seemed to pulse through his android veins.
He didn't want to shut down, the fear of oblivion gripped his chest and made him scream.
"Someone!..."
[...45s…]
"Anyone! Please help me…" With little more than thirty seconds to shutdown, Markus' voice was barely an audible rasp. His vocal stabilizer began shutting down before the rest of his body did.
The tears that dripped from his eye ran down his fading LED like the rain.
The static that echoed through the android's head isolated him. Made him feel alone.
"I don't want to-" His breath made whispers through his paling lips.
[...6s…]
A crack of lightning illuminated the sky above him.
Markus wanted to close his eyes, he didn't want to be found with open eyes if someone came looking for him.
The android tried to close his eyes, but couldn't.
The shutdown process now took all mobility control away from him.
[...4s…]
Markus took a deep breath, his chest cavity stayed raised as his oxygen processor froze in place.
[...3s…]
Another flash of lightning illuminated the silhouette of a person running towards him. Their shape seemed to have formed from the darkness of the mountain of discarded androids.
[...2s…]
Markus' vision began to fade to black as the shutdown process began to enter the final cycles of completion.
A static voice seemed to fight its way through the haze of the android's mind.
"Markus..!?"
Two crystal blue eyes found their way in front of Markus.
[...1s…]
"S-mon…-" The android's last words found their target as the blonde android froze momentarily, before shoving his hands in Markus' open chest cavity.
[:SHUTDOWN COMPLETE:]
The blonde android moved as quick as he could, his hands still submerged inside Markus as his LED faded from crimson, to gold, to blue, to nothing at all.
[:ALL DATA AND STORED MEMORY WILL BE ERASED:]
Another sixty second countdown glared red in the android's visual field.
[:PLEASE STANDBY:]
As the sixty second counter descending, everything around Markus faded to black.
["Markus, are you still in there?"]
Blinking white text began to fade in and out of focus.
Markus tried to form words, but he did not have a body in this space. It was like he was nothing at all, just a conscious mind in...oblivion. Was this oblivion? Android heaven?
["Yes."] Markus replied, his response blinked crystal blue in front of him in the void.
Though he did not have a body, somehow he felt a warm presence press against his cheek, and then his chest. It was like a static, feather-light touch in his mind, weak, but still there. Comforting.
["You're not alone, Markus. Hang on as long as you can."]
The blinking white text was abruptly cut off by an obnoxious red one.
[:DATA ERASED: 45% TO COMPLETION:]
The emptiness around Markus suffocated him, surrounded him. It was like a black hole, everything and nothing existed there.
["Almost done, Markus."]
A fading white text appeared just as quickly as it disappeared. Who was that? Who am I?
Where am I-
"Android RK200. Wake up."