Thomas Maarlynd looked down upon the city from high in the corporate headquarters of Genetic Alternatives. The pale moon shone over the twisted streets, and the headlights upon the cars of the busy populace looked from this distance no more than so many firefly lights. From here, it was as if a single hand could reach out and pick up the city, cradling it protectively… or crushing it…

He walked slowly over to the phone upon his desk. Halfway through the action of reaching down to it, he paused… seemed lost in thought for a moment… then appeared to reach a decision as he pressed the white intercom button. "Marcus, send the division leaders to my office, please… we have a lot to discuss. A new business proposal, if you will."

06

BEGIN CHAPTER 00001 All Systems Active

The story begins in a dark room. Not pitch black – just dusky, as if it were meant to be fully lit but there wasn't enough light go around. In the center of the room stood many large pieces of metal, copper tubes, strange whirring devices, and the like. There also stood a table, looking much like a relic from a Frankenstein play, complete with a body upon it. There also stood a man.

He was moderately short, and was hunched over an important-looking device. He was outfitted in a lab coat, which perhaps was white once, but was now covered over in dirt, bits of rust, oil stains, and several burn marks over areas of scabbed flesh.

This hunched man, looking as if the world had owed him a good beating and had just paid up, had a name. His name was Adrian Manisto, though most people who knew him called him Professor Manisto. At least, they had, back before the war with the Rikti.

Having finished fiddling with the odd device, he shut the lid and took a moment to rest and reflect. He was still amazed that he had survived the war – hiding in the basement of Juro Cybernetics Corporation, he had heard quite clearly the shouts and screams of his fellows, the sounds of the Rikti scouring the building, the gunfire and blaster fire and who-knows-what-else-fire… then finally, the welcome sound of search parties looking for survivors.

The world had changed during the War. The police, the military, the militia… all destroyed. Even the mighty Superheroes of the world were nearly exterminated… of the whole, only 8 survived. The people were a mass of panic, anxiety, exhaustion, and apathy. But the war was won, and the people began the slow process of rebuilding.

The professor looked down at the body on the table. It, too, was made of metal, and full of odd whirring parts. A robot, indeed probably the most advanced robot ever to exist in this day and age, short of the Rikti drones. It was the newest Juro Cybernetics model, and the only one that hadn't been destroyed in the war. An ACA/Au, Advanced Character Assassination / Assault unit, designated unit number 06. Manisto had scoured the junkyards of the city, raided the old abandoned robotics labs, picked up or in some cases hotwired military equipment, and even gotten his hands on a deactivated Rikti drone, all in order to repair, and improve, this robot. Top of the line weaponry, sophisticated bioemulatory processing center, and a Rikti nuclear-powered battery pack were all counted among this unit's formidable arsenal.

Now to see if it would turn on…

Manisto finished inserting the power bypass device, and closed the chest panel of the robot. With the air of someone about to hesitantly push a rather large red button, the Professor rather hesitantly pushed the rather large red button.

082839912819388292-10293273409
SERIAL CODE ACCEPTED
BEGIN SYSTEM CHECK
:POWER:VISUAL:MOTOR:LOGIC:SONIC:RADAR:COMBAT:CLOAK:EMULATION
ALL SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL 100 CAPACITY
SELF SCAN
SELF SCAN DATA UPLOAD
MODEL ACA/Au : DESIGNATION 06 : CLASSIFICATION COMBAT
RUN PROGRAM
RUN PROGRAM INTRODUCTION

A series of creaks announced the robot's shift of posture to one more vertical. The blank metal faceplate turned to stare directly at Manisto, sensors underneath taking in the light in ranges from deep infrared to a modicum of ultraviolet. From the metal grille over where a human would usually keep its mouth, a metallic voice issued forth.

"Greetings. This unit is classification Advanced Character Assassination Assault unit number Zero Six. This unit is ready to begin task processing upon command. Please clarify owner/operator of this unit."

The nervousness on Adrian's face disappeared in an instant, to be replaced with a look of utter triumph. "Your owner is Professor Adrian Manisto. Your operator will be yourself."