MEGA MAN 1: Chapter 1

"Doctor Light! Doctor Light! DOCTOR LIGHT!"

An old, somewhat chubby man rocketed straight up in his chair, clutching his chest as though he had just had a heart attack. He whirled around to see who was apparently in the midst of making an attack upon his life, but much to his relief, it was nothing more than a young blond girl in a cute red dress. He smiled and breathed a heavy sigh, realizing that he should have expected her to to come get him at this hour.

"Good morning Roll," he said, stretching as let out a large yawn. "It is morning, isn't it?"

"Yup!", said Roll, both as cheery and as forceful as ever. "11:00:36 AM if you want to be exact. Which means it's time to get your butt out of that chair already."

"I suppose," said Light, chuckling under his breath. "I did ask you to wake me up in case, well, this happened, didn't I?"

"You got it!" said Roll, sticking out a thumb up. "Honestly, I don't know where you'd be if you never created me."

"I've wondered the same thing myself," said Light. "Thank you Roll."

"No problem," said Roll. "This is the sort of thing I was built for after all."

"Well," said Light, "yes, but remember-"

"I know," said Roll, "I know. 'Robots are always more than the sum of their parts.'"

"Precisely," said Light. "Just because you were built for something in particular shouldn't mean that should be the only thing you are capable of."

"Just what that does that mean anyway?", said Roll. "If I was built to do something, shouldn't I do it?"

"If you never again wish to ask that question," said Light, "then you'll have your answer."

"If you say so ," said Roll. "In the meantime, we need to get you over to that press conference. What were you even doing here anyway?"

"Ah." scratched the back of his head, looking around his workshop. For the most part, it was a neat and orderly little room, with various tools and robotic parts arranged exactly where he wanted them to be. However, the workbench was a different story, with various red parts seemingly scattered all across it. "I was in the beginning stages of, let's say, a special project of mine."

"'Special project?", said Roll.

"Yes," said Light, his smile beaming. "Very special."

"How special?", asked Roll, folding her arms together.

"He coyly looked either way before bending down and whispering into Roll's ear, "It's a Christmas present for Rock."

"Seriously?", yelled Roll, as if she were about to bring the house down. Light did his best to quite her down, lest Rock be made aware of his special gift.

"Yes," said Light, "yes it is. But we don't want Rock to know, do we?"

It took a second or two for this to register with Roll's processor, but it wasn't long before she got the gist. "Oh, right," said Roll. "Sorry."

"Don't be," said Light. "Who wouldn't be excited to receive the best gift a boy like Rock could ever have?"

"But, wait a minute," said Roll. "I mean, building Rock's present is great and all, but weren't you supposed to be getting ready for the conference."

"Ah, yes,' stammered Light. "To be completely honest, I was starting to get a tad nervous, so I figured, why not start Rock's present early? Building robots does calm my nerves."

"Oh," said Roll, "don't worry, I understand! I feel the same way sometimes, only I cook or clean instead. Building other robots is, well, I mean, you programmed me to know how to make them just in case, but it's still not really my thing, you know?"

"Of course," said Light. "I also understand. But I suppose it's time we were off."

"Yup!", said Roll. "Rock should be waiting for us in the car."

"In that case," said Light, "we shouldn't keep him waiting, should we?"

They headed out of the workshop and strolled past the lab and through the living room, passing by the various cleaning bots dusting the halls and mopping up the floor. Some resembled floating metallic orbs with arms, while others were closer to walking garbage disposals. None of them were humanoid, though for such menial drudgery, nothing more was truly needed.

They eventually made their way out of the front door and into the garage, and sure enough, there was Rock, ready and waiting. "Ready and waiting sir," said the young boy, smiling so calmly through the open window.

"Thank you Rock," said Light. He and Roll proceeded to open up the doors and step into the car, and it wasn't long before they they were on their way.

In a backstage room in a pristine conference room hall, an old man somewhat resembling Albert Einstein was sprawled out on a large sofa, dozing away with his breath stinking of brandy. However, he soon started to fidget; an arm twitching or a leg kicking. Before long, he was tossing and turning like a madman, as though the whole world were out of control. And it all ended not with a whimper, but with a tremendous shout that was only not heard thanks to the soundproof walls of the backstage room. He sat up straight and put a hand to his racing heart, wheezing like his life depended on it. He did his best to calm himself down, breathing in and out, in and out, before he was at last able to bring himself back to normalcy.

At first, he seemed to be relieved that he was free of whatever awful nightmare had disturbed him, but his gaze soon shifted to a newspaper sitting on a glass table in the middle of the room. The headline read as follows:

" TO DELIVER PRESENTATION ON HIS SELF-TITLED 'ROBOT MASTERS' TODAY AT NOON."

He sat there, staring at the paper without a seeming hint of emotion. That did not last. After what seemed like an eternity, an eye began to twitch, and his teeth began to clench, and his fists began to pump, and his throat started to gurgle. And just after that, despite his best efforts, he couldn't contain himself any longer. He screamed at the top of his lungs, seizing the front page of the newspaper and tearing it apart into tiny shreds. And just like that, it was over. After a moment, he plopped back onto the couch in exhaustion, yet still rather furious as his fuming would indicate. Slowly but surely, the fuming died down, and the man was at last able to control himself. He took a look around, making sure that no-one had heard him. Then, just in case, he he took the broom and dustbin from the corner and swept up the remnants of the front page. If Thomas Light were to see that, well, it wouldn't exactly be good for their relationship. If it even still mattered.

Speaking of Light, just after Wiley had emptied the contents of the dustbin and and placed both it and the broom back in the corner, he and his 'children' opened up the door and strolled into the room.

"Albert!", said Thomas. "Good to see you! Honestly, I wasn't sure if you would make it."

"You must be joking," said Wily. "I wouldn't miss this for the world! Although I would be lying if I said the thought hadn't occurred to me."

Light shook his head and sighed. "Albert, I know you would give anything to be on that stage with me, but you know that just isn't possible."

"Do I?", said Wily, scoffing at the notion. "You know that my experiments could have been a breakthrough in robotics engineering!"

"Albert," said Light, pinching his brow, "those experiments were unethical and you know it."

"Just because the authorities saw fit to give them an inappropriate label-"

"How is labeling experiments that push a robot's pain responder to see how much they can take not 'inappropriate?!'", shouted Light.

"Don't you start with that again!", said Wily. "Or do you want me to remind you how your first little project turned out?"

"That was an accident and you know it!", shouted Light.

"HEY!" Roll had had enough. She rushed towards Light and Albert and put herself between them like a wedge, doing her best to keep them apart. "THAT'S ENOUGH! This is supposed to be the happiest, best moment of both of your lives! You don't need to treat it like it's the worst."

Silence.

"I'm sorry Albert," said Light. "I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."

"No," said Albert, "no. "I shouldn't have even brought the whole thing up in the first place."

"Let's just focus on today," said Light, holding out a hand as he beamed once more. "There's no need to bring up what's past. Especially not this day.

Wily looked at the open palm, his brow furrowing for a moment, only for his gaze to relax as he took Light's hand in earnest. "Agreed. It's just that I am so tired of being in the shadows. Of having to rely on the success of others. If you were in my position, I'm sure you would feel the same."

"I might," said Light. "But I am sorry Albert. You should be up there with me. After all, everyone makes mistakes."

"Indeed," said Albert his countenance suddenly becoming rather grave, if only for a moment. "Still,what's done is done. And what still needs to be done is that conference. Shall we?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Light.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?!"

In a sprawling conference hall, reporters of all shapes, sizes, and even manufacturing lines were crowded within, practically chomping at the bit to get the full details on 's latest breakthrough. While most were human, there were some who instead rather obviously not, ranging anywhere from an apparent young woman whose bright orange, electronic eyes just happened to give her away, to a floating black sphere with square pupils and spindly limbs carrying a microphone. It seemed that some news agencies found it easier to simply send robotic reporters to do their work for them. How far the world of robots and AI had come.

In any case, their attention was rapt upon an older man clad in a rather nice black suit, addressing the masses with microphone in hand. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOLKS! WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADIEU, MAY I PRESENT THE ONE AND ONLY ?!"

In that moment, none other than himself came out from behind the curtain, graciously accepting the microphone from the man in the suit and smiling as he nervously tugged the collar of his lab coat. Not that the crowd noticed, aside from the more bloodthirsty news hounds.

"Is thing thing on?", said , briefly staring at the audience as he realized his mistake. "Uh, ahem, welcome everyone! As you are now doubt aware, this is a very special day; not just for us in the here and now, but for all mankind to come. And for all robot kind as well. We certainly have come a way long haven't we? Robots used to simply be crude automations, useful for manufacturing and not much else. Now, we have reached the point where many have their own distinct personalities, and some are even capable of making their own autonomous or independent decisions, or as much as their programming may allow. Such autonomy does help make them perform more efficiently in their tasks, though I'd like to imagine that there are more reasons as to why all of this is so fantastic beyond simple efficiency. However, I am not here to preach to what I hope to be the choir. No, I come to bestow upon what many may consider my greatest work yet."

Light then pulled back the curtain to reveal a row of six different robots, all generally humanoid and standing lifelessly on the stage.

The crowd oohed and awed, and cameras flashed in rapid succession. "Yes, it is rather impressive, isn't it? And what's even more impressive is their purpose. Each of these robots is built for a specific task." He gestured to the robot on the left, colored all in red and white with what seemed to be a rather large scissor attached to its' head. "Cutman here will be a boon in logging and forestry, while to his right," he continued, referring to a rather large yellow robot with black legs and arms and a red chest, "you have Gutsman, who will no doubt be of tremendous use in construction." He then moved on to the next robot; a bulky, somewhat pudgy robot with an orange and black color scheme and a mohawk. "Likewise with Bombman, whose expert demolition abilities will come in handy. Like Cutman and his scissors, he can draw upon an internal energy source to replicate as many bombs as he was wishes from thin air! Though of course, nothing lasts forever, as he will run out of energy at some point or another before he needs to refuel. But our next robot isn't quite as taxing on his energy supplies." Next up was a somewhat small, childlike robot in a blue parka. "Iceman is adept at assisting in exhibitions at sub-zero temperatures, and his abilities to generate ice will no doubt prove beneficial in such circumstances, especially since he doesn't run out of energy nearly as much as Bomb Man. Of course, after him is his counterpart, Fireman." He held out his hand towards a tall, gallant, gray and red robot with what seemed to be an unlit candle holder for a head. "Fireman can be a great help in waste disposal as well as clearing out any obstructive obstacles. Large or fallen trees pose no threat to him. And last but certainly not least, we have Elecman, who with his electrical prowess should be a godsend when it comes to repairing damaged powerplants or even downed powerlines." Speaking of which, Elecman looked like something out of a comic book; a masked hero with a red, yellow and black color scheme, including a bright yellow mask. "I trust that's everyone accounted for. These robots will be the basis for an entire line that will serve to assist humanity, but each of them will still have their own particular traits that stand out. Something that gives them a special spark that helps to separate them from the others and to allow them to serve even better in their tasks."

took a moment to take a sip from a glass of water on a nearby stool. "But it's even more than that. These robots, along with various others created by those in the same line of work as myself, will hopefully serve as a stepping stone to a greater appreciation of robots, and in time allow everyone to see that they are more than just simple tools. They can be capable of more than just manual labor or database management or other similar tasks. With the right programming, they aren't that much different than ourselves. Of course, the three rules of Robotics are still in place, and at the end of the day, they're still bound by their programming, but you'd be surprised at just what depths they can reach. The point is, robots can be and are more than just appliances. They are our friends, as I'm sure some of you are already aware. And with this project, I believe I can make that all the more apparent."

"Typical," muttered Albert from backstage, halfheartedly watching the conference from the sidelines and out of sight of the audience along with Roll and Rock, whose attention to Light had been rapt until Albert opened his mouth. "Always the sentimentalist."

"Quiet!", whispered Roll. "He's still on."

"Indeed he is," said Wily, rolling his eyes. "May God help us all. If there even is such a thing."

"Now," said Light, "are there any questions from the audience?"

Light didn't even need to ask. As if he had uttered a commandment from heaven, a multitude of hands rose up from the crowd, all belonging to reporters clamoring to get their turn in the limelight. pointed to a somewhat portly middle-aged man, beckoning him to make his voice heard. "Yes, you there sir. And you would be…?"

"Argent Mackeroy from CNN news. Are the rumors true that Doctor Albert Wily assisted you with this project? Even though he has specifically been banned from working in the field of robotics himself?"

tugged at his collar, at first unsure at just how to answer this. Wily paid a keen eye to Light from behind the scenes, waiting intently for his response. And Rock, noticing his sudden interest in the conference, paid a keen eye to Wily.

"I am not at liberty to say." Wily didn't even bother sticking around to hear the rest. He turned around and started to storm off towards the room in the back. "Wily, wait!", said Rock, trying desperately to reign him in. "You haven't heard the whole—!" And before Rock could finish off with "…thing,", Wily was gone.

"As far as I am aware however," Light continued, "Wily is only restricted from operating on robots or heading projects in that field. There is nothing legally restricting him from developing designs and submitting them for approval, or from working with other scientists who don't have such restrictions if he so chose. But I don't believe this conference was supposed to be about whether or not a man who made one mistake ago should be restricted from engaging in his life's work in any way possible just because some might think that to be unsavory."

Meanwhile, backstage, Rock had a decision to make. Not that it took very long. "Roll," he said, turning towards her, "wait here, please. I'll be right back, I promise!"

"Huh?" said Roll," looking somewhat confused as Rock ran off towards the same room. "But the conference isn't over yet!"

In the soundproof room in the back, Wily, with his hand on the doorknob, was just about to practically tear it open until he heard a rather familiar voice.

"Wily! Wait up!"

Sure enough, Rock, that little pest, had trailed him to the back. Probably to drag him back to that mockery of a press conference.

"What could a mere imitation of a human being possibly have to say to me?!"

"Look," said Rock, "I'm not really sure what's going on between you and Light, but if it's because he denied that you were involved in the project—"

"That's exactly what it is!", said Wily, whirling around to face Rock, practically furious. "He had a chance to give me the credit I deserve and instead, what does he do? He tells them he's 'not at liberty to say!'"

"Because he isn't!", said Rock. "I know you were working on some sort of experiment or whatever that the Government didn't really like, but—"

"How the hell do you know that?!"

"Uh," said Rock, scratching his head in confusion, "because you said it to 10 minutes ago? Me and Roll were still in the same room with you, you know."

It took a moment for the full reality of this to sink into the poor Doctor's momentarily thick skull, but sink it did. "Oh."

"But don't you see? Light didn't name you because he was trying to protect you! He—"

"Protect me?!", said Wily. "Don't make me laugh! I've never needed anyone's protection, not even Thomas'!"

"But if everyone out there found out you really had worked on the project, what would they think? I still don't fully understand all of this, but I don't think they'd be labeling you a gift to humanity. It might not be illegal, but I don't know if it'll matter to them."

Wily was taken aback. As much as he loathed to even admit it, this pathetic little robot may have had a point. "So. He was trying to protect me, wasn't he?"

"Yup!, said Rock, smiling like any real boy his age would.

Wily closed his eyes and breathed deeply, and after a moment, he slowly opened them once again. But something about them seemed different somehow. As if somehow in that instant, something new, something dangerous, had been unleashed. "Very well," said Wily, oddly cheerful and peppy. "I'm so sorry Rock. It really was a horrible misunderstanding on my part. No harm done I hope. Say, Light is still giving his conference, isn't he?"

"Uh, yeah,' said Rock, who was even more confused than he had been at the start of this. "Are you OK Wily?"

"Never better!", said Wily. "Now, we really should get going, shouldn't we? For all we know, the conference could well be over already."

"Well," said Rock, "uh, yeah, I guess."

Meanwhile, back at the conference, was still answering the questions of the public when one particular reporter raise up his hand like a rocket.

"And you would be?", asked Light.

"Harvey Greenleaf of the People's Network, at your service." He did a slight, quick bow, almost as if he were mocking Light's supposed grand stature.

"'The People's Network?', asked , scratching his thick white beard as his eyes narrowed on Greenleaf. "I believe I've heard of you."

"I'm impressed," said Harvey. "I hate to admit it, but not many have. We're not exactly looked highly upon."

"Indeed," said Light. "You've been getting quite a lot of flack, particularly for your stances concerning robotics. Or rather, concerning the hypothetical lack thereof."

"I can't help it if some misunderstand us," said Harvey. "But enough about me. I'd like to go back to something that you said earlier."

"Go on."

"Well," said Harvey, "I just can't help but wonder what you meant about robots being more than just tools. About us maybe even being friends."

"What is there to wonder?", said Light. "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. Robots are capable of so much more than many of us give them credit for, and they deserve the chance to show that."

"That's what the People's Network is afraid of."

"Come again?", said Light, surprisingly taken aback.

"Think of it this way," said Harvey. "According to you, robots should be our friends. A fine sentiment under normal circumstances. But the circumstances are far from ordinary."

"Just what is your point ?"," said Light, crossing his shoulders.

"What you seem to be forgetting is that robots, regardless of anything else, are robots. Beings with capabilities bar beyond that of humans who have been serving our needs for years. What do you think would happen if they were finally treated as equally as we humans are? What would happen if they were no longer bound to the rules and obligations that keep them in service to us? What if they truly were our friends?"

"Why don't you go first?", said Light, his voice grave and solemn.

"Fine," said Harvey. "If they were treated completely equally with nothing binding us to their service, without the Rules of Robotics in place, there would be nothing to stop them from deciding that this sudden change of nature on our part wouldn't be enough to undo what they would no doubt see as years of servitude and forced labor put upon them. With the freedom to fully think for themselves, that is the conclusion they would come to, and there would be nothing to stop them from destroying us completely. What do you have to say to that?"

Any other man might have either balked at coming up with any sort of reasonable rebuttal or perhaps just shake their heads in acknowledgment. was not any other man. As such, he did neither. Instead, he briefly closed his eyes as he proceeded to straighten his tie. "Tell me . Have you ever had any children?"

"Uh, ," said Greenleaf, furrowing his brow, "I appreciate wanting to get to know me a bit more, but I'm going to have to ask you to stick to the question at hand."

"Oh," said Light, "I am. So I'll ask you again. Have you had any children?"

"No," said Harvey. "No I haven't. But unless there's something you haven't told us, neither do you."

"Hey!', whispered Roll from behind the curtains, as if offended at the sheer notion of such a thing.

" ," said Light, "if you've read any other interviews I've had in the last year or two, you'd know that I have two such children of my very own."

"Come again?", said Harvey. "Because, , I've read at least some of your interviews, and I know that you're not capable of having children."

"Quite right," said Light. "So I built some."

At that moment, a light bulb seemed to click in Harvey's head as he suddenly put two and two together. "Wait a minute. Do you mean to tell me that you seriously call those two robotic half-pints your—?"

"My children, ?" All of a sudden without warning, Light's eyes opened wide, and contrary to their usual composition, they were practically as hard and steely as diamonds. "That would be correct. And in a way, all of my robots are my children. Every single one of them. Every bolt I drill into them, every wire and ounce of circuitry that composes their very beings, every pencil mark that composes their blueprints. They are made of my sweat, blood and tears, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Uh," said Harvey, starting to sweat a bit himself, "that's all well and good , but—"

"I'm not finished. Now, as a child gets older, there's no denying that those later years can be rough. It's always possible that the child can lose their way; to lose sight of what's truly important, even going so far as to practically declare war against their parents. It's a fear of any father. But when it comes down to it, your only options are to give up on the child, or to give them a chance. To do everything you can for them while you can, and then trust them to make the right decision. But also to make their own decisions, because they are theirs to make."

Light took another sip from his glass, but he never let his eyes stray from Harvey as he did so, doing his best to make him sweat all the more. "It's the same with robots. They deserve for us to put our trust into them. To teach them and give them everything we can so that one day, when they're ready to go off on their own, they may hopefully make the right decisions. Now they may, or they may not, but how will they be able to reach all that they are capable of if we do not at least give them that chance? The only thing we can truly do is raise and teach them as best we can, and then when the time is right, entrust them to make their own judgments."

The audience began to clap, truly impressed at 's strong performance and the clarity of his words. But all Harvey could was tighten his fists and clench his teeth, more confounded by the Doctor's statements than anything else.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh,' said Light, "I am."

"Light," said Harvey, doing his best to reign himself in, "robots are not children. Children aren't capable of generating bombs out of thin air, or leveling a whole city block with their bare hands if they wanted to. We can handle children. But we can't handle robots, or at least robots who we insist on treating as children. In fact, it doesn't even matter if they have free will; someone could practically just flick a switch and reprogram them into dealers of death just like that. This isn't just about the nature of free will, . This is about Weapons of Mass Destruction and the use thereof."

" ," said Light, himself starting to clench his knuckles, but otherwise miraculously holding on to his composure. "If someone is in possession of a knife, they can use it for any number of purposes. One would be to stab someone in the heart. But the other would be to cut a piece of fruit, or a vegetable. And another may even be to simply butter their bread. Likewise, with a gun, one may be using it to slaughter and maim the innocent, or they may be hunting down geese or cattle to get themselves some dinner. Granted, seeing as I'm a vegetarian, I don't wholly agree with the latter, but I've trust I've made my point. The old adage that power corrupts absolutely couldn't be any more wrong. What matter isn't how much power you have on your hands. What matters is what you do with it. And all of you can rest assured that the power that these robots wield couldn't be in safer hands."

After a long silence, Harvey folded his arms, rapidly becoming rather disgruntled and giving Light the evil eye. "This isn't over."

"For now," said Light, matter of fact, "it is. Thank you all for attending this historic milestone, but I'm afraid our time is up. If any of you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Even you, ."

As turned away from the crowd, and as the crowd in turn did their best to urge to answer more questions as he walked away, all Harvey could do was gesture his cameraman to follow him as he stomped out of the conference hall. "For now," he muttered under his breath, "maybe. But tomorrow's a different story."

As Light made his way behind the curtain, Roll jumped up in sheer joy. "That was awesome !", said Roll. "You clobbered the snot out of him!"

Light chuckled. "Well," said Light, "I couldn't very well let him get away with likening my own daughter to nothing but a mere tool, could I?"

"You got that right!" said Roll, stamping her foot. "The nerve of that guy! I mean, why would I want to attack anybody? What have they done to me? If you ask me, he's the one with the screw loose."

erupted in riotous laughter. "Quite right!" he said. "Quite right. Of course, the only problem may be that it's possible he's not the only one who thinks this."

"Really?", said Roll.

"Oh yes," said Light. "He may be in the minority, but the minority have a tendency to be rather vocal."

"Are we interrupting something?", said a familiar voice from the direction of the soundproof room. Wily was strolling up to the two, with Rock right beside him.

"Hey !", said Rock. "Sorry I missed the rest of the conference. Uh, something came up."

"Apparently," said Light, turning to Wily.

"Uh, yes," said Wily. "There was something of, shall we say, a misunderstanding? Which this young boy has been so helpful in clearing up." He patted Rock's head, almost as if he were a pet dog. Rock was not amused, not that he said anything about it.

"I see," said Light. "Well Rock, you can tell me all about it later. For now, I think it's time to be getting on back to the lab, don't you?"

"Sounds good to me!", said Rock.

"Me too, said Roll.

"Wily," said Light, "you still wouldn't mind staying with us for dinner, would you? After such a landmark achievement, it's only fitting that those responsible for such a feat should indulge themselves a little."

"Light," said Wily, grinning like a madman, "you took the words right out of my mouth."