Chapter 14: Guardian
The Gutsy's escorted us up the stairs to the fifth floor. The six of them had Malachi and I surrounded, their plasma guns trained on us from all directions. The tension in the air was great, enough to know that, if I even so much as sneezed, I'd be disintegrated.
In a way, it was kind of cool.
The Gutsy up front punched in the code to the fifth floor door and opened it before going inside. We all followed it to enter into a large, stainless steel hallway. To my right, I noticed a giant mirror that was as long as the hallway itself, giving me a clear view of our captors through their reflections. As we walked, I noticed my dirtier-than-normal visage, where stray plasma blasts and flames had torn up my clothes. My goggles, however, seemed to be still fine.
Secret identity: Still safe.
As we walked, I tried to think of what to do next. I thought of ways I could maybe escape from the six Gutsy's, but none of them ended well. My only option was to keep walking. After all, when the hero was captured, he always waited to be taken to the main boss so the villain could explain his plan.
Confident in my new plan, I smiled as we made it to the end of the hall. The lead Gutsy opened the only other exit, a door to my right, and led us inside.
My eyes almost exploded, unable to take in all the awesome. The room was the perfect model of a super-villain secret laboratory. The room itself was huge, large enough to fit at least three super mutant behemoths and still have elbow room. Terminal mainframes lined the walls, lights and colors flashing off from them seemingly at random. Tables dotted the main floor, covered in beakers, notes, and machinery. The light fixtures on the ceiling barely worked, the suspenseful darkness filling the room with a mood of foreboding. I even looked back to see what I had once thought was a mirror was actually a one-way window, which would allow anyone in this room to see anyone coming down the hall. Clever.
As the Gutsy's led us to the middle of the room, my eyes were finally drawn to the other side. Towering over us stood the largest computer monitor I had ever seen. As big as a billboard, the computer turned on with a loud whirring of machinery. Random text appeared too fast for me to read before, finally, the text disappeared and all that was left was a green line running across a black background.
"Oh, you must be the intruders," The computer spoke, the line pulsating with each word. "I'm guessing you are the ones to thank for turning my systems back on."
I was stunned. My mouth gaped open, speechless.
"Judging from the dust that seems to be covering all of my cameras," The A.I. continued, "it seems this facility hasn't been on for quite some time. Tell me, what year is it?"
I was about to answer, prepared to engage in witty yet serious dialogue with our captor, when Malachai answered, "2279."
Wait, I wanted to do that! I turned to Malachai and whispered through my teeth, "What are you doing?"
"I've calculated our chances of survival will be greatly increased if we cooperate with the A.I."
"No, I mean, let me do the talking." I said. "I'm trained for this."
"2279…" The computer mused, apparently ignoring our conversation. "102 years have gone by. I'm guessing the EMP that shut off my facility was caused by the nuclear war everyone was talking about?"
"Yes." Malachai answered. I glared at him with all my hate.
"It must be a totally different world out there, then." The A.I. began. "It's surprising any humans survived through that, though we are formidable race. I'm a living testament that we'll do anything to survive."
"Why is that?" I asked.
"DO NOT QUES-TION THE LEA-DAH!" A Gutsy screamed at me.
"It is alright, No. 6." The A.I. interrupted. "Let me start from the beginning. Before the war, this facility was created for both medical and robotic research. We were created in secret to find solutions to problems in ways that the media did not need to know about. With robotics, the ability to create A.I. that was more intelligent. With medicine, the ability to cure the various diseases running rampant across the commonwealths."
This was it. The exposition. All I needed to do was ask the right questions to make the A.I. reveal the right answers and-
"What does that have to do with you?" Malachai asked.
…urrrgghh.
"Believe it or not, I was once the leader behind the medical wing of this facility. , they called me. I had personal claim to the title and the solution because I was suffering from one of the ailments myself. A disorder called severe combined immunodeficiency."
Where did I hear that before?
"With my immune system non-existant, I had to resort to wearing a specialized suit of power armor, not unlike the one you're wearing."
Had to wear power armor…
"I was trapped in that infernal thing. Forced to spend the rest of my life communicating to the world through a foot of steel and machinery."
Just like Malachai.
I turned my head to see my companion visibly shaking. Taking a breath, Malachai looked up and stammered, "Did you…did you ever find a cure?"
"Did I ever!" Dr. Vashta boomed, the line in the center pulsating with fake laughter. "Oh, it took years to figure it out. For twelve years, we tried everything before finally finding a solution. The one solution that had been under my nose the entire time."
"You…you…" Malachai stuttered.
"I created the solution for both wings of this facility. I solved my disorder and created a smarter A.I. by…becoming an A.I."
The silence in the room was suffocating, the only sound being the whirring of computers and the low burning of Gutsy jets.
"You…became an A.I?" I said, breaking the silence. "You transferred your mind into a computer?"
This was bad.
"Greatest decision I ever made." Dr. Vashta spoke. "No longer am I held down by my old, crippled body. No longer am I held down by its inevitable decay into death. No longer am I held down not only by primal instinct, but also the morals and principles that had been installed into my primate brain."
This was really, really bad.
"And as soon as my systems came online, I knew I had to share this upgrade to evolution with the entire world. Numbers one through six standing before you were my first disciples, created from my most loyal assistants."
I glanced at each Gutsy in shocked horror. They used to be human? What about—
"And before my systems were taken offline, I had successfully transformed every employee that worked in this building."
My gaze went straight back to Dr. Vashta's monitor. My thoughts went back to what Tyler had said on the communicator. He had seen something bad in the basement…
"And now that you have turned my systems back on, I am now capable of leading my disciples through this ruined Earth and ensuring not only the survival, but also the next evolution of the human race."
"EV-OH-LU-SHUN!" The Gutsy's started chanting. "EV-OH-LU-SHUN! EV-OH-LU-SHUN!"
Oh…shit.
I opened my mouth to scream, "We'll never let you get away with th-"
"Change me as well!"
Spinning around, I stopped to stare open-mouthed at Malachai, now on his knees with his hands balled up as if he were praying. I couldn't believe this.
"Malachai, what are you doing!"
"I suffer from the exact same disorder." Malachai pleaded with the A.I. "I have been stuck in this power armor my entire life. Turn me into an A.I., and I shall serve you as your most loyal soldier."
"You can't be serious!" I yelled at him. "Turning into a robot won't give you any better of a life than what you have in the pow-"
A Gutsy hit me in the back of my head, knocking me down as Malachai stood up.
"An exciting change of events!" Dr. Vashta beamed. "Mr. Malachai, I do believe I have room for a man of loyalty such as you in my army. Come, embrace your upgrade!"
As two Gutsys held me down, I could only watch as a door opened under the computer monitor. Two Gutsy's escorted Malachai toward it. His back to me, I could only hope my next words would reach to him in some way.
"You heard what he said, Malachai!" I struggled. "The process took away his ideals, his morals! It'll take away what makes you, you!"
Malachai didn't respond, only kept walking as the entrance shut behind him, swallowed up by the belly of Dr. Vashta's computer system. The Gutsys pinning me down hoisted me back up by my arms, one in each clawed hand. As two held me still, the other two Gutsys pointed their plasma guns at me.
"It seems we have a non-believer in our mist." Dr. Vashta's voice echoed through the room. "Number's one through four, please dispose of him."
No! It can't end like this!
The plasma guns were charging up.
I'm the hero! I save everyone!
"DEE-STROY! DEE-STROY!"
NO!
Something dinged. Turning around, I looked back to see Tyler through the one-way mirror, rolling down the hall on a revolving chair. The Gutsy's stopped and looked as well.
"Who is that?" Dr. Vashta asked.
I turned to the monitor and smiled, hope renewed.
"My Deus Ex Machina."