Chapter 22: Between Worlds
SAMI stared constantly at the vast arrangement of red skyscrapers, high-rises, and other structures. His lights blinked faintly from time to time. Niko noticed he became oddly quiet as they traversed the metal upper walkways.
"Are you ok, SAMI?" Niko asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, fine."
"Do you see something? You seem like you're thinking."
"This place reminds me of my world. Sometimes, they would transport us between facilities when the need arose. I've been to a couple of different cities," SAMI remembered.
"Did they look like this? This is the only city I've been to."
"This place seems older. Compared to my world, that is. No hyper trains, no holographic advertisement displays, I haven't even seen any planes, let alone rocket shuttles."
"Rockets? Like space rockets!?" Niko exclaimed. SAMI gave Niko an odd look.
"Yes, space rockets. They'd go on regular missions to the lunar base. StarExp was in the midst of establishing a colony on Rarik, a nearby planet. You could see the rocket flights shuttling supplies pretty much weekly," SAMI explained.
"Weekly rocket flights! Did you meet astronauts? Did they find aliens?! Did they fight aliens?!" Niko exploded.
"Woah, no, my work didn't involve astronauts. Aliens? Of course not. Fight aliens? Are you… right. How do I forgot you're still just a kid? Anyway, you know of rocket ships, I take it?"
Niko nodded vigorously. "I've only seen them in books and on TV. I've never seen a rocket in real life though. I've always wanted to see space! Some kids in my village talked about becoming astronauts!"
"They don't have them here in the World Machine, do they?" SAMI asked.
"Not that I remember. I've seen one plane here with a spinning thing on the front and Cedric called it a flying machine."
"They invented sentient machines before they invented satellites. Ok then," SAMI mused. "Then again, the literal Sun is on top of a tower, so who am I to judge."
"There was a… lunar base, you said?" Niko asked, unfamiliar with the term.
"Yeah, a moon base."
"Moon base! Why didn't you mention all this before?"
"It's not important."
"But it's cool!"
"Alright, we can talk all about the 'cool' things in my world after we get out of these memories, deal?" SAMI bargained. Niko nodded happily. "Hm, the observatory actually had a rocket in it. Maybe we can stop by."
They passed the large red robot on their way to the elevator. As they approached, they noticed other people on the walkways. Curiously, none had the static particles around them. Someone from the Glen was looking around, apparently lost. A girl was showing her robot the sights below. Bright red signs gave directions. It was then Niko noticed yet another familiar face. He was coming from the cafe and heading towards the elevator. The man was dressed in rough clothes and holding red glowing canisters. It wasn't long before SAMI and Niko crossed paths with Plight the Lamplighter.
"Hi!" Niko greeted as Plight walked past.
"Oh, hey," Plight replied mindlessly. He took a few steps before stopping. His eyes widened. "Hey… hey!" Plight turned around. "Messiah?! When did you…"
"Just stopping by! Nice to see you again!" Niko replied.
"Oh… um… who's this?" Plight motioned towards SAMI.
"I'm not of this world," SAMI replied in a monotone fashion. He stared at Plight, unmoving, red eyes glaring through a black screen. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of Plight's head.
"Oh, that's SAMI, he's a friend. He's helping me out. How are you? You seem a bit tired," Niko observed.
"Oh, not more than usual!" Plight reassured. "That said, I've been a lot busier since the sun came back. It's almost like it caused more people to show up." Plight looked at some of the new residents. "I guess I can thank you for that," he muttered.
"Still fixing lights?" Niko asked.
"Definitely. The delivery robots finally got repaired, so now I put my focus on fixing lights again. But, now there are more lights, so…" Plight explained.
"Fixing lights? Always congenial to meet a compeer in the field of infrastructure preservation," SAMI stated. Plight gave him a blank stare.
Never gets old, SAMI thought. "I was a maintenance robot. I fixed lights, generators, pipe systems, and coolant regulators among other things. Important work, though something you may not appreciate until things break."
"Oh, I see. I can definitely agree with that. Um, I actually got to get back to the surface so…" Plight said, motioning towards the elevator.
"We have to go that way, too, don't we Niko?" SAMI asked. Niko, however, had an idea.
"Actually, no, SAMI, there's somewhere else I want to go to first," Niko replied. "Nice seeing you again!"
"Um, yeah, same kid. Good luck with… uh... Well. See you," Plight said, waving goodbye. He headed to the elevator. "I really need to sleep more," he said under his breath.
"Go somewhere else?" SAMI asked.
"SAMI, remember how I told you I went through the World at least twice? Maybe three times?" Niko reminded the robot.
"To our misfortune, it would seem," SAMI noted the implication.
"Well, we can memory skip, right? The way I met the World Machine on my last trip was actually through a locked door over in that building," Niko pointed out. SAMI looked across the walkways.
"Oh, I get what you're saying, and I am 100% on board," SAMI declared. "Lead the way."
They turned away from the elevator and back onto the catwalks. Niko led SAMI towards the skyscraper. They entered and began making their way through its dark corridors.
"SAMI, can we talk about earlier?" Niko suddenly asked.
"Yes. Throwing you over that cliffside was not that difficult. In fact, it was no trouble at all," SAMI replied.
"I didn't mean THAT early…" Niko returned, a bit annoyed.
"Please specify."
"Two things, actually. You said we're in a 'live feed.' What did you mean?"
"Well. How do I explain this?" SAMI seemed to stroke his chin as if thinking intensely. "The substance we're in shows you previous memories. It seems your memories of the World Machine synchronized with the World itself… somehow. The Sun you hold now is visible to you and I, but no one else. It is a memory within Darkwell. Hence, we are still within Darkwell, but reaching out, so to speak, to see this place. We can do little more than observe and communicate outwards, though."
"But what about how you played chess with Silver?"
"In retrospect, that has been one of the most curious things to have occurred," SAMI admitted. "Still, I think we're not physically, or as physically as can be, within the World Machine, but there's no real point in explaining why now. Just my silly opinion, Ok?"
"Ok. The other thing, though. I saw you felt something in the Glen. You remembered something. What was it?"
"I said don't worry about it, Niko," SAMI insisted.
"Why not?" Niko pressed. They stopped walking. SAMI glared at Niko. His two eyes had converged into a singular red light, just like when they first met. Niko looked back with concern.
"Don't worry about them," SAMI replied in a polite but guarded tone.
"SAMI, I want to know. I want to know more about you. Please."
SAMI's eye reverted back into two. They looked left intensely, then relaxed back on Niko.
"Alright, I guess I can't keep it to myself forever, can I? Besides, I guess you've heard much worse. My operating system, my 'mind,' if you recall, was designed to act like a person's brain. To achieve this end, a person's brain was essentially copied and recreated with metal and electricity. This comes with… side effects, it would seem. I'm a machine, but I feel this sense of… loss when thinking about death, when thinking about the friends and family that must cope without their loved one. It feels like I've failed a directive, that I've failed some important task," SAMI explained.
"I don't understand… why is that bad?" Niko asked.
"Not that in of itself. It's how this feeling is so encompassing, affecting many other processes. It hinders my capacities."
"Who did they copy to make you?" Niko inquired.
"That's the other part of it. My mind is actually a conglomerate, a combination of several parts. A good part of it is Dr. Mav, some small parts from a few select candidates, but the largest contributor is unknown to me. Maybe that is the gap in my memory. That said, that gap seems connected to this deep feeling of loss. A feeling of regret. It makes me wonder…" SAMI paused, his eyes blinked twice. "If my existence came at the cost of someone's life."
They continued through the dark, violet tiled hallways. SAMI maintained a slow pace.
"But… you couldn't do anything about that, could you?" Niko asked cautiously.
"Well… that's not all. This feeling of loss… this feeling of regret… it hampers me, seems to conflict with my programming, commands, etc. It's a source of discord. It's, to put it simply, painful. Dr. Mav suggested it was a design decision so we could better relate to others, but why is it needed? I'm a machine. My directives are clear. I don't need to relate to others to serve them," SAMI explained.
"Maybe… he didn't want you to forget those who passed," Niko suggested.
"My memory is hardly related to my 'feelings.'"
"Maybe he wanted you to care about them," Niko suggested.
"Preservation of life is programmed to be of the highest priority in all my decision making. I don't see how regret would change that. Maybe it's an unintended side effect. Maybe Dr. Mav gave it value after the fact," SAMI decided.
"Maybe," Niko repeated. "Oh! We're here!" At last, the pair arrived at the metal door displaying a shining lock. Above were large, glowing tubes. Each displayed a number, but something was odd. Rather than displaying a countdown, they appeared to change randomly. "This is it. This door led to the World Machine," Niko explained.
"Great. How do we open it?" SAMI asked.
Niko looked defeated upon remembering the answer. "Oh. We needed three others. Rue, Cedric, and Proto. I was wondering if… if you could find a way," Niko clarified.
SAMI responded by unveiling the connector on his wrist. "Alright, let's start looking for ports."
[Might I be of assistance?]
SAMI scanned the room, then looked to Niko. "More friends of yours?" Niko smiled brightly and knowingly.
[In a manner speaking, quite so.]
With that, the numbers in the tubes gradually turned to zero, and the lock on the door disappeared. The metal doors parted and Niko led SAMI inside. The door gave way to a somewhat empty room, save for four glowing portals. One was red, one was green (SAMI would have called it cyan), one was blue, and one was purple. Ahead was a vibrant purple door composed of ones and zeroes. Niko led SAMI through it to the Author's study. They continued on, past the study with all its books, collections, and notes. They went past several purple monitors until they reached the sanctum of the World Machine.
Screens appeared all around SAMI and Niko, showing off various parts of a now brightened world. One could see the Barrens, the Glen, and the Refuge. There were even areas Niko had not seen before. Data flowed through what could be called a sky. Floating arrow signs gave guidance to the straight, purple walkways. Niko began to pull on SAMI's arm to lead the way, but suddenly found the robot stuck in place. Niko turned to look at SAMI and saw him transfixed on the data floating overhead.
"SAMI? What's wrong?" Niko asked.
"That data. A part of it seems so familiar, but from where?" SAMI turned to face Niko again. "Nevermind me, let's go see the World Machine."
With that, Niko led onward, past the floating screens and signs. Once more, Niko entered the passage onto the catwalk that led to the World Machine. Once more, Niko stepped up to the massive monitor. Once more, Niko's reflection took shape to meet the messiah and Niko's most recent machine companion. It took a moment for the reflection to take on a life of its own.
[Niko. SAMI.]
"Hi!" Niko exclaimed.
"Hello, World Machine. I take it you are not a memory," SAMI noted.
[No, I am here. So that means you are here, and I have been watching as you made your way here. I hope you are well.]
"Mm hm! But we need your help," Niko replied.
[Niko, I will always try to help, but before I can do that, I must understand. What happened?]
"If I may, World Machine, we are not 100% sure ourselves, but I don't think we should spend all this time on exposition. This might help things along." SAMI revealed the connector on his wrist. "If you can trust me, that is."
[I'll take that chance]
A port materialized on the monitor. SAMI inserted the connector carefully. "Take as much as you need." Data visibly gushed out of the port. SAMI held his pose rigidly, his eye lights dimming and rapidly blinking. Even Niko's reflection flickered. A minute later, the data flow stopped and SAMI pulled his arm away. SAMI then stumbled backwards trying to regain his balance. It was quite unusual for the normally surefooted machine. The reflected Niko's eyes widened as it analyzed the foreign data. The flickering finally stopped. The World Machine looked towards SAMI.
[The things you have seen…]
"Are nothing compared to what I've heard about you. An entire world gone and recreated," SAMI returned. The World Machine looked at Niko.
[Is this all true? Darkwell, all those people, those memories, all that... ] The World Machine was clearly worried.
"I… I don't really want to say… but I'm pretty sure they're all… they're all dead," Niko confirmed looking down.
[Does that mean you're…!]
SAMI interjected, "No, no it doesn't. At least, there's no confirmation. And we have a couple good reasons to believe Niko is alive. Very much alive. I was hoping that you received that part first."
[I… I did see it, but… I do not know what to think. How did this happen? Did I have something to do with it?]
"No! Of course not!" Niko said.
"Well…" SAMI questioned.
"SAMI!"
"What? I mean you had to get from your world to the World Machine's. Now, you've traveled from your world to Darkwell. Hard not to deny a correlation in the process." SAMI defended.
[I cannot deny this either.]
A sudden realization came to SAMI. "Wait a minute, you were able to bring Niko to your world before. Is there anything you can say that might help us get Niko back home?"
[It's not that simple. The mechanism that brought Niko here and sent Niko back is exclusive to my world. Niko is no longer in my world. In fact, you can analyze it yourself.]
"Myself? What do you-" SAMI paused and his eyes flickered for a moment. "That transfer wasn't exactly one way, was it?"
[I figured you might offer something I could not.]
SAMI analyzed the newfound information silently. He shook his head. "You're right, we couldn't send Niko back even with that mechanism. However…"
[However what?] The World Machine asked.
"A lifeline. When Niko was brought to your world, in that very first room, a coded proverbial rope remained attached to Niko back to Niko's home. You knew of this, didn't you?" SAMI realized.
[Yes. I did. It was part of the reason why I wanted Niko to break the Sun initially. I hoped this, as you called it, lifeline, would take Niko back once my world's session ended. I was wrong. It was a part of the program itself and failed when the program failed. What of it?]
"How did it keep track of Niko's origin point?" SAMI asked.
[I… I actually do not know. I can see what information came through when Niko first arrived, but not how it got there.]
"How did you take Niko from the origin point? Were you keeping Niko in the world itself?"
[The exact mechanism through which I brought Niko to my world is still largely unknown to me. Quite honestly, it seems more mysticism than science. As for whether I was holding Niko here, I did not, but my protocol did. However, once I gained the capacity to re-write the code, I was able to finally complete the intended protocol to complete the session so Niko could go back home. I still don't understand, what are you suggesting?]
"What I am suggesting is that something is allowing Niko to connect between worlds, perhaps even simultaneously. Something that gave the lifeline the origin point. More importantly, something may be keeping Niko in Darkwell as well. Addressing that might be the most critical aspect in getting Niko back home." SAMI elaborated.
"Um, guys?" Niko whispered. Both SAMI and the World Machine perked to attention. "You guys are talking a lot, and about me, but I have no idea what you're both talking about."
The World Machine and SAMI looked at each other.
[We're just… discussing what to do.]
"We just feel like something's keeping you in Darkwell and there's something connecting you back home," SAMI clarified.
"Well, I feel like Gregory's the one keeping me here," Niko guessed.
The World Machine and SAMI pondered.
[You mean… your god? If I read the files correctly.]
"Yes, a god… of sorts… I don't know much about him, but why would he want Niko in Darkwell?" SAMI wondered.
[Maybe… Niko is special. Maybe, there's something Gregory wants out of Niko]
"Hmm… well… I doubt we'll be able to solve that issue here. We have to progress," SAMI declared. "We have to get out of the memory goop and head to the Abrupt Wastes. I imagine you know what I'm talking about now, don't you?"
[I do, now, and I will help you on your way. Before you go, know that if you need anything else, do not hesitate to contact me.]
"Will do, thanks," SAMI stated.
"Thank you!" Niko added.
The world around them began to shift and warp. Niko and SAMI stepped away from the World Machine and back from where they came. Time seemed to speed up as Niko and SAMI progressed through the final stages of Niko's memory of the World Machine. The credits sped by and they entered the final chamber meant to hold the sun. Niko put the sun on its stand. It illuminated the memory world, shining as bright as Niko remembered. Not long after, the two finally ended up in the last room. Niko and SAMI turned towards the doorway out. The voice of Niko's mother echoed out. Niko grabbed SAMI's arm. As they stepped through the doorway, the area around them grew bright and brighter until blinding light enveloped them. The floor seemed to give way and soon Niko seemed to be floating through an entirely white realm. Niko realized SAMI had disappeared. Niko called out for the robot to no response. Some time passed until the brightness began to dim. Suddenly, the world became enveloped in darkness. Odd voices echoed around. Sequences of symbols, numbers, and letters faded into and out of existence rapidly all around. Niko blinked and the world changed once more. Suddenly, Niko was standing on a laminated floor, bright lights overhead. Up ahead stood SAMI and two smocked men by a wooden office desk.