The Citadel

Deep within the throbbing heart of the MME citadel, a wall-sized display lit up to reveal a map of the area – with a single point moving towards the outline that marked the first barricade. It moved too slowly to be a vehicle.

A human is WALKING here?- mused the driving intelligence behind the entire MME, the vast system that referred to itself as GORN. Does it wish to hasten its own death, or delay it?

GORN pondered this for several minutes, as the dot grew closer. No matter – it finally decided – its wish shall be granted. The pulsing changed as it issued new orders to nearby drones.

Kyle strode steadily through the dunes, his hand rising up to protect his face from the steady stream of grit being carried by the wind. Perhaps I should have brought along a pair of goggles – he reflected in hindsight – oh, well... it should be happening soon, anyway.

Confirming his suspicion – a metallic red giant popped out of the sand in front of him. This model, he realized, had laser weapons mounted on its arms... weapons that took two seconds to charge. He reached into his pocket and pressed the button on the device that he had shown the others before. As he did so, the walking drone raised its arm to fire – but did not fire. Instead, the arms dropped to the things' sides before falling to its knees and collapsing into the sand.

Kyle continued walking forward, but it wasn't long before another drone revealed itself. This one jumped high into the air, the semi-sentience within thinking to crush the human as it landed. It fared no better than the first, however – the hidden device immobilizing it in mid-leap. Kyle simply stepped to one side as the now-inert lump of metal crashed to the ground.

Attack number three came in the form of a hovering drone – its massive plasma cannons prepared to incinerate the interloper with a single shot. It got within effective range of the target... and the cannons lost all power, the drone skidding to a stop in a wave of sand.

Knowing frustration for the first time, GORN next sent a trio of flying attack-drones to deal with this human. Thinking that whatever it was doing could not deal with more than one at a time, the drones were to approach it from three different directions.

Hearing the hum of the approaching drones, Kyle pressed a second button on his concealed device. The drones drew closer, weapons primed – but all three stopped as the energy of their weapons was somehow prevented from being released. They circled him, confused, their visual scanners relaying an image to the Citadel.

This human dares to mock ME?- GORN seethed as it beheld the image of a single man in a black coat, smiling and WAVING at the drone. It will soon learn the error of its actions.

With the three drones now seemingly escorting him, Kyle resumed his steady pace towards the Citadel. The nearer he came to it, the larger and more imposing it appeared, but he maintained his confident stride. With less than ten meters remaining to the structure, the drones that had been continually following him veered away, and a doorway cracked open to grant him entrance. Never changing his pace, he stepped through the opening, not looking back as it slid closed behind him.

He walked down several more twisting corridors. He knew that he was being monitored the entire time, but no more drones rose up to prevent him from reaching his destination. Presently, he passed through an hexagonal archway into a large room containing a triad of interconnected pillars that pulsed red with his every step. He stopped short of the central column and looked up at the central dome, which was now drawn to a thin slit.

"Do I have the honour of addressing the MME Central Intelligence – GORN?" he shouted calmly.

I am GORN – the column echoed in response. If your intent is to destroy me, you should know that your concealed device is insufficient to perform such a task.

Kyle pulled the device out of his pocket. "Oh, you mean this?" he asked. "This was never intended to destroy you – only to get your attention." He tossed it away, clattering as it slid across the floor.

The dome on the central column opened wide, allowing the sensors within to twist as they shifted their focus before narrowing to a slit again.

What do you want? - the column echoed.

"Only to talk," Kyle answered...