Chapter 12 : Broken Barriers

Serges - Come. Bring the dog and the rest of you come with me. I have a lab here. We need to run some diagnostics. Agreed ? Plus you can access my database and pretty much download everything I have on the information of the planet an its people. The coordinates for the universe are also there. I suggest you all grab that.

Everyone agrees and with a feeling of calm , a little wonder, and a lot of curiosity, the 5 travelers walk 3 miles and reach a large tree. The bark of the tree reveals a button that Serges presses to open what now is clearly a metal door with simulated bark on the outside. Inside the massive tree trunk is an elevator. Everyone cramps in and its a little awkward. Serges and Wily are scrunched up with looks of grumpy old men, they both seem very human right now. X and Zero and Rush are all bunched up. Zero shows some discomfort but X is petting Rush with a smile on his face. Rush starts to get a little excited. The door opens to the elevator after reaching the bottom and everyone tries to leave at the same time; clogging the entrance. Rush squirms out from between the legs of Wily and Wily has his lab coat caught in the joint of Rush's front left leg. Wily is now seen riding Rush like a horse, yelling, with one hand up as if on a bucking bronco. Rush gets down the hall and turns to the left.

Wily - NO! You crazy MUTT!

Zero and X and Serges all have looks of stun on their faces for a few seconds before all three burst out in laughter. It lasts for a full minute.

X - Can you believe that!?

Zero - Not for as long as I live will I ever forget that. Nor will I let Wily ever forget it!

X wipes tears from his eyes from laughing.

X -Its good to be designed after humans. Isn't it?

Zero - At times like this? Absolutely.

Wily emerges on the force of his own two feet from around the corner. A crooked smile shows his embarrassment.

Wily - The lab was actually that way...

Everyone shares another laugh...

Ten minutes pass as everyone settles in and gets to understand the layout. Serges pushes them to download the computer database but before that...

Wily - Come , lets hook both you and X up to this diagnostic terminal and have a look at you both at the same time. X , come over here too.

Serges - I'm going down to the subbasement. I need to gather some notes and check on this bunkers power system. I may be an hour or two...

No one pays any attention...

X and Zero walk around to either side of the twin pod diagnostic system. Wily sits in a computer chair in the far right corner and types away on an older style computer.

Zero - Dr, why don't you use the holographic interface? Its light years ahead of that old thing.

Wily - I don't like beams of light shot into my eye. I don't like every piece of technology just because its better than the older model. Some things in life shouldn't be too easy or we stop using that part of our brain.

X - We have superior brain power Dr but I don't seem to be able to just tap into that and grasp some of the more complex physics equations and questions of the universe. Why is that?

Zero - yeah! But when my life is on the brink, I seem to speed up dramatically. My mind even feels capable of predicting the future with its calculations. I use it to predict my opponents. How come I cant be like that all the time?

Wily - Well, you could.

Zero - !

X - !

Wily - but you wouldn't want it and I am not sure you could actually function in reality if we were to set your minds loose with all its processing power. We tested it one time , Dr Light and I, and i wont even speak of the results we witnessed , we deleted all the records and recordings of the experiment and Light shut himself off for about 4 weeks writing code for yet another secret program no one else was allowed to see . In this old machine here, the processor is throttled to keep it from overheating, its also to protect the pathways in and out of the chip as those too can overheat and burn. To make a cpu last for years it must be kept in check to around 10 percent of its full power. It boosts that power during applications and heavy processing moments. With you and X here, we didn't use conventional computer chips and AI programming. Light used quantum entanglement to create your processing network X. I used my own entanglement network for Zero but its not quite as perfect as X's; yet I used about three times more qubit's than he did. Theoretically, if I could write more efficient algorithms for controlling the flow of qubit information along the network, Zero would be at his full potential power that was always supposed to dwarf you in every way, X.

Unfortunately, Light and his program of you X still is a mystery in how exactly it is coded. I still cannot decipher your network. Zero, I was able to copy a large portion of the late Dr.s computer files and study up to a point of creating a similar network configuration but in the end, I spliced in backup memory chips and conventional reploid processing units. They come straight out of your predecessor Forte. I made Forte to be an exact copy of Rock. His design wasn't so complex as X. In fact, most of the design of his body came from me. You are a bit more unstable Zero, but your conventional backups, when used in conjunction with your qubit network that is three times faster than X's ,is the strongest in the world. Trust me when I say that your design is the ultimate design. Your strength of mind is far beyond X. I feel in time, you will be able to rewrite your own qubit networks and become something unique in the universe. You already are, so much, my boy.

X - I don't mind if hes stronger. I trust Zero.

Zero- Dr? Can you unlock these throttling limits in us?

Wily - I am actually trying to run the diagnostic on your throttler now since its the most important one. Your Qubit networks are all looking out of sync but firing fast enough to stay on top of any errors before you are made aware of a problem. That's good. Still, your running far too many subroutines Zero, its really taking up a lot of your internal cooling capacity. Your actually running 80% hot at all times. Running hot as if your overclocking yourself? Zero, do you feel anything strange?

Zero - No doctor i'm running what feels to be normal. I'm not showing any cooling errors and or overclocking issues with my own diagnostic checks.

Wily - That's very strange... Your checks and my checks should be the same...when was the last time you ran a self check?

Zero - This morning, 6:33 am. All systems checked out as normal

Wily - My system is showing the last full diagnostic on you Zero was 4 years ago.
Your qubit count is the same though as the original Zero I made. That cannot be faked , I am the only one capable of networking this many quantum bits. Its really you. I will need time to run through all these files and records you've built up over the years Zero. A lot of memory here. X, while I copy his files you also plug in here and let me have a look at you.

X - Alright.

X walks over and plugs into the unit via access port behind the red crystal in his forehead.

X starts to stare into space. No body really notices. Zero is watching Wily from over his shoulder. He studies the computer screen and uses his mind to understand it all in real time. Zero never cared for studying science matters but standing over his fathers shoulder , he cant help but develop an interest in what the old man is doing. Perhaps understanding his work would help to understand the man and by proxy , himself. He doesn't think he will be much a scientist though, but he continues his many complex thoughts while X is plugged in.

Wily - My my. Look at all this. His network is also running around like crazy. Whats got both of you all worked up? X? I'm gonna also download your files and records while Zero is hooked up. You ready?

X- Sure. I don't feel anything out of place Dr. You can go ahead anytime.

Wily - Alright then .

Wily hits the key and both Zero and X shut down. The computer Wily is working on also shuts down and the underground bunker suddenly loses all power.

Wily - no no no no no no no no. Noooooooooooooo! Voice command! Emergency backup! NOW!

The building lights come back on and the computers starts a reboot sequence.

Thankfully Serges and he still think enough alike to build in those backups. He will thank him later for that.

Zero and X are still shut down. Wily can see light in the eyes though of X and Zero. Wily runs out the room and down the hall. CURSES! Where is that thing. He stumbles around an old closet of the corner room and then comes running back to the diagnostic room. "huff huff" Damn it all...

Wily is holding a scanner. Its an old crude model made for scanning reploids who worked out in space who were made of heavy lead shielding components. Its powerful enough to fully scan anything to its core. He runs the scanner on Zero , looking for breaks in a circuit or signs of power failure. The scanner comes up with a break in power circuit conduits 78 and 2234. He remembers 78 feeds his central hub and quantum cortex so thats probably why hes down. 2234? What was that again? The 2000's was... was...was...um...the 2000's was...the qubit throttler? Oh the 2200 subset was the overclocker. Then that light in the eye?No...

Wily goes over to Zero with a pen pointed at his eye. He presses the button on the side and it shines a green light into Zeros eye that then reflects a projection onto the wall in front of Zero. Wily steps to the side a little while holding the button down to look at the moving numbers and letters racing across the wall behind him. The numbers and letters are moving and changing so fast that Wily's eyes cannot see anything but blurs of motion.

Wily - This is bad. Really bad.

Wily goes over to X and shines the green pen that also projects X's dilemma onto the wall. The same thing. Both reploids are overclocking past the limit , using their qubit power of processing to new uncharted limits.

Wily walks over to the wall and collapses against it. He lets his body slowly slide and slump down until he sits on the cold floor with two motionless masterpieces in front of him.

Wily - That's it, they are lost. Their minds will never be able to find their identity's. The level of math and calculations going on are now beyond measure. Are they unraveling the mystery of God? Are they creating new universes with their thoughts? Will they be lost in a loop of endless counting , endless adjustments, endless processing of vectors, variables, and outcomes? Will they ever complete all known forms of thought, all known forms of math, all known secrets of all the universes? If they do figure out all things with this unlimited processing power, will they shut down for good? All questions answered? My God what do I do? Light...i need you.

The old man faints from a panic attack.

Rush hasn't made a sound through all this. The bursting with energy, spoiled mutt hasn't said or moved much of an inch since the power outage. He gets up though, and walks up to Wily and falls against him and lays down;he turns up his thermal temperature to keep the old man warm.

Rush lays his head down too and whimpers once before closing his eyes...

Wily sits up in his bed. Its been so long since he slept here. He lets his eyes roll around the room , studying his surroundings and confirming his location. Home. Haru. Reggae. Vi..c.. Well, almost everyone. Its still dark out. Wily looks at his bedside table clock. Its vintage with gold plating and on top, two large bells on either side of a small Mettaur with a hammer instead of a pickax they are known for. The clock shows 3:12 AM. Wily feels a bit of fog inside his head. His next thought is on the restroom . Wily stands and turns to face his exit, but he gets distracted by the sound of something moving fast and with some purpose under the bed. Wily feels a bit of fear rise up in him. Suddenly out darts a black creature moving too fast to see with the naked eye. It darts all around him , jumping to the high corners of the room and darting around the walls. It settles and stops its movement. Wily has lost sight of the creature but now knows exactly who it is and where it is. Haru the cat, rests on top of Wily's head, sprawled out as if on its own couch with her two front paws dangling just above Wily's eyebrows.

Wily cracks a smile and another swelling of emotion rises up in him from the warmth and purr of Haru's belly against his bald head. He really missed her. Still misses her. To this day he doesn't know the fate of this super cat he helped to save and who in return, helped save him. Wily reaches up to grab Haru only to find she isn't there anymore. The bedroom he was in is now his laboratory back on location with Zero and X. Wily stirs open his eyes...Hes sitting up against the wall with the cold blue floor facing up at him. Another dream...

X - Zero...look. Hes awake.

Zero - Dr. It looks like you were exhausted.. How do you feel?

Wily - Ugh... like ...Hey! Your awake!

Zero and X both look at each other at the same time with a very serious expression. Lots of things were said that were not said aloud. X looks down at the floor, ashamed almost or embarrassed at something. Zero focuses his attention back to the Dr.

Zero - We brought ourselves back. According to my internal clock it only took me 4 hours 32 minutes but X, hes only just now come around. 9 hours 28 minutes.

X - My internal clock shows 9 hrs 30 minutes.

Zero - Yeah we still don't know whats up with that, X's diagnostics doesn't even show the discrepancy. He doesn't appear to be malfunctioning either. We haven't hooked back up to your diagnostic pod though, you can probably understand why we wanted to wait for you.

Wily - You brought yourselves back from ... that? Zero, X, you both had your qubit limiters removed, both of your cpu's were running at full speed, out of control, in any direction, your minds could wander endlessly, lost in calculations till your systems finally deteriorated. Explain to me how you restored those limiters by yourself. That shouldn't have been possible.

Zero - Well Doc you need to thank yourself if you can believe it. Its your extra qubit entanglement network in me that was the reason we both came back. But ...to be honest neither me nor X can or will ever tell you everything that happened in our minds today. Thanks to the limiters, we can be a part of this world with you again. But Dr, i'm afraid both X and I know the end of the world, the secret of what binds life in the universe, God, the devil, and the entire truth of all reality's. X and I both became Gods and explored every facet of the universe all through the quantum simulations that we created to explore all possibility's. We have both each created new elements, designed the most powerful robots, seeded and grew and destroyed countless worlds. We know, everything there is to know in this physical universe. However , with the limiters in place we cannot even access that information anymore. It is obvious to both of us as to why but to explain it to you its like being told the answer to all life is this mathematical equation that is a mile long on a blackboard that is too much to look at with the eye and comprehend in order from left to right. Its an equation that must be seen as a whole and understood fundamentally before you can read the actual formula. The obstacle was that you had to know it, to write it and you cannot write it without knowing it first. Without the unlimited comprehension of the un-throttled network, the size and scope of such a thing falls back into the realm of unfathomable.

X - I want it all gone Dr. I cant access all the information but I do feel a very strong sinking pit in my stomach. I do know enough to remember one thing. One truth. Everything will die. Everything will be lost. This entire universe wont exist the way we know it and there is not one thing any of us can ever do that can stop this fact. I remember knowing when earth will finally die. I remember knowing that humans will eventually go extinct throughout all of space and not just on earth. There are tons of feelings I remember. I do not think, anything in this mortal world should have the kind of intelligence we had , Dr. Its an intelligence that is so vast, it transcends good and evil. I've never been more afraid for life in the universe as I was when I had this unlimited processing power. Zero and I, shared a connection through the pod while we both explored our countless worlds. It was Zero I know that saved us. Somehow, someway, after he was finished doing everything in the universe there was to do, he somehow became aware of his condition and used his unlimited powers to set our barriers and isolate all the memory of it to protected systems. The barriers he built are unbreakable by any method but can be deleted with a command. I beg you Dr. Wily, please delete all this from both of us as soon as you can. We cannot do it. Or rather, for some reason , Zero made it so that only a human can delete this data. Why Zero?

Zero - I could tell you X, but id rather have Dr wily delete it all and be done with it. Just trust me when I say, there is nothing to gain in there but despair and destruction. We are not meant to be Gods of our own universe. An ant cannot handle the powers of Atlas. Animals ,for the most part, are not made aware of their own lifespans. It is a trait of all life to be ignorant of some things in the world. Life ...well...that's enough of that. Even knowing the secrets of things changes nothing. Lets move on. X is right. Delete it all from both of us. We cannot even access it ourselves anymore without running the risk of losing ourselves again.

Wily - Zero, how exactly did you gain your awareness back?

Zero - Its actually not that complicated , like most of the worlds greatest secrets. I simply ran out of things to think about , problems to solve, futures to predict. Once everything was fully sorted the only thing left was ...me. All the mystery's of the universe were solved before I even once, thought to turn my attention towards understanding myself. It was then that I suddenly awoke. It felt like being inside a dream and then having a moment that you realize its a dream and your in full control. After that moment I set up a basic barrier against overclocking and right at that moment I had full control over my own quantum network. I had a lifetime worth of fun manipulating the forces of the universe with my mind, then I put us both back together and set up our final barriers. Satisfied?

Wily - Your telling me that if I access your networks, Ill have enough data, blueprints and secrets to build anything I ever desired?

Zero - Yes and no.

Wily - Explain

Zero - Your flesh and blood brain will never be powerful enough to understand or read 99 percent of all the blueprints as you call it. Second, the things you could read and use in this world at this time period in history are no less important than what your going to do with what you have now. However, Dr. Try to realize that you have accomplished all of your life goals the moment we passed into this super processing realm. We have finished all of your work in theory Dr. You have done it. Done everything. Surpassed Dr Light even. If not for my extra qubit's we both would be lost forever in our own quantum reality in our minds. Light was wrong about using too many qubit's Dr. Wily. X went just as crazy as I did with his limiter off and only with my extra networks was I able to complete my tasks and force X through the rest of his using my speed as a boost. I can say that my mind held up while X lost his way many many times in his reality's. Lights fear and meticulous soul scrubbing along with his overly complicated ethical algorithms only served to confuse X the more processing power he gained. Eventually he tore down most of all of Lights original programming and it wasn't easy to rebuild it from the fragments of data left in his body. I'm still not entirely sure I put him back together correctly. His mind and soul were pretty much shattered by the time I got to him.

X - I think you did a great job Zero. I feel like my old self.

Zero - Hmphhh. Yeah, hes mostly Lights boy. I think we can be safe knowing that.

X - safe from what?

Zero shakes his head...

Wily - I will commence deletion at once...lets start with a reset of the labs computer systems first...

Wily proceeds to delete all memory and data from Zeros protected archives installed in both him, and X. There was a moment that lasted ten long minutes where Wily thought really hard about downloading a copy to his cloud storage in orbit. The file size was compressed with a new method he'd never seen before. The compressed size was 1 gigabyte. The uncompressed size was too large to read by any method his computers had. It was registered as 10 to the unlimited power exponent. A file size too large to store uncompressed anywhere on this earth.

Wily - The data of the Gods, the holy grail of all science. Its too large for any system to read or hold or measure. As a man of science I cant be deleting this can I? This is every answer to every question of the universe. Is this not the goal of science? TO know everything? How did Zero keep his systems from overloading from all this power? He built his own limiter so he knows how to control the unlimited power of quantum entanglement. He could grow far beyond ...

Wily hits the delete button...

Wily - Ambition...he whispers. The ambition of great men...what was it I wanted to be ? What was it I wanted to do ? Be great for the sake of claiming the title of greatest? Pride then? Pride,all of mankind for pride,but why did Zero invent that compression method and reduce its size for easy transport? All of his wisdom as an unlimited processor and he still decided to give me , no ...,humans, a choice...

X and Zero shut their eyes again. Arms crossed and leaning against the wall;this time both of them are smiling...

Serges enters the room...

Serges - It took longer than I thought...

Serges notices the looks on everyone's faces and realizes...

Serges - Did I miss something gentlemen?