Phantasy Star: Mechanical Error Chapter 4
Written by Sarah Schoenlaub
"Laurie, I have a question for you."
"Yes?" Laurie looked up at Don. She was working on her design. Wren had helped her rewire it and he encouraged her to work hard on it. It had been two weeks since Keri was deported.
Don sat on a stool in the lab. "I was wondering if you would like to run the electronics sector."
Laurie gave him a confused look. "You're joking, right?"
Don shook his head. "I'm dead serious. I see no one more qualified then you. You would have to join the Thinkers as well, but I bet you could handle it well."
"Well… I'd love to. What would I have to do?"
"Just make sure things run smoothly. You can start sector-wide projects. I have someone else handling newcomers so you can focus mostly on advancing research." Don handed Laurie a book. "This is a listing of Thinker rules and Zelanian law. I'd like you to read it and get an idea of what you're doing. Let me know what you think. You know my comm number."
"Thank you. I'll let you know soon."
* * *
Time was moving swiftly.
It had been almost ten years since Laurie joined the Thinkers. She had started many projects in the electronics sector, including a comprehensive study of Fuoren's emotional capabilities and how they had advanced. Her android design, named Kyle after her brother, was beginning to take shape. She also worked in other sectors and had learned a lot.
In the biotech labs, Laurie met a young numan named Kory. Kory was a Threegen numan, one of the experimental new ones. He was merely four years old, yet he already knew almost everything about biotechnology. He had joined the Thinkers a year ago. Laurie and Kory became good friends quickly.
Laurie learned a lot about numans from Laurie. He knew quite a bit about Threegen genetic advances. He was supposed to have wings like the three "perfect" Threegens, but his were deformed and had to be amputated. Kory didn't mind being wingless. He was busily studying and helping perfect numan genetic codes.
Laurie also learned a lot in the medlab and the chemlab. In ten years, Laurie had become one of the top Thinkers. Wren and Don even let her see the main monitoring systems to learn how they worked. Don wasn't planning on retiring soon, but he knew if there was trouble that Laurie would be able to run everything.
Feria, however, wasn't faring as well. Erick tried to be friends with his sister again, but they kept apart. Erick had even stopped drinking, knowing he'd have to pay for his own mistakes. He worked hard to pay his rent. But still, he and Feria rarely talked. Feria still thought he was a disgrace. She kept her job as a hunter, even though it was becoming harder and harder to find a job.
It had been ten years, and the anniversary of the death of the Profound Darkness' death was upon Algo. Though the Dark Forces were defeated, things seemed tense. What would happen in Algo?
* * *
Don heard the impatient beeping of a call to the main Zelan comm. He stopped his analyzations for a moment and clicked the comm to see who was calling. The principal of Piata Academy flashed onto the screen, his eyes wide with panic and his face pale. "What's going on? We've got robots down here attacking!"
"What? Where are they?"
"They just ransacked the main dorm. I'm afraid people will get killed!"
"By the Light, this is insane…"
"You have to send help! We can't fight them, they're too strong!" Suddenly, Don heard a crash over the comm. "Miel!" The principal jumped up and ran to the door. He threw it open.
"No, sir, don't do that!" Don shouted.
It was too late. The robot aimed well and shot the man with a quick laser fire. It was a lower Browren model. Before Don could identify it further, it fired at the computer, ending the transmission.
"This is not good." Don jumped at the sudden sound of Wren's voice. He hadn't even realized Wren was there. "We will have to send people in there to stop those robots, but Piata is probably already destroyed." Wren sent a transmission to the Hunters' Guild through his internal systems. "I will send Demi, some Alpharens, and a doctor to meet the hunters so they can deal with this."
"I want to go, Wren," Don said. "I want to find out what this is."
"If something happens to you down there, it would not be good for Zelan," Wren argued.
"Laurie can take my place. Please. I need to do this."
Wren frowned. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, Don."
Don stood. "I know you don't think it's safe, but I know the makeup of Browrens. I can handle this." He typed Laurie's telecomm number into his wrist telecomm. "I'll notify Laurie."
"I want you to be extremely careful, Don."
"I will," Don replied. "I promise I will."
* * *
"Feria, please sit." The leader of the guild smiled and motioned to a chair in front of his desk.
"Is something wrong, sir?"
The man shook his head. "Not with you, anyway. I'm talking to you about something important. Something major. It will require the help of the guild."
"So why not just put it in the regular sign-up process?"
"Feria, I can't risk this one. This requires the best of the guild. It's a dangerous assignment, and it was requested directly from Zelan." The man handed a stack of paper to Feria. "Here is a description of the job."
Feria's eyes went wide. "Robots destroyed Piata?"
The man nodded slowly. "They may destroy other towns as well. They are highly trained, low AI guard robots. They will kill and destroy anything they are programmed to. It was rumored that one in Piata was armed with a Positron Bolt unit."
Feria's mouth dropped open. "This is insane!"
"I want you to do this, Feria. The fee will be amazing, and it will be very difficult." He paused. "I'd also like if you brought Erick with you."
Feria shook her head. "No. Erick and I are arguing too much. He doesn't even like hunting."
"But you need him, Feria. You need his help on this. At least talk to him. If you don't, I will. You both need to go for this job." The man stood and opened the door for Feria. "You will be expected at the spaceport in three hours."
Feria hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, we'll do this."
The man smiled. "I knew you would agree."
* * *
Don looked around Piata. He had arrived only two hours after he received the transmission, but the place was deserted. The beautiful school had been reduced to a pile of ashes. Demi looked around a bit, keeping Alpharen 32 and Alpharen 35 close by. She looked under rubble piles and in basements, but found no survivors. "Master Wren, this is Demi reporting. There have been no survivors found in Piata. From the looks of a few pieces of metal I found, I believe these are phase 3 Browrens. I'm not sure where they are coming from."
Wren nodded. "Look around and ask people of nearby towns. I'm sure someone must have seen them."
"Affirmative." Demi looked up to see Don talking to Feria and Erick. "The hunters have arrived. I'll inform you of any changes."
"Very good," Wren said with a nod.
Demi walked over to Don. He was talking to Feria and Erick about the situation. "This is extremely serious. It appears we are dealing with high-level Browrens. This means that they could have weapons units such as Burst Rockets or Positron Bolts…"
"Spare me the technobabble," Feria said with a little wave of her hand.
"I apologize. What we are dealing with are dangerous weapons. These androids are AIs, and they are capable of thinking. We need to find out their source and destroy it."
"Some people in Aiedo said they saw Browrens coming from northeast of Zema," Erick said. Feria gave him a surprised glance. Had he actually been researching this case?
Demi frowned. "That's the location of the old Vahal Fort."
Don raised his eyebrows. "And wouldn't that show up in Zelan?"
Demi shook her head. "We locked the Vahal Fort out of the sensors soon after it was shut down. They would have to be draining power from Nurvus to run the Vahal Fort's systems, but I've noticed no changes there."
"So where would they be getting power from?"
"I'm not sure. Either way, we have to go."
Feria nodded. "We've got to stop this… whatever it is."
They all boarded the Hydrofoil. Demi drove carefully toward the fort.
* * *
Laurie checked the scanners for Motavia. "Hmm… Wren?"
Wren walked over to her, looking over her shoulders at the computer. "Yes?"
"There's a slight dip in power at Nurvus now. It seems to have gradually been losing power over the past several days."
"That's odd. I'll send the information to Demi immediately." Wren paused, silently running his internal radio system.
"Didn't she say the androids came from the Vahal Fort? That draws power from Nurvus. But why is the change so gradual?" Laurie said, mostly to herself. She glanced over to Wren. His normally neutral face had fallen into a frown. "What's wrong?"
Wren shook his head. "My message to Demi bounced. Perhaps it is a temporary error. I'll try again." Wren stood in silence. Laurie studied the screen carefully, trying to guess how much power was being sapped from Nurvus.
Wren stomped his foot, startling Laurie. She looked at him and saw that his face held genuine worry. "The message bounced again. This is not a good sign."
Suddenly a telecomm message flashed on the screen. Laurie clicked it and saw Feria. She looked frightened. "We have a problem down here, Zelan. There must be hundreds of Bowren and Browren androids in that Vahal Fort. I don't know what has happened to Demi, but Don's dead. We fought off a lot of them but had to retreat. The Alpharens have been destroyed."
Wren nodded solemnly. "I'll be there soon. Thank you, Feria. Wait inside the Hydrofoil and attack any Browrens leaving the Vahal Fort."
Wren turned to Laurie. "We have to go. Please go get yourself a good suit of armor and a strong laser. Meet me in port C as soon as possible." Wren ran out of the room, his heavy feet clanging on the metal floors of Zelan.