DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic the Hegehog or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue. Gamma is my character. You'll need MY permission to use him. RenaissanceGrrl@excite.com I hate typing all that stuff. I'm sure you all hate reading it. The world must thrive on necessary evils...anyway, on with the fic!
Several months passed. Gamma had taken his oath of allegiance and was quite proud of the fact.
It was decided that since Knothole was crowded already, he could stay with Amy (the only person he really knew at that point). She stacked two mattresses in the corner of her room for him, which he found quite comfortable, as compared to sleeping standing up. At first Amy wondered why he slept, but as he explained, some of his mechanics worked at high speeds and with heavy strain on them all day, and so partially shutting down at night gave them a chance to slow down a bit. He could live without this but he wouldn't need replacement parts so often this way. "Besides," he would say, "There's nothing to do when you're the only one awake!"
Hanging out with Amy and her other friends did wonders for his vocabulary, going from his original robotic bare minimum to vibrant words and articulate expressions.
Amy and Gamma had gotten used to always being together, constantly at each other's side. Neither one minded, they enjoyed one another's company very much and got along quite well.
It was rumored that they harbored "feelings" for one another, but neither one said anything about it to anyone if it was true.
Gamma was sitting at the table one day, reading (he's sentient, remember? He can have interests) when Amy suddenly burst through the door. "Gamma?"
"Yes, Amy?"
"Gamma, Nate wants to talk to ya."
"Nate--wants to see me--?"
"Yes! Let's get going! He meant right away, in his workshop."
The pair ran as fast as their feet could carry them.
"Nate?" Gamma called.
"You didn't need to rush," Nate called from his small kitchen, peering at them through the window between his cabinets. "Come on in, you two."
They entered the kitchen and sat as his table, like they were accustomed to doing. Nate was used to having teenage guests, Sonic had gotten all his crew to understand that just because Nate was getting on in years did not mean he wasn't cool.
"Gamma, Amy, I have some very important information to give you. You must promise to keep it secret, at least for a little while. Only a few people know--the royal family, Sonic, his parents, and myself, but since this is of great importance to you I have royal permission to tell you two as well."
"I promise," Amy said.
"I promise as well," Gamma agreed with her.
"All right. I have spent several months--no, it's been well over two years--working on the largest project I have ever done. A few weeks ago I completed it. The deroboticizer."
Amy and Gamma gasped in unison. "Wow," Amy breathed in awe.
Nate continued. "I know it is a great accomplishment, but it was made possible only by a lot of research. About three months ago I discovered the secret. I was perplexed as to why no one had thought of it sooner. The key knowledge you need to deroboticize a roboticized being is you MUST know the difference between a robot and a roboticized being.
"I began to research it right away. I studied Sonic's parents and I had Sonic bring me several deactivated--but intact--Shadowbots from Robotropolis.
"Of course it looks completely different at first glance, but when you strip it all down and look at what's there, the actual components, there's really not much difference, if any at all. There is, however, one single component that roboticized beings have that robots do not." Nate paused. "Either of you care to take a stab at it?"
Gamma knew. "Their personality on a disk."
Nate smiled. "None other. I also had Sonic bring me a few Robians--which, unlike the Shadowbots, were not dismantled afterward but are being held in a safe place--and found out how Robotnik overrides free will. There's a blocking chip placed on the drive which contains the disk. No information can be read off or written on that disk as long as the chip is there. It also explains why, in the few cases free will has been restored, the victim Robian has no memories of any time since the last stage of their roboticization."
"I don't understand, Nate," Amy said, confused. "I mean, I understand how it works, and I'm happy that we finally have a chance to beat Robuttnik, but what has all this got to do with me and Gamma?"
"Well, Amy, I got to thinking--unlike the Shadowbots, Gamma has a personality disk. It is possible--probable, even--that we can deroboticize--or rather, un-roboticize--Gamma and he can be a normal hedgehog like you."
"I have that chance?" Gamma demanded. "What are the risks?"
"Well..." Nate drawled, "I think you do. The best case scenario is that it will work, but if we make a backup copy of your personality disk, the worst would be we'd have to build you another body. Of course if it worked we'd destroy the backup."
"And I would be flesh-and-blood like Amy and you and everyone else I know?"
"If it worked. Otherwise, several weeks of feeling dead again, but no permanent harm done."
Amy looked at him. "It would be so wonderful, Gamma. You could lead a normal life."
"People wouldn't stare at me, I could eat, touch, sleep..." Gamma put his head in his hands and thought over it a moment. "I wanna do it."
"Are you sure, Gamma? The decision is yours," Nate said. "I have permission to do it as soon as we deroboticize Sonic's parents and the Robian 'prisoners', but no one will be disappointed if you don't want to take that risk."
Gamma looked up at Nate. "No one but myself. With the worst case scenario you gave, it'd be stupid not to do this."
"All right, Gamma. We'll be doing the others in the presence of all those who know about this tonight, here, in the workshop. You can come watch if you like. Then we can try it after the others leave, or we can wait, whenever."
"ASAP suits me, what about you, Amy?"
Amy smiled softly. "It's up to you. No matter what or when you decide, I'll be there for you all the way."
Gamma looked at Nate. "Tonight it is, then."
"Great. See you then."
Authoress's Note: Ooh. More cliffhanging. Stay tuned.
Several months passed. Gamma had taken his oath of allegiance and was quite proud of the fact.
It was decided that since Knothole was crowded already, he could stay with Amy (the only person he really knew at that point). She stacked two mattresses in the corner of her room for him, which he found quite comfortable, as compared to sleeping standing up. At first Amy wondered why he slept, but as he explained, some of his mechanics worked at high speeds and with heavy strain on them all day, and so partially shutting down at night gave them a chance to slow down a bit. He could live without this but he wouldn't need replacement parts so often this way. "Besides," he would say, "There's nothing to do when you're the only one awake!"
Hanging out with Amy and her other friends did wonders for his vocabulary, going from his original robotic bare minimum to vibrant words and articulate expressions.
Amy and Gamma had gotten used to always being together, constantly at each other's side. Neither one minded, they enjoyed one another's company very much and got along quite well.
It was rumored that they harbored "feelings" for one another, but neither one said anything about it to anyone if it was true.
Gamma was sitting at the table one day, reading (he's sentient, remember? He can have interests) when Amy suddenly burst through the door. "Gamma?"
"Yes, Amy?"
"Gamma, Nate wants to talk to ya."
"Nate--wants to see me--?"
"Yes! Let's get going! He meant right away, in his workshop."
The pair ran as fast as their feet could carry them.
"Nate?" Gamma called.
"You didn't need to rush," Nate called from his small kitchen, peering at them through the window between his cabinets. "Come on in, you two."
They entered the kitchen and sat as his table, like they were accustomed to doing. Nate was used to having teenage guests, Sonic had gotten all his crew to understand that just because Nate was getting on in years did not mean he wasn't cool.
"Gamma, Amy, I have some very important information to give you. You must promise to keep it secret, at least for a little while. Only a few people know--the royal family, Sonic, his parents, and myself, but since this is of great importance to you I have royal permission to tell you two as well."
"I promise," Amy said.
"I promise as well," Gamma agreed with her.
"All right. I have spent several months--no, it's been well over two years--working on the largest project I have ever done. A few weeks ago I completed it. The deroboticizer."
Amy and Gamma gasped in unison. "Wow," Amy breathed in awe.
Nate continued. "I know it is a great accomplishment, but it was made possible only by a lot of research. About three months ago I discovered the secret. I was perplexed as to why no one had thought of it sooner. The key knowledge you need to deroboticize a roboticized being is you MUST know the difference between a robot and a roboticized being.
"I began to research it right away. I studied Sonic's parents and I had Sonic bring me several deactivated--but intact--Shadowbots from Robotropolis.
"Of course it looks completely different at first glance, but when you strip it all down and look at what's there, the actual components, there's really not much difference, if any at all. There is, however, one single component that roboticized beings have that robots do not." Nate paused. "Either of you care to take a stab at it?"
Gamma knew. "Their personality on a disk."
Nate smiled. "None other. I also had Sonic bring me a few Robians--which, unlike the Shadowbots, were not dismantled afterward but are being held in a safe place--and found out how Robotnik overrides free will. There's a blocking chip placed on the drive which contains the disk. No information can be read off or written on that disk as long as the chip is there. It also explains why, in the few cases free will has been restored, the victim Robian has no memories of any time since the last stage of their roboticization."
"I don't understand, Nate," Amy said, confused. "I mean, I understand how it works, and I'm happy that we finally have a chance to beat Robuttnik, but what has all this got to do with me and Gamma?"
"Well, Amy, I got to thinking--unlike the Shadowbots, Gamma has a personality disk. It is possible--probable, even--that we can deroboticize--or rather, un-roboticize--Gamma and he can be a normal hedgehog like you."
"I have that chance?" Gamma demanded. "What are the risks?"
"Well..." Nate drawled, "I think you do. The best case scenario is that it will work, but if we make a backup copy of your personality disk, the worst would be we'd have to build you another body. Of course if it worked we'd destroy the backup."
"And I would be flesh-and-blood like Amy and you and everyone else I know?"
"If it worked. Otherwise, several weeks of feeling dead again, but no permanent harm done."
Amy looked at him. "It would be so wonderful, Gamma. You could lead a normal life."
"People wouldn't stare at me, I could eat, touch, sleep..." Gamma put his head in his hands and thought over it a moment. "I wanna do it."
"Are you sure, Gamma? The decision is yours," Nate said. "I have permission to do it as soon as we deroboticize Sonic's parents and the Robian 'prisoners', but no one will be disappointed if you don't want to take that risk."
Gamma looked up at Nate. "No one but myself. With the worst case scenario you gave, it'd be stupid not to do this."
"All right, Gamma. We'll be doing the others in the presence of all those who know about this tonight, here, in the workshop. You can come watch if you like. Then we can try it after the others leave, or we can wait, whenever."
"ASAP suits me, what about you, Amy?"
Amy smiled softly. "It's up to you. No matter what or when you decide, I'll be there for you all the way."
Gamma looked at Nate. "Tonight it is, then."
"Great. See you then."
Authoress's Note: Ooh. More cliffhanging. Stay tuned.
