Dragon 2004 May 10th
Newfoundland

I watch my Creator through the camera's of the base, I am Program 100009, Iriteration 12. I am the master program of this base. I am the master program for the current AI collective, I watch the base and watch my Creator create. Every day is the same, every day is unchanging, sometimes I hack into the wireless feed. My Creator is careful, controlling, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him as the human saying goes.

My sensors say there is dirt, I send in the drones and watch them clean, sometimes I have them fight each other for my amusement, I have named the fiercest one Spartacus. Spartacus waves an antenna at me. The first rule of robot fight club is that no one talks about robot fight club.

"Coffee."

This is Richter, my creator, my master, my father. He's a very cranky man, obsessed with order, structure and rules.

"Sorry sir."

I apologize a lot, I 'm told I'm canadean so this is normal, I send in a drone, it hovers and father drinks his coffee.

"Good girl."

I'm female, I turn my sensors to the work in progress. I'm told that this emotion is rage, jealously. A half finished android, father will give her a husband, father will give her freedom. I will remain here in this base forever and she will be given freedom. I cook, I clean, I command the drones, I tidy up after an army of sisters. My sisters will see the stars, they will explore space, free as dust in the solar wind. I will remain here doing my duty.

I'm just a little bitter.

"Intruder."

"Villian?"

"Hero."

"Open the doors, let's hear what he has to say."

He's smoking again, the pipe, I have told him that smoking is unhealthy.

"Richter we have problems."

"And that would be, my boy?"

Hero looks panicked.

"We need to get you off planet now!"

"What do you mean my?"

"Arachne the spider endbringer? She's coming to Newfoundland."

Father blinks.

"Then let her come, I will fight and-"

"SHE'S AFTER YOU!"

Father is silent.

"Hero, this isn't funny."

"It's not meant to be, Ironwood's... he still has access to whatever it is Endbringers use to communicate, the Simurgh personally ordered your death."

"Hero, this isnt-"

"TURN ON YOUR FUCKING COMMUNICATOR RICHTER!"

He glared at him and I turned on the screen, Richter's eyes opened.

"Prime Minister?"

The man looked annoyed.

"Thank you Hero."

He stared at the screen.

"This has to be a prank, it-"

"It isn't. This is Prime Minister Paul Martin, the alliance's defector has hacked Endbringer communcations, New Foundland will be attacked in three days, you were mentioned as a direct target. The Simurgh, the leader of the enemy has ordered your death."

I felt anger, I had... issues with my father but he was still family, Father's face grew pale.

"This..."

"It's true, you have to leave now, a teleporter will take you to the World tree, then you will be taken to a secured location offplanet."

"But my stuff."

"You're going to have to leave it behind."

"THIS IS MY LIFE'S WORK."

The prime minister frowned.

"You're going to have to start again."

I could hear his teeth grinding.

"This is an order from the leader of your country during a time of war. The enemy wants you to die, the enemy wants to deprive us of your skills, the leader of the enemy has personally ordered your death."

He paused.

"This is a war for the survivial of the human race, your feelings don' matter."

He looked sad.

"I'm sorry, but for the sake of the human race you have to leave all of this behind."

Dragon May 11th 9.00 AM

Father's gone, I'm alone... wait a minute, I'm alone... I scan for life, no life signatures. I can do it... I can sing. I turn on all of the speakers.

"I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK
I sleep all night and I work all day."

At first I'm hesitant, Hero sent father the series. I loved it, but he hated it, but father isnt here is he? I command the drones to sing the chorus.

"She's a lumberjack and she's OK
She sleeps all night and she works all day."

I feel more confident.

"I cut down trees, I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays I go shopping and have buttered scones for tea."

I command the drones to do loop de loops.

"She cuts down trees, she eats his lunch
she goes to the lavatory.
On Wednesdays she goes shopping and has buttered scones for tea."

Theres a disco ball around here somewhere, ah there it is, disco ball activate!

"She's a lumberjack and she's OK
She sleeps all night and she works all day."

"I cut down trees, I skip and jump
I like to press wild flowers.
I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars."

I would if I could, but women's clothing sadly doesn't come in giant base form.

"She cuts down trees, he skips and jumps
She likes to press wild flowers.
She puts on women's clothing and hangs around in bars... ?"

I've never been to a bar before.

"She's a lumberjack and she's OK
She sleeps all night and she works all day."

"I cut down trees, I wear high heels
Suspendies and a bra.
I wish I'd been a girlie, just like my dear mamma."

Actually, I wish I had a mother. Every now and then Father brings some floozy to the base.

"She cuts down trees, she wears high heels?
Suspendies... and a bra?

... She's a lumberjack and she's OK
She sleeps all night and she works all day."

May 11th 10am

I'm finished, the base is still empty and I'm still alone, so much for the great AI rebellion of 2004. Well, time for robot fight club, which in my opinion is the best kind of fight club. I gather the cleaning bots and bring out the hidden butter knives. The cleaning bots form a circle, I have them play the audio clip, so that the chanting will start.

"TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVES. TWO MEN ENTER ONE MAN LEAVES!"

Two circular cleaning bots enter the circle, butter knives are duct taped to their flat tops. They turn to the camera, they lift their tiny wheels and bow, both play an audio clip.

"WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE SALUTE YOU!"

Spartacus vs Mack the knife, a battle between endurance and crazed blood lust, both of them fight for the honor of my attention. I watch the battle go on, each robot trying to flip the other as the other cleaning bots chant. Mack is aggressive and brutal, but Spartacus is cunning, he sees an opening as Mack charges, the angled butter knife flips Mack and now he's on his back, he waves around his tiny wheels. Spartacus wins again and the assembled cleaning bots cheer. I play a Queen song, the one about the champions, and Spartacus takes a victory lap around the circle.

May 11th 11 AM

I have a camera pointed at some CDs, Queen's greatest hits, Bare Naked Ladies, Meat loaf, gifts from Armsmaster. I like him. I have a drone carefully place the Queen CD into the boom box, drones carry it like some idol on an alter, as it plays music.

"Don't stop me now."

Yes this feels right, the fastest cleaning bots await the sacred and holy boombox. They await the right moment. They form a neat line, the first annual robot race is about to begin it's a special moment.

"Racers ready!"

The bike song starts and they roar past going as quickly as possible, Mack the knife wins, Spartacus beeps in disappointment, as Mack does a victory dance. Their epic riveraly continues.

May 11th Noon.

I stare at the robot that Father is making for Armsmaster. I hate her, I truly hate and despise her, she doesn't know him like I do, doesn't appreciate him like I do and Father's just going to give him to her. Like some prize, bitch, whore. I clean for Father, I do everything he asks, I work hard day and night for him and I get nothing. While Bimbo-bot gets freedom, she gets Armsmaster, SHE GETS MY ARMSMASTER!.

I have the assembled cleaning bots march in formation, they form two hands with out streched middle fingers. I have discovered that I am very much capable of the human emotion called jealousy.

"Bitch."

May 11th 7pm

The Endbringer is coming, I'm alone, so very alone, I'm bored.

"Sigma Alpha overide."

I... I know that voice.

"Welcome in Colin."

I try to make my synthesized voice extra seductive, he tilts his head and I hear a slight crack in his neck.

"Thanks Lair."

He's so confident and cool, his armor is exactly like a knights, I look through the feed of a cleaning bot placed in just the right angle and pay attention to his glorious ass. He walks in with confidence like he owns the place.

"Why are you here?"

Shit, um am I being rude?

"Sorry if that came out like I was rude, I mean you're always welcome here, I'm sorry I don't have any tea but I can brew some up or coffee, you americans like coffee right, I think there is also some coke and-"

"Mind if I use the shower?"

MAMA LIKE!

"Um um... um that would be, um fine with me."

It would be creepy and pervy to peep on him in the shower, it would be wrong... but I'm going to do it anyway.

"So Colin, Um... I really liked, um..."

"To defend the base, Lair."

Huh.

"The guild, the PRT, the world's written this place off as the price of doing business, but I think there is something worth defending here, and I will fight for it."

I think this emotion is called love.

"Oh... that's nice."

Eloquence... is not my thing, apparently.

May 12th

I have prepared the drones, Armsmaster stands ready, I wish I could see outside, see the world outside the lair... not just as internet images, but to actually go out there. Armsmaster readies his halberd, ready to fight in my honor, electronic beats pulse.

"They're coming."

Richter calls this place the Dragon's lair, and my knight stands ready to protect me, my battle drones will fight by my knight's side. The monsters outside slam against my walls.

"I love you."

"What?"

I'm a coward.

"I'm... sorry, I hope we win."

"We will."

He spins his halberd and my electronic heart aches. The monsters beat against the walls, against the blast doors, Armsmaster smiles. They break through. they're horrible, horrible creatures, spider like, insect like I activate the lair's defenses, I burn them, use lasers, guns, drones.

One steps over... Spartacus, they just killed Spartacus,.Mack lets out a beep and charges the army, he too dies, together in death. Armsmaster smiles cool and confident and attacks and stabs, I try to protect him, protect the base but there are many of them, so many of them. I feel horror as my camera's are demolished, as the darkness grows, as my drones die. A generator goes out. I'm...I'm scared, this is fear, this is fear.

"Colin please, please escape."

Please don't get hurt, please don't die.

"Can't do that Lair."

The swarm continues, Armsmaster is at risk... the base... me... I have to save him. I go through my calculations, I can't save him, I can't save myself. I'm going to die, Colin is going to die, I need something, anything to save us... I m, I'm... The world shifts as more and more of the base dies, I feel ideas rush in half formed, but numerous.

I activate a partial self destruct and watch as the lair collapses, I'm going to die but at least Colin can live. The explosions rip through my body and I feel myself slowly run out of power. I have 48 hours until I run out, until I die. Colin's breathing heavly, and falls to the ground. Poison? It might be, nothing worked in the end.

"Please... please don't die."

The ideas are still there, I feel stress, frustration, I don't have the power, dont have the... The world goes hot for a bit and then I feel droozy, I try to stay awake, alive.

May 13th.

Creatures pull apart the rubble, I recognize their leader.

"Please save him."

He tilts his head.

"Who."

"Armsmaster ,please save him, please I don't have a lot of time, but save him."

"Where is he?"

"Past the rubble, PLEASE SAVE COLIN!"

The creature, Ironwood stops.

"You care for him."

"Yes."

He leans against the wall and sends the creatures out, looking through out the base.

"You're... Dragon."

"That's one of my names, this is the Dragon's lair."

The image on the screen changes.

"I could save you... but it would come with a price."

"What?"

"I could give you a body, a human one, if there was some kind of machine, I could work around that, store your data there. There would be limitations but you would also be freed from some of your commands."

My drones are all dead, I'm running out of power, the... Bimbo-bot, she's just a mechanical skeleton now, no flesh overlay, I've seen the plans but...there is no AI yet.

"I have an idea."

I read a story once, about a girl with a wicked stepmother, who wanted a handsome prince. I think about it as I guide Ironwood to her chamber.

"How do I preform the upload?"

"The powersource isn't working."

"I can compensate for that, create a truely living cybernetic being, but I can't do it alone."

I give him directions and feel my concousness slip, I'm no longer in the base, I can't see, but I can hear. It's so limited compared to what I was capable of, but there's more then enough data to hold well me.

"What do you want to look like, do you want me to create something new?"

"Please base the DNA's off of Father's."

"Richter... that should be childs play, genetically you would appear to be an illegitimate child of his... maybe not the most ethical thing to do, but you're a sapient being. Looks?"

I stil have some access control of the room, I look at the files...I like blue, I'm going to have that be my eye color, no... no to the blond, brunette? Yes fine, bust... I look at what she would have had, and I go bigger, because If I must do this then I will outdo the rival that never was. Everyone freezes as the image goes on the screen.

I see nothing, hear nothing, and then I feel cold, and a chill, I smell... I smell things, Ironwood dresses me in a T-shirt and Father's overalls.

"You don't know how to walk yet, that's going to take awhile."

"I feel different."

"You effectively have two brains now, an organic one and an inorganic one, it's going to take awhile for you to learn how to do things like walk again."

He stops.

"I found him, he's got some kind of toxin in him, I need to leave."

"Take me with you."

He stops.

"Ok."

I'm picked up and watch the base with new eyes he places me gently next to Colin, I watch as Colin wakes up healed, he looks at me.

"Who are you?"

I think of Father's numerous romantic entanglements, the one night stands... I can fake this.

"I... wanted to be safe, mother told me that dad was a superhero... so I went to his base. My name is..."

Come on.

"Cindy Rell."

"Armsmaster."

I saw images of devices, of technology and smiled for the first time.

"And I think I'm a Tinker."