Chapter 6: The Roboticizer
June 12th, 2307 - 2:00 PM - Robotnik's secret headquarters, somewhere in the Land of Darkness
Redrum stirred, and woke up. He was lying down on a metal floor, but it wasn't the same metal floor in the cargo bay. He was somewhere else. He started to stand up and survey his surroundings. He was actually inside a glass tube in what looked like a laboratory. The whole room, walls, floors, and ceiling were made of metal. A large computer took up most of the wall that he was facing, and there were several rows of sinister black levers on this computer. He looked behind him and saw that there were other prisoners in glass tubes like his own. In all, there were about 18 of the machines in the room. Most of the prisoners were just starting to wake up, like he was.
"What's going on?" he asked the nearest guy who was awake. He was a weasel.
"I don't know..." he replied. "But I don't like being trapped in these creepy glass tubes. Who knows what the hell they're used for?"
"Robotnik said he was freeing us, didn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"What's he going to do to us in here? Dissect us?"
Over the course of the next few minutes, everyone in the tubes slowly woke up. Redrum continued talking with the weasel in the tube next to him during that time. It was good having somebody to talk to, because it eased his fear a little to know that he wasn't alone in this mess. However, all of the peace he had built up from talking to the weasel was blown away as soon as Robotnik entered the room.
"Hello everyone!" he called out in a booming voice. "Welcome to—"
"Let us out of these things, you bastard!" Redrum called out, interrupting Robotnik.
"Well, aren't you the pleasant one?" Robotnik said, walking over to his tube.
"You said you were going to free us in that PA announcement, so free us from these tubes!"
"I already have freed you..."
"What the hell do you mean? We're not free in here!"
"Regarding that announcement, I only said I would free you from the PRISON... I didn't tell you anything that I was going to do after that, did I?"
"Well..."
"You should learn to read the small print before you sign, you know," Robotnik said.
He stepped back to the computer at the front of the room so that he could face his captive audience better.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, welcome to the roboticizers! With these devices, I am going to run special energy currents over your bodies that will transform them from flesh and blood into metal. More importantly though, this process will remove your free wills and you will from that point on obey my every command."
"Let us out of here right now!" Redrum screamed, pounding on the glass of his tube with his fists.
All of the other prisoners quickly joined in, shouting and screaming and hitting their glass tubes. However, the glass they were caught in was just simply too strong to break. While the prisoners were trying to escape, Robotnik calmly moved over to the computer on the opposite wall of the lab and started to press the buttons.
"You can't do this to us!" the weasel next to Redrum yelled. "Please! Forget what I said to you in the prison lounge! I take it all back!"
Robotnik turned around from the controls. The hum of electrical power started to come from the roboticizers all of the prisoners were in.
"This will be the last few moments of your lives that you will have free will," Robotnik said. "I suggest you savor them."
Over the course of the next few minutes, the pounding continued. However, the noise was slowly being drowned out by the continual increase in the sound of the electric power's humming. It was rather symbolic of how the prisoners' hope was continually being covered up by an ever-rising amount of dread. A red light lit up on the computer, and Robotnik moved over to the levers. He turned to face the prisoners.
"Say goodbye to your old bodies and your free will!"
He slid his hand across the levers one row at a time, pushing them all down. Rings of yellow energy started pulsing across the outside of the glass chambers the prisoners were trapped inside. A bright circle of light began to move up from the bottom of each chamber. As the light passed over each prisoner's body, it replaced their body of flesh and blood with metal. Redrum looked down in horror as his feet were turned to metal by the light. Soon, his legs followed, then his lower torso and tail, and then his upper chest and arms, until only his head was left.
Well, this is it... Redrum thought. Not much different from the lethal injection, I guess. At least I'm not going to die. Maybe if I'm lucky, somebody will get me back my free will and—
It was at that moment that the circle of light passed over his head and turned it to metal as well. A few moments later, there was only one thought that was in Redrum's brain now, which was repeated over and over in an endless loop:
I serve Master Robotnik. I will obey all his commands.
---
The process finally complete, Robotnik pressed some buttons to raise all of the glass chambers up into the ceiling. He faced his next batch of of robotic servants. Roboticizing all of these prisoners had saved him quite a bit of metal, and they had more intelligence and brainpower than his typical robot soldiers to boot. He would have these help guard his secret base.
"Now, who do all of you serve?" Robotnik said to the robots.
"We serve you, Master Robotnik," they all said in perfect unison.
"Excellent..." he started pacing around the room. "You can all start off by patrolling this secret base you are in right now. Speak with my roboticized Earth generals in this next room over here," he said as he waved his hand towards a door in the room, "And they will give you your assignments. You may go now."
The robots bowed and marched towards the doors without making a sound. Robotnik watched the procession, very excited with how well his invention worked.
The roboticizer...it is surely the greatest invention ever. It provides the user with a body that does not require any food, water, or sleep, and it is also far harder to destroy than a fragile flesh and blood body. The old brain is retained, and the user can still use all of his old intelligence and knowledge for tasks. The best part is that anyone who is roboticized loses their free will and will only do as I tell them to do! Whoever gets in it becomes a part of my empire, whether they like it or not.
The last two robots who walked out of the room just happened to be a hedgehog and a fox. While a quick glance confirmed it wasn't who he thought it was, it still got Robotnik thinking about them.
Like I said before, Swift and Kyle, I will never forget about either of you. You were lucky the first time we met, but luck doesn't last forever. The next time we meet, I will be sure to take care of both of you, be it by the roboticizers or by death.
He opened another door in the room, to allow his robot soldiers to carry in the next group of prisoners to be roboticized.
June 12th, 2307 - 2:00 PM - Robotnik's secret headquarters, somewhere in the Land of Darkness
Redrum stirred, and woke up. He was lying down on a metal floor, but it wasn't the same metal floor in the cargo bay. He was somewhere else. He started to stand up and survey his surroundings. He was actually inside a glass tube in what looked like a laboratory. The whole room, walls, floors, and ceiling were made of metal. A large computer took up most of the wall that he was facing, and there were several rows of sinister black levers on this computer. He looked behind him and saw that there were other prisoners in glass tubes like his own. In all, there were about 18 of the machines in the room. Most of the prisoners were just starting to wake up, like he was.
"What's going on?" he asked the nearest guy who was awake. He was a weasel.
"I don't know..." he replied. "But I don't like being trapped in these creepy glass tubes. Who knows what the hell they're used for?"
"Robotnik said he was freeing us, didn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"What's he going to do to us in here? Dissect us?"
Over the course of the next few minutes, everyone in the tubes slowly woke up. Redrum continued talking with the weasel in the tube next to him during that time. It was good having somebody to talk to, because it eased his fear a little to know that he wasn't alone in this mess. However, all of the peace he had built up from talking to the weasel was blown away as soon as Robotnik entered the room.
"Hello everyone!" he called out in a booming voice. "Welcome to—"
"Let us out of these things, you bastard!" Redrum called out, interrupting Robotnik.
"Well, aren't you the pleasant one?" Robotnik said, walking over to his tube.
"You said you were going to free us in that PA announcement, so free us from these tubes!"
"I already have freed you..."
"What the hell do you mean? We're not free in here!"
"Regarding that announcement, I only said I would free you from the PRISON... I didn't tell you anything that I was going to do after that, did I?"
"Well..."
"You should learn to read the small print before you sign, you know," Robotnik said.
He stepped back to the computer at the front of the room so that he could face his captive audience better.
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, welcome to the roboticizers! With these devices, I am going to run special energy currents over your bodies that will transform them from flesh and blood into metal. More importantly though, this process will remove your free wills and you will from that point on obey my every command."
"Let us out of here right now!" Redrum screamed, pounding on the glass of his tube with his fists.
All of the other prisoners quickly joined in, shouting and screaming and hitting their glass tubes. However, the glass they were caught in was just simply too strong to break. While the prisoners were trying to escape, Robotnik calmly moved over to the computer on the opposite wall of the lab and started to press the buttons.
"You can't do this to us!" the weasel next to Redrum yelled. "Please! Forget what I said to you in the prison lounge! I take it all back!"
Robotnik turned around from the controls. The hum of electrical power started to come from the roboticizers all of the prisoners were in.
"This will be the last few moments of your lives that you will have free will," Robotnik said. "I suggest you savor them."
Over the course of the next few minutes, the pounding continued. However, the noise was slowly being drowned out by the continual increase in the sound of the electric power's humming. It was rather symbolic of how the prisoners' hope was continually being covered up by an ever-rising amount of dread. A red light lit up on the computer, and Robotnik moved over to the levers. He turned to face the prisoners.
"Say goodbye to your old bodies and your free will!"
He slid his hand across the levers one row at a time, pushing them all down. Rings of yellow energy started pulsing across the outside of the glass chambers the prisoners were trapped inside. A bright circle of light began to move up from the bottom of each chamber. As the light passed over each prisoner's body, it replaced their body of flesh and blood with metal. Redrum looked down in horror as his feet were turned to metal by the light. Soon, his legs followed, then his lower torso and tail, and then his upper chest and arms, until only his head was left.
Well, this is it... Redrum thought. Not much different from the lethal injection, I guess. At least I'm not going to die. Maybe if I'm lucky, somebody will get me back my free will and—
It was at that moment that the circle of light passed over his head and turned it to metal as well. A few moments later, there was only one thought that was in Redrum's brain now, which was repeated over and over in an endless loop:
I serve Master Robotnik. I will obey all his commands.
---
The process finally complete, Robotnik pressed some buttons to raise all of the glass chambers up into the ceiling. He faced his next batch of of robotic servants. Roboticizing all of these prisoners had saved him quite a bit of metal, and they had more intelligence and brainpower than his typical robot soldiers to boot. He would have these help guard his secret base.
"Now, who do all of you serve?" Robotnik said to the robots.
"We serve you, Master Robotnik," they all said in perfect unison.
"Excellent..." he started pacing around the room. "You can all start off by patrolling this secret base you are in right now. Speak with my roboticized Earth generals in this next room over here," he said as he waved his hand towards a door in the room, "And they will give you your assignments. You may go now."
The robots bowed and marched towards the doors without making a sound. Robotnik watched the procession, very excited with how well his invention worked.
The roboticizer...it is surely the greatest invention ever. It provides the user with a body that does not require any food, water, or sleep, and it is also far harder to destroy than a fragile flesh and blood body. The old brain is retained, and the user can still use all of his old intelligence and knowledge for tasks. The best part is that anyone who is roboticized loses their free will and will only do as I tell them to do! Whoever gets in it becomes a part of my empire, whether they like it or not.
The last two robots who walked out of the room just happened to be a hedgehog and a fox. While a quick glance confirmed it wasn't who he thought it was, it still got Robotnik thinking about them.
Like I said before, Swift and Kyle, I will never forget about either of you. You were lucky the first time we met, but luck doesn't last forever. The next time we meet, I will be sure to take care of both of you, be it by the roboticizers or by death.
He opened another door in the room, to allow his robot soldiers to carry in the next group of prisoners to be roboticized.