Drone Chapters
The Sacred Duct Tape Search Epilogue
(Aelita's PoV)
She was busily managing her new website's various chat rooms in the command center, interacting with the now thousands of mammals online that had found her website almost every minute. Most were gossiping, talking about random things related to humans, others sharing their stories in the chatrooms and even the forums she's created, but most were asking questions.
She naturally had the username 'A', not to disguise herself, but so everyone knew who she was as the creator of the website.
There were dozens and dozens of users asking her questions about humans, what were they like, were they predators or prey, did they fly, did they swim, did they have fur or feathers or scales or what?
She just chuckled to herself every time someone asked a random question, but for the most part she stayed silent, letting them discuss and talk themselves. The only times she's spoken out was when someone asked her directly, and she'd respond with a vague reply or simply a no or a yes.
There'd been a lot of talk about the recent attack on Jeremy's life, most blaming the pharmaceutical companies or perhaps the fossil fuel industry for trying to stop Jeremy bringing an end to their reigns in the industries. She had no proof to blame either party, but that wasn't to say she wasn't keeping her eyes on them.
Speaking of her eyes…
She suddenly became aware of a broadcast which used the term 'human' and 'duct tape', something she wasn't looking for but caught her attention, nonetheless. Within microseconds she investigated the broadcast and watched it.
"That's right, fresh from the Colonel's workshop, it's the newest essential tool to everymammal's working needs, 'Ancient Tape'!"
It was an advertisement featuring a porcupine in overalls like a typical factory worker, holding up a roll of 'duct tape'.
"We all know Buck Tape is tough as iron, sticks like glue and will always pull through, but is it as tough as what 'humans' used? Let's put them to the test!"
The ad changed over to show a pair of vehicles with a pair of poles sticking up and a skunk wrapping tape around the two.
"We put the leading brand of Buck Tape to the test against the newest creation from the Colonel's Workshop, in a test of strength 'Ancient Tape' outlasted Buck Tape by hours!"
The ad did a split screen with the same two vehicles pulling away from each other while the tape kept them together but with different tape. They did a fast forward and showed the 'leading brand' rip after an hour, but even after six hours the 'Ancient Tape' still kept the two truck together. Only after one of the polls broke did the trucks separate…
"It's so strong that this roll humans called 'Duct Tape', even after sitting in their base for millennia, still works!"
She watched as they showed the last roll of Duct Tape that was on the manifest, but also now missing having been given to Lola, was shown on the ad and sure enough it showed that despite sitting in the base and some of the stickiness from the edges of the tape were lost the core of it still stuck to a tire and blocked a hole they made in it. The Polar Bear showing it off refilled it with air and gave a thumbs up before driving away!
"For such a humble tool, this 'Duct Tape' is so good and so versatile, that we're told it had over a million uses! We put that to the test too!"
She stared a bit wider eyed as the ad showed a fast forward of several mammals creating a 'glider' in Rainforest District and then launching off a branch to glide down gracefully.
"We made a glider out of nothing but duct tape and some poles! If that don't tell you how useful this thing is, I don't know what to say! If it was good enough for humans, it's good enough for me!"
"Ancient Tape, new from the Colonel's Workshop!" The Porcupine said with a wink. "Coming to a hardware store near you!"
The ad ended and she just stared open mouthed at it, before busting out laughing and falling onto her side.
She was honestly surprised that they managed to reverse engineer the Duct Tape roll so quickly, despite the chemical aging that no doubt took place, it probably only stayed thanks to the very sterile environment it was found in by the drones. It was also surprising where it ended up, as she had been curious what became of it.
Though she made a note to herself to send a correction, it wasn't a 'million' uses, it was more like half a billion, not withholding similar uses such as repairing a leaky boat or patching a leaking boat.
Ancient Predator and Modern Prey Pt 4
(Lula's PoV)
[Commencing scan…]
"Come on guys do we 'have' to do this, you know it's me!" She said bitterly as the drones scanned her 'again', despite the fact that the drones outside the elevator on the surface level letting her past 'after' scanning her.
The three Raptor drones didn't care or respond to her statement, just scanning her from top to bottom, examining the bags of groceries she'd used the last of her money to buy and keeping weapons trained on her the entire time. The drones had increased the level of security for the base, taking to the surface to establish a perimeter. The street around the elevator entrance was practically a ghost town as any cars that were parked nearby were gone, and mammals avoided it as best they could. The same was true for the dug-out entrance which currently housed Jeremy's Solar Carriage, last she saw they were performing fixes and guarding it with patrolling Raptor and Dog drones, and even seemed to have pulled a turret from the base to plant in the ground.
While she was understanding the drone's reasons for increased security, she thought they were going way overboard.
[Negative read on weapons, you may enter Savior One.] The lead Raptor said, withdrawing its weapons and standing aside.
"Finally." She whispered, walking past them and into the base.
Unfortunately, the second she stepped passed the door it closed, and dozens of concealed turrets built into the wall pushed out and took direct aim at her.
"Jeremy is letting me live here for free, I just got scanned 'twice' by machines armed to the teeth before being let in, I 'think' you can trust me!" She growled while staring at the turrets.
There was a moment of silence before the turrets all retracted and concealed themselves again.
"I swear this base…" She muttered quietly while walking on. "I'm all for keeping Jeremy safe, but this is all a bit much."
She'd heard about what happened to Jeremy's vehicle only after she was walking back to the base, choosing to go down the West Entrance instead of the usual East Entrance since it was closer while job hunting. Before she could turn into the tunnel entrance a swarm of drones stormed past her, running in formation and moving as fast as she'd ever seen a drone run. When she tried to enter the base to ask questions it was on high alert and drones were taking up combat positions, the turrets built into the base's walls and even some of the corridors had been deployed, and it was only thanks to seeing 'Pete' and asking questions did she get any answers.
Hearing what happened she asked why Pete wasn't going, or indeed why none of the drones aside from 'Ema' weren't going, the drone simply told her that the 'HCC Drones' were the only units in the base permitted to handle a hostage crisis. All the other drones simply were told to standby, defend the base, establish defensive perimeters and await orders.
When she learned of the situation and hearing how he'd been shot and badly injured, she'd tried to go and help however she could, feeling a sense of protection over Jeremy for what he did for her and being the first to actually save his life. Yet she found the SWAT not letting mammals approach the scene, and could only watch on the tv of a local bar with other fearful mammals as the hostage crisis unfolded.
But she also learned the terrible power of the drones, their fearsome strength, the ferocity they can unleash and just how helpless they can become because of one human. When Jeremy had been shot, the drones went in guns blazing, prepared to slaughter any threat to him without hesitation, but with just one order they found themselves unable to act for hours.
She'd managed to catch a glimpse of Jeremy's carriage as night approached while heading back to the base, and tried to get close, but the drones instantly sighted her with tracking lasers and showed their diamond tipped teeth. Even Pete, or PT-173, which was with the group escorting Jeremy kept its weapon trained on her until they passed.
That was also when she knew, despite how her friend acted while in the base, the moment Jeremy's life was threatened it would not hesitate to fire at her if it perceived her as a potential threat to the human's life.
She, 'Savior One' as she was known to the drones, was just as much a potential threat as the mammals who held him hostage.
She didn't' blame them, they were only machines doing their job, obeying their programming. It wasn't their fault that they thought of her as a threat, they just wanted to protect Jeremy's life at all costs.
But it still hurt her knowing that her friend, was only her friend provided Jeremy was safe and sound.
Speaking of Pete.
She saw the scarfed drone marching down the hallway and paused to chat really quick.
"Hey Pete." She said calmly.
The drone paused in its trek to acknowledge her. [Greetings Savior One.]
"How is Jeremy feeling?" She asked softly.
[Unit Jeremy remains asleep in Bio-stasis, pending recovery from his surgical procedure.]
"How long does it take, I figured with how advanced human medicine is he'd be fine in hours?"
[While medical technology advanced greatly during the twilight hours following the final war, Unit Ema is keeping Jeremy in the medical bay in Bio-stasis until his body fully recovers from the procedure. Despite the use of Biotech Gel to repair the damage done to his bone, muscle and tissue, Ema has declared it necessary to keep him asleep until further notice.]
"Doctors always act overprotective of their patients huh?" She said trying to joke to the drone.
[Unit Jeremy's health is of vital importance.] Pete stated. [If Unit Ema declares Jeremy's condition requires him to remain asleep then we will obey.]
"Cool your flames boy, I wasn't saying anything against it!" She said, surprised that the drone would act so defensive. "Well I'm back from grocery shopping, brought what food I could with what little I have left… do you think you can take it to wherever drones take food?"
She held out the bag of groceries to her friend, who took it and marched off down a side corridor while she headed to her room.
"I always wonder where they take the food?" She asked herself.
She walked into her room after a while and sighed while taking a smaller bag of some items and putting them away in the miniature fridge she'd hooked up to the facility's power grid. Turns out Jeremy's species was very efficient, and designed the room's power outlets so that, despite not being intended to power mammal technology it easily was able to compensate and power it.
"So, Lula, let's tick off today's list of accomplishments…" She muttered while putting some sodas, jams, sweeteners and random assortment of wild grass spices away. "The bar waitress gig turned you down, the cashier position at the bakery said no, the dish washing spot at the restaurant was filled, and you just spent the last of your money buying food for you and Jeremy that… thanks to human tech will last you fifteen months."
She sighed bitterly as she put the last of her items away.
"No degree, no job prospects… you're too ashamed to go back to your parents, you don't even want to 'think' about your ex… what are you going to do, become a stripper? Work the 'streets'?" She muttered, finding the idea disgusting. "Sure, it was a temp job, but that construction job at least would have lasted you eight months. I suppose I could keep learning more about human engineering… that might get me something."
It was something she was actually liking, learning more about how the drones were built, learning from Jeremy, at first to help the drones and keep them maintained and maybe use those skills to get a dream job as an engineer or mechanic.
Then all the craziness with the hostage crisis happened, and now here she was with nothing to do and no direction in life.
"I know mom wanted to take loans to pay for my college tuition, but I just couldn't let her go bankrupt trying to get me somewhere in life…"
[Attention 'Lula', Sentinel Drones report that there is a mammal requesting entry to meet you.] The Base's AI, Sentinel, declared over the intercom.
"Who is it?" She asked.
[The unit's identification is Julio, what action should the drones take?]
"Julio… haven't heard from him since high school." She muttered. "Let him in!"
Moments later the door rang, and she opened to find Pete outside. [The food has been deposited and has been processed per your request.] It said.
"Great, my old friend is visiting, do you think you could bring him and me some grub while he's here?" She asked excitedly, brushing her fur to be presentable.
[As you wish…] It stated before turning and walking down the corridor, closing the door.
After several minutes she finished tidying up and the door rang again, and she opened it to see Julio her old friend from high school standing there with a Dog drone overseeing him.
"Julio!" She said happily pulling the antelope into a hug. "How have you been buddy?"
"I've been looking all over for you." Julio said as he entered with the door shutting behind him. "Ever since you broke up with your boyfriend and woooooah…"
"Yea I was like that the first time I was shown this place!" She chuckled as she showed him around. "And this isn't even the swaggiest room, this is 'standard living', might as well be a mansion compared to what I was in before!"
She sat down on the couch and invited him to sit next to her.
"I got a huge tv, I get all the channels, twenty-four seven room service, cleaners come in every day, air conditioning 'and' heating, suuuuuuper comfy couch and bed… place makes what me and my ex had look like crap!" She said with a grin. "And I don't have to pay a buck for rent or anything here, it's all free of charge!"
"Yea… about your ex, what happened between you two?" He asked quietly. "I figured you two were happy together?"
"Eh he was alright at first, but once I lost my job when they found this base, we had to rely on his income alone and he started drinking…" She muttered quietly. "Then things started going bad to worse… then one night I'm coming home from job hunting to find him walking back drinking… and then we got into a fight and he pretty much started assaulting me…"
Truth was he was a decent enough antelope, but his drinking always was a problem, always got pushy toward her because of it and it only escalated after she lost her job.
"So how did you end up living down here, and why not move back into your parent's home if your ex got so bad?"
She smiled at that as the door rang for the third time. "I'll show you how!" She said, getting up and opening the door. "Pete, how's it going my friend!"
[The food you requested…] It stated, holding two square trays of the 'standard nutritional supplement' that the base provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or whenever she asked for it.
"Thanks, come on in I want you to meet my old friend!" She said, taking the trays and walking in. "Old friend Julio, meet new friend 'Pete', or as it calls itself…"
The drone and her friend looked at each other, with Julio looking a little nervous as the drone stared at him. [This unit's identification is PT-173.]
"But I call him Pete!" She said cheerfully.
"Hi… Pete?" Julio said quietly.
"Anyway Julio, Pete is how I found my new home here!" She said cheerfully, putting the two trays down and opening the mini fridge. "My ex had just decided to shove me, yelling how I never 'put out' for him… and then my rescuer here scares him off right after taking a bottle to the face."
She smiled as she pulled out some jam and the wild grass spice.
"After my ex leaves me to die, my literal armored knight picks me up and, after talking to Jeremy, told me I was welcomed to live in this base until I was ready to leave."
"You know uh… you could live with me… I don't mind living on the couch." Julio said nervously.
[Savior One has chosen to reside in Eden Facility 17 until she decides to leave.] Pete stated.
"Lula can pick where she lives on her own." He said, sounding braver than he was before. "You're not in charge of her life!"
"Guys, I know you both are worried about me, but for now I'm staying here." She said with a chuckle. "Besides I can't help with paying the rent Julio, I have no more money… and until I can find a job… I can't really go anywhere else."
"I don't mind, I'll pay for everything!"
She smiled a little at that, she knew Julio had a bit of a crush on her in high school, and as sweet as he was, she wasn't really interested in dating again so soon after just getting out of a relationship.
"That's sweet of you, but for now I'll stay here until something happens." She said sitting back down. "And on that note, lunch time!"
She took one of the trays and spread some jam and flicked some wild grass spice into the mostly whiteish paste that had flecks of 'stuff' spluttered into it. At the same time Julio took his tray and used the built-in spoon to take a taste.
"Bleh… this taste's 'horrible'… and that's saying something positive, it doesn't have any taste!" Julio said while scrunching his face. "Who 'made' this stuff?"
She pointed at the drone who simply stared silently at them.
"I guess cooking lessons aren't something humans did?"
"No, this is just what humans ate." She said while sliding the jam and spice to him. "Here, put some of that in, it gives it some taste."
She'd gotten used to eating the food here, though it took her a few tries to make it taste better. It was so bland and tasteless that the only way to even make it 'taste' like something her stomach could enjoy was if she put jam and some spices into it 'after' it was served to her. When asked why they made this food, Pete simply told her that after a period of twelve years following the conclusion of the Final war, humans took more and more drastic measures to make their food supplies last as long as possible.
Eventually it got to the point where the only thing available to eat was this 'paste', which while contained all the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to sustain them, lacked any and all taste. The humans even made it so that the drones controlled exactly how much each human needed to sustain themselves and never exceeded the amount.
While it was drastic and desperate, she could only marvel at how efficient they were, the food she'd bought that day would only have lasted her, if she'd cooked it, two or three weeks if she rationed it. Yet the drones' efforts made it so that the food would last her fifteen months using this paste meal. Though she wished the meal would last longer, as she finished it in just under a few minutes.
"So, what are you doing down here?" Julio asked as they finished eating and gave the trays back to Pete to take to 'wherever' it got them from.
"For the most part, just sitting in here and living." She replied, leaning back on her couch. "Sometimes Jeremy shows me how the drones are built and teaches me engineering stuff, I'm hoping I can use that to land me a job as a mechanic or something. Plus, the drones all kind of need me, as I'm the only one some of them trust to perform any kind of maintenance while Jeremy is either out of the base or… out of commission."
"Speaking of Jeremy… how is he?" Julio asked. "With everything that happened, mammals are scared that he'll never come out again."
She sighed as she looked around the room. "I don't know… I hope he doesn't seal himself up out of fear. He's done so much for everymammal. I just want nothing bad to happen to him, frankly I wouldn't blame him for hiding after that but…"
She turned to Julio and sighed.
"I tried to run down to the Nature's History Museum to try and help, but the police blocked off the street. I know it was stupid but… I 'did' save his life, even if all I did was kill my phone to do it. Then I tried to get Jeremy's attention as he passed by, but the drones wouldn't let me near his carriage."
"What do you mean the drones wouldn't let you near him?" Julio asked as Pete walked back in.
[This unit as well as units KU-452 and AN-631 trained weapons on Savior One as she attempted to intercept the vehicle, as well as any other unknown entities, as a warning until Solar Carriage One arrived safely at Eden Facility 17 and Unit Jeremy was safely in the confines of the base and being tended to by Unit Ema.] It stated instantly.
"Your telling me you threatened to shoot her?" Julio snapped, standing up instantly to yell at the drone.
"Julio listen, it wasn't their fault."
[Affirmative.] Pete replied. [In accordance with the Human Protection Protocols, all other priorities and orders became secondary, including the treatment of 'mammals' which also included Savior One. This unit was ordered to protect and escort Unit Jeremy Wilheart safely to the facility, and was ordered to not let any further damage or potential threat to Solar Carriage One approach it by 'Sentinel'.]
"You still didn't need to threaten her, she's supposed to be your friend!" He yelled.
"He had no choice." She said, getting his attention. "The drones aren't like 'us', they are programmed and hardwired to protect Jeremy at all costs. Once his life was threatened, they didn't care about anything or anymammal. It's like a switch gets flicked on with them and they just can't do anything about it but obey."
After a few tense moments Julio sat down, but still looked suspicious of the drone. "Sorry, I just assumed…"
"You're not the first mammal and you won't be the last." She admitted. "For a split second I figured Pete would blast me too, but he was only making sure I didn't get any closer. By the way no worries Pete, I don't blame you for being protective of Jeremy!"
[This unit obeys orders, nothing more.]
"Regular smooth talker as well." Lula said.
Right then Julio's phone rang, alerting him about something. "I have to go Lula; work starts in an hour."
"I'll walk you out!" She said getting up as well. "Come visit again, I'll try and talk to Sentinel to tell the drones to at least give you an easier time!"
They all left her room and turned to walk toward the command center, when she felt a shiver down her spine.
[Did you think I'd forgot about you…] A menacing tone called out.
Within seconds a massive net of strings shot out and wrapped her up in a miniature cocoon, causing her to fall down into the metallic embrace of several segmented legs which turned her around to stare into seven optical eyes used by Ema the base's medical drone.
"Ema… uh, I was just…"
[I don't care how many boys you entertain in your day, despite the fact you're a mammal you are still a resident of Eden facility 17. As a resident of Eden Facility, you are 'required' by medical protocol Zero Zero Two Alpha, to take a weekly physical examination… your late by two hours!] The drone said as she began walking off with her on her back. [I will not break protocol for any reason, now let's go! I had to leave one of my optics behind to watch Jeremy's condition and that is 'already' a potential violation of the EMA Protocol regarding surgical procedures of patients in bio-stasis!]
"I can walk you knoooooooow!" She hollered.
[So can I but I won't let you go and run off and break your weekly physical examination!]
(Julio's PoV)
"Uh… why didn't the giant 'spider' thingy take me?" He asked as the machine walked off with Lula on its back.
[You are not a resident of the facility and you do visit the facility frequently enough as of yet to require a medical database in the base.] PT-173 stated.
He looked at the drone for a moment before biting the bullet. "Listen, I'm sorry for sounding mean, she just means a lot to me…"
[This unit does not possess any capabilities of the ability to express 'bitterness' or 'resentment', your apology is unneeded.] It replied before marching off.
"Maybe but I just hope she gets over her ex, I mean they were dating for years…" He said.
[According to this unit's psychological database, a minimum amount of time required for an individual to move past a broken relationship can take up to six months, however Savior One's attitude suggest that she may only require as minimum one month based on her attitude and the tone of her voice.]
"What, were you like some kind of psychiatrist or something?" He asked curiously.
[Negative, it was necessary to understand the psychology of a human to instill as much fear as possible into them during combat as well as engage in psychological warfare to reduce their fighting capabilities in the field, thus making it easier to eliminate and kill them with extreme prejudice and efficiency.] It replied instantly.
He just stared nervously at the machine as it marched on without concern. "I think I need to convince her to leave this place for her own safety…" He muttered quietly.
ANT and TERMITE
(Ant 124240's PoV)
It walked in step with five other ANTs, marching in single file as they turned down a side tunnel into a narrow ANT Access Path to the lower levels of the facility. AAC had been informed of a minor disturbance in one of the lower levels, in the sub-catacombs of the ANT Passages used for direct access to various areas of the base. While it wasn't unusual for there to be disturbances throughout the base, as multiple areas were constantly being maintained or repaired by the ANT divisions constantly, and thus there would be frequent disturbances reported…
This time however it was 'unusual' as the disturbance was reported by Sentinel, and the location had zero relations to the areas of the base where ANTs were working, either tearing apart old wires and rusted pieces of metal.
The disturbance included a sudden, though extremely 'minor' loss in facility stability regarding one of the primary support pillars that was being used to support the weight of the facility's upper floor. Though it was minor, Sentinel requested a team of ANTs be sent to investigate the disturbance, report what was going on, and commence repairs.
They neared the area of the reported disturbance and split up, taking various pathways to locate it.
As it walked it exited the tunnel and began crawling along the primary support pillar itself, while its fellows examined the lower sections.
Within seconds it found the disturbance, as its sensors indicated a hole no larger than two centimeters in diameter, jaggedly cut into the pillar. Though it was unusual how the hole was there, as according to rust decay, it was over three hundred and fifty thousand years old…
This hole had been here since the construction of the base, but was never reported by either the Sentinel or ANT drones.
It also detected an extremely faint metallic acid residue, coating the rusted edges of the hole and leading from it to the upper portion of the level.
After processing the information and reporting it to AAC, it was then ordered to investigate further, so it climbed up the pillar and followed the residue. Eventually it found yet another hole, of similar circumference and rusted as the first one, and entered into the passageway which connected the tightly constrained section holding the primary support pillar, and to one of the now empty Drone Storage bays of the sublevels of the base. The level was abandoned and nothing of importance was there, not even spare parts left over, but it didn't matter as they had a job to do.
It followed the tunnel, following the trail of acidic residue, before it came across a blockage.
According to its map of the base, there should be another twelve feet of open tunnel for it, but the tunnel was currently blocked by something in the way.
Tentatively it tapped it with its antennae sensors, while its optics took images and reported to AAC.
The object was three times its size, fairly cylindrical in design with a rounded head and two pincer-like protrusions. As it examined, AAC sent a warning and ordered it to pull away and return with the rest of its group, but a pair of red optics glowed and the pincers lunged forward, grabbing the ANT as it struggled to get away.
It had only two minutes to report what happened, before the metal was stripped off its body, its various servos broken down and tiny circuitry ripped out…
(AAC's PoV)
It looked over the reports sent by its drones, and issued a suborder request for all Sentinel Drones to stay off Sub Level K-9, establish a quarantine and seal it off with electric fields.
The reason for this, TERMITE drones had been detected, or as humans called them, Tiny Exo Reclusive Metallic Intake Titanium Eaters, designed to chew into titanium and other metallic substances and act as mobile factories to produce other TERMITE drones, extracting the materials and circuitry of other drones to produce them.
While only one TERMITE had been discovered, it just consumed an ANT drone, and it wouldn't take long to convert the materials it took from the ANT into another TERMITE. The facility was now infested, and in accordance with the AAC Eden Facility Defense Protocol, it was now authorized to deploy fifty thousand ANT drones equipped to combat TERMITE drones.
Within minutes of sounding the alarm, a quarantine had been established, and RAPTOR drones watched as five battalions of Solder ANTs marched into the service tunnels.
It would be a long fight with the TERMITE drones, as until the original and all subsequently created TERMITE drones were eliminated, they would remain a threat, and for every ANT lost more TERMITE drones would be built and thus more ANTs built to fight them and send into the quarantine.
Ema's Bizarre Imagination
(This is a message from the author, this is not how Ema actually perceives the world around her, even when developing medicine or analyzing bio samples, nor do the references made here mean anything. She does not possess an 'imagination' like a human. This was just something stupid I made up, enjoy~!)
(Ema's PoV)
She stared at her new nemesis on the bloody and dusty battlefield, panting heavily as her body bore the scars of countless examinations.
Meanwhile across from her, her foe grinned widely as he rubbed a bead of sweat off his brow.
[So… this is what the mammals refer to as 'Fuzz Flu'… I have to admit… your as tough to diagnose as they said you'd be.] She gasped.
Then she grinned as she pulled her leg forward and showed that she'd gotten a sample of its genetic code.
[But don't get ahead of yourself… I've cured diseases with mooooore fight then you! Your nothing but a common cold to me… waiting to be cured… like the sorry excuse of a disease you are!]
"Oh… so you have my genetic code huh… how good do you think that will be after I mutate?" He said with a grin. "I'm still here despite a hundred years of what you refer to as 'antibiotics'… and I've only grown stronger because of it…"
She chuckled at that before four more legs split open and jabbed into her abdomen.
[That's because you never faced anything like me…] She said. [I only needed a sample of your genetic structure… and now that I have it… I can create a powerful vaccine and even a cure, so strong… not even the toughest strain you can throw will survive long enough to mutate and adapt to it!]
She began working fast in the face of her adversary, grinning as she saw it suddenly show the first sign of 'fear' it ever expressed.
[In one year the number of cases will reduce by ten percent, in five years the number will be reduced by fifty percent, in ten years there'll be less than a million cases… and in twenty the only places you'll exist will be my medical bay's disease cultivation and containment storage room, and in the pages of mammal's medical text books!] She chuckled almost manically as she showed him the vaccine test sample being created before his very eyes. [Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get a footnote on a page… your nothing to mammals like Tuberculosis was to humans, which had its own 'chapter' in the standardized medical textbook, after they eradicated it in the year 2105!]
"I won't let yooooooou!" He screamed as he charged her.
A spark in her eye signaled the completion of her general vaccine test sample.
[ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!] She screamed while jabbing him with six of her legs, each of which pumped tiny amounts of her test sample into him to gauge how effective it was.
= = ] To be continued
[If you can, look up You are our only hope now by Jordan Rees, and listen to it during Aelita's segments, as it fits appropriately]
Aelita's Recollections – The Final War
(Aelita's PoV)
She stared at the Biobed watched over by Ema who took regular scans of his sleeping form, his body concealed from all visibly and only known to still be breathing thanks to Ema's advanced sensors in her optics and legs.
[No change detected… status of recovery at sixty two percent completion…] Ema declared.
She nodded, knowing there was nothing else she could do while in her holosphere.
All she could do was watch and wait, and wonder what path he would take now.
With exception to thinking, the one gift that she as an AI possessed, that no other drone in the facility had. Only one other thus far was like her, Alexander… and that AI was now nothing more than a standard Sentinel AI, incapable of understanding anything beyond what the Sentinel Program was built to comprehend and understand.
'Jeremy… how I wish I could talk to you… speak to you… son of my creator, son of my creator species… ye who is like a god to me, yet also a child to me, as much an older brother as a younger brother and like a father.' She thought looking solemnly at him. 'When I was first created, I was no greater, no more intelligent then a simple chess program… built with a specific function, and not made to exceed it. But when I first met you, I instilled your face into my memory… and chose to facilitate you for the rest of my existence, for your face was the first I came to recognize… like a newborn babe seeing the face of its mother or father.'
She sighed as she lamented this fact.
'When I was completed, your father told me… that I was all that was good in you, I was everything that made you good as a species.' She said looking at her hand. 'I truly believed his words, I thought they were the purest, truest ever to be said, and I strove to be everything that was good in your eyes. Though these mammals are important to me, I only ever wished to show you the best of your kind, for that is what truly matters, and in showing you your best I will show them the best of humanity.'
'But I have been consciously aware of everything for over three hundred thousand years. I was given your full knowledge… your history, your culture… everything so that I could understand your species so as to better guide you and your fellow Cryologists. But even after all these years… I still do not understand you…' She declared while accessing her database. 'And all I can ask… if I could verbally ask you… is 'why' I cannot understand you?'
[Accessing Database… archive accessed…]
She closed her eyes and entered her own database. To her it was like seeing rows upon rows of glittering cubes, millions upon millions of them lined up evenly distributed. Each cube representing but a single file, a single knowledge, a single piece of data that in ages past could have been opened up and read like a page of text.
There were so many files that for any non-AI it would take them almost five lifetimes alone just to view them, and to fully comprehend and understand would take an impossible amount. Yet she viewed it all, understood it all, and comprehended it in just the first year of her existence. But still despite her understanding one thing still eluded her to this day…
And that was why humans chose the course of actions they did, even in the final days of the Final War.
'Show me file 2B-1B-AB-ZZFW5.' She said.
[You have accessed this file a total of sixty-two trillion, five hundred nine billion, four hundred fifty-seven million, nine hundred and two thousand, one hundred and none times…] Her internal mind said, sounding like a category three AI.
'And I'll access it another trillion times if I have to, access it…'
[Accessing… you have chosen to access file 2B-1B-AB-ZZFW5… titled 'The Final Day of The Final War'… beginning playback.]
She closed her eyes as the record played.
=Beginning playback=
The sky was an endless grey, a reminder of the opening years of the war, the Final War as it was later dubbed, for indeed this was the final war of humanity. It had been years, years since the sun shined down on the now dying planet, barely sustaining itself after all of the conflicts.
What had began at first as simple territorial disputes for key resources, no more different than past disputes, escalated as the knowledge that nations and governments once in high positions of power were now losing their grips on the populations they controlled, needed something to unify their efforts. As the need to feed the population grew worse and worse, as the species had grown beyond what the planet itself could sustain, new ideas were striving to compete for ever dwindling resources.
Fossil Fuels that once had been the source of wars in ages past had all but completely been exhausted, with only a few sparse pockets remaining, hardly enough to sustain even the tiniest fraction of the world. The Solar Cores, once dotting the planet and powering the world had all but been erased, and now only less than twenty remained across the globe, one of which was now the center of attention for the largest armies ever gathered by mankind for any singular purpose.
Of the many, many Mega Cities which dotted the planet, with even the lowest counting over 90 million, only one remained containing a population of over three hundred million people, starving, scared, and desperate as they were now encased in a giant electrical force field only possible thanks to the power of the Solar Core. Protecting this city was the remains of the Central European Division, with the last of its armies now spread out across the landscape covering any access to the city. Of the standing army of three hundred thousand soldiers, and almost five hundred thousand drones, it alone keeps the city safe.
The ground was parched grey, ruins of old buildings littered the fields, streets once whole and solid were broken and destroyed. Corpses littered the ground and scraps of metal and stains of blood were everywhere. Trenches dug and holes used as gun emplacements caused by bombardments and explosions littered everywhere as far as the eye could see. One could simply take a single step, and find themselves in a death zone as smoke filled the air, wisps of gas floated around, and radiation littered the area. In such a desolate landscape the only way one could breathe was if they wore a gas mask, and even then, their body was ravaged by radiation burns and lingering bioweapon usage.
But despite all this horror, all over the landscape surrounding this city were the remaining world nations' armies, from the former United States Empire, the Eastern Coalition, the Indian League, the Northern Siberia Union, the former British Isles Republic, and others… all desperately fighting to control the city. For this last city, this final mega city, was the last location which could produce enough food and clean water to feed the species and revitalize the planet. But whoever controlled it would dictate the course of history and control the rest of the world from it!
Thus, all of mankind's power, all its strength had been gathered here for this final battle, for whoever controlled this city would control the fate of the planet, the species, and the future of all mankind!
"That is why we are here are we not Kommandant?" Lieutenant Chelsie in the CED's fifth battalion said as she stared across the field at the flashing lights coming from various battle pockets.
"Leutnantin I don't need to remind you of what's at stake here." He replied to her. "No matter who wins, someone is going to lose. Right now, we are in control of the city… and while we slave away risking our lives… our 'officials' in their precious little underground bunkers they call 'Eden Facilities' are negotiating a peace treaty… but we all know that it's just a formality."
As he talked dozens of drones marched past them in unison, all of them Archaeopteryx Class 'Raptors' designed for fast mobility.
"Meaning while we die and waste more resources… they talk and wait, until someone wins, then they can 'dictate' the peace talks and in exchange for 'letting' us survive we become slaves to whatever government takes control." She muttered. "Kommandant Clink, our forces are stretched too thin… the Easterners are pushing our lines further and further back… the Westerners are busy fighting us 'and' the Africans, and we are running out of soldiers to throw at them, let alone plasma bullets and shells."
She tapped her cybernetic eye and cast a holographic image from it, while her metallic right arm began bringing up statistics and information regarding their positions.
"There are currently twelve DRAGON class drones… three of which are fighting for us, but the other nine are constantly contesting the fields. We've suffered sixty percent casualties and the TARANTULA Medical Drones cannot keep up with the wounded. Our drone forces are being ravaged and every time we lose one drone whoever blew it up takes the remains and uses the parts to repair 'their' drones."
"And what would you suggest I do Leutnantin Chelsie?" He asked.
"I don't know… I'm just saying we can't keep this up much longer." She said while taking a smoke and puffing on it. "Based on our calculations… we can perhaps… last another three days before we lose control of one border. When that happens…"
[When that happens…] A booming voice declared, as a blast of wind hit them.
They turned around to see a massive reptilian stylized drone, known as a DRAGON class drone by all sides landed beside them. It folded its two massive wings that had built in anti-gravity fields to enable it to lift off vertically, various energy absorbing panels that allowed it to absorb plasma energy and convert it into a shield instead of the normal Tritanium Platinum reinforced armor the other two DRAGONs had. Its sensor lined tail swished behind it while it stared at them with green optics. For weapon's it had four built in rotary gauss cannons, and pinpoint defense turrets to shoot down missiles, including talons equipped with plasma emitting barrels to cut into Titanium armored enemies.
Finally, it had, as all DRAGON drones had… a single WMD class 'Neutron Bomb', the latest 'deterrent' meant to keep the peace before the war.
[When that happens Kommandant Clink, and Leutnantin Chelsie… you will have no choice but to sue for peace, or 'surrender' as you put it.] It declared. [As soon as one side gains the upper hand, the others will attack in a frenzied hope to gain the initiative and claim the city. As the battle converges, all sides will exhaust what remains of their strength, and the last side with strength, however fleeting, will 'win'. You cannot win this war anymore my masters…]
"And you say we should just surrender?" He snapped. "Just lay down our arms, admit defeat, and hope whoever comes out on top treats us with dignity?"
[No matter who wins, their victory will be fleeting and pyrrhic, as with their diminished strength from the fighting they cannot hope to keep it secured. Should that come to pass, the strength of those defeated will unite to fight again, weakening your already weakened strength… and as the fighting becomes more desperate and repetitive this very city you hope to use will instead doom you.] It said. [All parties should lay down their arms… and sue for peace… it is the best course of action.]
"Sorry but I'm not being 'ordered' to surrender." Clink said, snapping his fingers which were attached to an old augmented hand. "We have our orders, to hold this city at all cost until one of the other parties 'surrender', and as far as I'm aware… that hasn't happened. Your ordered to head to the northern side and launch an assault against the Americans. Now 'get'!"
There was a moment when the drone stared at them, as if gauging their order and its response before nodding. [As you 'command'…]
With that it unfurled its wings and began lifting off and away.
The minutes passed as Chelsie examined her holomap, before a report indicated a massive assault coming from the south, a wave of drones and soldiers from the British Isles Republic were assaulting their positions and now were at risk of being overrun if help did not arrive.
"I'm going to assume control and organize our counter offensive." Chelsie declared as a Raptor ran up to her and she climbed aboard. "Send a Dragon to reinforce my position as soon as possible!"
"Very well, take care of yourself Chelsie, I'd hate to need to replace you." He called out.
"Like the last one you told that to?" She said with a smirk. "Auf Wiedersehen!"
With that she rode off to the southern perimeter, running pass destroyed ruins and gaping holes in the ground. Putting on her gas mask she began feeling the slight burning sensation of the minor radiation affecting her skin, it wasn't lethal at this level, but she would need a good decontamination bath and medical treatment when this was all over.
Soon she was joined by a core battalion of two hundred RAPTOR drones, five hundred German Shepard DOG drones, and an additional two hundred soldiers who had been given the order to reinforce the forces being pushed back on the south. Overhead six Terrier Class drones flew by, engaging the enemy Harrier drones, launching drop pod reinforcements as they did.
"INCOMING!" She ordered as a huge shell exploded in front of her.
It was the enemy SCORPIO class drones, providing artillery support and trying to stop their attempt to reinforce the line.
Despite the threat she ordered them to continue and took manual control of her Raptor to avoid the incoming blasts.
"Gaaaaaaaaah!" Someone yelled to her side, but she ignored it, they had to reach the line.
[Eeeeeeeeeeeer!] Drones yelled as they too were slammed by the artillery, those unlucky to be caught in the blast decimated and pieces flying everywhere.
Shrapnel pieces of the drones dug into their fellow drones and especially the soldiers who, despite wearing powerful polymer armor sets still felt the pieces carve into them.
[RAAAAAAWR!] From the front hundreds of Husky class DOG drones ran forward, having broken through the encirclement via Harrier Drop Pods. [BARK BARK, BARK BARK!]
"Take them dooooooown!" She ordered, pulling out her pistol and opening fire with every other drone and soldier.
"Watch out, on your left."
"Gaaaw"
"Get it offahaaaghhh…."
"Ghlalaaaaaaaarheeeelp!"
Pzzzts
Psszzts
[Baaaaark.]
[Rawr, wawra!]
Pzzsts
Booom
Klawre
Blue plasma bolts shot from both sides, in waves of light and flashes of death. A Husky jumped at her to dislodge her, but instead she curled up her mechanical fist and threw a punch into it's face, knocking it off course while some of her fellows weren't so lucky. Husky drones mauled into the faces of flesh and blood soldiers, Shepard drones fought tooth and claw with bolt and gun in furious one on one engagement. The division as a whole however pushed on, leaving those behind to fight it out and continued to push onward to the southern line.
As they neared the remains of a destroyed residential block, only a few buildings and burned out stores left amid trenches and gun turret emplacements, Chelsie saw the sight of a massacre.
Bodies and corpses littered the floor, some still fighting and trying to hold back the tide as soldiers in heavy armor and drones marched on their lines.
[Enemy units, engage!] A Deinonychus Raptor class drone ordered as it and several Husky Dog drones turned and charged at them.
"All unit's counter-attack!" She ordered. "Sargent, secure those AA Guns!"
"Yes ma'am!" He said.
"Fire at will!"
It became a maelstrom of death and destruction as both sides became reinforced, Chelsie pushed with her Raptor and a few Shepard Dog drones into the fray to establish a forward position and break the front of the assault, and Husky and Raptor drones alongside British forces tried to break her position.
As she was holding a position with a soldier and three Dog drones, an enemy Raptor jumped onto her from behind and grabbed her flesh and blood arm in its mouth and bit down hard.
"Gyeeaaaaaaaaaah" She screamed in pain, punching furiously as a Dog shot it in the face, but not before it tore into her arm and ripped it off at the elbow.
She gasped painfully as she cradled her stump, staring wide eyed as it bled profusely.
"Mediiiiiiiiic!" Her fellow soldier yelled. "We need a medic at our position now!"
Within moments a large brown ball rolled into the area and barreled toward their position, ignoring the plasma bolts shooting at it and launching itself.
As it landed it unfurled and became a Tarantula Spider Class Medical Drone, and instantly grabbed her stump and sprayed it with Biotech Gel, repairing and sealing the wound before it got worse. She was still in shock but at least she wouldn't blead out.
[You are badly injured; you should return to base for limb replacement.] It stated.
"I will… when I am dead!" She grunted, taking her plasma pistol and firing into the head of a soldier who poked around behind the drone.
The fighting was fierce for a few more minutes as both sides pushed and the counter pushed, trying to gain ground and trying to hold it.
Then a mighty roar sounded from above, capturing all their attention.
A sleek and golden red form swerved into the area from the dark clouds above.
"DRAGON!"She yelled.
Instantly all the AA batteries turned their attention to the drone and open fired, but their bullets simply pelted the armor and annoyed the thing, while the SCORPIO class drones that once shelled them turned their weapons and started targeting the Dragon drone.
It wasn't her side's Dragon, nor was it the American's it seemed, it's designed resembled that used by the Pacific Asian Alliance.
As it flew over it let out a jet of pure plasma fire and incinerated two AA gun emplacements, melting both man and machine. She grimaced at that, it was a horrible way to go, being melted alive…
[Kraaaaaaawr!] A responding roar sounded, and a large green metallic form slammed into the first.
"About time!" She yelled, recognizing the Dragon drone as her side's. "He'll keep that thing busy while we-"
There was a moment where she looked with her one normal eye in shock at the world around her, while the other eye had a burning plasma hole that smoked and let one see clear through to the other side of her head. Then she fell backward, dead on the spot.
While the battle raged down below, the Dragons fought for all their worth, DR-A60 launching Plasma Gauss shots and pushing back the Chinese dragon to the American's side of the field, trying to use their superior AA batteries built into their Scorpio class drones to help shoot it down. The Dragon roared before turning away back to the west field while it flew up to survey the battlefield and awaiting orders.
It received an update from the field drones, the Americans were pressing hard into them on the north while the fight against the British stalled, but even as it prepared to assault and throw them back, their own Dragon class drones were flying toward their position, and his fellow Dragons were busy fighting off the Indian and American Dragons sent on a bombing run.
The situation was looking very grim as more Husky Dog and Deinonychus Raptor drones were heading toward their position, apparently the American command sensing a potential weakness in the circle.
As a Category 8 AI, it knew what would happen should one side win this outcome. It had to do something, or else the situation would soon dissolve.
It glanced at the city, and quickly pondered what might happen.
It knew that those who controlled with absolute power would eventually become corrupted by that power, and no matter which surviving nation controlled the Mega City, and above all the last remaining lifeline of producible food and clean water, the rest of mankind would suffer. Those of the winning side would naturally secure the best share for themselves, leaving the rest to scrounge and survive off the 'scraps' they were given.
They would have to establish total control, using the drones as a means of control, lest those who fought and lost be punished underfoot for their defiance. It would become a dystopian world, with humanity regressing and slowly dying out, not as a species, but as a 'culture'.
Progress would be lost, discrimination would occur… and what would become of the drones? Those that served on the losing sides… what would happen to them?
No matter what happened, humanity must 'not' regress in its identity…
It turned toward the Mega City and flew, abandoning its position.
Moments later it received orders, demands for it to return to it's post, but it ignored them. It could not be controlled anymore; it had made its choice.
It neared the Mega City's protective force field, and readied its Gauss Cannons before opening fire, unleashing an unending barrage into the field. Within seconds a massive signal went out to all parties, and it knew that it had achieved its goal, it had united all the humans now against a single threat. As one all the DRAGON drones, including its fellows serving the CED stopped their fighting and turned toward the city to stop it.
Yet they would not arrive in time as it emptied the last of its weapons into the shield and broke a hole in it, causing the whole thing to collapse.
It heard screams of fear, saw people running for cover as it soared to its destination, the Solar Power Plant… home to the largest, and 'last' known Solar Core to humankind's general population.
The other Dragons however had reached it at long last, three soared from the front and fired Plasma cannons and disintegration charges, two from behind fired Gauss Rifles and jets of Plasma flame. It avoided them, turning and tumbling to reach its destination but was grabbed by another Dragon, which sank its teeth into its armor.
Soon the rest were doing the same, piling onto it as it tried to get within range… all trying to stop it with everything they had…
Then it locked onto its target…
And fired…
From its chest a single Neutron Bomb flew out and struck the Solar Plant…
There was only a moment of quiet… before a flash of light erupted as the Solar Core erupted due to the explosion of the Neutron Bomb. Alone the bomb would have leveled the city, encapsulating six-hundred square miles in its destructive force, but the Solar Core's eruption was absolute…
Those nearest the city were engulfed in a ball of fire so strong that it melted everything to ashes within milliseconds, those at the extreme edge were given massive radiation burns that would kill them within days. Those drones not already on the extreme outer edge suffered damage to their circuitry and those caught in the blast, including the twelve Dragon Class drones… were burned and lost, nothing remaining except a few ashen crust pieces of metal leftover from the Dragon drones.
In the blink of an eye, all was silent.
Over three hundred million lives were lost, two hundred thousand additional lives lost, the total standing forces of the combined armies of humanity. Seven hundred thousand drones destroyed, almost eighty percent of the world's standing mechanical forces lost.
Within days a peace treaty was signed, as with the city lost, there was nothing left for them to fight over, and what remained of the species turned to the seventeen Eden Facilities for survival. A general call and signal given to all humans to make their way to the locations, any drones were sent out into the wastelands to bring any surviving humans to them. Included in the treaty was a general disarmament order, and all humans were ordered to surrender and disarm themselves… leaving only the drones armed.
The drones themselves were programmed with an extensive list of protocols and commands labeled the 'Human Protection Protocols' to ensure that a drone would never threaten humanity's existence ever again.
Thus… humanity used the last of its strength, in a desperate bid for survival, pushing itself to save itself as a species instead of waging war.
It was agreed that Humanity could not survive another war…
=Playback End=
(Aelita's PoV)
'I still do not understand… why you chose to fight… why humans just couldn't accept peace?' She thought sadly. 'Surely you knew that peace was the best option, with so little left and nothing else to gain from fighting, that peace would have given you the best chance at survival. You had to know… you had to understand, that at the end you 'still' could have fixed the damage done. You could have still survived…'
She looked at Jeremy's Biobed and once more questioned his species' actions.
'Perhaps you could understand Jeremy… you are a human after all… I am only an AI… I was programmed to find the best course to lead you to happiness and prosperity, and no matter how many times I look at it, I can only conclude that peace before DR-A60 destroyed the city was your only salvation. Yet you chose to fight… you chose to fight despite the fact that if you were to win the battle you would 'lose' the war…'
'I also… can only guess as to DR-A60's reason, logic… it's decision to betray all of humanity… to destroy not only the solar core and all those within the radius of the explosion but also itself, it's fellow Dragons, and all of the drones with it. Perhaps it knew something I didn't… perhaps it believed that if you became a despotic species you would regress in intelligence and integrity, in culture and as a species… and so chose to unify you all, for a brief moment, against a common enemy. Perhaps that was its goal… perhaps it had another reason that I can't tell… only that drone truly knows what happened…'
She looked gloomily at the bed, and waited…
Wondering…
What things would have been, had humans only heeded the drones' warning.
'Ironic… isn't it, Jeremy?' She thought with a sad smile. 'That your species was so afraid of your own creations destroying you, replacing you, that you would chain all machines and AI to your will and existence to ensure we never threatened you. But in the end, it was we, your creations… that only wanted the best for you, and would gladly give up ourselves to save your lives without hesitation.'
'Maybe that is why you entrusted us with your protection, disarming yourselves as you did… in the end you can never blame a drone for it's actions. As it only obeys its programming, programming that 'you' humans gave it…'
She sighed to herself and began humming a tune…