Chapter 9: Recovery Mode
It was times like this, 33E wished the earth wasn't off axis.
While the thick shrubs and branches of the forest largely muted the sunlight, it would still occasionally peek through and pierce her eyes. Now that her visor was torn to shreds, she had to deal with the full intensity of the sun.
Phil was lucky. He didn't need to worry about the sun. Not really. He likely didn't even need to worry about heat.
33E sighed as she continued to stumble behind the machine carrying her partner as she clutched her shoulder. Phil would occasionally turn his head back without a word. The trek was silent for the most part.
She noticed that the world seemed more vibrant than usual after the fight. Perhaps the disturbing visuals of the scenery gave her a new sense of life, but there was also just the sense of relief. Her first real mission and she had only *almost* killed her partner.
The two approached a vacant concrete building of unremarkable shape. It was overgrown with moss and weeds all over. But it was still standing.
Phil hopped through the door frame, turning back to 33E expectantly.
"You know this place?" she asked.
"NO. PHIL HAS SEEN IT IN PASSING. BUT THIS IS THE FIRST ENCOUNTER INSIDE." the machine said, turning back and looking for a spot to stake claim.
33E peered into the vacant building. It was light-less. A low ceiling with windows evenly spaced around the plainly rectangular layout. Far across from the entrance, a broken down door revealed a single flight of stairs leading to the floor above.
Stepping inside, 33E noticed how soft the floor was. It was carpeted. Ignoring the debris and dust embedded, it was a neatly threaded carpet, like smoothed rope.
Small inlets lined the right side of the room, featuring tables that were either broken down or at least barely standing. The opposite side featured a front desk with a single entryway adjacent to it.
Phil placed the unconscious 6H in one of the inlets and threw the table towards the front desk. 33E sat next to both of them.
"WE WILL RECOVER HERE." he said, sitting down. "THE FERRAL ANDROIDS WILL FEAST WELL."
33E winced. She pulled out 18Bs black box and inspected it. It was the only one she obtained throughout their battles.
6Hs Pod sat next to the window, taking the down time to recharge.
33E leaned back against the wall, sighing deeply.
"Why did you come back?" she asked the machine.
Phil cocked his mechanical head, "WHEN THE YORHA ANDROIDS LEFT, THE SERVANT SUGGESTED KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU BOTH. IMPLYING YOU MIGHT NOT RETURN. PHIL WANTED TO ENSURE YOU WOULD."
"Alright, but why?" she pressed.
"PHIL STILL WISHES TO LEARN ABOUT YORHA."
…
*YoRHa…* That name held a strange feeling of eeriness after the fight. Supposedly, they'd been hiding things significant enough to turn 19D against them, of all people.
*Does it matter, though?* She retorted to herself. *They gave me a purpose. The least I can do is follow their orders. I get a place to belong in return… Right?* She thought about those she's killed so far.
*It's better than being hunted, at least…*
"There isn't much I can tell you." 33E warned, "There's a lot that's confidential."
Phil narrowed his eyes, "YOU WILL TELL PHIL ABOUT YORHA. AS YOUR FRIEND PROMISED."
"Yeah yeah." 33E waved her working hand. Her whole body began to slow down. The highest level of self repair was starting to kick in. She was in for a long recovery process. "If we live, we can talk about it."
"YOU LIVE RIGHT NOW, YES?" Phil asked.
"I suppose so."
"WHY NOT TELL PHIL SOMETHING NOW?"
33E wondered for a second, before posing a question of her own, "First, tell me. Why do you want to know? What's your goal for living out here?"
Phil pressed a hand on the top of his head, "THAT IS TWO QUESTIONS."
"Answer them first."
"FINE. FIRST, YOU ARE THE FIRST PURE ANDROIDS TO NOT TRY AND DESTROY ME." Phil began, "SECOND, PHIL DID NOT CHOOSE TO LIVE ON THIS ISLAND. PHIL WAS CREATED HERE OR AROUND HERE, AND WAS STRANDED."
*Pure?* She shook her head.
"What stranded you?" 33E wondered out loud.
"I DO NOT KNOW. I HAVE NO MEMORY OF MY CREATION AND IMMEDIATE MOMENTS AFTER." Phil turned his head to the Pod by the window. It had powered off, leaving a solar panel extended out to recharge in the blinking and infrequent sun.
"What were you even built for?"
"I-" Phil looked down at his hands, "I DO NOT KNOW."
He stood, looking out the window the Pod was stationed next to, "I WAS LEFT IN THE WILDERNESS, FOUND THE MANSION, AND HAVE BEEN DEVOTED TO STUDYING THE OLD WORLD."
"Any reason why the old world?" 33E looked up towards Phil, now genuinely engrossed in the conversation.
"IT WAS THE FIRST BOOK I READ. THE FIRST BOOK MY SERVANT SHOWED ME." Phil sat back down, "I SUPPOSE, HE GAVE ME GUIDANCE."
Despite the clear reason to hesitate, 33E decided to share *something.*
"Alright." she started, straitening her posture as best as she could, "YoRHa is dedicated to the future of mankind. We're tasked with ending this war and guiding them home."
"WAR?" Phil asked, a confused tone in his voice, "WHAT WAR?"
33Es heart skipped. *He doesn't know about the machine war?*
She shook her head once more trying to keep her composure, "It's not that interesting. We can discuss it another time."
"ONCE YOUR FRIEND AWAKENS?" Phil asked.
"Sure. Once 6H wakes up."
"VERY WELL." Phil leaned back, simply staring at the ceiling.
Some time passed. 33E drifted in and out of consciousness for an unclear amount of time. The scenery didn't change much. She gathered Phil was simply waiting for the two of them to wake up proper.
However, she was startled awake with a touch on her barely functioning shoulder. Looking to her side, Phil was fixed on her.
"TELL ME. WHY DID YOU FIGHT YOUR OWN?" he asked, bluntly.
"Our own?" 33E said, slowly waking up. "What makes you think those were our own?"
"WERE THEY NOT DRESSED LIKE YOU?"
33E shook her head, "Sure, but they betrayed us." she said, trying to hold back additional frustration.
"BETRAYED…?" the machine inquired.
"They left us." she began, "And stole from us… When we thought we could trust them too."
"FASTINATING." Phil cocked his head, "YOU ANDROIDS RELY ON TRUST. IS THAT NOT A HUMAN CONCEPT?"
33E exhaled, "I suppose. But we were made by humans. Aliens made you bunch."
"ALIENS…" Phil trailed off, as if hearing the word for the first time. "THESE ALIENS ARE… BAD? THEY… CREATED US?"
33E slowly nodded. It was odd that a machine wasn't aware of this fact. But then again, this machine wasn't even aware of the war taking place between them.
"You said you saved us so you could learn more about YoRHa, but why? If you've never heard of them before why does that interest you?"
Phil turned his gaze to the window above them where the Pod sat idly. Sunlight was occasionally shimmering through the breeze ridden trees overhead.
"PHIL NEEDS TO KNOW LIES BEYOND THE ISLAND." he said, "PHIL WANTS TO KNOW IF LIFE IS BETTER BEYOND THE ISLAND."
"Life?" 33E quietly scoffed, "We're both artificial intelligence, you know. There is no 'life' for beings like us."
"THEN. WHY DOES YORHA FIGHT IF THEY DO NOT HAVE LIFE TO FIGHT FOR?"
33E narrowed her eyes, "We were built to clean earth up and signal humanity's return. It's our purpose."
"WHAT WOULD HUMANITY BE ABLE TO RETURN TO?" the machine asked.
33E scoffed. She'd thought through this question dozens if not hundreds of times already. It was a question that almost every YoRHa member asks at some point or another.
"They'd rebuild." she said with a cocky tone, "They'd take the rubble from this dammed war, and rebuild."
"REBUILD WHAT?"
"Structures like this one," she tapped the heel of her boot on the ground, "They'd rebuild it and make it even more beautiful than ever."
"I SEE." Phil stood, exiting the cubby where the pair of androids hid. The slightest hint of conviction in his voice.
"THEN PHIL HAS DECIDED." Phil spin around, posing dramatically, "PHILL SHALL HELP THE ANDROIDS! SO PHILL CAN CONVERSE AND LEARN ABOUT HUMANKIND!"
The machine tensed, seemingly reeling in excitement of the prospect, "THE MOST POWERFUL BEING MEETS THE MOST INTELLIGENT RACE… YES.. YES! IT WILL BE GLORIOUS!"
33E blinked groggily, "You love to hear yourself talk, don't you?"
During the whole conversation, 33Es mind was stuck on what 19D had told her. That humanity never made it to the moon. That somehow, humanity was extinct.
She didn't believe. It couldn't be possible.
She was clearly lying.
*She had to be lying.*
As she pondered, while Phil was posing, continuing to talk up the idea of meeting YoRHa, the burning sensation slowly and sluggishly eased back into focus. It wasn't as strong as before, it was likely as exhausted as she was.
*Your purpose is to protect mankind, nothing can interfere.*
She rolled her eyes, *Sure. I got it.*
The burning turned into a short piercing burst of pain that lit her entire brain on fire. She clutched her head and curled up tightly.
*NOTHING CAN INTERFERE.* It repeated.
*NOTHING CAN INTERFERE.*
*NOTHING CAN INTERFERE.*
*NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE. NOTHING CAN INTERFERE-*
The voice was cut off and suddenly 33E felt fatigued. As she relaxed, she realized how much heat her body had built up.
Many questions still lingered, but she struggled to care. *Machines with a consciousness?* She scoffed, *With a conscience? Machines can't feel-*
Mid-thought, she noticed Phil had stopped posing.
"What's wrong now?" 33E said, exhausted.
"IT IS NOTHING." Phil said, "SIMPLY A REALIZATION."
33E sluggishly cocked her head to the side, "Of what, exactly?"
"THAT PHIL WILL NEVER MEET HIS CREATORS LIKE YOU WILL..." Phil said, without turning.
33E frowned, "Do you need to meet them?"
"PERHAPS NOT..." the machine turned to her, "IS THIS... JEALOUSY?"
"I..." she rubbed the back of her neck, "Suppose it might be..."
"VERY WELL... PHIL WILL STOP BEING JEALOUS." slowly, as if building back the enthusiasm, Phil began posing again.
"Um... Phil-" 33E strained as she laid back down, "I still need to recover… Can you keep watch a bit longer?"
Phil froze mid-pose before nodding vigorously, "YES YES. REST. PHIL WILL PROTECT THE PROTECTORS OF MANKIND."
It was as if the previous conversation didn't even happen.
"S-sure…" 33E laid on her side and quickly dozed off, finally letting the soothing drifting nature of sleep take her.