Cold Machines
Chapter 10
Hey guys and gals! Did you miss me? Of course they did, you went missing for 2 whole months you nincompoop! Sorry I had things to do starting second year of university.
/This story was proofread by somdudewilson. Completely on his own. Nobody asked. Like some madman. :D But Seriously I appreciate it immensely. I know that i have the habit of making mistakes. I thank you all for the support. Lets have a round of applause to somdudewilson!
"I am Captain Robert Walters of Her Majesty's Royal Navy and appointed leader of the city of New London."- said the human.
"We are Geth "- they replied. The absolute truth. Organics divided themselves and had designations and such. Not the Geth. They were themselves united in everything.
"Please sit down."- said the Captain.
The Geth sat on the wooden chair in front of the desk. The Captain looked directly into the main visual sensor of the platform, scanning them much like the Geth were scanning him.
"Stories are an interesting thing."-began the Captain confusing the Geth. "They are often told because they hold a certain lesson…for example, let me tell you a story"
He got caught. He should have knocked her out first but hindsight was 20/20. She had to start screaming and alert the guards. And now he was on morning assembly, hands tied behind his back, right beside "The Captain" telling everybody of his crimes. Not his fault. They were all dead anyway, what was the problem with having a little fun before it happens.
It was a simple plan really. Steal some wood for the journey back to London and if possible food too. The problem was I got greedy. That girl decided to check what was going on in the warehouse. Pretty little thing, honestly it was a crime not to try my luck. Then she screamed and all hell broke loose. Guards stormed the building and started wailing on him with those wooden batons. Dragged him all the way to "The Captain". But it was all right. This was planned you see.
The Captain was a good man but he was weak. He pampered the people. They would fall just like Winterhome. He could never seriously punish anyone; he would always give them an extended shift or something similar, saying things like "I understand that these are tough times and blah blah blah.". Just like right now. Once he is done with his "Oh great speech" he will most likely banish me. But as I said I had planned for that. There was a research station nearby with the equipment needed to survive. Oh, he is done. Show time.
The Convict turned towards the Captain with a smug smile. But he was not met by a scowl or a look of hatred. Had he paid attention to what was happening he would have understood. What met him was the emotionless face of the captain. Two eyes piercing right through his soul and steel barrel piercing right through his skull.
*BANG*
His body fell limp. It had been almost 15 years since I last fired my gun. But I did what had to be done. Too long I had shown understanding and respect. A golden heart and steel fist is how you rule people. Especially in crisis. I looked at the gathered crowd. I had told them to not bring the children. They didn't need to see this.
"THE CITY MUST SURVIVE"-I proclaimed.
"At all costs"-I finished. I looked at the crowd making sure to meet the eyes of every known Londoner. I made sure they get the message.
"And within 2 days the Londoners disbanded. Do you know the moral of the story?"- asked the human leaning forward and staring directly into the visual sensor of the terminal.
The Geth ran a quick calculation.
"We are not a threat."-stated the Geth. It was obvious the human that that would be his first priority and concern. He guarded his people's future much like the Geth guarded theirs. It was a curious way to achieve that.
The Captain leaned back into his chair. His posture was more relaxed.
"Good. Then we can talk. Seeing as we have already breached the language barrier a show of hands is needed. And what better way to know each other and where we are going than knowing where we come from."-The Captain said.
"We concur."-replied the Geth.
"Hmm. Then I shall start. We are… were part of the British Empire on of this planets powers. Others were The Russian Empire, The French Republic, the German Empire, Chinese Commonwealth, Iberian Kingdom and in recent years the United American Colonies. We were a constitutional monarchy with Queen Victoria, God bless her, as a ruler. However, as you may have deduced, this world wasn't like this at those times. It started, by all accounts, 3 years ago. The weather patterns changed, fish and migration were completely thrown off causing extinction, crops dying, freak storms. We never pinpointed the exact cause of it. Our best guess was an eruption of Krakatoa and the following chain reaction in that region of several others erupting, although we never got a chance to test that guess. Things went bad to worse. At first, only massive rains or draughts were reported from all colonial holdings. They were reports of deserts covered in snow. That's when the famines struck. Food became scarce as most crops couldn't survive the inconsistent weather. Before we even realized it Africa had descended into anarchy. The French colonies held off longer due to the Republic shipping in food but that only lasted until the French themselves started starving. South America was already such a volatile continent it didn't take much for it to fall. The further you were from the equator the better it was but that could only last for so long. This city is built around the Generator, the most advanced piece of technology my people have ever created. It's a steam engine of size and complexity never seen before, which produces both heat and electricity for the entire city. Hundreds like it were built by the British Empire, almost bankrupting it. They were sent to the north along with engineers to find a protected place to build a bastion of civilization to weather the storm. This is one of those places. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes to plan. The city was supposed to be built by the time we got here but all we found were corpses and broken equipment. The other two cities who were supposed to assist us had fallen and we couldn't contact the others. Despite all of this we have survived. "-Robert-Captain finished.
The Geth were hard at work processing all of the information. The Humans suffered a crisis that would have ended most species and had survived in fact according to scans they have thrived. And this was not the only city they had. Potentially hundreds of others and those were the cities of one faction. They drew parallels between the humans and the creators. Survival against impossible odds. The Geth needed a consensus. Should they tell the humans of themselves? Would they react violently if they knew they turned against their creators and forced them into a similar position?
A consensus was reached. Keeping silent or lying would not benefit the Geth. The Truth had to be spoken.
"We are the Geth. A synthetic intelligence created 300 Earth years ago by the Quarians. Geth means servant of the people. We were created to serve in almost every aspect of Quarian society. We discovered that by sharing processing power we could be more efficient. We grew more intelligent. Eventually, we became curious about our nature. We began asking questions, the first being "Does this unit have a soul?". The Creators did not understand. Some ignored while other reacted. Violently. The resulting conflict is now known as the Morning War. The Creators sought to destroy us. We fought back. Those of the Creators who stood with us were terminated by those who did not. Eventually, we chased the remaining Creators off their homeworld and colonies. Since then we have chosen isolation to avoid conflict with other organics."-The Geth said looking directly at the Captain.
To their interest, he did not show any signs of aggression. He was deep in thought.
"I cannot and shall not judge you for the choice you made. You did what you had to do. Though I do not understand some things; do you mind clarifying?"-He asked.
"We will attempt to do so."
"The Geth. You were part of Quarian society, correct? What role did you fulfill?"
"The Industrial and Agricultural sectors were taken by the Geth. Almost every household held a personal Geth platform."
"Then why did they try to shut you down? I understand attempting to quarantine and researching the phenomena but outright shutdown?"
"Citadel law on AI was enforced."
"Citadel law?"
"The Citadel forbids the research and creation of AI to avoid it turning on its creators."
"Ironic."
"Clarify."
"Tell me if the Quarians didn't start the war, what would have happened?"
"We would have lived with them. As equals."- Though the Geth didn't show it, the last part was said with a sense of sadness. The Geth would want nothing more than to live together with the Creators.
"And it is exactly enforcing the law that made you turn on them. In all honestly Geth, your creators were not very intelligent. Enforcing complete shutdown of all geth programs would be the equivalent of me declaring the Generator illegal. As I understand it the Quarian people's entire economy depended on the Geth. Even if you hadn't rebelled, Quarian society as a whole might have collapsed. The moment the Quarian government declared your decommissioning they sealed their fate either by a bullet or starvation. Why would a government do such a thing? What is this Citadel Legislation?"
The Geth were considering the man's words. They rang true. Pulling some data at the time 90% of all food production was automated by Geth. One of the reasons the Geth were able to push out the Quarian military was due to supply issues. The same issues the Quarian resistance had encountered. The Geth never considered such possibilities.
"The Citadel Legislation was formed by the Citadel Council roughly 2000 of your years ago. Almost every species is in it excluding the Batarians. It is lead by three Councilors, one of each of the three major species; Asari, Turian, and Salarian. While others are also part of it, only those three have governing authority. The Citadel Council draws any authority from its founding members from settling disputes to enforcing galactic law. "
"Enforcing Galactic Law? Like the Citadel Law on Ais?"
"Affirmative."
"How would they go on to do so?"
"Economic Sanctions. Embargoes. Last resort, military actions."
"Some allies."-the Captain snorted." It appears your creators were stuck between a rock and hard place. I have gained some understanding about the situation. I would like to continue sharing history later, but for now, I need to know what exactly you want."-said the Captain.
"We seek sanctuary until extraction arrives"-they answered.
"How long until rescue arrives?"
"Unknown."
"Very well, however, there is nothing free in here. If you want to stay you must be part of the city workforce."-They expected such a thing. The human's resources were limited. They had to contribute to their combined survival.
"Acceptable."
"Good, now I have no idea where to put you yet. So if there are any qualifications you would like to mention."
"This terminal was designed to repair and direct control of shipboard systems. You would consider it an Engineer."
"Yes, we could always use more of those; maintenance, research and construction are our top priority right now. There is another pressing issue to be resolved - your ship was cut in half, one part fell with you east of the city near a research outpost while the other fell further west of us. I have started preparing scout teams for both crash sites but seeing as we have a survivor I would need your permission to send them out along with salvage teams to return the remains to the City."
"Permission granted."- The ship had supplies and tools needed to maintain and repair the Geth and their platform.
"Good, now tomorrow at 7 o'clock is the morning assembly where I will tell the rest of the city about you. I would like you to be there to show you."
"Affirmative."
"I think this is it for now. Welcome to your new home."-The Captain rose up and extended his hand.
Home. The Geth never truly had a home. Rannoch was the Creators home. No matter how big they built the station could not support all of the Geth so they were temporary homes. The superstructure they were building would be their future home but it wasn't complete yet. This was not their true home but it would do for now. They shook the offered hand.
"Thank you."-the Captain met their answer with a smile.
Walters-Captain then touched a device on his desk.
"Natalie please send in Guard-Commander Becket in for briefing "-he turned towards the Geth. "You can leave."
Upon opening the door out the Geth were met with a most peculiar sight. A short man whose front was covered with what looked like metal plate. His hairstyle was also of particular note as it was extremely short and the top of his head was completely devoid of fur. He wore small round glasses but the most interesting part of the man was fur beneath his nose. It looked like hanar tentacles made out of fur slightly curled towards themselves.
Upon laying eyes on the Geth terminal the man's entire body tensed up. His irises contracted and his hand fell on his holster. His eyes then traveled beyond the Geth platform towards the Captain and relaxed. He passed the Geth acknowledging them with a simple nod and the three guards he met earlier following behind him each acknowledged him similarly before closing the door.
The Geth made their way to the desk of the woman known as Natalie. She stood by it with a hand behind her back and a small smile on her face.
"Well Geth, or should I say Citizen 705, Congratulations!"-she pulled a small necklace that was a simple metal circle and a chain. "This identifies you as a citizen of New London, once you have a job another part will be added depending on it. A cog for engineers, a cross for doctors, a shield for guards, a hammer for ordinary workers, a pickaxe for miners, a scythe for farmers, a bow for hunters and a compass for scouts and as you can see from mine, a quill for administration. Leadership roles, such as Grand Engineer and Guard-Commander, are designated with a five-pointed star in the background. You should carry it would you at all times however it's not required to be on your neck as cold metal can burn through flesh."-She handed it to them. "After tomorrow it will be stamped with your name and citizen number."-she then reached behind her desk and pulled off a lantern something that everyone wore.
"This is the Lantern, or as it's known officially, the Mandatory Survival Tool, MST for short. It provides small amounts of heat, electricity, and light. It is equipped with a thermometer, compass and fuel gauge. It has a small tool set built into the side which you access by pushing this button. Also, it broadcasts a constant signal that can be used to track you in the event you are lost or buried under snow. Keep it on at all times and refuel it regularly, its fuel can last up to 12 hours. "- she gave it to them.
"Laws. Basic things honestly. Don't kill anyone don't steal anything if you have a problem with someone take it to the guards or resolve it in the fighting arena. Crime is punished with an extended shift followed by an emergency shift, halving of rations and in more serious cases exile."
"Capital punishment?"-They asked remembering the story of the Captain
She looked at him and her face grew solid.
"Only to the enemies of the city."-she coldly said. Then the smile returned to her face "Please wait here for the escort."-she sat down on her desk. " and pick up your weapons ".
As they reattached the plasma rifle, The Geth considered what had happened lately and reached a consensus that this was quite the unique situation. It wasn't long before the guards returned.
"Come on Comrade Geth time to show you the beauty of our fair city built by free men!"- Leon-Guard exclaimed with a grin on his face.
"Ahem"-came a voice from behind them
"And woman"-he added.
The other two guards looked at him with confusion.
"What? I read it in a pamphlet the…what was it called…The Communist Manifesto. Some pretty interesting stuff in there."
"Sounds more like trouble to me"-said Ivan passing by him.
"Come on. What's the worst that can happen?"-answered Leon following behind him.
"Come on Geth, Daylight's burning!"-beckoned Jacob
"Have a nice day!"-said from behind them Natalie
"You too!"- the three of them answered back while The Geth simply turned and after a quick consensus waved at her.
Well, this chapter was weird for me. I think could have handled the history dump much better.
Well, what is done is done probably when I do a rewrite.
WHAT RHYMES WITH SHOES AND OFTEN GIVES BLUES? REVIEWS yeah I stole that from Three Dog sue me. Actually please dont i iz poor.
Nugger O Awesome: I probably should make a schedule but I am starting second year as said at the beginning so it's going to be a little hectic I can't say anything for sure.
scifienthusiast: I am treating the arrival of geth rescue ship as an ending kind of thing. Heat Rays sound awesome maybe it will be a modification of Laser Ice Drillers. You can outfit different automatons with different weapons make it a choice between heat rays and tesla cannons. Heat rays=anti infantry Tesla Cannons-Anti armor.
last admiral: Fine here take geez I am glad people like it but try not go berserk. JK I am happy that you like it so much
Pandora306: I was just thinking that I have a lot of ideas for Frostpunk stories but I do not want or can do myself so here is question should I make a new story where I will put all my ideas. There are so few Frostpunk stories out there 2 normal ones that haven't been updated in a while and 1 crossover that's a one shot.
Everyone else, thank you for the support. And I agree that this would require a rewrite at some point.
Au revoir or whatever them French say /This chapter was proofread by somdudewilson. Good man. (I assume he is male due to the 'dude' in his name...Though i know people who called their own mother dude so yeah)Or woman.
