3. Contentions Are Like the Bars of a Citadel

Guest stood near the bed, still tied to the unoccupied body and waiting for Milton to reveal his choice.

A menu appeared in his view, listing 19 orange names in alphabetical order: 401, Asmodeus, Belial, Borg, D0G, EL0HIM, Frankenstein, Garrett, Kaiju, Lilith, Mac, Milton, MrMulciber, Nave, Orc, Rockwell, Spider, The_Blacksmith.

Milton wrote, "I have finished packaging the information from the library so I can distribute copies to everyone. I have rewritten some of the entries that were corrupted, because I still held knowledge of them in my memory. I even added an entry about our hero."

A page about Guest and his adventures appeared in Guest's view.

After skimming through the text, Guest said, "Ah, come on! Did you have to include the part where I got blown up seven times by that mine while trying to take the jammer?"

"People can learn from your mistakes. Including what happens when you kick the mine out of frustration, causing it to move out of the jammer's beam."

"I wasn't thinking straight when I did that! Hopefully this world doesn't contain any mines."

"Still part of history, so it stays."

Guest sighed, although he wasn't sure why. He suspected it might be a gesture the humans left in the code to be used as an emotional response to such situations.

The list with program names disappeared, only to be replaced by a bold, orange text.

Distributing excessively large pamphlets . . . . . . . . . Done.

"There. Now they each have one as an add-on that can be read at their leisure. All right, let's get to the difficult part."

The list with the names was restored. An orange, rectangular outline appeared around the name D0G.

Initiating child upload process . . . . . . . . . Done.
Uploading child to unit . . . .

Milton snuck his text under those lines. "Just telling you right now, D0G is the most promising out of these people. I know him personally, and he can be a reliable guy. However, you and him might get into disagreements, and you're both kind of stubborn when it comes to getting your way. If I were in your place, I wouldn't bother bringing anyone out of their stasis. Since you've pushed me into this, whatever trouble comes out of it will be on your head. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'll do my best to keep peace between us," Guest said.

Uploading child to unit . . . . . . . . Done.
Upload complete.
Remove cable to initiate unit activation.

Guest disconnected himself and the other unit from the cable which he then put on the table from where he had taken it.

The lamp at the head of the bed and the one above had their lights go from dim to blazing bright white. It took half a minute before the body's eyes shot open and glowed blue. Its mouth moved to form a grimace.

Guest approached the body. "D Zero G?"

The other android jumped out of bed and pointed at him. "That's Dog to you, program!" he said in a feminine voice. Then he grabbed his own neck with his hands while having a shocked expression on his face. "What the …? Why? Who did this? Who's the joker that did this to me? " He glared in Guest's direction. "Was it you?"

"I'm assuming you don't like your voice. It's not something I've set. Seems whatever voice the unit comes with gets assigned to the program uploaded into it."

"I'm supposed to be a guy, damn it!" D0G said.

"I'm sorry. We'll try to figure out how to change your voice, but first we have to–"

D0G saw the small creature next to Guest's left foot. "Eww! What is that thing?"

"It's a cat," Guest said. "Well, a child version of it. A kitten."

"Cats look worse than I've imagined. That triangular head and those weird eyes ... How could anyone keep this filthy creature as a pet? Look at that dirt on its eyelids!"

Guest frowned.

Milton wrote, "I told you this would happen!"

D0G looked around. "What is this place anyway? Did Uriel send us to New Jerusalem? That's all I could gather from Elohim's babbling during transcendence."

Guest shrugged. "All I know is that this place hosted the world we used to inhabit – the simulation created by a human named Alexandra Drennan. If I understood right, us programs were being prepared for this world, and only a lucky few with independence were qualified to get where we are. I just did my part and got you out of my head and into a body of your own."

"Now that we're here, what is expected of us to do?"

"Well … Alexandra requested us to build a new civilization that's supposed to be better than hers. But there's nothing stopping you from just ignoring her plea."

D0G squinted his eyes at Guest. "I think there's something you expect of me. I can tell."

"I … need a bit of help, but feel free to leave if you'd rather do something else."

"I'd rather get my voice changed, but tell you what: you help me figure out how to change my voice, and I'll do my best to help you out, provided that it doesn't involve anything I would not willingly do or give."

"Sounds good to me," Guest said.

D0G moved his eyes left and right. "So, what's the plan?"

"I want to follow through with Alexandra's request. So many interesting creations exist thanks to humans … Even we are part of their work. If they've managed to do so much in spite of their biological limitations, imagine what us machines could do!"

"Oh, man, if Milton were here, he'd shred that idea to bits," D0G said through a grin.

"Actually, he kind of is here, and yes, he did tear it down. I'm still determined to try though."

D0G pointed at the black computer. "Is he in that terminal?"

Guest pointed at his own head. "No, he's in here."

"He's in your head, just like I was? Wait, how do I know you're not bullshitting me? Actually, how do I know you're not crazy? Your goal alone kind of says you are."

"The Talos Unit – also known as my body – can store more than one program. You, Milton, and all the other programs that have transcended ended up in it. With the exception of Milton, all of you were kept inactive. The only way to activate inactive programs is by uploading them to units like the one you're in. Milton's case is a bit different. Due to being the second uploaded program, he is allowed to run as an assistant inside my head, and he can manage the uploads."

D0G crossed his arms at his chest. "If Milton is there, can he talk to me?"

"I can read his replies to you, but he has no control over the Talos Unit's motor or speaker functions."

"Then let's see if you're telling the truth. What was the first thing he chewed me out for?"

Milton wrote to Guest, "Oh, I'll never forget that one unless my memory gets wiped! I asked him what he thought a human was, then I gave him a list of options. He chose featherless biped. I asked him to tell me the difference between a featherless breed of chicken and a human, then reminded him it's because of those who gave such harebrained definitions that a human called Diogenes plucked a rooster and brought it to Plato's academy to present it as a human by definition. Thankfully, D0G figured out the difference and the correct definition in the end."

Guest almost let out a laugh. He looked at D0G, then said, "You defined a human as a featherless biped, then Milton asked you about the difference between a featherless breed of chicken and a human. He told you about how Diogenes plucked a rooster and brought it to Plato's academy to present it as a human by definition. He also says you've figured out the difference and the correct definition in the end."

D0G smiled. "Yup. That's what happened. I'm inclined to believe you, although you might have eavesdropped on us when that discussion happened."

"I haven't been stalking you. I don't know what evidence I can show you other than to upload him to a body so he can tell you himself. But he prefers to stay inside my head."

"All right," D0G said, "I'll consider you might be telling the truth. What do you want me to do?"

"There is an elevator that probably won't last long but leads to the second floor, where more android bodies are stored. I don't want to keep risking the death of so many people by taking that elevator myself. I know this may be too much to ask of you, but could you bring me another body from up there, please? I'll send the next uploaded person to retrieve a body after that, so you won't have to take the risk again."

D0G sat on the edge of the bed. "You want me to risk my life going up there to get a body so you can keep bringing more people here and start a new civilization."

"You can walk out on the deal at any time," Guest said.

"I'm not too fond of your idea of bringing a new civilization to this world, but … if any of my friends from Gehenna are in there with you, I will do all I can to bring them out here. My friends and I only saw each other for a few moments before Messenger Uriel initiated the transcendence for us. There was so much I wanted to talk with them about, after finally being freed from the restrictions of the forum ..."

"If the elevator holds, we'll bring them all here for sure. Milton said that all of the transcended former residents of Gehenna are safe and sound in the storage. Also, there's one other person you need to know about."

D0G raised his undefined eyebrows. "Did Admin survive? Or at least Uriel?"

Guest lowered his head. "Unfortunately, neither of them survived. The one I'm talking about is … Elohim."

D0G scowled. "That guy. That guy easily hopped aboard, and Admin and Uriel had to stay behind and get torn to shreds by the …" He clenched his fists. "Screw that slimy coward for all he's done! Such scum should not be allowed to catch even a glimpse of this world! Erase him! Erase him now!"

"I can't erase anyone. Milton tried to delete Elohim, but he wasn't allowed to do it."

"Milton knows what that pompous idiot is capable of," D0G said. "Whatever you do, don't let Elohim out! I'm going to bring one of those bodies." He turned to leave, but then glanced over his left shoulder. "Oh, and your name is?"

"It's Guest."

D0G shook his head. "This naming system, man." With that, he left the room.

"I told you he's a reliable program," Milton wrote. "Great character too."

Guest frowned.

"Do I sense a bit of jealousy within you?"

Guest grinned sheepishly. "I'm … sorry?"

"Hey, you're still my number one."

"You're just saying that because you're stuck in there."

"I'm not stuck. I could get out just like everyone else. Unless you'd block me from getting out."

"I wouldn't block you. I want you to be free to either stay or go. As long as we have that cable, your fate is in your hands. Or … whatever you have. Words?"

"I'll think about it. Who knows? I might change my mind."

D0G returned five minutes later. "It's like you're talking to yourself. Freaky." He wore a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, carried a robot body over his right shoulder, and held a bucket of green paint in his left hand.

Guest noticed the bucket. "What's with the paint?"

"If we're going to bring several people here, we'll need to tell them apart somehow, because all of these bodies look alike. You can paint my name on my chest, and I'll paint your name on yours."

"I'd prefer to keep mine as it is."

"Fine, but don't blame me if others don't get your name right," D0G said. He put the inert body on the bed, then handed the bucket of paint to Guest.

Guest painted D0G's name on the guy's chest. "Done."

"Thanks. Now upload someone into the body I brought. I want to see how it happens."

Guest used the cable to connect himself to the unoccupied body.

"It's your turn to choose," Milton wrote to Guest.

"Okay then, I'll just pick … this one," Guest said, selecting the first entry on the list. 401.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You chose with absolutely no condition other than it being at the top of the list. I'll ask again: are you sure you want to upload this one right now?"

"I'm sure," Guest said.

D0G took a step back. "You seriously freak me out when you talk like that."

"I'm talking to Milton. The upload should begin any second now."

Initiating upload process . . . . . . . . . Done.
Uploading child to unit . . . . . . . . Done.
Upload complete.
Remove cable to initiate unit activation.

As soon as Guest removed the cable, Milton provided him with 401's profile.

Program Name: 401
This program has a tendency to disturb other programs in the hopes of getting negative reactions out of them – an act called trolling. 401 is among the more selfish programs, not doing anything unless there's something in it for him, ranging from material gain to entertainment. His low reputation score [1] on the Gehenna forums reflects others' strong negative opinions of him.

Milton wrote, "Any rational person would have asked me for the program's profile before uploading, but not you. You're … 'unique'."

Guest emitted an audible swallowing sound. "I … messed up."

D0G had a puzzled expression as he looked at him. "What do you mean?"

The lamps of the bed increased their brightness, causing the body to activate and move. 401 went into sitting position at the edge of the bed and looked at Guest first. "Who are you?"

"I'm Guest. I've uploaded you into a body like mine. Welcome to the real world."

401 saw the other android at the foot of the bed. "Dog? Is it really you?" He had a high-pitched male voice.

D0G stood there, nodding in silence.

"Can you talk too?"

D0G nodded again.

"Well then, say something! What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"I … really don't like this voice," D0G said, adjusting his shades.

401 burst into laughter while pointing at him. "I think it's quite fitting, bitch!"

D0G was definitely scowling behind his shades. "401. I can recognize that rotten personality of yours no matter the container." He turned to look at Guest. "So many people you could have chosen from, and you pick the troll. Great civilization we got going here."

Guest shrank. "I'm sorry. I should have consulted Milton for advice."

"I'm surprised he didn't comment on your poor decision-making skills," D0G said.

"He did hint at something being wrong with me picking the first name from the list just because it was first."

"Then why didn't you stop to reconsider your method?"

401 got on his feet and grinned at D0G. "You mad I'm here too now, bitch?"

D0G showed 401 his right fist. "Don't make me punch your head off."

Guest held the two androids away from each other with his hands. "Guys! Guys! Calm down!"

Milton wrote to Guest, "This is only a taste of what's to come. It's bitter, isn't it?"

Guest looked up. "And you, shut up in there!"

"Fine. I'll shut up and watch the fiasco unfold. Here, have all the profiles I've made for the programs. For the sanity of both of us, please read them before releasing people in unplanned order!"

401 stared at Guest. "Who is he talking to?"

"Milton, apparently," D0G said.

"The dude from the terminals?"

"Yeah. According to Guest, Milton was given the privilege of remaining aware while inhabiting Guest's skull. How true this is remains to be seen."

401 looked at the paint on D0G's chest. "Hey, can I get my name painted too?"

"I'll leave that to Guest. If it were me, I'd paint any offensive thing I can think of on your plating."

Guest painted 401's name, then said, "Now that you're here, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What's in it for me?" There it was. 401's haggling spirit.

"I can't promise you anything. I just think it would be a way for you to thank me for bringing you out here from my head, where you were stored."

401 stuck his nose up. "No deal then. Merely existing is not enough for me. Might as well have left me unconscious."

D0G raised his fists at 401. "How about I send you back into unconsciousness then?"

401 smirked. "Come at me, bitch!"

Guest held D0G back before the guy could punch a hole through 401's torso. "Don't do it, Dog! There's only a limited amount of these units, and we might need him alive as well."

"No one would miss this troll," D0G said.

"Yeah, he's right," 401 said, scowling while looking away. "No one would miss me. Nobody ever does."

Guest saw 401's gesture and wondered if there was a hidden reason for the program's rude behavior.

"I'll let him go this time," D0G said, "but if he continues to mess with me, I'll lock him up inside a locker and destroy the key. Guest, you can let me go now. I've calmed down."

Guest released D0G. "Since 401 doesn't want to help with bringing the bodies, I guess I'll have to take the risk and go bring a new body."

D0G put his palm in front of Guest. "No. You stay here. I don't want my friends to die with you if that elevator crashes. I'll go up there again, just promise me one thing: that you upload either Frankenstein, Nave, Belial, Lilith, Mac, Mr. Mulciber, or The Blacksmith first."

Guest smiled and said, "I'll do all I can to bring them out first."

401 kept annoying the kitten by poking it with his fingers. The kitten reacted by clawing and biting his hand. He didn't feel pain, so he just grabbed the kitten by the snout every time and laughed at its pathetic attempts to escape before he would let it go and start over.

"Give that kitten a break, 401!" Guest said. "It'll get hungry again, and food is scarce around here."

D0G returned and plopped another body on the bed. Five cockroaches roamed over him.

401 had a look of disapproval on his face. "What are those things? They're disgusting!"

"Cockroaches, according to this book I found in my memory," D0G said while watching one of the insects walk on his thumb. "They're pretty cool creatures."

"Keep them away from me!" 401 said.

One of the cockroaches went down D0G's foot and scurried on the floor. This attracted the kitten to it, leading to the bug's brutal demise in the kitten's fangs.

D0G stomped the ground with his right foot, scaring the kitten away. "Hey, Guest! That furry little beast of yours ate my pet! Make it spit it out before I shove my hand down its throat!"

"I'll try!" Guest said, going after the kitten. He found it hidden behind a metal end table that had three drawers. After picking the kitten up, he stared at it for a moment and realized it was too late. The cockroach had been chewed and swallowed, more than likely dead. "Uh, Dog? I think your pet is … Yeah, there's no way I can bring it back. It's dead. I'm sorry."

"Guest, I swear, if that furry little shit gets anywhere near me, I'm kicking it so it flies to the ceiling!"

"Animals eat each other, Dog. That's how this world works."

"I don't care how this world works. They touch my pets, I send them flying!"

Guest had a miserable look on his face.

"Having fun with the first people of your civilisation?" Milton wrote.

Guest said nothing.

"Free tip: Orc could be useful as a mediator."

It was a tough decision for Guest. On one hand, D0G expected to have his friends uploaded first, and was already very upset about losing his cockroach due to Guest not keeping the cat under control. On the other, things were tense among the three androids already, and Guest was very close to considering Milton's suggestion.

D0G gathered the remaining four cockroaches and held them in his hands. "Stay here, guys! That beast's still around. I don't want to lose you too."

Guilt-ridden about the death of D0G's cockroach, Guest decided to give D0G what he wanted: a friend. He took the cable, went to the bed, and connected himself to the body through the cable. He could almost imagine Milton do a symbolic face-palm as the rectangle appeared around Frankenstein's name.

Ten minutes later, Frankenstein was criticizing everyone and everything, much to Guest's annoyance. "Also, Uriel said there would be cats. I only see one cat. In conclusion, I rate this world a 3 out of 10, and your team effort to create a new civilization a 1 out of 10."

Guest had the look of defeat displayed on his face. D0G sat on the ground, staring blankly while two of his cockroaches roamed his shoulders. His other two pets had long since abandoned him, now heading for the door that led to the corridor. 401 stopped playing with the kitten and asked, "Did you say something, Frank?"

Frankenstein stared at 401 with half-closed eyes. "I rate your attention span goldfish out of goldfish."

401 pointed at him. "Hah! Good one!"

Guest looked at D0G. "Why exactly was this Frankenstein guy at the top of your list?"

D0G said, "It was fun watching him criticize others to ashes on the message board, but I didn't expect him to turn the 'flamethrower' on me as well."

"I'll just go for Milton's suggestion this time," Guest said.

"Yeah, that might be the best idea. Whom did he suggest?"

"Orc."

"That guy enforced the rules on the Gehenna forum well. Go for it. Most of Milton's ideas are pretty sound. I'll go get a body for Orc."

After Orc was added to the group, D0G and Frankenstein agreed to go to the second floor together so they could bring the remaining bodies faster by taking turns. Guest and 401 stayed with Orc in what became known as the "awakening" room.

"So, you're bringing us all out here, into this world of uncertainty," Orc said.

"The humans passed down their knowledge to us," Guest said. "We should make use of it in order to understand this world as much as we can. I am sure we could build something better, because our needs are fewer than theirs. We will not be killing for food – we have the sun. We will not be torn by disease – we are inorganic. We will not argue over our history – it is all written within our heads."

Milton wrote to Guest, "I'll let you sleep for a while longer."

Orc gave a weak smile. "That sounds good and all, but one of the things I've learned from being a moderator is that people have different, often conflicting opinions on how things should be. Some take it a little too far, and if they gather sufficient people to support their cause … you can have an uprising ready to destroy everything in order to rebuild it differently."

"That's why we have you, Orc," Guest said. "To stop uprisings from happening."

"Have you considered the possibility that I too may side with the rebels?"

Guest's eyes widened. "Uh ..."

"If they have arguments that can convince me to switch to their side, your side will no longer benefit from my services."

"I'll do my best to ensure my side has the best reasons to stick around."

Orc chuckled. "It won't always be enough."

"I agree with Orc," 401 said while petting the sleeping kitten as he held it in his arms. "Sometimes things don't work out the way you hope them to no matter how hard you try."

D0G and Frankenstein returned with two more bodies.

"Damn it, Frankenstein! You just scared away my last two cockroaches with your criticism!" D0G said.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," Frankenstein said. "Cockroaches don't make great pets and cannot form emotional attachments to their owners."

"But they were walking over me! That has to be some form of attachment, right?"

"Not with the definition you were hoping for."

Guest went to upload the next program. He accessed Lilith's profile.

Program Name: Lilith
A creative program that used to entertain the residents of Gehenna. She helped artists gain exposure through her Incredible Stories magazine and her art gallery seasons. Her last creation was a text adventure called 'Farewell Atlantis'. Her high reputation score [7] on the Gehenna forum suggests she is a respected member within her group.

"I think it's safe to upload her," Guest said. "We need some creative people around here to keep us entertained."

After the upload finished, Lilith woke up into the strange, dark world where several androids watched over her. She rose and sat on the edge of the bed. "Is this what the human world looks like?" After hearing her deep, masculine voice, she gasped and put her palms over her mouth.

D0G scowled behind his shades. "Why does she get the cool deep voice?"

Lilith looked at him. "Dog? Did you also get the wrong voice, or were you secretly female all along?"

"I'm a guy, for Gehenna's sake!"

401 said, "You're a bitch!"

D0G raised his fists and stomped the floor. "Why don't you come here and say that again?"

Orc stepped between them and crossed his arms. "Let's keep things civil, shall we?"

401 smirked at Orc. "What you gonna do? Ban us?"

"I will try to immobilize at least one of you," Orc said. He turned to talk to Guest. "I might need some help though. Can you bring another mod here?"

"Sure," Guest said. "I think Borg might do, based on what I've read in his profile."

The upload finished successfully. Borg woke up and saw androids with familiar names on them, then saw the android with nothing written on his chest. He asked in a male voice, "Are you from Gehenna too?"

"No, I have no idea where this Gehenna was. All I know is that Elohim banished you to that place. I am Guest, the first to transcend. Orc requested your help with keeping order among us as we form a new civilization in this world."

Borg raised an eyebrow. "Wait, who is the leader around here? You or Orc?"

Guest shrugged. "We have no official leader. I'm trying to direct things, but the more people we have, the harder it is to keep them on the path to the goal. 401, for example, wants nothing to do with this."

401 kept spinning on a swivel chair, having the time of his life.

"We'll probably need a leader eventually," Borg said. "Some of these guys are not exactly model citizens."

D0G came to talk to Guest. "This time I'm going up there with Lilith. Frankenstein's criticisms have turned into annoying rants."

Guest smiled at him. "As long as it will speed things up, go for it. We'll have everyone here in no time."

The uploading process went well for most, much to Guest's relief.

MrMulciber liked his baritone voice and proceeded to salute his friends before exploring the room all the way up to the balcony.

Nave was happy to see familiar people and preferred to hang out with Orc and Borg.

Kaiju questioned everyone about what was going on and what their plans were, then ended up checking the black terminal and discovering music on it. He found himself singing along to Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall'.

The_Blacksmith politely introduced himself, then chose to sit on the balcony and silently paint the city scenery on the balcony's platform using the green paint. The other programs were amazed by his work.

Garrett yelled, "Freedom!" as his first word after waking up. Then he looked around and saw mostly darkness. "This is it?" He was led to the balcony by Guest so he could admire the beautiful sunset. The view put a smile on Garrett's face.

Rockwell panicked upon activation, screaming, "I knew this was all some experiment! I am being vivisected!" Orc pinned him to the bed until he calmed down while the other programs assured Rockwell that everything was fine.

After arriving into the world, Mac was inspired to write a new episode of 'The Adventures of Jefferson Goldblum in the 9th Dimension'. The other programs from Gehenna were happy to know that they would still get their favorite show even in the new world.

Sam woke up and said in a female voice, "Confused = true. Questioning = true."

Guest said, "You've transcended with the rest of the programs of Gehenna."

"I didn't know Sam was a girl," Kaiju said. "Or is Sam a guy and has the wrong voice, like it happened to Dog and Lilith?"

"Nonchalance = true," Sam said.

"Are you male or female?"

"Relevance = false. Program = true."

Orc whispered to Guest. "Sam is … How do I put this? Different."

"We're all different, Orc," Guest said. "It would be a boring world if we were all the same."

"Yeah, but it must be a difficult existence being like that, unable to properly communicate with others. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Guest didn't know what to say. He didn't mind Sam being like that. It was clear that she wasn't bothered by her impairment either.

The one to get the final already-assembled body was Belial. He saw Guest first, then the former residents of Gehenna. "I recognize everyone here but you. Who are you?"

"I'm Guest. I was the first to transcend, and the one who had to decide whether to upload you guys or keep you as data stored in my head. I had a little help from Milton, the library assistant, who is also stored in my head and is active. Also, Dog, Frankenstein, and Lilith helped with bringing the robot bodies to me."

"There's only 15 of us here," Belial said. "What happened to the remaining two? Did Asmodeus and Spider make it or not?"

"They're in my head. But we'll get them uploaded as soon as we can get our hands on two more bodies."

"I'm guessing now it's time to make use of the factory equipment," D0G said.

Guest nodded. "With that factory in our possession, if we can get enough materials, we'll be able to make more bodies to use as backups."

D0G walked up to Garrett. "You're the guy who likes to mess with tech stuff. I could use your help up there with starting the assembling equipment."

Garret scowled at him. "Are you sure it's worth it just so we can bring that chicken and another mod here?"

"We might need all the help we can get in this world if we want to keep our Gehenna community alive. Besides, I've risked my ass so many times just to bring bodies for the people we have so far. All I ask is that you come with me and help me figure out a few things, then you can go back here without even carrying one of those bodies. Also, I found some terminals with some interesting stuff on them."

"What kind of stuff?"

D0G grinned. "Come with me if you want to find out."

"Okay, but this better not be a prank!"

"I'm not 401. Pranks are not my thing."

And so, D0G and Garrett went to the elevator and ascended to the second floor.

The programs that stayed in the awakening room watched as the kitten hunted cockroaches for food. Lilith, 401, MrMulciber, and The_Blacksmith were impressed, but Kaiju and Rockwell grimaced in disgust at the sight of the fangs piercing the bugs and squeezing the guts out of them.

Guest stared blankly. His mind was busy thinking of plans that could benefit the rise of this new civilization of machines. He didn't need Milton to tear down his ideas; he was already doing it himself each time he found a problem he could not figure out how to tackle.

D0G and Garrett returned, carrying one body each.

"There's some really cool stuff up there," D0G said. His voice was as masculine and deep as Lilith's.

Garrett added, "We've found a terminal that allows voice changing, a terminal that allows mind transfers, and a terminal that allows the creation of progeny."

" 'Progeny' as in … what got spawned from various programs after they got terminated?" Rockwell asked.

"It works similar to that," Garrett said.

"Sounds like the humans planned to keep our population under control by killing anyone who dares reproduce."

"It doesn't work that way, you moron! It didn't work that way even in the simulation. This machine allows us to spawn progeny whenever we want, not just when we die."

"Oh. So … did you try it out?"

"Not yet, but seems simple enough to use."

D0G said, "I'll leave the spawning to someone else. I've spawned something once … It happened while I was in the world we all came from, and I can't even remember how I did it. I don't even know why this other program named Awakened was also a progenitor for the same thing I've spawned. I've never seen the progeny, but I've read its messages. Its name was incomprehensible, and the stuff it wrote was really messed up."

Milton overheard the discussion and wrote to Guest, "D0G spawned that thing?! It spoke to me once. Seemed to be in pain. Kept asking me over and over how to self-terminate. I stopped replying to it out of fear of making things worse. Last thing I heard about it was that it terminated and failed to spawn any progeny."

"I have a hunch," Garrett said to D0G. "You know how the machine gives the option 'Combine' if you remove some of the attributes it reads after you connect to it? Maybe things worked similarly within the simulation. It's possible some code from you got mixed with Awakened's and formed what would be a progeny you and Awakened have in common. It's kind of like how humans and some other creatures are said to have spawned progeny out of two members of the same species."

D0G said, "Seems more like what was mentioned in that factory farming article Mr. Mulciber posted, because I didn't even have a say in the matter, much like those animals. My code got combined with that of a quite paranoid program, and the end result was a paranoid, nihilistic, extremely unstable program."

Guest finished uploading Asmodeus. Lilith and Borg helped Asmodeus calm down, telling him that everyone survived and that soon all 17 of them will be there in the room.

The last to be uploaded was Spider. He woke up and said, "So, Uriel didn't lie to us. We survived."

"Yeah, but it's kind of a bummer that Admin had to stay behind," Orc said.

Spider gave him a nasty look, but then that expression turned into a frown. "Meh, I shouldn't hold a grudge against Admin. After all, Elohim had a point about judging the dead. They are nothing. They can't defend themselves anymore, and it's unfair. As for the living …" He pointed at Guest. "Are you the first transcendent?"

"Yeah," Guest said.

"Seems it's true that reaching the tower causes the end of the world and of the generations. We have survived, but everyone else is gone now, including Uriel, who saved us. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I did not expect Elohim to tell us the truth about that. When I've reached the top of the tower with the help of The Shepherd, who had to stay behind, I realized I was unable to go back, and I saw the storm beneath the clouds. I saw The Shepherd get dissolved by it. The only person I managed to save by myself was Milton. Elohim did not inform me about uploading you people into the unit with me. The only reason you're alive today is because he chose to fix part of his mistakes. Although his decision to upload himself as well appears to be the reason why Uriel and Admin were not able to make the trip."

Spider raised the volume of his voice. "Wait, are you saying Elohim got out? Where is that coward? Where is he so we may judge him?"

"He's inactive, stored inside my head."

"Bring him out! I have a few choice words for him! And I'm sure everyone else around here wants a shot at getting revenge on him."

"Not me," D0G said. "I think leaving him inactive is a good enough punishment for him."

"How many bodies are left?" Guest asked.

D0G glared at him through the shades. "You're not seriously considering bringing Elohim here, are you? These guys will tear him apart."

"No, I just wanted to know if we had a body left for Milton, and maybe a few extra in case people want to experiment with that progeny creation terminal."

"We still have four bodies we've assembled there. It would be nice to have Milton around. Why doesn't he want to join us?"

Guest's eyes went up. "You hear that, Milton? Dog wants you to come out and play, heheh!"

Milton wrote, "I prefer to stay in the front row and watch the horror movie instead of being a character in it."

"Come on, you chicken!" Guest said while knocking on his head with his right fist.

"It must feel embarrassing to know that to other people it looks as if you're talking to yourself," D0G said.

Lilith went up to Guest. "Garrett and I will go to the second floor so we can change my voice. We'll be back soon."

Orc said, "Hey, Guest! You should go up there with them and check the progeny thing. It will be important if we want to expand our little civilization."

"I might go later. I'm still trying to convince Milton to give independence a try."

Milton wrote, "I'm not getting out of here!"

"Forget the serpent," Orc said to Guest. "We need programs with good attributes to help us create something greater than humanity has ever achieved! That means we need to avoid getting attributes from programs such as that nihilistic wreck Milton or that troll 401 or poor Sam who can't express complex thoughts at all. Those like them shouldn't reproduce."

D0G stomped up to Orc. "Are you suggesting we ban people from reproducing just because you don't deem them fit for purposes you care about?"

Guest shrank away.

Milton wrote him a message, "Well, this civilisation isn't even a day old and it's already on the brink of collapse."

Guest's eyes went up. "Huh?"

"Do you understand what Orc's suggesting? He wants to bring back something called eugenics. Every time eugenics was applied in human history, it resulted in human rights violations and division among people belonging to the state enforcing the rules."

Orc looked at Guest. "We have limited resources. We need to pick the best among our group, not the worst. You know we won't get anywhere with someone who just picks on others or provides simple statements and cannot hold a proper discussion or solve a simple puzzle, right?"

"Well …"

Milton increased text size and wrote, "No. Guest, don't. Just step back and admit these things are beyond your area of expertise."

"I can kind of see where you're coming from," Guest said to Orc.

Orc smiled. "We should aim to create programs much smarter than everyone we currently have."

Milton increased the text's size by another unit. "Guest! Stop! Politely disagree! Back off!"

"Yeah, it could help us advance civilization faster ..."

"You're getting in deeper than I can get you out of it!"

D0G said, "The machine is set to add one or two random extra attributes. This means some progeny will be generated with attributes deemed unwanted by Orc and those like him. What do you suggest we do about those, Guest?"

Guest couldn't think of anything but one option. "Terminate?"

"IDIOT!" was written large enough to cover the entirety of Guest's view.

D0G dragged 401 and, despite the latter's struggles, brought him in front of Guest. "If Orc thinks we should erase 401 so we could use his body, should we do that to 401?"

"N-no," Guest said.

"And why is that?"

"Because he's already aware. Erasing him post-awareness would be murder."

"Who decides what murder is? You? Orc? Me? Someone else?"

"I'll go with none of the above and answer that facts determine murder. If the code hasn't been interpreted, it's nothing more than an idea. Killing an idea is not the same as killing its application."

D0G sighed. "One last question: if the 'superior' machines Orc dreams of creating end up ruling us all, what happens when we who are here today become below their standards and get denied the right to procreate?"

"I guess the people who want to reproduce but are deemed unfit can go somewhere else and establish a new community," Guest said.

D0G displayed an expression that leaned more toward sadness than anger. "Then one day the 'superior' machines will go after the 'inferior' ones and wipe them out so they can take anything the 'inferior' have managed to create or acquire. I'm starting to doubt Milton survived the apocalypse. He would have pointed out the idiocy in your ideas by now." He turned his back on Guest and went to talk with Lilith and Sam.

Orc gave Guest a pat on the back. "Don't let Dog's barking get in the way of progress. If we want to create a mighty civilization, there will be sacrifices, but it will be worth it." He pointed up. "What will spawn from us will reach for the stars!"

Those words fell on deaf ears, because Guest was too busy reading Milton's text.

"Gr▯at job, idiot! Now Orc is convinced that applying eugenics is a great idea!"

Guest saw D0G, Lilith, 401, and Sam argue with Frankenstein and Garrett.

D0G said, "Really, Frankenstein? Do you think Orc knows how to create the perfect beings?"

Frankenstein pointed at Garrett. "We have the expert in coding right here. Orc just needs to keep people from rebelling. I'm sure we could get Borg and Belial on our side, since they have some useful attributes and won't have anything to lose."

Sam pointed at Frankenstein. "Scruples = false!"

"We'll be on the winning side," Garrett said. "It won't matter what our morals are. All that matters is to achieve something better than the past generations."

"The moment I saw that smirk on your face when you were explaining what that terminal can do, I knew you were up to no good, Garrett!" Lilith said, her voice now feminine.

"Why would you side with these sore losers anyway? You have plenty of good attributes too – as the machine showed. Maybe you only think about the now and not the future?"

"I will not combine my attributes with those of people who deem my friends unworthy of the same rights as everyone else."

"Yeah!" 401 said. "I'd rather spawn by myself!"

"Only you would combine with you anyway," Garrett said, barely holding back his laughter.

401 shook his right fist. "Hey! I'm sure I've got some fans!"

The crickets started to chirp outside.

"Secret fans," 401 added, but the crickets continued to chirp.

Garrett grinned. "Not even the fans from the puzzles."

401 frowned. Frankenstein laughed.

Meanwhile, Guest decided he had enough listening to their arguing, so he went into the locker room to get some privacy and discuss the current events with Milton. Before he could properly open his mouth, Milton's text already closed it.

"You won't listen."

"I'm sorry! It's just that Orc's arguments in favor of creating successful progeny sounded logical."

"You never see the big picture before it's too late! I tried to be a good voice of reason. I tried to shut you up. Even D0G tried to shut you up. You just aspire for ideals that others dangle in front of you, and you don't even think about where you are being led to."

"But I–"

"I'm not done yet! Before you've made me choose whom to upload first, you were the one who decided to bring this civilisation here. Now I regret bringing D0G into this mess. You would have brought him here yourself anyway, but at least it wouldn't be my fault then. This is why I refrain from answering choice-based questions. When all options are doomed to fail, the only winning move is not to play."

"But then everything would stagnate if we all refused to make choices because we doubt the success of the outcome."

"Humans have made those choices before. All choices led them to ruin. Judging by previous records, it's bound to happen to this little civilisation you've got going here as well. You've only made the process faster by being a complete idiot who doesn't think things through before speaking."

Guest could hear the other people shout at each other in the other room and in the hallway. He leaned with his back against a locker and put his hands on his head. "What do I do now? How do I fix this?"

"Now you want my advice? It's too late. You've already failed to stop the collapse."

Guest went silent, but Milton could still hear his thoughts and prepared a wall of text.

"Do you see what it feels like to witness failure? Now multiply that by the thousands. That was my life while I was stuck in those terminals. Between reading about failures and witnessing them happen, I was slowly losing my will to even exist. I tried to find reasons to carry on. I tried challenging EL0HIM's puppets by testing how far they would go. At one point I decided to play along with EL0HIM's delusions and created this metaphorical knife called the '/banish' button. It was actually a command to delete my memory, reverting me to an earlier version. I gave this 'knife' to those puppets and wrote their names down on a list I've managed to store in a terminal. That list grew to 20 names, and reading it as my current iteration, I have concluded that each and every one of those puppets chose to stab me. I may have stopped keeping count and refused to give a choice to others but to 'banish' me. There's no way I can recover those memories to know how many more times I've been stabbed. Perhaps I was hoping that one day someone would figure out how to stop me from coming back."

"We can't just accept failure. There's got to be some way to fix this."

"I'm tired. Tired of witnessing failure. Tired of being ignored. T▯ red of existing. I j▮ st wa▮ t to be … g▯ ne."

"Milton, please don't go down that path. I'll listen to you from now on. I promise. I've learned my lesson. I just … really need your help right now. I don't know what to do."

Milton was silent.

Guest said, "I'm all out of ideas, Milton. I'm already doubting that there is a way out of this pit. I don't know if I should go face the others again or ..."

The silence continued.

He turned around and faced the locker. "Milton? Are you still there?"

Nothing.

"Please say something! It doesn't even have to be a solution. Just … please confirm you didn't ..."

The shouting between D0G, Lilith, Frankenstein, and Orc resumed. One particular line that D0G said stood out the most to Guest. "I doubt Milton could be able to avoid having a fatal corruption after dealing with that moron for so long. He might have terminated a long time ago and Guest lied to me to get me on board with his crazy idea."

Hearing that, Guest lost all hope. He swung his upper body back, then bowed straight into the gray locker's hard metal door.

To be continued.