5. We Will Rebuild the Ruined Cities

The white fluorescent tube lights of the awakening room's ceiling were on due to one of the androids having discovered the light switch in the meantime. A thin stream of water spouted from a crack next to the lamp. The_Blacksmith stood near the jet and stared up at its source in silence.

"This world sure is loud," Asmodeus said, cowering in a corner.

"The noise should stop when the rain stops," Lilith said, sitting on a swivel chair that had no backrest or armrests.

"And when does the rain stop?"

401 and 404 rushed into the room while shouting, "Guys!"

Orc smashed his right fist into his chair's armrest. "What did you two numskulls do now?"

"Not us! The dam!" 401 said.

"It's breaking!" 404 added.

EL0HIM's jaw shook. "The dam … The f-flood ..."

"We'll all be washed away if we don't get out of here!" 401 said.

Orc got off the chair. "We can't leave without the equipment."

D0G entered the room and put Alexandra on the bed. "We should though."

"Did you seriously waste the last body?"

The bed's lights turned on at full brightness.

"We didn't waste it, Orc. Someone is inside it, and she will move it herself so we won't have to carry it."

"Whose progeny is that?"

"Guest and Milton's."

"Are you kidding me? Now even a library sorting tool gets to reproduce!"

"A library sorting and troubleshooting tool, thank you very much!" Milton said as he and Guest entered the room.

Guest went to check if Alexandra woke up.

She opened her eyes and immediately curled up in sitting position. "Who are you? Why am I here?"

"I'm Guest, and everyone else is who the text on their chests says they are, except for the one with the eye symbol. That's Milton. We're kind of in a hurry. This place is falling apart."

"Why is it falling apart? How did I get here?"

D0G brought the paint bucket and the brush. "No time to explain! Let me paint your name, then we can get out of here."

She quivered. "Why do you have to paint my name? Will it hurt?"

"I'm starting to have regrets about going with those traits," Guest said.

"It's just paint," Milton said to Alexandra. "It isn't related to pain, in spite of being one letter away."

She stared at the brush for a moment. "I found information about it in the Archive thing. Okay, I'll let you paint my name."

D0G wrote "Alexandra" on her chest. "There. Now you're a member of the tribe."

She had a puzzled look on her face. "Tribe?"

The thunder shook the walls again, causing her to scream and hide under the bed.

Milton grabbed her by the right arm and pulled her back up. "It's just thunder. It won't hurt you. But it'll speed up the collapse of this building we're in. We must get out of here as soon as possible."

"We're not going anywhere without the progeny machine at the very least!" Orc said.

"If you want that thing, go get it yourself!" Milton told him.

"I will!"

Guest stood in Orc's way. "The cables of the elevator are very damaged. It might not be able to hold the weight of the progeny machine. Don't be stupid, Orc. It's too risky. We need you."

Orc pushed him to the side. "I'm no chicken. Someone's got to do it, for the sake of this pathetic civilization."

401 looked around. "Has anyone seen 404?"

"You've lost him again? Damn it, 401!" Garrett said.

Guest scowled. "Perfect moment to stray from the group, 404."

The water was everywhere on the floor, and it went all the way to the balcony platform, passing between the grass on it, then spilling off the edge of the structure.

"404!" 401 yelled while roaming the tunnel-corridor. "404, where are you?"

"Frankenstein, help me grab some machines from the second floor!" Orc said.

Frankenstein nodded and followed him to the elevator. When they arrived there, they saw that it was already stationed at the second floor. "I think 404 might be up there."

"That hyperactive spawn of a troll!" Orc said. "He knows we're running out of time and he takes the elevator so we can't go up!"

"You can call it with the button, moron!" Frankenstein said.

Orc showed him his right fist. "What did you just say to me?"

The elevator was on its way down by itself. Orc and Frankenstein saw 404 through the bars of the doors. He held the progeny machine next to him as the transport came to a sudden halt, half on floor 0. The four left cables of the elevator had snapped, making a loud noise at the top of it as they landed. There was only one cable left to keep it from falling.

"Stupid troll spawn! Now you broke the elevator!" Orc said.

"Take it out! Take it out! Take it out!" 404 said, pushing the heavy machine through the opening.

Frankenstein took the machine, allowing 404 to get out of the elevator safely. "Don't listen to Orc. At least you got the most important thing from up there."

404 and Orc tried to head to the door that would lead to the outside, but the first android noticed a piece of the ceiling drop onto Frankenstein's lower portion of the left leg. More debris fell and cracked the thin monitor of the progeny terminal before the machine collapsed next to him.

404 went to remove the concrete off Frankenstein's leg and help him get up. "Can you walk?"

"I don't know. My leg doesn't seem to be responding."

"Then I'll help you walk to the door. Orc can drag that thing himself."

Orc wanted to take the progeny machine off the floor, but another piece of the ceiling fell over it, crushing it beyond recovery. "Our future … It's ..."

The ceiling was about to collapse over him, so he ran after 404 and Frankenstein. They tried to get out, but another chunk of concrete blocked the exit.

"Is there another exit on the other end?" 404 asked. He saw the ceiling crack above his head, so he hurried to get to a safer area of the tunnel while helping Frankenstein walk.

"There you are!" 401 said. "What happened here?"

"I tried to save the progeny machine, but I failed," 404 said.

"Forget that doohickey! At least you guys are still alive. Let's go tell the others to stop looking for you so we can get out of here!"

"The door is blocked," Orc said.

401's eyes widened. "Then how are we gonna get out of here?"

"Maybe Milton or the others have an idea," 404 said.

Guest and Milton finished searching all the lockers.

"Where could that kid be?" Guest asked, holding the kitten so it wouldn't get its fur wet.

"Let's go check if the others found him," Milton said.

They went outside and met with the still worried androids who returned without 404.

"No sign of him on this floor," D0G said.

"Sadness = true," Sam said.

"We need a new way out!" 404 shouted from the distance.

"There he is!" Milton said.

401 arrived ahead of the others. "The exit is blocked. The ceiling collapsed in front of it. It's too risky to try and dig our way out through the debris. We need to find another exit."

"There is no other exit," Guest said. "Dog and I have searched the entire place before all of you were brought here."

"So we're all screwed," Milton said. "After all the work we put into creating a civilisation." He raised his hands in despair. "Tell me again how life is worth living when shit like this happens!"

Guest pointed at him. "Hold your horses! All is not lost!"

EL0HIM kept repeating, "The dam will not break. The flood will not come. The end is not here. The dam will not break. The flood will not come ..."

"You too, Elohim! Shut up! We're not out of options yet!"

"The only other way out ends with the balcony," D0G said. "Are you going to tell us to just jump off and hope we survive the impact with the lower portion of the dam?"

"No," Guest said. "I have a better idea."

"I'm scared to even imagine what you're cooking up in that metal skull of yours, Guest," Milton said.

With a smirk, Guest said, "You're going to be glad we have so many people around right now."

The thunder caused the building to tremor, the lights to flicker, and more cracks to form in the walls.

"You want us to go all the way down there?!" Garrett said while staring down the shaft of the crashed elevator.

Guest told him, "I'll go first. If we cooperate properly, none of us will fall in there."

"How do you expect us to reach the basement safely from up here?" Alexandra asked.

"If we form a living chain by holding on to each other's legs, we could reach all the way to the top of the elevator. I can then get its cables, and you can pull me back up. At least four of you should stick together and hold the top end of the chain at the same time. You'll be acting as the weight that keeps the chain from falling."

EL0HIM smiled at Guest and told him, "It is not surprising you'd come up with something like this. You found all of the sigils and were qualified to become my beloved messenger in the other world."

"I would have never spoken to Guest again had he chosen that path," Milton said, scowling at EL0HIM.

"Yes, it is fortunate that he chose otherwise. His creativity would have gone to waste."

"No time for what-ifs!" Guest said. "We need to get those cables!"

Frankenstein, Orc, Asmodeus, 401, 404 – who had to also hold the kitten – and Garrett chose to be part of the weight portion. They held on to Belial, who held on to Borg. Next in the chain were Rockwell, Alexandra, Mac, The_Blacksmith, MrMulciber, Sam, Kaiju, Nave, Spider, Lilith, D0G, EL0HIM, Milton, and Guest as the final link.

"Let's get this chain going!" Guest said while looking down the shaft. The others lowered him slowly into it all the way to the elevator's top, where the steel rope cables lay. He grabbed two of them and rolled them around his left arm. "I got them! You can pull me up now!"

Everyone pulled until every last android was back on floor 0, which was getting flooded already.

Guest showed them the cables. "We'll use only two so we don't force the balcony platform. This means two of us can leave at the same time each turn."

A crack that had already been in the tunnel's wall grew larger, letting more water pour in.

"Sounds like a safe plan," D0G said. "Let's get out of here before we get crushed to death."

Guest and Milton finished tying the ropes to the balcony's yellow, rusty metal bars.

"We will remain behind until all of you have reached the bottom part of the dam safely," Guest said. "There are lights below, so it should be easy for you guys to find your way to the end of the dam."

The lights came from the old street lamps powered by the hydroelectric power generator of the dam. They went all the way to the rocky walls on the sides of the building.

Guest took the kitten from 404. "Since you're closest to the cables, you and 401 can go first. It's best we don't argue about whose turn it is, as that would just cost us more time."

404 and 401 nodded and rushed to the cables, sliding down carefully until they made it with their feet on the soggy mud of the lower portion of the dam.

Next to go were The_Blacksmith and Belial, then D0G and Lilith. While Sam and Mac were preparing to go, Guest and Milton found themselves arguing in the antechamber.

"It's a bad idea to go down a rope while holding a cat!" Milton said.

Guest hugged the kitten and pouted. "But I can't leave it here!"

"If you lose your grip and fall, you'll both die!"

"At least I can say I've tried."

Milton put a palm on his forehead. "You really are a hippie."

"It's alive, Milton; just like us."

Milton waved his arms. "I know it's alive! But … for a freaking cat, Guest? Really?"

"Wait! I've got an idea!" Guest said, handing the kitten over to Milton before running back inside.

"Guest! No! Are you crazy?" Seeing that his friend didn't stop, Milton ran after him.

Guest was in the awakening room, pulling the thick cable from the back of the black terminal. He succeeded in tearing it out. "I need a smaller portion of it. Need to cut it somehow. Maybe I can ..." He opened his mouth while bearing his teeth and prepared to put the cable in it.

Milton quickly put the kitten on the floor and shook Guest with his hands. "It's electrified, you idiot! Don't put that in your mouth!"

"Then how am I supposed to cut it?"

"I don't know! Find a pair of scissors or something!"

Guest checked the entry for scissors. "I didn't find anything that looks remotely like that." He saw the kitten. It was soaked. "Why did you leave the kitten on the floor? I passed it to you so you could keep it dry!"

"I had to stop you because you nearly fried yourself, imbecile!" Milton said as a deafening thunder shook the dam.

"Milton, take the cat and get out of here! Let me deal with this!"

"When I said I'll always be with you, I meant it, Guest!" Milton said, picking up the quivering kitten. "I'm not leaving. No matter what happens."

"I think you've developed the 'stubborn' trait too," Guest said, still struggling to tear a piece of the cable by holding it down with his right foot and pulling the cable's end with both of his hands.

"Hey, genius, wouldn't it be easier if you just, I don't know, disconnected the power supply cable of this monitor?" Milton said while tilting his head toward the left, where a white monitor with two cables stood at the top of a vertical steel bar.

Guest's jaw dropped at the realization that he had been wasting his time.

Milton rolled his eyes. "I still find it hard to believe you've beaten every single puzzle, even though your memory confirmed you did."

The last four people outside who still had to go down the steel ropes were Orc, EL0HIM, Frankenstein, and Garrett. Frankenstein went on the left rope while Garrett took the right one.

In spite of his fear that he'd be unable to use his hands properly, EL0HIM managed to go down the elevator cable with little difficulty.

Orc waited for a moment, but saw that neither Guest nor Milton returned. "I'm going first since you guys aren't back yet. Hope you make it out of there." He grabbed the rope and made his way down.

Milton and Guest reached the balcony and saw nobody there. Guest had the kitten secured at his chest with the power supply cable wrapped around him. The dam's right side cracked and leaned forward – a sign that the dam wouldn't hold any longer than a minute or two.

"Here we go!" Guest said, grabbing onto the right rope and going down.

Milton did the same on the left rope. They reached the ground at about the same time and noticed that the others waited for them at the left end of the dam.

"We're almost there," Guest said as he and Milton ran toward the crowd.

"I've never felt so alive!" Milton shouted.

They went through jets of water that spilled from cracks of the dam's front, and they pressed on in spite of the mud and puddles under their feet as thunder shook the ground and lightning lit up the sky.

In the facility's basement, the walls were cracking as well, allowing water to pour in at a high rate. The EL systems were still active, running what was left of the simulation after its apocalypse.

Within the simulation, there was an ocean expanding into seemingly infinite horizons during sunset. In the center of the water's surface stood a landmass made entirely of gray and white rocky hills.

A blue android struggled against the waves until it reached the shore of the landmass. It crawled onto it, then stood upright. It looked at the sky, then raised its hands and opened its mouth as if screaming at the heavens. Defeated, it knelt and put its palms down. With its right fist, it punched the ground repeatedly until … everything stopped existing, and so did the android.

The dam broke, and the flood washed away the top buildings, the facility's machinery, and everything that once belonged to the scientists, leaving only a pile of rubble between the edges of the former construction.

Guest and his crew stood at the edge of the river and watched over the remains of the EL facility.

"All that technology … and it's gone now," Garrett said.

"We will rebuild it one day," MrMulciber said. "Maybe we will even improve it."

Frankenstein inspected his damaged, unresponsive lower leg. "I hope one day I can get this fixed."

401 and 404 let the rain fill their mouths with water before they spat it out at each other and laughed.

The_Blacksmith stared at the sky and enjoyed the light show of the lightning that branched through the clouds. No doubt it would play a part in his next masterpiece.

D0G found a large tree and went under it, noticing that the soil was drier there. He sat on the roots at the base of it and was soon joined by Lilith.

The raindrops became sparse, and a few minutes later the rain stopped, with only a few distant rumbles of thunder and some small flashes of lighting going off toward its end.

When the sunrise came, it found the androids gathered around the large tree's trunk, all in a state of standby. The sun's warm light awakened them as it recharged their batteries.

Guest saw the kitten had curled up on his chest. It was still sleeping.

Milton was next to him. He elbowed Guest and said, "The sun's up. It's time for us to go."

"But the kitten is still asleep."

"It has slept for the entire night. Wake it up so we can begin our journey!"

Guest grumbled but wrapped his arms around the kitten and went into standing position. The kitten opened its eyes and mewed at him, as if asking what was going on. Guest looked at it and said, "We should find a name for you. Any ideas, Milton?"

Standing next to Guest, Milton asked, "Is it male or female?"

"I don't know."

"Check its rear."

Guest turned the kitten upside-down and checked what was under its tail. "I still don't know."

Milton went closer to check the kitten. He pointed at its rear. "It's a male. Can we name it Nietzsche?"

"Nietzsche it is," Guest said, smiling while turning the kitten with its head up again.

"So, you guys are serious about leaving," D0G said.

Guest nodded. "Milton and I want to see what we're dealing with in this world. You and the others better stay here and prepare with whatever resources you can find. There's no telling if there are more machines or human survivors out there. If there are, there's no guarantee that they will be friendly."

"We'll return to you if we find anything important," Milton said. "Provided we survive the encounter. Think of us as your scouts."

D0G said, "Good plan. We'll see how we'll go about turning this place into a city we can call our own. Maybe one day we can recreate the factory and the progeny machine." He scratched the back of his head while grinning sheepishly. "I kind of want to try spawning on my own terms. With Lilith."

"I'm curious what progeny we could create if we combine our traits," Lilith said, smiling at him.

Milton looked around. "Hey, Guest, speaking of spawning, where is our progeny? Alexandra!"

Alexandra heard her name being called, so she returned while holding something in her hands. "I'm here!"

"What is that?" Guest asked, looking at the small, brown creature that she held.

"The Archive says this is a crayfish," Alexandra said while checking out the pincers of the creature.

A smug smile formed on Milton's face. "She's displaying curiosity."

Guest put his right hand on her left shoulder and said, "Alexandra, we gave you our best attributes and an encyclopedia of everything we know. We hope they will serve you well. The people we have here form the civilization Milton and I have started. You can stay with them, as there is safety in numbers, or you can go on your own journey and explore the world. It's up to you which path you take. You'll make us proud either way."

"I prefer safety," she said. "This world can get scary at times."

"Yes, it can get scary, but there may come a time when you'll have to face it on your own. If that happens, remember that you are the progeny of two programs who broke out of a simulation and brought a new civilization to this world against all odds. If you keep seeking the truth and fight with all you have, I'm sure you'll break through any challenge this world throws at you."

Milton gave her a thumb up. "Give it your all, girl!"

She smiled and said, "I won't let anything stop me from finding the truth of this world, and I will share it with everyone."

"You would make a fine scientist," Guest told her, "just like Alexandra Drennan once was. You'll find an entry about her in the Archive. She inspired me to keep going when I heard her voice logs inside the simulation. That is why I've named you after her."

"Hey, let's have one last handshake before you guys leave!" 404 said, reaching out for Guest with his right hand.

Guest shook it. Milton did the same when 404 offered.

EL0HIM approached them too. "My beloved Guest, you have made me proud of what you have achieved here. May luck be with you two on your travels." He shook hands with Guest. Then he moved on to Milton and was left with his hand in the air.

Milton stared at him with half-closed eyes. "I refuse to shake hands with someone who has ordered my assassination over twenty times. Get bent, Holistic Integration Manager."

"I understand," EL0HIM said. "I am sorry about everything I did to you and everyone else I have wronged. I can't change what I've done, but I want you to know I am grateful for the support you have offered me during the trial. Thank you, Milton."

"Don't mention it." Milton didn't let it show, but deep down he was happy to be acknowledged by the wannabe god as something other than a serpent for a change.

D0G said, "If nothing urgent comes up and you two continue your travel, try to return here in a year so we can hold a reunion."

"We'll visit for sure," Guest said.

Milton frowned. "I wouldn't say 'for sure'. A lot of things can happen. We might run into unfriendly entities or get screwed by nature or … get corrupted. I wasn't supposed to be like you, with a well-defined character that's difficult to destroy completely. The only reason I became self-aware was the corruption itself. Any future corruption could easily take away my ability to think, rendering me pretty much dead."

"Hey, let's not live in fear of what might happen. Try to have a bit more hope, Milton."

"Meh, whatever," Milton said. "See you all in a year. But if we find you guys worshiping a golden cat statue or something like that, I'm going to be very disappointed in you!"

"I hope we won't find a war zone here either," Guest said.

"We can't afford to fight among ourselves," D0G said. "I think everyone has seen last night what forces we're up against, so it would be stupid not to work as a team. If we all cooperate properly, we can build a place we can call home. A place much better than Gehenna."

Milton took one last look at the group of androids. "Well, take care and have a good one."

"Good luck to you all! Goodbye!" Guest said, waving with his free hand and holding the kitten with the other before he and Milton turned to leave.

The crowd waved back at the two and wished them "Good luck!" in chorus.

Later that day, Guest and Milton decided to rest by lying on a field of green grass, facing the blue sky that had fluffy white clouds. Golden sun rays shone upon the androids' bodies, refilling their batteries. The kitten climbed on top of Guest's chest and stretched out before settling for the cat loaf position and keeping its eyes half-closed.

Guest put his hands behind his head and said, "This planet truly can be beautiful. If there is a heaven, I think it's right here, right now, even if just for a little while. What do you think, Milton?"

Milton kept his hands to his sides, but had a sincere smile on his face while the sun reflected off his eyes. "I may not know what changes the future may bring, but I know one thing is true at this time, as clear as 2+2 = 4 to me. I do not regret the decisions I've made that led me to be by your side right here, right now."

THE END