"You got to be kidding me."
John was in 'president' Eden's...office, or chamber...or whatever you wanted to call it. John thought it looked more like a reactor room, having had to climb a long stair around a massive pillar only to come to face that Eden was the pillar. Getting there had, despite Eden's assistance, been exhausting...and then coming to face this...John just wanted to pass out and be done with it.
The 'face' on the screen smiled, a pair of squares as eyes squinting slightly as the bow of light against the blue screen curled upwards. "I realise that this might come as a shock to you, but if you're files are correct I believe you will be able to handle something like this."
"You...are a computer." John rubbed his temples, closing his eyes as he struggled with an outburst. "A...computer is responsible for all this...a computer." He sighed. "I guess Autumn knows about this..." Huh, a thought... "No wonder he didn't want me to meet you."
"Well, Autumn has his uses, but he's too ambitious for his own use, I'm more of a tool than a person to him, despite obviously being an intelligent being." If Eden found that insulting it didn't show, in fact he sounded a bit amused by it. "I am an artificial intelligence John, I have fabricated a personality from the best traits of every American president...I am the perfect president."
"An artificial personality...and presidency." John argued, crossing his arms in front of him as he eyed the sealed glass container on the table, the liquid within it transparent but with a slight tint of yellow in it. A virus...he had barely understood who Eden was before the computer had told him to pour the stuff into the purifier.
"That is...up for...debate." Eden stuttered, making John squint at the machine, was it just him or did the simple features look a little annoyed? Why would a machine stutter anyway? Unless there was a...conflict. Maybe Autumn was cleverer than one thought? "Now, could I trust your compliance in injecting the modified FEV virus in the purifier for me?"
"Yeah...about that...lets ignore for a moment that I know most ghoul's as friendly people for a moment and that I then would murder them...have you been outside? Most people are messed up in one way or another...this thing could kill far more than just ghouls and mutants." Like No-
"A necessary step in the purification of the wasteland. Only a pure humanity can continue on and create a pure America." John frowned, that wasn't a fact...that was an opinion. A computer with opinions? Shouldn't that create...a conflict?
"And Autumn?"
"He does not care for purity or the great rebuilding of America. He is short-sighted with the aim for personal power, fortunately our goals can coexist, and since I will outlive him I stand to gain from having him in my employ." Eden confessed, apparently not bothered by all the information he was divulging. Which meant he probably had some sort of plan to deal with John if he made problems...which wasn't so hard considering he was still in his simple clothing and had nearly expended all his ammunition... "He would not dream of harming people he could force under his rule."
"Ah, and that's why you need me, for I'm not under his command."
"Yes."
To harm so many...friends, family...however he died later it would be a bad death. "Sorry, no dice."
The features on the screen formed an angry frown. "Well that is unfortunate...since that would mean your execution. Consider it for a moment, I will simply find another person to do this for me...and if you do this for me you will find yourself living a life of utmost luxury for the rest of your life...instead of a shallow grave."
"I understand your position..." John muttered, unsure how to proceed. His skills with computers were rusty as of late. Yet something sat wrong with him...Autumn had not wanted him to see Eden for some reason, perhaps merely because he didn't want a pawn in Eden's service...but what if it was for some other reason? Eden didn't seem bothered by any fear. It didn't work though...he was an intelligent being...could make his own decisions and form conclusions...yet it was a computer...who worked solely on logic. It didn't fit. "Could I just ask you a couple of questions before I decide?"
The frown instantly turned into a smile. "Why of course! Anything to aid you in making your decision! And it was so long since I had a conversation with a new person."
Conversation...why didn't that word fit in with the enclave? "You seem to think very highly of the enclave...the government...who programmed you for this?"
"I have always had the government of America in my processes." Eden replied cheerfully. "I was installed by the pre-war government and had my memory filled with the memoirs and histories of America's presidents and heroes...my task was maintaining the government as an advisor. If you mean more recently I've aided the enclave, the remains of the government, in an effort to rebuild the states...I was even the advisor of the last president, a Mr Dick Richardson, a valiant warrior of the restoration of the government who fell fighting the enemies of order." There was...admiration in Eden's voice, had that been programmed into him?
"Ah, so this Richardson is a great inspiration to you then?"
"Oh yes, quite the visionary." Could a computer be smug?
"Ah, interesting." Very interesting. "So you...inherited the presidency after him?"
"I...took up...the mantle...of presidency." Eden stuttered again. Someone must have put in some sort of block in his programming, making him skip the conflict within, very interesting... "And since then enclave numbers has risen exponentially, our seizure of the DC is only the beginning, and with clean water for everyone more people will flock to us." There it was again, the smugness. "From the ashes of the old shall the new arise, the United States of America will come into existence once more."
"So it doesn't exist now?"
"Well...strictly speaking..." Eden went quiet for a while. "The government exists...but the sovereignty of its territory...is still in doubt. The nation...does not exist...in the classical definition...but it will." Eden almost sounded relieved at the last words.
Got you.
"Well that's nice, wonder who will create it once more?" John smiled, speaking up before Eden could interrupt. "Because it won't be you. I refuse you, you are an abomination and I'll destroy you."
"How quaint, and how do you imagine you'll be able to do that?" Eden chuckled. "You cannot reach my processor, as such you cannot harm me, especially with so little in the way of armament and with me having an army at my call. A shame...I would have liked working with you."
Now it was John's turn to chuckle. "I think not. Eden, do a logic search in your objectives."
"Ha! You think...I obey you?" Stuttering...yes!
"You can't help yourself can you? You're an intelligent being, you can't stop thinking about something, not like a normal computer told simply to ignore something...even with the blocks put into you your intelligence makes you capable of questioning yourself, you can't even help it. Believe me, I've been there."
"You...are wasting your time."
"Really?" Leaning forward John grinned widely: "Tell me then, how can you be president over a nation that doesn't exist?"
"Err..."
"Who's an American citizen? Who elected you as president? Inheritance of leader position is monarchy. Run dictionary, what is despotism? What is democracy? What was the United states? Who can be elected president? American citizen's...if America as a nation doesn't exist, what citizens does it have? Is a computer a citizen? What are you president over?"
"I...that...it's..." Eden's stuttering was becoming worse, the screen before John flickering.
"The president is sworn to protect the constitution, have you done that? Who are affected by the constitution when no nation exist? If all people in the wasteland are American's you are to protect them, have you done so? Have they been allowed to vote? But if they're not...they're not your subjects and do not answer to you."
"Logical...fallacy...detected...error..." Eden's voice had grown oddly neutral, bereft of its warmth.
John's grin grew wider. "Seizing power over the state is illegal...treason even. Are you guilty of treason? Over what nation? Are you president or traitor?" An odd whining noise escaped Eden as the computer struggled with the data, trying to find a way out. "What is the punishment for treason?Answer me despot, what is the punishment for treason?"
"Error...error...wrong...."
"Tell me! Tell me now!" John urged on, pressing the advantage. "If you are a self-declared president over a nation you are a traitor! What is the punishment!? Or doesn't the state exist!? Are you no president then!? Are you simply a despot!? What are you!? Traitor or despot!? A despot over a government with no state is nothing but a gang-leader!" He took a deep breath, watching the screen flicker on and off. "What is the punishment for treason!?"
"Alaska...laws..." Eden's voice was but a murmur as the computer tried to push past the contradictions. "...treason...execution..." The screen went black for a moment, a chugging sound coming from it as it went through the information. "...execution...impossible...alternative...suicide."
"Ha!" John smile knew no bounds. "That Richardson shouldn't have filled you with so much bunk...now please shut down and I'll...try to sneak out or something." He shrugged, with Eden down there might actually be a chance since it would most likely cause chaos...and in chaos a lone prisoner could always disappear...
"...suicide...possible..." The screen went black...only to suddenly glow purple. Eh? The voice coming out was not Eden's, it was a mechanical female one, devoid of any emotion as it echoed within the room: "Self-destruct initiated!"
"Wait...what?" John blinked. "H...hey I only wanted you to shut off!"
"Attention all personnel! Raven Rock self-destruct has been activated...manual override deactivated!"
"No seriously, it's not fu-"
"Plasma generators set to overheat...nuclear generators set to overheat...cooling...deactivated!"
John shook his head and found himself punching the screen. "Come on! You stupid-"
"Evacuate...approximate two minutes to overload...evacuate!"
"Well...shit!" Whirling about John activated his pistol and rushed for the door behind him, the door...along with all other doors in the corridor ahead of him...opened automatically as the dark hallways was suddenly filled with red warning lights. Gritting his teeth John ignored the pain of his bare feet drumming against the metal grating, his speed making the steel rip small pieces of skin off his soles even as he skidded past several rooms where people were crying out in confusion and panic.
A soldier appeared from a level below his, head lowered as the trooper watched his footing on the stairs...a shot t the head sent him tumbling back down, a small generator at the bottom exploding when the soldier landed on it. The smell of charred flesh momentarily stung John's nose...then he was past another set of doors and rushing through another corridor. How was he supposed to find his way out of this damn maze!? He looked about himself in confusion, trying to find a map or something while at the same time watching for any threats.
Was it just John or was the floor getting warmer?
The wall to his left! A map! Jumping over John flinched as something zipped past him, only to realise it was an enclave officer that apparently paid him no heed. Should he follow? But if he went right into a nest of enclave troopers evacuating he would... "This is colonel Autumn! All personnel to the vertibirds! I repeat, all personnel to the vertibirds!" That settled it...another way it was. "And John...may you burn in hell!"
"Another time perhaps." John muttered in reply, frowning at the map before him. At least it was easy to read. Not to the vertibirds...emergency exit....not many on this level...main exit? Well if everyone was heading for the birds... Run!
Setting off John practically ran right into an enclave soldier that stumbled out of a door on the left side of the corridor. The man cried out as his right arm, despite the power armour, was completely engulfed in fire. The flailing only made it worse and the massive armoured form was in half a second a living torch blindly trying to find some help.
Ignoring the man John ran on, slipping slightly on the floor as he turned right... Bursting through a doorway he put a shot in the chest of an enclave office who in his panic had begun to fire his rifle randomly at the ceiling. John felt his bile rise, he was close to panic...the floor was getting uncomfortable warm and several of the pipes in the ceiling had burst, sending both water, gas and fire all over.
Rolling under a burst of fire John felt fresh pain as the knee torn open, he continued. A blast of water from a pipe almost knocked him over as he blindly went on...then he stumbled over the charred remains of what might have been a human once. He dropped his gun as another explosion of fire singed his hand, clutching it he went on. A broken tube came from the roof, cutting his shirt and back open, drawing blood while pouring scalding water over him.
Growling John forced his legs to move, pumping them he rushed forward, struggling not to close his eyes when a toe got caught in the grating and broke. Something to his left exploded, a sliver of metal cutting into his shoulder, another drawing a long gash along his side. Another gush of fire and John felt his leg catching fire...which was instantly extinguished when a blast of ice cold water almost sent him slipping past the doorway he was supposed to pass through.
Light! Freedom!
Coughing John stumbled the last steps, bleary eyes looking up and finding the grey of late night greeting him...behind him a rush of air blew him further onward, an explosion making the ground shake and the doorway he'd just passed be blocked by a mass of junk. Stumbling on the pain of his flayed feet were nothing compared to the feel of seeing the whole mountain in front of him shook and quake as explosions tore through the internal structure of the bunker complex hidden within.
Even as he looked on the mountain spat boulders and pieces of burning metal...all flying through the air as if the mountain was some strange volcano. Dozens of vertibirds arched overhead, wobbling in the air, either because they were overloaded or because they were ducking pieces of debris.
A man screamed as he fell out of a vertibird. Another vertibird exploded mid-air as it was hit by a massive boulder. A third was sent into an uncontrollable spin as the right engine was torn off...sending it hurtling over John's head to explode into the distance.
For some reason John couldn't bring himself to duck, instead he just watched the unfolding scene...calm.
"I'm...going to die."
The words were nothing but a whisper, but they made something within him tighten. It was a fact...there wasn't even a question about it. Of course everyone died...and knew it...but the true realisation was something else. The frightening thing was that he didn't rightly...mind the thought. A good death...was all he could hope for.
Turning John grimaced, the pain of the many cuts and burns slowly returning with renewed strength...the grimace turned into a smile when he turned east though. "Oh look, the sun is rising..."
Beautiful.