Chapter 45: The First Sin (Part 1)
"An entire city of PODs built right beneath the ruins of Relic City?" A2 asked incredulously.
"Yup. I was surprised too," Alexander confirmed. After his adventure underground, the trio had returned to the surface now that the source of the mysterious signal had been discovered.
Pascal and Blue (and Olive, but Alexander didn't care much about Blue's fire-breathing pet) returned to their village after POD 153 had brought them up through the basement of one of the ruined skyscrapers in Relic City, leaving Alexander to trudge back to his hovercycle he'd left by the bridge and then drive it back home and break the news to his family.
"But POD 153 is safe, right?" 9S demanded, worry over his cuddly drone partner causing him to lean towards Alexander on the couch.
Only 2B's hand on his shoulder kept him from flipping out and standing up to confront Alexander.
All of them were gathered in the living room. And by 'all,' Alexander meant it. From his mom A2, to Uncle Emil, 9S and Hatchet and Aunt 2B and Jaqueline, and of course Sebastian the cousin.
It was rare that they were all able to get together what with their busy schedules, and so Alex simply enjoyed the time they were spending together.
"Yes, POD 153 is safe, Uncle Nines," Alexander assured him, the shota-droid sighing in relief.
"Does this make the PODs their own faction, now?" Jaqueline mused to herself, before grinning wickedly. "I'll bet White will flip her shit when she finds out!"
"I do not think the PODs will separate from YoRHa," 2B said with a shake of her head. "They are a vital component within YoRHa, and will likely remain as such."
"Yeah, but from the sounds of it, the PODs don't want to be considered just another part of the Android faction. It seems like they want independence, to a degree," Sebastian pointed out.
"That's fair, and completely understandable," Alexander said with a nod.
"I just don't understand how it happened," A2 muttered, shaking her head. "I mean, the PODs have always been… well, I didn't think their AI's were sophisticated enough to develop android or even Machine level awareness."
"They're quite strange, no doubt about that," Emil agreed. "I always felt there was more to them than meets the eye. They remind me of Weiss. Though I can never be certain if that's a good thing, or a bad one…"
"Alright, then. How goes construction of New Babylon?" Alexander inquired, changing the subject and Hatchet rolled his eyes.
"It's a nightmare," he grumbled. "We don't have nearly enough architects to oversee everything, nor can they be everywhere at once. And they don't leave us engineers alone, either. It's always 'go fix this!' or 'repair that!' or even 'install this there over!'"
"That's the life of a wrench-monkey, Hatchet," Jaqueline joked. "You should have gone into my field of work!"
"What are you talking about, Jack? You're an engineer, too!" Hatchet spluttered indignantly.
"Yes, but I'm also a manager, which means I don't actually have to do grunt work," she snickered. "I can leave all that to you!"
"Jackass," Hatchet mumbled under his breath.
"That's my name, don't wear it out!" Jaqueline smirked.
"But it will be done soon, right?" Alexander hastily interjected before the two could either get into a fight, or more likely, hot and heavy make-up sex.
He was curious about the progress of the city's construction, and also a little bit eager. He'd seen New Babylon being built, at least from a distance, but to actually have it right in front of his eyes and be able to stroll through its streets was an amazing dream he was looking forward to experiencing.
"Oh! I felt something!" 2B suddenly gasped, looking down at her stomach in shock and causing Alexander and the rest to look over at her in surprise.
"What?!" 9S gasped, jolting to his feet as he spun to face 2B. "What did you feel? Electric shocks? Cramps? Fluid leakage? WHAT?!"
"The baby, I felt it move," 2B uttered in wonder, unconsciously reaching down and rubbing her swollen belly.
"Calm down, 9S, babies move around as they gestate. There is nothing to worry about," Jaqueline said with a scoff as 9S wrung his hands nervously.
"Um, but that's only for normal babies," Emil pointed out, nervousness filtering through his voice. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the new humans are growing inside what amounts to a high advanced test-tube, correct? Even if they moved, how could a baby possibly do so with enough force to make itself known to the mother through the artificial womb?"
Everyone in the room fell silent, and shared worried looks with each other. The silence and stillness was broken a moment later as everyone began to scramble about, rushing this way and that in order to get 2B to the Bunker for a medical check-up ASAP.
A2 lifted up 2B in a bridal carry off the couch while 9S darted towards the garage where the cars were. Sebastian and Emil hovered around 9S, checking on her and keeping her still and stable. Hatchet ran over to the
"Alex, drive ahead to the Bunker to let White and the medical staff know we're coming!" Jaqueline barked. "I'll call her as well, but two lines of communication are better than one. We will meet you there!"
"Got it!" Alexander nodded, before darting back out to his hovercycle. He hopped on, and cast a series of Shield spells over himself instead of putting on a helmet. He wasn't going to waste time doing so.
With a roar, he shot off down the road towards the Bunker, hurrying as quickly as he could. In the periphery, he could sense several E-type YoRHa following along, no doubt curious as to the sudden exit he'd made from his house, along with the reckless speed he was going at along the way to the YoRHa base.
The Bunker had been moved after the Phoenix Egg wombs had been perfect and started to be handed out. It was a matter of security. Now, it hovered in the sky near New Babylon, just far enough away that if it fell or exploded, the city wouldn't also be damaged, but close enough that it could oversee anything that happened near the future center of the human society.
Repairs and modifications had had to be done to it, as the Bunker was originally designed purely as an orbital space station, but now it hovered protectively – partly in thanks to advanced hybrid Machine gravitronics – like a sky fortress from that one anime Alexander had seen near New Babylon.
He reached the developed area that'd been cleared out around the city itself, which was planned to be suburban development in the future, but right now was just empty fields and construction sites.
Androids and Machines who were working in the area waved at him in greeting as he passed, though Alexander didn't return the gesture. He was going too fast to take his hands off the handles of his bike to wave back.
Near the edge of New Babylon was a sort of landing pad with ornithopters, helicopters, and Machine Floaters who ferried passengers and supplies up to the Bunker.
Alexander came to a halt at the edge of the flight pad, coughing weakly as the abrupt stop caused his chest to thud into the handlebars. Even with the magical shields, the sudden lack of motion was painfully jarring, but Alexander ignored the pain and jogged over to where an android was overseeing several others.
"Sir Spero!" the android exclaimed, snapping a salute. Alexander smothered his distaste for the subservience, and instead stepped up to talk.
"When is the next flight up to the Bunker?" Alexander inquired.
"Um, the next scheduled trip to the Bunker is in an hour," the android replied. "It's a shipment of circuit boards and mod-chips."
"Not soon enough," Alexander muttered. "Can you get in contact with the Bunker? Let them know another group is going to be coming here soon. One of them, 2B, needed immediately medical attention, so have an air-ambulance down here on the landing pad ready to go in ten minutes or less!"
"Um, yes, of course, sir!" the android nodded. "I can do that!"
"Great! Oh, and let the Bunker know I'm coming up to see White," Alexander informed him, before wrapping himself in a sheath of magic. He then floated up towards the Bunker's hangar while the android air control officer gawked.
Reaching the hangar was easy to do, although it did attract a lot of notice from the androids working within.
"Sir Spero!" A T-type YoRHa android exclaimed, scrambling over to him. "Why are you here?"
"There was an incident," Alexander said shortly. "There should be a hover-ambulance being prepped to receive a patient."
"Ah, yes, we received notification about that," the T-type said. "Is everything alright?"
"I don't know," he admitted grimly. He then looked around at the surroundings, taking them in.
The hangar was full of various hovercraft, from heavy duty haulers to sleek ambulances, all nestled in rows on the walls in specialized stacked racks, which could be rotated and move along rails, allowing multiple different vehicles to be stored inside.
As he watched, one of the racks shifted, and an ambulance was lowered to the ground. It was quickly swarmed by Technicians, who double-checked it.
A few minutes later, two H-types got inside, and the flying ambulance was dispatched from the hangar, and Alexander watched as it floated down to the landing pad. It was hard to make out, but the two cars were just barely visible down below, among the crates and boxes.
It was too far to see his family, so the human could only wait as the ambulance returned to the hangar. The sleek flying emergency vehicle touched down with a soft hiss of air as the grav-motor turned off upon reaching its docking unit.
"Get her to the emergency room!" an H-type gynoid shouted as the back of the ambulance was thrown open, and 2B was rolled out on a stretcher.
'She doesn't look to be in pain, at least,' Alexander thought as he watched her get hurried past. In fact, 2B just looked bemused by all the excitement on her behalf.
9S, A2, and Jaqueline spilled out of the ambulance, and together with Alexander, the four of them rushed after 2B.
"Only medical personnel beyond this point!" an H-type shouted at the group as they tried to follow after 2B into the medical facility.
"What's wrong with her?" 9S demanded, grabbing the H-type – 11H according to her name tag – by the shoulders. "What's wrong with 2B?!"
"We don't know," the Healer type gynoid replied apologetically. "We are running a full battery of tests on both 2B and the Phoenix Womb, and will discover what is wrong."
"Do you have any ideas what it is, yet?" Jaqueline asked, biting her thumb in annoyance. Having a malfunction in her brainchild project felt like a slight against her and her skills.
"And how long will we have to wait?" Alexander asked.
"The scanning won't take very long," the Healer type assured them. "We will scan her for errors, and will know what the issue is in no time."
She then politely but firmly told them to leave, closing the sliding door in front of them.
"So, uh, what now?" Alex asked awkwardly, glancing between his family members.
"I suppose we just… wait," A2 said with a helpless shrug. "Not much else we can do."
"Well, I'm not!" Jaqueline declared. "I'm going to find my way inside, or at the very least, get access to the data from 2B. I want to know what's happening!"
She then reached out and grabbed 9S by the arm. "You're coming with me, boyo! You still have your hacking skills, right?"
"Of course!" 9S confirmed.
"Great! Let's go find someplace to jack into the Bunker's systems. The two of us are going sleuthing!"
With that, Jaqueline dragged 9S off, though the short YoRHa android didn't look like he minded very much. If it was to help 2B, he'd do anything!
A2 and Alexander shared a look.
"Want to spar?" she asked her son. "I want to see how you've improved."
"Um, okay," Alexander said slowly, only to immediately regret it as a feral smile flashed across her face.
"I changed my mind! I changed my mind!" he cried out, only to be dragged away by his mother to a training center within the Bunker.
They say his screams echoed throughout the Bunker for many an hour…
"Phew! That was a nice workout!" A2 said, rolling her shoulders happily. "And my it seems my joints and combat systems are still in working order!"
"Yippee," Alexander drawled from where he lay on the floor of the sparring ring, panting heavily with sweat staining his entire body.
A2 had put her son through the ringer, forcing him to do numerous tests and sparring matches to her rigorous specifications. It had left the poor boy a sweaty, aching wreck on the floor of the Bunker's training room.
But by now, he'd become used to it. After all, sparring with his two E-type trainers often resulted in this exact same outcome. Didn't mean he liked it, though.
"You're the one who didn't want a guard around you 24/7," A2 snorted at her son. "That just means you have to be insanely powerful, strong enough to crush anyone who would do you harm. You need to be able to protect yourself!"
"Yes… mom…" Alexander gasped out.
"Good! Now, you'd better clean up. I don't know if White will let you play with Cleopatra if you're all sweaty like that," A2 teased. Alex just groaned but nodded weakly before pushing himself up, with a little help from his magic.
He then half staggered, half levitated himself, over to the combination locker and shower room, which had been installed exclusively for him, but in time would be used by other humans.
"Ah, this is gonna feel so good," he mumbled as he turned on the hot water for the shower.
"Whatcha doing?"
"GAH!" Alexander shrieked, jumping about a foot into the air before spinning around, heart beating rapidly as he glared at the person who'd snuck up on him. "7E?! What the hell?!"
"You've got to work on your situational awareness," the Executioner type teased. "Though that was an impressive jump. For a human."
"Thank you?" Alex said slowly as he accepted the somewhat backhanded compliment. "What, uh, what are you doing here? In my locker room?"
"I'm here to watch you shower," she said, as if that was a common thing to do.
"No," Alex said. "No you aren't. Out!"
"Ah, come on!" 7E whined.
"OUT!" he ordered. With a grumble, she left, leaving Alexander to sigh a bit in frustration.
"Damn near had a heart attack," he grumbled as he shed his sweat-stained clothes and stepped into the shower stall.
He'd been right, the hot shower felt amazing as it washed away the grime from his workout.
However, when Alexander finally stepped out, a towel around his waist, he found 23E standing guard over his discarded outfit.
"…Why are you here?" he asked slowly.
"Because Commander White ordered us to stand guard over you, master," 23E said emotionlessly.
"How many times have I told you not to call me 'master?'" Alexander grumbled.
"Twenty-six times," 23E replied, causing Alexander to blink.
"Oh, didn't know that. Well, are you ever going to?" he inquired.
"No," she replied simply, causing Alexander to sigh and curse the more fervent androids and their dogged desire to venerate him. Being called 'master' and 'lord' made him feel very uncomfortable.
'It's not her fault,' he told himself. 'She's never known anything else. One of these days, though, she'll stop.'
Aloud, Alexander said, "Why did White order you – and I assume 7E as well – to guard me?"
"There has been an incident, and she wishes for you to remain safe while she resolves it," 23E replied, taking Alexander aback.
"Wait, hang on, are you serious?" the human demanded.
"Yes."
"Then why are you telling me this?"
"The commands of a human override those of an android, no matter how highly placed," 23E replied, causing Alex to grimace.
'And there's the other reason I hope the more zealous androids stop worshipping us, because that subservience is ripe for abuse,' Alexander thought solemnly.
"What exactly happened?" Alexander demanded.
"An android has committed a crime," 23E stated. When no further explanation was forthcoming, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"I'm going to talk to White about this," he told 23E. "First, however, I am going to get dressed. Turn around, please."
23E complied without a complaint like 7E had done, and he opened up a locker to get a fresh change of clothes from within. Once dressed, he walked out of the locker room, 23E following closely behind.
"Hey, mom," Alexander said, waving at his mother. "I see you found 7E."
"Yes, we were just having a chat," A2 said, shooting a sideways glance at the short and bubbly Executioner standing beside her.
"I tried to kill her! Many times!" 7E chirped, causing A2 to sigh and Alex to blanche.
"Uh, good for you?" he said slowly. "Given the fact you are here, and mom is still in one piece, I take it you failed?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure every E-type has tried to go after A2 at least once," 7E said with a nod. "But she's a real badass. Beat us up and everything!"
Alexander glanced back at 23E, who nodded stoically, and he spotted a flash of apprehension in her eyes when she looked at A2.
"Well, that's, uh, good to know, but I'm off to find White," Alex said slowly. "You can come if you want, mom."
"Nah, I'd rather not see that stuck-up bitch any more than I have to," A2 said. "Have fun or whatever. I'm going to go see if 2B is alright."
She walked off, and Alexander resisted the urge to chuckle under his breath at her antics.
'She might try and hide it, but she still cares about each and every one of us,' Alexander said, recognizing the signs his mother tried to hide, but it showed that she was in fact worried about 2B's health through the subtle hints in her posture and facial expressions.
Still, he said nothing about it. No reason to have her go all Tsundere on them, whatever that meant.
'One day, I will have Sebastian explain his references to me,' Alexander thought to himself as he walked down the halls of the bunker towards the command room, where he figured he'd be able to find YoRHa's commander.
"Human on deck!" an O-type called out as Alexander entered the central hub of the Bunker.
"Hey. Hello. What's up? Hi. How you doing?" Alexander greeted, nodding at the different Operators, and making sure to wave at 6O and 21O, who waved back fondly. Ever since they'd starting 'dating' 2B and 9S, the two Operators had come over to the house a few times. They were nice. He approved of his aunt and uncles choices in girlfriends.
"Welcome, Alexander," White said in greeting, standing down below, her attention on the numerous holographic and wall mounted screens.
"Afternoon, White… is that a leash?" he asked, blinking in surprise at the black length of plastic and rubber that was attached to little baby Cleopatra. The cute toddler was wearing a baby-sized harness connected to the leash White was holding in her left hand.
Cleopatra didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was sitting at White's feet, gnawing on a teething ring and giggling at the shiny lights on the screens.
"Yes. It is a modified 'baby leash' to make sure children do not run off without warning."
"She's, uh, a bit young to start running or walking, don't you think?" Alex asked.
Cleopatra, hearing his voice, perked up and began to gurgle happily at him. And then she started to float off of the floor, the leash the only thing keeping her from levitating herself towards her big brother.
"Um," he uttered in disbelief, staring at the display of magic Cleopatra had just pulled off.
"Only eight months old and she's already showing signs of impressive magical ability," White said proudly. "It does make it hard to keep an eye on her, sometimes."
Cleopatra stopped floating a couple seconds later, floating down back to the ground. She then tried to crawl towards Alexander, but again, the leash held her back. After a couple tries she gave up and went back to the toys in her hands.
"I seem to recall my own family mentioning the various antics I got up to with my own magic as a baby," Alexander mused, looking fondly at his adorable little sister. "I suppose this means she will be fairly powerful, magic wise."
"So it would seem," White said, sounding like a proud, doting mother for a brief moment before she schooled her expression. "But that isn't why you're here, is it?"
"You're right, it's not," Alexander nodded. "I heard that an android has done something. Committed a crime, I believe it was?"
White shot a glare at the E-types escorting him, but they both shrugged unrepentantly.
"Yes, it's true," she admitted after a moment, clearly resisting the urge to sigh. "But we are handling it."
"What happened?" Alexander asked. White looked like she wanted to avoid talking about it, before giving in.
"Since you will no doubt ask some other android if I refuse to tell you, I will explain what occurred yesterday," White said. "Come here."
Alexander walked to her side, and when he did, a new holographic screen flickered to life, revealing the image of a Resistance gynoid. She had soft pink hair and wore orange leggings and a greasy, oil-stained white tank top. In the picture, her eyes were narrowed and they gazed off to the side sharply.
"This is Wallflower, a mechanical engineer working on the construction of New Babylon, and currently, the one being accused of theft, and murder," White stated. "She denies the accusations, of course, but there is a lot of evidence to the contrary."
"Who did she steal from? And who did she murder?" Alexander inquired, and his heart sunk when he saw it was not an android like he'd suspected, but in fact a Machine Lifeform. A Small Stubby, to be precise, and they had a few stripes of yellow paint around their eyes, almost like eyelashes.
"This is Adaline, the Machine that claims Wallflower stole from her," White said, and Alexander could see how this could become a headache.
"Run me through the whole situation, please," he requested.
"Adaline runs a bookstore in Gear Town," White explained, then when Alexander blinked at her in confusion, quickly said, "Ah, Gear Town is the name the Machines have given to Pascal's village."
"Huh, I didn't know that," Alexander mumbled. "Then again, I haven't really paid much attention to it outside of Pascal or Blue in a while. Anyways, tell me more."
"Of course. So, Wallflower is a customer at Adaline, but on Tuesday at around 1 pm, according to witnesses, the two had a fight over a rare book. Adaline wouldn't sell it, even after Wallflower reportedly begged her for the book. Eventually, Adaline told Wallflower to leave, which she did. However, the next morning, the book was missing from its spot in the store, and there was some evidence to say that it was Wallflower who did the deed."
"Did she do it?" Alexander asked.
"We are unsure. She refused to allow us to check her memory banks regarding the night in question, and she does not have the stolen book among her possessions."
"And this is a problem… how?" Alexander inquired. How did a matter over a stolen book end up reaching White of all people?
"Because unfortunately, shortly afterwards, Adaline turned up dead, and again, evidence points to Wallflower being the perpetrator," White revealed. "And this has angered the Machines. They want… they demand, I should say, a trial."
"Ah," Alexander said shortly, realizing the issue. "Let me guess, Wallflower refuses to be interrogated, and there are androids who are supporting her decision not to, which means there could be an outbreak of violence?"
"Precisely," White admitted. "I am unsure of how to proceed. I could force Wallflower to surrender her memory-data from the night of the incidents, but that would anger the androids who are already leery of the amount of oversight YoRHa has."
"Is that really a problem?" Alexander asked.
"It is," White said with a nod. "Before I usurped control of the original Council of Humanity, the one certain androids created to fool and control all other androids, the Council was part of the Army of Humanity, the main military and administrative entity that persecuted the war against the Machine Lifeforms for most of the past few thousand years. YoRHa is, by comparison, relatively new, less than a century old, yet we, through my own actions, gained enormous authority regarding everything related to the war efforts. Yet there are many Resistance androids who remember a time before YoRHa was in charge. And they resent my dominion over them."
"I can see how that might be a problem," Alexander said slowly.
"YoRHa has taken over many of the duties the old Council and Army of Humanity oversaw. This is in part thanks to you, Alexander. Your existence, and the revival of mankind, has forced many of the different factions and groups among the Resistance androids to, as some have put it, 'shut the duck up and follow orders.'"
"Aunt Jaqueline's words, no doubt," Alexander guessed. "I assume she didn't actually say 'duck,' though."
"Quite," White said dryly. "Anyways, the issue is thus; a Resistance unit is accused of theft and murder by a faction of the Machines we are currently in an alliance with. This accusation and demand for trial has ignited old, buried grudges among certain androids who do not like the fact we even have a treaty at all with Pascal's settlement."
She shook her head. "I cannot alienate our allies, for despite everything, the Machines still control a majority of the planet, even if Pascal's message of peace has pacified many of our old enemies. This dominion of certain regions means they control access to many resources. Less of a problem now that we have mining and refining operations planned for space, but still a major one, as the Machines can do a lot to hinder us. They don't even have to attack us, they can just refuse to trade and shut down all sorts of factories, crippling our own industry."
"On the other hand, I cannot ignore the Resistance androids either. They are a loud and vocal minority for now, but I am aware of the fact that even within YoRHa's own ranks there are androids who despise this peace we have finally managed to obtain after centuries of violence. If I side with the Machines, these rogue elements will definitely rise up and try to replace me, branding me a Machine sympathizer. There is no easy answer here."
"Damn it," Alexander muttered. He looked at the screens, trying to come up with a solution as he read the information himself. After a minute, a crazy idea popped into his head.
"The Machines want justice, correct?" Alexander asked. When White nodded, he grinned. "Then let us give it to them. But on our terms."
"What do you mean?" White inquired.
"I mean that I will investigate this matter myself, and then I will preside over the trial. If I order it, the androids will have to attend, won't they?" Alexander queried. "For once, their loyalty to humanity works in my favor!"
"Yes, I suppose that could work," White said slowly. "But is that wise? Our loyalty is based out of indoctrination, not programming. There is nothing stopping certain androids from trying to harm you if you make a decision they do not approve of," White warned.
"And that is why I have to do this," Alexander stated firmly. "I have to make sure that the rules are followed, regardless of who is responsible for the crimes. If I have to punish an android, then so be it. Murder and theft cannot – will not! – be condoned, regardless of who the victim was, and who the perpetrator was. Down that road lies madness. I've read the history about what happened to humanity when they decided it was okay for one group of people to subjugate another. The laws of equality and fairness we have laid out must be honored and upheld."
Alexander let out a deep breath. "The Machines are our allies. We owe it to them to honor the agreements they've made with us, and to show them androids and humanity can still be trusted going forward. And just as importantly, I must set an example for the androids and future humans. I am their role model, and my actions will influence them for generations to come. Best make sure it's a positive influence. And that means owning up to, and paying for, any mistakes that one makes."
"I understand," White said, a tiny smile creeping onto her face before she banished it. Behind Alexander, 7E squealed "So cool!" under her breath, her face flushed as she stared at the back of the human's head.
"Contact the androids and Machines, and tell them of my decision. And prepare a transport to Pascal's – I mean, to Gear Town, for me and my escorts. I have a crime scene to investigate," Alexander declared.
Author's Note:
Thanks to my two new Patty-rons, Alatoic and Thiago Silva! Soon I will be a real writer!
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