Chapter Twelve
The four of them arrive in the Master's office. He sits at his high-backed swivel chair.
"Well?"
"We did it, got 'em all. Cut the head off the snake and the body will die. As soon as we dropped the one behind the Artificials, they all fell dead." 38 states, proud of herself-proud of the four of them and their hard work.
"Pity so many had to die." Once-ler says.
"They chose their path." 86 says, crossing her arms. "I'm just sad there was nothing we could do for 44-traitor though he was."
Nearly a year passes until one day, in the Grand Hall, Once-ler, Sylvester, 38, and 86 sit. A small Natural Operator stands on top of a table. She looked like a little blond girl with pigtails wearing a blue gingham dress and black mary janes.
"My Natural brothers and sisters! I have a message for each of you! Why do we let mortals in our ranks? What good has any Endret done for us?"
"What about E-6 and E-7? They take care of a lot." Says number 22, a woman with very short blond hair says. From her eyes, she was a Natural, but she sat with the Operators who had Bairns.
"Who's that?" Once-ler whispers to 38.
"That's 22, Tonfa. She had a Bairn, long ago. 13 killed him. Bastard, that Charmer. Good thing Master wiped his memory and sent him and 58 to live on Mt. Krumpet. Changed him into an abomination of a creature, too."
"Oh, I am so sick of hearing about those two! Remember E-5? How horrible she was? How could Master let her become one of us?"
"You're starting to sound like 24, 2." Another one from the table says. This one a young, orange haired man sitting with a dark-skinned man with "normal" brown eyes and curly black hair.
" 71 and his Bairn E-3, Ebesko." 86 says to a Sylvester who looks as if he could care less.
"I'm just saying, the Endrets are a waste of our power, and a waste of Master's power." Finally, a Natural who doesn't have a Bairn stands up. He's small, only the size of a boy just as 2 was the size of a 10 year old girl. A red hat dominates his head, and he wears yellow clothes. He almost appears feline, but not quite.
"Number 3, but we just call him Sam. He seems to like it." 38 says in a hushed tone.
"Master made all of us he could in the beginning. Endrets are the only way to add to our ranks." Sam says.
"Why don't they stand up and defend themselves?"
"I don't have to justify my existance to you, Kid." E-1, a young man with blond hair and a long beard says. "Now, sit down before you make a bigger ass of yourself than you already have." She jumps down from the table.
"Soon, they'll see. They'll all see how inferior Endrets are to Naturals."
Later, Once-ler walks with 38 back to his room. Something had been bothering him. The numbers seemed strange to him. Why is it he had never met Number 1? He knew there were a lot of Natural Operators, but he'd never even heard mention of a 1. The Master had to have started somewhere.
"Thirty-eight, who was the first Operator The Master made? I know they would be called 1, but who are they?"
"He is a man-sized cat in a red bow-tie with a red and white top-hat. He's a lap-cat, if you'll pardon the pun, and doesn't get out much. He lives in the central spire with The Master and attends to him. I don't even know if he's armed."
"What about Sam from the Grand Hall?"
"He's been begging for an Endret of his own ever since E-1 was made. I don't think he's suited to it, though. Little shit has a laser rifle that'll turn enemies to dust, though."