Automaton
2049 Words
Initiating…
Main core online.
Secondary core online.
Back-up cores prepared.
Units of central processing online.
Memory banks online.
Scanners online.
Initiating the main system.
Initiating system analysis.
Working under the estimated range of efficiency.
All systems online.
You have been given a name.
Happy birthday, Do. Welcome to life.
You are at the VXBT1 facility of technology development, under the rule of XVT456 overlord.
Her lenses start receiving light, her sensors detect sounds, the breeze, the flavor on her mouth that she doesn't know yet how to describe, and the temperature. It is ten degrees on the lord Celsius scale. It's cold.
"Bitter," she says. She has found the description of the flavor on her mouth in her memory banks. She has stored a lot of information about a lot of things. He stored all that information there.
One word, appropriate for him, comes to her mouth.
"Father," she lets out. Her voice is beautiful but slightly metallic. It's part of her design.
Her father nods and talks to his partner.
"What do you think?" he asks. There is no answer, but the gargantuan reptile approaches her.
The defense system should be activated, but it doesn't. Do is not programmed to attack any of them.
"Oh, she has a soul, Altair, and it was me who crafted it," he continues as if the dragon has said something.
Do detects intelligence in the eyes of the reptile. She is not just an animal, she is a superior animal, maybe superior to humans and all other races.
While Do calculates that the dragon is extremely dangerous, she notices the corpses, mechanical arms, legs, bodies, shells of steel of beings like her, many like herself. The knowledge comes to her from her memory banks.
Those are the bodies of elites, the most powerful automatons even developed. They existed only to perfect themselves and become more and more powerful. And yet there they are, countless empty shells without life, their skulls being crushed under the weight of the purple-blue knight of broken armor. And he gets closer to her.
"Precious Do," he begins. Her boundaries are shut down, and she is completely free. Even her restrictions of attacking him and the dragon have been lifted. "Do you have any idea of how wonderful you are?"
She doesn't know what to answer. And then she does.
"In your eyes, I could be wonderful, but-" she answers but he interrupts her.
"But you are wonderful, crafted by impossible machines combined with impossible powers. You are wonderful, the closest thing to absolute perfection, to the gods," he says.
"Are you a god then? Those are like me, and they are there, and you are here," she says. "You are wonderful because you defeated all of them. You are more perfect than us."
The dragon purrs, and Do knows it's agreeing.
"You will learn, Do, that it's not the case," he says. "And that's why you are here. You will help me become perfect."
Do immediately understands what he implies. "I agree, I will help you, father. If you can become even better I want to see it. I want to see how wonderful you could be."
"Let us begin then," he responds. Thirty-six years ago.
He opens his eyes again. The cocoon of magic slowly cracks, releasing drops of his immense power to the world, like beams of light. They will be nourishment for existence.
"Welcome back, father," she says. But he speaks to Altair first. Altair is always the first.
Do has discovered that he doesn't need to speak to the dragon because they have a psychic bond, but he speaks to her only because she likes to hear his voice.
"I can gather my power more efficiently and now I can control much more," he says. "Is this my potential?"
He asks the dragon and Do just waits for the answer. She has learned that in that aspect all that she knows the dragon knows too and maybe knows more.
"It's good to be back, Do," he finally says.
"Shall we proceed with the implants, father?" she responds. "I've done several important modifications that you will love."
"Yes," he answers. "Let's see what you have accomplished, little Do."
She giggles. She likes it when he does that.
"Everything will be ready one day before you get here," she tells him.
"Perfect timing as always, my precious Do," he says, and she wishes she could be there, in the Morningstar, with them so he could tap her head three times in that peculiar way of his that she loves.
While the Morningstar lands bringing her father, she remembers what happened next…
The land is black, forever under a dark sky. The sunlight never gets to those lands because of the bombs the humans used trying to destroy the automaton legions. They failed, and they all died.
Now it's always raining, and that rain melts any steel or flesh, and the vapors are toxic, lethal. Her father will only survive outside thanks to his magical armor, and his ship thanks to its magical shield. They are on top of the highest tower of the building, on the throne of the overlord. The place where most of the energy in the facility goes to.
"They have come," he says, coming out from the cocoon of power. It's the first time.
"My lord, they have come with an army! What do we do now?!" one of his servants comes into the room and informs. He looks scared, too scared.
His magical armor materializes from nowhere and covers his nudity, protecting his powerful body. Then he opens a portal, his feet leave the floors and hoovering he gets lost in the fascinating darkness inside the portal.
The automaton overlords, emperors of the machine empire, have come with their insane mechanical weapons and their countless army after just one day as her father predicted and they are bringing disruptors of magic and power. Small spherical drones. They have learned from their previous defeat. They launch those first around the perimeter, just as her father predicted.
Once in position, the drones are activated and magic is banished from the inside of the anti-magic dome that they create. But when magic is gone the link her father has with his powers disappears acting as a trigger. The land explodes behind the drones, destroying them and their dome. Then he ascends to the heights until he is a perfect target. The automatons shoot but her father summons a portal and returns their attacks. One of the overlords, the one that resembles a humanoid spider named BVG678, with four wings attacks from behind her father with its sharp limbs as spears, but the spears of her father materialize and are shot way faster than the automaton can dodge. The machine falls, turned into junk, not knowing what happened. Her father didn't even look at it, his spell was just an automatic defense.
He lifts his hand and beauty is summoned.
Nine rings, gargantuan rings of a purple-blue light, signature of his dark and unique magic, bigger than the dragon materialize surrounding him. All of them are made of billions of symbols, written in billions of ways, all connected into a wonderful spell that captivates anyone witnessing such a miracle. They are the codes and algorithms of reality itself, and they are beyond her comprehension. Then, a portal is opened and the lightning bolt falls, coming from the insides of the absolute darkness.
Two kilometers of land with half of the automaton armies are vaporized in an instant while Do, bewitched by such a mighty creature, can't understand.
How could someone have such power? she thinks.
After that, he teleports next to the overlords and speaks to them trying to convince them to join him. Do goes with her father and the overlords get marveled after seeing her, acknowledging that she is far superior to what they have achieved in two centuries. Her father speaks of progress, of a glorious purpose, but the overlords won't listen and instead, they will try to corrupt her. Just as he planned.
Now the automatons are counted by millions and they work together under the banner of prince Eltanin, lord of steel, from Dubhe,
the land of steel.
The Morningstar lands. Her father is here. Eltanin Von Draco has arrived.
They kneel before her father and the man next to him again. She doesn't know the man, nor the precious elf next to him. She can only say that he is not a regular man and that the elf is his wife. Her scanners tell her otherwise though; they tell her that they are regulars. The ones who intrigue her the most are the golden girl, an alfar no less, and the young man with the tattoo on the left side of his face; both are too beautiful.
The human says something.
"I see you… with black wings," it's just a whisper, but Do can hear the words of the blue eyes man. He is some kind of angel she has never seen, a new asset of her father.
Two wings materialize from the back of the man. They are the blackest black she has ever seen, and each feather ends in a beautiful combination of colors and shapes that resembles an eye, like the feathers of the peacock.
"I'll go ahead, lord Eltanin," he declares. Eltanin just nods while the other man, Viktor Blake, looks at the winged stranger a little bit concerned and intrigued.
"Who is that man?" Viktor asks.
"A pilgrim," Eltanin answers, in amusement. "His name is Joseph Vom Falken, and he is a mystery that I don't want to solve."
After that, they are led to the beautiful cathedral where the high cardinal has gathered all his loyal, and there he explains all the things they have made to keep peace and prosperity in the kingdom. The building is a monument to the opulence that Eltanin is admiring slowly, flying above all of them while Artorius deals with the Cardinals, consulting the alfar woman, judging the doings of the church and the knights.
"Your efforts have been-" the alfar lady begins, Do knows she is not going to say anything good, but her father has raised a hand at the same time. The alfar says what she's supposed to say. "It's acceptable."
"Thank you, thank you," lets out the now humble Cardinal. He doesn't lift his knees from the floors.
"We expect more from you," Artorius adds. "Improve the education of these people, use the wealth in this place to make their lives better. In the long term that will be a great investment, and the reward will be great as well."
"As you wish it will be, glorious lords," the Cardinal Lambert Guilin replies. Do has recalled his name.
"Now leave, our lord will meditate right now," he adds.
"As you ple-" they all are teleported outside of the room. The doors are closed and the Cardinals won't open them. Nobody but Eltanin can open. Maybe Viktor can.
Eltanin descends.
"Come, Do," he calls her, and Do obeys, leaving the poor and excited Shawn alone.
She kneels before the purple-blue prince as a loyal daughter and servant. A god must be treated with respect.
"Father," she says. Her face can't smile but her tone does the job.
"My precious Do," he says. "This is Viktor Blake and his wife, lady Alana Goldwing. He is a god, maybe both of them are."
"A pleasure to meet you, Do," lady Alana adds. "Only Viktor is the god here."
"The pleasure is mine, my lady, my lord," Do answers.
"Let's proceed," Eltanin continues. "Show us what you have found about that thing that ae all hunting."
Do nods.
"Come, Shawn, it's time," she responds.
Shawn takes his briefcase and advances to the presence of his master. It's the best day of all his life. He will tell him everything, and he has learned many, many important things.
"Tell me about the fall of the forest god, little Do," Eltanin adds taping her head three times.
"Yes, father," she responds with tenderness. She will do anything for this man. No. For this god, her god, her maker.
Without him, she would have never existed.
- Writer
