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15. Dissolving Memories

Corby made his way through the underground village, reaching the house that had the green cross on one of its doors. The door had a handle, most likely installed by the automatons.

Instead of using the handle, he knocked at the door and waited. Surely the automatons preferred politeness to rudely entering their buildings.

Someone opened it from inside. It was a bulky automaton whose armor was entirely white. Its head had pointy ears that seemed to belong to a bat. Its eyes were like two blue, flattened ovals on its silver face. The automaton's mouth was made of multiple pieces arranged in such a way to allow it to form different expressions. There was no nose present on its face. "Oh, I wasn't expecting a human to visit us," the automaton said in a somewhat high-pitched but still masculine voice. "Hi. I'm Milo."

"I'm Corby. I was sent here by Informator."

Milo stared down at the human, who could barely reach the middle of his chest in height. "Please, come in. I can tell that something is troubling you."

"Thanks," Corby said. He followed the host inside.

"Have a seat," Milo said while pointing at a trashed, leathery, gray couch.

Corby sat on the dusty piece of furniture. It wasn't very comfortable, but he couldn't afford to be picky.

Milo tilted his head to the side, observing the human. "Tell me about your problem. Symptoms and all."

Corby sighed and put his forehead on his palms while resting his elbows on his legs. "I have class 9 glowanade inside me, and I'm starting to forget recent events frequently. Too frequently for me to remain calm about it."

Milo's mouth remained opened for a moment. "Class 9 … Your brain must be frying from it. No wonder you're forgetting so much. Have you been using the glow?"

Corby nodded. "A couple of times."

Milo's eye lights gained a slant to them, making his expression doleful. "That must have caused even more damage to your brain."

"How do I get it out of my body?"

Milo lowered his ears. "I'm afraid you can't. Glowanade binds to cerebrospinal fluid. It is 'rooted' in your brain and will continue to cause damage. In about five to seven months, your brain will become like a sponge, and that will lead to your death sooner or later, depending on whether you can be kept on life support or not. Given that we do not have the medical equipment for that, you will die the moment you will forget how to breathe."

Corby buried his face into his palms. And he thought having the Triumvirate on his tracks and a backstabbing robot for a companion was a situation of pure horror. Now he had to live with the knowledge that he would inevitably lose his mind and die early.

"I understand it is a difficult situation to process," Milo said. "Not even the Triumvirate can get the glow out of mammals' brains."

Corby looked at him. "What if I let a glow thief drain me?"

The automaton shook his head. "It would just get its fill and stop."

"What if I let more of them drain me?"

"It wouldn't work, Corby. Class 9 can never be fully absorbed. Not even by a class 0."

Corby's eyes widened. "There is a class 0?!"

"Yes. White glowanade. It absorbs any glow above its class and provides a low amount of energy in return. But because class 9 is the most powerful glow that can keep generating energy, it would just be a continuous flow from it to the 0. There's just no solution other than to completely replace your cerebrospinal fluid in an instant. But it would be impossible to do that."

"So … I'm doomed," Corby said.

"You still have about five months at least to make a difference," Milo said. "On the condition that you don't use your glow to power anything up."

"How long would I be able to live if I use it?"

"Three months would be the best case scenario. It depends on how much you use it. You could shorten your life to a month or less if you push yourself."

Milo noticed the tear drops on the corners of Corby's eyes. He frowned in response.

Corby smacked the couch with his fists. "I wanted to see the Triumvirate crumble! There's nothing much that can be done in six months, let alone in under a month!"

"We all want to see the Triumvirate crumble, Corby. That's why we keep watching them." With that, Milo opened a door to the next room and revealed many pigeons that were equipped with cameras and helmets. "Our cyborg pigeons give us important information from within the city. We also have a mole there. The best mole we could get to spy on the Triumvirate."

"How did you get a mole? They weren't even on the list of creatures brought here from Earth."

"Not that kind of mole. I was referring to a person who is a spy. What makes this guy the best is that … he is part of the Triumvirate itself."

"W-what?! You're working with one of those three bastards?!"

"Bohr has done horrible things to help Kloyd and to be on his good side, but then he decided to work against the Triumvirate as soon as the offer presented itself to him."

Corby furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would that cold-hearted cyborg say no to power? This sounds like a trap, and you're all falling for it!"

Milo smiled bitterly at him. "He's only collaborating with Kloyd to stay alive long enough to give us all the information and resources we need until we're ready to strike. I know this sounds too good to be true, but rest assured he has a reason to backstab his two 'friends'. You are aware there were four people leading the colonization mission, right?"

"Yes. One of them died in an accident—"

"It was no accident, and he didn't die! At least … not at that moment."

Corby sat and watched the automaton like a kid listening to a story.

Milo continued. "I don't know if you've been introduced to Shield, who is one of the automatons built by the natives of this planet."

"I've met … Shield."

"Shield found Samsir Ivanov at the bottom of a pit. Kloyd threw him there after arguing about something. This happened while all four primary colonists were fully human. Shield took Samsir to this underground village and tried to take care of Samsir's wounds. Samsir drew on the sand and taught Shield about humans. Shield offered to bring him food and water, but Samsir declined that offer. Not taking no for an answer, Shield stole seeds, fish, and pigeons from the city and tried to ensure food for Samsir through farming. To Shield's dismay, Samsir refused the water and the food out of guilt due to being associated with those who brought extinction to the natives. Shield kept the man's skeleton in the house in which he died. Samsir's case was the reason why Informator and Shield sought me and the medical equipment. They wanted to be ready to keep humans seeking shelter alive. They also managed to get the information to Bohr, who swore to avenge Samsir."

Corby stared at the gray floor, letting that information sink in. "So Bohr lost a friend too because of Kloyd and Darienne. I understand his situation now. He has no choice but to keep up the act. Although I'm still pissed at him for sending the minotaurs after me."

Milo raised his ears. "What did you do?"

"My job! Then the explosion at Kimiatronica happened due to the Triumvirate ordering an overcharge to create the class 9 glow. I got contaminated with that glow because of it. Then the Triumvirate sent minotaurs after me and my only surviving colleague. They killed him, and I was lucky to escape with the help of … a disgusting robot that turned out to be a nightmare from which I can't get away. She followed me here, and is now restrained by one of Informator's native friends."

"Oh, the explosion at Kimiatronica. The news said no workers survived. Of course Newsflash has to feed the public any lies the Triumvirate orders him to. It doesn't surprise me that Kloyd wants to erase any witnesses off the surface of the planet."

Corby glowered at him. "Wasn't Bohr in charge of the refinery and its security?"

"Yes, but he wouldn't be so scummy as to kill his own workers. I don't think he was told about any survivors. The last time Informator spoke with him, Bohr said he had lost everyone who worked at the refinery."

Corby tightened his fists. "How can I get in touch with Bohr? I have a lot of questions for that guy."

"You'll have to ask Informator about that," Milo said. "He and Eyes deal with communication and spying operations."

"I'll go do that," Corby said. "Have a nice day."

"Corby, you really should start making plans for who will take care of you once you—"

"I don't have time for that! I need to find a way to get my revenge on the Triumvirate while I am still myself!" With that he left the makeshift hospital.

Ora had given up on trying to squirm out of the rope that denied her freedom. She watched as Eyes analyzed the video feed from the many screens on the panel of the strange machine.

The images were being captured by pigeons that flew over the city and sometimes landed on buildings to spy on the cyborgs and robots who walked the streets. Eyes used a claw of the left antler to touch a blue square on a screen that had more such squares of different colors. This formed branches out of that square over a black background. The tip of each branch had a square of a shade of blue different from others. Eyes picked the navy one, then looked at another screen where a pigeon put one of its claws in the camera's view. That was the signal that the pigeon received the command. Eyes touched a turquoise square that came out of the navy one. This caused the pigeon to take off from a building. Eyes guided the pigeon's direction by using four squares—a yellow one, a green one, a blue one, and a red one, all ordered like the arrow keys on a keyboard.

"You are controlling pigeons with that machine," Ora said. "How?"

Eyes looked at her for a brief moment and flashed a cyan light before returning to watching the video feed from the guided pigeon.

Ora grimaced. "I do not understand."

"It takes a while to learn the language of the knowledge-seekers," Informator said as he passed by them.

Ora tilted her head. "What do all those colors mean to them?"

Corby arrived and said, "I want to know that too. How do you communicate with the natives?"

Informator stopped as his expression turned from light blue to cyan. "How can I explain this so it doesn't sound overly complicated? If you look at the spectrum of all colors visible to the average human eye plus white, you could split them into seven moods. The moods are: furious represented by violet, annoyed represented by red, worried represented by yellow, happy represented by green, calm represented by light blue, sad by blue, and apathetic by white. A knowledge-seeker could feel a mixture of adjacent moods and express them through the colors on the edges of each section. The words are represented through the saturation of the color, so you'd have to go up and down on each color section to select the right word. Sarcasm can be expressed by using a color unfit for the message you are delivering."

"Sounds complicated indeed," Corby said. "How did you learn what saturation level to use for what word?"

"I observed the natives' behavior," Informator said. "They do not have the notion of question, they request directly. But they gladly gave me the information I wanted to know, even if it took several years until I've mastered their language."

"I could try to learn it, but I wouldn't be able to speak it since I don't have anything that flashes lights that vary in color and intensity."

"You could try gesturing. The natives can figure out what you're trying to say if you point to the things you are referring to. Alternatively, you could use drawings."

Corby sighed. "I don't have any drawing programs on the papyrus device. If I still had my phone, I'd use the painting app."

Informator stretched his left eye vertically while contracting his right one. "There is sand all around you. All you need is your finger or a stick."

Shield jumped next to Informator and used their antler arms to draw something in the sand.

"A flower," Corby said.

Informator's expression turned navy blue. "Do you want to see some actual flowers?"

"Sure. I used to grow plants at home."

Informator gestured with his right hand's claws toward himself. "Then follow me."

Ora was left behind to squirm and shout, "Hey! Take me with you! I want to see too!"

Informator and Shield led Corby to a house nearby. The first room they went into was a garden full of grass and flowers, all of Earth origin. At the center of the garden, on a round wooden bed with a blue mattress, there was a knowledge-seeker with damaged body. A large crack looked like a s***h on the native's head.

"What happened to that knowledge-seeker?" Corby asked.

"The minotaurs almost killed Sentry," Informator said. "Shield dragged Sentry back to the hideout. Unfortunately, Sentry was left with severe mental damage and became nearly paralyzed. Sentry loves flowers, so we gave Sentry a garden to enjoy."

Sentry raised the left antler arm and waved at Corby while trying to flash a green light. The light changed to yellow before dimming out. The antler went limp again.

Informator had a blue frown on his face. "Sentry cannot even communicate much. This is no life to live, but Sentry is scared of death. There isn't much we can do to help Sentry other than to provide comfort."

"Those Triumvirate scumbags will pay for this!" Corby said, clenching his fists.

"Oh, that they will," Informator said, his expression turning green while having a mischievous grin. He checked his own claws as if he had just painted them with nail polish. "You can't even begin to imagine just how much we have interfered with the Triumvirate's plans. The spying pigeons are but one tiny part of our pieces in this game. We have a mole within the city. He allows us to know what the Triumvirate is up to."

"I think Milo told me something about that spy you have there, but I forgot pretty much everything past the point where he explained what a mole is."

Informator had a blue frown again. "Your brain damage is getting pretty bad, isn't it? But allow me to refresh your memory and maybe add a bit to it. We're working with Bohr to take down the Triumvirate. He wants to avenge his former colleague Samsir Ivanov, who was one of the four members of the colony leadership alongside him. Kloyd attempted to murder Samsir, but failed to do so. Shield saved Samsir, but the man chose to die out of guilt for what the humans have done to the natives."

"I vaguely remember Milo mentioning that," Corby said.

"You fleshies seriously weren't made for the glow."

"Stop calling us that!"

"We automatons who possess the chips compatible with the glow can safely stay powered without the need for batteries and charging stations. We've acquired glows of class 5, 6, and 7." Green wires came out of Informator's claw tips. "I have class 6."

Corby's eyes went wide. "Did the natives give you those, or did you get them from the Triumvirate?"

"All ten classes of glow can be found in the native wildlife—the creatures you call glow thieves. But getting them to display anything other than green and white glow can be tricky. Once extracted and bound to our chips, the glow stays that class forever. The knowledge-seekers were capable of changing their glow class with a special organ inside their heads. The automaton versions of them can do the same with the help of a device meant for that purpose."

It was at that moment Corby remembered that he was doomed to lose his memories. "That device … Can it be implanted into my brain? I need it! I need to control the glow before it kills me!"

Informator shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. It wouldn't work on you. An automaton could get such an implant though. The problem is … the only remaining functioning glow regulating devices can only be found in Shield, Eyes, Charge, and Sentry. If the device is extracted, it would end in the destruction of the automaton's mind."

"Then … let me contact Bohr! Kimiatronica was his responsibility, so as former employee of that company, I demand to speak with him!"

"You're in no position to demand things of us, fleshie," Informator said with a red frown expression. "But you're lucky, because Bohr needs to learn about what happened there. Since you're the only remaining survivor, it's up to you to tell him everything."

"I'll tell him everything I know," Corby said before looking at the ground. "Or everything I can remember, at least."

"Good. Let's go tell Eyes to contact Bohr."