Doom World: Ans, the Green Monarch

Chapter 1: Danna

It feels warm, familiar, it feels good.

I'm surrounded by liquid, I know well that because I can feel it, I like it. My eyelids are heavy, I can't open them, then I realize that I can't hear very well; I can hear my own heartbeats, four times in a row, but I don't care. I don't care that the liquid is in my lungs and I still can breathe, I don't care that I'm n***d, I don't care that there are numbers telling me the estimated temperature of the liquid and mine, of its unknown components, telling me that I'm inside of a capsule, that I'm the subject #1. I don't care about anything, like the fish in the aquarium doesn't care about the rest of the world...

I'm good here, here is perfect.

"#1 is awakened," someone says in a language that I don't know, but is a language that I can understand. I notice then that all the symbols and the numbers that are telling me what I can't see are from a language that I've never seen, a language that I don't know, and yet I can understand it, I can comprehend it. I wonder why that is and the answer comes to me reminding me of a browser. Many answers, many explanations, but none is the right one. I understand that I shouldn't be here.

Where am I? I ask, I think and the answer comes to me. I'm in the establishment #7 of the Hexagon, a military human organization destined to protect the confederation, to protect humans in all Sithara.

"Sithara?" I pronounce. But one can't speak under the water. The answer comes again. Now I learn of the planet.

I'm calmed, I'm relaxed, even though I know I shouldn't be like this. I remember the name 'Earth'; I remember a world, my world. I think this is a dream. Data and information, researches mixed with my memories cross through my mind, reminding me of what dreams are supposed to be. I see a notification, it tells me that I have no need for sleeping, that I can't dream, it helps me understand that this is not a dream.

"#1 one is successfully awakened three weeks before the expected, we've finally accomplished our goal," someone says on the outside of the capsule, they sound excited, happy. The sounds of the exterior get to me clearly; I shouldn't be able to hear them, but I'm informed that my electronic brain makes it possible, that it is able to perform that and many other things. I can't believe it, I touch my head trying to find wires and connections, there is none; I find them on my chest and I feel the need to disconnect them all of my body. I don't do it, I know a bit about science, I let them on because they have a purpose. I touch the rest of my body even though I'm said that all is there. All is there, I'm a normal human being, but this is not my body. I open my eyes.

My vision is quickly adjusted so that I can see what I want.

Through the green liquid, beyond the crystal, my shell, two men in medical gowns are embracing each other, then to the other men and women in the room. It is a room with many computers and I easily conclude that they all are scientists and for the joy on their faces looking at me, and all the devices connected to my chest I can say that I'm their science project. It's all wrong.

Between all the joy, the doors open and a man enters. He's not happy at all; two guards come with him, his expression is cold, he is old, walks aided by a cane, and the wrinkles on his face tell me that he is the kind of man that I don't like.

"#1 can you understand me?" he says, his voice is cold and low. The people in the room is silent since he enters, I notices something in them when he speaks. They respect him, they fear him, even when he looks fragile and decrepit.

I learn his name, along with a notification which says that he's the one that I must obey at all cost, no matter what, that he is my maker, that he is my master.

I nod and my answer ignites a spark on his blue and cold eyes, but his expression remains the same, his expression doesn't show the immense satisfaction he feels. Satisfaction dies and is replaced with fear when he notices that I've read his feelings.

"Open the capsule, start the process of adaptation and training immediately, and make sure the control system works properly," he orders and the scientists start moving. "I want #1 ready for action in twenty hours."

He leaves the room after he gives more instructions. The rest of the scientists do their jobs, many of them take liquids, injections and then administer them to me, indirectly through the many tubes that are connected to my capsule; others prepare what looks like a suit, my clothes; others are typing on their computers and I get a notifications that I'm receiving information.

I smile, I am a cyborg it seems and the room gets frozen when I smile. First, those who noticed it, then those who didn't notice it, asking why their colleagues stopped working.

"#1 smiled," someone says. I see the fear in their eyes. I understand that this shouldn't be happening that I am more than what they expected.

One of them runs towards the control board on the wall. It serves to call the guys with the weapons.

"Wait!" the scientist in command of the room says.

"#1 smiled, dr. Tesla! It shouldn't be able to smile!" the first scientist says. His name is Edison.

"I have his vitals here and they are all normal," Tesla says. He is old, but he looks kind, he reminds me of Einstein… a big and strong Einstein.

"Dr. Edison, the program is running as expected. The only abnormal thing is the high brain activity, but that was under our expectations too, #1 is receiving a ton of information after all," Dr. Ford says as I receive a detailed report of my vitals in my mind, then the specifications of… of my model, of myself...

I check on the report...

I read one thousand pages in a minute…

I am a superhuman designed by the Hexagon, a being built using genetics and cybernetics. Half of my brain was replaced with an electronic one so I remain under their control. I am a weapon, I am one of nine, I am one of the two developed in this place. I am subject #1, but there were one hundred failures before me.

"Dr. Tesla, #1 vitals are not okay, adrenaline is released, heart rate has increased three times," another doctor says, a woman, Dr. Ferrari.

I'm angry, I'm scared and I don't want this control system on my head suppressing my feelings, suppressing all that I am. I've noticed it, they are controlling me, using my electronic half. I'm a monster, but that's not the worst, the worst is that I'm a puppet and they control my strings; people that I don't know, from a world that is not mine control my strings. I close my eyes expecting to wake up. I'm ready to punch myself to wake up… I'm in despair.

"Peace, patience, is not the time yet..." a voice says in my mind, a bug between the storm of information I'm receiving. It is a message. I notice the other capsule next to mine.

I see her for the first time, flowing in the green liquid, sleeping like an angel, her silver hair spread on the atmosphere of her world, the capsule, like the sunbeams… I've never seen anything that beautiful, I know I will never see anything that beautiful in my whole existence and I find my peace admiring her.

"#1 is normal again," Dr. Ferrari informs. She's pale, sweat on her forehead, but not as much as Dr. Tesla.

"Good… good," says Tesla.

Dr. Ferrari is young, she's in her twenties; Dr. Edison in his thirties. I analyze their clothing for the first time to get an idea of their culture, of the world. They are only giving me the necessary knowledge, and there is a program in my electronic half that prevents me from learning 'dangerous information'.

The program analyzes what I want to learn and after it concludes that it is not harmful to my control system I am allowed to learn and analyze their clothing.

Their technology might be superior to Earth, but their clothing is not, their designs remind me of 19th-century fashion; of their furniture designs and devices, I conclude that creativity is dead, that there is not much art in this world, and there is not, probably, right to freedom of speech and expression. I start to believe that is a doomed world. I have no idea yet.

The capsule loses the liquid and I end standing, n***d, in its center. It is bigger than what it seemed to be. Inside I feel like an animal, exposed and defenseless and I want to run, but there is no escape. I am exposed and defenseless and my only relief is that I know they need me, but it scares me because I don't know why and I'm keeping that information closed. I don't want to know why they need me because I have a feeling that it is not for something good at all.

"There is a problem here," says Dr. Edison, he's not happy. "The upload of information has just stopped, Dr. Tesla and I don't know what to do."

"By this point #1 knows that we are uploading something to its brain and is probably trying to protect itself," Dr. Tesla concludes after he watches Edison's screen. He approaches my capsule. He's taller than me. "Hey, we are not going to hurt you, we are comrades, accept the information we are giving you for it will serve your purpose, your mission."

Something, another program gets activated and I'm forced to accept the information.

I get the blueprints of the whole city we are in. It is a giant hexagon and we are on the north side. The city was built this way, it was designed this way, to resist attacks, and to sustain a limited number of people. It is an impressive design and it fulfills its purpose.

I learn that we are in the northeast corner of the continent, that we are in one of the five remaining cities of men in the world, ruled by men in the world.

The human population in the world is estimated to be just 100 million and only 10 million remain free in the five cities, the rest are slaves in the realms of the lords. I receive no more information about those so-called lords and I don't conclude that they are not humans for obvious reasons.

I receive information about the world, of the lack of sun, of the lack of food, of the crisis they live in, of all the resources destined to give me life, resources needed to sustain others that now are dying because I am alive. I learn that this is a doomed world and I start to think that perhaps I am in hell, that perhaps that's the reason why my memories are incomplete, perhaps in those memories is hidden the truth that I was evil in the Earth, that I died and I was doomed to Hell. I have no idea yet.

The capsule opens.

The scientists move to me and they dress me, a suit designed to protect my body from bullets and fire; they put my hands in gloves, my feet in boots and then they lead me to my weapon, a big, impressive, heavy weapon, a 1500 rounds machine g*n. I doubt I can lift it, but I do it without problems, it weighs 75 pounds, it is a feather in my hands. I keep in mind that I have to keep control of my strength, but the system in my head reveals that my strength adjusts automatically, depending on the situation.

I like the weapon, I don't feel defenseless anymore, I feel powerful and when they finish putting on me all the equipment, they look scared.

"How do you feel #1? Is it too heavy for you?" Tesla asks.

I nod, negatively.

"Is it okay?" Tesla asks Edison.

"We estimated that its body can carry at least four tons, Dr. Tesla. #1 is perfectly fine," Edison says.

The armor and the weapons are similar to those from Earth, but they look a bit more primitive, I guess their history is not like the history of my world, and yet, their world is doomed and they are dying. Yes, even their system has concluded that they are dying and I wonder if they did this to themselves or something else happened. The eyes of that man return to my mind, cold and merciless, afraid of me. I learn that now I have perfect memory thanks to my electronic half. But I can't remember my memories from Earth very well, I guess that's logical. Memories get damaged with time and they are never, they were never as we remember them.

"Dr. Leon, #1 is ready to perform its mission," Tesla informs and the man on the screen nods, affirmatively.

I've spent ten hours practicing my accuracy, testing agility, strength, my stamina, my reflexes. They test all the knowledge they print in my mind over and over until they are satisfied. I notice they call me #1 or just 'it', they consider me a thing, a machine.

I can see the look at me with hope. I don't know why.

"Give me control then," the man, Leon, says and I feel fear as I ask myself something that until that moment I haven't thought about: my name. What is my name?

"Transferring control," Tesla says and types something on his computer. "Done, sir."

My left pupil is shining, blue like the moon, it is sharing all that I see with that man and his voice is in my head overshadowing my own consciousness.

"Your target is in section #3, you have to kill her, no matter the cost, no matter if it costs you your own integrity," Leon says. I can see him in a small square in my visual field, in my mind; he looks like a good man, a venerable elder, but his eyes and his voice can't hide his true nature, his merciless and cold nature. "According to your own estimations, you can do it in three hours without problems. Good. Do it one hour then."

I don't answer, I'm not supposed to answer, I just start moving knowing he's watching, knowing he's analyzing every single movement I do.

And the truth is that I'm like a passenger in my own body, my electronic half has the control and it is moving to complete its mission. I am trapped here and I don't know why, I don't know how, I want to cry but I can't even cry.

"Patience…" I remember the message, the message she sent me, but it is not enough to give me peace. I'm in despair but my vitals are the same, the electronic half controls everything and I'm tempted to disappear, but that's not possible either. I'm trapped.

I can't do anything to stop my arms from killing people, guards, more scientists. I learn that they are the real head of Hexagon, that there is a rebellion and Leon is the leader in this city, I learn that Leon wants to rule and exterminate his enemies, and his enemies just want to survive. Leon knows mankind can't handle a war in its own lines and yet he wants to take over the control of all human cities, he and his colleagues are after that goal.

She tries to convince me with words, with logical arguments, but I'm programmed to obey. I don't forget her words though, none of them. She doesn't know that I can't stop and her hope shines until the very end.

"We are trying to survive, you should understand! You are a warrior, you know the disaster we are living in! Don't do this!" her name is Rose Graham, she is a politician, a leader, a good one, the information about her that I get tells me so. I can't stop my arms from holding the g*n, I can't stop my finger from pushing the trigger, I can't do anything but record every detail of the crime.

The light abandoning her eyes, the blood rolling on her skin, her body falling on the floor, like the other twenty people who were alive minutes ago; people I killed. My hate for Leon is born, but I'm his puppet, I can't do anything against him, I'm just a passenger in my own body, suffering with every bullet I shoot, with every single life I take, with every man who dies trying to kill me, men that I don't forget as I beg they could finally kill me and put an end to this hell, for this is hell.

But It never ends...

And I surrender… I can't fight…

I just observe...

"#1 is doing it great, sir, I don't think we need #2 active at the moment," Tesla says. I'm standing in the center of the room of my birth, my attention on #2.

"Danna will be awakened in three days, Dr. Tesla, get things ready," Leon declares.

"Yes, sir," the sheep agrees.

I notice it, I can sense it before everyone else does before their systems could stop it. The alarms sound and nobody knows what's happening. Suddenly the capsule #2 opens and the green liquid floods the room, ruining the electronics devices vulnerable to humidity. She's awakened, standing in the center of her capsule, like a goddess.

"#1 contain her! You are stronger!" Leon barks trying to get up from the floor, he's terrorized. Tesla had run to the nearest computer, but all of them are useless. The rest of the scientists leave the room immediately. "Contain her! Now!"

My body moves and I don't want to obey again, but I'm a passenger in this body and I jump towards her, to trap her, to make her another puppet. She dodges me, she punches me, hits my head, she breaks my skull.

"You don't want to obey, then you are free," she says. I lose the vision in my right eye, I feel the blood on my skin, I taste its flavor in my mouth, I feel the pain and my hand… my hand moves as my despaired heart beats with hope as I see how I move as I wish for the first time. I touch my head, my broken head and I cry in pain and joy.

"I'm free! I'm free!" I explode, not being able to contain my joy and she looks at me with surprise in her golden eyes, "I'm free!"

I am not what she expected me to be.

Leon leaves the room and as he does the guards enter with their guns ready to end us right there. The lights go off. The guards aren't ready, they aren't in position yet, they are forced to shoot. When the lights are back only #2 and I remain standing and I am worried for #2.

"They will control you," I tell her, my voice sounds good, I like my voice.

"They won't, I am not like you," she doesn't even look at me.

"Good then," I say, taking a weapon and as many magazines as I could. She does the same.

"How's that I can still move?" I ask her as we kill more guards in the corridor.

"My hit compromised the control chips in your brain, your vision, and accuracy, but not your motor system," she answers.

"I can't-" I try to get to the memory of the blueprints of the Hexagon establishment but I can't.

"And it damaged the interface of your subsystem too, it seems," she adds. "You are a broken tool."

"I am not a tool!" I answer, angry, reminding all the things that I was forced to do.

"Unexpected answer, unexpected behavior," she says, cold, analyzing me, for one instant I think she is a machine.

"Stop doing that," I warn her.

"Or what? You will hurt me?" she replies, now she looks like a young and spoiled woman.

"You are not human and yet you act like one," she adds. "Interesting."

As we walk I can hear more guards approaching.

"They are twenty, not a big deal," she says. She's been ignoring the fact that she is n***d since the very beginning, like I do, until that moment. I feel my cheeks burning.

"Oh, that is certainly unexpected," she says lifting her eyebrows. I avoid her eyes, her body, but she takes my face with both her hands, she is strong and makes me meet her eyes again. "You are not an animal, you have a brain. Use it."

I recover my calm. She is right. She might be beautiful, is not wrong if I appreciate that, but that doesn't mean that I have to act like an animal.

I prepare my g*n, I find my resolution, I give the guards a quick death and she does the same.

"Where are we going, #2?" I ask her.

"To kill Leon and my name is Danna," she says. "What is yours?"

I can't remember my name, but I know I had one.

"I'm #1," I answer her.

"That is not a name," she replies, lifting her eyebrows again.

"I don't have a name," I admit. She's not satisfied. "Maybe I had one, but I can't remember it, I'm sorry."

"Well…" she starts, she knows all that I've been through, it is not difficult to read that on her face. "That's half an answer, maybe the other half of your brain has the answer and I just broke it."

She starts thinking, concerned.

"Maybe," I say. We are reaching the end of the corridor.

"I'll call you Ans," she says, proudly and opens the door.

"Ans?" I repeat, concerned. "Why Ans? What does it mean?"

"Ans for 'Ans-wer', for I broke half the answer, maybe… and since it is broken right now, I'll call you Ans until I fix you and you could tell me how to address you; it's the least I can do, you helped me after all." she declares.

I smile, I laugh.

"Unexpected answer, Ans," she says.

"I like it, it doesn't sound bad, Danna, " I tell her.

She smiles.