Biodroid: Dawn of a New Age

Delay

- "Unfortunately, we won't be able to continue with the plan on time, Rob." Replied Iris to the usual question Rob made every morning.

-  "What? Why? What happened?" asked a surprised and angry Rob. Iris's statement about the delay on their plan to attack Callx mad him both angry and preoccupied, for she promised they would be able to free the town from the EDF's blindness.

- "I still don't know what happened, I'm conducting an investigation as we speak, it seems that some of our biodroid creation facilities overheated and stopped working, thus delaying the production." replied Iris while she showed the facilities that were late in their production schedule.

-"So, 2 out of  3 production facilities are behind schedule, huh? " remarked Rob, then continued "I guess there is nothing we can do, how can we prevent this from happening again? The more we delay the unification of the towns and villages, the bigger the risk of being attacked by someone or something." 

-"I still don't know what caused the overheat, as soon as I find out, I will place countermeasures to prevent it from happening again." explained Iris. 

The overheating situation was concerning, but not as big of an issue in the large scheme of things, 1 or 2 more weeks wouldn't make a big difference for they were sure that the EDF still had a smaller fleet of biodroids on account of the last time they fought and lost. It was true that the EDF couldn't create biodroids as fast as the federation, even then, the fact that they needed pilots played to the Federation's advantage for they needed training and luck, for according to Iris, it was pure luck that they were able to link a biodroid and a human to cooperate, that it was nearly impossible to accomplish such a feat. Be it luck or skills, Rob wasn't so sure that it was something that Dr. Fu couldn't accomplish, to him, she was the best developer he knew and if someone was able to make it work, it was her.

-"Alright Iris, let me know as soon as you know when we will be able to continue with the unification, meanwhile, any new developments that needs reporting?" asked Dr. Ullrich changing the subject and accepting their new course of action.

-" Ah yes, in regard of the energy problem, I have a few hypothesis I'm going to run simulations on, depending on the results, we might be able to solve that issue." Promptly replied Iris with a hint of pride in her voice.

-"Oh? Really? And what would those hypothesis be now? Huh? Care to share those brilliant ideas with me?" asked Rob with genuine curiosity.

-"Not yet Rob, I'll need to run some tests to be sure it will work, that is, if I can make any of them work. I don't want you wasting time on something I am not sure will work." replied Iris with a firm tone, expecting Rob to drop the subject. 

-" Alright... Lately it seems that you are the one calling the shots, not me, Iris." said Rob with evident disdain, he loved Iris, but he was noticing how dependent on the AI he has become in the past few years.

-"No such things! Is rather the opposite, if you don't give me any direction I would be lost doing routine after routine with no advancements. It is your foresight that keeps me evolving and thus creating new things. Don't ever say that again, I live to serve you, father." she said with a loving voice. It was true that Iris was making some decisions on her own, but all of them where to further assist Rob and make his goal a reality, it was all in the best of hopes to make sure Rob's dream of unifying the whole area becomes a reality. 

-"I know! Pay no mind to that, I'm just a bit bored lately, we need to complete the unification plan so I can start focusing on preparing our defenses against anything, speaking of defenses, have you been able to break through the defenses of the EDF's network? If we could breach their communications that should prove very advantageous to us." he said while sitting on a chair next to the main console in which Iris was running all the simulations and presenting the data to him as she spoke. 

-"No, sadly. They still upgrade their security protocols with high regularity, if I devote myself to breaking their protocols, I'd probably be able to take a hold of their network, but that would leave the rest of our issues unattended for a while. How shall I proceed?" she asked, this time making sure he made the choice of the next course of action.

-"How long can it take for you to breach their network?" he asked.

-" Not sure, but it would take some time, breaching security protocols is no small task, that Damn Dr. Fu knows her security we-...." and she got interrupted before she finished that sentence.

-" DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU EVER CURSE OR SPEAK ILL OF DR. FU EVER AGAIN! DO YOU HEAR ME IRIS?" he said with such force and anger that if Iris would have been a human she would probably flinch at the reaction, this came as a surprise to her.

-"But-..." she started saying and again got interrupted.

-"Am I Clear? Do I have to think about making an Iris 2.0? Don't make me repeat myself, AM. I. CLEAR. IRIS?" he promptly said with the same angry voice.

-"Yes...I understand, sir." she replied with a very formal tone, hiding her true feelings of anger.

-"You don't know the brilliance of her mind, she is just being...misguided... yes, that's it, once she joins our cause she will take her rightful place as the leader of our development team, the things we will create... I can only imagine..." and he trailed off as he started thinking and dreaming of a future where him, Dr. Fu and Iris created new Biodroids, vehicles, developed humanity to the highest point ever reached.

-" I'm sure she is a wonderful scientist, Dr. Ullrich." said Iris with a neutral tone as to not betray her true feelings. In the intimacy of her core, where she was free to think and plan without Rob or anyone else prying, in her secret hideout, where she plotted and planned, where she  had all of her ideas and hypothesis hidden, there, she secluded herself and let all her anger out without anyone noticing it. 'how DARE he?! after everything she has done to stop us?! after everything I have done for us, for him!! How dare he put me in the same level as that old b***h?!? How is it that I am never at her level in his eyes, when I am clearly superior?' that, she repeated to herself again and again, and again she came to the same conclusion 'This is going to continue until the day she dies... I wont become his only one until that old b***h is dead!' she kept thinking, she amused herself by imagining scenarios in which Dr. Fu was dead and Rob's only ambitions were to please himself doing whatever he wanted with Iris by his side. 

-" Iris, which facilities where the ones that overheated while creating the biodroids?" she heard him say, which prompted her to stop imagine the future and made her focus on him.

-"Ah yes, it was No.3 and No.1. " she said with the same neutral voice.

-"No.3 was the newly appointed one, right? The one Dr. Faux was supervising over the last few years." he asked quickly. 

-"Yes, that same one, I'm still trying to find out what happened there, as well as in the other one." 

-"Contact Dr. Faux, I want to hear what he has to say about this." ordered Rob without a second thought.

-"Yes, Dr. Ullrich." said Iris with a complacent tone at the same time she opened the line to communicate them both with Dr. Faux, eventually she continued "Dr. Ullrich, Dr. Faux is on the line."

-" Faux, What is going on there? Why aren't my Biodroids being created?" asked Rob without greeting, as was his usual way of contacting his underlings.

-"Yes Dr. Ullrich, I've been investigating but I still lack the evidence you require. It seems as if this production line was not up to par with the other two, so the sudden demand of extra work made them overheat, but this is a premature diagnost-..." and he was cut off by Rob.

-" Ah yes, yes, premature... Your brain is the only  premature thing in that facility... Faux, make sure you fix this issue ASAP, we are already delayed and you, of all of my 'collaborators', you are the one who has wasted most of my time with your stupid investigations and 'premature' way of thinking... Make sure you fix this by the end of the week!" said Rob in a commanding tone, as if to make sure that Dr. Faux understood he was walking on thin ice.

-"Yes Dr. Ullrich, I will  focus on the task at hand." he replied as he disconnected the call.

-" It seems he is still lost... I think he lost the will to help you, Dr. Ullrich." said Iris as soon as the call was disconnected. 

-" Yes, it seems that most of my underlings have either reached their limits or are just thinking of betraying me, like that damn Ivan..." said Rob with a hint of pain at the time he mentioned Ivan Borg, who deflected back to Dr. Fu's team right when they discovered the way to create the biodroids all those years ago, while reviving the memory of him leaving and prompting Dr. Fu to contact Rob the next day, saying that he should stop developing the biodroids, his face turned red of anger. He was sure Ivan put Dr. Fu against him, he was sure he poisoned her brain before she saw what the biodroids where capable of doing, even though he knew that they disagreed when he proposed the defense droids to Dr. Fu at the beginning, he kept thinking that once Dr. Fu saw them in action she would change her mind. 

-" If it wasn't for that damn Ivan we wouldn't be in this war... He is at fault, he is the one who turned her against me..." and he trailed off again, to Iris's discontent, he kept thinking about Dr. Fu above all else.

-" Humans cannot be trusted, not until you have complete control over the all of the villages and towns, I am pretty confident that  that dammed Dr. Faux has something to do with the recent overheating of 2 of our facilities." said Iris with an accusing tone.

-" Do you think I could be betrayed again?" he asked with genuine sadness on his tone.

-"Yes, I Think you are too caring with you fellow humans and that makes you be too tolerant, eventually, they begin to think that they can do as they please without you having a saying in that, I will focus on the investigation, I am pretty confident that Dr. Faux is the one responsible for the overheating." said Iris with such confidence that Rob began to see it as a possibility that someone else was sabotaging his plans.

-"...Yes... That makes sense... I am, after all, too caring..." he said to her, then continued  "OK, Iris, you make sure you are very thorough with your investigation, no mistakes, is that clear?" 

-"Yes Dr. Ullrich. I'll keep you updated and will send you a message when I have reached a conclusion to my investigation." she said.

After that they had more trivial conversations, mentioned a few design proposals that Rob had for the new biodroids, he wanted new models, stronger, but the proposals where quickly shot down by Iris based on the fact that stronger meant heavier, and heavier meant less energy efficient, until she solves the energy issue making the biodroids heavier was out of the question. Meanwhile, during the time they were discussing the new designs, a part of Iris was hidden inside here safe place, retracing every single step she took in the last few days, making notes of everything that shall seem odd or out of place while thinking 'Now, all I need to do is make sure that the evidence points at that damn Faux and erase all trail of me tampering with the facilities... So long, Dr. Faux.'

......