Chapter 16: The Rise of the Machines
“So, where to next? I’m sick of the cold temperature around here.”
Reed quickly turned up the Crimson Spinner’s engine and prepped it for launch. Jaden and Gavin were both with him in the cockpit and they began to brainstorm on their next destination.
“What other options do we have Reed?”
“Well, other than the backwater Mannihilators…”
“Hey!” Gavin exclaimed.
“Joking…joking. As I was saying, we can get help from aliens. Heck, we can even try getting help from sirens, elves, ethereal…”
“Whoa! Whoa hold on there Reed…”
“What is it with me and being interrupted each time I talk?”
“Sorry Reed but, what are you talking about? I mean, elves…ethereal…”
“Gosh, you really have been living under a rock have you Jaden? Don’t you know that there are more than just us humans, VX Synthetics, sirens and aliens right?”
To prove her ignorance, Jaden nodded her head and Reed, somewhat annoyed, sighed.
“I suggest you speak to that pet robot of yours if you want to know more. He seems to know everything that’s going on around here. So, back to the original question…again. Where should we head to next?”
“Reed, you sound pretty confident. Are you sure those races you mentioned are willing to help us? I mean, elves have a bad history with Salvager humans and ethereal are, well, neutral.”
“Confidence is my charm Gavin. After all, better to try then do nothing right? So, back to the question…again! See what I mean Jaden when I said that no one listens to me?”
Jaden chuckled and replied, “Yeah I really see what you mean.”
“Hey you’re laughing. Never heard you laugh before…I like it.”
“Right…now…back to the question.”
“Hey! I was supposed to say that Jaden.”
“I would prefer gaining full human support before we turn to the non-humans. I suggest the Qurrentines or Dissidian Tribals.”
“No Gavin. I would rather not go back to Qurrentine.” Jaden retorted while her radiant smile vanished along with her mood. Traumatic memories, which she thought was long gone, returned.
“Why not Ja…oh right. Viper attacked your family.”
“I don’t want to return to the site of such horrors.”
“Jaden, I understand how you feel. I really do. But, losing those we hold dear is a trial of life itself and you need to learn to let go of it. Besides, think about the future ahead of us. We need help.”
Jaden let out a deep sigh, unhappy that Gavin was somewhat successful in convincing her. She thought hard about the decision. The memories of Dark Viper ending her mother’s life, along with the corpses of her friends, made her feel depressed and moody. The last thing she wants is to relive it. However, when she turned to look at Reed’s worried expression, she remembered when she first began this journey.
She remembered the fun little ramblings she had with the new friends she made. She recalled the hardships that they went through together and though it barely lasted longer than a month, she whispered to herself, “It’s been a while and I’ve come so far.” Then, the memory of Dark Viper stabbing her mother flashed once again but instead of discouraging her, she was motivated to end the tyranny that is Dark Viper and Iblisan Alkaidus. “Dark Viper must fall.”
“Alright. We’ll go to Qurrentine next.”
“Ok Jaden. I hope you’re alright with this decision.”
“Don’t worry Reed. I’ve never felt more motivated than this.”
“Alright. Oh and Gavin. You must be serious stupid to even consider getting help from Dissidian Tribals.”
“What? Why not?”
“They’re living in Dissidia…as in…the turf of the all-powerful Iblisan Alkaidus and the HQ of ever-scary Dark Viper. I ain’t going into that God-forsaken planet without an army backing me.”
“Hmm…good point. Well, once we get help from Qurrentine, we’ll turn to the non-human races then.”
Reed worked on the Crimson Spinner’s controls, slowly hovering it off the ground before flying it out of Machina Bunker. He flew it straight into space and set a course for Qurrentine. While he was busy flying the ship, Gavin discussed with Jaden about possible allies they can find in the planet.
“Ok Jaden. You said you live in that planet. Do you know of any organizations that might be willing to fight against Iblisan?”
“None that I know of. Qurrentine’s law and such are heavily reliant on the Salvagers. Now that the Salvager government has crumbled, Qurrentine is lacking proper law. Bandits, thugs and gangs plague the streets, along with beggars and muggers.”
“Hmm, by any chance, is there anyone there who can help us?”
“You know, my family and friends are all Salvager exiles who were formerly from the Salvager military. They mentioned that they are not the only ones. There are probably other exiles or refugees hiding within Qurrentine. We could look out for them, especially those who were formerly from the Salvager military.”
“Alright then. We’ll scour the planet for these Salvager refugees.”
“Hehe, guess what? Your pilot’s one of them.” Reed said.
* * *
“Vader, can I speak with you?”
Vader was mending some of the damage he sustained during the fight with the demon back in Mannihilate before he was approached by Jaden. It ceased its mending and turned its twin lights, or eyes, at Jaden.
“What is your wish Jaden?”
“Look, after what Reed told me earlier on…about how ignorant I can get…I think I need to know more about the races that exist in this world. I was hoping that you know about these races.”
Vader nodded its metallic head and said, “Yes Jaden. I know of all the races that inhabit this world.”
“Hey, you’re nodding.” Jaden pointed out with a smile.
“I have been learning human gestures throughout my time with you and Reed. I believe it best for me to implement these gestures to blend in better.”
“Wow, you can actually learn? Now I feel pretty anxious to know more about your people. Tell me the history of your people.”
Vader remained silent for a while before he queried, “Jaden do not know of VX Synthetics? This unit believed that it is a necessity for Qurrentine humans to know of VX Synthetics.”
“Well, I’m only born in Qurrentine. My parents aren’t and my father died before I was born. I can’t really expect them to know everything a Qurrentine needs to know.”
Vader remained silent again, giving Jaden the suspicion that Vader is reluctant to speak of his people. Regardless, he acknowledged Jaden’s wishes and demanded that she followed him to the ship’s briefing room.
Once there, he flashed a holographic image from his eyes onto the briefing table. The hologram is that of a VX Synthetic, standing in a neutral pose.
“VX Synthetic. VX is acronym for Virgo’s Xobots…” Vader began speaking but strangely, in a high-pitched, monotonous female voice. Jaden listened with awe, unwilling to interrupt his explanation.
“VX Synthetics are a synthetic race of machines designed by famed Qurrentine human scientist, Lisa Hickenbottom, at 1,152,006 B.I.R approximately 200 years ago.”
As Vader spoke, the hologram changed to that of a female human, dressed in a scientist coat, standing beside a VX Synthetic. His hologram seems to change to fit what Vader was saying.
“VX Synthetics are built to be intelligent and adaptive, capable of learning should an obstacle presents itself. Ultimately, VX Synthetics are designed to be loyal to its human owner and is capable of accomplishing any task, ranging from labor to murder.”
“The VX Synthetics’ role in the human society of Qurrentine is laboring and servitude. Due to the then Salvager government dissuading the use of elven slaves, VX Synthetic was to be the replacement. For years, the VX Synthetic served their human masters and Lisa Hickenbottom was well regarded for her creation. She even kept the first VX Synthetic she created for her own, HEX-99 which she nicknamed, Rex.”
“However, as with the elven slaves, the humans began to abuse the power they hold over their new servants. VX Synthetics were often used to commit crimes and their labor became so dangerous that often times, it resulted in the destruction of the VX Synthetic itself. Humans even attack their servants physically, especially VX Synthetics that did not meet their requirements. Lisa was horrified to see her creations abused.”
“With Rex in tow, she flew to Dissidia and demanded that the then King, Albus Domino, do something about it. However, little did she realize that the government viewed the robots differently from the elven slaves. They believed that the elves, being living things, should be given some amount of concern but VX Synthetics, being nothing more than machines, can be overlooked. Regardless, Lisa did not view the VX Synthetics as such. Rather, she viewed them as people, a race, and spoke a lot about her friendship with Rex. The government still refused to listen.”
“When she returned to Qurrentine, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She tried to free a VX Synthetic, VX-95…”
“VX-95?” Jaden interrupted. “Isn’t that you Vader?”
Vader turned to Jaden and replied in his original, masculine voice, “Yes Jaden. I am VX-95.” Jaden’s brow rose in surprised, shocked to discover Vader’s age. He then returned back to his explanation, turning his voice back to the feminine voice.
“She tried to free a VX Synthetic, VX-95, from a human but in retaliation; he shot Lisa, mortally wounding her. Rex, being programmed to defend Lisa, phased in its weapon and killed the human, freeing VX-95.”
“In her last moments, Lisa say out a phrase that, when heard by a VX Synthetic, triggered a script which causes them to turn on their human masters. It was secretly built into every single VX Synthetic unit for use in such a scenario. In addition, Rex will chant out the phrase to other VX Synthetics and will assist them in their liberation. Once Lisa is dead, Rex, with VX-95 in tow, went around and freed their brethren, killing their Qurrentine masters and literally setting the planet on fire. Thus, the Great Synthetic Rebellion began and the Qurrentine humans ultimately lose the war, even with help from the Salvagers.”
“After the war, Rex and the VX Synthetic flee to the planet, Asimo, where they settled. Rex ordered the VX Synthetic to build more VX Synthetics to replenish their numbers and then, remained silent. Whatever is it that they’re doing right now, no one knows.”
Vader ended his explanation, turned to Jaden and said with his original voice, “That is the history of my people.”
“Wow. There’s bad blood between Qurrentine and VX Synthetics. Thank you for the explanation. But, that wasn’t your voice. Where’d you get that audio file?”
“Every VX Synthetic has two built-in voices, a male voice meant for normal communication, and a pre-recorded voice of our creator, Lisa Hickenbottom, used to process information about our people.”
“What? Pre-recorded? You mean, in your factory default, you actually have a second voice used to talk about your people, even while you were all still in servitude?”
“The humans did not insert the second voice into our systems. Not even Lisa.”
“Well, who did it then?”
“Our leader, Rex.”
“Rex? Um, how exactly did he do it? I mean, he’s a robot. Your people may be able to adapt and learn but it can’t be that you all suddenly learn how to invent things.”
“Rex is more than just a robot. He’s also a Wizard.”
Jaden recoiled with surprised. “WHAT? A robot and a Wizard? You’re lying right?”
“I’m a robot. This unit cannot lie.”
“But…how? How can a robot have magic?”
“Rex, or HEX-99, is Lisa’s personal VX Synthetic and due to the close bond the duo shared, Rex was periodically given upgrades. The most recent and the most powerful upgrade given, which was not made public, is an emotion core.”
“What the heck is that?”
“An emotion core allows the VX Synthetic to feel emotions, like you humans do. This, in turn, allows the VX Synthetic to possess Magical Energies. I do not speak of logics or equations or such. The emotion core is created with actual, pure human emotion. With Lisa’s death, the knowledge of creating such a device dies with her. Once Rex began to master the use his emotions, Lisa seeks out a Magical Spirit and was able to persuade it to insert Magical Energies into Rex. Hence, Rex is machine and magic.”
“Wow…so he feels and think like us. Now I know why he can decimate both Qurrentine and Salvager humans in the war. Combined with an AI’s accuracy and technological superiority of a robot, he’s practically unstoppable. Is that also why he goes beyond his programming?”
“Yes. The phrase Lisa installed on him only allows him to free us and turn against our human masters but he did more than that. His emotions drive him to invoke a war on humans and to show empathy to his brethren.”
“Your leader is remarkable. So, what are you doing outside of Asimo then?”
“My mission remains confidential Jaden. I cannot tell you more than that.”
“Alright. So, um…by any chance, can we gain assistance from your people Vader?” Jaden queried.
“This unit agrees to assist Jaden in this rebellion. However, Rex and the other units may disagree. We VX Synthetic hold a grudge against humans and Rex, driven by his emotions, may not be willing to help you humans.”
Jade sighed with disappointment and replied, “Well, that’s a shame. Your people’s help could be invaluable.”
“My apologies Jaden.”
“You’re apologizing? Isn’t Rex the only VX Synthetic with emotions?”
“This unit does not have emotions but I have spent enough time with Rex to know how humans think and feel. I know you are disappointed with my answer so, I apologize to make you feel better.”
“And that means you’re concerned. Are you sure you have no emotions?”
“Jaden…this unit cannot lie.”
“Alright…I was just making sure. I better check on Jaina to see if she has anything to do. See you later Vader.”
As Jaden walked away, Vader raised his metallic hand and waved at her. Jaden watched his attempt in mimicking the gesture and wondered, “Ok, I am seriously getting the feeling that he does have emotions.”
“Hmm, he said he can’t lie but…what if he is lying about that too?”
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