Jump to content

Reboot (The Aether Backstory Part 7)


Vyz Ejstu

Recommended Posts

Reboot

 

 

TFfemrM.jpg

 

We are fallen and destroyed.

O how we are trodden under foot!

Our glory is naught, but void…

Brethren, we must return to the Root:

Our erred paths we will avoid.

We will not chase gold, fame or the loot.

We will round as the cycloid,

And we will start over from the Root.

 

Lamentations of Nazrole Chapter 12:13-14. The Kalnian Books.

 

 

I have always had a problem with tedious structure. From profitable, but snot-nosed mega corporations to the tiny, but nervous start-ups, they just seem to be addicted to mega-bureaucracy and exhaustive order.

 

Tsk. And I’m part of the crappy system.

 

Here I was, simply wishing to make a complaint about some idiot who decided to pinch my trousers while I was on the roof. To make a complaint, I needed to verify my identity (can you believe these people?! They didn’t verify everyone that left Earth while we were still there?), record or type the complaint (not without stating tons of useless information, of course) then queue up at a mile-long line for four hours and check back in a week for progress, because they were still setting up and securing the wireless protocols.

 

Ahou.

 

I deleted the file from the makeshift tab I put together in a couple of days and walked off the queue. If these people were going to waste their precious time on an unnecessary process, I wouldn’t be joining them. I had more important things to do. Let the idiot that stole my trousers keep them.

 

“Heading somewhere, Satoru?” Jonathan asked me, blocking my path while at it.

 

“Yes.” I said and looked him in the eyes.

 

He looked away.

 

Why do people always look away? What in the world are they afraid of?

“We need your help with something. Care to give us a hand?”

 

Nope.

 

“What’s it?”

 

He held out a funny looking kind of bag. What in the world was it? It looked like a space backpack from the early 21st century.

 

“It’s a kadpack.”

 

“It sounds like it as well…” I muttered, feeling it.

 

“Sounds like what?”

 

“..and it feels like something only the UN can make: horrible! What is it?”

 

He looked puzzled for a moment, but quickly regained his stoic “don’t care what you say” face.

 

“It’s a device that compresses matter and allows us to decompress it in any form, using this:”

 

He held out a tube.

 

“Interesting. I’ll get to work.”

 

I took the tube and “kadpack” to the roof of my home Section and decided to decipher it.

 

“You found something to interest you, finally.” Kuro said, and nestled up to me.

 

I smiled a bit and connected my gadgets to the UN-made or UN-affiliated device.

The data readings were easy to understand and within a couple of hours, I was shaping monoliths and statues with relative difficulty.

One of the outlaws from the proximal Novark area walked up to me.

 

“You learn fast.”

 

His accent was thick and Russian. Every outsider is from Russia these days. Should I answer him? Mother told me not to talk to strangers…

I built up a mound near his feet, just missing him.

 

“Stop it, Oru.”

 

I complied with Shiro’s soft warning and looked the big Russian in the eye.

He turned his gaze away as well.

 

What is it with these people?!

 

“You killed the Grand Architect, yes?” I asked him.

 

He eyes opened like a punctured can of pressurised gas.

 

“No!”

 

“Pity.”

 

“Why is that a pity?!”

 

Shiro quickly jumped in.

 

“He’s not on the best terms with the Grand Architect.”

 

“That’s not true,” I retorted.

 

“He just broke the first law of survival.”

 

The Russian looked confused.

 

“Never look for trouble in the Wild.”

 

His eyes cleared up a bit.

 

“He came to help us— “

 

“And he died. You killed him then. You couldn’t refuse his help and he couldn’t refuse the chance to be a hero. Both of you killed him.”

 

From the looks of it, I was freaking this one out.

 

“My name is Petrovsky. I’m the leader of the Resistance.”

 

“…Outlaws…” I muttered under my breath.

 

“Eidolon talked about you a while ago. He wants to meet you again.”

 

Shiro gasped and gave me a pitiful look.

 

“Good luck; you’ll need it.” She said and walked off.

 

I shook my head and followed the…Petrol-ski. That what his name, wasn’t it?

He tried to start a series of conversations with me, but after I ignored him, built up wood around his feet and shouted at him to shut up, I think he got the message. I wasn’t a hostile person, I just don’t like talking to strangers or people in general, especially when I’ve been awake for close to thirty hours.

By the time we’d made it past noisy populated and windy sparse areas, through damaged grass and between machinery, the foreboding sky looked exactly like Petrol-ski’s face: there was going to be some heavy rain soon.

He led me past armed guards and into a pristine Section where an AI ruled over and enslaved the men that contributed to its creation and continued existence. The room reeked of upper-class attitude and I could sense most of it was coming from a robot that shouldn’t even have emotions.

The walls were whitewashed and the floor was overlaid in black marble. A silver chandelier adorned with over-sized diamonds and sparkling sapphires hung from the roof, amidst pearl lights that shined even more than it did. The e-textile seats looked way too comfortable for the precarious situation that we found ourselves in and I just had to wonder how full of senseless vanity these humans and AI could possibly be.

 

“Satoru Masanori. It’s nice to see you.” Eidolon said, rising from the heavily ornamented white throne.

 

Seriously, robots that fly need to sit on thrones, even if they don’t have legs? Laughable!

 

I chuckled to myself and scanned the bewildered faces of the poor slaves in the over packed room.

 

“You are to reply me when I speak to you, Satoru Masanori.”

 

I would have looked this AI in the eye—if it had any eyes, and I could bet the Novark on this: it would turn its eyes away. An AI like this has many secrets to hide and it would need to hide some scars if it dared to address me in that tone again.

 

I decide when I’m to reply to a piece of floating metal with a circuit board in its head.” 

 

Jonathan shook his head and stepped out.

 

“You are socially inadequate, Satoru Masanori.”

 

“You are physically lacking in adequate humanoid body parts yourself, Eidolon AI.” I replied, trying to step out, until four guards blocked my path. 

 

Sigh. Not Io as well…

 

I looked Io in the eye and he looked at Eidolon.

 

“We are not done, Satoru Masanori.” The AI stressed.

 

I spun back and hurled Io’s gun at the AI, hitting it squarely in the middle.

 

“Stop talking, Metal Head!”

The gasps in the room should’ve been audible for thirty miles round. Even thunder sounded its voice to add some dramatic noise to the scene.

Eidolon was clearly not pleased, and to be frank, neither was I.

 

“We were interested in your capabilities and intellectual capacity. We think you are what we need to move forward, in the light of Hisashi Susumu’s death.” Eidolon said calmly.

 

To be honest, this was sudden…

 

“You…want to make me the Grand Architect?”

 

“Yes. You already did cause quite a ruckus with the Defence Department. It was you that left Olympus Ariana into the forbidden area, wasn’t it? You caused some people quite a headache and their jobs as well.”

 

I looked at Kurotou, who glared at me.

 

“I don’t like the “didi”. Is that a problem?”

 

“Let me ask you a question, Satoru Masanori. Can I call you Satoru?” Eidolon asked.

 

“No.”

 

“Very well. If you were the Grand Architect, would you have gone to the Novark the way Hisashi Susumu did? Would you have intervened on behalf of the Resistance?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why?” 

 

“Why should I?”

 

“Explain.” His voice sounded tired.

 

“Intelligence should have gone first and scouted. The Resistance forces are simply being freeloaders with little to offer, no offence, Petrol-ski.”

 

“His name is Petrovsky.”

 

“Whatever.” I muttered.

 

“Protecting and organising ourselves is our priority. Anything else can wait.”

 

Eidolon turned back to the chair and paused.

 

“You are not someone I want to work with. I don’t like you. Let me be crystal clear: I hate you, Satoru Masanori. However, you are what we need: your mind and skill is what we can’t do without in the leadership position. You aren’t the first person on our list, no, you are the last person I would even consider. Nonetheless, you will be the next Grand Architect—rather, you are the Grand Architect.”

 

I whistled and smiled at a boiling Petrol-ski.

Outside, the heavy rain began to fall.

 

“Good. I have my first command for the lot of you.”

 

“Oh? So soon?” Eidolon asked, clearly being sarcastic.

 

“Yes. Reboot. Destroy and restart every single thing. Reboot from scratch.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

What a tall first order, haha.

 

Satoru sounds like he's kinda doing what the starting premise is with DU.  As in, everyone starts off at square one has to re-learn everything from scratch.  

 

I wonder if anyone will try to kill Satoru or if bringing back Hisashi from the Aether is possible?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a tall first order, haha.

 

Satoru sounds like he's kinda doing what the starting premise is with DU.  As in, everyone starts off at square one has to re-learn everything from scratch.  

 

I wonder if anyone will try to kill Satoru or if bringing back Hisashi from the Aether is possible?

 

"

A wonderful day to you, ShinyMagnemite.

 

Indeed, it's quite the tall order for a young adult. Let's see if Satoru will be able to keep up with all the trouble and weighty responsibilities.

 

He'll make enemies--there's little to doubt about that. Hisashi's enemies killed the former Grand Architect and he's gone forever. Perhaps the same rate awaits the colorful Satoru as well?

 

Time will tell.

"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...