by Amy Johnson
“I’m going to help,” he says as he stops pacing and pulls his hands out of his pockets.
“What?” I say, eyes wide.
“I got us into this mess, and I’ll get us out.”
“How can I trust you?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
“You can’t,” he answers with a shrug. “I will help you get the humans to safety, and then, I will leave. You won’t have to worry about me following you. I want to be here, not out there.”
“So why even help us escape?”
“Because I don’t need more humans like the cybernetics do. I’ve got my freedom. Like Null says, we answer to no one. I feel no desire to continue to help them. I just want to live the rest of my eternity in this city where I can have the luxuries I deserve after all they put me through.”
I weigh my options. His strength would be an asset, but the gnawing fear that he could switch sides would be beside it.
This time around, he is a disposable weapon, not a partner.
Neither of us have had terrible experiences with humans. Our nightmares circle around the machines and Anthros. Unlike Eins and Zwei, the nanos searched for bad memories and came up empty.
Knox breathes a long sigh, walking toward me. His hand on my shoulder plate sends tingles of pain over my chest as he applies a little too much pressure. He smoothes out the front of his suit before looking at me.
“We go before Null comes back,” he says in one short breath.
“Scared?” I taunt, walking towards the door.
“Yes, and you should be, too.”
I just shrug, not surprised that my anger overruns my fear.
“How exactly do you plan to take out an entire Anthros full of cybernetics and glass domes?” he asks as we step into the silver box that I now know is called an elevator due to my new information library.
I press the button with a black ‘1’ on it and grip the handrail as my stomach bottoms out. When we come to the ground, I remove my hand, gaping at the handprint I left behind on the metal beam.
“With my bare hands if I have to,” I mumble, striding out of the doors and into the lobby of the administration building.
Chapter 19: Manifested
Linux
My eyes burn from staring at the minuscule black font of the dictionary combined with the white letters of the computer screens.
Two days.
Is Eden dead? Did I take too long?
The final command blinks at me, waiting for me to press the button, taunting me with its flashing.
I translated every line of code twice. Illegible scribbles cover the scraps of paper that litter my room.
It will work.
It has to work.
With a deep breath, I push enter on my worn out keyboard.
Every computer screen in the room goes black, and for the first time in my life, the noise overhead ceases.
Chapter 20: Released
Eden
The front doors slide open for us, revealing a white desert of cybernetics. The brightness stings my new eyes and I raise a hand to shield them. Knox moans behind me. His pulse increases.
Removing my hand from my eyes allows me to see that every pair of mechanical eyes has turned to look at us. My ears pick up the clicking of their photographical lenses, the soft hissing of lubricants flooding through their plastic veins, and the turning of gears under centimeters of thick human flesh. I strain to catch the hum of paralyzers, the language of the machines, or the sheath of plastic covering. My search comes up dry.
No Artificials patrol the park during the day.
Not that it really matters. An Artificial wouldn’t stand a chance against me right now.
I push through the prismatic crowd of workers, heading for the first dome. Crowds swarm around the glittering glass and chatter with all the emotion of dead cats.
“Make way,” I bark, shoving a few female machines aside. They huff at me, eyes going wide at my uniform. The heads that turn at the sound of my voice wear the same reaction, and in seconds, a part appears in the sea.
I press my hand against the cold glass. It vibrates under my palm from the strong wind blowing through the crowd, only amplified by the marching of the machines. I turn back to face them.
“Get lost!” I scream, but they gaze back at me with empty eyes.
The entire crowd stands motionless, staring at me with the same wide expression as the first machine I shoved out of the way. One stands frozen, mid step. Another bends at the waist as he reaches down to pick up something, statuesque.
They’ve all stopped moving.
I’ve never seen anything like it before.
I stand in the middle of a colorful statue garden. My library pulls up a word I’ve never heard before--termination. I dig through for a definition, a meaning other than “to stand still.”
I know less than a second passes in the world around me before the definition returns.
The action of bringing something to an end.
Something shut them down.
“What’s happening?” Knox asks, poking the nearest machine with a quivering finger.
“Linux,” I say. “His plan worked.”
“What plan?” Knox asks, but I ignore him to pace around the dome.
The two humans inside stare up at me. The female, a young woman not much older than me with freckles blanketing her skin, cowers under the arms of a man with horrific scarification tattoos covering his face.
They’re completely human, two porcelain dolls shaking in fear.
Of me.
The only thing that has changed about me is my physical capabilities. My original assumption that my memories would be warped was wrong. The memories are still there, and while they are distant, everything’s the same.
My actions make me a machine, but my thoughts and opinions ground me into humanity.
What will Linux think when he sees me?
I don’t care.
“He’s alive,” I whisper, more to myself than Knox, closing my eyes against the wave of relief. I’m not entirely alone.
“What plan?” Knox repeats as if he didn’t hear my last statement, circling around the maze of immobilized cybers surrounding us. Their eyes have glassed over, and now, they stare at empty space. Their existence has become nothing more living than that of a service machine.
Tears jump into Knox’s eyes, threatening to roll down his smooth cheeks. He touches the machines, grazing their painted cheeks and cotton clothes. His face holds an expression that I can’t quite put my finger on, but he feels it, stronger than he feels anything else in this moment.
The skin between his eyes wrinkles up as he takes a few more shaky steps, kneeling down on the ground in front of a cybernetic I recognize faintly. Her mechanical eyes hold nothing but his reflection.
“She’s a machine, Knox,” I say, shaking my head.
Pity. That’s the emotion I couldn’t name.
He swallows, and I look down to watch his Adam’s apple bob.
“What makes them any different than you and me, Eden? Aren’t we machines now, too?”
His words slam into the center of my chest and cause a jolt of pain to spread through my ribcage. He speaks the truth in its purest form.
I am a machine now.
Shaking my head, I push him away by the shoulder I’m still holding. He quivers, face shifting from pity to concern. Is it me he’s worried about?
“They aren’t wholly evil because they’re machines,” I say, glancing around. “It isn’t what we are that makes us evil. It’s what we do.” I spread my arms out beside me, training my eyes on his. “These machines chose to treat humans like animals, hunting and killing them, terrorizing every second of their limited lives, and for that, they are evil. I won’t be evil. I choose to be different.”
“They didn’t have a choice, Eden!” Knox says as he throws his hands up in the air.
“I refuse to believe that. Everyone has a choice. They could have chosen a different method of
paying off the debt. They could have fought back against Germany.”
With that, I turn back towards the dome. Can I break the glass? Am I that strong?
I pull back my fist and take a shaky breath.
The two humans inside hurry back to the furthest reaches of their enclosure. The man shields the woman with his own body, which brings a smile to my face. Selfless, like true humans should be.
With a quick exhale, I punch the glass. Pain reverberates up my arm, amplified through the rest of my body. I grit my teeth and watch as small cracks shoot away from the place of impact like miniature lightning bolts. It isn’t enough to bring it down, but it tells me I’m capable.
I execute the next hit with an open palm, widening my area. The cracks spread farther, but only by centimeters.
“That could take all day,” Knox states, appearing behind me.
I shoot him a glare, and he takes a cautious step back.
“I know,” I growl, shaking my tingling hand. “Any ideas? We need to hurry. I don’t know how long this will last. We can’t be sure they’re completely shut down.”
“Why don’t you use your enhancements?”
“What do you think I was doing? Just smacking the glass?” I snap. “Strength is one of our enhancements.”
Knox returns my sarcasm with an empty look.
“I meant your mechanics, Eden.”
I glance down at my body, eyes falling on the surface of my thighs. The pants I’ve been given are tight, pulling taunt against the metal beneath. The black fabric doesn’t allow me to see through, but I know what lies beneath.
“It’s worth a try,” I mumble and take a short step back. Knox does the same, crossing his arms over his metal chest.
I pull up my knee and kick the nest of cracks created by my hand. At first, nothing happens. Groaning, I do it again, and this time, my foot sinks through the glass. I stumble forward as it keeps moving. The cracks that once covered an area no bigger than my palm bolt across the arching surface and disappear over the top.
The people inside crouch down, covering their heads with their arms.
A screech like that of a train’s brakes fills the air around us. I cover my ears, clambering to block it out. It’s loud for them, but my hearing magnifies it to an octave no human could hear. It drives a nail into the front of my forehead and brings tears to my eyes.
Hailstones of glass shower down on my back and shoulders. Through my hands, the screaming continues.
Then, everything stops.
The air goes still and silent. I uncover my ears, taking in the sounds before opening my eyes. Four heartbeats, two that race in fear and two that beat slower than humanly possible.
“Who are you?” a shaking voice asks.
I open my eyes, and the marked man appears before me.
He’s not small, but I loom over him. His black hair glitters with shards of glass. Small cuts litter his face and bare arms, and blood dots the surface of them.
“My name is Eden Cavalleri,” I say, reaching a hand to pull him up off the ground, “and this is Knox. There’s no need to be afraid. We’re here to help you.”
I mold my face into a soft one, and he takes my hand. When he’s on his feet, he bends to aid the woman up as well.
“Knox, take them somewhere safe,” I say, placing a gentle hand on the man’s back and leading him to where Knox stands, stunned.
“Where?”
“Underground. The sleeping area,” I say, naming off the only place I’ve ever thought of as safe.
“Is that really safe? After what happened...” His voice trails off as he meets my eyes.
“It’s been two days. The machines won’t still be there.”
He nods, takes their hands, and pulls them away from me.
“Where will we go after that?” he whispers in my direction.
“I’ll figure it out,” I say.
He nods, pursing his lips together.
“Okay. I’ll be right back for more.”
After walking a few steps, Knox gives up on walking with them. He leans down and asks the man something. The man nods, and Knox bends and picks up the both of them--one in each arm.
After Knox is out of sight, I turn to the next dome, where two more humans have pressed themselves up against the glass.
The humans stare at me. They are polar opposites of one another. The female stands at least four feet above the boy, who is both short and a child.
“It’s okay,” I say, pressing a hand to the warm glass. “I’m here to help you.”
The girl nods and pulls him away from the glass.
“Should we cover our heads?” she asks, pushing strands of her short hair out of her face.
“That’s a good idea.”
She turns toward the boy, grabbing his face in both hands.
“Alright, listen, Teddy,” she says, in a distant and muffled voice through the glass. “Everything is going to be fine. You need to listen to whatever she says and follow my lead. Don’t be scared.”
The boy’s eyes tell a story of horror that shakes me to my core. I shiver and take a step back from the glass. His reply is lost in the space between us.
After she shows Teddy how to protect his head, she crouches down beside him and gives me a thumbs up.
This time, I don’t waste the first kick. I lean back, throwing every ounce of strength I have into my forward momentum. My leather shoe sinks through like I’m kicking water. My hands go up to cover my ears before the sound hits me.
As the world settles around me, I look over at the two of them.
She already has the boy on his feet. They walk toward me.
“Thank you,” she says breathlessly. Tears well up in her brown eyes. I examine the flecks of gold in her irises and the red veins that snake across the whites of her eyes.
“Don’t,” I say, pulling the both of them over what remains of the base of their dome. The boy clings to her arm, glancing around with quick, scared eyes.
“What are you?” the girl asks in a small voice. “You remind me of Eins and Zwei, but you wouldn’t be helping us if you were like them. What are they? Did you figure it out?”
I nod as I look at the two humans sitting in the next exhibit.
“Oh, she figured it out, alright.”
I spin around, spreading my arms out to block Teddy and the girl from the long shadow that speaks behind us.
Between the bodies of two still cybernetics, Eins and Zwei stand. Eins has his arms crossed across his chest, and Zwei props her hands on her waistline. She smiles, blue eyes flashing.
“Be careful,” the girl hisses but doesn’t step out from around me. Her voice shakes with fear. “You’re no match for them.”
I laugh and shake my head.
She has no idea how much of a match I am for them.
Eins motions at Zwei and she walks toward us in steps that seem to stretch for miles.
“Did you tell her, Schätzchen?” Zwei asks. The smile never leaves her face, even as she speaks. My mind works quickly to translate her words. Schätzchen means ‘little treasure’ in German.
“That’s a no,” Zwei continues. She glances around my shoulder and winks at the shaking girl. “She’s one of us, now. Eden’s a machine.”
Her breath leaves her in one short burst. She grips the back of my jacket. I can feel her heartbeat pounding in the connection between us. The boy beside her moans.
“It’s okay,” I say, eyes never leaving Zwei. “I’m nothing like them.”
“How are you not?” she asks in a low whisper. I want to tell her that both of them can still hear her, but it doesn’t matter.
“They’re controlled by a cesspool of negative emotions and bad memories,” I say, taking off my suit jacket and handing it to her. I roll my sleeves up as Zwei starts a much slower walk towards us. “I control myself.”
“Last time we fought you were a china doll,” Zwei says. “This time, I won’t take it easy on you.”
“Go
od,” I call over. “Null would be upset if you failed him yet again.”
Her face twists in bitter rage, and she sprints toward me. Her shoulders land in my stomach, throwing us backwards into the dome.
The girl pulls Teddy into the alley away from us.
Zwei pins me to the ground, knotting one of her hands in my hair and using the other to press my face into the gritty black pavement.
I should be scared of them. I remember being terrified.
All I feel, though, is unfiltered rage seeping out of my pores. They tore my life apart. Due to their interference, Knox embraced his traitorous side, and Cyrus might be dead. The world spins backwards, and I blame them.
I bring both arms up and plant them in the middle of her stomach. With a grunt, I shove her off of me, and she flies through the air, crashing into a metal bench. A smile crosses her face.
“That’s more like it!” she says, getting on her feet.
I spread my feet, bracing myself as she runs back toward me and skids to a stop inches from my face. She directs her punches to my stomach, but I block each of them with minimal effort.
She’s strong, fast, and smart, but I’m newer. My brain pumps out commands at impossible speeds, telling me her moves before she executes them. I dodge and deflect with extreme precision, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
I could have never fought like this as a human.
She takes a step toward me, and I take the opportunity to sweep her legs out from under her with one of mine. Surprise crosses over her face as she falls backwards into the pavement. I leap on top of her like a cat and grab a handful of her hair.
Using my knees and mechanics to hold her down, I throw punch after punch. Nothing fazes her. With every hit, she returns. The skin of her face begins to peel away from the clear plastic, but she still grasps for a way out. Her body writhes under me.
Our energy runs endless, a well that stretches thousands of miles below ground before connecting to an ocean of water. Neither of us pants or relents. Neither of us has a weak point.
She flips me back over onto my back, roaring as she digs her nails into my forearm. I hiss in pain and twist her arm away from her. It forces her body to bend, and I slip out from under her to climb onto her back.
