by Brian Moon
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Lukas didn’t move, he didn’t speak… he knew very well as to the reference The Statesman was making. The night at his wedding reception was proof of that. With this declaration he just declared an informal war upon Southern United.
“General Eisenberg” the cold menacing voice Lukas seldom heard now surfaced. “What is our current troop status.”
“We currently have 2000 troops, two more Warhulks have been completed giving us a total of twenty. At the end of last week we had fourteen thousand melee Jaegers and six thousand range Jaegers.”
They stood in silence as Lord Nemesis pondered the information. “Not enough to take over the world, but enough to handle this rabble. Divided everything we have into ten platoons, two Warhulks with each of them. The world will tremble when they see my mechanized army. Those numbers are plenty to take this city and to crush this Freedom Phalanx. History is written by the victors and we will write these would be heroes out of existence.”
“Yes Lord Nemesis, it will take us two days to move everything into position.”
“Let us plan for Monday the eleventh. We will take full advantage of the confusion of the morning traffic and the food ration lines. The more we have going on, the more it will be in our favor.”
“Surely you don’t intend to attack civilians sir?”
“Of course not, one doesn’t hurt one’s subjects willingly. Rather it is their confusion that will keep others from rallying an effective counter attack. Now I think its time to show you my latest invention and just as these… heroes… have come to light, perhaps now is the time for Lord Nemesis to reveal his true self, my new form will strike fear into them. Come with me.” Lord Nemesis got off his stool, his hydraulic leg braces supporting him.
They walked to the far side of the workshop to a secure door. Lukas didn’t know where it led, nor did he bother to ask. Like so many things with his leader, he would be told if he needed to know. Old fingers turned the safe dial several times.
“Please open it for me. My back can no longer take the strain.” Nemesis said, his voice now the old man again. The doorway reminded Lukas of what you would see on a naval vessel only it was thick. It swung open with some effort. Lord Nemesis stepped over the door lip and with a motion of his hand the lights turned on. Lukas stopped as he took in what he was looking at. The room’s ceilings were at least two stories tall but the room itself was only twelve by twelve. The two side walls were filled with gauges and vacuum tubes. Standing in front of him stood what Lukas thought was a statue of a giant soldier. It stood at least ten feet tall and was made of brass. Behind the statue was a large set of doors in proportion to the size of the statue.
“What do you think of my creation?” Nemesis asked with a proud tone in his voice. He walked over to one set of gauges and threw a large levered switch. Every gauge and dial lit up, every vacuum tube glowed to life. Lukas could hear the sudden release of steam in near by pipes. As he looked around in wonder, the statue suddenly stood a little bit straighter. Lukas was startled when the eyes began to glow amber color in the dim light.
“And just what is your creation sir?” Lukas asked as his thought process started to formulate understanding. The closer he walked towards it, more his eyes picked out very tiny lines where the metal pieces fit together so tightly not an edge showed. He ran his finger tips down one leg. The tips of his fingers registered the seams but he couldn’t get a fingernail beneath one. An arm twitched and understanding finally came.
“This is a Warhulk?”
“No I call this an automatronic… well my automatronic to be specific. That St. John-Smythe really is a bright man. If he had my research to add to his own he would probably be almost as far along as I am. Warhulks are just merely machines guided by their pilots. An automatronic can be so much more. Everything that I am, everything that I will be will be a part of this structure. All of my journals, my entire library can be accessed by my creation. You once asked me what I would read them with. Inside this room and in others like this one, house everything that I am and when connected I have access to everything that I have ever known and so much more. With this suit, within these walls I will live for ever.”
“So you will ride inside this suit of armor?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
“Why did you use brass? That won’t withstand bullets for long.”
“If it was normal brass I would have to agree, but this is only brass plating on top. Each piece is a combination of thin layers of metal and metal woven fabric, all bonded together. It is harder than steel when it comes to impacts because it will actually flex a little like skin. Since each piece fits so precisely, putting a dent into it will be very difficult.”
“You don’t think the size will be a problem?” Lukas asked looking up into the glowing eyes.
“Perhaps, but the advantages of having the larger structure is a stronger skeleton of sorts, and the larger actuating cylinders will provide for my own super human strength. It is very Greek God like don’t you think?”
“Well if you disregard the uniform part of it, I’d have to agree. So how do you get into it? I don’t see a hatch of any type.” Lukas said as he walked around the mechanical soldier. On the back of the automatronic was the massive power plant. What he took for decorative spikes rising off the shoulders proved to be exhaust pipes . The forearms where large and cylinder in shape with what looked to be a series of hatches running around them. Lukas just naturally figured it would be weapons of some sort.
Lord Nemesis shook his head and moved to sit in a wooden chair by one side. “No General, there is no hatch because no one climbs into it.”
“No one climbs into it? I don’t understand, how ill you control it then?”
“Grab another chair and I will try to explain.” Lord Nemesis waited for Lukas to bring another chair into the cramped room to sit near him. Both men looked intently into each others eyes. “In all of my research, in all of my tinkering and inventing, I have come to realize that our bodies are nothing more than elegant machines. Machines with one flaw, they wear out. Our lives are only this short because our bodies can not be adequately repaired over time. The brain how ever is different. There are no working parts, it is a storage device. Some bits run continuously, working heart and lungs; while other parts take an active thought to trigger, like speech or walking. Seeing and hearing is nothing more that the brain processing that information and storing it. I can not go into year’s worth of research but let us say I can duplicate what is inside my brain onto the mechanical processor of my creation.”
General Eisenberg sat in stunned silence as the magnitude of his words finally struck home. He meant to copy his brain into that… automatronic and live forever as a metal god. If it had come from anyone else he would have laughed at the notion, but not coming from Lord Nemesis. He had seen too many things in his time with him to doubt this plan. He would have loved to ask so many questions but he also knew he wouldn’t understand the answers. But there was on question that he knew he had to ask.
“Sir, what about Helena? Have you told her your plans yet?” He already knew the answer to that but he needed to ask it himself.
“No general, I have not. She has been with me since her mother and father died. And they were with me before her. She is the only remaining relative that I have. With everything that I plan I have never hesitated about the costs, but with her… I have not been able to bring myself to tell her. Surely she knows that this body will fail soon. I do this to preserve who I am for all of eternity. So even time can not undo my plans for a unified world. And yet, when she looks at me with those blue eyes, I always hesitate… But the days of hesitation are at an end. Several things have come together and several more are about to be put into motion. If you will bring her around for dinner tonight, perhaps with my second in command by my side I will be brave enough to tell her.”
“My lord, have you considered how much one explanation will lead to another? W
on’t the telling of one secret lead to another?”
“I have thought it through, but have yet to come to the right conclusion. All I can say is I trust you to follow my lead.”
“Always sir.” Lukas gave a quick smile. He looked at the brass god before him and shook his head to clear away the distractions of doubt and concern. There was a battle to plan for and a lot to do before that time.
