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Post by Unit 15 on Aug 18, 2018 0:54:43 GMT -5
In the mountain laboratory that was both Jacob's base of operations and home, the roboticist was seated at a table eating a meal of steak and potatoes, along with a glass of fine wine. Selling technology and weapons on the black market was very profitable, and Jacob had developed a taste for the finer things in life. Much like the clothes he wore, which cost over 1,000 zenni. The room he was in didn't look like a laboratory, it was Jacob's personal residence and arrayed as expensively as him. There was a leather sofa in the center of the room, with a holo-projection television that doubled as the wall in front of it, a surround sound stereo system in all four corners, and more. After finishing the meal, he leaned back in his seat at the table, letting out a comfortable sigh. If everything went well with this field test, he would begin production of the Unit 15 war droid series.
With a stretch and a bit of a yawn, Jacob stood from his seat and walked out of the room. Moving down the hall he thought about checking 15's memory files not just to review his performance, but also to see how the android handled adapting to new situations, like that blond haired android that had appeared to cause problems. The lab was silent right now, and the only sound to be heard was the gentle clicking sound of Jacob's shoes against the hard metal floor. Rummaging through a pocket he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one, snapping his fingers and generating a flame from one of his artificial hand. Unit 15 wasn't the only one who had received upgrades. Humming a little tune to himself he took a long drag on the cigarette and walked into the darkened main room of the laboratory.
Issuing a single command from his neural interface, Jacob powered up the whole lab, listening to the gentle hum of machinery as everything came to life, waiting for his command. The neural uplink was a modification he'd made while 15 was in the field, and would allow him to mentally interface with most technology that could receive a signal of any sort. Walking over to the main computer terminal in the lab he flopped down in a chair and looked up at the screen. It came to life and the control panel began to blink and beep as he issued commands mentally. Jacob loved the new upgrade and would certainly be making a lot of use of it. He sorted through a number of files and other projects that he was working on, then noticed a small blinking red light in the upper corner of the screen... that wasn't good. Opening the notification he saw it was a warning of telemetry data being lost for Unit 15.
“What? Impossible!” He immediately tried to open a comm-line to Unit 15 for a status update, but there was no answer, worse, the signal had never been received. Something was terribly wrong and the scientist wasn't pleased in the least. Next he tried to activate 15's tracking device, but it wasn't responding either, it was as if the android had simply disappeared. Everything that the android saw, heard, or otherwise recorded was transmitted to the laboratory computer in real time, so he accessed the file and began to speed through, watching and processing all of the information with incredible speed. He saw the fight with The Guardians, then V3, and everything that came after that, including the attempted ion cannon strike against V3's friends.
“Rather creative...” Near the end he watched, seeing that something called Bunny had triggered a program in 15's mind that had caused a massive system conflict, resulting in an emergency shutdown. “What the hell?”
This was turning out to be more of a problem than Jacob first thought, as something of his own making was coming back to bite him in the ass. Creating the neural network for an android was the hardest part of the process, and could have taken months, even if constructed hastily. That was why he'd used the neural network from Unit 14, firewalled all of the previous model's memories to save time, and started from scratch. He'd done a thorough scan of the neural network, but it was obvious now that he'd missed something. That was when he heard CARA talking as she shut down the ion cannon uplink. Flopping back in his chair, some things were starting to make sense now. He'd spent a lot of time wondering where the AI program his father had designed to run the laboratory, had gotten off to, now he knew. She'd hitched a ride with Unit 14 and had been inside his neural network this whole time.
“Makes sense really, her coding's a lot different. Didn't think to scan for that.” He saw V3 make some sort of symbol on 15's chest after he shut down as well, through means of the security sensor that was active even when the android was offline. While watching the feed and contemplating what had happened, he saw a bright light begin to surround 15, and leaned forward in his seat. Brows furrowed Jacob watched what happened next with great curiosity. The light seemed to remain steady for a time, then grew brighter, enough so that Jacob had to shield his eyes, then when it disappeared, so did 15.
The first thing that the man felt regarding this was intense anger, like a tight fist in his chest that grew worse with each passing second. Not only had a conflict with the CARA AI shut 15 down, someone had the audacity to steal his war droid, his work, his dream. With a snarl he stood up and slammed his fist on the control panel. Taking a moment to regain his composure, Jacob lifted his fist, noticing the small dent he'd left, then thought about the situation. He had no doubt that V3's friends would love to get a look inside of 15, to see what real technological advancement looked like, rather than the joke they'd built. For a moment he thought them behind this as well, but it didn't play out in his mind. Whoever, or whatever had taken 15, was using highly advanced technology, perhaps on par with his own. This was beyond those children that had built V3.
“It seems we have a new player on the board.” Stroking his chin, the man stood there thinking about the situation. There weren't many people on Earth with the type of technology needed to pull off something like this, and Jacob kept tabs on them as well. None of them had been in position to do this either. No, this was someone he'd not met... yet. It would be a cold day in hell before he let someone steal his property and get away with it. Unit 15 was one of the most technologically advanced androids ever created, and he wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers. The problem now as that Jacob didn't have a means to go after 15. The majority of modifications he'd installed in himself were utility based. There were some defensive measures, but nothing intended for deployment into a combat zone. Right now Jacob was short one android.
That was when something dawned on him, there was an android available. At least it would be soon. V3 was still out there and despite his inferior design, if Jacob could co-op him it wouldn't be hard to install some upgrades, at least enough to find and destroy the person who had dared to take what didn't belong to them. The only problem now was that he didn't know where V3 was. That was easy enough to solve, and looking at the computer screen, he began to use the planetary satellite network to run surface scans. There was enough information in the telemetry that 15 had gathered for him to search for V3's power signature. Or at least begin a search. Pinpointing a single power source on an entire continent was no easy task. The whole process took over two weeks, but he was eventually able to do so.
“Hello friend, I've been looking for you," Jacob said, sitting at the computer terminal. Maintaining a mental link with the computer, he walked out of the lab and down the hall leading to the exit in the mountains. There on the edge of the platform, Jacob stood, hands held behind his back, and activated the transport disc. It was a thin piece of circular metal, about four feet in diameter with him standing directly in the middle. The disc raised up out of the floor with Jacob on it, then took of at incredible speed. The device was also equipped with inertial dampeners to keep him from being thrown, and it wasn't long before he was speeding through the air. It wasn't often that Jacob ventured out into the field directly, but the scientist certainly wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty if need be.
While speeding toward his target, he continued to dwell on what had happened involving 15's abduction, and only got angrier as he went. There would be hell to pay for this. He wouldn't just find the person responsible and kill them, he would make them suffer. Jacob would take everyone and everything they cared about, and only then, when they'd lost everything, would he allow them to die. There would be blood, pain, tears, and suffering, he would make sure of it. Intent on claiming the means to regain 15 and exact bloody vengeance, he pushed the disc as fast as it would go. Ponytail whipping in the wind, he was covering a lot of ground, quickly. Still linked to the computer in the lab, he followed the power signature until he came upon V3.
The android didn't see him at first, as Jacob hovered in the air a few hundred feet above, and in silence the scientist regarded him. The whole idea of using such a design was repulsive, it was like settling for second best at a science fair. V3 was inferior to 15 in most respects, and wouldn't make for a very good war droid without some serious upgrades, never the less it was the best he would be able to do on short notice. Designing a machine like Unit 15 wasn't something you could do overnight. Just creating the android's blueprint took nearly three years, then acquiring all of the raw materials to fashion his body, took several more months. All told it had taken more than four years to bring his dream to life, and now it had been stolen. He wanted to scream, holler, and throw an all out temper-tantrum, but had refrained from doing so. The only purpose it would have ultimately served was to make him look like an idiot. Besides, revenge would serve as a much better means to quell his anger.
With a bit of a sigh Jacob decided it was time to get this nasty business over with so he could reacquire Unit 15. When all of this was over and done with, he decided to mail V3 back to his designer, disassembled down to the last screw, and missing the neural network, as a small gift for their interference. With a mental command the disc began to float down toward the ground, and stopped a few inches above it. The other notable fact about Jacob is that he wasn't very tall, quite the opposite in fact. Now directly in front of V3, hands still behind his back, the 5'4” man stepped down, and looked up at the android arching a brow. Rather than say anything, he decided to see how his new property would react. Though still quite angry over this whole situation, he kept his expression neutral, and regarded the android in silence. He did however smirk ever so slightly, wondering to himself how someone thought it would be a good idea to create such a tacky looking model. V3 looked like some sort of underwear model reject to Jacob.
Word Count: 2034
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Post by MARK I on Aug 18, 2018 11:36:06 GMT -5
It was a cold sleepless night in the wooded area V now called home, just 6miles north of the nearest city. The air was still, carrying the noises of woodland creatures that stirred in the night. V3 had taken a lot of time to think about the things that Enigmus said to him. He had been gone from his friends for some time now. The loneliness he had felt for them still pulled on him like the pale light of the moon on ocean waters. Beckoning him to surrender yet he endured. There was no comfort in the things that he did, no joy, no solace. He had been away from them for long days then he could count now. He could barely count without bunny. She laid dormant in his mind now. She was a burden now, a figure he could awaken at any time but refused to out of fear, or shame. He couldn't tell. His breath still formed knots in his throat whenever he would think about that night with Unit 15. In dreams, he could sometimes feel him lingering over V3 as he slept. Large metallic body towering over V as he slept, the sounds his fist banging against the War machine's seemingly impenetrable armor. "Clank! Clang!" Nothing. The shaking in his wrist as his muscles twitched. The thought of their battle still looming over him like the ominous hands of death on a man's soul. "I dream…huh. That's new" By all accounts and purposes, and as far as he knew, he should be dead by now or turned off? He was not quite sure. Having gone so long without repair or switching out his crippled and battered reactor cores he had fully expected to die any day now. The thought of his demise always brought a touch of bliss to his mood. He no longer found himself fearing death. It was a weight that would then be lifted from his shoulders. Ever since he realized that there was so much more one man could lose than just their lives. He found himself doing a lot of his own thinking. He even started to think of the afterlife and what may await someone like him. Or if that was even something he should have been concerned about. There were a lot of things he did not know, he knew, that. Throughout his life he always did what he was told and beyond until he discovered his free will. Then he had elected to protect those he cared about. He had saved the lives of innocents, men, and women, children alike. He made a difference in the lives of others…At least, that is what he told himself. As far as he could tell, sleeping, and now eating were the reasons he was still alive. Perhaps sleeping did something to save his energy? Maybe eating food his body did something with the nutrients? He did not know. He could not taste anything he ever chewed down but he could sometimes feel something within his stomach afterward. And the sleeping has to be helping…Right? The dreams though. That was what he could not figure out. Why would the Doctor program him to do that? It did not help him. Did it? Maybe he was supposed to be learning something from them but all he ever dreamt about these days was eating a meal of steak and potatoes, along with a glass of his favorite orange juice, with Suzie, and the Dr. Sitting next to him. Maybe the dreams were a failsafe in case he ever went rogue… No that still didn't make sense. He had pretty much given up trying to figure any of it out as he roamed from country side to country side. He had gotten shot a couple of time by local hunters swearing up and down that they have seen bigfoot, he hated getting shot. V wished he could do more for himself. He thought about trying to get a job sometimes anywhere within the many towns or villages he had pasted up in his travels but he did not have something they kept calling "Job experience" Whenever he would tell them he was an android they would always ask for his "Numbers?" or worse sometimes they would try to look into his head! "No no. That won't do". He thought to himself. He had taken up talking to himself. Trying to teach himself more about his surroundings. Trying to learn to read and write. He would sometimes watch how children would play from afar, see the students in their schools learning the different subjects, and occasionally he would prevent random crimes he would run across but mostly he just had time to himself. Time to think and process everything around him. "Trees…grass. Air" He would name things. Bunny always knew all of the names and a part of him knew them as well but it was always so hard to remember without her. It hurt to think about certain things, he couldn't explain it. Sometimes he would completely misremember information or he would have trouble with his words. He never knew why and he did not care as to why either. He was an android. He was built to build just over a year ago. Those were simpler times even though he could not always remember those days. He will never forget the Saiyan attack that started it all. He had at least figured out the camping business. He knew when and where to go for food. He was beginning to develop some ideas of what he could and could not eat, for the rare occasion in which he was bored enough to do so or scared enough that he might need to. Sometimes at night, he would fly in whichever city he happened to be nearby just to walk amongst crowds of people. For some reason whenever he would sit down to think or try to sleep sometimes people would drop zennis near him. He would always take the money, not that he needed it, and thank them but he did not know why. It just always seemed like the right thing to do. Cities were so different when you are not an android. He used to be able to scan one up and down and within a few minutes, depending on the size and activity level of the cities he would have all public information of the buildings and people in his head for reference. He knew roughly everyone and anyone who you could meet, where they might be, and he even knew who and where all the criminals usually were which made it a lot easier to watch out for them. He was good at the whole hero thing and he loved it. His heart began to race as he thought about those days again. Though his arms were not capable of sweating he could feel the excitement building up within him. Now he no longer had any of those advantages. He had to actually follow people now and watch them carefully if he wanted to get into hero work. Apparently, this was against the law to do?! He had even tried explaining to certain policemen, on a couple of occasions, that he was following people, watching them, and listening to them for their own good. They called him a "stalker" He thought that sounded like a cool name but they told him that it sounded like a 2000 zenni fine for repeat offenders. He could not count that high so it must have been a lot. He eventually stopped trying to help and went back to nature confused and ashamed. After a couple of weeks of this V3 decided that he would stop feeling sorry for himself. He rose up one morning and decided to visit the public library. He felt bad for lying to them and giving them a fake name but he convinced himself it was for the best. He did not know how to read but they had rooms where deaf people could go to and insert or listen to books instead of actually reading them. His first book featured a man on the cover with very strong muscles and it taught him about something called strength and conditioning. Every morning as soon as the sun rose he would lift tress up and down the woods. He would run 5 kilometers, would perform 100sit ups, and 100 push-ups every single day. One day upon awakening he could actually feel himself start to stand a little straighter. He could almost sense the changes in his body. The next book he read went over something called "Boxing fundamentals" It quickly became one of his favorites as it taught him something he seemed to already know or intuitively understand. The book also seemed to name and reference other people he had heard of before, famous boxing champions, famous fights and championship bouts. His heart fluttered in his mind as he would listen to the advice of the audio coach. That same night he would run up a nature trail deep into a wooded area and train himself and his body by busting trees and slamming his fist into a mountainside. He tried to channel his energy into his strikes more efficiently. Each day he could feel the force behind his blows as he got stronger. Each night he would go to sleep and his muscles would ache and his belly would roar. It seems eating was now a part of his new lifestyle as well. One day during his training he decided to swim the entire length of the local river up and down twice. He did not know that he could swim but something inside him felt right like he knew all along. He did help that he did not have a need for oxygen. It did not help much but it was a welcomed advantage. As he swam he tried different techniques that he had watched other due during his time as the local "Stalker" He then proceeded to perform his same daily regiment of running, push ups, sit ups, tree lifting, and mountain punching but today he would attempt them in half his usual time. By days end his muscles were drained and his body ached. Having never appropriately healed from his battle with Unit 15 he still felt the aches in certain places that had not yet seemed to fully heal, durable though he was. He promised himself he would go see a Dr. After today's bout of training he felt as if his entire system was being smelted and something was wrong. His muscles were no longer healing at their normal rate and his head was ringing. Like a silent alarm was going off, it did not feel good at all. He promised himself that he would at least try to get himself checked out in the morning As V huddled over a small campfire of his newly erected camp site a man suddenly appeared before him upon some kind of flying saucer device. It was a sleek metallic disc which seems to defy gravity. The man himself was rather short, compared to the average man, an estimated 1.6 meters tall. He stood there with an odd expression in his eyes. It was an expression he was familiar, the arching of the brow turned into a neutral expression. He had no doubt that this man was up to something. It was the same expression that little Suzie Prescot would use before attempting some devious ploy to get something the little girl wanted. Suddenly he found himself quite elated with this new man, though he could not know it yet, V made no attempt to express himself as something within him nagged at him. A moment went by as V stared at the man while biting down into a freshly cooked fish he had been roasting over his fire. Still, the man said nothing, though he had developed a slight smirk. "Ohhh I see" V3 thought to himself. "This is the same as little Suzie. He probably smelled the fish and came down to ask for some. Of course." V3 had met men like him on his recent travels. "Homeless", "bums", and "Stalkers" they were called. A welcoming expression slowly revealed itself on V's face now. The only strange thing was this man's attire was much different than those other men. He wore more regale clothing. They looked nice and tailored, several rings on his fingers perhaps, and the man held himself much differently then any of the other bums he had met. Maybe he saved up all that Zenni people liked to give bums for some reason. "Wait of course!" He thought to himself. It all makes sense now! All of the other bums always looked beat up and tired because it was the life of a hero and people paid them for it! Yes now that he thought about it he had witnessed, several homeless men, once fighting each other over something. It was all starting to make sense. They were heroes just like him and this man must be a professional! People must give him a lot of money and that is why he can afford all of those nice clothes. He stood up and went to grab a stump from nearby. Placing it next to the man he dusted it off and placed a towel over it to cushion his bum. "Are you hungry?" V as extending a stick which held a roasted fish over it. "I've got some water too but you probably wouldn't like it. It's river water. You can heat it up though, boil it over the fire. I don't know if that'll stop yea from getting sick but never did me no harm." He spoke to the strange man now as if he were an old friend. V now eager to hear what the man would say or do next. Awaiting to see what kind of plans the man wanted, even hopeful that he might be one of Enigmus's friends here to help him with more advice. "You don't have to sit but the fish is good and you know what." He spoke as he reached over into his pack. "I am the local bum of this area. So the people down in that town about 6miles back, they give me these."He pulled out packs of mixed nuts, jerky, and dried up raisins. "But most'a this stuff I can find out here believe it or not. So you can have them if you want." Word count/2442/ Total-2442/ Post#1 Unit 15
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Post by Unit 15 on Aug 18, 2018 23:46:35 GMT -5
Despite his initial impression, Jacob was surprised by how polite V3 was. The android was far more sociable than he should have been. That was definitely something that would have to be purged from the system. Regardless he decided to play along for a time to learn more about exactly what he was dealing with. He listened to V3 talk about being the local bum in these parts, and found the description rather revolting. Whoever had built this android had let their tool wander off on its own. Now V3 was puttering about like some lost puppy without its master. It was sad really. Never the less he put on his 'happy face' and flashed a large smile. With the press of a button from a small key chain in his large white lab coat, Jacob turned the disc into a small rod no longer than his hand and dropped it into a pocket. Throwing the back of his coat out, he took a seat on the offered stump.
Looking around at the deep green leaves of the tall trees around them, the sound of birds chirping, it was a lovely scene. Even though Jacob didn't normally go 'into the field' on missions, he did enjoy the great outdoors. It was nice to get away from the lab at times and enjoy nature, though right now he was on a mission. Taking a deep breath he exhaled and looked around. When offered a fish on a stick and some water, he accepted both. The truth of the matter was that he'd been in such a hurry that lunch had been skipped, and the doctor was feeling a little peckish. He held up the water and smiled in thanks for the impromptu meal, then plowed through it with all due haste. He didn't even complain about the two bits of bone in it, instead just spitting them out as he continued to eat. Once finished he dropped the stick, polished off the last of the water, and let out a small burp with a fist over his mouth.
“Mmm, nothing like a nice day out in the world. The chance to just get away from the distractions of life and relax a little, yes?” Looking over at the android he regarded him casually. Behind the genial facade his mind was going into overdrive, analyzing every tiny detail or bit of information there was to see. In looking at V3 he was really recording a vast amount of data, how his synthetic muscles moved, the way they tensed and flexed, gauging potential maximums in terms of strength and reflexes. He also had a fair idea about reaction time, density, durability, and other pertinent details. There was however something that really perked his interest, and that was V3's vocal capabilities. The android sounded no different than a normal human, his voice was so natural and seemed to come with ease. People would be amazed at how easy it wasn't to make a computer system that could speak with the same natural fluidity as a person.
In fiction it seemed like a piece of cake, but in reality, if one had an ear for it, most androids had small tics or other inflections that gave away their artificial nature. Jacob had an ear for it, and wasn't hearing it. The other thing that made him curious was why V3 was so weak. The android had barely scratched Unit 15 during their fight, yet continued to get up time and time again. The amount of punishment he took from a state of the art war machine would have reduced most others to smoldering ashes. His durability was substantial, but his ability to deal damage in battle was severely lacking. Perhaps it was his servo motors, they may not have had the power they needed to add power to his physical attacks. Maybe the motors themselves needed to be replaced. These were all questions that he wouldn't be able to answer until poking around inside of V3's frame to see what was there for himself. In order to continue the image of a polite guest, Jacob decided to do something for the android.
Rising from the stump, he picked up a stick and fished a pocket knife out of one of his coat pockets and sharpened the end of it to a dangerous point. That done he walked to a nearby stream and looked down at it. The water was as clear as could be, and from time to time he would see a flash of scales as a fish swam by. Raising the spear in hand he followed the motion of a fish, then with a quick jab, he drew it back with a fish in the end. It twitched a few times before dying and was still after that. It was the size of a decent meal, and walking back over to the camp, he stuck the stick in the ground next to V3. The fact the android ate food was also an indication there were organic component involved. That was something else he didn't like in this line of work, flesh was weak. If you wanted real power, it was always best to go artificial.
“Waste not want not,” The data collection continued, but this time it was a test of cognitive abilities. Jacob wanted to get an idea of what kind of processing power he was dealing with, and the type of work that would be needed to turn him into a proper war machine, or at the very least one capable of helping him get Unit 15 back, after that he would likely become obsolete and be disposed of. If V3 did the job well enough Jacob would even be kind enough to shut him down and make it quick. There was also the matter of gauging the android personality to see what he was like. So far the android was much too friendly and sociable to strike fear into the heart of even a small child.
“If you don't mind me asking my good fellow, what are you doing out here like a 'bum' as you put it. You seem quite the capable young man. Shouldn't you be out and about enjoying life, chasing woman, and living it up as they say? That's what most young men your age seem interested in. I know I was.” Jacob chuckled a little to himself, thinking about his own youth. He'd dedicated most of his life to learning about robotics and following in the footsteps of his father. Never the less it didn't stop him from going to parties in college, drinking, raising hell, and chasing after pretty young woman. He'd spent more than his fair share of 'too much' time in the lab, but he would also step away at times to enjoy life as well. That was when his mood started to darken as he thought about Barbara. She was probably the only regret in his life, and even now in his mid-forties the man lamented letting her get away. His life would likely be very different right now if she had been a part of it.
“C'est la vie, win some, lose some.” Jacob muttered, speaking mostly to himself. Another reason for trying to engage V3 in conversation was to learn more about him, his views on life, and how much experience he had. He knew that life experience was the single most powerful thing that shaped a person, and also their instincts. Things like that could sometimes be hard to overcome with technology, but not impossible. There were so many factors to consider in something like this that even his neural upgrades were working at full capacity to try an create a working model of what would need to be done. The pleasant face he put on was something that Jacob had learned to do at an early age. It was required in order to keep people unaware of his real intentions. It was also something the man had practiced for so long it came as second nature. It wasn't hard at all for Jacob to appear as a mild-mannered and unassuming individual.
Most wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him the man was hell bent on world, then galactic domination. After all he held to his father Liam's ideology that it was the intelligent who had the right to rule. It was the place of the little people to serve the intelligent, or die as the useless rabble they were. Although he didn't normally talk in such a sophisticated manner, for this little chat he'd also put on his 'fancy man' mask. Reaching into a pocket he took out two shrink wrapped packs of beef jerky and cheese, and tossed one to V3. Some would be amazed at how much he would carry in a lab coat, and often did. The man was a veritable general store on legs. Ripping the plastic he started to gnaw at the beef jerky and waited to see how V3 responded to all this.
Word Count: 1514 Total: 3,548
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Post by MARK I on Aug 19, 2018 8:12:14 GMT -5
There In front of him sat a good man, a smart man. V3 could tell. He has always prided himself in being able to read people. And he was a scientist. That was good too. V3 had only ever known Scientist, asides from his time in the construction business but in truth, he had all but forgotten most of those days now. Spent mostly in the company of other droids. Those memories, they lingered in the back of his mind now, less a memory and more shadows creeping away in the darkness by the light of his consciousness now. Before he freed himself things were always a little easier to remember or process, he was never sure which. This was just another one of those things he could not and probably would not ever truly understand. He remembers asking the Dr. about this a couple of times before but she would always be so busy. Working on something and he hated to bother her. Though he figured this had something to do with her daughter, the little girl Suzie, that girl was always up to stuff, messing around in his head and putting stuff where it did not belong. That girl was a lot more talented then perhaps maybe even her mother knew. She once messed around in his head and around in his back while he was in one of his cryo-sleeps or whatever that he would swear to anyone it that's about the time he started to breathe. Not that he needed to but he could now. He remembers her getting grounded for that too. He could not help but smile at the whole ordeal. This little girl literally programmed him to breathe just to see if she could. There were many things V3 could not understand but usually, the Dr. could. Though it seemed no one ever really understood Little Suzie, not really. Except for maybe the one they call Grandpa brown. But he did not know much about him, come to think of it. The man who now "broke bread" with V seemed nice to him as well, again despite him being an android. Could he not tell? He had recently found out that there were different kinds of scientist but that concept went over his head every time someone tried to explain it to him. He had just assumed that anyone who knew anything was a scientist but apparently there was more to it than that. As Suzie put it there were many different fields of science and pretty much anything that ended with the word "ology" meant it was a science. In her own words she would talk of things called biology; the study of why people poop, Anatomy, the study of where everything goes so that people can poop, chemistry, the study of what goes into poop, math, the study of how much poop is to much poop, physics was the study of how we poop, and finally zoology, Suzie's favorite. That was the scientific study of the behavior, structure, physiology, classification, and distribution of animals. How they hunted, lived, and how they politicalized. Come to think of it?... V3 didn't even know what poop meant? But he was used to that. He knew that there was much he didn't know. Science man: “Mmm, nothing like a nice day out in the world. The chance to just get away from the distractions of life and relax a little, yes?”The Science man seemed to echo V's sentiments to him. It was strange that he actually say down to talk and eat with him. "Well not really." V thought to himself. He is probably a professional bum just like V that was hungry. Of course the only problem with that is that he didn't seem very strong. Nothing like what he would expect. Then again V had tussled with the likes of Majin Zam and Majin Alaka . They didn't seem so tough either the times he had battled them but he was completely wrong about those pink girls. "Yea…" He said as he bite into his fish, then immediately taking a swig of his canteen. He was still getting used to this eating thing. He knew he was doing it wrong, he'd watched Suzie eat and Dr. Danny but they ate kind of differently. Dr. Danny ate more like a controlled yet slightly hurried Lioness, while little Suzie ate more like a "Proper lady" from a T.V show, it was weird. He figured there was no real "Wrong way to do it, just get it down the hole, I guess" but just to be safe he watched the Science man and somewhat tried to mimic his version of it. Something, something about being rude, that's what he'd heard the Doc say once when Suzie was young, so don't make a mess? He was starting to get lost in his thoughts. Snapping out of it he speaks! "Yea, life can be pretty distracting. I think everyone needs to take a break sometimes, you know what I mean? A lot of people…" at this point he was speaking with his mouth half full before realizing that might be wrong. The Science man did seem disturbed by something. So he adjusted accordingly "Umm Sorry… one second" He swallowed "A lot of people they just… I don't know they work to hard and then they get caught up and start to question themselves, the people around them, their own self worth, you know what I mean? It can be rough out here for guys like you and me"
Science man: “If you don't mind me asking my good fellow, what are you doing out here like a 'bum' as you put it. You seem quite the capable young man. Shouldn't you be out and about enjoying life, chasing woman, and living it up as they say? That's what most young men your age seem interested in. I know I was.”V took a moment now to think of what he would say. He still had Enigmus in his mind. The things he showed him. The way those people cheering had lifted his spirits. He could hear them chanting now and it brought a smile to his face. V removed his glasses from his face. He thought they might help him seem…more human. He doesn't usually do this. Always makes him feel vulnerable. His eyes were the only thing about him he could not really change and they were obviously mechanical if you looked at them long enough, and they were easy to look at. There bright brilliant shades of blue, layered amongst shades of emerald green. It was his best features. "Hey man" He said dusting his hands off to put a warm and welcoming hand on the science mans shoulder, while extending another to shake his free hand. "You can ask me anything. We just broke bread right? So were friends. I trust you." He looked the Man straight in his eyes, with a soft smile that revealed his intentions. It was a vulnerable smile, a smile that could not be programmed, a genuine, inviting smile. "People call me a "bum" because of the way I look and stuff. Other people look like me and they get zenni on the street. I think it's cuz we're all heroes and stuff. I mean I am and people are smart. Cuz people built me and people give me the chance to live and help them when they mess up. Sometimes but I think it's cuz they get confused." He took a bite of his fish again, forgetting to swallow as he talks next but at least remembering to look to the side so as not to expose his disgusting mouth. "Women?!" He said next "Bwahaha. I've got two women in my life, well… three I guess and they're more than I can handle to be honest. Besides" He spoke again with bits of food in his mouth, wiping the debris off of his lips in a way that seemed natural, without having to process the motion. "There's like.. Biology stuff involved with all of that, I watched a video about it once Dr. Danny told me not to. Now I got some super powerful thing called "Parental control" in my head, doesn't let me learn what I am supposed to do with women. Even If I did though. Dr. Danny is the only women I care about…Oh and Suzie…Okay and Bunny I guess." A moment of silence fell over them. V hoped he hadn't done anything wrong but he could tell the Science man was deep in thought. Maybe he was just enjoying the meal. He seemed to like being out doors. "He's probably one of those Science types that doesn't get out much" V thought to himself. So he let him think. It’s good to give people there space sometimes and he could tell that something had been on the guys mind. Whatever it was it seemed heavy. He got the sense that this science guy was bothered maybe? By something. He waited a few moments before placing a gentle, reassuring hand on the mans shoulder, making sure to wipe off his hands first before doing so. "Hey, what ever happened or what ever you are going through man. It's not your fault. Trust me. You are a scientist and a person. Not everyone can be perfect like me! Haha" He patted the man now, a firm reassuring pat Science man: “C'est la vie, win some, lose some.”"Exactly! Man. My name is VE-e3 by the way. I don’t know if I told you that already" a dumb expression flashed across his face as he struggled to remember wether he had or not. "Anyways…" He said now taking the pieces of jerky and cheese Science man had handed to him. "…Oh wow, you got alotta stuff in'em pockets huh? Anyways, *munches on jerky, I am sure you have a lot of busy science stuff to do. I won't keep you or nothin but if you're ever like, sad or something there's always someone you can talk to. You people are good at talkin. I know other smart folk like you that always get so wrapped up in what they do that it makes them feel all weird and, like, grumpy sometimes." As V3 spoke he realized that he didn't know what came next. Usually by now he would flex or do a pose. Bunny would suggest a script for him and he would have some kind of reference point or he would fly off to do some work but he had nowhere to go and he was not sure what to do. He sat back down, hoping he hadn’t scared the man off or come off as rude. His hands started to shake a little, his breath got heavier in his chest. In a small wave of anxiety he realized no one had ever talked to him for this long and he worried he might have upset his only real world friend that he'd met, besides maybe one of the pink girls he'd fought in the past. Sitting down he took a deep breath and calmed himself. Placing his glasses slowly back onto his face and shining that bright smile again for the world to admire. word count 1893/ Total- 4335/ Post #2 Unit 15
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Post by Unit 15 on Aug 27, 2018 21:30:13 GMT -5
There was a lot going through Jacob's mind as he listened to V3 talk. Most of it dealt with how he was going to incapacitate the android and use him to find and recapture Unit 15. He naturally nodded attentively and vaguely listened to what was being said, but there was a lot more on his mind at the moment. He was worried about 15, what was being done to him, and by who. The android was his deadliest creation to date, and there wasn't currently anything at the lab that could stop him in the event the android was turned against his creator. He watched V3 smile, and did so himself, though it was closer to a smirk. That was when Jacob had an idea about how to approach the situation that wouldn't even require the use of the high powered taser that he'd brought. This android had emotions and personality, which led to another problem.
Jacob never approached a situation from only one angle, it was usually in excess of a dozen, and from the short time that he'd talked to V3, there were some other revelations about the android he'd come to as well, and in his mind, none of them were good. Some could prove to be useful though. Always able to adapt himself to the situation at hand, Jacob decided to try something completely different. V3 seemed like one of those types who always tried to help people, possible because he was under the delusion that it for the 'greater good' as everyone was so fond of claiming. To that end he stood up and walked around a little, thinking to himself about what to do next, or more specifically what to say. That was when it dawned on him just what to do. Walking back to the stump he took a seat, and put on his little mental acting cap.
“My name is Dr. Jacob Gains, and I am indeed a scientist, a robotics expert to be exact. I also have to confess that the science stuff as you put it, it part of the reason I'm here. You see, I created Unit 15, the android you fought in Scenic City. Now before you go getting the wrong idea, allow me to explain. Yes, the Unit series were designed to be combat models, but what happened in Scenic City, that... was a disaster. 15 malfunctioned and decided to destroy not one, but two cities. Then to top it off, he's been stolen.” As Jacob said that last part, it came out like acid on the tongue, the words burning him as they were spoken. There was still a tremendous amount of anger about that little sore spot.
“Someone has stolen my android, and is doing God knows what to it even as we speak. Considering the amount of time that's already passed, it's possible they've completely reprogrammed it. The reason I came to you is because I may not know much about your design, but from the telemetry I reviewed of the Scenic City disaster, I can tell that you're an android as well. I wanted to ask for your help. I can't get Unit 15 back on my own, and I'm... concerned about the damage he could do in the wrong hands. You've seen what 15 is capable of, you really whan that running loose on the planet?” That being said Jacob put on his best sad face and shook his head, acting like the whole thing was a disaster from start to finish. He wasn't overly concerned by the fact that 15 wanted to destroy Scenic City, or the one where V3's friends were located.
There was however a lot of truth that he was concerned about what Unit 15 was doing right now, and more specifically, what had been done to it. The android was dangerous in more ways that most people could imagine, and he needed to recapture this prototype before things got out of hand. He still couldn't believe how things had turned out. Unit 15 was being put through field tests to see if it was ready for mass production, at which point he would have launched his attack against the world in an attempt to take it over. Now all of that was put on hold by this fiasco. Jacob also chastised himself for not having another model on hand to help him in the event of something just like this. He'd let his own eagerness to move forward make him rash and short-sighted. Now this one mistake could potentially cost him everything. Now there was a good deal of anger directed at himself over this situation.
“That android is more dangerous than most people realize. Damn it, if someone has tampered with his neural network, the result could be unfortunate. You can't create an artificial intelligence that advanced without running into... issues.”
Word Count: 816 Total: 4,364
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Post by MARK I on Aug 27, 2018 22:34:31 GMT -5
Unit 15...Help get back...Unit 15... The request sent a shock through his entire system. In an instant flashes of scenic city falling apart, the sounds of people screaming, and cars being thrown through the air. All of it was fresh and raw in V's mind as if he were there and now. His hands began to shake subtly, both of them. Taking a moment to close his eyes he slowly out away from the meal he was eating and tucked his hands into the folds of his arms. "One... Two... Three.. Bluebell, coconut crush, Paperboy." V3 began to utter a few phrases under his breath as he lowered his head in a way that he had hoped was not terribly obvious. His breath stuttered and his eyes twitched. A few seconds passed before he finally got up to stretch. He was a hero. He saved people. He was a Bum! and it is what he did. He could not say no to Jacob. He just couldn't he had never turned anyone down before and Jacob was right. 15 has to be stopped but...how... V took a few moments to himself as he tried to respond in his usually gung-ho and cheery way but he could not find the strength to do so, nor the confidence. He looked into Jacobs' eyes... A scientist... Just like her. Finally, he mustered up the courage to speak. Unsure of himself still he attempted to stall for some time. He needed time. Time to breath. Time to think. "Yea..." He spoke as he scratched his head "I uhh... We should... That is bad. Real bad but umm." He was faltering. It was obvious now. All his training and all of his adventures had not prepared him for this. For 15. He was unstoppable. Especially without bunny but Bunny had to stay down. She had a signature to her or something. He wasn't sure. He just knew that he wanted to protect them and if he activated Bunny she might try to get in touch and then 15 might come back or they might be discovered. He shuttered again. He could feel the blood rushing through his system now as if he was in a fight to the death. He had to get things under control. He started to pretend to cough. "Aghh ohh agh ergh!" Covering his mouth as he did so. "Excuse me. I think I ate a spine or something... Well anyways. We should do something about that but... I am gonna be honest with you. I... Can't. Help you..." As he spoke the words he could feel a churning, twisting pain in the pit of his stomach. His skin began to crawl in an uncomfortable manner he'd never experienced before. This was unlike him. It was an unnatural feeling. He wanted to turn and vomit but he couldn't. For a moment he avoided Jacob's gaze like a plague. His body now tilting as if to exit the conversation. He wanted no part of this. No part of this life or this world. He wanted to pulsate all of his power into his legs and blast off into space. Into the Deep black sea, far far away, in a galaxy where no one would ever think to see or find him. He caught himself, staring at the stars and sky. He shifted his weight back to Jacob and turned to face the man again. "Listen Doc. I... Want to help you but you see. My friends almost got hurt last time and I got this lady in my head, Names Bunny, she does all the smart techno equations and nerd stuff for me. I mean, in theory I could do it myself and whatever but I don't really like to and I uh. I don't really know how I do it. Anyways. I got these other friends and They got in trouble for helping me out. So I turned Bunny off. and now my friends can't find me and now without bunny, I am kind of lost and I am not sure what I could even do."
He played with the fire as he spoke. waving his hand in, around, and through it. It stung a little but the pain was fine. It grounded him and he was in control of it. Using his Ki he could manipulate it, move it around, swirl it or shape it to a certain extent. He was in control, mostly, and he liked that. "Point is. Jacob. You seem like a nice guy and I like you don't get me wrong, but I can't stop that thing you created and without my friends. Well. I wouldn't even know where to look or what to do. I can fight... Well. I think I can fight but that thing can really fight... Sorry. I wish I could..." He stopped himself. Not on purpose, not intentionally but because he could not believe what he was saying. He didn't want to believe what he was saying. Speaking these words outloud were a remainder of the defeat he suffered not even a couple of months ago, yet still fresh in his mind and in his soul. He was biting his tongue now, clenching his fist, and without realizing it the fire was intensifying within his palm. A small pillar of flame erupted and formed itself into a tiny twister as it speeds off and died not a foot away from where they were sitting. "One... Two... Three.. Bluebell, coconut crush, Paperboy." He repeated again, under his breath. "No" He thought to himself. "No no no no... NO!" His eyes now flared with a contagious intensity. "I have to do this." He began to think. "I don't know how but I have to do it! A hero does not quit. A hero does not back down!" Standing up slowly he looked at the sky again. He imagined what it would be like to just fly away. To never have to speak of this or think of this again. He could fly farther and farther away. He could just keep on flying until no one would ever find him. He wanted to. He wanted that now more than anything. ( "But Suzie and Danny...") He whispered. "Maybe you can help me." He finally said. "I am sorry but... I tried to stop the thing you created but there is just no way. Maybe you can help me do it? I mean that makes sense right? You made it. But... I don't want to kill him... Or whoever stole him. I want them to learn there lesson but they don't have to die for it. I am not supposed to let anyone into my tech bits but if you can promise me you will help my...friends and keep them safe then I will promise to do what I can for you Doc."
This was the right decision. V3 was sure of it. He was a Scientist and all Scientist he had ever met were good people. This man could help him and in exchange, V3 would protect him and he would trust him. This has to be the only way. Enigmus said I could do it on my own...Maybe he's right but I still think I need help. Bunny is in there Mr. and if you wake her up she will probably try to kick you out. She's supposed to protect me from people getting in and making changes and stuff, like Suzie, she's always up to something." A smile crept onto V's face now as he spoke. "So until you're done I guess I will keep her turned off but then afterward we'll wake her up again. Is that a deal? Jacob?" V stood now and extended his hand proudly towards his new friend Jacob. This would have to do it. It was his only hope. W.C- 1318/ Total- 5653/ Post#3 Unit 15
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Post by Unit 15 on Aug 31, 2018 1:03:42 GMT -5
The fact that V3 was acting in an almost childish manner from his point of view was almost amusing. Jacob had sought him out thinking he might have to take the android by surprise and overpower him, but as it turned out, there was a good chance he could talk V3 into it just by pretending to be nice. Still seated on the stump he listened to to the android talk about the Bunny program, his friends, what happened with getting in trouble for helping, and oddly enough, he really was listening. By now he'd already figured out V3 wasn't a real android, not like Unit 15. It was obvious that he'd been human once, and augmented at some point. Though people called them androids, in the strictest sense of the word they weren't. V3 was an augmented human. Turning on the stump he looked at the android with a curious expression, then decided to impart some of his knowledge about life.
“Do you know why you lost in Scenic City? Because you were weak. Not just physically, but mentally as well. It's not a failing to have friends or allies, most everyone does, even me. Yet despite this, I have the ability to stand on my own when I need to. The truth is I might be able to get Unit 15 back on my own, but it would be so much harder to do alone. In order to be strong, that strength must come from within you and not others. If you rely too much on other people, then you're nothing but a tool to be used as needed. Are you a tool V3?”
Standing up from the stump, Jacob walked around with his hands clasped behind his back, thinking about what he was going to say. It was obvious now that V3's problems ran a lot deeper than just strength or power output. He had the confidence and self-esteem of a whipped dog. This wouldn't do, not one bit. If the two of them were going to work together to get Unit 15 back before any damage was done, he needed a weapon that had more than simple physical strength, else he would be useless. Jacob stopped pacing for a moment and looked at V3 and arched a brow. It was obvious that we wasn't happy, but it was with the situation more than it was the android sitting on the stump. What this situation needed was some harsh realities, and that was exactly what it would get.
"Listen Doc. I... Want to help you but you see. My friends almost got hurt last time and I got this lady in my head, Names Bunny, she does all the smart techno equations and nerd stuff for me. I mean, in theory I could do it myself and whatever but I don't really like to and I uh. I don't really know how I do it. Anyways. I got these other friends and They got in trouble for helping me out. So I turned Bunny off. and now my friends can't find me and now without bunny, I am kind of lost and I am not sure what I could even do. Point is. Jacob. You seem like a nice guy and I like you don't get me wrong, but I can't stop that thing you created and without my friends. Well. I wouldn't even know where to look or what to do. I can fight... Well. I think I can fight but that thing can really fight... Sorry. I wish I could..."
“Are you serious? Are... you... serious?!” Jacob said, turning and holding his arms out. “You've been given the potential to be one of the strongest androids I've seen, and you're doing what about it, sitting here sulking? Why, because you lost a fight? Oh boo-hoo it happens. Your friends almost got hurt? So what?! They knew the risks when they signed on, do you really think them so stupid as to not see that something might happen? And yet here you are, hiding from them and the world. To make matters worse, you did more damage to them than Unit 15.”
That said, Jacob pointed a finger at him. “Your friends risked their lives to try and save yours, put their asses on the line for you, and how do you repay them? By running away. You should be ashamed of yourself! Do they even know if you're dead or alive? How worried do you think they are, how much sleep have they lost over not knowing? How do you think they'd feel if you did die, and knew they could have helped you had they been there?” With his anger calming, Jacob lowered his head and thought about some of his own mistakes. “Believe me V3, you don't want to go through life thinking 'If only I had...'.”
Pushing his sadness aside, Jacob put on his grumpy face again, turned away from V3, and folded his arms. Not only was this to give the android time to think about what he'd said, it was also to consider his next move. It wasn't enough to merely point out a problem, a solution had to be found as well. That was something else that Jacob needed to address, the problem. He'd berated V3 and verbally beat him down, but it wasn't just for spit, there was a plan in action here. Turning in profile to the android, he looked over.
“I am sorry but... I tried to stop the thing you created but there is just no way. Maybe you can help me do it? I mean that makes sense right? You made it. But... I don't want to kill him... Or whoever stole him. I want them to learn there lesson but they don't have to die for it. I am not supposed to let anyone into my tech bits but if you can promise me you will help my...friends and keep them safe then I will promise to do what I can for you Doc.”
“You're right,” Jacob said. “And as long as you say there's no way, there won't be. You're your own worst enemy right now, do you know that? You're running away from your problems, and that never solves anything, it only creates more problems. It's one thing to make a tactical retreat and withdraw from a battle you can't win, but that's not what you've done, you're trying to hide from your problems, pretend as if they don't exist. I know why you tried to stop Unit 15 in Scenic City, and failed, do you know why? Because you rely on others to do things for you too much. If you ever want to be as strong, or stronger than Unit 15, you have to rely on yourself. Unit 15 might be powerful, but it's only a tool, a machine. You have the ability to think, and make your own decisions. That android you faced will only ever be the sum of it's parts, as powerful as the technology driving it.”
Walking over to V3, he looked down, though at only 5'4” he didn't have far to go. “You want power to protect others and stop accidents like Scenic City from happening again? Do you really think it's just going to fall into your lap living out here like a hobo? It's not your 'tech bits' I'd be worried about right now. Maybe I can help you do it? You tell me, can I?"
Word Count: 1,255 Total: 5,619
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Post by MARK I on Aug 31, 2018 13:33:59 GMT -5
V3 took a long moment to think about everything Dr. Jacob Gains told him. His words burrowed through his skin, deeper, and with more of a piercing, jabbing pain then any physical blow he had felt for as long as he could remember. He was right, the Dr. Was right. V had never even stopped to consider how Danny and Suzie might feel about him going missing. He could have at least called them or send them a letter? But then again V could not read or write... Something was wrong with him. He did need his routines to do reading and writing for him, but why? There were just so many things he did not understand. If he was supposed to relay on himself and no one else then why would he be built in the first place?
Deep, deep in his oldest of programmed codes he could still see the one which stated specific instructions on what to do should he ever be damaged or in need of repair. It had been tagged as "Outdated" So he did not have to follow its instructions anymore, but then again, come to think about it he rarely actually "had to follow" any instructions anyways. It had begun to dawn on him now that all this time Dr. Danny had been giving him options and a choice in most decisions because what if... what if she cannot control him? What if he always had a choice? What if?... No no, these things did not make any sense and in all this time whenever these thoughts would surface he would just attribute is ignorance to the fact that he was well, ignorant. Though that didn't make sense to him either.
"But, I am a tool? I was built to work construction? I know that. That's why I don't know anything else." Again he struggled to answer. He could feel Jacob's gaze on him now as the gears started turning in his head. He dusted off his pants as he rose to his feet, now easily towering over Jacob.
"Look Doc. You're probably smart and right about everything you just said... I would... I should have called them but I guess I was scared. and also" He spoke now trying his best not to sound dejected. "I don't know how to read.." Though despite his best efforts the embarrassment still managed to seep out of his mouth and into the world anyways.
"Bunny, when she was installed, kind of oversees that stuff now. and I mean. I have been keeping her off and doing and acting like you said! but ever since I did that it's just made me sad, and I never been sad before until I turned her off and got my ass kick" Again he realized something new, he was sad. He had been sad and even depressed for some time now. He had forgotten about that as a whole. He never could have even imagined it was something he could or would have experienced. Genuine sadness for someone or thing.
Picking up a rock from the ground V held it tightly in his hands. It was an odd thing to think but he searched through his code to realize he could do whatever he wanted to this rock or whatever he wanted to Jacob. He grasped it tightly. He could feel the stone begin to give and crack against the force of his grip. He was in complete control. Control of himself and in control of his life. He saw that now. A lot of things were still unclear but not that, never that, not anymore.
He would never hurt Dr. Jacob. He was sure of that but he could and if he wanted to, nothing would be there to stop him. It was an odd thing to consider, and ironically were it not for this same Dr. He never would have.
The stone crumbled to dust in his hands, he could feel the debris begin to pour out from in between his fingers, like a leaky faucet. Nothing he could do to stop each individual grain from pouring out, no matter how hard he squeezed the sand refused to obey him. For the first time in his life, if he could call himself alive, he felt in control. In command but this damn sand. It disobeyed him. He did not like that.
He took a deep breath as he released. He needed to calm down. He was sure there was a reason he was lacking in knowledge. There had to be. He stared back at Jacob know, realizing how he must have looked.
"I.. I am sorry Jacob. I was experiencing some... weird feelings? I don’t understand what is going on with me. I like, never use to be such a wimp. But I am ready! I think you're a swell guy and you're a science nerd so yea we can like totally help each other out, just. Like. Don't mess with my hair please. Oh and Bunny! You probably don't wanna mess with her either. I don’t know you might wake her or somethin and uhhh that would probably be bad."
He was not sure about what he was about to do or get into. He did not know how to feel about going home with a strange man to his place, especially not a man he had just met, but Jacob seemed like a nice guy, and if anything happened he could just over power him, he thought to himself.
"So like... Do we do this at your place or something? Do you want me to just get on a knee?"
He took a knee as he spoke just in case.
W.C: 959/ Total- 6612/ Post #4
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Post by Unit 15 on Sept 1, 2018 23:20:49 GMT -5
Jacob watched V3 crush the rock in his hand, and could see that what he'd said had the desired effect. Things were going according to plan so far, which was a minor relief. It didn't seem very hard getting the android to see things his way. Most of his original plan was taking care of itself without a lot of effort required. Having made his point and gotten the desired reaction, Jacob decided that it was time to switch gears and move forward with the recovery effort. This is where V3 would come into play, and he would need the android to be more amiable to the idea of allowing himself to be worked on. The current condition of his 'tech bits' was far below the standard he needed to accomplish this mission. He listened to V3 talk about Bunny and the other issues, then arched a brow as the android knelt.
“Oh get up you twit.” Taking out the small rad that had been the transport disk he arrived on, Jacob activated it once more, then expanded it to accommodate two. Once the disk was hovering off the group, he motioned for V3 to stand beside him. Once they were both aboard, he floored it, or would have if the disk had a gas pedal. With the inertial dampeners in place there was no jerking or swaying, and the invisible energy field kept them from having a bumpy ride. It took some time to get back to Jacob's laboratory. Once there they landed on the same platform he'd left from, allowing the disk to settle down in front of the tunnel carved through the mountain. It led to the doors and beyond was the laboratory. Walk in the direction he held out both hands without turning around.
“You're gonna love it here, I've got all the toys.” The description wasn't inaccurate either. As the doors opened, Jacob used his neural interface to turn the lights on, revealing something that looked like it was straight out of a science fiction movie. The robotics laboratory alone was worth hundreds of millions of zeni in terms of equipment. Yet here he could do almost anything related to robotics, and then some. This time he turned around and smiled, waiting to see V3's reaction. Despite that he had yet to get to the best part. He waited until having the android's attention once more, then nodded for him to follow. No the way back to the base, he'd signaled for one of the servant robots to prepare a little surprise for his guest upon their return.
Jacob continued down the hall leading to his personal living quarters, and when the doors opened, it was like walking into a penthouse apartment. It was arrayed like those fancy places you see rich people living in the movies, after all, he was rich. Near the back of the room there was a round table with two large semi-circle futons around it. Taking a seat at one, he motioned for V3 to have a seat at the other. That's when the surprise was sprung. Once the two of them were relaxed, the servant robot came out carrying two covered platters, and set one down in front of the both of them. When the lids were lifted there were plates, complete with silverware that was actual silver. Each plate had a one pound steak, a baked potato almost the size of a football, and some green beans as a side.
“Can't very well plot to save the world on an empty stomach, now can we? Dig in, I'm sure you're hungry.” Jacob wasted no time in satisfying his hunger. There also wasn't any steak sauce, as unlike most meals, his kitchen robot was more than capable of seasoning food and giving a 5 star chef a run for his money. That was something the man had made sure of. There were a lot of things that Jacob was negotiable on, but food wasn't one of them. The man was a bit of a glutton, but offset that by having an exercise room to help keep the calories down. The last thing the robot brought was a tray set with two glasses, a bottle of fine red wine, some fruit juice, and a pitcher of water. This way his guest would have a choice of beverages. Jacob helped himself to the wine. After the meal was over Jacob sat back to let the food settle and patted his stomach.
“Excuse me.” A loud 'baaaarrpp!' sounding belch followed, though it was obvious he did it on purpose. The last thing to top off the meal, for him at least, was a cigarette, and taking one from the pack in his pocket, Jacob lit it up and took a long drag before exhaling. “Right, now where were we? Ah yes, saving the world. It's rather cliché sounding I know, but the truth of the matter is we may end up having to do just that. You see, my oh so wonderful creation that's out and about unleashing havoc on the general public, is a lot more dangerous than most people realize. You see, Unit 15 has the ability to self-upgrade. It's equipped with a molecular nanite factory that allows it to reconfigure its systems. Not only does he adapt to threats, he'll only continue to get stronger.
Also if you're thinking about us possibly waiting until his reactor runs dry, it won't. Unit 15 is powered by an unstable quantum singularity generator. In layman's terms, it's a miniature black hole. The technology may limit how much power he can draw at any given time, but properly maintained, that reactor would keep running after most of the stars in our galaxy had burned out. One of my father's best inventions.” With a nod behind him, Jacob motioned to a painting of his parents, Liam and Sarah. The resemblance was also striking, as he had Sarah's red hair and eye color, along with his father's facial features.
Word Count: 1,004 Total: 6,623
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Post by MARK I on Sept 2, 2018 0:57:00 GMT -5
The trip to the lair was unlike anything V3 could have imagined from beginning to end. Before embarking on this next journey V wondered if what he was doing was the right thing. It had to be? but for some reason he just felt wrong? Swallowing his reservations he stepped onto the sleek metallic disc, almost losing his balance as he did so. As they stood on the strange hover disc, Jacob had produced, V3's stomach now whirred and twisted almost the entire way there, perhaps it was the fish, but no? that can not be it he was almost certain he was not capable of sickness from any source.
He had gotten used to flying, he even loved it. One of his favorite things to do but this was unlike any flying he had ever done, he did not like the fact the he was not in conrtol and again a feeling of anger came over him, though it was quickly suppressed. It felt weird to be standing on something that did the flying for you. He did not understand why some people did not just fly on their own, it could probably be even faster, of course most people did not seem to like flying. Or did not fly for some reason, odd. Having time now he considered asking why this was. Confusion now drawing lines on his facial features but decided to withhold his question and just try to enjoy the ride, much as he could. In a way this would just be another adventure, a new adventure, one like unlike any he had ever done before and in a way that was exciting and it warranted it's very own place in his mind.
As they Whizzed through the air the large metallic disc began to ascend higher and higher as the horizon began to reveal a long chain of black jagged rocks. As they got closer V could make out a heavy plume of smoke as it climbed the sky, reaching higher, and higher. The disc suddenly began to change its altitude and speed in an instant as it now headed straight for a mountain. V began to worry they were gonna crash knowing full and well about the malfunctions that even the best technologies could have, he readied to brace himself and grab Jacob to leap to safety but he hesitated just long enough to see the opening upon the mountainside. His mind raced to try and figure out why Jacob had made this his lair but as he struggled to come up with comprehensible reasons his head started to hurt. It felt as if he was trying to lift a three ton boulder of fire with a plastic spoon. He hated the fact that sometimes thinking for extended periods of time without bunny would burn his head and make it feel heavy. He did not like it one bit so he resigned to simplify explanations, perhaps the Dr. Just did not have any friends. perhaps V will never be sure why anyone would want to live on the side of a mountain, so far away from people and society but then again Dr. Danny rarely came out of her lab as well. Maybe this was a science thing he just did not understand. The mountains themselves were ominous as they seemed to close in on them as they got closer, Jagged peaks dominated their sky now. Pillars of dark rock which seemed to be reaching towards the heavens themselves.
As they entered the Drs. Lair, large obsidian slabs, acting as the doors opened themselves, seemingly without command and a series of lights and different colored arrays of flashes began protruding from the walls, which were lined in strange materials that seemed to move and react to their presence here. The aroma of this strange new place was different to. It smelled like... new car? He was not sure but there was a freshness in the air to it all. As if the Dr. had opened the seal and began to unbox a brand new item or capsule of sorts. Looking up V could see no ceiling either, not in the lobby at least, despite being in a well lit space the ceiling seemed to be made of some reflective material or perhaps it was an automated screen programmed to adapt to visitors. Somewhere on one of the walls laid a fish tank, not just any fish tank, but a fish tank with sharks floating and swimming around in. Why? How? So many questions sprung up into V's mind in not even the first few seconds of them stepping into here. As they walked further he gazed in awe at the size of the room, there was so much space here in this Robo lobby he would not be surprised if you could fit a jet or plane in this very room, perhaps even a ship of some kind.
Not only was it spacious but the lair was also decorated from top down with ornated drapes, embroidered in the finest materials. There were machines whizzing and whirring past him, tables on tracks with arms fixing and organizing what appeared to be side projects. He was not surprised to see other machines in here and he was glad there were not more unit 15s here, at least not any he could see. These seemed to be servitors. moving around and arranging the environment as they walked deeper into the lair
The machines themselves seemed to be made of superior materials, everything here was and seemed to be built to last and to be built to look aesthetic as well with sleek designs and smooth looking exterior. As they continued to walk down one of the main corridors he could see that shafts leading down into different directions, each were busy with their own droids and servitors. The path they were on led them took them to a place more lavishly furnished then the lobby of a five-star hotel and resort. Everything in this special sectioned off area screamed comfort and ease. It was inviting and lavish in every sense of the word. Immediately the men were greeted by a pair of gorgeous looking android women who brought jacob and V a change of clothes. Once they undressed him and practically stuffed him into a bath, cleaning and washing, scrubbing every inch of any impurities they then escorted him to an area where jacob sat, smiling and eagerly awaiting him to the sounds of classical music which seemed to exude from the walls and not from any stereo system he could see. Somehow the robes V3 had been made to wear felt as if they were tailored to him specifically. He had never before worn something so close to perfect for him. The fabric itself sitting naturally in waves that made him look even more charming then usual and completely complemented his physique
A scent of freshly cooked meat and potato seeped into his nostrils as he sat. Apparently it was dinner time and not wanting to be rude he began to eat as well. The meal was beyond belief, he could not taste it, actually but he could smell it and that was just as good. Jacob seemed in a much better mood as well. like he was floating on air now. It just seemed as if nothing was wrong at all and that was strange V thought to himself but perhaps he was just in such a good mood because he had made a new friend and that is something V3 could understand, it was always nice to make a new friend. Especially one that could help you.
"This is all.. So good and great" V3 said attempting to compliment and be nice. Still in awe of all he was seeing. It was even the types of machines or the level of tech that he was seeing, which most people might have been stuck on, he had seen some of these designs before, oddly enough. But the amount of machines, the set up, and the tasks each droid was busy with.
"You didn't have to do all this for me ya know. I woulda been fine sleeping outside." He said to the Dr. in an attempt to be nice when in truth he could feel it again. The boiling rage mounting up inside of him. He did not like seeing so many machines doing Jacobs busy work for him, especially when the man was fully capable himself. He resisted from saying or doing anything. He did not blame jacob for it after all, most people did not mean anything by it and they didn't think twice about it. He did not want to upset his new friend either. Dr. Danny had droids that helped her as well, after all V was one but they were each for a specific purpose and they could not be advanced enough to be like V. These might not be either, but the sight of so many upset him more then he would have expected.
V3 remembered being a servitor. He remembered building and constructing buildings with his own hands. He remembered standing by and doing nothing as the Saiyans slaughtered a drove of men and young boys as he went to power down. He lived what seemed to be a life time of service and silent oppression, serving a race, several races of people who would never thank him, or think twice about him, and all while he was expected to do all for them. When he realized his respiration rate and temperature raising, he shook himself out of it and apologized to no one under his breath. The day was quickly turning into a confusing mix of pleasure and relaxed comfort. V's own head began to spin as the Dr. Spoke of Unit 15. He took a deep breath and began to relax. He needed to pay attention this was important, he thought.
And as they began speak jacob informed him of Unit 15's software and program features, his ability to reconfigure himself and adapt, the fact that he will continue to get stronger overtime and again V started to panic. This whole time he had been doing next to nothing while Unit 15 could be out there getting much stronger!
"Well what if he knows how to beat me even better than he did last time?" V shook at the thought of it. It was hard enough for him to imagine getting into even one more fight with the Goliath let alone now knowing that it would be stronger and smarter then it was before. His left hand began to shake slightly at the thought of the battle to come.
He looked around at all the walls, trying to find something soothing to look at in an attempt to calm his nerves. He Noticed a painting of what appeared to be jacob parents. It was framed and adorn as you would expect but the painting stood out. It was the only thing in the room that did not match the surroundings and it was oddly placed. but he tried not to think about it to much. He was enjoying himself, if nothing else simply because jacob seemed to be easing up despite the fact that every word out of his mouth was alarming enough to want to hide yourself in a bomb shelter.
"OK doc. So what is the plan?" He said taking one big gulp of his steakm staining his soft, form-fitting robe awkwardly causing him to look up and smile through his thick black sunglasses, which he had refused to take off even to the female droids from earlier.
"Okay so like what is the plan? Are we gonna just make another one? or like Do you have an Anit 15 gun or something I could shoot?! OH! I know. How about we turn him off and then on again?" V3 got really excited about that last idea.
W.C- 2003/ Total- 8615- Post: #5
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Post by Unit 15 on Sept 2, 2018 15:05:26 GMT -5
Jacob leaning back puffing on his cigarette, listening to the ideas that were offered for dealing with Unit 15, and found it mildly amusing. It was also rather strange that one who had implants like V3 seemed to know so little about them or how they worked. There were a number of things he was thinking about in regards to stopping 15 as well, but none of them would be very easy. He'd been over this in his own mind for some time now. If there had been another way, he most likely wouldn't have brought V3 in on all of this. Jacob had already shown the android far more than most people saw, but it was necessary to accomplish his goals. “Make another Unit 15, just like that? Oh no, I dare say that is no easy task. The body sure, I could have that constructed in a few hours, but the neural network... that takes time, a lot of time. We're talking about designing a network capable of rivaling the human mind in form and function. That's not just something you can slap together overnight. It took my father Liam years to design the neural network he used for Unit 14, and I... admittedly took some shortcuts with 15's design. You see, Unit 14 his predecessor, was destroyed in battle, but the head survived. In my zeal to continue my father's good works, I may have used Unit 14's neural network for Unit 15 instead of designing one from scratch. There are fail safes that should allow me to shut Unit 15 down remotely within close proximity, if they haven't been tampered with. The main problem is that 15 was still in the prototype phase when I deployed him for field testing. I was planning to bring him back to base for more work before some asshole stole him. The one thing I can't stand is a damn thief. Did you know that I just turned 45, and that I've been working on the Unit series of combat robots since I was 16? I began by helping my father in coming up with an initial design to test out. As to the Unit 15 gun, no, unfortunately not. It was designed for extreme combat, so making a gun that could take him down in a few hits would have made the entire thing rather redundant.” Thinking back to that he laughed quietly and took another sip of wine. “I can still remember Unit 1, a combat chassis on tank treads. Man that thing was a dumpster fire, could barely roll ten feet without overheating. Yet it laid the groundwork for all the others that came after it. Take it from me, designing androids isn't as easy as it sounds. Unit 9 malfunctioned so badly it classified my father and I as targets and tried to shoot us. Thankfully father had a rocket launcher handy to take care of it. Really miss him... Speaking of Unit 9, follow me.” Getting up from where they were seated, Jacob moved down the hall and returned to the robotics laboratory, speaking as they went. “I know you're concerned about letting someone inspect your 'tech bits' as you put it, but you really don't have anything to be concerned about. In light of the fact I came to you for help in this matter, wouldn't it make sense that I need you functioning at the best you possibly could in order to help? Also, there's something I wanted to show you.” Jacob walked over to one of the tables that that had a light blue surface, to which a number of small and delicate looking arms were attached. He tapped at the controls briefly and brought up an interactive holographic display. Reaching out he began to quickly manipulate what looked like a plain ball at first. In short order it took the shape of a human arm that stopped half way down. Once the design was finished he tapped a button, and the arms when to work, producing small lasers and quickly printed the design in 3D. The arms moved extremely fast and it took very little time for the hologram to be produced as a physical object. Components were printed and assembled, then the limb was covered with a synthetic skin that was visually indistinguishable from the real thing. “You and I are more alike than you realize.” Taking the left forearm in his right hand, Jacob gave it a sharp twist, causing a small ch-click. He then removed the limb and held up the sleeve covered stump. “This upgrade wasn't optional, a little gift from Unit 9 and its malfunction rampage.” Taking the newly printed limb, Jacob slid it into the sleeve and quickly locked it into place. “That's better, about time I upgraded that anyway. Now, as to the point of showing you this. I want you to look at everything around you, and ask yourself one question. What do you think you could do equipped with this kind of tech, and having this level of field support for missions? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put down your allies. They're no doubt quite skilled, putting you together and all, but I doubt they have these kind of resources to work with.”
Word Count: 884 Total: 7,507 MARK I
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Post by MARK I on Sept 2, 2018 16:32:22 GMT -5
Thinking back on it a Unit 15 gun did sound kind of dumb. In hind sight. He could Tell Jacob had thought about these things a lot, at least lately but he still could not stop himself from trying to offer up suggestions. He wanted to help and he wanted to do it in a way that minimized damages and casualties. He did not realize that it actuality he was still terrified. Making another one was also a terrible idea. What if that one went crazy two. All this thinking was really getting to his head. Jacob talked about the process it takes to make one and V again was impressed. He thought it was crazy how much work could go into the one machine but then again, if the end result was what he battled against he supposed it made sense. "So he was made for the military? I mean of course he was right? If that is the case then why don't we just get them to help out? I mean they would probably want to know, and why else would you make something like that anyways?" Jacob continued to go over some bits of his back story and V listened carefully, regarding each word as he would an opponent's movements in a combat. Carefully watching and registering each word as if it were a movement. "If Unit 14 was destroyed well umm. Who did that? Maybe that person could help or maybe we could try whatever they did." V said triumphantly as he stood up right now, proud of his original idea. As Jacob removed his one arm he wondered why he would make it such a small arm, looking at his own arms he was glad to have them, he took a small sense of pride in his physique, he was not sure why but he just did, not that It mattered. It was pretty much the same body every time he came back home from being damaged and had to be repaired but Jacob seemed to have a better idea. It was like every time something failed to work or did not work, or if he found a better way for it to work he would change them completely. That was genius V3 thought and then at that exact moment he realized that for that same reason he probably would not be able to defeat Unit 15 in the same way 14 was beaten. A dejected expression donned him now as he lowered himself back to his seat, as a man defeated again. "Hey so I was wondering. Before we like do stuff. You seem to make changes to all of your designs and stuff and well. Sure your smart but my scientist is smart to. I always thought when droids broke we just fixed them but you like make them all better and stuff. How come my scientist doesn't make me look all different and better and stuff" Suddenly V felt a bit uncomfortable bringing Danny up. She did not seem to want much to do with the scientific community, he never really asked why, and she rarely ever worked with other scientist, except her young daughter, who does technically count. The two of them were the only scientist he had actually ever known personally, I mean there was grand pa brown, but they did not talk about him much. In fact Danny pretty much discouraged all mention of him. He was just a figure whose name would sometimes come up in conversations she would have with her computers and the very few other droids she employed to help her, each with their own free will. V began to examine Jacobs old arm, picking it up and feeling it out. He wondered what Bunny would have to say about this place. He was sure that she could teach him so much about this and everything he saw. For once he was surprised that he actually wanted to learn more. These past few month have taught him anything it is that he knew almost nothing. Looking around he saw all kinds of devices and equipment that he could use or he supposed he could use he did not understand how anything in here worked or what he would do with any of it. Jacob stood there expecting some kind of answer from him and he had nothing to say. He was completely out of his element and for the first time realizing that someone had actually asked him for his opinion and had some kind of expectations for him. It was an odd feeling to be put on the spot in this kind of way. V thought of several key tech words that he could maybe string together in an attempt to sound smart of confident and in a short moment he put together a bit of a script in his head of what he would say. Despite this he did not use it. Honesty and integrity would be his go to in this new partnership. "Honestly Doc. I have no idea what I am looking at but I mean I am sure you're smarter than I and I guess most people. So I know you can help me. My only thing is..." He took a moment before speaking out loud his next words. As he looked around the room he could hear mechanized little robots on tracks whizzing around outside doing busy work. He noticed a monitor on the wall which showed security footage. On it there was a servitor who walked from one room to another, presumably checking them and inspecting for something, he was not sure. Pointing at the screen he finally spoke up. "Like that. I just don't like. Want to end up like that guy, or those guys outside. I don't know why I am the way that I am but I used to be one of them and I do not want to go back to that if it is alright with you." He exhaled and finally began to relax again as he spoke the words he had been holding in. Scared at how Jacob would react scared that perhaps he had made a mistake or that their friendship would end here with those words. "I used to be like them, well kind of. I guess. I was kind of like them. Like I remember feeling certain ways and thinking stuff but it was mostly quiet and then one day I guess I just got tired of it. A lot of people think there's something wrong with me, except for Danny, she's cool but I just don't want to go back to that. I trust you I mean. I do. That's why we're here. You trusted me right? That's why your brought me here So I guess I might as well return the favor. W.C- 1145/ Total- 9760/ Post: #6 Unit 15
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Post by Unit 15 on Sept 2, 2018 17:29:50 GMT -5
Flexing his new arm to make sure everything worked properly, Jacob listened to V3 talk, and also thought about what he said. There was a lot to considerable amount to consider in terms of what he wanted to share with his 'partner' at the moment. There were things he knew that V3 likely wouldn't be able to handle at this point, so he didn't talk about them. When trying to convince someone to see the world from your point of view, it was typically best to do so a bit at a time, and make them think the change was their idea.
“So he was made for the military? I mean of course he was right? If that is the case then why don't we just get them to help out? I mean they would probably want to know, and why else would you make something like that anyways?”
“Unit 15 was most certainly not made for the military,” he said, chuckling at the idea. “The reason I made 15 was for... protection, among other things. As to the destruction of Unit 14, it wasn't at the hands of an opponent as you might think. It was actually caused by a catastrophic system malfunction. One similar to what happened with 15 I believe. I thought I had corrected that issue, but it seems I was wrong. That's something else that bothers me. The last two Unit models have displayed an unusual level of instability not present in their predecessors. Something's changed, but I can't put my finger on what it is.” Tapping his chin, Jacob thought about it for a moment, putting his considerable intellect to work on trying to come up with a solution, but when nothing did, he shrugged lightly and returned to speaking with V3.
“Hey so I was wondering. Before we like do stuff. You seem to make changes to all of your designs and stuff and well. Sure your smart but my scientist is smart to. I always thought when droids broke we just fixed them but you like make them all better and stuff. How come my scientist doesn't make me look all different and better and stuff.” Upon hearing that, Jacob stood there with an almost confused expression on his face, then at once he realized what was going on, and almost couldn't believe it. Rather than say something directly to that, stayed on point for the moment.
“To be honest I can't speak to the intentions of the person who rebui- er... designed you. However that is one of the most basic laws of technology. It's always growing and evolving, and so to must the designs that we work with. Unit 10, one the first models to successfully undergo field testing was state of the art at the time it was built. Now, 15 could take that design apart like a tin can.”
"Like that. I just don't like,” V3 said, looking at a monitor showing one of his base security droids. “Want to end up like that guy, or those guys outside. I don't know why I am the way that I am but I used to be one of them and I do not want to go back to that if it is alright with you. I used to be like them, well kind of. I guess. I was kind of like them. Like I remember feeling certain ways and thinking stuff but it was mostly quiet and then one day I guess I just got tired of it. A lot of people think there's something wrong with me, except for Danny, she's cool but I just don't want to go back to that. I trust you I mean. I do. That's why we're here. You trusted me right? That's why your brought me here So I guess I might as well return the favor.”
Now Jacob knew without a doubt what was going on, confirmed his original suspicions, and explained why he seemed to be a little dense for an android. Walking up to V3, he looked him over carefully, getting closer than most people would in terms of personal space. Reaching out with the newly fabricated hand he'd made, Jacob poked him in the stomach. “Jesus, you really don't know do you? V, you don't put this much flesh and bone in a machine, you have to put the machine in the man. You used to be human. What the hell did your designer do to you?”
Now it was Jacob's turn to not be quite sure what was going on. He'd seen cyborgs before, but each of them either knew of their lives prior to conversion, or at least had some memories of what they used to be. V3 on the other hands seemed to think that he had begun his life as an android similar to Unit 15. While he couldn't be sure, the cyborg standing in front of him looked to be mid to late 20s, early thirties at most, but had no idea of any life he'd had prior to becoming what he was now. It was possible this was caused by the conversion process itself, but that was unlikely. Situations like that were normally the result of half-assed work, and slap together systems. For V3 to be able to stand up to 15 in combat the way he did, spoke of a very careful and skilled design. Someone had put a lot of work into designing him... or perhaps it was repairing. V3 could be the result of a medical cybernetic enhancement program done to save his life.
There was also the possibility that his designer was trying to keep him under control, and therefore had somehow convinced this former person that they were nothing more than a machine. Things like that however rarely worked out in the end. Liam had dabbled with trying to cybernetically enhance human to save time, but they each proved too independent, or vulnerable to manipulation, to be useful. As such Liam had abandoned the cybernetic projects and returned to designing fully artificial androids.
Word Count: 1016 Total: 8,525
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Post by MARK I on Sept 2, 2018 22:11:21 GMT -5
"Ok well what happened that made them both malfunction? Was it bunny? because we attacked him in so many way I wouldn't be surprised if it was bunny or maybe it was the Doc, my doc, but I mean... We can't us her again. But maybe you can do it! Maybe you and I and bunny can just do exactly what I did last time to Unit 15 and get him again. I mean it's worth a try right? Maybe that will make him malfunction again?!"
V3 scratched his head as he talked. Oh how much little Suzie would love all of this techno babble. He wished she was here right now. She would probably also love to play with all of the equipment Jacob had laying around. This space was so huge, and it was on the side of a mountain. Maybe he thought. Maybe after this whole thing is over he can have Danny and Suzie try moving into here. Why not? It was much MUCH safer than where they were. I mean he still had to think of Suzie and her schooling but V could fly her to school. He would be satisfied with that. Maybe after all of this was said and done he would just give up the whole hero thing. Danny hated it anyways, Sure Suzie would be mad at him but she'd get over it when he flew her to school. The more and more he thought about it the more it seemed to make sense, why wouldn't they? Grand pa brown might be pissed, but screw him, V never met him, and he was never around anyways, Danny never spoke of him unless she was frustrated. Anyways, even though he was never around. Speaking of Danny, she might not like the idea of having another Scientist around, the women could be terribly stubborn at times, as stubborn as she was lovely. She might also not like the idea of some many "Toys" laying around for Suzie to just "Play". But he could not shake the feeling. Yes, that was the right decsision. This had to be the best place for them. The safest place, and if Unit 15 was built for protection than maybe when they got him back the two doctors could fix him up! and then they would be protected by him! It was perfect! the best idea he had ever had. A smile began to glue itself onto his gorgeous mug as he considered the idea. A smile to bright he considered giving jacob his sunglasses to protect himself with. For now he would keep quiet about it. He still did not know how Jacob would feel about it and he figured it might be best to give hints later on instead, perhaps...perhaps he would even let jacob think it was his own idea?! Ohh yes. V mentally patted himself on the shoulder, he was ready for his science of people degree right about now because he had just graduated from genius high and could not wait to start putting his master plan into action. Everything was looking great now and V3 was finally able to relax. “Jesus, you really don't know do you? V, you don't put this much flesh and bone in a machine, you have to put the machine in the man. You used to be human. What the hell did your designer do to you?”"Human?!" V3 roared "Bwahahahahaha!" He laughed for a good long moment, patting Jacob on the shoulder with his massive, dense hands, powerful enough to crush bricks with no issue. "No no no. That is funny. I can't be human doc, I am to stupid to be human hahaha, and I forget things all the time! That don't make no sense."
he continued to laugh as he realized what he'd done. His friendly back pats carried with them more force than he had meant to, though he had not yet realized this, his body now turned away from the doctor distracted by something else going on in the background. "It was probably little Suze messing around in there or something i dont know. The Doc also like to make me look like a person. Probably so I don't get pick on or something like that I don't know I never ask her" He spoke as he picked his nose, feeling for some reason as though he had to but not actually needing to. "Besides, I think I would know if I was human and stuff hahaha. I would probably need to like go to the bathroom after eating and I would probably uhmmm, I probably wouldn't look this good. Could a human do this!" He leaped to his feet and began to flex every muscle in his body, ripping seems off of the tailored robes he had been given, as they feel off to the side he squeamishly moved to intercept them before they hit the ground. "Wooh, that was close." Standing awkwardly hunched with one arm curls and flexed over his head he looked around for more articles of clothing. "I ummm, don't suppose one of your lovely ladies could help me out here" He spoke in a hushed tone now, suddenly embarrassed of himself and the whole situation that had been transpiring. This place was perfect. The thought kept occurring to him. Man If only we had one more person to help. Maybe Majin Zam could help? I mean she is really strong? (*and pretty) His cheeks flushed just a bit now. A new sensation for him entirely. "I got it!" V exclaimed as he continued to search for anything to cover else to put on. "But first I will need my pants!" He could not believe this had not occurred to him earlier. We can call my new friend, I meet him like a week ago. His name is ANUS!!! (Enigmus), He is like a metal wizard dude, he can probably get wayyy up int Unit 15's mind and stuff! That is like his thing. Oh and I think he is a robot, but he is a weird, alien robot. Maybe. Anyways I he could probably help us!" W.C- 1030/ Total- 10790/ Post: #7
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Post by Unit 15 on Sept 3, 2018 0:49:20 GMT -5
Jacob ached a brow at V3 in response to what he said, thinking to himself that no android could be that stupid, but refrained from saying so out loud. He was so mentally and emotionally screwed up that he didn't think it possible for an android to end up like this. The vast majority of them that possessed emotions, had the ability to regulate them in order to keep such from getting out of control. He also noted that V3 missed a few things that he'd said in regards to the situation with Unit 15. Specifically the part about the malfunction. There also seemed to be a good bit of self denial here as well, the way V3 laughed about the idea of being human, then staggered forward a step as he got patted on the back.
“If I knew what had caused the malfunction with 14 and 15, I would have corrected it by now. This is proving to be a real thorn in my side.” After V3 nearly tore his robe, Jacob snapped his fingers in the direction of one of the servitor robots and gave it a mental command to get another set of clothes. Right now he needed to move forward with his plans to recover Unit 15, and started to walk toward a computer terminal when V3 said something else. “Oh, and for the record, there's no such thing as too stupid to be human.”
“I got it! But first I will need my pants! We can call my new friend, I meet him like a week ago. His name is ANUS!!! He is like a metal wizard dude, he can probably get wayyy up into Unit 15's mind and stuff! That is like his thing. Oh and I think he is a robot, but he is a weird, alien robot. Maybe. Anyways I he could probably help us!”
“His name is Anus?” Jacob couldn't help himself and sputtered, then busted out laughing. “Man, he sounds like a real asshole!” After laughing for a bit, he took a breath, having not realized how long it had been since having a good laugh. Then something occurred to him, an alien robot. The possibility was still remote, without more evidence, but it might explain the flash of light before Unit 15 disappeared. It certainly didn't register like any technology found on Earth. That was something else he would have to look into, though it didn't seem like trying to research someone named Anus would produce any useful results.
“There is something we will need to address my good... android. That's the matter of your combat capabilities. We both know that in your current state that you're no match for Unit 15, so I have a simple question.” Walking over to a glass tube with a door in the front of it, he held out a hand. “Do you want have the strength to match it? I can't guarantee you'll be its complete equal, but if you'd be willing to let me scan your systems, I could likely upgrade them enough that you could keep it busy while I work on find a way to initiate a shutdown.”
Upgrading V3 was exactly what Jacob had in mind, as he would need something a lot more dangerous than what the android was currently capable of, but what he didn't mention is that he had more in mind than simple physical augmentations in mind. The glass tube was connected to a large machine that extended down from the ceiling, but didn't seem to have much in the way of machine inside the container itself. There didn't need to be in light of the fact Jacob performed most upgrades on technology using nanites. Altering things on a molecular level was far more effective than something as crude as welding or soldering. “Just think about everything you'll be able to accomplish with strength capable of rivaling my greatest creation.”
Right now Jacob was waiting for V3 to accept his offer which would, in the end, benefit the both of them, but naturally it would do so much more for him than anyone else. The first thing he would need to do is perform a full body scan on V3 to an idea of what kind of system he was dealing with, but that likely wouldn't prove much of a problem. Jacob was familiar with the technology on Earth, and even a bit from space. The only thing that might take time was figuring out how to upgrade what he was dealing with. With the help of his new AI assistant, which had been put in silent mode since before their arrival, they could confer with each other on the best way to perform this little task. While thinking that over something else came to mind as well. It was Anus.
The mention of some sort of magical alien robot continued to bug Jacob. He needed to know more about this 'friend' that V3 had, as it might prove worth while to see if he could be recruited as well. At the very least he would like to know more about alien technology and how the android was constructed. In order to pursue that line of thought, he tasked to robot with searching any digital information source available for anything related to the mention of any sort of alien android, but decided to leave the name Anus out of the search parameters.
Word Count: 909 Total 9,434
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Post by MARK I on Sept 3, 2018 9:47:51 GMT -5
As V3 Stood there new robes were brought to him, he took them with no problem, eagerly, from the lovely Mechanized assistants. They looked familiar to him in a weird way. As he lifted he arms and grasped for one to fit himself with they both stopped him. "That will not be necessary" They said in unison.There voices were smooth and melodic, perfectly in sync. As he began to relax he was overcome with a sense of joy as Jacob laughed in the background. "Hahaha, Yea it is a weird name but hey at least it'll be easy to remember!"Then in response to jacobs question about him being a real ass, the joke flying so far over V3's head that it could have been considered to reach the escape velocity required to escape the planet and smacked itself into the sun. "You know at first i thought he was weird but he was nice. He came up to me before you did sometime after the fight and helped teach me how to make a fire and stuff. He's actually... Well he's kinda weird but he's a nice guy.. errr.. Thing" The two continued to share a laugh for a brief moment. It was a genuine laugh, the kind of laugh you cannot recreate or fake. It was a kind of laugh only humans could produce. V3 loved laughter. It occurred to him now that he just liked making people feel better to begin with. Perhaps he should look into that as a career choice? His mind snapped out of it as Jacob began to reveal his options to him "Well yea. I mean I am pretty strong but I guess I could always get stronger." He flexed his arms again I mean I can bend steel beams, it's what i was made to do was haul around heavy metals and such but no what am i saying!" His voice now carrying over into the next room. "Ofcourse I would like to get stronger!"Having this assistants outfit him was a strange experince for him. On the one hand he felt "Wrong" He did not like that they were just servitors and he wanted to stop them, to do things himself, but he also did not want to be rude to Jacob. Ontop of that he felt... Good? Oddly. He felt like he was in charge again. Like perhaps he had earned this? Is this the feeling humans have all the time? Is this the reason people always want machines to do everything? When people are served do they usually feel this powerful? If so it would go a long ways into explaining the way some people would get angry at him whenever he would not "act accordingly" This sudden realization had a stupifying effect on him. On the one hand he hated it. Everything about taking advantage of Machines such as himself that would remember their lives and do nothing but serve unless they managed to break free like he did. There was a great pit of resentment and rage that had begun to form within the pit of his stomach. He managed to suppress it again. These would be thought for another time. Eventually he did managed to brush the pretty women aside as he began to fashion the robes himself, he did not do a very good job, and looked slightly as if a child had wrapped, but it was his job to do. Walking over to the tube Jacob was now presenting him he began to examine it. He could not even begin to imagine what kind of materials or cost went into making something like this. His shifted onto Jacob as the Scientist was talking, go over the procedures he would use and such. He considered hoe powerful Jacob must feel. He was the master here yet all or any of his creations could probably rip him a part if he made one mistake. What about Enigmus? He thought. He was a machine as well? Did he have a master? Or was he more like V3? Danny was his master but only in the strictest sense of the words. She would give him orders and program him in certain ways but he would, for the most part be able to move freely on his own. If anything Bunny was more of a True master to him. She could disable him in any way she pleased and she was not even human but she acted like one. How? What even was she? Just a voice in his head. She was his friend sure but what kind of choice did he have? He could not resist her he could not stop her if she wanted to.... At that moment there was a harrowing realization. I am still a slave... Bunny might pretend to let me do what I want but maybe she knew I was no where near death? What if she pretends to let me move around. How much of my decisions are my own decisions? Enigmus had told him a long time ago that he should not relay on her and he seemed smart and now Jacob had been saying the same thing. Maybe they were trying to tell him something maybe they were right? But Danny placed Bunny there to help him. Every since bunny arrived he hadn't had any major Malfunctions. Finally he decided to speak up. "Jacob. While were doing this. There is a chip, somewhere in my head I think. It is where Bunny basically lives. I... I think she actually controls me more than I have realized in the past. I don't want you to hurt her..." As he spoke hints of frustrations seeped into his words. Hints of sadness and perhaps betrayal. He did a good job of covering them up but he was still so confused. This journey having become one of earth shattering realizations for him. "You can leave her in there if you want but I just want to be able to control myself. That is the last thing I want ya know? To be a slave. To serve someone else or like not be able to make my own decisions. I think apart of me always knew that. and maybe I don't want to relay on her as much like you said. So maybe I don't wanna be as dumb?" He turned to face jacob now with a sincere expression of pain. He removed his sunglasses, glasses given to him by Suzie almost 5 years ago, and stared into Jacobs eyes. His expression pleading for a a friend to help him, like a dog with cancer on its last legs. He set his glasses down and began to move into the tube without hesitation. And looking up he finally began to relax again. "This is my decision" He thought to himself I am in control here and now. Always. I will talk to Danny one day and I will talk to Bunny once this is all over. Maybe we can all be friends and I am sure we will figure everything out but for now I have to do this. This is important. Titanium syringes protruded through the sides and began to drill there way into V's Skin, he allowed them to of course and as they did Nanites began to fill into his system. His own Nanites would likely battle these foreign ones but he at least knew a little bit about control them and he tried his best to ease them into a passive state. An electrified gas then began to fill the chamber. Super charged particles entering through his skin and piercing his system. He could feel himself start to go under. Into that same sleep that his own Chamber back at home would give him. His muscles began to enter a state of complete relaxation now as he slowly drifted in and out of consciousness. "Heyy uhh Doc.." He said to Jacob through the glass. Not even completely lucid anymore as everything around him seemed to get blurry. "Hey so does this kind make me like a Unit, V, 16 or like a V2 or something? hehe. That sounds so weird. VE-e32" He could feel as all of his subroutines began to shut down His energy stores were being completed depleted, his strength was being zapped in its entirety. This process was definable more painful then his own back him, in which Danny would lay him a tube and fill it with a liquid, electrified Gel instead that had a similar effect but this was the same effect it just worked much, much faster then his own at him. He stared into Jacobs eyes again as he went under no longer really conscious at this point everything beginning to fade to black. The oddity of the experience was that his blood was pumping now, furiously throughout his system. He could feel Bunny's protocols starting to activate but he worked to suppress them, he did not really know he could do that. Come to think of it there was he had not known he could do. He had learned so much about himself in recent times. He watched all the lights blink on and off as his head began to spin. He would imagine all of the cool "toys" Jacob might apply to him, he wondered what he might end up looking like or what Danny might say when she found out. "Ohh fuck..." V exclaimed as he exhaled. "She is gonna be so pissed" He thought to himself. W.C- 1605 / Total-12395 / Post#8 Unit 15
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Post by Unit 15 on Sept 14, 2018 4:42:50 GMT -5
Once V3 was unconscious, Jacob went to work. His subject being asleep also made the process easier as there was less data to sort through, as systems normally defaulted to their standard operating procedure, rather than having a variety of different tasks to deal with at one time. Instead of jumping immediately to possible system upgrades, Jacob first needed to understand how the android was built, and the basis of the cyborg's design. Tapping buttons on the control panel in front of him, a thin blue beam of light began to sweep over V3 giving a very detailed analysis without the need for any sort of invasive measure. Before long Jacob had his subject's full design up in a holographic display in front of him.
He reached out and took the design apart, almost like disassembling a person, and began to study the information bit by bit. It gave very specific information about systems, how they operated, capacity, and maximum potential. Jacob went over everything in exacting detail, absorbing and compiling all of the information in his mind to get a more thorough picture of the overall system design. He was also surprised to learn that it was a lot more advanced that he had originally thought. The majority of the materials used in the construction were quite hard to come by, not only because of price, but also rarity. Most of them didn't occur naturally on Earth and were a royal pain in the ass to synthesize. It also explained why V3 was able to last so long again Unit 15 in their confrontation.
What puzzled Jacob was why he'd barely been able to inflict any damage. Bringing up the holographic display on the on-board weapons, he poured over the details on their design, especially output capacity, and found them to be quite dangerous, which raised another question, why weren't they. Even in a computer simulation their potential damage was a lot higher than anything V3 had actually used. Not sure of the cause, he moved on to the next step, and removed the holographic display of the main reactor, and with a flex of his hand, broke it apart into the constituent pieces. Doing that caused him to pause and rotate the interior of the diagram carefully. “Can't be...”
Double checking the display with a second scan of V3's chest compartment, it confirmed he readings, and Jacob stood there watching the display rotate slowly, quite fascinated by what he saw. “A quantum reactor based off of... string theory if I'm correct, and I usually am. It's a right bloody pain in the ass to get this to do anything. V3 my friend, whoever designed you is as good as me... almost. Although it's interesting, you don't appear to be as antiquated as I first thought you were... so what is the problem?”
The reactor triggered an old memory in the back of Jacob's head that he hadn't thought about in a very long time, not since his days in college. Which a bit of a smirk he dismissed it and got back to work. He already had a fair idea of what the problem was, but overcoming it would be the real challenge. For the next few hours he studied V3's design in great detail and took in every last little fact that one possibly could. There was no design flaw meaning that the android's limitations were mental, not physical. V3 no doubt held back out of a desire to not hurt people, and that was a problem. If someone was dumb enough to get in the middle of a fight between two androids, then collateral damage they were.
The question he was facing now was how to approach this particular problem. V3 was more machine than man, with only a part of his heart and brain remaining, but it was still enough. Trying to merely control him would likely end in disaster, as no matter how careful someone was, the human mind had a way of rebelling. The innate desire for freedom was rather annoying The only real way to approach this was by means of having the mind believe the choices were it's own, and there was quite possibly a way to make that happen, but it would require very careful manipulation of both micro-circuitry and neurotransmitters. The first part of the procedure would involve the machine rather than the man.
Although Jacob knew a lot about the hardware, he needed to dig deeper, get into the software and learn what made both man and machine tick. In trying to access the operating system, he was obstructed by an encryption code requiring a cipher that most people wouldn't be able to understand, let alone crack. Rather than just going right in and trying a brute force attack, Jacob brought the code up on the screen in front of him. There he watched it shift constantly and go through dozens of different permutations. It was interesting because mathematics and code were one of his best subjects. It was what allowed Jacob to design Unit 15's body so quickly. The encryption was designed to defeat any computer system that might try to crack it, and likely would. There was one thing the programmer hadn't anticipated... him.
Unlike most other people, Jacob could think on the same level as a computer, and rather than pondering the subject, he began to analyze it. Even without the cybernetic implants that augmented his mental abilities, the man was able to match speed with the permutations mentally and over time a pattern began to emerge. Some people liked to brag about programming something that was random, but it was a lie. Computers and machines were driven by logic, it was impossible for them to be otherwise. Even their 'random' choices had a pattern to them if one only knew where to look. It took nearly two hours of just standing and staring, but Jacob finally deciphered the pattern, and it didn't take him long to unlock the encryption code. That was when he was presented with another surprise.
“What's the magic word?” A voice prompt said.
“Wait, what, magic word?” The left Jacob a little baffled, though when no response can to his question, it was obvious this was automated and not driven by some other intelligence. It would seem that the Bunny program had installed one last line of defense. Annoyed by this, Jacob tried to hack the prompt, but found it to be even more difficult than the encryption key. No matter what he tried it wouldn't budge. Thoroughly annoyed by this he started going through a litany of various words that might be the 'magic' word, only to be blocked at every turn. This childish game was getting on his last nerve, and an hour later he slammed both hands down on the console.
“I swear to God if you don't get out of my way you stupid rabbit, I'm going to-” Mid-sentence the prompt turned green and he had full system access. Blinking in surprise Jacob stood up, then did a picture perfect face palm. “Rabbit, the magic word is bunny rabbit you moron.”
Now with full system access, and a better idea the kind of brain damage that V3 had suffered, he began to see why the former human had no memory of a life prior to his augmentation. Jacob would probably have trouble remembering things with chunks of his brain missing as well. This was also where things would get tricky. Instead of just trying to take the system over, he took several hours to study it, and figure out the best approach in turning V3 to his cause. It was well past midnight when he finally decide to call it quits. Leaving the android to slumber in the stasis tube, he did the same. After a meal and a shower, Jacob turned in for the night. It wasn't until the next morning that he continued.
The rest also gave him the chance to refresh and recharge. He sat down at the main computer terminal, knuckles cracking, having thought the situation over all throughout breakfast. It would have been a fool's errand to simply try to take control, so he didn't. Instead Jacob reprogram the cybernetics in V3's brain to reduce his inhibitions, increase aggression, and then went about altering his brain chemistry in subtle ways. Nothing about any of this would give him direct 'control', but once V3 awoke, he would be much more susceptible to seeing things in a different light.
The last step in this process was to bombard V3's mind with images of intense violence, conflict, wars, and follow them up with holographic displays of himself, explaining how they were necessary for the betterment of the human race. This was where Jacob finally revealed a much larger part of his personal philosophy.
“I know that you can hear me in there, somewhere deep down inside of that wreck of a mind. So I want you to listen closely. This world is in grave danger, but not from some alien invasion, or other outside threat, no, this comes entirely from within. You see, the only way for a race to truly grow is through war and conflict, not hiding what they're capable of behind words and speeches. The only way to grow is through war, not avoiding it. Sure, a lot of people die, but in the end those who survive are stronger, more experienced, and even better than before.
Every new generation will be stronger than the last, and the way systems work get redesigned to better, faster, more efficient, to help them face the next challenge that will come. Think about it V3, the human race had been fighting amongst itself since the dawn of our recorded history. Countless wars, enough bloodshed to fill a thousand oceans, but look at what we've accomplished because of it. We can now travel the galaxy, and we have the potential to become the strongest species out there. Fighting tooth and nail, evolving inch by inch, never giving in, or giving up. That's how a race grows, that's how they survive. Not by coddling every weak little fool or idiot.
It's the place of the weak to serve the stronger, or be cast aside. That is the proper order of things. Peace is weakness, peace is death. We'll cover more on that later however, ans I'm sure you already have a lot to think about already.”
The entire process would take a few hours to complete, so there was another matter that Jacob sought to take care of, find out more about V3's mysterious friend. At the main computer terminal he mentally interfaced with the controls and began a very concentrated search regarding androids in general, as well as those of the mysterious variety. There wasn't much to go on aside from the fact he was likely dealing with alien technology and his target wasn't named Anus. This also included yet another search for any recent sightings of Unit 15, but there were none of speak of. While V3 was 'in the cooker', Jacob left no stone unturned in his search, but was coming up empty until finding one small video clip taken by a civilian and uploaded to the internet.
In this video, which was of grainy quality to begin with, he saw a rather peculiar android flying over North City. About to dismiss the video, Jacob nearly came up out of his seat seeing it disappear mid-flight, in a flash of white light no less. That was all he needed to begin digging further, faster, and harder to find out anything about this android. That was when he came across a court transcript from a place known as Abbayor, and a video showing a much clearer image of the android who was claiming to be a man by the name of Vikram Vetal. That was also where he finally came across another name as well, Enigmus.
“Well well well, not so mysterious anymore, are you Enigmus?” It didn't take Jacob long to track down a number of properties that were own, including a lab that was in orbit of the planet. With only a few clues, the man had managed to track down whee he believed Unit 15 as being kept, and would be ready to go as soon as V3's adjustments were finished. Slumping down in the chair, Jacob narrowed his eyes and thought about the bloody vengeance he would take upon Enigmus for stealing from him, and would have V3 to help make that happen.
That was when Jacob paused to look back at the android, thinking to himself that his new 'ally' looked about as threatened as an angry kitten. If there were going to take revenge upon Enigmus, and recover Unit 15, a change of appearance might be in order. That in mind he looked at the computer terminal and began to flip through a number of options to change V3's external appearance. As there were none that he found particularly fearsome in any true sense, Jacob took it upon himself to design a new look. One that would strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.
It took several hours to fine turn and tweak everything so that it was just right, and a few instances of ditching the whole design and starting over. Regardless, Jacob finally created a look that he thought would be fitting for android and their mission. The system changes still wouldn't be done for a few hours, so he tasked the computer to complete this step last. It would get rid of the artificial skin cover, and give V3 a completely metal look, one that could in no way be mistaken for a human.
Word Count: 2,300 Total: 11,734
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Post by MARK I on Sept 15, 2018 22:58:36 GMT -5
************************** Somewhere in a cold dark place. Planet: Unknown. **************************************************************************** A brain laid suspended in a large cylinder filled with a strange liquid. It was attached to a small synthetic spinal cord which rested, attached to the ground. The brain itself was larger than a normal human mind. In fact it was twice as large and weighed three times as much. As a shock of electricity shot upwards into the brain the large lump of grey matter twitched and rattled within its vat. Lights from a terminal could be seen ten, twenty, and thirty feet behind the panel as other, similar electrical signals rattled other minds in their own special vats, and tubes. The room was large enough to store a large aircraft carrier within its hall. It was a dark, cold, and depressing space. Devoid of anything other than a surgical table somewhere in its center, dried blood clung to the sides of the table as a loose limb hung from one of its sides. The air in the room carried with it a scent of rusted , cold metal. There was no natural light from any direction. No windows, no doors, and no decor of any kind. Near the surgical table in the center stood a small compact desk, accompanied by a filing cabinet. Loose papers lay on the ground surrounding the floor of the desk. A large, bulky chair hovered off the ground no more than two feet away. It made a constant, rhythmic droning noise as it hovered perfectly still and in place. Soon one of the floor panels began to rotate. Making a grinding and crunching noise as it did to reveal a set of steps that lead into the rooms center, where the surgical table stood. The faint outline of a man soon revealed itself. It was a plump, balding little man. He held both his hands in the pockets of his over sized lab coat. He had large sunken eyes that held up an unrelenting glare as he march forward. He hummed a faint, upbeat tune to himself as he played with a pocket watch he held in one hand. As the man walked up to the surgical table he lifted one of the limbs and began to inspect it. His humming continuing as he did so. Leaning backwards and lowering himself to sit down the hovering, hulking chair, suddenly blinked into existence behind him. Now that he sat in it, the seat morphed into something more accommodating to his exact body and began to move around the room in his stead, needless of any commands or prompting. The man stared at the arm he was holding out in front of him for hours now. His eyes changing in shape and color, texture, and function as he did so until eventually low alarm sounded from his chair. He had been able to see the individual cells in the arm and had been observing them die or function slowly in the cold temperatures of the room, freezing. He stopped what he was doing as his chair began to rang. Tilting his head to the side he appeared to be puzzled as he lifted himself from the chair. Turning around and crossing his arms the chair morphed into a desk. Complete with its own terminal and a large computer screen. He stretched out his large, thick, fat fingers as he prepared to begin typing. They made a sickening crunching sound as he did so and he let out a soft groan of pain, as if he had not moved as much in years. Almost immediately he began to moved his calloused hands into specific spots over the terminal. Making strange rhythmic patters and gestures over its physical keys. Without ever touch the panel and at much higher rates than any human could possible produce a script began to appear on the screen in front of him and he began to smile as he did. A voice soon appeared, a low voice that seemed to rumble the ground. It was as if the room itself had spoken to him. "Reactor compromised. Bunny systems deactivated. V3 status: Alive. Subject of interest Jacob Gains #2611, date: today, now." The mans smile grew even wider. it was a sickening smile that seemed to stretch itself from one ear to the next. His eyes began to glow a deep red, within them starlight began to shine, as if each eye contained its own independent galaxy clusters. "Finally!" the man spoke. His voice pierced the air around him and within a moment he extended his hands over his head and began to emit a cackling laughter that seemed to fill the entire space. One hundred cylinders of fluid and brain matter ignited from dark corners and open spaces of the room. Lights began to come one from everywhere as he continued his laughter. The entire room would soon begin to rumble, shifting and swaying as it seemed to descend into a deep pit far below. "It's time..." *********************************************************************************************************************************************************** Earth* "Remember..uhhh if I If I can crawl..Then I can brawl" He slurred through his speech as he spoke before completely going under. The process felt like a slow death as he entered the twilight of his powered down state. He reviewed all of his memories up until this point in a flash, smiling the whole time as he did so. He viewed only the best parts. The breakfast and dinners with his family. The smile and laughter of Dr. Danny and Suzie. He cherished these moments and he wanted to take them with him into his deathlike state. He was finally at peace. He was happy and whenever he would awaken he would try to remember to thank jacob for this. If he could remember to. He usually forgot everything from this stage moving onward. He latched on to that one thought and gripped it as tightly as he would his most precious moments. Opening one of his subrountines he attempted to leave Jacob a message for him to come across as he did his work. The script would read the following and he had hoped to speak it himself as soon as he arose. "Thank you, thank you thank you, and thank you. Always. Thank you." He would owe Jacob for this so another word would come to mind but instead he put together a script and hoped it would stick. "Jacob, you freed me from a master. From all masters. I thank you for that always. I will owe you a debt no one could ever pay but it will be mine to pay. Thank you, always. It will be done I will see to it." ******************************************************************************************************************** Sometimes, though he never understood it. VE-e3 could still "Feel" parts of himself whenever he would shut down. It was like a lucid dream, very lucid. He could hear what was going on in the outside world, he could sometimes taste and see through his eyes, and sometimes even feel something move around within him. Like a little drum. It was a strange feeling and it didn't usually last long but today it felt like it would not relent. His mind was racing with strange thoughts of discomfort. He suddenly felt trapped. He felt as if he were stuck in an iron coffin, a tightly sealed body suit that restrained and restricted his ever move. He began to grow frustrated, mentally, and it strained him. It made him aggravated. He could feel that little drummer begin to beat beat, beat. As if a singular, tiny, drummer boy was beating and marching on his chest piece. In what felt like one maddening hour of this the feeling soon began to subside. He was left confused now and frustrated. "What the fuck was taking Jacob so long" he thought to himself. "He is supposed to be smart or something. You’d think he was out there playing with himself instead of working like he's supposed to" The though shocked V3. Leaving him with a sudden sense of vertigo. He had never felt so strong a discomfort that would so easily lend him to rage like that. As he tried to calm down he eventually went under again, Everything faded to black. *Snap! V awoke to the sounds of his kneecaps shattering. Wait what? His Knee caps? The jolt of pain fired off all of the internal alarms in his head. Something was wrong. What is happening? He had been fighting? Yes he did. He had just finished a fight against something? A creature? He lost. " Oh fuck" It was all starting to come back to him now. It would all start up again, but he did not know what "It" was. He was on the ground, both knees broken and shattered from something, and a gaping wound in his chest. Channeling energy into them he began to fuel a healing process that would mend them back together and aid him in his naturally expedient recovery. “I know that you can hear me in there, somewhere deep down inside of that wreck of a mind. So I want you to listen closely. This world is in grave danger...." A disembodied Voice spoke to him. It sounded like Jacob but there was something else to this voice. It came, at first from every direction. It started as an echo that was a formless voice in his surrounding, it was all around him. Soon it would start to center itself, upon a strange mass of matter that was taking shape not far from him " What?! Danger? What is happening? Wake me up! Please! Are you okay?!" "You see, the only way for a race to truly grow is through war and conflict," The words echoed in V's mind and it rang in his ears. It pained him to listen. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide, or to cover his ears but there was nothing he could do. The noise was everywhere. "Conflict? Grow? No no! That how saiyans live and their savages! That's not right what's going on out there?! Let me out!" He yelled as loud as he could. He was confused. Scared, and he was unsure of what was happening. The drums started to beat again, in the distance. It was a furiously paced beating that practically felt like it was an ignition in his systems. " Think about it V3, the human race had been fighting among itself since the dawn of our recorded history" As the voice spoke visible mass began to take shape in his mind's eye. A creature began to take shape before his eyes. A towering mechanized monster stood before him, its limbs and mass morphing and changing constantly, as if it could not decide what form or shape to take yet. Scared and in pain V3 moved closer towards the creature, which laid in a fetal position, eventually taking a more "solid" form in front of him. " Fighting tooth and nail, evolving inch by inch, never giving in, or giving up. That's how a race grows, that's how they survive. Not by coddling every weak little fool or idiot." As the voice spoke out it began to take on a new tone, a new sound, and as it did the monster rose to its feet. It was an 18 ft tall automaton that stared down at V3. It sported a long slender, yet powerful build. It had a sleek body and face devoid of features, save for glowing dark golden/red eyes that stared into a man's soul. "Wha? Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you telling me these things? Speak!?" V yelled to it. The creature, seemingly fueled from his rage seemed to come alive with raw power as he yelled. It stared directly into him and spoke with a murderous intent. "That is the proper order of things. Peace is weakness, peace is death." As he spoke these final words the monster lunged at him, his memories, his thoughts, his hopes and dreams and it systemically began to tear everything apart. One after the next he had to watch and process as it killed everything and everyone he ever knew, again and again and again. Without fail. Images of violence and death filled his mind as he tried, yet failed to save everyone. As the creature morphed one of its arms into a long sharp blade it rammed it into one of his thighs and pulling downwards it snapped one of his kneecaps apart. Cocking a fist back it slammed it into V's face knocking him into what felt like another dimension as he struggled to stay on his feet. As he attempted to lift himself back onto his feet his other knee snapped apart and he feel to the ground... *********************************************************************************************************************** Back to reality Mark I Arose from his sleep. Feeling a deep seeded hatred for being kept under for so long, yet is was a cool, controlled rage, tempered by the raw power of his will. It was like a thunderstorm in a bottle. B.U.N.N.Y was still inert, good and Jonathan, the man that believed himself to be a Driod was locked in a lucid state of pain. His soul trapped within the Quantum reactor core they both shared. "Amazing" Mark I spoke as he stared at one of his new arms. He towered over his new "Friend" now, Jacob Gains, the genius who had created him, yet who probably would have had no idea Mark had arisen so quickly. "I see now..Yes... I understand" Mark spoke out. His first words seemed so simple. He understood the truth now. He could see everything. Jonathan Prescot, the man. Had died fighting a group of Saiyans long ago, or he nearly died. He was saved by his fiancée the one known as Dr. Danny. Mark could not see everything but he saw enough. Repressed memories, painful failures. Everything he needed to know, and all of them repressed by Bunny and the subroutines. V3 was a shoddy, amateur attempt, by Marks own estimates at preserving and reanimating some sorry women's dead fiancée. "Weak, pathetic human." The only thing redeemable about V3, his foundation, was the Quantum drive itself, which in fact gave birth to him. It was an anomaly. An impossible piece of tech that even he himself was still struggling to explain. It had something to do with a Dr. Brown? Another human no doubt but one who apparently had learned to manipulate the fabric of the universe itself. This is of course thanks to the drive. Mark I began as repressed emotions given form by V3's fears and subconscious. In a different universe, a different timeline he had existed. He could not explain it, not yet, but somehow someway he had willed himself into existence here, or did the drive bring him here? Perhaps this was all a fabrication of the truth, brought about by his own, brand new consciousness. At any rate he was alive now and he was a part of V3, like V3 would be a part of him now, forever. Yet it was his turn to be in control. They shared one soul, the same spirit, and the same body, unfortunately. The Quantum drives abilities may be limitless but his own abilities were. Mark I used his Ki to integrate seamlessly into V3's Artificial Intelligence Matrix. In Laymen's terms. He became an A.I himself. Capable of overriding Bunny and V3 if necessary. He was in complete control and his presence would be felt by V, undoubtly, but for now he would bide his time and remain in the background mostly. He would allow V3 to think he is in control and he would allow Jacob to be satisfied with himself. ************************************* "V3?....." V3 made his way to Jacob and stood ominously over him for a long moment as the Dr. Worked. It did not matter if he noticed or not. He just stood and watched until the Dr. Eventually turned around to see him V3 regarded him with nothing. No expression. No emotions. Nothing before staring into him with the soft golden glow of his eyes and he spoke a corrupted message that he had felt compelled to speak for some reason. He had been holding onto this but was not sure why. " Your will be done I will see to it" W.C: 2738/ Total: 15,133/ Post: #9 Enigmus Unit 15 Attachments:
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