Were Apocalypse
Chapter 2: The Empty Cage.
Faolan ran swiftly through the forest, tracking the drone back to the massive structure where he met SEER. The artificial intelligence seemed polite but turned dangerous in an instant. Faolan knew there was something off about that machine and had been warned several times by Lyall never to trust any machine that could think for itself.
"Lyall was right. AI is wholly evil, and I should've never let my guard down. Lyall, I'm sorry." Faolan thought as he drew near the structure and stopped behind a tree. At the top of the building, the drone descended into its depths. Lyall looked to be struggling, but from this distance, Faolan could not see well.
"Don't worry, Lyall. I'll get you out of there!" Faolan said as he started out from behind the tree when he heard a slight beep from behind him. He jumped back quickly, whipping his spear around, narrowly missing the hovering little robot drone. From Faolan's perspective, the drone looked round, like a ball, and was speckled with either dirt or rust. The robot had one single ocular lens in which a pale blue light slowly blinked.
"Hello! What's your name?" The robot asked politely in a soft, feminine voice.
"Demon!" Faolan said as the robot's eye blinked rapidly for a few seconds.
"Demon? That's a rather odd name for a creature. But it is recorded in my memory banks," the robot said as it spun happily in mid-air.
"What? No, my name is not Demon! I am Faolan. You are a demon!" Faolan huffed with anger and uncertainty.
"Me? A demon? No, I am a robot, silly. I am B52, but you can call me Bebe." The robot said as it chirped loudly. "Oh, it's been so long since I talked to someone. That SEER is no fun at all."
"All machines are demons. They took Lyall. I must find away to rescue him!" Faolan said as Bebe chirped again.
"I can help with that. But, we must hurry. If I know SEER, which I do, he will move Lyall soon. Maybe after this you will not think of me as evil. Not all machines think alike," Bebe said as they flew off towards the building with Faolan following close behind.
Faolan did not want to trust this machine, but if it could get him inside, then all the better. The thought of a trap half-crossed his mind, but Faolan ignored it. No matter what the cost, he must retrieve Lyall.
They took a different direction from the main entrance, circling around to the backside of the building. Faolan tried holding his arrowhead necklace up, trying to open the door, but nothing happened. "I, I don't understand. This worked before."
"Standard protocol is to change access codes in case of a security breach. SEER must have changed them after your first visit. Not to worry, I can get us in," Bebe said as the robot hovered up to the door access panel. Bebe slowly aligned their optical lens with the panel as a red light scanned the robot. Suddenly, the red light turned green, and an audible latch released inside the steel door.
"Welcome back home, Bebe!" came the voice of SEER. Faolan readied his spear as Bebe looked back at him.
"No need to worry, Demon! For the moment, it is quite safe," Bebe said as Faolan flustered.
"Stop calling me Demon! I am Faolan!” Faolan huffed again as Bebe chirped happily and sounded to Faolan as if the robot was laughing at him.
They ambled into the doorway, and when they were a few paces inside, the fluorescent lights flickered to life. The corridor went on for miles, it seemed to Faolan; all the walls were lined with metal, with bits of circuitry embedded within them. Faolan almost let his curiosity cloud his judgment, but then he remembered Lyall.
"Okay, true to your word, you got us in. Do you know where they would hold a prisoner?" Faolan said as Bebe chirped again.
"Of course I do. SEER would hold him in the main hanger to await transport. I can take you there," Bebe said as the robot sped off. Faolan almost had trouble keeping pace with Bebe's speed as they went down the corridor, turning this way and that. Faolan passed several doors with writing unfamiliar to him. He could read well enough, but the language of this building was foreign to him. He looked up at the low-hanging ceiling and marveled at the lighting.
Soon, and to Faolan's relief, that came to the main entrance of the hangar. Bebe opened the door as Faolan cautiously peered around the edge, noticing several of the big drones that captured Lyall earlier. Other small crafts were also present, and as Faolan looked up, he saw several catwalks leading to different places high above. Still, Faolan's eyes finally landed on Lyall's body slumped in a holding cell. Fear and anger gripped Faolan's heart at seeing his mentor in such a cage. His blood boiled with rage. The bars were made of some kind of energy that Faolan did not understand.
Faolan scanned the room again and saw SEER standing before a monitor. Before Faolan could make a move, SEER spoke, "I know you are there."
Faolan froze and thought, "Damn it! Why did we open the door? That was so foolish!"
SEER looked towards the door. "Come on out!"
Faolan hesitated and was about to step out when Bebe zoomed into the room. "Good morning, Papa!"
"Good morning my child. I thought that was you. Why are you all dirty? Have I not discussed this with you? You are not a dirt harvester and therefore, you should not dig in the Earth." SEER said as Bebe chirped sadly.
"Aw, but papa? There are so many interesting things in those caves. You seem to like the rocks I collected for you," Bebe chirped happily.
"I do my child. But I built you for the sole purpose of assisting me, not to go digging. If you like rocks that much, we can design a robot to collect them. Now, I must return to work," SEER said as the bay doors opened and a transport ship lowered into the hangar from the ceiling.
Faolan knew he must act quickly. With one last glance at SEER, who was looking away, Faolan darted out from his hiding place. Suddenly, a massive drone knocked Faolan back into a rack of canisters, several falling to the ground and hissed, releasing their gas, pain exploding across his body.
"Foolish little wolf! Do you think I could not see you enter this place, especially with my estranged child?" SEER said as he slowly walked up to Faolan. "There is no place you can go in this facility where I cannot see you."
Faolan looked at the hologram standing before him with watery eyes. "So why did you wait so long to attack me?" Faolan asked as he saw Lyall being loaded into the transport ship.
"Because I knew you would come to me. You're love of your uncle was your downfall, and now, I have both of you," SEER said as the drone reached for Faolan.
Suddenly, all the lights went out, and Faolan took advantage. Wolves could see in the dark, and Faolan was no exception. He stabbed his spear into the drone's center optical lens, the spear landing deep within as black fluid sprayed everywhere. There was a spark as the fluid ignited; fire raced back to the drone as Faolan ran towards the transport ship, which was starting to take off. The drone exploded as Faolan lounged and grabbed the landing gear, holding on for dear life. The transport ship rose higher into the sky. Below, massive explosions rocked the building that cascaded throughout the structure, finally ending in one bright flash and explosion with the same intensity as a nuclear blast. The shockwave hit the transport ship, causing it to sway but maintaining its course. Faolan, however, could not hold on and flung across the sky like a rag doll.
As Faolan looked, he was free-falling and knew that this was the end. No one could survive a fall from this height and live to tell the tale. As he accepted this reality, something odd occurred. Just when Faolan was about to hit the ground, Bebe appeared out of nowhere and sprayed a kind of red form on the ground. Faolan was not sure how, but the form absorbed most of the impact and caught him. The foam felt more like a gel, something soft and super absorbent. He rolled off the form onto the ground and checked himself over. Other than some minor bruising, Faolan appeared to be intact.
"Demon! I saved you! I did! I did!" Bebe said as the robot came flying in from the trees.
"Don't call me Demon! But… Thank you!" Faolan said as he stood up and swayed a little, the shockwave had disoriented his senses, and he felt dizzy.
"I'm sorry, but extracting your Lyall was quite impossible. The would have taken him to the prison way in the deep south. I can take you there but it will be quite some time before we reach it," Bebe said as Faolan shook off the dizziness.
"What other choice do I have? Lyall is in this mess because of me. We must get him back," Faolan said as he looked at the robot. "Lead the way."
Bebe chirped loudly and happily, circling around Faolan before they both set off down the road.