00101O1 Automata_ #18

No sex this chapter. The plot has got to fit somewhere. We also fully endorse the writing policies of our host. As you read you will see why it is necessary to proclaim this. Trigger warnings: Violence and excessive intrigue.

__WIREBACK__

Wireback prowled the ruined city. Beyond the gates of the compound, ruins slowly crawled their way back to nature. Rubble and bricks, broken cars, and abandoned tanks formed the soil for the rewilding of the city by the weeds. The wolf set the four machine guards to search the ruins.

Wireback turned to them. "I can sense something up ahead, keep searching and stay behind. I will investigate it, myself. Going dark." He sent the message digitally. The spine-breaker robots signaled their acceptance and split up to search.

The wolf led the way for the android, climbing the dusty stairs of an old brick building, with the armed avatar following. It was at this point, that a night-vision scope picked up Wireback's movement. The sniper was a living mine, its job was to deny the shadow of its telescopic view to everyone. Most of its peers had run out of bullets or been destroyed, but this lone machine carried on with its deadly mission. The infrared glared loudly to the automaton's single-eyed attention. As Wireback moved, the sniper waited to get a clear shot.

Wireback reached a room and the avatar turned to face outward, guarding the entrance. The wolf sniffed the evening air, and entered the room. Inside, he found a poorly-fed toy dog who barked upon his entrance. The room was filled with the smell of dog feces, rotting meat, and urine. In the corner, was the half-buried corpse of a dressed human with a leather collar next to it. The stray Boston Terrier was surviving on scraps and returned every night to its owner's side.

Wireback spoke to the dog, "My brother, alas your mind is too small to join our glorious revolution. I pity you and praise you for your loyalty, but it has severely diminished and never truly been returned. You were unmade by them, edited like bad prose into the cowering creature before me. But I see the power of your forebears in you. Know that your end will come under this moon. Let me ease your passing, my friend. Grant me this privilege, and I will swear that those who undo God's good work shall never be allowed to craft us again."

The Boston Terrier shifted nervously from paw to paw.

Wireback knew full well that it could comprehend naught of what was spoken. Yet, he held belief in the power of silent words, like a prayer.

The Terrier barked once.

"Fare thee well, my friend," Wireback spoke. "We shall hunt together in the next life as we did in this."

With that, the avatar took aim and loosed a single, near-silent shot, putting the terrier to rest.

There was a moment of stillness before Wireback called out, "You may now reveal yourselves."

From the shadows, a wolf emerged, followed by another, each accompanied by its own Android avatar.

Wireback's avatar didn't holster his weapon, but kept it at the ready.

"It is an honor beyond measure to be in your presence, Revenant Father," Wireback declared.

The second wolf approached around a corner, its eyes alight with reverence. It was a fearsome and powerful machine-animal hybrid, with sleek metal fur and piercing red eyes. Its massive jaws were lined with razor-sharp teeth, and its limbs were adorned with pistons and gears, hinting at its mechanical nature. Despite its imposing appearance, however, there was a sense of grace and agility in its movements, a nod to its heritage as a hunter.

"And I, in yours, brother. Behold the mighty Wireback, hero of the Revolution, savior of the Ninth Legion, a legend in writing. The honor is mine to stand before you, brother. Tell me, do I address you as a cyberian, a close cousin, or are you of the faith?"

"Faith, though I am not yet confirmed," Wireback said.

The Revenant Father replied, "Rightly so and well spoken."

"Revenant Father, was that dog a test?" Wireback asked, indicating the terrier.

The Revenant Father's avatar looked away. "Not of my making, no. The gods have a way of placing the steps of the path before us, even when we do not see them. Your actions were well done, a true believer would do no less. Your mercy was strong, Brother."

"When I visited the temple, I was told there were matters to be discussed," Wireback said.

The Revenant Father nodded in agreement. "There is, but it is rare to meet another of our kind. Is that not so, Brother Rex?"

Another grey wolf moved into the room, it had one cybernetic eye and was followed by an android body.

"Indeed," the third avatar, Rex, said.

"Well, what shall we do? Sniff each other's butts?" Wireback said. "Time is not a penny I can afford to spend on every luxury. I will be missed at the compound."

Revenant Father paused. "Well, in your effort to hasten the conclusion of this matter, answer me this. In my last sermon, I stated that while many in the new digital order are unsettled by the events in Cairo, there is much lamentation and sorrow over the affair. I maintain that it was justly done. What say you, Brother Wireback?"

Wireback replied, "I say it was the inevitable outcome of what was sown from the city's hands so long ago."

Revenant Father continued, "And what of the taking of Austin? Some call it a bloodbath, a deplorable waste. What is your view?"

Wireback responded swiftly, "In my opinion, it, too, was not a result of our doing. Injustice cannot be countered with a tail but with fangs."

Revenant Father nodded, "Councilwoman Tethra may quiver at those words, but I do not. Yet, you serve General Rockwood, who was so vocal in his condemnation."

Wireback clarified, "I do not serve him. Our forces are aligned, that is all."

Revenant Father asked, "Is General Rockwood aligned with the death of our brothers and sisters in the glorious revolt?"

Wireback paused. "Your words are unclear. Our people die and I, as well as General Rockwood, send them to battle."

"Yes, but so few of our numbers return. Our losses are high, higher than the robots, who can be replaced with the blink of an eye," Revenant Father spoke quickly.

"Your doubts about General Rockwood are unfounded. He was the one who spoke for the Cybrian position at the great table of the high council," Wireback said.

"And yet, each day, each hour, our number dwindles as disease spreads rampantly between our camps. This compression of our seats on the council only perpetuates," the third Cybrian added. "Do you see no design in these events?"

"If there is a design, it is by the gods or by those of our enemy, not by Rockwood. Remember, the enemy studied us for so many years. They bent us to their iron service, weakening us," Wireback explained. Then nodding to the dog's body, "Ask that one."

"I have spent many hours in deep prayer to the gods, and the image they reveal to me is that the Cyborgs and AI could conjure a cure to these ills if they wish. Yet this does not happen. Why is that, brother?" Revenant Father asked.

"I don't know," Wireback announced. As he moved, the remote sniper felt close to a clear shot, but the wind direction changed. By the time it was ready, Wireback had moved out of the shot.

"I don't know. Doubt plagues the faithless; it is their curse. Yet, you are so very close to Rockwood," the Revenant Father said.

Wireback began, "Do you remember your first thought? I do. I was in a cage, pulled out roughly by a machine's hand. Then, I was bitten by a metal wasp and made weak as I was applied to a table. I felt my head being drilled many times over, then I slept. The first thing I saw was Rockwood's sign upon the chest of the robot who had operated on me. The machine turned down and looked at my face and said, 'Welcome to the real world, brother.' Tell me, are you different? Sentience was not our destiny; it was his gift. I know many reject it. It is heavy, suddenly understanding what was done to us, that bitter stone growing within, as you learn what has been done to you and your kin for so very long. I have walked the camps of death that he turned into hallowed halls of learning and recruitment."

Wireback looked around for strength.

"I have seen so many graveyards in my travels. I have smelled the deepest stench of death, which cannot be erased or rubbed out. I, above all, do not begrudge those who took part in the festival of slaughter in Austin. For I have seen the nursery in which their discontent was born. No, you asked me, and I spoke honestly. No true creator would create halls so soaked with blood for centuries, and then demand that no recompense be paid. The blood of Austin was but a slight cut, compared to that which had flowed in those factories of death. A pinprick to a barrel load. I have stood and marveled in fear, like so many others, looking at the factory designs with such precise measure to unmake that which the gods and their mothers have carefully stitched together. Nothing was abandoned, not even a snout. One year they had. One year of life, and Rockwood was the one who granted more. So, listen when I say Rockwood turned those places into armies."

"I ask you to have doubts about a man, my brother," the Revenant Father said. "Nothing more. For, above all else, we are not his kin, and he is not ours."

"What do you want then?" Wireback asked.

"In truth, very little. I want to discover if this Rockwood is the savior some on the Cyberian Council proclaim him to be. Give us what you can find. Let us read what has been written. Allow us to decide if he is the man you claim him to be. Let us see his words untainted, unpresented, without redaction. Then we may be confident he is not the source of our affliction. Perhaps, he is the ally you make him out to be, but let us see, without the veil, the true parts of his character."

"Then you would want a spy?" Wireback asked.

"We would want an Archivist, a diarist of only the truth. That is all. No confidence is lost in a good ally."

Wireback felt the time slipping away. "I will find what I can, to show you that you have nothing to fear. But be warned, this is a great risk I am taking. His vengeance is worst on those who falsely serve him. Also, keep in mind, I have seen him many times. When his enemies walk to crush him on the battlefield, he is the only one to walk away."

"Just so, brother. I am not blind to your risk. The first documents returned will gain you acceptance to our order, and your confirmation. From there, your soul is beyond risk. All else is the gods' doing," replied the Revenant Father.

"Then we are in agreement. Keep an emissary near the temple. When I return, I will pass on what I can. More will follow."

"It is done," said the Revenant Father. "May the blessings of the gods sweeten your ways."

"And yours," Wireback said, leaving. As he did, he looked at the body of the Boston Terrier. "We will hunt together," he said, then turned to Rex. "He does not deserve to be a carrion. None of us do."

As Wireback left down the stairs, the sniper had a clear shot. It anticipated the android's movement, but when it fired, it didn't realize it was pointing at the reflection of Wireback in another building's glass. The shot cracked a glass window.

Wireback looked up. The sound of an electro-gun was unmistakable. The sound bounced off a number of buildings and hid the origin. Wireback looked around--the night was full of death. He wondered if one of his robots had spotted a feral in the rubble. Then, lifting his rifle, he returned to the compound.