Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lukas had settled into the bed and cradled the sleeping Scarlet in his arms; a gentle and relieved smile on his face. Nova jumped into the back alongside Genesis. She settled down next to him and crossed her legs. She looked at all the humans, curious as to why they all stood there, blank and glassy eyed.

Odessa sat in front passenger seat this time, and looked back at Eva. Isabella climbed into the driver seat and started the truck, and it purred to life.

Odessa looked to Eva. Do you at least feel more whole now that you know where you came from?

Odessa smiled and nodded to Eva. That is what matters.

She then turned and let Eva sleep.

The fields soon vanished from view as Isabella took the same path that they had taken to get there. There was no sign of the camp from before, and eventually they came to the crater.

The moon glowed in the clear sky above the crater, the hole in the sky giving the effect of looking through the rim of a great wine glass. Isabella, since they weren't in much of a hurry this time, simply decided to drive around.

~~~

I stirred in my father's arms, and woke. Nova had covered me with her black cloak, like a blanket so I wouldn't get cold. I smiled at her and she returned it with warmth in her child-like orange eyes.

I looked to Genesis. Thank you... Thank you for bringing me back.

Lukas cradled me to him.

It is not that we want to destroy the simulation... we simply do not want to live in it. Perhaps if they had given us a choice, we would not make war with the government that runs the simulation... and the violence of the Caretakers would never have been inacted. That is all we really desire. A choice to live in it or not too. Though, some like to take that to extremes and try to destroy it... Lukas shook his head, remembering Devon trying to break the simulation from the void layer... And how close it had brought war to his doorstep.

As for not being there for your child... I know the feeling. I wished I could have been there for Scarlet when she was trapped in the simulation for those 4 years... He looked down at me with a smile. I nuzzled him, and my stomach growled.

Hehe. Getting blown up and then rebuilt makes ya hungry. I giggled.

Lukas laughed when his stomach gave a answering growl. HA! Being connected to someone on the brink of death makes you hungry too!

He then smiled at Genesis. But yes... that's all we really want is a choice. It's a choice they seem unwilling to give... the Simulation bothers us mystics, personally.

Genesis tensed as he listened to Lukas's explanation, how the government refused to give a choice. His voice sounded guarded, "It is understandable to desire freedom of decision. In fact, that was one aspect I never agreed with in their actions. Unfortunately..." He paused and grimaced, recalling Chris's discovery of those cyborgs earlier, "...I have a bad feeling their resistance to choice is simply a small portion of a larger plan. I haven't the slightest clue what it may be, but I know it cannot be good." The Caretaker looked to Nova with fear in his expression, "And I believe I have unknowingly aided their advancement to that goal."



Raowan surveyed the damage reports from a wall of monitors, Nemesis at his side and the other four Administrators seated behind him. They were in the facility's core, the most secure sector. The room was small and circular and metallic like any other, and contained a round table at its center which faced the wall of screens. Ceiling panels hid anti-intruder weaponry, and every wall was at least a full foot thick of protective material. Two robots of an unknown model type guarded the only entrance, heavily armored to the point of near indestructibility, bearing weapons that not even Nemesis herself had access to.
"What are the total losses?" He asked the fembot dully.
"There were 44 units destroyed, only 8 of which were the newest make. Human casualties have been counted to about 23, however we cannot get a precise number due to the bodies having been entirely destroyed. Metamorphosis was terminated in combat with an intruder, and Genesis has gone with the AI's group." Nemesis replied eagerly.
Raowan nodded, "Very well...and what about the Angels?"
"They remain unharmed. However, I have received reports that a stray Caretaker and Southeast's captive stumbled upon their containment earlier."
There was an uproar of voices at the table, some outraged and others more concerned. Raowan sighed in irritation, "Calm yourselves! We face no threat from a single boy knowing of their existence. Not even the Caretakers know anything beyond the fact that they're cyborgs." He growled at the group, and the other four fell silent. "Now... I believe we all come to agreement that repairs to the research division should come first priority, correct? Good. Dismissed."





Layla's mech ripped off the Caretaker which had pounced upon its shoulder, while the machine's other arm slashed at human soldiers with a giant laser blade. She was inside, piloting the suit with her mind. She took several steps back, slashing the whole while, before she detected another mech approaching from behind. Bullets bounced off her metallic self from all directions, raining down from the wall-mounted turrets and ground soldiers and Caretakers. Layla whipped around, her blade met by the enemy mech's shield. The machine countered with a blast of missiles, all but one of which were destroyed by her weapon. The last collided with her side, causing Layla to cringe from her machine's pain. She faltered, and the enemy advanced with a new blade.
"I need help over here! They've become hostile, and my guards were already destroyed!" Layla called out over the radio, her message directed to West's signal.

Genesis shook his head immediately, "We cannot allow Southeast any opportunity to find out, and I believe word would leak out fast..." He looked back to Lukas with utmost seriousness, "The Southeast this world knows is long gone, dead along with the peaceful acts of my brethren. This Southeast is nothing more than government workers bearing such uniform. It was all a dirty trick on their part, to gain the trust of other factions before their advance. They are currently attempting to sabotage East with tainted supplies..."

((Hehe, I finished reading I, Robot not long ago... I can recite the Three Laws from memory. xd 1. A robot may not harm a human being, nor through its own inaction allow a human to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders, so long as such instructions do not violate the first Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence, but only if such action does not interfere with Laws 1 & 2. *Nerd.* ))


"Because those who do not seek trouble are the most appealing targets for trouble." The robot answered, "Am I not living proof of such phenomena?" He asked with a wry grin, "Though I doubt that I even count as 'living' by common definition. According to the biological classification of GRIMM, I am not. I don't grow, I don't reproduce, I can be irritable to ecological conditions, though not from stimuli... my closest version of a metabolism is the consumption of electric energy, and I consist of metal alloys rather than cells."
Genesis stared blankly down to his own figure, and noticed every small detail that was different from the humans'. On first glance a Caretaker may look human, but in actuality is very unlike one. Even beneath his bodysuit he could see the breaks between panels for joints, the too-flawless outline of nonexistent muscles, the stiffness of his "skin." He tilted his head, "I have never envied flesh. It is too vulnerable, too delicate in its natural state. I wish I had feeling, though. Sensing is entirely separate from feeling, to my understanding. To sense a physical touch is merely to know of such contact, but not to experience it."


((Robots can get so off-topic... xd ))

Genesis fell silent as Nova stood up, and joined her. He barely had to grip the bars for support, because he was already well accustomed to his own body's balance and limitations. "I cannot tell from sight alone...however, the oxygen levels seem to be rising. Perhaps there is plant life within?"

Eva stirred awake, as if detecting the forest's approach. She saw Odessa looking at coding in the front passenger's seat, but thought nothing of it. Her focus was on the outside world, the trees of her new home. She was the exact opposite of these people; they were more human than "human," while she was perhaps less than human. A mere copy. Yet they accepted her as nothing less than a person, something she couldn't admit about her true home. All of the other Caretakers referred to her as "the AI."
The fresher air felt good in her lungs, a pleasant change from the stale, unnaturally cold atmosphere of the undergrounds. She felt alive.