〔Conurbation Haven〕
〔The Arc〕
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〔Main Hangar〕
〔2/4/2306 23:23〕
The Grizzly was lying next to the runway in front of the hangar on a patch of uneven ground, on which it finally got stuck after it cut a swath across the ground. JP, DWN-49 and Sergeant Baker found shelter in the Administration Sphere in the middle of the command bridge after being almost thrown across it during the unexpected crash landing.
DWN-49 had quickly managed to give his two companions access to it. Apparently, the mysterious sphere resisted all physical influences of its environment. The tremendous forces of the crash left it completely untouched. A kind of sorcerous barrier lay between the interior of the sphere and the rest of the world. They sat there, crammed together and pressed against each other. JP, who was about one and a half times the size of DWN-49, curled himself together.
"Where are we?" asked JP.
"You say this thing is from the war?" Baker replied.
"I'm one hundred percent sure."
"Then I know what the sphere's membrane is made of and why we're sealed off from the outside world in here."
"You're not saying that it's made of..."
"Yes, I am."
"Then it means we have to get it out of the city immediately, or they'll hunt us and the HMD down with everything they've got."
DWN-49 was completely confused "What's it made of?"
Sergeant Baker replied, "It's better if you don't know, at least you won't get in trouble."
"I'm dying to know. After all, what could it be? It's just a sphere in a spaceship, right?" DWN-49 added.
"He's part of our squad now. We'll have to explain it to him sooner or later anyway," JP insisted.
" Well then, I'll tell you what it could be after all. It could be what made this world the place it is today. This disgusting nanotechnology."
"Nanotechnology, then... "
"We need to get out of here now," Sergeant Baker interrupted DWN-49.
They squeezed out of the undamaged sphere one by one and found themselves on a completely devastated command bridge. The three working rotors rattled violently for a moment as if it was the last time the Grizzly had rebelled against its malfunctions.
They looked slightly perplexed through the shattered front window of the bridge through into the night.
Opposite them stood a troop of armed soldiers, led by a woman in a bulletproof vest and a helmet with a signaling device on it. The soldiers held their rifles at the Grizzly, which they had surrounded in a circle. Their leader narrowed her eyes and caught sight of Erik, who suddenly started to laugh.
"What will Cass have to think of us?"
She made a waving hand gesture downwards and at the same time, the soldiers lowered their weapons.
Erik and JP walked calmly out of the Grizzly while DWN-49 stayed behind for a while to observe the situation. He noticed a tank with a gun mounted on top of it, which obviously served as an anti-aircraft defense. Behind the gun stood a little boy whose face was covered by a visor and around whom several hologram projections floated. Next to him stood a young woman who seemed to be incessantly babbling at the boy while he ignored her.
She had a very angry expression and jiggled the boy. DWN-49 wondered what kind of mercenaries they were, sending children and maidens to the guns.
The woman on the tank had her brunette hair pinned up and was wearing baggy camouflage pants and a hoodie, which seemed almost ironic between the heavily armored soldiers. Besides that she wear aviator goggles.
***The sun set hours ago, why does she wear those sunglasses?***
DWN-49 watched them for a while until he noticed that meanwhile the whole crowd of the arc was staring at him and waited for him to come out of the Grizzly.
"You are the forerunner of your kind. Whatever you do, don't forget this" the cyborg heard Baker's voice echoing in his head.
***I can't imagine having given up my old life to become part of this freak show. Maybe this is all a cruel joke on me…***
Erik hinted DWN-49 to come to him. Thereupon he straightened up, knocked the dirt off his case and stepped through the broken cockpit window into the wide field. The ground felt muddy and gave in to every step of the DWN-49 as he approached the excited crowd that now wanted to catch sight of him.
Arriving there, a few honorable officers stepped forward and welcomed him. DWN-49 turned shyly to Erik "Why are they doing this, I haven't done anything yet."
"You are part of Archetype Commando. The elite" Seargent Baker explained.
DWN-49 then nodded to each of them pleasantly to adjust his behavior to the status of his unit. After the general interest in the newcomer had subsided, JP took him aside and said, "Now it's time for you to meet Jo and Zero. I'm sure you can't wait!"
They passed through the interior of the floodlit hangar and then reached a terminal with three tubular aboveground passageways. They walked along the middle tunnel until they entered a converted factory hall through a lock. The hall had a high ceiling and was lit with dimmed light. DWN-49 heard lively footsteps from all three floors of the barracks. He saw androids carrying straight boxes and sweeping the corridors for bugs.
JP and Erik walked straight up the metal lattice stairs, whereupon DWN-49 followed him. They came into a large room where two figures were staying. DWN-49 recognized them immediately. It was the young woman and the boy who had been sitting on the tank.
"Hey guys, come here. I have to introduce you to someone," Erik commanded.
The little boy did not react at all and seemed completely absent-minded. The girl was lolling on a sofa at the edge of the room and just turned her head for a moment.
DWN-49 saw that she had now taken off her sunglasses and a pair of crimson red eyes came into. At the sight of these, he suddenly became nervous.
"Another toaster? Well, he won't last more than a week in this place anyway."
"It can't get any worse than today, can it?"
She turned away from him again. "Believe me, it's getting worse. If you don't believe me, I'll take care of it myself."
***What's wrong with her?***
She said, "What's this new guy's name again?"
"I'm DWN-49, nice to meet you. You must be Jo," said DWN-49 in a slightly shaky voice.
"I must be your worst nightmare, the way you look at me. "
"You're not even looking my way, how would you know?"
"It doesn't matter. Who in all seriousness came up with the idea of giving you a zip code for a name?"
"I hope it's more of a temporary label because I don't like it either" DWN-49 agreed.
JP grinned mischievously "Then it's name time!"
Everyone looked at JP in bewilderment.
"Yes, everyone has a nickname except Erik. This one is Zero" he pointed to the little boy. "His legal name is Central Command 3 Replicator - Virus carrier. This is Jose…" Before JP could finish his sentence, Jo rammed her elbow into the pit of his stomach so that the giant caved in.
"It's none of his business, Jean-Paul Keroubier. How about a double name again? Tin Can" Jo suggested
"Why again?" JP asked.
"I already tried it with Zero, but somehow you had something against it."
"And again I will tell you we are searching for a proper name" Erik reminded her. "Let's see if our child prodigy has a better idea, "Erik said. "Zero, take off the damn visor for once."
Zero was startled when he heard Erik say his name and crossed his arms obstinately. "Oh please. Just let me finish those calculations…"
"Take. It. Off." Erik said persistently.
Reluctantly, Zero put the visor down "Alright, so you wanted a proposal. I've recently compiled databases of the most common names for humans and androids in the last century. Which one do you want to base my assessment on? Or should I just filter the intersections?"
"Imbecile! All you have to do is give a name, not write a thesis" Jo became impatient.
"I'm sorry if I misinterpreted the instruction. You have to consider that my program was created as a virus for nano-warfare and is not adapted to this kind of task" Zero said with his high-pitched child's voice. "However, if you insist, I can randomize a name for the sake of the debate."
DWN-49 smiled "I longingly ask for it."
"Okay, here's the result: v1E#H`7"
"Oh my gosh, there isn't even a way to pronounce this bullsh**!" Jo was beside herself.
"You can't be serious! Looks like someone fell asleep on his keyboard" Erik said, while JP embarrassedly hit his palm on his forehead. DWN-49 was just laughing.
Zero crumpled his face and retreated back to his holograms and his computations.
Erik Baker shook his head. "This is going nowhere. Your name is DWN-49. We're just gonna call you Dawn from now on."
"Sounds heroic" JP was impressed.
"The sergeant has spoken," Jo commented.
DWN-49 was happy with his new name "I think I could get used to this."
"Someone should tell Zero, that not having numbers in it is what makes a good name" Jo joked. "But I guess it's hard to believe for someone who's name is nothing more than a number."
"Let Zero show you around the Arc. Since he's also a cyborg, you will get along well together" Baker suggested.
"He's a cyborg too? I thought I was the first of my kind" Dawn was surprised.
"Although you are both cyborgs, you are fundamentally different. His body is still human while his mind is intertwined with an AI that he uses to control the city. He lives in symbiosis with an Artificial Intelligence."
"My mind is still human. I am still human after all" Dawn realized.
"Just don't think you're some kind of spiritual being now" Jo warned Dawn.
"Prepare yourself for the fact that many will look at you simply as a regular robot. Many androids, even the most advanced of them, are not treated equally by the people of Haven," said Erik in a sudden unusually serious tone.
Dawn swallowed and nodded as a sign of understanding. "Then I thank you for at least treating me normally, Sergeant Baker."
"That goes without saying. You can call me Erik if you like."
Erik offered him his remaining biological hand. "Here's to good cooperation, kiddo."