After his conversation with Dawn, Erik secluded himself in his dank, gloomy study with a crooked hanging silver plaque on the door. Dawn was looking forward to Zero's appearance, who did not show up immediately. He spent the meantime for a closer look around the Archetype Commando's accommodation.
Apparently, the room he was now alone in was the living area. There was a corner with settees, an integrated kitchen with a vintage refrigerator as well as a food printer and a pull-out hologram display. The walls were decorated with a variety of images. Most of them were just holograms that changed their motives every few moments, but one of them was different from the others.
It was a genuine sketch of the Archetype Squad that depicted Erik, JP, Zero and Jo sitting together without their armor. Dawn went close to the picture because he noticed a detail. Jo had two metal prosthetic hands in the picture, which he had not noticed before. They featured narrow flaps on the upper side.
***They look like a family on it, a weird family, but a cheerful one. Guess it could have hit me harder.***
On the right side of the entrance, there were five doors. Through two of them, JP and Jo went in before.
***There are as many doors as there are members, surely these are the dormitories.***
After the prolonged wait, Dawn recognized Zero by the sound of his gentle tapering steps approaching him. Zero looked at Dawn with two curious blue child eyes. They were simultaneously full of the joy of discovery, and yet also full of melancholy.
"Hi Dawn, let me show you" he made a pause that was supposed to be dramatic "the Arc."
"With pleasure."
***There's something uniquely comical about Zero, but he's a little spooky. I never know whether I'm talking to the boy or to the AI that is controlling him.***
Zero and Dawn meandered through the hazy, crowded tunnels. The corridors of the Arc complex had the width of a regular street and seemed to be interwoven like the threads of a cobweb. The intricate architecture made it difficult for Dawn's Internal Assistance System to map the Arc. In addition, there were no complete records of the Arc, and even the official map provided by the HMD network had some blind spots.
Zero did not bother to start a conversation with Dawn at first and his mine changed to an empty stare. Later he pointed to two disc-like platforms with gas turbine engines. "Let's fly up to the balustrade. You will love the view up there." Zero's voice was elated and lilting.
"What are we going to see?"
"It's a surprise. I have to pick up some errands on the way."
Each of the two entered one of the hoverboards, which let them ascend to the ceiling of the tunnel, where a square hatch was constructed. Through the hatch, the night firmament looked into the tunnel with a thousand glowing eyes. The tunnel was braced by large cement pillars between which Dawn and Zero floated upwards.
" - - - - - - - OpTrans Scooter Drone - - - - - - - "
" - - - - Manufacturer number: 17256206 - - - -"
" - - - - Maximum Vertical Speed: 4 m/s - - - -"
" - - - Maximum Horizontal Speed: 13 m/s - - -"
Dawn sat down on the hoverboard and looked down. The tunnel was vivid and lined with neon signs pointing to all the specific facilities and flooding the tunnel with light. Dawn now understood what was meant by the expression "a city within a city". There were shops where delivery drones were sent out to join Dawn on his way upwards, bars stormed by closing time mercenaries and holo-decks promising virtual adventures.
Amid such everyday facilities, other places indicated that it was still a mercenary barracks in a city on the verge of guerrilla warfare. The medical wards were stretched to their limits, where all kinds of combat injuries were treated as if on an assembly line. Dawn could see several armories and military research institutes with different markings. Either the letters of the inscription SARRMEN adorned the entrances or a cogwheel-shaped symbol that obviously belonged to OpTech.
Zero was waving to Dawn as he flew by. He shouted to make Dawn aware of a certain store. "This is a Case Retrofit Station."
"You mean I can get upgrades there? That's awesome."
"No, you've been tweaked by the HMD. All your components are high-end. The only thing you could find there are visual enhancements."
"Only cosmetics? That's boring, how should I then grow my Case's powers?" Dawn laughed.
"I know there are other options in this town. You can get whatever you want in Haven in exchange for the appropriate consideration."
"Sounds like a good principle to me," Dawn said while drifting away from Zero.
When they reached the top, Dawn noticed by his dizziness that his head seemed not yet accustomed to having an anti-gravity system and thrusters. The voices of the people of the Arc became quieter and Dawn felt the cold night air on his Case's temperature sensors.
***Everything feels so surreal.***
He flew through the hatch and saw the view Zero wanted him to see and he hadn't promised him too much. At first, Dawn didn't know what he was witnessing, but then he realized that he could see a cross-section of all the stacked districts of Haven, from which the Arc stood guard like an external bastion. The whole city lay before him in a single moment, like a colossal, vibrant ecosystem nestled between its own walls.
***If Haven is the last thing left, I understand why I gave up my old life to protect it.***
After a while of indulging his thoughts, Dawn noticed Zero standing next to him.
Zero said mockingly, "I always thought I was absent-minded. Then I got to know you. "
"Doesn't everyone dream of being born again to experience all the wonders of the world again?"
They jumped off their hoverboards to walk on the balustrade at the top of the tunnel, which led them into a glass-roofed hall that seemed to be endless. Neon graffiti glowed on the walls in the dark and posters were hanging on the billboards. They were labeled "HMD Hierarchy Contest 2/11/2306".
"What is this Hierarchy Contest?" Dawn asked.
"At HMD, the hierarchy between the special ops is reassigned every year at a tournament."
"This means that soon we might not be Archetype Commando any more?"
"In theory. But that won't be the case. I know all their weak points. Don't worry, Dawn, we've always been very clear on that. And now we've even got you."
They went through the hall until Zero ran straight towards a section of the wall. He looked around hectically if someone could see him and whispered to Dawn.
"Come inside."
"Inside what?"
"Into the rabbit hole."
At that exact moment, Zero stuck his little hand into a crack in the concrete wall. He groped a bit, pushed a hidden button and the crack widened. Soon Zero was able to slip through. Dawn was surprised and followed him. They were standing in a narrow lightless chamber when the crack closed behind them and the light in the chamber went on.
Dawn looked around and saw sealed packages, drones, weapon components, letters, files and much, much more.
Zero beamed Dawn up at "I told you, you can get anything in Haven."
"Oh, what unexpected joy, Zero," said a lisping voice from the shadows of the room where a man with a flashlight was rummaging through boxes.
"You brought the new guy? The cyborg?" The man turned around. "Welcome to my humble emporium. I promise you will find everything your mechatronic heart desires."