They entered a round hall with a semicircular table as a centerpiece. The glass floor provided a direct view of the plenary hall below, in the center of which General McManus was just giving his speech. At the edge of the wide conference room, several well-filled pompous boxes were attached to the walls. In one of these, the Archetype Commando was placed. They were surrounded by elitist individuals who resembled each other and were an exact match for Haven's ideal of beauty.
When they noticed Dawn's presence they seemed surprised and started whispering. "Most of them have never seen an android in the loge before" Erik explained.
The gossip of the people fell silent abruptly as the Herald stood up in front of the loge and began to talk. "Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, honored leaders of Haven. I welcome you to this week's meeting of our beloved Council of the wisest and most generous. A varied agenda has been prepared to your liking, but first, we welcome the Councillors."
Thereupon thirteen heavily armed fighters entered the room, some of the combat robots, some androids, some humans. They positioned themselves behind the eight seats of the table in the middle of the room and scouted the situation in silence. After that, seven more people appeared, who lined up next to each other at the round table, leaving one seat between them unoccupied. Most were seated in comfortable leather armchairs, but one of them moved to his place in a floating frame where he had trouble parking it to remain seated. It was a stocky man with noticeable bulges of fat on his neck and a bulky immobile body. He cursed "Every time the same sh**. Why doesn't the damn hover seat work?"
A tender man with a close-fitting suit and visible technological improvements and a classic pale face looked at the fat man with unashamed contempt, which caught his eye. "OpTech products that don't work, does seem familiar to you?" the fat man asked belligerently.
The bored look of the young man coupled with a dramatic sigh and he waved him away.
A youthful blonde woman in a precious dress joined the conversation. The lady was of breathtaking beauty with a mild and trusting gentleness in her flawlessly proportioned face. "We live in an age of commercial beauty, why must you still frighten us with your sight, Sarrmen?"
"The only difference between us is that I stand by who I am."
Dawn looked around for Jo, who meanwhile gazed spellbound at a certain councilwoman, while she played tensely with a knife.
***Is she the one that Erik was talking about earlier? What does she have to do with Jo?***
Dawn also noticed that the young man from the council, behind whom were two ultra-modern cases that could keep up with Dawn's design, watched him with fascination as he casually assembled a holographic cube from thousands of tiny shape-variable parts, paying no attention to the rest of the discourse. "Erik, who is that guy there?" Dawn pointed at him.
"That's Isaac Kovaljow. The sole owner of Op Tech. Shen once told me many of your components were built from his unrealized blueprints. "
"I see. So he is some kind of genius. And who are the others now?"
"The ugly fatso is Christopher Sarrmen, number one weapons manufacturer. To his left is the empty seat designated for President Joshua Kingsley. He is probably below us in the bright Council. Next to it goes the Yakuza represented by their long-established leader Katsuo Akira. Beside him is Edith Walker as the newest member of the council. Sitting to her left is Juan Navarro from the Familiá and then comes the blonde food mogul lady, Eleonore Lebigot. On the far side is the First Son, High Priest of the Church of the Rising Gods. They rule the city, not the parliament Arthur's speaking to. These people have monopolies on everything that surrounds you, their power is immeasurable."
At the beginning of the conference, various guests presented questions and requests that the majority of the Council did not pay attention to. Isaac Kowaljow lounged in his armchair and looked thoughtlessly in Dawn's direction, while Sarrmen placed one of his undressed slaves on his lap and groped her with his greasy rabid hands. With a saliva-dripping mouth, he controlled her like a pet with a leash tied around her fragile neck.
Dawn could hardly stand this sight and took commiseration with the pitiful girl. But he had to follow Erik's instructions, after all, he had no authority in this place.
The girl moaned half out of pretended lust and half out of real torture as Sarrmen threw her onto the table in front of him and leaned out of his seat, revealing his inhumanly deformed body.
Dawn refused to imagine what would happen to her next.
Eleonore Lebigot who had been staring at the scene annoyed for a while proposed a deal to Sarrmen. "30,000 blanks and she's mine."
"30,000? You think I'm gift-giving you that slut. Dream on."
"50,000?"
"Well, if it'll make you happy, take her for 50,000 blanks."
***Thank God for that. The only one with morals on the council seems to be Eleonore. ***
She called the young woman over to her, "Come here, I want to see you." After that, she took off her leash.
The completely deranged slave girl thanked her gratefully with a sobbing voice, "I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"No need" reassured her Eleonore Lebigot and took a convenient energy pistol from her bag and pulled the trigger, shooting the slave in the head so that her bloody naked body dropped to the floor in front of the council. Surprised enthusiasm then spread throughout the loges before two guards took her corps away.
***What am I witnessing? I can't believe these are the people I am supposed to work for.***
Lebigot added: "I hope that now finally there will be peace and we dedicate ourselves to the business."
"It will never be peaceful as long as you are surrounded by savages" Kowaljow contradicted nihilistic.
After a while, General McManus also entered the hall accompanied by JP and Zero.
Shortly after his arrival, he was already called. The Herald announced "Haven Military Department General Arthur McManus presents his half-human superweapon. Please step forward."
Arthur McManus stood at the straight side of the semicircular table and began to present that the HMD had a super soldier in which they combined the best of man and machine, but did not tell anything concrete about Dawn's creation and capabilities.
Isaac Kowaljow then leaned far forward in his armchair "Moreover, a few questions force themselves on me, General". Subsequently, the attention of the other members of the Council was also drawn to this matter.
"So you're saying DWN-49 has a Personality Engram. Is it based on the simulation principle or the algorithm modification procedure?"
Arthur McManus stated, "That's top-secret technology, I'll be damned if I will give the formula to the public."
Sarrmen said, "Isn't it enough for you to be lecturing at the university, Kowaljow?"
"I will formulate my question a little more clearly for your kind. I want to know if brain waves are simulated or if there is a replicated human artificial intelligence" Isaac asked as if he was talking to a child.
McManus obviously didn't want to reveal too much. "I don't know for sure, I..."
Immediately Isaac Kowoljow interrupted him. "If I could have a quick look at him myself?"
The white-haired man Katsu Akira adjusted his glasses and began to talk "Arthur, please. We all have our secrets here, but this concerns all of us."
"If it's absolutely necessary... Dawn, come here."
Dawn then went out of the loge, after which the council took a first look at him. He stood beside the General. Only now Dawn noticed that under the long robe of the First Son, who had wrapped his hood tightly around his head, there was nothing but an uncanny cranial helmet. Isaac stood up from his chair and was as tall as Dawn when he stood beside him. The OpTech proprietor stepped up close to Dawn as if to examine him in detail, carefully touching the flap to the back of his head.
***What does this guy want from me? Why is he so obsessed? I have to stay calm and endure it, after all, he is the one in control.***
Isaac was holding his mouth as close as possible to Dawn's head so the cyborg could feel his breath. "I am certain that your neuro engram contains nano-technology, but I will keep it to myself because you are a miracle. A strictly forbidden miracle."
***If he's right, my body violates the most essential law in Haven. I have to check that myself since I don't know if I can trust him.***