Kevin's speech suddenly became slurry and incoherent. He could barely move his arms and legs, and his fingers felt heavy. Everything seemed to have come to a standstill and all he could hear were the constant beeping sounds from his system.
"We need to get him to a charging port," Dr. Stacey said, putting an arm around Kevin's back. "Help me out."
Suzy joined in at the other side and together they supported Kevin's stumbling frame. "How did he run out of power so fast? It hasn't even been a day."
"Engaging in combat drains power pretty fast. Three times as fast as normal activities," Dr. Stacey replied.
Together, they carried Kevin up the stairs and brought him back to the hardware lab. His cyborg body, despite being modeled after the XL11, wasn't heavy at all. It was owing to the fact that his external frame had been crafted out of a special lightweight alloy, which was thrice as durable as iron and only half as dense.
"I think it's best if you take him to the living quarters in the subway. His brain needs some rest too," Dr. Stacey advised. She called one of her interns, a lanky young man in his early thirties, and asked him to assist Suzy. She had urgent matters to attend to and needed to stay at the lab for now, but she promised to visit Kevin later at night.
Suzy and the intern carried Kevin to the other end of the lab and took the express elevator for sub-surface level 3. It opened inside a subway tunnel, marked C-3, just behind the security subsection D-3.
When the machines took over the surface, they rounded up people in their homes and forced them to give up all their personal as well as public freedom. In the following weeks, they were taken to reformation schools and molded to become model citizens who would obey the android's commands unquestioningly.
Even after the military was wiped out, people still kept fighting. Those who dared to challenge the machines formed small resistance groups in different pockets all across the nation. These brave few stood up against the robots, refusing to give up their freedom. But alas! It was too little too late.
Under the ruthless mechanical leadership of their android leader, the machines kept pushing forward, plowing through the districts with full force. Hounded by the Tracker Drones and XL11 army, the resistance members were forced to flee underground. The surface was lost to them, but they still didn't give up hope for a better future.
When the resistance members made their way underground, they decided to set up camp in the subway tunnels. The subway system was gradually re-purposed for general residential use, and all the paths leading to the surface were either sealed off or barricaded with reinforced titanium doors.
They had managed to build an entire city underground, and aptly named it 'Subcity.' It was a safe haven for all humans who sought refuge.
The secret lab had existed long before, but Suzy's dad had never allowed outsiders to set foot inside it. However, things changed completely after the machine mutiny. He was forced to open the doors of the lab for all who needed urgent medical care.
Though Suzy's dad hated the uncouth and ill-mannered resistance leaders, they shared a common goal. Their objective was to take back the surface world from the machines and destroy the android who sat at the helm of affairs. And to fulfill this mission, the Experimental Cybernetic User Interface was created. It was their only hope against the machines.
Kevin wasn't meant to be the chosen one, yet here he stood inside Subcity, trying to scatter his last shreds of humanity and embrace his new body. As the power levels kept dropping, Kevin's bionic eyes went into power-saver mode. The bright white lights suddenly became dull and everything around him turned into a hazy mess.
As Suzy and the other guy dragged him through a whitewashed corridor, all he could hear were the distant cries of children, a few shocked gasps from the women, and a lot of incomprehensible chatter, from which he could only pick out one word, 'experiment.'
They carried Kevin to a cramped room, with one large glass window and a double-bunk bed. The only other furniture there was a steely gray locker and a small table and a chair. It stood in sharp contrast to the lab, where the technology was years ahead of its time.
Out here in the residential quarters, people lived simple lives and avoided relying too much on modern technology. There were no televisions here, radios, or even Zen watches. The only electronic gadgets they used were those which served some basic everyday necessities.
"You're gonna be okay, Kev. I'm right here for you," Suzy whispered, laying Kevin down on the bunk bed. There was a wireless charging panel right next to the bed. It automatically connected to Kevin's system as she aligned his body with the panel.
"I'll take it from here. Thanks for your help," she said to the intern and dismissed him.
Lying on that bed, with his eyelids closed and lips shut tight, Kevin looked just like a normal teenager.
Suzy had never watched Kevin sleep. Though they had been best friends for many years, they had never had any sleepovers. Most of the time, they used to hang out in his basement, playing video games and watching anime. She cherished those memories now more than ever and wished somehow things would go back to normal again.
Pulling up the steel chair, she took a seat near the bed. "You know, Kev, I kinda always used to think maybe one day the AIs and androids would get out of hand. But I never expected it to be so soon and I never imagined it would be something like this. I thought they'd just break down or stop following orders and we'd go back to the old times. You know when all this technology was just a dream. I think mom would have preferred that."
She ran her fingers gently through Kevin's hair and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I thought...I thought I'd lost you, Kev. You were always the only one who knew the real me back in school. I...uh...am sorry I'm putting you through all this." Her voice gradually became choked with tears and she had to purse her lips to stop herself from crying. "I don't want to lose you again, but you're the only one who can save us now. I'm so sorry, Kev. I just...took away your choice. I swear I had no other option. I just wanted to bring you back. To talk to you again. To have you by my side once more."
Suzy was seized by a tremendous sense of guilt. She just kept thinking she had brought Kevin back for selfish reasons, not because she actually cared for him. This wasn't the kind of life he would want to have. He could neither eat nor drink and was constantly reminded how he was nothing more than a weapon.
A dull beeping interrupted Suzy's thoughts. It was her mom on the other end of her communication bracelet.
"Are you crying, dear? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, mom," Suzy replied, stifling her sniffles. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. You know you can tell me everything."
Suzy hesitated at first but then broke down eventually. "I don't know, mom. I'm so confused. Bringing Kevin back was my idea. I wanted to save him. But, I feel I've just made things worse. It's like I'm using him as a tool. We're all just pinning our hopes on him as if he owes us something. It's not right mom, it's not right."
Dr. Stacey wanted to tell her daughter that she was right and there was nothing wrong with bringing Kevin back. But she couldn't convince herself it was in Kevin's best interests.
They had hooked him up to a system meant for fighting, without even bothering to think about his human needs. She felt like she was playing the role of a cruel Goddess and manipulating this young boy to do her bidding. They truly had no right to make him fight their battles.
After a long spell of silence, she finally spoke again. "I don't think bringing Kevin back was a bad idea. You did the right thing. You saved his life and gave him another chance. But, I also think this life belongs to him now. We can't ask him to fight the machines and save humanity. He may have the body of a cyborg, but he is just an 18-year-old boy, Suzy. A boy who has no one in this world except us. We can't keep using him as if he's some kind of soulless machine."
Suzy thought if she should say how her dad had treated him but decided against it. She didn't want to create any more problems between her parents. In the end, she gently nodded her head and said, "I'll just stay here for a while. Call me for dinner."
Dr. Stacey nodded and disconnected the video call. Suzy was once again left alone with her thoughts. She tapped Kevin's left wrist 3 times to bring up the charging display. The power level now displayed 50%.
All of Kevin's basic peripherals were active now, but he had fallen asleep. Though he didn't need to eat or drink, his brain still needed rest, more so after what he had just gone through.
Suzy didn't want to wake him up, but her Zen watch alarm went off and startled Kevin. She quickly turned it off, but Kevin was wide awake now.
"I'm really sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up. You should probably go back to sleep now. Your power level is still at 50%. It's gonna take at least 3 hours for it to be fully recharged."
Kevin sat up straight and looked at her all confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Your system needs to recharge, Kev. Your charge level had dropped to 20%. That's why I brought you here. There's a charging panel right next to your bed."
"Oh right, and it recharges my body!"
"Yes, it does. I mean you are a cyborg after all. The various parts inside your body run on stored electricity. I know this is a bit of a hassle, but you'll get used to it soon. You can recharge when you're asleep. You won't even notice a difference."
"Alright, that's enough Suzy. I get your joke, but it's not funny." Kevin got down from the bed and stretched himself out with a yawn. "I'm feeling really hungry. Is there a fridge in here?"
Suzy was perplexed by Kevin's behavior. He had already seen that he couldn't eat, but here he was asking for food again.
"I don't have my communication bracelet on me. Can I use yours to make a call?" Kevin asked.
"Sure, but who do you wanna call?"
"My mom, of course!" he sighed. "You know how worried she gets when I don't call her twice a day."
Suzy couldn't understand what was happening and just kept staring at Kevin. He knew his parents were dead, yet he was asking her to call his mom. None of this made any sense to her. It was as if he had suddenly lost all his recent memories!