"Gone mad is what they say, and sometimes Run mad, as if mad is a different direction, like west; as if mad is a different house you could step into, or a separate country entirely. But when you go mad you don't go any other place, you stay where you are. And somebody else comes in."
― Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace
A pair of warriors flew into the sky, bodies lit by the fires of their auras. One had an arm, rested in his coat like a sling as he tossed back a shot from the rice wine bottle in his hand. His opponent shouted, a cry for vengeance, filled with the spring of youth.
Hand pointed to the sky, he screamed as he charged a mighty attack. Energy tumbled with the wind, while the drunk waited, a smug smile on his face. He returned his wine to his belt, and unslung his arm, both hands on the long kattana at his waist.
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Ven leapt up from his couch, snacks spilled from his lap onto an aggravated Cain. The pair of shut-ins looked to the door as it rocked on its hinges.
BANG-BANG-BANG!
"VEN, I KNOW YOU"RE IN THERE," Mara's voice penetrated the heavy door. "OPEN UP AND FACE THE MUSIC, OR AANGOR IS BREAKING IT DOWN!"
"Maybe she'll go away…" Ven eyed the door. "When is she going to get over the drone thing?"
"Probably never," Cain popped a handful of chips into his mouth. "You tossed a wild beast into her balanced system, without the drones we're having issues all over."
BOOOM!!!
The rune-supported door flexed inward, hinges tested as a heavy blow shook its frame. An indent, shaped to match an ape's fist, blossomed in the steel. Ven edged back into a corner, shadows wrapped around him.
"That won't work…" Cain yawned. "She knows you're here, and you won't slip past Aangor, we're inside his body." He motioned to the guild around them.
"Stupid gorilla," Ven mumbled, his aura slipped back under his skin. "I told them not to use A.I., it's not my fault she didn't listen…"
BOOOOM!!!
The door folded up, half its length twisted like a crumpled soda-can. A hairy fist reached in and took hold of the remains. Aangor grunted, a heave that ripped the last of the barrier away.
"NO MORE HIDING IN HERE!" Mara stormed in, fangs bared. "You need to get off your ass and fix the problem you created!"
"I didn't do anything," Ven rolled his eyes and returned to his couch. "You're the one who okayed a billion slaves as the foundation for our civilization."
"DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!" Mara lunged forward, held back by Aangors meaty hand. "The ENTIRE city is shut down! Power failures have been reported in over HALF the residential areas, not to mention the utter chaos of the manufacturing district!"
"All I'm hearing is, 'My slaves won't work anymore, waaa waaa!'" Ven rolled his eyes. "The people of this city should have thought about the consequences of their choices, and the same goes to you, Mara."
Ven's black eyes flared, an escape of shadow that dropped the temperature of the room. Hands on his knees, he leaned toward the angered beastkin.
"I told you, A.I., especially advanced ones, are essentially people," The room dropped to well below freezing and Mara froze in her attempt to reach Ven. "You took a thousand years and built the same civilization that I saved you from on the day we met."
Ice formed on Aangors hand as it wrapped Mara up and pulled her back. A warm glow flowed from his body and into Mara's, enough that she could move. Her muscles jerked, involuntary jitters from the cold.
"W…we needed…"
"I don't care," Ven shook his head. He was familiar with the excuses, he'd used them all himself. "I won't be a part of anything like that ever again. I'll tear this city to the ground and rebuild it with a society of liberated drones if I have to."
"You wouldn't…" Mara stilled her body, eyes sharp. "All your friends live here, you'd be at odds with everyone you know!"
Ven stood, a sad smile on his lips. He withdrew his mask and placed it onto his face, a mirror that showed Mara her reflection.
"I've lived a human life, but I'm not human anymore," Mara's face warped in the mask as Ven tilted his head. "All species are equal to me, and you should be thankful for that." A dark cloud rose from his shoulders to steal the light. "My species is undeniably superior. If I measured things by race, you'd all be at my feet or in my belly."
"That's…"
"The truth," Ven's aura expanded to consume the guild and its halls. "Don't complain to me, when the ground you're standing on is so drenched in filth."
The shadow faded. Ven had vanished from the room, a wisp of his aura curled by the door. Mara slumped, the tension in her muscles replaced with lead.
"Everyone makes mistakes… own them and move on, or repeat them," Ven whispered into Mara's ear. "Just remember, you once asked for my help against a society built by slaves… now you've become the master, reaching for justifications and excuses."
Ven withdrew his senses from the room and continued his retreat. His words were a bit hypocritical, since he left his mess to Mara, but he also wasn't wrong. What was the point of this, if they made the same thing as everyone else.
I hope I wasn't too much of an ass…
*************************************************************
High above Cain's realm, trillions of Minders fulfilled their purpose. Five invaders were surrounded, trapped by her siblings and pulled into the horde. She drifted to the side, pushed by the struggles of their enemies, until a faint scent touched her surface.
Life?
She twitched back and forth, senses extended to the limit. No life should exist here, it was forbidden. Antithetical to her and her siblings' purpose. Another note, the tang of grass and air.
This isn't right…
She sent out a signal, a call that summoned her brethren. They would find this intrusion and return the natural order to the cosmic ocean. It was her purpose, the purpose of her people, and nothing ever stood in their way. In the skies above Cain's home, the Minders began to swarm.