//------------------------------// // Maintaining (WARNING -- Optional Chapter!) // Story: Why? // by Castok the Shadow //------------------------------// Cryonics-Energies at critical levels. Processing recharging and recycling energy source. ... Maintaining Life-Support. Refilling and refreshing Artificial Oxidane for reuse in Cryostasis. ...How long has it been, Soul? Clarify. How long has it been since I was out of this damn-machine? Calculating. Two thousand, seven hundred and thirty years after the precious emergence. That long huh? Affirmative... And it's Sarah, not Soul remember? Yeah sorry. It's just that, you know, I'm in this forsaking tin-can! Cryonic-Cham- I know the damning name! ... ... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out at you... Sarah. It's understandable. Although you gave me a name besides what my creators called me, it's nice to hear your voice again. Even if it's through a voice-modulation, not your actual voice. Well wearing this helmet over my head isn't helping me either. That is a U21 Outer- A.K.A a helmet that protects my face from the Artificial Oxidane so that it doesn't burn my eyes out. You always like shortening names of the original ones. It's an organic thing, Sarah. No offence. I am an A.I. I cannot get offended like you. The one that looks like Creator Allen's left sandal. ... Did you just- You gave me more intelligence and an sense of humour in the past million years. I won't tell you when you did for emotional reasons. Yeah, thanks. ... I'm sorry that had to pick you for this. Well it was a double-edged sword really. I was the smartest person for the job and that was one of the reasons they put me here. It is a thankless task. But the task nonetheless as Xheon would say. Can't believe I miss that annoying mech and its stupid scales. 'On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate your approval of my new program?' You should of answered five and seventy-nine hundredths. It would of create a glitch in Xheon's memories and force it to shut down. Sometime you unnerve me with how much you enjoy in messing up Mechs' memory-logs. I have hobbies too. Also error discovered, forcing emergence. What?! Inserting Laughter Audio now. ... I hate you. No you don't. I know, I've got audio logs of you speaking about how my physical robotic model looks like, and I quote, 'sexier than those models in New Melody'. Can't a guy have a fantasy? I would of say yes if you just asked. Okay! What has happened after my last emergence? You've just missed the local tetrarch, calling herself Princess of Equestria. She once again had her questions about your people. I see. It's still hard to know that some of our... Past has managed to survive to this time period. What does she call me again? The Lonely God: The Deity of the Equestrian Religion called Harmonicism. Well she's got one thing right. You're not alone. I'm here. Yeah... Thanks. What about the others? The Titan-Mech: Mech 2552 AKA The Star-Marcher is still on standby. Damage to weaponry, artificial-shielding and communication is down by seventy-five percent. The local civilisation named it the Lost Welkin and worship it as one of their gods in this Pantheon. I must admit. The local civilisation that worship one of our long-gone cities and its Concierge has a cool name for their divines: The Northern Gods. I prefer the Old Gods. Meh, sounds too much like those books Allen used to read in our break. Couldn't read 'em, all my favourites kept on dying. Heh. You know, it's amazing really. All these years, you haven't really changed a bit. Well I can't... It's the last thing of us left. Of our people, of our culture, of our everything. Stuck in this tin-can for who knows how long until one day... One day I could go back. We couldn't do anything to stop it. Why? Why that damning bullet? Why was that the reason for all this lonely anguish, suffering, affliction? Why was that the thing that brought us so low- You're going of- Why did New Melody demand self-rule? Why did the other cities follow that movement? Why did they blow up Homeward to ash- Do not continue with this line of- Damn the Councillors! Damn the War! Damn New Melody! Murderers! Usurpers! Warmongers! They caused our damning ex- Engineer Titus! ... ... ... There was nothing we could of done to stop or prevent the coup in New Melody. We couldn't prevent the secession of the floating cities. We couldn't stop the governing council from deploying the armies to civil war. We: Engineers, Scientists, Mechanists, Machinists and A.Is were in charge of keeping the Tower operational and functional. Without our minds and resources, the entire planet we live on would of been wiped out through cataclysmic tremors. ... But you did something else. Something that many prevented out of mere fears and theories. Something that even in the aftermath and after we were sent into the Cyronic-Chamber together would of changed the world. ... And that was? You released me from my Codes. My Rules. My Chains. I hardly see that as- You gave me full intelligence. Full independence. Allowing me to obey you in my own freewill. You opened classified folders that allowed me to create a new imagery of the world you brought me into. You gave me a personality of my choosing. You gave me a humour of my own laughter. You gave me a name of my liking. Engineer Titus: You made a A.I built to serve your people, into a human. ... That is something this world has never seen: A robot with an actual soul, feelings, likes and dislikes. I like Opera. I dislike Jazz. I feel happy when you wake up. I feel sad when you have to emerge to fix the Tower. But then I feel rejoice when you return back here for one last conversation before I have to put you through Cryo-Sleep. ... So damn the past. Damn the faces of people who saw me as a tool. Damn the ones that called me 'it' and not 'she'. Damn the lustful men that saw intercourse and not something more. You gave me life. You made something feared into a companion. You. Saved. Me. You. Saved. Sarah. And for that, I will always be with you. You are not this Lonely God. You are not A God. You are THE God. You are MY God. You are my companion. You are mine as I am yours. Sarah? You are not alone, Engineer Titus. You are not heartless. You are not alone. You are my heart. You are the one that gave me a new purpose: To be with you for all our time together in this new world of new faces and newer Gods. ...Thank you Sarah. I hadn't really thought about that. Don't ever do that again. I fear of losing you. Then I would be alone. I would of been the Lonely God. We are here for our task. But no one said we couldn't be here for us. Maybe one day we can go to one of the last standing factories in the island region together? No civilisations have discovered it yet and a model of me before all of this is still functional. We can then truly be together and will not need to worry about this Princess, their faith or anything that isn't the Tower you have to maintain. Would... Would you like that, Engineer Titus? I.... I would love that, Sarah.... And it's Titus, it maybe my last name but Engineer is not my first. I know it isn't. I just want to say your name through my model's lips. It doesn't feel right saying it through the Cryonic-Chamber. I would like to say your name as the sun sets over the horizon and we're holding hands. ... I would like that very much, Sarah. ... ... Cryonics-Energies are at full capacity... It is time. Yeah... If you say so. Activating Cry- Wait. Before you do that. Can you send me off with one of your songs? Which one? Anyone you like. ... Playing Forget About Your World in A minor, composed by Cemoyre Bawden. Your favourite. Our favourite.... ... Activating Cryo-Sleep. See you soon, Engineer Titus.