The Ultimate Conscience

[Motorik]

Hello. I want to show you one of my stories. I really like to write, and I consider this my best story so far (obviously, I can improve). Originally it was a My Life as a Teenage Robot fanfic, but I decided turn it into my own story with my own characters. It's okay if you don't like it, but I want constructive criticism. I hope you like it, and sorry for my english. Again.

 

 

In a desert and unnamed planet, an ex soldier of a fallen empire was hiding inside a cave. Since he was a robot he didn’t need to eat, sleep or worrying about freezing to death, but he had to hide from the beasts that came out to hunt during the violet night, because they really loved the taste of metal. Then, he saw with his only functional eye a spaceship coming down from the sky, that he recognized as belonging to one of the races he once was at war with. He planned an attack, but he stumbled in the process an became the first thing the visitor saw after he get off the ship.

“What do we have here? A beetle soldier. I didn’t expected you still exist”.

“I don’t know what to expect anymore”, the beetle answered, “I’ve been in hiding for too long, and I don’t have news of the rest of the universe. I don’t expect anything good, anyway”.

“Exactly. Nothing good is happening”, the visitor said, “Vasp was destroyed, but now there’s something much worse out there”.

“I think I know what you’re talking about. It’s exactly what I feared most”.

“We were facing you for so long”, the visitor said, “but we didn’t know you were capable of such a thing”

“Are you going to kill me? Because I warn you, I will defend my life at all cost” The robot said defiantly.

“Surprisingly, I don’t want to kill you. This isn’t my fight anymore”.

The soldier was surprised by that answer.

“I decided that a long time ago. Maybe you’re interested in joining me. The food and the fire are in your hands, but you are more than welcome”.

“Oh, how kind of you”, the visitor said mockingly. “By the way, my name is Zelniq”.

Zelniq gathered all the logs he found, took them to the cave and set them on fire with a ray pistol he always carried for protection. Then, he decided to talk with who used to be his enemy:

“What is a soldier from what used to be the biggest empire of the galaxy doing here?”

“What I can”

“This is an improper answer for a member of the Ensemble. What happened to the pride of the conquerors?” There was irony in his tone.

“That pride died when the troops were decimated by the new threat”.

“I’m really curious about what exactly happened to you. Who is this monster?”.

“I’d told you that is a long story, but It’s not like I got something better to do. Queen Vasp was spending all of resources trying to conquer earth. There was a robot named KYM protecting that planet, and she wanted her by our side no matter what. One of her last attemps to reach her goal included to disguise herself as a student of the school KYM attended, but she was finally humiliated and called and “old lady” by the other students. At least, that’s what they said. Vasp was so furious that she ordered to created a robot that could do the same job and being humiliated in case it was necessary: her name was Nexa, and she had the ability to transform into another beings and absorb their knowledge. Her creator was Coleopterus. That scientist was an idiot. His most important inventions were evil dolls that could be turned off with a switch and robots that could be destroyed with water. I expected his new infiltration unit to fall apart or to suffer a teenage crisis or something. Already on earth, she sended us reports every day: from fights with ninja zombies from mad scientists. She seemed vulnerable, because she could barely fight and ended up really damaged after every confrontation. We even thought it would be the failure it should have been, but she was gaining KYM’s trust, so the plan kept on going. After some weeks, her behavior changed. Her reports were more ambiguous and vague. We were going to cancel the plan, until Vasp sent us to Earth to invade it: she had KYM in her clutches. We went to planet Earth and organized an earth-and-air raid. Humans were surrendering and the victory was ours, but suddenly something happened: I felt a program in my systems, and my partners were suffering the same. We wanted to stop the invasion and check what was happening, but we had orders. After a while, that program possessed us and took control of our actions and the one who did this was revealed: Nexa. We were hers now, and her first order was to destroy everything. No prisoners and no slaves. We obeyed and started to kill humans. I never could kill humans before that. The others were doing the same. In our way we found general Tiroxydon with terrestrial military forces fighting together to stop us. Several drones were destroyed, but I could escape and go to another front. When I was free from that barricade, I looked at the sky and saw Vasp and KYM fighting side by side against Nexa. Not even them together could defeat her. Nexa seemed to have the same abilities than them, and improved. The worst part came when, after a desperate attack from Vasp that left her exposed, Nexa took her by the wings and tore them off with her bare hands. When she was falling and before touching the ground, Vasp was cut into pieces. KYM couldn’t save her. I didn’t want to see more, so I returned to the killing. After some hours we eliminate the last human, so we informed Nexa, and other soldiers from anothers parts of the world were doing the same. She gave us this order: “destroy each other. And may the survivors destroy themselves”. I began to shot the soldiers that were like my brothers, and they did the same to me and to the others. I shot one, two, three, four, until I got shot in the face. I was sure I would die, but I survived and I was unconscious. When my systems restarted and woke up, there was no one alive. Not only my partners were dead, but also the mighty warfleets were junk rusting in a dead Earth. I wander around looking for survivors, but I only could find Tiroxydon with half his body blown off and a expression of terror totally new for him in what was left of his face. Also found the military forces scattered and dead. I never found KYM’s body, but it didn't matter. I took one of the emergency ships and took off to my planet. When I arrived, everyone was evacuating. I even saw Vasp’s daughter being assisted by some guards, because her system was in critical condition. There was a powerful virus infecting and killing the ensembliers. It was obvious that Nexa was behind that, it couldn’t be a coincidence. She was applying what she learned on earth to achieve her own goals. It was then when I realized that, if that machine could destroy a planet and make an empire fall in few weeks and being watched by a tyrant queen, no one would be safe, so I came to this abandoned planet she wouldn’t be interested in. So far, I’m right. Heck, that robot could absorb knowledge from others. How didn’t see her coming? The worst part is that I have felt her present for so long. It’s like she’s watching and studying me. It wouldn’t be strange”.

“I know what you mean” Spoke, at last, Zelniq. “The news of Vasp's death and the fall of the Ensemble spread out really quickly, and we all celebrated it. It seemed that the war would end and a future of peace was coming. It was just a matter of destroying her beetle soldiers (no offense) and her local dictators. It was hard, but we know how to fight and how they fought. Years later, the monster appeared from inside our lines. She said that she destroyed Vasp with her own hands, and that she would do the same to us. Then, she shown her true form, and we surrounded her. We attacked her with everything we had and, when we thought that we defeated her, she regenerated".

“How is this possible?" Said the soldier in fear. "Unless she overcame her program again".

“We noted that she was playing with us, and that only wanted a triumphant entrance, because she defeated us easily. My people were dying: some of them vaporized, some stabbed and some burned alive. I had never seen deaths before that. The survivors were taken to a lab, where she experimented with us. It was strange, because the experiments just constisted on putting ideas in our minds: the origin of the universe, the concept of death, self-awareness. People from along the planet were suffering the same fate, until one day the monster just left our world. She wasn’t trying to conquer us and it wasn’t an attack in the name of the Ensemble. The consequences of her actions came when we tried to continue with our lives. I’ve seen friends become so terrified of these ideas that they never dared to face the world again. Others were so furious for that new conscience that they tried to get revenge from that monster. Others took their lives because they felt unimportant in the great scheme of things. It was the first time I saw them out of their roles of warriors against an evil empire. Personally, I don’t feel furious or scared, but really curious about what is my place in the universe. I’ve been traveling from planet to planet looking for answers and knowledge. Every planet I visited had been invaded by this creature. I particulary remember two worlds: one where their habitants look like fishes and are decent and kind, and other with two species: one ugly and good, and the other beautiful and evil. At least, that’s what they told me the few inhabitants willing to talk, because that decent people were too rude and suspicious and that evil creatures were too afraid of strangers to be a threat. Something that never abandoned me in my quest was the feeling that this creature is watching me. Like she is guiding my steps secretly. Just like what happens to you”.

“Sometimes I think she reached omnipresence. According to what you told me, Nexa is even more terrible than the day of the Ensemble invasion to earth. We should have left her die at the first chance”.

Both stayed quiet and watching the fire until, some minutes later, Zelniq broke the silence:

“I’ve been thinking and reflecting about your story. Before Nexa, every one of us had an one-dimensional and designated role. Vasp was an evil queen, you were part of an automaton army, Coleopterus was an idiot scientist, we were the heroes that fought the evil empire. No one could leave their part”.

“I don’t understand” The clusted doubted.

“Our roles were typical of a fiction. That’s because we are part of a fiction. No one died and Vasp was still a queen because we were participating of a fictional story with heroes and villains. Nexa is, somehow, out of that fiction. She is inmune to their laws and can do whatever she wants”.

“Now that you mention it, it’s true. The destruction of Earth and the fall of the Ensemble must have been ways to get us out of our routine. I’m sure she expected survivors”.

“She want to take living beings and reality itself to the next level. She is preparing us”.

“Exactly. She must feel that the universe is not made to her needs, and wants to adapt us to her twisted idea of evolution".

“Everything was easier during the days of the Ensemble” Zelniq lamented. “At least could tell friends from foes. Wait for me, I’ll be back in a minute”.

Zelniq returned to his ship, picked up a fridge and took it to the cave. Opened it and grabbed some bottles of purple liquid similar to terrestrial beer. Gave one to the soldier.

“Why are you giving me this? You know I don’t drink”.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s toast” Zelniq said.

“Why?”

He decided to do what Zelniq said to find it out.

“For the Ensemble and queen Vasp. Cheers!” Zelniq drank his bottle instantly and snatched the one of his company from his hands.

The night remained quiet. The duo discussed about the fate of the universe and even sang, by the fire, the march that the Ensemble interpreted when invading planets. It was probably the closest thing to friendship and camaraderie that had been in years. In that abandoned world, Zelniq found his purpose: to return that peace to the galaxy. The morning after, he decided to leave:

“Are you sure you want to do this?” The drone asked.

“Totally sure. I’ll give Nexa a true challenge”.

“Alone? No offense, but you won’t last against her”

“Maybe, but I now have something to fight for: my own peace. I don’t need to pretend that I’m a brave hero and that everything will be fine anymore. Everything can happen: I could die, but Nexa too. I’m going to use this new conscience against her. Besides, I won’t fight alone. I’m going to search for another people like me around the galaxy”.

“You know what? I want to join you. I’m tired of being hidden. She destroyed my world and forced me to kill my brothers. I don’t care about the universe, but I want revenge”.

“Ok. Let’s go”.

And that’s how designated heroes left that world and began a quest for people to help them achieve their mission.

They just don’t know how right they are: I am more than just a villain.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Motorik